Departures- Chapter 7
Cher's POV:
Two weeks have gone by since Ariel almost left us. She's been quite stable. Her heart rate has stayed constant, and we've been rotating on staying overnight. Eleanor talked to her boss on what was going on, and he gladly accepted to give her every Thursday off. Dani gets every Wednesday off and Scarlet gets every Monday off along with the lads. I get Tuesday's off with Perrie. So pretty much our schedule is like this:
Monday nights: Mary, Perrie, and I
Tuesday nights: Mary, Dani, and Niall
Wednesday nights: Mary, Eleanor, and Louis
Thursday nights: Mary, Perrie, and Zayn
Friday nights: Scarlet, Harry, and Niall
Saturday nights: Liam, Louis, and Zayn
Sunday nights: Harry, Dani, Liam, and I
The schedule worked perfectly except the only unfair part was that Mary gets Ariel four nights straight. The lads sacrificed their sleeping during the week and they claimed they could make it through rehearsals without sleeping... Yeah that didn't go so well... Let's just say that they had to work a lot harder in order to not rehearse while on tour. Speaking about their tour, they actually start tomorrow. The lads and Scarlet head off on the tour bus to the O2 arena around six in the morning. The lads will have a quick rehearsal with their opening act, 5 Seconds of Summer, and relax for the rest of the day until the concert. Well, at least they will try to relax. We are all on edge making sure Ariel doesn't die on us again. One more time... That's all she has. She only had one more chance to be revived. I truly hope nothing happens while the lads and Scarlet are gone.
Since we will have six less people helping us, we've decided to ask three other people for help. We asked Ariel's parents and Logan. We haven't heard about Logan for awhile, but we did talk to him while Ariel was kidnapped. He was extremely worried to say the least. Luckily, Logan should be here the day after tomorrow. He somehow got a month off of filming in order to help us. Ariel's parents when they heard of our situation, they immediately said yes. So we decided to make the following schedule while our six friends were gone:
Monday nights: Mary, Perrie, and I
Tuesday nights: Logan, Dani, and Queen Cassidy
Wednesday nights: Mary, Eleanor, and King Thomas
Thursday nights: Mary, Perrie, and Logan
Friday nights: Logan, Eleanor, and I
Saturday nights: Mary, Dani, and Queen Cassidy
Sunday nights: Logan, King Thomas, and I
Even though they aren't helping much, at least they are trying. We completely understand that they can't because they do have Baby Alexander to look after. I've also helped them out by playing a lot with Baby Alexander. Harry helped this week as well, and let's just say that Baby Alexander loves us both. He squeals whenever he sees us. It's sad though that he won't see Harry right now until they have a couple of days off again. I'll continue visiting him though. I want to distract him from Ariel. I need to prepare him for the worst that can happen.
I turned to look at everyone in Ariel's hospital room. We were talking quietly and every once in awhile Lou would say something to make us laugh. How were we going to do it once they left tomorrow? Visiting hours were almost over, and we still didn't know who was going to stay tonight. Normally it would be Scarlet, Harry, and Niall, but now I think I'm going to volunteer. I knew we were all thinking the same thing because we kept looking at the clock every five minutes. I decided to break the ice, and spoke up. "So, who's staying tonight? I don't mind staying. I don't care if I look like a zombie tomorrow during my magazine interview."
"Aren't we supposed stay tonight?" Niall asked and he furrowed his eyebrows.
"Well yeah, but think about it. You leave tomorrow at six in the morning. Might as well let one of us," Perrie said signaling to the girls, "stay overnight. You guys need to be pumped for tomorrow's concert at the O2. I don't mind staying either. I mean, it's just another magazine interview as well."
"No. It's fine. We'll stay," Harry said looking at us.
"I will stay too. Dance rehearsals got cancelled for tomorrow. Our choreographer got sick," Dani said raising her hand.
"Girls, it's fine. We will stay," Scarlet said sounding annoyed.
"No you're not. You guys need to relax. You won't be staying and that's final," Eleanor said glaring at the lads and Scarlet. They sighed but didn't protest anymore.
"So it's settled then. Cher, Dani, and Perrie you're staying tonight. In that case, you need to start saying goodbye to them now," Mary said frowning slightly. I frowned and looked at them. Perrie and Dani had the same expressions I had. I mean, they have to say goodbye to their boyfriends. They'll be back maybe next week, but it's still quite hard. I stood up and embraced the first person I saw. That person was Liam.
"Bye, Liam. I'll see you soon, ok? Please be careful," I said while hugging him tightly.
He chuckled and said, "Bye Cher. I'm always careful, but I promise we will be careful. I need to keep a closer eye on those guys since we also have the four boys from 5 Seconds of Summer to look after."
He pulled away and went to hug Perrie. Next up was Zayn. I hugged him as well and said, "Bye, Zayn. Make people jealous for me with that blonde streak in your hair. But seriously, be careful."
He chuckled as well and said, "Bye. We'll be careful. Don't worry. We've learned a lot right now through Ariel's experience. I'm not saying she wasn't careful, but we will always have security with us now. Oh, and blame Ariel for the blonde streak. Love the streak, but I’m still kind of jealous that she still pulled off the prank."
I giggled and pulled away from the hug. "Well she was the pranking Queen from our school. Now, go. Go say bye to Perrie."
He nodded and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before moving on. "Cher! I'm going to miss your sassiness and flexible side. I still can't believe you beat us in a game of Twister. You weren't kidding when you said that you and Ariel were competitive," Louis said embracing me in a tight hug.
"Lou! Can't. Breathe," I said while pushing the lad off me. "And, I told you that we would win. Never underestimate our power. Behave when you're gone. Don't make poor Liam pull out the little hair he can since he has a buzz cut. Be really careful please."
I gave him a stern look, and. Louis merely chuckled before walking off to finish saying bye to the rest of the girls. "Bye, Niall," I said while giving him a small smile and a hug. "Take care. Don't eat everything because the lads also need to eat. Go make the fangirls scream, and make me proud. Make Ariel proud most importantly. Go win Mary's heart as well."
I whispered the last part to him, and smirked. I saw Niall blush before he quickly said bye and kissed me on the cheek quickly. He walked up to Mary and hugged her tightly. I saw her blush, but eventually give in to the hug. Ah I'm going to miss these goofballs. "Hey, Harry," I said smiling up to the curly lad.
He smiled back and said, "Hello there."
"I promise to keep you lads updated. Even if it is to just tell you when the nurse came in to change Ariel's food bag. You will be the first to know if anything happens." I tried to keep a smile, but it faltered. What if she died while they're gone? The lads will be devastated along with Scarlet. I shook those thoughts out of my head. She will make it. She's stronger than that. I felt him tightly embrace me, and I hugged back. I let a few tears slip out as I hugged him tighter.
"She will be fine, Cher. Just you wait. Soon my Ary and your Mermaid will be awake and laughing along with is as if nothing happened. This experience has taught me two things. One, always have plenty of security at hand. Two, never delay whatever you have to say to someone. Always tell that person that you love them no matter the consequence. I promise I will help keep Louis in line."
I giggled and said, "I know she'll be fine, but I still can't stand seeing her there. I can't stand seeing her in bed looking lifeless. But we have to keep our group New Year’s resolution. Yes you're a part of it even though you weren't with us. We can't give up on one another, and we need to keep each other safe and alive. Please be very careful out there, Harry."
He pulled away and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek as well. "I promise," he said while walking off to say bye to everyone else.
I turned to the last person remaining and I smiled at her. "I'm really going to miss having a tomboy with us. You are funny and exciting to be around. I'm going to miss you, Scarlet. Keep all of them lads safe. Even if it means that you need to lock them up in a box."
Scarlet laughed and hugged me. "Don't tempt me."
We giggled at her response. She sighed and said, "I promise you that we will be fine. I'm going to miss seeing your rock style. I think I'm going to convince Lou and their stylists to give them a rock edge at some point while on tour. I'll see ya soon, Cher. Please keep me updated."
That was the last thing she said before walking off. I sighed and looked at Ariel. The lads and Scarlet were giving her quick kisses on her cheek as they each left to stand by the door. I saw Harry kiss her cheek and whisper something in his ear. He pulled back and smiled at her. He quickly kissed her again before he walked off. I saw a tear roll down her face, but that was the only reaction we got from her. Maybe she can hear that the lads were leaving. As everyone but Perrie, Dani, and I were leaving the room for the night, I heard two people run back. "Hold up! We forgot something," Louis said breathless.
I quirked an eyebrow and he just chuckled. Louis and Liam walked up to me. Louis gave me a quick kiss on my left cheek while Liam got my right. "Alright now we can go. Take care girls! Let's go, Lou. They're going to ditch us," Liam said pulling Lou out by the neck of his shirt.
We giggled once they left and I said aloud, "Cheeky bastards. They're going to be our death."
The girls roared into laugher, but after awhile we sobered up. I decided to take the first shift from seven all the way to midnight. Dani will take over from midnight to five, and then Perrie will take over from five to nine. The girls got comfy on the two sofas in the room, and they tried to get some sleep. I got lost in my thoughts the whole time. Every time I heard a small movement, I snapped my attention to look at Ariel. I always hoped it was her, but it was Dani, Perrie, or a nurse outside. I grabbed Ariel's hand and said, "Mermaid, what did she do to you?"
The Doctor Hopper removed her bandages around her arms a week after she arrived in the hospital. The scratches she had on her arms were now healed, and there were no scars. Well, the only scars she did have were the ones she did a two of years back. They didn't look brand new, but her arms now looked normal. Her legs are in casts, and we weren't allowed to see them. I'm quite glad to be honest. I'm sure we were saved from a gruesome sight. The bandage that protected her head wound was removed, but there was still gauze covering her wound. Doctor Hopper wanted to make sure that her wound has healed fully before removing it. She's slowly recovering, and we are all happy. Sure she will always be scarred from this experience, but at least these are small signs that she's alive.
I heard Dani's alarm go off. She groaned and quickly stood up. She walked up to me and said, "My turn. Go get some sleep, Cher. You're going to need it."
I nodded, but I kissed Ariel's cheek. "Goodnight, Mermaid. See you in the morning," I whispered quietly.
I saw Dani smiling from my old spot by Ariel's bed. I smiled back at her, and pulled up the hospital blanket. I laid my head on the sofa cushion, and fell asleep soon after.
Ariel's POV:
I woke up with a start, but I saw darkness everywhere. I saw a faint white light across my room, and I heard someone saying my name. It sounds like... "Brat?" I said aloud in the empty darkness.
To be honest, the darkness was making my skin crawl, so I stood up and walked over to the light. I hesitated before going in. What if this means I'm dying? I don't want to cross if that’s the case. Maybe this is the light that leads to heaven... Oh well. Guess I'll just risk it. I walked into the light, and immediately I was wearing a light green sundress with white polka dots as a design. It was paired up with light green converse. My wavy hair was pulled out of my face by a light green ribbon, and I had no makeup. How did I know? Well my face felt bare. I touched my jewelry, but I had none. I threw my hands up in frustration, and I heard something jingle from my left wrist. What in the name of...? I looked and saw the charm bracelet that Brat gave me. Strange... I continued walking through the bright light until it blinded me; I covered my eyes with my arms. I didn't remove my arms from my face until I felt a small breeze. I looked around and I saw that I was at a beach. This looks very familiar... This is the same beach I came with Brat awhile ago! I walked across the sand until I got to a log. On the log, I saw Brat. She was sitting on it while looking out to the ocean. She didn't hear me coming. She was wearing a baby pink sundress with white flowers. She had very minimal makeup, and paired up her outfit with white sandals. Her hair was pulled back into a pony tail. Can she hear me?
"Oh, Mermaid. When will you wake up? I miss you," Brat said wiping tears off her cheeks.
"Brat?" I said aloud and stared at her.
"Oh gosh. Now I'm hearing things... Great, Cher. You really are crazy," Brat said placing her face in her hands and groaning. I giggled loudly, and I saw Brat jump up. She looked around the entire beach until she finally noticed me. "Mermaid?"
Her eyes widened, and I saw tears gather. I flashed a cheeky smile and said, "It is I! Princess Ariel! Ruler of Narnia, Camp Half-Blood, Panem, Hogwarts, Asgard, and the Shire! Also friend to five idiots known as One Direction, and six crazy girls by the names of Cher Lloyd, Danielle Peazer, Eleanor Calder, Perrie Edwards, Mary Lancaster, and Scarlet Winters. I'm also an international Popstar/Rockstar and go by the name of Rockin' Ariel."
I winked at her, and she giggled. "That's the goofy girl I know!"
She ran up to me and tackled me to the sand. She hugged me tightly and wouldn't let me go. "Ok, now that we've established that I'm here, what's wrong Brat?"
She sighed and pulled out of the hug. She stood up and sat on the log. She patted it and invited me to sit by her. I stood up and brushed off any sand. I sat her to her, and she looked back to the ocean. "It's just..."
"Just what, Brat? Come one. You can tell me anything."
"It's weird to talk to you when I know none of this is real."
"Who said it isn't real?" I asked while quirking an eyebrow.
"Mermaid, I know that I will wake up in the morning and discover that you are still lying on that hospital bed. You will be lifeless, and haven't moved a muscle. I know this will all be a dream. This is all taking place in my head."
"Brat, this is as real as my love towards Harry. Just because it's happening in your head it doesn't mean it's not real. Look, let me prove it. Hold out your hand." She stared at me as if I was crazy, nothing new there, but held her hand out. I grabbed it in mine, and pinched it hard.
"Oi! What was that for?" Brat said rubbing the back of her hand.
"Now you know all this is real," I said flashing another cheeky smile.
"Ugh! Fine you win."
"But going back to what you said... Brat, I don't know how much longer I'm going to be in a comma. I do know that I'm fighting to wake up. Every passing day I fight in order to wake up. I want to be by your guys' side and laugh over this experience. I can't tell you if my body will be strong enough to last how much time it takes me to wake up, but I will tell you this. Don't lose hope. Don't stop smiling and laughing if I do die. Please keep everyone together if anything happens. I love you so much, Brat."
Tears fell from her eyes, and she hugged me tight again. "Can you answer me one thing?"
I smiled broadly at her, and we sang aloud, "You've got that one thing!"
"I should really watch what I say," Brat said dying of laughter with me.
"You should," I said in between giggles. "Anyways, what's your question?"
"Why are we wearing dresses? I mean I don't mind, but I feel like a little girl again."
"Dunno. You're the one that's dreaming this." She shoved me, but laughed.
Time to go, Ariel, the same voice I heard in the hospital say. I stood up, and looked at Brat.
"I've got to go," I said softly. I saw her face fall, and she quickly stood up.
"I can't stop you from leaving, so I'll just say this. I love you, Mermaid. Please return soon." I hugged her tightly.
"I love you too, Brat. I promise you will see improvement soon." She nodded and walked back the log. I waved bye, and slowly made my way back towards the bright light. I turned around one last time, and I saw Brat waving. She had tears streaming down her face, but she still kept a bright smile. I waved back and stepped into the bright light. Again I was blinded by the light, and I had to block out the light. A strong wing hit me, and I felt something replace my old outfit. As soon as the wind was over, I removed my arms from my face and I saw the Harry Potter charm bracelet on my right hand. I looked to my left hand in hopes of seeing Cher's charm bracelet, but it was gone. I looked up and found myself face to face with a mirror. I jumped because it startled me, but I examined my outfit. I was wearing a white Harry Potter t-shirt with black leather jeans and white converse. My hair was in a Katniss style braid, and I had my usual makeup. I started to examine my surroundings, and I saw I was standing in an empty corridor.
"Strange," I said under my breath. I saw a sign that lead me to a stage, and I decided to follow it. Eventually I made it, and I found myself on the same stage where I first met the lads. Why am I here? "Ello? Is anyone in here?"
I heard rustling and mumbling. "I'm hearing things again," someone said from across the stage.
I looked at them, and I felt myself freeze. That voice... Those mop of curls... It's Harry. I walked up to him, and said softly while running my hand through his curls, "Haz."
He froze and said, "It couldn't be. No..."
He stood up fast from the ground and turned. His eyes widened, and he slowly stretched out a hand. He stroked my cheek, and I smiled up to him. "Ary..."
He whispered my name as if he couldn't believe it was me. He then hugged me tightly, and I wrapped my arms around him. I buried my face in his chest as he buried his in my neck. He pulled me up, and I wrapped my legs around him. I managed to bury my face in his neck while he buried his in mine again. He spun us around, and I giggled madly. "Haz, put me down! You're going to drop me," I said while squealing lightly and wrapping my arms round his neck so I wouldn't fall.
"Nope! I haven't hugged you, or seen you, or heard you, in forever. I'm not about to let go of you. If I do, I'll lose you again. I don't want to," he said softly.
"Can you at least sit down so we won't fall," I said while giving him my puppy dog eyes.
"Fine," he said while playfully groaning. He sat down, but kept me on his lap. His arms were around my waist and my legs were stretched forward. He had his chin on my head, and had me pulled tightly to his chest. I had my arms around him as well. I don't want to move from this position. "Is this real?"
"If you believe it is, then it is. I'm really here with you in this dream," I said while sighing and enjoying my position very much. I missed him holding me like this. I feel complete whenever he holds me like this.
"I'm glad this is real then," he said pulling me closer. "I need to tell you something though."
I pulled away and looked up at him. "Go ahead."
I still kept my arms around him, but I pulled back enough so I would look up at him. He sighed and said, "Officer Banks, the officer in charge of your disappearance and finding Amelia, told us that Joseph is in Bristol."
"I know he is. I told Daddy to stay hidden while I got help the day you guys found me."
"No, you don't understand. He's been found. It's just that..."
"Just what, Haz? Spit it out."
He closed his eyes and sighed. "He's in the hospital in Bristol."
"W-what?! What happened?" I tried not to panic, but it was impossible. I thought he was fine?
"The doctors there informed him that Joseph was in critical condition just like you. They said that the damage that he received from the beatings actually damaged a couple of internal organs. He's in a comma. They think he won't wake up." I froze and let the information sink in.
"Daddy," I whispered aloud while I let my arms fall to my sides limply. "Thank you for telling me. I... It's not like I can do anything either. None of us can. It's just a matter of waiting."
"Speaking of waiting, when are you coming back to us?" I wrapped my arms around him again and leaned back into his chest.
"I don't know. I'm fighting hard. Every day I'm fighting to wake up. I'm not giving up. It's just a matter of my body cooperating with me. I need myself to last until I manage to wake up fully. You'll have news soon. I know I've been gone for about six weeks now, but I need you guys to have hope. I'll be back soon. I promise. Please have patience."
He sighed heavily and pulled me closer. "I miss having you this close. When you wake up, and you're better, I'm going to hug you every second of the day. I'm never letting you go again. I love you too much to lose you, Ary."
Ariel, time to go, the same voice told me. It sounds so familiar. Very familiar, but I just can't pinpoint the person that owns that voice.
"I love you too, Haz. I'll see you soon. I promise. You better hold me tight once I return. I can't wait to be in your arms again. I have to go now, though. I'm sorry," I said pulling away from Haz.
"No! Ary, stay here. Please," Haz said standing up quickly in front of me.
"I'll always be here," I said placing my hands over his heart. "If you ever need me, look for me in there. See you soon. If I don't make it out, I need you to remain strong. Please."
"Ary, please don't do this to me. Don't leave again."
"Haz, I'm still fighting to stay alive, but I just need to tell you this just in case I don't make it. Please don't linger on me. Move on and find love. Find someone else that will love you for who you are. You need to move on."
Haz shook his head and said, "I won't. I'll never move on. I'll always love you."
I felt a lump rise in my throat. I can't let him torture himself. I don't know if I'll make it out, but that's why I need him to move on. If I don't, I need him to be happy. Instead of answering him, I started to sing softly the song I sent him on the portrait. I didn't have Star, but I still had my voice. I cleared my voice and started to sing.
In Another Life
I have known you my whole life
When you were ten, you said you'd make me your wife
Eight years later you won me over
Just as I took the world on my shoulders
I got used to living without you
Endless phone calls and dreaming about you
Always said that you were my man to be
But I guess I was in love with your memory
You know I love you, I really do
But I can't fight anymore for you
And I don't know, maybe we'll be together again
Sometime, in another life
In another life
I know I said that I would keep my word
I wished that I could save you from the hurt
But things will never go back to how we were
I'm sorry I can't be your world
You know I love you, I really do
But I can't fight anymore for you
And I don't know, maybe we'll be together again
Sometime, in another life
In another life, another life
The way you're holding on to me
Makes me feel like I can't breathe
Just let me go, just let me go
It just won't feel right inside
God knows I've tried
You know I love you, you know I do
But I can't fight anymore for you
And I don't know, maybe we'll be together again
Sometime, in another life
In another life, in another life
In another life...
I held his hands, and stood up on my tippy toes. I placed a small kiss on his cheek. I saw him frown at first, but then he smiled broadly with his dimples showing. I poked them and giggled. He swiftly picked me up and gave me a quick peck on the lips. "I'll see you soon. You should know that I won't move on. I'll always wait for you. I'll wait for you forever. You better start wearing your nerdy t-shirts again once you wake up. You look great in them," Haz said placing me on my feet.
"Maybe I should," I said winking. I walked off to the edge of the stage, and looked down. The bright light was down there. All I need to do is jump. I turned and blew him one last kiss. He pretended to catch it, and placed it in his pocket.
"I'll save that for later," Haz said winking and I blushed.
"Bye. Please move on, Haz," I said while smiling softly. He waved, and I jumped down. I started falling, and I closed my eyes. Eventually I fell on something soft. It felt like grass. I opened my eyes, and sure enough it was grass. Where am I now? I stood up from the grass, and dusted myself off. My outfit didn't change anymore, and thank Zeus, so I was still in my Harry Potter outfit. I found myself looking at a sort of forest... Where am I?
"Welcome, Ariel. It's been awhile since I've last seen you," the same voice said.
I turned around, and I almost fainted at who I saw. "Sweet mother of Hermione Granger. Is it really you?"
Harry's POV:
I sat up in my bed and looked at my surroundings. I was still in my bedroom. I sighed and looked at the time. It's five in the morning. It's too early to be up, but I need to get ready. Paul will be here with the lads and Scarlet at six since we needed to get to the tour bus. Scarlet had to travel with our staff, but we managed to convince management to let her travel with us. She is our friend after all.
I threw the covers off me, and got out of bed. I quickly made my bed and went to my dresser to grab my last t-shirt, seeing that I packed the rest earlier this week. I pulled off my long sleeved pajama shirt and pulled on my Ramones t-shirt. I pulled off my pajama bottoms and grabbed my black skinny jeans from my bedside table. I pulled on my white converse, and went to the loo. I brushed my teeth, and since I was too lazy to fix my curls, I just slipped on my gray beanie. I walked down the short corridor to get to my kitchen, and filled my tea kettle with enough water for just one cup of tea. I went back out the kitchen and went into the living room. I saw my suitcases by my flat door. I pulled out my phone from my pocket and saw I had a text from Liam:
From: Liam
Harry you better be up by now! We should be there in 20. Zayn wouldn't wake up.
I snorted and just sent him a quick "ok." I heard my tea kettle, and I walked back into the kitchen. I turned off the kettle on the stove and pulled out a mug. I grabbed my favorite tea flavor and the milk. As I prepared my tea, I couldn't help but think back to my dream. Was it a dream? If it wasn't, then I have no idea what to call it. I shook my head, and placed the milk back in the fridge. I sat on my island, and lost myself in thought again while sipping on my tea.
I knew for a fact that it was no ordinary dream. For crying out loud, I was hugging and kissed Ary. I know it had to have been real. She told me that I should move on if she dies. When will she learn that I never will? Her words still swirled in my mind. I'm happy that she's fighting for her life, but I'm worried that she won't make it. I'm not saying that she's not strong, but I've noticed abnormal heart beats from Ary. I told the nurse, and she told me that it would be normal right now because of the bullet that landed near her heart. I still don't think it's normal. If anything happens to her that involves her heart, I know that my suspicions will be correct. I won't let her go that easily. The song still rang perfectly in my ears as well. I can't have her in another life. I need her in this life. I will never be complete if she dies. I will never be able to smile properly. She's the reason as to why I live. She's my everything, and I know her fanbase will be torn apart if she leaves them. She needs to stay alive for her fans.
A knock interrupted my thoughts. I quickly drank the last gulp of my tea, and walked to the door of my flat. There stood Paul with the four lads and Scarlet. "Are you ready, Harry?" Paul asked me.
"Yeah, but hold up." I swiftly returned to the kitchen and washed my cup. I know I'll be too lazy to do that when we come back next week. I quickly returned, and I saw Paul grab my heaviest suitcase. I grabbed my other two suitcases and shot the lads and Scarlet a smile. They returned it, but I saw something was bothering Scarlet. I decided not to question her about it until we were in the safety of the tour bus.
It took us fifteen minutes to arrive at our tour bus, and I couldn't have been happier. I saw that the tour bus for 5 Seconds of Summer was there as well. We decided to take our luggage up on the bus before we stopped by and said hi to the 5 Seconds of Summer boys. We claimed our beds and it went something like this:
Left:
Scarlet
Niall
Zayn
Right:
Liam
Louis
Me
Scarlet said she wanted to sleep on top because she knew no one would bother her if she did. She said she was safer on top just in case Lou wanted to prank her. Why? Because then he'd have to make noise to climb, and from what we've heard, she's a light sleeper. In other words, she doesn't trust any of us besides Liam and Niall. She's a smart girl too. I mean, I'm not saying that I'm a troublemaker, nor Zayn, but we are a lot more mischievous than Niall and Liam. "Hazza, let's go meet our opening act," Niall said clapping my back and startling me.
How long did I zone out for? "Alright. Let me just set up my suitcases here then," I said while pulling my suitcases by my bunk. I noticed everyone was outside waiting for me, so I went out. We walked towards their tour bus and knocked. No one answered.
"Maybe they're not here yet," Zayn said looking at the lit up windows.
"That's impossible. I made sure that we would arrive after them. I even convinced management to let us come at six in the morning instead of eight. I wanted to be here as soon they were," Lou said not realizing what he said.
"You what?!" Scarlet said rounding on him and pocking him on the chest with her finger as she lectured him.
"You made all of us get up at five in the morning just because you wanted to meet your opening act as soon as possible?! You made me wake up earlier than I needed to, and I could've had four hours of sleep instead of two?! Louis Tomlinson you are a dead man," Scarlet said, and she he him cornered against their tour bus.
"I-I-I-," Louis said stuttering, but he couldn't finish his sentence because someone interrupted them.
"Sorry we're late! Michael over slept," a boy with black hair and tan skin spoke up.
"It's alright, mate. At least you're here," Liam said sending him a sincere smile. "We're-."
"Oh we know who you are," the same boy said waving the introductions away. "You're One Direction. I'm Calum Hood."
"I'm Luke Hemmings," a lad with blonde hair and blue eyes spoke up from beside Calum.
"I'm Ashton Irwin," another lad with hazel eyes spoke up once he walked up to us dragging his suitcases. "Oh, and thanks for helping us back there, guys."
He turned to Calum and Luke at the last statement. Calum shrugged shamelessly while Luke went back to their van to help gather the last of the suitcases. "And he's Michael Clifford," Calum said directing to the lad that was walking up to us.
Michael had blonde hair just like Ashton and Luke, but he had green eyes. They were sort of lighter than mine, though. We were all smiling at them while they introduced themselves. "So you're the one that made them late," I said directing my gaze to Michael.
He smacked Calum's arm and said, "I told you not to say anything! Next time, you're getting your own luggage out of the van."
We chuckled while Calum complained. "I saw your YouTube videos before tour started. You lads are amazing," Niall said while smiling at them.
"You lads are Australians, right?" Scarlet said speaking up for once.
"Yes. I'm guessing you are not British. I can tell your accent isn’t as strong as theirs," Ashton said while directing his attention towards Scarlet.
"Nope! I'm America. Just moved here about two years ago to study. Haven't been to America since." Scarlet tried to leave the uneasiness out of her tone, but it's evident that there's more behind her story as to why she's here. "Oh, I'm Scarlet by the way. Scarlet Winters. These idiots, also known as One Direction, are Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, and Harry Styles."
She said our names in the order we were in, and just waved when our names were said. "Nice to meet you lads," I said shaking their hands.
"Finally nice to meet our opening act! I hope you lads don't get too annoyed by us by the end of tour," Zayn said with an amused smile.
"Us get annoyed? I think we're more worried about you guys getting annoyed of us," Luke said grinning.
"Do any of you lads play the guitar?" Niall asked while grinning at them as well.
"We all do, actually. Ashton here prefers to be on the drums though," Michael said pointing to Ashton. We talked for a couple of more minutes until Paul called us back to our tour bus. Good thing he did because I'm sure Luke, Michael, Ashton, and Calum were freezing out here. We ran back to the tour bus and we made it back fast. I would've said safely, but Scarlet slipped on ice and crashed down onto Louis.
We just heard Lou yell as he fell, "I'm too young to die!"
Niall slipped as well, but only because he started laughing at the accident. Liam, Zayn, and I also laughed, but we managed to not slip because we held onto the side of the bus. Eventually, we helped them up, and I heard the 5SOS lads laughing. I looked up, and I saw Calum pointing at our mini accident while the rest of them were inside their tour bus, but their laughs were heard as well. Once we made it back into the bus, Scarlet tackled Louis down.
She hissed into his ear, "Next time you make us wake up early for no reason, you're dead."
She glared at him and walked off to the bunks. We heard two loud thumps and a curtain closing. I think she's going to rest. "Looks like we've got another Ariel with us," Zayn said while smiling.
I felt my heart ache when he mentioned her. I remembered a couple of old memories of when she had to wake up early while we were on tour, and I couldn't help but let a tear slip down my face. I'm going to miss hearing her complain. "I'm going to take a quick nap until we reach the O2 arena," I muttered to them as I quickly left.
"You idiot!" I heard Louis scold Zayn softly. A loud smack was heard, and Zayn complained. I pulled back my curtain and threw my shoes off. I saw Scarlet's on the floor, and I guessed that the loud thumps that were heard a couple of moments before were of her shoes. I pulled back my curtain and pulled the covers over me.
"Harry, mate?" Liam questioned outside my curtain. I didn't say anything. I pretended to be asleep, and I heard Liam open my curtain. He must've bought it because he sighed and closed it again. "He's asleep, lads."
"I guess he was just as tired and Scar. What kept them up though?" I heard Niall question.
"The same thing that keeps us up sometimes. We are all worried over Ariel," Zayn said quietly. I heard them all sigh, but they changed the topic to the latest football match. I zoned out and went back to thinking about my dream. I miss seeing her with her nerdy t-shirts. It's been ages since she last wore one. She rarely wore them on tour. She said that she didn't want to get teased about them from our fans. We tried to assure her that they wouldn't, but even we knew that wasn't true. Our fans aren't insensitive, but if the haters found out that her nerdy side is a lot bigger than what she already portrayed, then they would use it against her. The last time she wore a t-shirt was during one of our many lazy days and we were just watching movies all day. I remember the way she would always throw her head back and laugh. I find it completely adorable. That's how I knew when her laughs weren't forced. She would also get a twinkle in her eyes whenever she laughed. The same thing applies when she giggles. She has the same twinkle in her eyes. I love it whenever her hair is left naturally wavy. It shows her old side, and I quite miss it. Her wavy hair shows innocence, and I love that. It shows her childish side. Everything about her is perfect even though she may not believe it. I didn't realize I fell asleep until I felt someone shaking me.
"Hazza, mate. We're here. Come on," Louis said. I groaned and dragged myself out of bed. I saw Liam waking up Scarlet, and I chuckled.
"They didn't let you wake her up?" I asked while directing my question to Lou.
"No, and I'm not complaining either. I want to survive the rest of this tour." I saw fear fill his eyes, and I just chuckled. Scarlet is amazing, but she has a short temper. Push her to her limit and she will hurt you. Once Liam got her to wake up, she groggily got out and climbed down the small ladder to pull on her shoes and grab her camera.
Four hours later we were done with our last minute rehearsals and sound check. Scarlet had drunk a coffee during that time, so she was now wide awake. She took pictures of us as we practiced, and took some of the 5SOS lads. Eventually we were told that we had the rest of the day off to relax, but to be back in the stadium by six. Why? Well we still had to go through wardrobe check and Lou had to style our hair. It was now noon, so that means it took us an hour to get to the O2 stadium. I heard it was because they were making sure everything was working properly before we left. You would think they would do that beforehand. We were currently just sitting on the stage doing nothing. We had lunch being delivered at the moment, so our pizza should be here in at least half an hour. "I'm going to check up on the girls," Scarlet said while getting up and dusting off her white skinny jeans.
She straightened out her black Skyrim t-shirt, and hopped off the stage. Her gray hightops tripped her slightly, but she regained her balance. She fixed her gray beanie and turned to glare at us. She was daring us to laugh at her little accident. We stifled our laughter in order to remain alive. She nodded her head as if satisfied, and pulled out her mobile phone. She walked away with her long red hair swaying behind her. "Tell us how she's doing," Liam called after her.
"Tell us how who's doing?" Calum asked confused.
"You don't know?" Louis asked while quirking an eyebrow.
"Nope. There could be a lot of people you guys are talking about," Ashton said from his drum set. He walked towards us and sat in the deformed circle we formed.
"Our friend, Ariel. You lads really don't know who we're talking about?" Zayn asked them sounding extremely curious.
"Ariel? Ariel as in Rockin' Ariel?" Michael asked.
"Yeah. She's also the Princess of England," I said quietly while avoiding eye contact.
"Oh yeah. That's right. What happened to her? Last we checked she was kidnapped, right?" Luke said while eyeing us
"Um... She's in a comma," Niall said quietly. Our mood soon dropped. I know she told me that she would be fine, but even she wasn't certain if she was going to live. I could tell that she did, but at the same time it's as if she knew she couldn't. I heard someone getting slapped, and they groaned.
"See what you did, Calum?!" Michael said glaring at him.
"First thing, ow! Second thing, how was I supposed to know it was the same Ariel?! Plus it's not like we've been connected much to the pop world," Calum responded while glaring at Michael.
"Guys! Quit arguing. How about we all do something fun to get you minds off of her? I mean not that it's a bad thing, but we need you guys happy later," Luke said turning to us.
"Plus we don't want your fangirls killing us. They're already vicious enough," Ashton said while nervously chuckling. The lads and I laughed loudly, but agreed. We got up to leave back to the tour bus, and Scarlet approached us while smiling slightly.
"She's fine. Nothing's happened. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing though," Scarlet said while frowning a bit.
"She's still alive, so that's a bright side. Come on," Zayn said gesturing with his head that we were going out to the tour buses. We told security we were going to be in the 5SOS tour bus so that way they knew where to take our pizza. Needless to say, we enjoyed the afternoon playing video games.
Niall's POV:
We were backstage after our concert. The audience was amazing! They cheered and clapped and jumped around to the music. Last time we saw an audience this pumped was at our Madison Square Garden concert. I definitely missed seeing our girls go crazy for us. They sang along to every song, and even the Twitter session was funny. They seemed to enjoy the random things we did onstage. They loved our opening act as well. They kept clapping and cheering for the lads. We had to introduce them to the audience during our Twitter session because the fans seemed highly interested in who they were. Even though we were smiling and laughing onstage, I noticed we were all missing the same thing. We were missing Ariel. Poor Harry got hit the hardest. He kept looking backstage during our short breaks hoping to see her. I have to admit it, so was I. We all were. I guess we just wanted to think that everything was just a bad nightmare and she'd be here next to Paul watching our show. I'm sure our fans noticed because I heard some of them yell "She'll be back soon!" That seemed to brighten our moods a bit because she has finally been fully accepted into our fandom. It's evident that every fan loves her.
The emos, as Harry started to call the 5SOS lads, were in the front row during the first concert, and they seemed to love it as well. They were in a roped off area, but that didn't seem to stop their excitement. They really enjoyed everything we did. They laughed at our idiotic jokes and moves, and they seemed to enjoy the strange questions we got from our girls. All in all, we could say that the fans and the emos loved our show. I would include us, but I could tell we'd much rather be somewhere else instead of there. We did try to postpone our tour as well, but management said that it was too late to push it back. So technically, we were stuck starting our tour now.
I would say that we enjoyed our small video game session, and we did, but that didn't last for long. We started playing FIFA and Black OPS first, and they were entertaining like always. Scarlet even joined us in the Black OPS game, and let me just say, she's brilliant at it! We need to tell Josh. He's going to love his girlfriend even more after that. Where is she? Well if I'm not mistaken, she's in the musicians’ dressing room with him at the moment. But as I was saying, we did enjoy our gaming session. When we got to the last game, our happiness was deflated. We played Mario Kart. Playing the game didn't feel the same as when we played it with Ariel. She made it more fun because she would curse us into Tartarus every time we made her lose her first place position. No matter how many times we delayed her, she would always win though. We tried to remain our competitive selves with the emos, but it was hard. We still laughed and cursed each other, but it could tell it was forced. Nothing was natural.
We were all in our dressing room, and to be honest, we weren't happy anymore. I called Mary moments ago and she said that everything was fine. She told us that tonight Dani, Queen Cassidy, and she will be staying with Ariel. They decided to give Dani the first shift so she would sleep the rest of the night seeing that she stayed overnight last night as well. She told me how the nurse asked them if there was anything else we forgot to mention in Ariel's health record, but she didn't know what to answer. I don't think we forgot anything... I wonder why they asked. "It's not the same," Louis said voicing our thoughts.
The emos were in their dressing room, and by the sounds of it, they were having fun. "It's not," Zayn said sighing loudly.
"I miss her being on tour with us," I said while looking at them. A frown made its way across my face.
"So do I, mate. It feels weird not having her by us after a concert," Liam said. Harry hasn't said anything. It's like he's in his own little world.
"Harry, you alright there mate?" I questioned the curly haired boy.
He snapped his attention at me, and he realized that we were all looking at him. "Ye-no. I'm not alright," he said sighing and looking at the ground.
"What's wrong?" Liam asked growing concerned over our youngest member.
"I had a dream about Ariel last night," he said while avoiding eye contact.
Zayn looked confused and he asked, "How's that bad? That actually sounds like a good thing."
"The thing is, it wasn't a normal dream," he said while finally meeting our gazes.
"What do you mean, mate? Quit beating around the bush," Louis said focusing all of his attention to our band mate.
"She... She visited me via a dream. She told me that she's fighting to wake up, and that she needs me to move on if she does die... It's tearing me apart knowing that she also knows that it will take a miracle for her to come back, but she told me to tell everyone not to lose hope. She said she will be back with us one way or another." The room was silent. We didn't dare say a word. It sounded ridiculous at first, but I've heard that this has happened to other people. I decided to believe the lad. I looked at the others, and they seemed shocked. Slowly, they started to show reactions that they believed him. That's when I started thinking... What if the reason that Ariel can't wake up is because of something we left out in her medical records?
"Not to kill the mood further, but did you list everything in Ariel's medical history, Harry?" I asked while looking at him.
"No. I listed everything. At least I think I did. Why?"
"Mary told me that a nurse asked her and Dani earlier if we listed everything in her history. Because if you think about it, maybe whatever you forgot to list can be what's causing her to have a harder time waking up."
"What else could we have forgotten though? I thought she's only had..." Harry didn't finish his sentence. Instead, his face paled and he muttered something under his breath. My heart started to beat faster, and I knew the rest of the lads got worried as well.
"Harry, what did you forget?" Liam said in a trembling voice.
"Panic attacks... I forgot to list that she gets panic attacks," Harry whispered.
Ariel's POV:
She giggled and said, "Same old Ariel. I know you haven't changed. I've been watching over you."
I placed my hand over my mouth, and tears threatened to fall. "Penelope..."
"Hi Ariel," she said smiling softly. Is she real? I walked slowly up to her, and stretched my hand so I could touch hers. I felt solid fingers. I quickly let go and instead engulfed her in a huge and tight hug.
"Pen. I've missed you so much," I said sobbing into her yellow sundress.
She hugged me back equally as tight and cried silently as well. "I've missed you as well, Ariel. I can see you still use our best friend’s forever charm."
I pulled away slightly and looked down. I saw all my usual jewelry on. What caught my eye though was the charm. I smiled and said, "I do. I wear it every day. No one can replace you as my best friend forever."
She smiled brightly and pulled me in to another hug. "I've missed being by your side. It's not the same watching over you and not being able to talk to you unless you are about to break our promise."
"But I haven't broken it. I've kept it."
"I know you have, and that's why I'm so proud. You've finally learned that you need to trust friends with your problems. You can't handle everything on your own. I'm happy you even got that tattoo."
I pulled away from the hug and held her hands. "Thank you for everything, Pen. I could never thank you enough for how you've helped me return to my old self."
She smiled at me sadly and said, "But you're not yourself. You let hate torment you. You allow them to break you down. Ariel, that's not you. You were only yourself when you were with Cher before she left to the X Factor. In those two years, you finally managed to block out hate. I need you to do that again, but also be your usual dorky and nerdy self."
"Hey!" I said while playfully punching her shoulder.
She giggled and said, "It's true! Imagine a you that ignores hate and adores showing her nerdy side. You can show everyone that a princess isn't stuck up and boring. You need to show them that a princess can be nerdy and fangirl over her interests. Show them how the new and improved princess should behave. Show them that you can still rock your princess side by not belittling your Rockstar/Popstar side. Yes, I know everything about you."
"I promise to become that. I know I'll still be insecure a bit, but you're right. I need to show everyone the fucks I give about my image. I need to show them who I really am. But, one question. How do you know everything about me?"
"I became your guardian angel once I died. I wanted to look over you. I wanted to make sure that my BFF would never be truly alone."
"Wait, so all my fears and insecurities and all the times I cried myself to sleep-."
She gave me a sad smile and said, "I know them all. Trust me when I say that I will never use them against you. I love you too much to blackmail you."
"That didn't stop you in the past," I said giggling as I recalled the three times she's blackmailed me.
"I had to then! You threatened to embarrass me those times, so I knew that would prevent you." I playfully punched her shoulder again, and she grinned broadly. I decided to absorb her image. Her blonde hair flowed beautifully behind her, and her pale skin made her hazel eyes pop. Her yellow sundress and yellow sandals showed off her innocence further. She truly looked like her old self.
"You haven't changed," I told her while smiling.
"You have," she said giving me a sad smile. "But you had your reasons. Now you have new reasons to become your old self."
I nodded and decided to ask her something that has been on my mind since I got here, "Where are we?"
"We're in heaven, Ariel. We are in your ideal heaven." My heart stopped. Heaven? Does that mean... "No you're not dead. You're still in the in between stage."
"What do you mean by ideal heaven though? If I'm not dead then why am I here?"
"Well to answer your first question, there is ultimately one heaven. In that heaven there are sub-heavens. In other words, when you die you get to pick the heaven you want to live in. This heaven is your fangirl heaven. This is the heaven you share with everyone else that has the same interests as you. Scan the area and you will see for yourself."
I scanned the area, and I seemed to become giddy. I saw Hogwarts off to the east. The huge castle and Quidditch pitch was seen from here. Students were out on the lawn, while others were at the Quidditch pitch taking a spin on their broomsticks. Off to the west I saw a small camp. I saw teens with orange and purple t-shirts running around. Some were training with swords while over were just sitting outside their cabins. I even saw some fauns running around in the strawberry fields. That had to be Camp Half-Blood. I saw that there was a small island northwest (A/N: hahaha just realized the unintentional pun I did there. XD haha I don't mean Kim & Kanye's baby here ;D) of Camp Half-Blood. I wonder what that was. It was connected to the larger island via the bridge, and it was completely open to cross. Northeast of Hogwarts there was another bigger island that had a bridge connecting to the main island. At the bridge there seemed to be a sort of toll. I wonder why? "What's that over there?" I asked Pen signaling to the island that was by Camp Half-Blood.
"That's Panem. That's the heaven for anyone that wants to live in the world of the Hunger Games, but don't freak out on me. (A/N: SPOILER ALERT TO ANYONE WHO HAS NOT READ MOCKINGJAY!!!!!!!!!!!!) That Panem is post-war. That's the Panem that Katniss fights for by the end of the series."
"Wait, so it's completely peaceful?"
"Yes. There are neither uprisings nor riots. The reason being is because there isn't really a government. Everyone runs their own life, but obviously there are still specific rules set."
"What's that island over there then?" I asked pointing to the other island by Hogwarts.
She had a grim face. "That's the music fandom. It's still part of the fangirl/fanboy heaven, but many of the teens disapprove of those fandoms. That's why it's blocked by a toll. You have to have a good reason to visit. They designed it that way because in the past, everyone would pick on the teens that were in the music fandoms. They believed, and still do, that they don't have the right to belong to this island. It's quite sad. The teens in the music fandoms don't mind though. They said they are not going to change just because some uptight nerds don't approve of them. Let's just say that they just don't like each other."
"That's quite sad if you think about it. In my opinion, I think all fandoms should protect each other. It doesn't matter if they're different because in reality they aren't. They are actually quite similar because they all have a strong passion for something. Whether it's a book series or a musician, they are still passionate about it. I hope they see the light in this soon."
"Actually, it's died down a bit. I think within a couple of more years the toll will finally be removed. I think they are starting to realize what you pointed out."
"In this music fandoms island, what do they have?"
"They have everyone. They have a place for indie music all the way to heavy metal. Every music genre is in there, and it's quite funny. Everyone there gets along. Sometimes they do pick on one another, but it's more of a sibling bullying. It's completely healthy because they all know they are just kidding,"
"So they're united. I like that."
"We all do. That's why we think that the main island hates the music fandoms. I think they envy them."
"Not to sound rude, but why am I here? Shouldn't I be back in my room looking over my friends?"
"Actually you should be unconscious. But we decided to free your soul for the time being. We thought it'd be a good idea to keep you out of there so you could observe your friends. Also because I have some memories to show you."
"But I know all my memories."
"You're going to love these memories. After I show you the memories, I'm going to let you visit your Rockers here, and then you have something important to do." I was curious. What could be my important task?
"Ok, let's go then. Let's go relive those memories."
Pen smiled and said, "Let's go then."
I followed behind her as she led me down to Hogwarts. No one noticed us as we made our way through the castle. The castle was amazing. It's everything I hoped it would be. Every painting that J.K. Rowling mentioned is in here as well as all the paintings that appeared in the movies. Eventually Pen led me to an eagle statue, and I grinned. I guess we're going to the Headmaster's or Headmistress's office. She said the password, which happened to be "J.K. Rowling is our Queen." I know, shocking. *include eye roll*
Up in the office she went up to a cabinet and pulled out a sort of stone goblet. "A Pensive? How are we going to use that if I don't have a wand to remove my memories?"
Pen smiled at me again and said, "Don't need one. Just dip you head into the liquid-like substance and we will visit the specific memories I have in mind."
I did as told, and soon I felt myself being pulled into a small vortex. I closed my eyes and I didn't open them until I felt solid ground.
***
"Good morning boys and girls! My name is Ms. Chase. I will be your teacher for Year One. We'll be going around the room to know everyone's name. When you say your name, say something that you like to do and an interesting fact. We'll start on this side of the classroom and work our way to the right," Ms. Chase said. She was a beautiful woman. She was in her late twenties and had beautiful long blonde hair. She had blue eyes that would always twinkle with happiness whenever she spoke to any of us. She loved teaching Year One students. She was the perfect Year One teacher because she taught with so much passion and enthusiasm. She would even offer staying in during her lunch to help struggling students.
Pen and I were standing in the very back of the classroom. No one could see us, and yes it had to do with the fact that it was merely a memory. As every student said their name, I grew upset. Each one of those students are my past bullies. Even the very shy students picked on me. Little me was sitting at the very front of the classroom. I had my hair in two braids and I was wearing our school uniform. I was paying attention to everyone's name even though I didn't look back to each of them, but I did memorize their names. It's not like I needed to look at them anyways. The first thing I did as soon everyone was sitting down was scan the room. I memorized each corner and student. My photographic memory really came in handy. I noticed how little me was playing with her hands. She was nervous. I was nervous my first day of class. I noticed how I kept tensing up every time it got closer for me to say my name. I was so nervous that I didn't even hear when Harry introduced himself. Eventually it was me, and I gulped. I've never been fond of public speaking. I saw myself stand up and introduce myself. She turned to look at the class and spoke, "My name is Ariel Clearwater. I love to read in my free time and my mum got married this summer."
I saw her shoot the class a friendly smile and she sat down. Everything seemed to go perfectly well until the bell for break rang. "Remember to stand outside the door in a straight line before coming back in! We will be reviewing our numbers when you return," Ms. Chase spoke to us as we went outside.
Pen and I followed little me outside and we saw her sit on a bench and munch on a bag of cookies. I couldn't spot Harry anywhere. Just then someone approached her with two other girls. "Well here she is girls. She's the nerd in our class. What should we do?" Jazmin said turning to her other two friends.
She would've been pretty with her tan skin, black hair, and chocolate brown eyes if it wasn't for her rotten attitude. Her friends weren't any better. They were called Jessie and Jada. Jessie was a ginger. She had red hair, blue eyes, fair skin, and freckles specked along her face. Jada was half Middle Eastern and half British. She had natural blonde hair, hazel eyes, and tan skin. They were all pretty, but because they had rotten attitudes, it killed their beauty. "Your cookies look like they're good. How about you give them to us?" Jada said while smiling evilly.
"They're mine though," little me said while her eyes filled up with tears. I clutched onto my cookie bag for dear life. I wanted to walk up to them and punch them. I could, but no harm will be done. My hand will just go right through them.
"She said to give them to us," Jessie said snapping at her. They didn't even allow her to give them the cookies. Jazmin threw them onto the ground and stepped on them.
"Hey!" I heard a familiar voice call. I turned to see who it was, and it was little Harry. Little me was crying into her hands while sitting on the bench. "That's not nice! Tell her you're sorry."
Jazmin then sneered, "Why should we? She's just a little nerdy nerd. Let's go girls."
The girls walked away, and Harry ran up to little me. He hugged me and said, "There you are, Ariel. I was looking for you. Ignore them. I will always be your friend. Remember what I promised you at your mum's wedding? I promised you I would be your friend. Here, you can have my cookies."
He handed me his cookies, but I denied while I sniffed loudly. I wasn't crying as much anymore. We ended up sharing his cookies and spent the rest of our twenty minute break on the bench. He made me laugh by placing cookies on his eyes and making funny faces. From that day and forth, Harry became my only friend. Everyone picked on me, but he stood up for me as much as he could.
-:-:-:-
Pen and I were standing from a distance. We noticed how Harry was talking to me while leaning on the locker beside mine. I rolled my eyes playfully as I pulled out my maths book. "You're not helping! I'm serious can you please help me study for the upcoming history test?" I heard Harry ask.
"All right! Fine. Gosh you make it sound like the end of the world, Haz. We're only in our first year of secondary school. You worry too much for a twelve year old," I said back to him while pulling out another book. I could recognize it from a mile away. It was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
"I worry too much?! You're the one that gets worried whenever Harry Potter goes to the Ministry of Magic in the fifth book!" I smacked him on his chest and playfully glared at the curly haired guy.
"It's a very worrying point! You don't know if Harry and his friends make it out!"
"Oh but you do know. You've read them, what? Close to fifteen times by now?"
I shoved him playfully and smiled up to him. I placed my textbook and book inside my book bag. I've reached inside my locker and pulled out my maths notes and history notes. I pulled out my history textbook as well. I closed my locker and swiftly locked it. "It's been nineteen times actually, but that's not the point. The point is that you need to calm down before I head over to your house right now. If you keep worrying, you won't learn anything. Just relax. Or am I going to need to call down a Greek god to help you do that?"
I replied back to him sassily as I swung my one shoulder book bag over my shoulder. I placed my hands on my hips and stared at him. Students walked past us, but they didn't dare tell me anything because Harry would snap at them. "Ok, I'll calm down. I need my nerdy friend later," Haz said while hugging me.
I giggled and hugged him back. "I need to head to the toilets before we leave though. Just wait for me outside if you like."
I pulled away and gave him a friendly smile. "Are you sure? I don't need my best friend getting bullied while I'm away."
"It's ok. I can handle it," I said while flashing him a reassuring smile. He looked at we wearily before giving me a quick kiss on the forehead and heading off to the front of the school. I sighed and walked off to the toilets across the hall. We followed her into the toilets, but they were empty. She was the only one there.
I turned to Pen and sighed, "He was a great friend. It's just upsetting that he never found out about all the times when we had different classes. In those classes I didn't have with him, students would bully me. The teachers never noticed because it always happened when they weren't looking."
She smiled at me sadly and said, "That's true, but he still protected you as much as he could. That's why the friendship love was never going to last. He developed deeper feelings for you this year. He realized that he always wanted to protect you."
Little me came out of the toilets with her backpack swung on her shoulder. She washed her hands and walked out of the toilets. We followed behind her, until we came close to outside. I knew what was next... As she neared the corner, she heard someone's voice. She quickly swung herself against the wall and neared the doors to go outside. She didn't go outside, but she merely eavesdropped on the conversation going on outside. "Listen here, Harry. You're extremely attractive, and I don't even know why you talk to that nerd. She's ugly. You could ditch her and hang out with us. After all, someone like you shouldn't be talking to her," Jazmin's voice was heard.
Little me choked back a sob, but she continued to listen as tears filled her eyes. "Well tough luck, right? She's my best friend," we heard Harry respond.
"Listen here Styles. Either you ditch the nerd girl and join us, or you can forget about ever being friends with us," we heard Will, one of my boy bullies, say to Harry.
We heard a hard thump, and we knew they slammed Harry against the wall. "Well I guess I'll just forget about ever being friends with you guys. I will never leave her. She's my best friend and I will always protect her. She's perfect exactly how she is. So what if she's nerdy? Those are her interests. You guys bullying her along with the rest of the school won't get me to leave her. It will just make me more determined to always be her friend. Why? Because unlike you, I actually see beyond the outside of people. Inside her I see a pure heart. She loves and cares about everyone. She even cares about you guys even bough I've told her that she shouldn't since you all hurt her. She's friendly, caring, beautiful, wonderful, and many more things. But most of all, she's my best friend. What you guys see as imperfections, I love. Why? Because she's my best friend. So what if she's not perfect? She at least doesn't pretend to be someone she is unlike you Will and Jazmin, Luke, Jada, Ethan, and Jessie. She's herself, and I will never trade someone as perfect as her over you six fakers."
We heard gasps, and happy tears streamed down little me's face. We walked out as soon as we heard them walk away. Little me pretended to not have heard anything, and we walked out. She wiped away her tears before Harry noticed and gave him a confused look. "What did they want?"
He sighed deeply and sent me a smile. "Nothing. Just bothering as usual. Ready to go home?"
"Yes. Let's go. You have a lot of studying to do Haz. Not to mention maths to do as well."
"Ugh don't remind me. Can you help me on maths as well?" Haz swung his backpack over his shoulders and we began to walk home. Pen and I stayed by the wall as we saw them walk further away. She would shove him playfully every so often and he would just send her cheeky smiles.
-:-:-:-
"Look at them! I never thought they would become friends. Although now that I think about it, they are alike," Alice said what she thought was quietly to her friends.
Little me rolled her eyes and did a backflip on the school lawn. She was wearing black leather jeans, a gray studded long sleeved shirt, and gray converse. She had her hair in loose curls and had her usual makeup. My locket that Mummy and Daddy gave me for my fifth birthday shone over her shirt. "What's wrong, Ariel?" Cher asked while looking at me.
"Alice over there thinks she's being quiet by telling her friends that she didn't expect us to be friends. Apparently she forgets that we're in the indoor school lawn. I'm annoyed that everyone keeps saying that."
Cher giggled and joined me in doing backflips on our usual section of the school lawn. "You'd think by now they would be used to us being friends. It's been a month since we returned from winter break anyways."
"That's what I'm thinking! Oh well. Let's show them how badass we can be," I said while winking at Cher.
She giggled again, and we just continued with our dancing. Pen and I were standing under a tree right by them. Little me and Cher continued talking and giggling while they danced around. We noticed that students watched them from afar and were amazed by their dancing. They never noticed because they were in their little world enjoying each other's company. A girl with white jeans, a blue flowery long sleeved shirt, and a white fashion scarf approached them. She had her black hair in waves, and her green eyes shone in excitement. I recognized her immediately as Jackie. She was the head cheerleader of our school, and she was walking up to little me and Cher. "Hi girls!" Jackie said beaming at them.
"Oh, hey Jackie," Cher said shooting her a friendly smile.
"Ello, Jackie! What can we help you with?" I heard myself ask Jackie with a bright smile.
"I was wondering if you guys wanted to join the cheerleading squad," Jackie said still smiling brightly.
"Us join the squad?" Cher asked shocked.
"Yes. You guys have amazing moves. Lauren and I spoke to one another and we agreed that if you join, we will drop our positions as team captains and give them to you guys," Jackie said while sounding excited.
"I don't know, Jackie. Cheerleading isn't really our thing," I said sounding unsure.
"Please! Your dance moves are great. At least just join us for one practice. You can be part of the squad just for that practice and then decide after practice," Jackie was shooting them hopeful eyes.
"I don't know," Cher said hesitating and nibbling her lip.
"Please! Just one practice. That's all I'm asking," Jackie shot them the puppy dog eyes, and I giggled from beside Pen. I knew what was coming.
"Alright, fine! Just stop giving us the puppy dog eyes," I heard myself say. Cher groaned while Jackie squealed from excitement.
"Great! Just come in clothes you can work out in, and meet us at my place tonight at five," Jackie said before walking away and still squealing.
"Ariel, what did you get us into?" Cher groaned from beside her.
"Oh hush up. Don't complain. Let's go. We don't have to agree anyways. We just need to go to practice," I said while giving her a sympathetic smile. The memory blurred and reformed to a later time. We were now at Jackie's house. Pen and I were sitting on the stone wall while we spotted me and Cher walking towards the cheer squad. They were wearing pink Jack Wills sweats and black long sleeved shirts. Their hair was in ponytails, and they had their usual makeup. I was wearing black Converse while Cher was wearing black high tops. We saw Jackie squeal when she saw us, and she introduced us to the squad.
"Girls, this is Ariel and Cher. They decided to join us for practice today," Jackie told them while smiling brightly.
"Hey girls, I'm Lauren. I'm the other cheer captain. I hope Jackie told you about me," a girl with blonde hair, bright gray eyes, and fair skin said.
"Hi Lauren," Ariel and Cher said in sync. They turned to each other, and giggled.
"You can stand here on the side if you want so you can see our routine. Then you can join us in round two," Lauren told them while looking at them happily. So the girls did stand there and carefully examined the dance routine. Ariel was looking at possible areas where the girls could get a bit lost while Cher was looking at areas in the dance routine that could use improvements. As soon as the routine was done, Cher nudged Ariel.
"Hey, Ariel. Look who's on the squad," Cher said quietly.
She looked at where she was pointing, and she smirked. "Well well well. If it isn't Kaitlyn. You thinking the same thing I'm thinking?" Ariel said smiling evilly.
"Staying on the squad for a semester to make her life a living hell?"
"Exactly." That said, Cher and Ariel replaced Lauren and Jackie in front of the girls while Lauren and Jackie examined them from the sides. They wanted to make sure that they had the routine down. As soon as their cheer song Everytime We Touch by Cascada was heard through Jackie's stereo, the girls did the dance moves in sync. By the end of practice, they made their decision final.
"Hey, Jackie and Lauren. We'll join," Cher said smiling.
"It looks like fun helping everyone until they learn new moves. Plus, we can help everyone learn everything perfectly," Ariel said smiling brightly. Lauren and Jackie squealed and jumped up and down.
"Girls! You are looking at your new team captains," Lauren said squealing while they pointed at us. We just smiled brightly and waved at them.
"What?!" Kaitlyn screamed from the middle. "I've been asking for the position since freshman year! You decided to give it to these newbie talentless whores?!"
Jackie and Lauren were going to yell at her, but I stopped them. "What's wrong Kaitlyn? Frustrated that I'm better at you at another thing?" I said sneering at her.
I heard the girls laugh and Kaitlyn looked pissed off. Before she could respond back, Cher said, "Get back in line, Kingsley. Or you don't want to, the doors are wide open."
Kaitlyn huffed and went back in line. "Ok let's meet back here tomorrow at the same time. We'll see you guys here!" I said brightly to the girls.
The girls said bye and left. "I hope you don't mind we'll be practicing here," Cher said turning to Jackie.
"Oh no it's fine! It'll be fun to practice here," Jackie said smiling. The girls said bye and left. Time fast forwarded to their last football game of the season, and the girls cheering improved. Even though Kaitlyn didn't want to admit it, she knew she loved the new moves their team captains taught them.
-:-:-:-
"What? How can you not ship Dramione?! They're like my OTP!" Penelope squealed from her hospital bed.
"Well I'm sorry! I don't ship anything that J.K. Rowling didn't set up. I just find it weird," I said making a fake disgusted face. Pen playfully shoved me, and I giggled. This time present day Pen and I were seated on the sofa just watching the memory play out. I loved this memory of ours. This one of our many enjoyable conversations.
"Still! They make such an amazing couple! You can totally tell that he loves her."
"Pen, you're delusional. Obviously Hermione loves Ron. They complete each other! Ron is the fun side of their relationship while Hermione is the dull side. I'm not saying she's boring. All I'm saying is that Hermione is the realistic one of the two." Pen giggled and agreed.
"But we can both agree that Captain America is amazing, right?"
"Oh my Rowling, yes! I mean he's fit! His blonde hair and blue eyes is to die for! He's amazing." I saw myself have a dreamy glare, and I laughed. I'm pretty sure I still did that. I mean, he is the best Avenger.
"Don't forget he's the best Avenger too! Although, Hawkeye isn't half bad either," Penelope said while winking. Penelope laughed loudly from beside me, and she even cried from laughter. I swear our conversations got weird...
"The next thing you're going to say is that Agent Fury is hot," I said while rolling my eyes.
"I'll tell you someone who is amazing though. His name is Logan Lerman."
"Hey!" I said while smacking her lightly with a pillow. "He's my boyfriend so back off."
Pen just giggled loudly before she calmed down. "No but seriously-."
"I'm not Siruis. I'm Ariel. I don't know what you're talking about," I said with a bad poker face.
"Ariel!" Pen said groaning.
"Alright, fine. Continue."
"Thank you. As I was saying, Liam Payne is freaking hot. He looks so adorable and innocent," Pen said squealing.
"Nah. I prefer either the Irish boy, also known as Niall Horan, or the one with curls. Aka Mr. Harry Styles," I said while shooting her a cheeky smile.
"I thought you said you didn't like Harry?"
"I don't. But you can't deny that he's awesome."
"I would kill to meet them, but I never will," Pen said while sighing sadly.
"Hey, don't say that. Here, let's start planning. How about we form a band? You know you can be the amazing guitar player that also does vocals while I do most of the vocals? We could even be called the Rock Twins!"
"Ariel, you are one crazy girl."
"But you still love me," I said sending her a cheeky smile. The girls died of laughter on Pen's hospital bed.
***
We were sucked into a vortex again, and I felt my feet hit solid ground. I gasped and opened my eyes. We were back in the Headmaster's office. "Why did you show me these memories, Pen?" I asked her while catching my breath.
"They were the best memories I could find of you with them and me," she said while avoiding answering further.
"But there were much happier memories with Harry. Why did you pick those?"
"I wanted you to remind you why Harry and you became great friends. You two were inseparable since the beginning. I wanted to tell you that the reason he reacted that way after the bet was because he was scared. He was scared that once you left to the music school that you would replace him."
"Well he was an idiot to think that. He shouldn't have thought that. We are best friends. We swore to be there for each other, but anyways... What about my memory with Cher?"
"Well I just thought it'd be a nice reminder of the first time you guys got revenge on Kaitlyn. Well, one of the first of many times that you guys got revenge on her. I thought it would've been nice to have a bit of humor. The same thing with our memory. I thought some humor was needed."
"I still don't understand though. Why did you need to show them?"
She sighed and bit her lip. "They will be important for later when you make a decision. For now, let's go to the music fandoms island. There's people there you will love to meet."
She turned and walked out of the office. I followed behind her and thought about who could be so important that she needs me to meet?
A/N: long update! :D sorry I took so long. My excuse? I've been watching Doctor Who. Lol still on Season 1 though. I'm watching the new Doctor Who. I'll watch the old one later. Lololol but I've also been busy running errands for my family. Ugh I hav a license & car & now they're too lazy to go grocery shopping. Blegh. I really don't hav anything to say this time... Well maybe that I'm happy one of my guy friends knows wat One Direction songs can make me happy. :) not going into detail about that. Lol so some of u guys were saying that the Midnight Memories music video would be coming out on the 11th... Yeah I knew this wasn't true. The lads would've told us something beforehand. Anyways... Now that really is it. Any questions? Is there anything u guys would like to know about me? U can ask below & I could hav an update answering the questions if u like. :3
Happy 21st Birthday, Zayn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love you lots & don't believe anything haters say!!!!!!!!
-Susy xo
P.S. The picture on the side is of Penelope Mayfield (Pen) & the song is Goodbye To You by The Veronicas. I thought it fit this chapter perfectly. ;D toodles!!!!!!!!! Xx
P.P.S. if u cant see the video of pictures, then go see them via the wattpad web page on ur laptop or phone or iPod/iPad