-Faith-
••January 23, 2013••
The sidewalks of London were frosty and cold as I carefully walked down the streets, trying not to slip on the dirty slush, which as trampled into an icy sheet by many peoples' footprints. I had never even been to a big city before, let alone London! Every little thing fascinated me as I maneuvered the busy sidewalk. From the telephone poles to the double-decker buses (they were real!) to the little old ladies walking haughty Yorkies in designer sweaters, the city felt surreal.
Uncle James had given me some money, telling me that I should go out and buy some clothes that I actually liked, for once in my life. This also got me out of his flat for a few hours, which could only be a good thing, since I had been staying with him for a couple of days now. We both knew Mother was going to try to drag me back to Ireland soon; she wouldn't believe Lisa's lies forever.
I definitely felt guilty...very guilty. What if Lisa got fired because of this? Mother certainly wasn't one to hesitate on firing people. Actually, she was the complete opposite. She's fired so many of our past housekeepers, it wasn't even funny - we've probably gone through fifty in the past few years, and I don't even know how many we went through before the surgery. And now Lisa, who was surly my favorite, was probably getting kicked out. She had a family back in England; she sent them her paycheques every month. Maybe I should visit them... I always wondered why she was working in Ireland if her family was in England. I only knew this because I (being a natural stalker) looked at the address on the letters and cheques she sent. Also, she had the cheques under not Lisa, but Miriam, which I concluded must be her mother or older sister, who she had spoke to me about in the past. But of course we never even got to talk much because Mother hated me speaking to the housekeeper...
Okay, so maybe I shouldn't have been so absorbed in my thoughts. Not paying attention to where I was going, I gracefully and delicately slipped on an icy patch of the sidewalk and careened into a metal flagpole, hitting my forehead hard before falling onto my bum in the middle of the crowded, wet sidewalk.
Attention, good people of London! Faith Gray has arrived! I giggled as I got up off of the sidewalk, ignoring a few stares from passersby. That was my grand entrance into the streets of London! I rubbed my forehead, where I could definitely feel a bump swelling. Shaking my head, but still giggling a little, I started walking in the opposite direction. All I needed was a place to warm up for a minute and figure out where to buy some clothes; all the stores around here seemed to just carry mens' stuff.
Shops of London, here I come!
-Harry-
••January 23, 2013••
I always went to Jack Wills to buy clothes, but recently I haven't been able to find anything that fit me right. Was I getting fatter or skinnier? I wasn't sure, but nothing was fitting.
I groaned as I made my way through the racks of winter coats, waving goodbye to the friendly cashier lady on my way out of the store. Another shopping attempt failed. This was getting annoying. Being "famous," I could just ask our manager Paul to order clothes for me, but I still enjoyed shopping on my own. Still, at this point, I was starting to consider it.
Blah.
I ran my fingers through my hair, completely frustrated. I was going back home empty handed. Again.
I walked out of the store into the chilly air, turned left, and stood there on the street corner. I pulled out my mobile phone and typed a text to one of the boys so they would come pick me up – Jack Wills was technically within walking distance of the flat, but it was really a bit far to walk in wintertime – but before I could send the text, I heard a loud bong. I looked up just in time to see a girl in a bright yellow coat across the street fall right on her bum after walking into a flagpole.
I couldn't help but let out a light chuckle before realizing that I should be hiding. She was a female around my age. This wasn't good. I figured that, she wouldn't be shopping at Jack Wills, so I quickly ran back into the store. I hid behind some clothes racks, relaxing again. (In my mind it was the most logical thing to do at the moment.)
"Welcome to Jack Wills," I heard the woman at the front of the store say. I froze and stared at the front entrance through some hoodies.
The girl from across the street walked in, rubbing her forehead and glaring around the room. Her long yellow coat dripped onto the floor as she took a crumpled London map out of her pocket, wandering the aisles of clothes as she read the map.
Was she looking for me? I wondered, ducking further down as she swept her eyes across my rack of hoodies. Sometimes being famous really sucked, like when you have to hide at your favorite store to avoid being noticed.
But after just a couple of minutes of wandering, the girl started on her way out. I let out a sigh of relief, standing upright when I thought she was gone, but suddenly, out of nowhere, the girl passed right by me. I tensed, but she was too caught up in her map to notice me.
This girl really ought to pay attention to where she's walking, I thought in amusement. London is full of dangerous flagpoles!
"Thank you for coming," the clerk called to the girl, whose dark black hair swished against her bright coat as she walked out of the store.
And that was when it hit me. My eyes widened as I rapidly chased after the girl, accidentally knocking over a rack of sunglasses in my hurry to get out of the store.
"Faith!" I yelled, turning the corner. "Faith Gray!"
She turned around, looking a bit puzzled, and I grinned.
I found her!
"I'm Harry, Harry Styles," I explained, grabbing her arm. I didn't want to lose her after all this time.
"The singer, correct?" she asked, looking up at me calmly.
"We've met before," I said, not letting go of her left arm. "I didn't know then, but you're Niall's friend."
She quickly nodded. Excitement rushed through me. What were the odds of running into Faith Gray, the dead girl – especially at a men's clothing store in London? I mean, obviously she wasn't dead, but I had started to believe Mrs. Gray's story, even though she herself told me that she wasn't dead a long time ago.
"You recognized me?" she asked, a smile forming on her lips.
"Who wouldn't?" I exclaimed before dragging her in the other direction, "We have to take you to see, Niall!!"
"Wait–"
I stopped, turning back to look at her. She bit her lip, looking down at the dirty slush on the sidewalk.
"I thought he hated me..."
My eyes widened. "Oh, right... you hate him..." I murmured, looking down as I realized that I couldn't take her back to Niall after all.
"I hate him?" she gasped.
"That's what–," I got cut off by Faith finishing the sentence,
"My mother said."
I nodded, meeting Faith's intense gaze. It was all starting to make sense now.
"Exactly."
##
I pulled the tiny, raven-haired girl through the very familiar sidewalks and up the stairs to the flat as quickly as possible, even though I knew she was having a hard time keeping up with me.
I was so excited that I had found Faith Gray. The same Faith that was supposed to be dead, the same Faith whose mother showed up at Niall's house a month ago. This was seriously, out of this world bizarre - but before we could talk, I had to show Niall.
I knew Niall would flip. He loved her – loves her. And I was determined to set things straight, no matter what Mrs. Gray wanted.
I stopped in front of a heavy wooden door, biting my lip in excitement. The look on Niall's face would be priceless!
I turned around and squeezed both of Faith's hands, unable to hide my huge grin.
"You stay here," I said. "We're going to surprise someone!"
She nodded as I told her to stay there outside our flat. I didn't bother to knock on the door as I let myself in. This was going to be the surprise of the century.
Quietly, I tiptoed into the house, slipping silently into the living room where I knew I would find Niall, probably playing Fifa on the telly.
I turned the corner, shuffling my feet as quietly and quickly as I could. I didn't want to make Niall wait any longer for Faith.
But I stopped dead in the middle of the dining room. Were those giggles coming from farther in the house? I knew it wasn't good to snoop around, but that was definitely not Niall. It wasn't a guy's voice...
Oh, no.
I followed the sounds towards the living room, peeking around the corner, certainly not expecting what I saw.
I gasped involuntarily, making Niall and some girl pull apart, both looking up at me with wide eyes.
"Who–" I asked, no longer hiding behind the wall.
"Oh- um-" Niall stuttered, glancing between the pretty Asian girl, he had just been snogging, and me.
"I'm Shannon Chin," the girl introduced herself, disentangling herself from Niall and walking over to me with her hand extended. "Nice to meet you, Harry Styles."
Before I could think, I heard a muffled gasp from behind me in the dining room. Whipping around, I caught a glimpse of dark black hair against a bright yellow coat as the eavesdropper fled as fast as she could, slipping out of the open front door of the flat and into the gray, cold London afternoon.
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Here are a FAQ:
1. How do you come up with this stuff?
I don't really know! Haha. Honestly I just kind of brainstormed and went for it. Though, the plot was created/helped from my friend Isabelle at 1am during a sleepover, lol :)
2. Do you have the whole story planned out yet?
I do!! It's so fun and I'm excited to show you all!
3. Is Shannon the one Faith's mom forced her to be friends with?
Yes! Shannon is the Asian girl that Faith's mom made, Faith's "best friend" when she lost her memory. :)
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Thanks for asking and reading everyone♥