Harry gave me ten minutes to get dressed before impatiently knocking on my door again. He hadn’t told me how to dress, so I assumed it was nothing fancy. His jeans and t-shirt confirm that for me. As we make our way down the hotel hall, we encounter no one. Harry takes a turn for the parking deck once we reach the lower level. He leads me over to a typical black SUV, but he opens the passenger’s side door for me before climbing into the driver’s seat himself.
“You’re driving?” I ask in disbelief. “Can you even drive?” I ask. I’ve never seen him behind the wheel before.
“Yes, Hayley, I can drive,” he rolls his eyes as he backs out. I ask endless questions about where we are going, but he doesn’t answer a single one. We drive and drive, out into a sandy pasture that looks like a patch of Arizona desert that stretches on for miles. There is nothing in sight but the orange sand and the occasional cactus, when I begin to wonder if we have a destination at all. Finally, Harry parks the car in the back of a wooden standalone building that looks like it might collapse if the wind blows the right way. There is a rickety-looking staircase leading up the back of the building.
Harry opens my door and leads me out into the blistering heat, gesturing for me to walk up the stairs.
“Where are we?” I ask for the thousandth time.
“Don’t ask questions,” he answers for the thousandth time. Harry keeps one hand on my back as I climb the steep wooden staircase, keeping me steady. When we reach the top, Harry twists the knob of an old-looking door before pulling me into absolute darkness. Suddenly a light switches on.
“SURPRISE!” The chorus is only a few people and I blink rapidly as my eyes try to adjust. Louis rushes forward and picks me up off my feet, swinging me around in a hug. I look around the room. Liam, Niall, and Zayn are standing just behind Louis, smiling. Harry stands behind me, and on the wall opposite us is a table full of different types of cheesecakes.
I start laughing and fear I might cry. This is perfect. I would have hated a huge party full of people that I barely know, who pretend to like me and celebrate me. But this, these five boys have become so close to me in these past two months. Living practically on top of each other and spending every waking moment together will do that.
We all sit around a table as presents are passed over to me. I had not expected that at all, presents from Harry were one thing, but it wasn’t necessary for the others. I laugh as I unwrap Zayn’s gift; it is a ten foot long phone charger, clearly so that I will not have to lay in his lap while we play on our phones. Next, Niall had gotten me a rather expensive leather-bound notebook.
“I always see you writing things in that other one,” he explained. Harry looked at me questioningly. I did keep a notebook, not really a journal, where I would periodically write things that came into my head. Since most of them involved Harry, he naturally didn’t know about it. I thank Niall and quickly move on, so to avoid Harry’s questions.
“This one is from me and Liam,” Louis had explained as he handed me a flat, square package. I tore the paper away, immediately recognizing their album cover.
“You got me Take Me Home on vinyl?” I asked. Liam had the largest collection of vinyl records that I had ever seen, and Louis and I often found ourselves on their bus with records scattered all around us, both fascinated by Liam’s lack of organizational taste. He had a little bit of everything.
“Well yeah,” Liam said. “So you have something to use your new antique record player for.”
“What?” I asked. Harry squeezed my hand.
“It’s being shipped to Atlanta as we speak,” Louis sounds proud. I launch myself into his arms and then pass myself around the circle, hugging and thanking them all for their gifts. Over Niall’s shoulder, I see Harry glance down at his watch again. Did he have a date with Maria? On my birthday? No. He wouldn’t. Would he? I spend the next few minutes distracted, wondering why Harry seems so distracted. He doesn’t participate in conversation and keeps glancing towards the door.
"I've got one more present for you," Harry's low voice sounds in my ear.
"What-" I start to ask, but then another voice sounds from behind me that causes me to drop the drink in my hand and spin around.
“Looking pretty good for a twenty-year-old, Hayley Jane.”
“Ryan?”
YOU ARE READING
Written
Fanfiction"Written" follows the story of 20-year-old Hayley Reid, a fiery young woman who never realized her potential in the music business until she was recruited to work on the biggest concert tour of the year. Hayley's passion immediately draws the attent...
