The Lyric Project (Completed)

Twelve

~ Chapter Twelve ~

The days continued to pass, and the longer it went between going to the determined locations, the lonelier Ed got. It seemed to be that his little project was making him happier in a way, for more reasons than one. It had been four days since Alexi and Ed went to the zoo, because of Alexi having a project due at work. Harry had also been too busy to visit his friend, the tour preparation work was heavy. So the guitarist spent those days trying to avoid looking at any of Sam's things, worried that if he even caught a glimpse of her items, he'd break down. 

The fifth day, he sat down with his notepad and his guitar. Something had felt like it was missing from his life and having spent so much time lately with other artist's lyrics, he had the urge to start writing his own again. It hardly took a few minutes before Ed was scribbling down the chorus.

Do you ever wonder if the stars shine out for you?

Float down

Like autumn leaves

Hush now

Close your eyes before the sleep

And you're miles away

And yesterday you were here with me

He didn't cry as he wrote, instead he smiled. It was faint and didn't express joy, instead it felt like the one thing the lyric project was missing. It was emotion that no other song could explain, it came from the deepest part of him. 

Ooh how I miss you

My symphony played the song that carried you out

Ooh how I miss you

He added a few things about how he wishes she would stay, feeling as though it was possible. To not completely leave him, to stay with him as he continued to cope with this tragedy. He was about a third of the way through the chords, when his phone started buzzing on the table. Briefly he wished he had remembered to turn it off, but instead he pushed talk and held it to his ear.

"Hey, Ed. It's Alexi! I'm so sorry for not being able to go with you anywhere this week, but I just turned in the magazine cover I was working on! I now have a week leave, and I'm very excited to keep on with your project. Let's plan on ten am for the club?" Alexi spoke swiftly, and sounded out of breath when she finished. 

"Yeah, yeah. Sounds good. See you then." Ed said in a distracted tone, eyes still focused on the paper in front of him. Once Alexi said her farewells, Ed hung up and nibbled on the end of the pen in his hand.

As if the world had something against him writing at that moment, his phone started going off again.

"Yeah?" He said, staring with intention at that paper in front of him.

"Uh oh, someone's in a bad mood." Harry chuckled.

"Not in a bad mood, in a writing mood. What's up?" Ed leaned back, having basically given up writing anything in the next few minutes as Harry obviously had something to say.

"Charlotte and I broke up." He said it so normally, as if nothing was wrong with that sentence. He didn't sound bitter, or even remotely upset. "It was a long time coming."

"I'm sorry, mate. You okay?"

"Yeah. Let's go out and get drinks tonight. Invite some friends." 

"Fine."

"I'll pick you up in two hours. We'll go to Henrys." 

"See you, Harry." Ed hung up before dialing a new number. He looked at the mess of numbers for a bit before taking a deep breath and pushing 'call'.

"Ed!" The girl on the other line chirped out. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon after our last call!"

"Yeah, Harry called and we're going out to Henrys tonight. Why don't you come along?" Ed asked, hesitating for a nanosecond before replying.

"I'd love too! Should I meet you there?"

"Yeah, in about two and a half hours. Bye, Ellie." Ed waited for her response before they hung up.

Three conversations in less than five minutes? There had to be some kind of award for that.

~

Once Harry and Ed arrived at the bar, Ellie and Alexi were already there. It was a rundown place, not on the highest of 'celebrity hangouts', which is why they chose it. This would be the last place paparazzi would look, unless they got tipped off. Since Harry was great friends with the owner, the likeliness of anyone finding them there was low. The floorboards creaked when Harry's boot clad feet landed on it.

"Why don't you just throw those away?" Ed asked while shaking his head at his friend's shoe choice.

"They're comfortable!" 

"Don't pull that crap on me. They look as comfortable as cactus. You guys agree, right?" Ed sought agreement from the two girls who were starting to giggle. 

"Leave us out of it - the last thing I need is Harry Styles hating me." Ellie said with a laugh.

"I actually kind of like the boots, so I'm gonna have to side with Harry, sorry Ed. They're so versatile, he can wear them with virtually anything!" Alexi acknowledged, eyeing Harry's outfit. Just as Harry started to fist pump, she spoke again. "Not so crazy about the ripped flannel, though."

"Ha!" Ed shot out, his pointer finger now directed at Harry's face.

"I liked you for a minute there, Alexi, and now you just ruined the whole thing." He let a pout form before shrugging it off. "Oh well, I'm fabulous no matter what."

"Yeah, sure that's what you are. By the way, it's really rude to not introduce people that don't know each other. Where are your manners?" Alexi put her hand on her hip and gave Ed a motherly glare.

"Sorry, mum. Harry, Ellie. Ellie, Harry. Alexi, Ellie. Ellie, Alexi. There, happy?" Ed stuck his tongue out at her before nodding his head towards the bar. 

As the night went on, Ed found himself slipping out of his trance. As if nothing had changed from a few months ago, as if everything he never felt the emotional pain from losing the love of his life. He laughed, joked, stuck out his tongue, and enjoyed the conversations he was having. 

Despite his extremely recent breakup, Harry felt at peace. Seeing his friend be able to finally let loose, and not needing a gallon of alcohol to achieve it, was brilliant. He was the kind of friend who hated seeing his friends hurt, whether it was physically or emotionally. Now that everything finally seemed to be getting better, Harry no longer worried about the fact he was going to be gone on tour for eight months.

Alexi smiled as she surveyed the three people in front of her. Ellie seemed great, she had a very peppy and happy personality. It seemed as if she fit in perfectly with the group, it didn't take hardly a minute for her to join in on the jokes. Alexi also realized that this was the first time she had seen Ed completely happy. No bags under his eyes, or flitty eyes; there wasn't a distracted sense about him for once.

It seemed as though everything would be okay again; maybe not for a little while longer, but it would be, and that's all that mattered.

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