Finding, Finding... Found.

Chapter 7

“So, who’s Karla?” Harry asked, breaking the silence.

“She’s my best friend,” Alyssa smiled, and felt as if she was left out of an inside secret as all the boys turned to look at Niall, knowing smiles on their faces. Louis especially, was grinning from ear-to-ear as he bumped Niall’s shoulder with his own.

“Your best friend?” Niall asked, his expression unreadable. It looked quite sour, if Alyssa was being honest with herself.

“Kind of, I didn’t have a lot of friends when I left-” Alyssa struggled internally as she tried to find the right words to describe how she was in an orphanage without seeming too weak or vulnerable. “I just… didn’t have a lot of friends until I found her.”

“But you did have some friends, right?” Niall’s eyes stared deep into Alyssa’s with a hint of desperation, something Alyssa couldn’t comprehend. Why was Niall probing into her personal life? And why did he look so anxious? “At least one friend? Someone you could trust?”

Alyssa sighed as she looked away from Niall’s eyes. She wanted to tell him so much – why his name meant so much to her, how his eyes reminded her of a distant memory…

“That was a long time ago,” Alyssa smiled evasively. “That someone has already been long gone.”

Niall’s eyes immediately shifted towards the walls, floor… anything to avoid the boys and Alyssa’s questioning glances. That someone has already been long gone…

I’m here! I have been looking for you this whole time! Niall wanted to shout, but he knew he couldn’t. Alyssa’s face was one of disappointment and heartbreak when she had confessed that he was no longer there with her, and Niall knew that it would take more than a confession to make things right.

He decided there and then that he would start a new friendship with Alyssa and mend things before he finally confessed to her.

“It’s that person’s loss then,” Harry muttered, his eyes shifting between Alyssa and Niall. “But… I’m sure he’s looking for you.”

“How did you know that it was a he?” Alyssa asked in curiosity. She was pretty sure that she hadn’t mentioned anything about her best friend being a guy.

“Just… a figure of speech,” Harry excused his error lamely as he smiled at Alyssa hesitantly.

Alyssa simply smiled back politely, and Harry immediately started talking about how he had worked in a bakery before he joined the X-Factor, effectively bringing all the questioning to an end.

***

Txt me back when u c this!!! U know 1D? Alyssa’s phone beeped as she was cleaning out the thrash from her room.

Long story, but yeah I do. Alyssa texted a quick reply to her friend as she threw out some expired canned beans, and sighed when Karla’s reply came back in less than a second. She could understand her best friend’s excitement, but to say this was a little too extreme would be an understatement.

OMG!!! Explain 2mr!!!!

Alyssa’s eyebrows rose as she contemplated about what she had to explain exactly, but knowing Karla well, she would probably find something new to talk about the next day and forget all about this.

Alyssa hoped that she would, anyway – it would be disastrous if Karla knew about how they met in the kindergarten. If anything, she was surprised that the school board hasn’t called her, as she knew that the cameras must have captured the mini-drama that took place that day.

***

“Hazza, can I ask you something?” Niall mumbled as he sat on the couch.

Harry shrugged as his eyes continued to be glued to the television – Pretty Little Liars, Niall noticed – he didn’t know Harry was into this show. Then again, Harry’s preferences switched up so often that even Louis found it hard to keep track sometimes. Taking Harry’s shrug as a go-ahead, Niall immediately posed his question.

“Why did you force me to go to Alyssa’s house that night?”

Harry, surprised by Niall’s question, switched off the television and brought his legs up onto the couch, sitting across his Irish band mate.

“Liam forced me to do it,” Harry confessed after a few moments of hesitation. “He said there was something going on between the two of you… and he sort of thought you needed a girlfriend… so…”

“So he asked you to help him in his mission to find me a girlfriend,” Niall completed Harry’s sentence. “And the girl you guys have your sights on is Alyssa.”

Harry flinched at Niall’s rather cold tone. He knew from the start that it had been wrong, but having Niall put it into words like that…

“Yeah,” Harry scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “Sort of…”

Niall sighed, unsure of how to react. While it had been rude of the boys to simply intervene into his love life, he couldn’t help but feel slightly grateful for their concern and actions – the only reason why he had the courage to give Alyssa his number was because he did not want Harry to play with her feelings. Besides, they didn’t mean any harm, and if Niall was going a step further, he wouldn’t have been having coffee with Alyssa, hadn’t it been for the boys’ concerns.

“I don’t know what to say Harry,” Niall confessed. “I’m thankful that you guys helped me in bringing someone important back into my life… but I’m still kind of pissed at the fact that y’all planned this behind my back.”

Harry sighed as he nodded understandingly at Niall’s conflicted emotions.

“I understand… but if it’s of any comfort Niall, I wouldn’t in a million years have my sights on Alyssa – not that she’s bad or anything, she’s just…”

“She’s yours, mate,” Louis came out of his hidden spot where he had been eavesdropping from, and gave his own input on the matter. “The first time you saw her face… we knew.”

Niall sighed as he curled further into the sofa, ignoring the fact that Louis had been listening to his conversation with Harry. He was much too preoccupied with his thoughts.

“Thanks guys,” Niall smiled weakly. “But if she finds out that I was the jerk who abandoned her years ago… she would never be mine, would she?”