***Photo attached is of Dylan O'Brien who plays Nick
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Harry
Riley took this entire situation very seriously, as did I.
I haven't left the apartment in two days, and apparently Madison was supposed to leave for South Korea tomorrow morning.
According to Louis and Riley, Madison also happened to live on the floor two stories above us, so that even made going to check the mail a lot harder. It's like I'm having deja vu, living in the same building as her once again.
Right now Zayn and I were at Louis' place, trying to explain everything he was missing out.
-
Four years ago
"Why Canada of all places to move to?" Zayn asked from beside me as we walked into my mum's apartment.
"I have no idea." I shrugged. "Thanks for coming to help though. Are you staying the entire summer?"
"Of course I am. I'm not gonna go back to London and be bored out of my ass for three months." He laughed, putting the box down and patting my back as I set mine down.
"I can't do this." I hear a woman's groan from the hallway.
Zayn and I glance at each other before walking back out, seeing a girl around our age struggling to use a pair of crutches while a guy standing beside her watches in amusement.
"Mads, you need the learn to use them for when you get out of surgery." The man tells her.
"Shut up, asshole. You did this to me." The girl cursed, shoving her crutches into the man's hand and limping towards the open door across the hall.
"Is everything okay?" I interrupted politely, making the both of them look at me.
"Who are you?" The man asked me in confusion, but the girl elbowed his chest and he groaned, grabbing where she hit him.
"Don't be rude." She tells him before turning to me. "Everything is fine. Thank you."
"Blink twice if you need help." Zayn suddenly asked, making me roll my eyes.
The girl chuckled, her smile seeming to project onto my face.
"Judging by the accent, I'm gonna say you guys aren't from here. Just moving in?" She asked, eyeing the boxes outside of the door.
"Yup."
"Nice. I'm sure you'll like it here." She grinned at the both of us. "Well if you guys ever need anything, I'm right across the hall in that apartment." She pointed at the open door she was approaching earlier.
"Thank you." I say, still mesmerized by her bright smile as I introduced myself. "I'm Harry."
"Nice to meet you, Harry."
"And I'm Zayn." Zayn butted in, making me groan internally as I forgot he was here with me. He flashed her his perfect smile and she also took his hand after letting go of mine.
"Nice to meet you as well, Zayn."
"Ahem." We all turned to the man clutching his abdomen, watching as he leaned an elbow on the girl's shoulder.
She rolls her eyes and points at him. "This is my friend, Nick."
Friend. I don't know why I found that relieving, but I did.
"Welcome to Toronto." Nick smiled, seeming a lot less tense than a few seconds ago before facing his friend. "Now can we keep practicing so I don't have to feel bad that this is my fault?"
"So you admit it is your fault?" The girl argued with him, leaving me and Zayn confused as they continued the "fight" we walked out on.
"I will take those crutches and push you down the stairs with them." Nick sighed, shaking his head.
"You are just a walking hazard. Do you enjoy hurting your partner?" She asked him in a sarcastically sweet tone.
Partner?
"Oh shut it and take the damn things." Nick mumbled, handing her the crutches that were laying on the floor.
The girl took them and looked up at us with the same, beautiful smile. "I'll see you guys around."
Just as her and Nick were walking away, I couldn't help but call after her. "Do you not have a name?"
Without turning back around, she gave me an answer that echoed the hallway. "Madison!"
I smiled at her name, the beauty of it matching her perfectly.
Madison.
-
Present
"Wait, so you dated Maddie for over a year and never told me?" Louis asked, staring at me in disbelief.
I nodded slowly. "To be fair, I barely knew you a few years ago."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." He sighed, still glaring at me. "I know Maddie told me she had gotten out of a relationship, but I didn't know it was that serious."
I look at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"I just can't imagine the Maddie I know now ever being in a relationship with something that wasn't her job." He tells me. "Since the moment I met her, she's just been buried in competitions and interviews so she never has time to...let go and have fun."
"Well obviously, Louis. Look where all that work led her and Nick." Riley pointed out to him. "Besides, we will have a whole lot of time with them after they get back."
"They're going to have more interviews and stuff, so probably not." Louis sighs.
My brows raised in surprise at what I was hearing. "I can't even imagine her being so...serious. She was always the life of the party when we were together."
"That's probably because she had a knee injury and couldn't skate so she didn't have to worry about nationals." Riley answered, still not looking all too happy that I was back.
"She's got a point." Zayn commented from next to me on the couch.
I couldn't comprehend Madison not being fun. She was always the friendly girl that everyone knew at the parties we went to, and she was a huge extrovert. But people grow, and they realize the things that they found fun weren't so fun anymore.
I guess I have to wrap my head around the fact that she's not going to be the same girl I fell in love with when I moved here. It's been nearly four years since I met her, and three since I've last seen her, so obviously neither of us are the same person.
"Now enough about Maddie. I'm sure Harry is sick of hearing her name every two seconds." Louis sat up straight and looked at both Zayn and I.
I'll never get sick of hearing her name.
"How have you two been? How's work?"
I let Zayn answer Louis first, seeming pretty eager to talk about his new job. "I'm so excited to start working. I get to teach college students how to draw and at the end of each semester, we get to paint a giant mural in the art district."
"Where are you teaching?" Riley asked him, leaning forward as she smiled at his excitement.
"University of Toronto." He replied, bouncing up and down on the couch happily.
"What about you, Harry?" Louis asked, putting me on the spot.
"Oh, uh...work is great. Not all that exciting to talk about, honestly. I just take pictures of people." I shrugged. My job wasn't all that interesting. I was just a freelance photographer, but I loved it and it certainly pays well. I have social media to thank for that.
"Sure it is! I'm sure you meet a lot of cool people." Zayn encouraged, throwing his arm around my shoulder.
"Eh. Sometimes." I shrugged again, my mind wandering back over to Madison. She lives in this building like the rest of us, and it scares me. "I have a question."
"Ask it, then." Riley replied, still staring at me sharply.
Ignoring her intense stare, I look down at my fidgeting fingers nervously. "You said Madison lived in this building. I thought she lived in the one across town near the campus."
"That's not a question."
I glared at Riley for her response, seeing her look over at Louis uncomfortably about the topic I brought up.
"Something happened with her family and her brother made her move in with him. That's all I'm gonna say." She answered normally this time, and I couldn't help but frown.
What happened with her family? Was she okay?
Deciding against speaking out on my curiosity, I kept quiet, knowing it was not really their place to tell me about Maddie's life.
As much as I try to deny it, I still care about her a lot more than I should. How can I not? She was my first everything, and she's just the kind of person I can't really not care about.
A knock on the front door broke me from my thoughts, and everyone's ears perk up at the sound.
"Did you invite anyone else?" Riley asked Louis, and he shook his head.
"Louis?"
My pulse quickened and my hands became clammy, recognizing the voice immediately.
Louis' eyes widened and Riley was quick to grab my hand as well as Zayn's and pulling us off of the couch, dragging us to Louis' bedroom.
"Don't say a word." She hissed as she practically shoved us in there and closed the door.
I turned around and leaned against the door with my head in my hands, feeling a little frustrated. I'll admit, hearing her voice for the first time in years was a wake up call for me.
As much as I feared it, I wanted to see her.
"Maddie! What a lovely surprise." I hear Louis exclaim from the other side of the door.
"I texted you saying I was coming by." I hear her chuckle, and my heart was ready to jump out of my chest.
"Oh. I didn't see it. What's up?"
Zayn and I press our ears up against the door, listening to them talk.
"Are you still reading We Were Liars?"
"I think so. Do you want it back?"
"Please? I wanted to read it on my flight so Nick doesn't talk my ears off for fifteen hours." She huffs, and I can imagine her lips in a pout with her arms crossed over her chest.
"Let me go grab it for you."
Footsteps started approaching the bedroom door, and it opened just a crack, the doorknob hitting the back of my head.
"Ow!" I hissed and rubbed the spot, but Zayn jumped on top of me and out a hand over my mouth, tackling me to the floor while Louis walked into the room and closed the door, putting his finger to his lips to tell us to be quiet.
Zayn was straddling my lap, his palm to my lips while I stared at him wide-eyed, hoping Madison didn't hear me.
Louis left the room a second later, glaring at the both of us before shutting the door behind him.
"Here you go." I heard Louis say in the distance. "Are we gonna see you guys before you leave?"
"I'm not sure. I have to finish packing and our flight is pretty early in the morning."
"Aw. Well just in case we don't see you, I love you, and good luck." I think Riley said. "Have a safe flight."
"Thank you. I love you too."
"Love you, Maddie. Bring home that gold!" Louis cheered.
"Love you too. And I'll try."
Soon after that, I heard the sound of the front door shutting. Not a minute later did Louis' bedroom door open back up to reveal Riley, who eyed our position weirdly.
"You're clear."
Zayn finally climbed off of me and helped me up, the both of us walking back to the living room.
"So...now what?" Zayn asked, falling back into his spot on the couch while I sat a couple feet away on the other end.
"What am I gonna do?" I asked nobody in particular, bringing my knees to my chest and resting my chin on top, staring blankly at the coffee table.
"About?" Zayn questioned.
"Madison." I answered, lifting my head to look at him anxiously. "I don't know what I'm gonna do when she comes back. What will I say to her when she sees me? She probably hates me."
"Harry, stop freaking out. I promise she doesn't hate you. Yeah, she'll be a little upset that you're here, but I'm sure she will get over it eventually." Louis waved off, but I turned to Riley. She knew Madison better than anyone — other than Nick.
"Does she hate me?"
She sighed and shook her head. "Look, Harry. I can't speak on her behalf. Whatever she feels towards you is going to be what it is and we can't change that." She took a pause, hesitantly continuing. "But you can't really be surprised if she is a little upset. I, however, will never get over the fact that I had to watch my best friend suffer for months for what you put her through. Just saying."
I dropped my knees back down and rested my elbows on them, my hands holding my head up. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize to me." Riley sighs again. "I know you're a nice guy and that you cared about Maddie. I actually do like you. I just don't like what you did to her. Once she forgives you, then I forgive you."
Once Riley finished, I closed my eyes and took this all in. I didn't care all too much about Riley forgiving me. I know she's just protecting her friend.
I just want Madison to forgive me, and I have a week to figure out how I'm going to make that happen.
• • •