-Faith-
••January 28, 2013••
"Why are we running?" I asked after ten minutes of being pulled through the city by Harry. As soon as I spoke up, though, he reduced his speed to a walk.
"I'm setting things right," he answered. That was all he had said throughout this madcap journey through London. Just that he was setting something important right and that it had to be right now, which lead to us jumping out of the guest bedroom of Harry’s flat. Luckily the window wasn’t too high, so the landing wasn’t bad. But it was definitely sudden and he wasn’t explaining anything.
"There!" Harry yelled, gasping for air, as was I. I felt my head becoming light and everything started spinning, though I didn't stop running.
"Get in," he told me, opening the door to a taxi, which I slid in before shutting my eyes. I was so tired and dizzy after all the running. Harry seemed to have already recovered himself, sitting up completely straight.
"You alright?" he cooed softly as he ran his fingers through my hair. Everything seemed so distant as the world kept spinning around myself like a merry-go-round that wouldn't stop.
"You alright?” I heard Harry repeat, shifting closer to me in the little taxi. Suddenly I felt his arms wrap around my body, somehow making the dizziness completely stop.
As soon as I opened my eyes, I pulled away from Harry, now feeling much better.
"I’m fine. Thank you, again." I chuckled, remembering how he told me not to thank him anymore.
"Are you sure you’re okay?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows.
"It happens when I run or move too much," I explained, hugging him once more. His arms were still wrapped around my waist.
Showing so much affection towards someone was new and odd, but it felt natural. Like I use to do it, or something. I couldn't explain it, but I enjoyed hugging. It was almost nostalgic, a warm and a nice feeling.
"What is this?" Harry whispered into my ear, making me pull back from his warm body.
I looked at him in confusion. "Pardon?"
"Your necklace. What is it?" he asked, taking the key that dangled off a gold chain and fiddling with it.
I smiled. "It's something Niall gave me..." I trailed off. "I think."
My smile faded. I didn’t honestly know if it was from Niall, did I? I just assumed because it seemed the most logical if it was, but it was possible that it was from someone else.
“It says ‘F and A’?” he said, looking at me inquiringly while letting go of my necklace, letting it gently hit my neck.
“’Forever and always’ is what it stands for,” I replied with a giggle. “It’s something I used to say, I think. I’m not sure.” I laughed again.
He was silent for a moment. "Did you love Niall?" he asked, looking up with me with those huge green eyes.
"Um…" I stopped before answering, remembering. "I've read many of the chats that I had saved before I lost my, you know, and I'm pretty sure we both dated others because we were constantly talking about other people that we, er, had affection towards." I smiled a little.
"Wait–," Harry suddenly blurted out, taking my hands and squeezing them tightly. "I was your first kiss, as long as you can remember?" he asked, a cheeky grin on his face.
I felt my cheeks heat up, and I knew I couldn't escape from the topic.
"Yes."
We both blushed, though I’m pretty sure I was redder than he was.
"I feel special," he stated simply, letting go of one of my hands while the other still slowly closed and brushed mine. I couldn't help but watch while he stared out the window as if nothing was going on.
Soon his hand was completely entwined with mine, holding me tightly, but he pretended not to notice my eyes on him. I didn't know if it was just with me or if it was just his personality, but for some odd reason he was so caring and adorable.
"We're here." The taxi driver pulled up on the side of the road.
Harry pulled out a few pounds, handing it to the man. We thanked the driver and Harry pulled me out of the cab.
"We're almost there, Faith," he assured after a few minutes of walking, much slower and more relaxed than earlier.
There were only a few other people on the sidewalk, which I was happy for because Harry’s arm kept brushing mine as we walked. It was keeping me warm, but it was a little awkward.
"You doing all right there?" he checked after a few minutes.
"Fine," I replied absently, taking in the scenery. London was gorgeous. I knew for a fact that I wanted to end up living here. It was like a wonderland that I always wanted to be.
"Styles?" a squeaky voice asked from behind us, causing Harry to drop my hand immediately.
"Holy crap," he mumbled under his breath, then he turned around.
The voice came from a tall, skinny girl with a messy bun and light mascara, which I only noticed because her eyes were huge with surprise.
"Ari," I heard Harry mumble, as if he was speaking to himself.
"I can't believe it's you!" she cried, running up to him and wrapping her arms around his neck. He hesitated but lightly hugged her back, as if he didn’t want to. This hug was nothing like how he hugged me.
"So?" she said expectantly. Her smile was bright and super white – kind of blinding actually. "Are you going to introduce me?" she prodded, looking at me, then back to Harry.
I smiled, taking a step back, blushing at her acknowledgement. In Ireland I definitely wouldn't have even been noticed. Mother never even thought of introducing me to anyone unless they were rich and someone my Mother could benefit off of.
"Oh–" Harry scratched the back of his neck. "It's–, I–, She–, err," He stumbled over his words, making the girl smile even wider and turn towards me.
"Hi, I'm Aria Lee." She smiled, fiddling with the strap of her white purse.
"I'm Faith Gray." I extended my hand out but Aria just laughed, taking a step towards me and lightly wrapping her arms around my body. "I'm a hugger," she said as she pulled away, still laughing. She never seemed to stop smiling or laughing, definitely a super happy person. I immediately adored her.
"Well, I hope Harry isn't giving you a hard time. He can be a lot sometimes," she commented, glancing over at him, but as soon as their eyes met he looked down. "I should run, I have a few classes this afternoon." She smiled widely. "Nice meeting you, Faith."
I nodded, smiling. She smiled back, then turned towards Harry. She whispered something into his ear that made him blush bright red. I’d seen Harry blush before but this was different. He desperately bit his bottom lip, not looking up from the sidewalk as Aria laughed, rubbing her hand on his shoulder. He stared at it awkwardly.
"Bye Harry," she said louder, then walked away, waving to me one last time.
I stood there for a few seconds, waiting for Harry to explain or say something, but he just turned back around and continued on as if nothing happened.
I pursed my lips and slowly resumed following him to wherever we were going. I opened my mouth to ask about Ari, but I shut my mouth. It was none of my business. I didn’t want to press him after he’d been so nice to me. If Harry wanted me to know, he would tell me in time.
-Niall-
••January 28, 2013••
Knock.
Knock.
I shuffled my feet towards the door as I wiped a few tears off of my sticky cheeks. I tried to turn the cold doorknob before realizing that it was locked.
“Oh right,” I mumbled under my breath. Zayn told me I had to unlock the door when he knocked. I stared at the bolts while I continued on wiping my raw, probably red eyes.
I hadn’t cried so much since Faith had “died”; which now was obviously a stupid, fake joke. It was weird that for the first time since I found out Faith was still alive, I felt angry.
“Hold on,” I choked out, coughing a bit because of my dry throat. I forgot how much crying hurt my throat.
Everything hurt.
There was another knock, louder and more forceful than before. “I’m here,” I croaked as loudly as I could over the knocking. I finally unlocked the door and walked straight back towards the living room because I was sure it was Zayn.
“Mate,” Harry’s deep voice called from behind me. My eyes widened but I pretended not to hear him. Zayn just got through telling me how Harry was being an arse.
“I swear to god you don’t want to lose this opportunity again. Oh and stop making yourself look like a complete douche in front of her,” Harry said bitterly.
My eyes darted around the room before it hit me…
Could it be?
I spun around and immediately gasped. I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out. My lips moved without any sound. I couldn’t believe this moment finally came.
There she was. Faith Elizabeth Gray. My Faith was standing there in front of me, completely alive and healthy.
“Faith, this is Niall. Niall, this is Faith – but you knew that,” Harry introduced, smiling at my shocked facial expression. “You guys need to catch up.” He walked past me and into the kitchen.
“Oh and could you lock the door again? Zayn is probably super mad at me right now anyways… Long story,” Harry continued while he munched on a donut he found on the kitchen counter.
“Hi,” Faith greeted, smiling up at me with bright eyes.
I shook my head in disbelief. “Y-you’re real?” was all I managed to stutter out, making her giggle. It was a sound I hadn’t heard in years but it sounded exactly the same as I remembered. Tears uncontrollably ran down my cheeks as I just stood there, feeling like I was going to collapse. My legs felt like Jell-o. Honestly, I didn’t even know how I managed to stay standing straight.
“I’m real.” Her face lit up taking a step towards me and shutting the door.
“Just hug or something. Worst movie in my life,” Harry called from the kitchen. Normally I would turn around and yell at him but right now, I couldn’t take my eyes off of Faith. Like I would lose her again if I did.
“Seriously guys,” Harry’s voice interrupted again, a bit more serious now. “Hug before I force you guys to.” He chuckled a bit and Faith just smiled, taking another huge step towards me and wrapping her arms around my chest. Swallowing hard, I slowly hugged her back, hardly believing that I was again hugging Faith-my Faith!-after all these years. I buried my face in her hair.
“Oh, God, Faith,” I half-laughed, half-cried. “I never thought I’d be able to hug you again.”
“Forever and always, Niall, remember?” she answered, sounding a little tearful herself. She squeezed me tighter. “Forever and always.”
“Now that’s more like it,” Harry commented from behind us with a mouth full of donut.
That was my donut.