Caught in a Lie ~ h.s.

♕ XIII ♕

"I'm going to scope it out." Niall tells us, taking another guard with him as he enters the gymnasium to make sure everything is secure.

"You seem happy today." Charlotte comments, her eyes briefly scanning my appearance before turning her attention back towards the room of awaiting children. I roll my eyes at my friend, clearly her happiness radar is off.

"I'm no happier than usual."

It's true. I'm not in a bad mood today, nor am I feeling incredibly ecstatic for some reason. I suppose I am looking forward to a phone call with Harry this evening, but that's nothing out of the ordinary. Again, I try not to think about him whilst I'm working, he's a beautiful distraction.

"Any plans to meet with you-know-who?"

"I have to wait until Gwen comes back before I can plan another girls day out." Gwen flew out to Milan last week to work on her upcoming fashion line with the great Victoria Beckham. The two have been tireless designing and sketching for months now and they're just now getting ready to look at their tangible looks. If all goes well the line should break way for Victoria's Spring 2019 collection.

Whilst I could very well escape the palace with Niall again, I don't want anyone getting into trouble. I find that Gwen's excuse for shopping is a great time to sneak away and have a day with Harry. But I can't very well go out shopping with Gwen when she's out of the country, now can I.

"Tsk, tsk, Niall; making a friend on the job." Thinking that she's joking about a child talking with Niall I look up, trying to find him through the small window. When my eyes land on him I don't find him talking with a small child, I see him talking with a man standing with the other parents, family members, and teachers.

"Oh fück." I gasp, causing Charlotte to gasp at my crude language in response.

There's no denying that I know the person that Niall has befriended in the crowd once I see the tall stature, gorgeous curly locks, and tattooed skin exposed with sleeves of his shirt rolled up. His face is turned in my direction just enough where I can make out the crease between his brows and the smirk on his lips as he speaks to Niall. Niall, on the other hand, continues to look stern as they Harry speaks. Why is he here?

"I can't be here."

"Mabel, what on earth are you going on about?" I back away from the door immediately, not wanting him to accidently glance in my direction. I may be able to fool him when I'm wearing a wig and glasses and there's no talk of the Royal Family of Weybridge, but there's no way I can fool him now.

"I can't do this. We need to leave, now." I continue to back away from the door, an overwhelming feeling of dread taking over my body. I feel like I'm about to ride a rollercoaster, which I'm deathly afraid of.

"Mabel, calm down, what's going on? Tell me." She reaches forward, grabbing my arm to keep me from escaping her completely. I try my best to ignore the few eyes on me from some of the administrative staff of the school and my own security team, but it's as if I'm put on display in front of them.

"He's here." My voice is low as I speak with her, hoping that no one else will listen in on our conversation. "Harry, my Harry, is here and he is going to figure it all out as soon as I walk through those doors. I cannot go out there." Realization takes over Charlotte's features in an instant. Her eyes widen, her jaw hangs, and her grip on me loosens. "I need you to go and get Niall and tell him we're leaving. I also need you to get Miss Johnson and bring her to me." Charlotte doesn't move at first, simply staring up at me in shock still. "Go, Charlotte. That's an order." She quickly shakes out of her trance and leaves me to do what she's been told.

Never in a million years did I think my two worlds would collide upon accident. I figured once I gathered up the courage to tell Harry the truth that my two personalities would meet, but not like this. I don't want him to figure it out in a room full of unsuspecting people, I don't want him to figure it out when I can't explain to him why I did what I did, and I don't want him to figure it out just yet. I want to live in this bubble of happiness for a little while longer. It's been years since I've been as happy as Harry makes me and I'm not ready to give that up. Call me selfish, call me a fool, but I'm not ready.

"Your highness." I hear Niall's voice from the doorway that I had been stood in earlier, but I don't make a move to look up at him. I feel like I'm losing myself in that moment, as if I'm on the brink of a panic attack that I can't get myself out of. I've had panic attacks before and they're miserable, especially when you're alone, but even more so when you're in front of a crowd of people. "Mabel." This time his voice is much closer and much lower than before. I feel his hand on my arm and that's when the first panic-induced tear falls from my eye.

"I can't, Niall." Just uttering those words is hard enough. Niall understands, tugging me lightly away from the eyes of suspecting onlookers and through a door, into an empty classroom.

"Hey, look at me." I shake my head, keeping my gaze on the floor as I try and regulate my quick breathing. "Mabel." Niall forces my face to lift and he looks at me, straight in the eye, not a trace of worry anywhere on his features. He's always so calm. "He still doesn't suspect a thing."

"He will now. He could put two and two together. He could look me up on the Internet and see me and think wow that girl really looks like the girl I only get to see once and awhile. The girl who runs out on me, the girl who is secretive, the girl who -" My words are caught off my a choked sob and I do something I don't usually do with Niall, I reach out to him in need of a hug.

"It's alright, Mabel. It's going to be alright."

The two of us take five minutes to calm down and assess the situation at hand. It's decided that I won't do the reading and I'll return to the palace immediately. I'll excuse myself with the excuse that I've fallen ill. We work everything out before calling the headmistress into the classroom. I explain to her, as best as I can without breaking down, why I can no longer stay. She's kind and says she understands, wishing me well and hoping I'll come back. I promise her that I will when I can and tell her goodbye before my team and I go back to the town cars.

"Did he tell you why he was there?" I finally muster up the strength to ask Niall as soon as we're exiting the city limits of central London. He sighs heavily, as if the answer to the question has been weighing heavily on his chest.

"He was there with his sister and her children, said they begged him to come along and meet a real life princess."

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