I sigh. "She really hurt me, Niall."
"What's going on?" Harry asks, coming towards us.
"Nothing!" I yelp, grabbing my phone back. I delete my unsent text and lock the phone, the loud click echoing through the now-silent room. I throw a pointed look in Niall's direction. "I guess I should try to be civil," I say, as if the Irish boy really has changed my mind about sending the text; clearly he believes this, because he gives me a smug smile before turning his attention back to Harry.
However, deep down, I know that I was never really going to press send; after all, I'm lovely little Anna Winters, who never causes arguments, who never stands up for herself. Anna Winters can't even express her feelings to her own mother, let alone her old best friend; sending such a rude text would be highly out of character, and something she -- I -- would be ashamed of doing. Nevertheless, it did feel good to let my anger at Cassidy out in the form of a now-deleted text message; perhaps I should use the medium of iMessage as a venting method in the future.
Harry tuts and goes back to reciting the roles within the band; I furrow my brow, chewing my lower lip as I stare down at my mobile. It takes me a while to word my reply correctly, but I eventually settle for as follows:
Hiii, Cass. It's really great to hear from you! We haven't spoken in two years, right? That's crazy; time sure does fly. Anyway, you're moving back to Bournemouth? That's awesome. When you're settled in, we can go for a coffee sometime. We'll arrange something closer to the time! xx
Satisfied, and only slightly disgruntled, I press send. There. No going back, now.
"So, I'm going to give you some details about the triple B. It takes place on Saturday the 27th of July, which is exactly..." Harry pauses to count on his fingers. "Nineteen days from now. That's two weeks and five days. The contest begins at 8pm, and it's about 1pm now, so that gives us..." Harry pauses once more, muttering various phrases such as twenty-four hours in a day and nineteen times twenty-four plus seven beneath his breath. "Four-hundred and sixty-three hours until the competition. Which means... if you're taking away ten hours a day for sleep and eating and everything, two-hundred and seventy-three hours to rehearse. Got it?"
I raise my eyebrows, impressed. Beside me, Niall's jaw drops to the floor, and he stares at Harry, completely dumbfounded. "Huh?" He says.
"I'll take that as a no," Harry sighs, slamming his hand to his forehead.
"I'm gonna need more than ten hours for sleep and eating and... me-time," Niall says, hugging his knees and shrugging innocently. Harry rolls his eyes and I bite back a giggle.
"I thought you said you only rehearse one hour a day," I pipe up, looking at Harry, and the curly-haired boy slowly removes his hand from his face.
"I know I said that, but we only have nineteen days to get Niall ready. You know what 'getting ready' means? It means learning songs, perfecting songs, working on stage presence, finding your role within the band... Nineteen days, Anna." All colour drains from Harry's face as if he's only just realising how short a period of time nineteen days is. For a few moments, he seems to fade out, staring into thin air as if his entire life is flashing before his eyes. But then, he snaps back to reality. "Let's get to work, Niall. I need to hear you sing."
As Niall nervously grabs his nearby guitar, Harry reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out an old Biro pen; he squats down, brushing away a sheen of grey dust and drawing a huge 'X' on the uneven floorboards. He straightens up. "This is your stage, Niall. Stand on the X and perform for us. Don't be shy."
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Broken Strings || Niall Horan [AU]
Fanfiction[ONGOING] ❝Opening your wrists won't set your demons free, but opening your heart just might.❞ ✖ ✖ ✖ Anna Winters is broken. A long time ago, a horrific incident tore her family apart, destroying her life in the process. Now, five years later, s...
12 | audition
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