Lessons Learned

Part 25

"Do the other boys know?" I flipped over onto my stomach, the lush grass tickling my chin as I addressed Harry.

"Know what?" he mimicked my position, resting his face in his hands as his nose bumped mine.

"That you're a real angel."

"I might have been mentioned once or twice."

"Are they jealous?" I watched as Harry's green eyes blinked lazily, his pretty lashes brushing against his cheekbones as he prepared to answer.

"No. I'm jealous of them."

This surprised me, "Why?"

"Because they got to have lives beyond One Direction. I didn't. They were real people, living real lives, and once the band was over they got to move on with those lives. I, on the other hand, disappeared off the face of the earth once the band was done, because I had fulfilled what I had been sent down to do. I was no longer needed."

"What were you sent down to do?"

He smiled modestly, showing off his perfect mouth. "Save as many lives as I could."

"By being in a band?" I flipped again, not really comfortable with having Harry's flawless face so close to my own. It made me feel really inferior. Now I was staring up at a sky so blue that all I could think about was Niall's gorgeous eyes.

"Yes by being in a band. And it worked." I heard his voice change, as if he was about to say something serious. "Your grandmother's life was one of those."

"What?" I sat up, my eyes wide as I stared at Harry. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged, "I don't know what it was about us, but people adore us and looked up to us. We gave them a reason to live. Your grandma was one of those people." Harry gave me a small smile, "I met her once. She was a lovely girl."

That was weird to think about, that this seventeen year old boy sitting in front of me had met my grandmother. "Did she tell you that you saved her?" my voice came out in a whisper, though that had not been my intention.

"Yeah she did," his smile was barely noticeable, but it was the prettiest one I had seen from him. I could tell he was proud of the job he had done.

I thought back to what he had said before, about disappearing. "What do you mean by disappearing?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. Three days after the band ended I was gone, never to be seen again. The police decided it was a kidnapping, but when no ransom note surfaced they thought I ran away. They kept the case open for years, because I was such a high profile figure and a lot of people were concerned. Obviously they never found me." He winked at me, "Google it when you go home. It's been called the biggest mystery of our time."

"I won't remember," I reminded him.

"Oh yeah," he scratched his chin absentmindedly. "Do you want to frolic?"

I gave him an odd stare, "Is that ja sexual reference or something? Cause the answer is no."

He let out a pretty laugh, "No, I meant run through the meadow. I know it sounds weird but the whole time we've been sitting here I've just wanted to run. Want to do it?"

I shrugged, "Sure I guess."

Harry stood up and offered me his hand, which I took. His large hand folded over my small one and he started to run, pulling me along behind him as our bare feet skimmed across the lush grass and rainbow of flowers. I felt like I was flying as the wind whipped my hair and Harry's hand tightened comfortably around mine. Every thought left my mind, every worry I ever had was gone. Nothing mattered except the pounding of my feet on the earth as I ran and ran and ran. Eventually, even Harry escaped my notice. It was just me, the earth, and the sky. Everything felt simple and beautiful and wonderful. In that moment I felt like I could do anything. That's when I noticed I actually was flying and Harry's hand was no longer in mine. He was below me, his brown curls lifted slightly by the wind as he waved to me. His mouth formed the words 'life is beautiful' and I knew I was on my way out. My final lesson had been learned.

The symbolism of my exit didn't escape me.

I was ready to fly.