I woke up abruptly to the sound of my alarm clock blaring through my bedroom. It was eight thirty in the morning. Last night's events were still fresh in my mind; some were too painful and frightening to keep, some I wanted to throw away, while some I wanted to keep forever as blissful memories.
I pushed Houdini out of the bed and he plunked down on the floor, his slumber unfazed. I kicked the bed covers off me and stumbled towards the bathroom. While washing my face with cold water, my phone rang and I ran to get it, my face still dripping wet.
It was Fry.
"Fry!"
"Alice!" He sounded anxious. "Where are you?"
I wiped my cheek with my sleeve. "Home. Why?"
"Are you alright?"
"Yes. I am." I said slowly. "Fry, you're scaring me. What's going on?"
"I'm sorry but can you pl—give me that..." there was a rustling sound and it hurt my ear. "Alice."
"Zayn?" I said, surprised.
"Meet me at The Cap right now. I'll be waiting for you at the gates." His words were rushed, as if he was using the momentum to gather courage. "I'm sorry, but this is really urgent."
"What's going on?" I asked again, my voice cracked.
"I'll answer your questions when you get here. Just hurry up." He said.
"I'm on my way."
.
I arrived at The Capitol and saw Zayn leaning against a stone pillar, his hands in his pockets. He looked troubled, and I began to feel uneasy. I hurried towards him. "Zayn!"
His head jerked to my direction. "You're fast." He seemed impressed.
"Is everything alright?" I said as I followed him through the park.
"I've been ransacked—actually, we've been ransacked. Liam's apartment was completely run down, Harry's cabinets were obliterated, and Fry...well...his place was spit out by a tornado." He said, looking at me over his shoulder. "I think we've been too lazy with our safety."
"What?!" My heart raced for a moment.
"Well in my case, I decided to go for an insomnia walk last night, and I forgot to lock my front door. I know, it was stupid and I should have been more careful, but hey, we all make mistakes." He shrugged ever so casually. "I'm just thankful nothing really bad—aside from my missing IDs and a havocked dresser—ever happened."
"Who would do such a thing?" I said, furious.
"After connecting the dots, it's Morrison's men no doubt."
I gawked at him. "You know?"
His jaw tightened and he ran a hand through his messy hair. "Morrison threw up a heavy smokescreen at us. Fry told me everything this morning."
We walked further into the park, by the bike route and benches, and I first see Harry sitting on the bench of wisdom talking with Fry and Liam. He was wearing a grey sweater and his curls peeked out of his hat, which was put on backwards. There was always something about casual Harry that I really, really adored.
"Alice's here." Zayn said once we approached them.
Fry ran towards me and tackled me with a bear hug. "Ally!"
"Whoa, what's with the over-the-top display of affection?" I squeaked. "It's nice seeing you too, beeswax."
"I was really worried about you." He murmured as he rested his chin on my shoulder. I tried to catch Harry's eye, but he refused to meet my gaze. "I thought they'd hurt you."
I was confused—who's they? But I decided not to comment about it. "I'm alright." I rubbed his back. "You shouldn't worry about me—MOTHER. I can defend myself, you know. I'm a tough girl."
He released me. "I'm sorry. I should've told you earlier. It could have saved us all a lot of trouble."
Then, staring at his face, I noticed purplish bruises around his eyes. They were huge, and looked disturbingly fresh. "Jesus, Fry. What the hell happened to you?" I took his glasses off and held his face between my hands.
He groaned like a stubborn child. "It's nothing."
"Who did this to you?" I said, my blood boiling.
He looked amused for a moment, and it faded away once I released him. "You're really cute when you're angry, you know."
"Cut the crap, Fry, what happened to you?" I raised my voice.
"Might as well tell her, Kinney." Liam said. "It's useless to keep secrets, now."
Fry's shoulders sagged. Sighing heavily, he said, "These balaclava-wearing goons attacked me late last night in my apartment." I almost throw up.
"They barged in while I was eating." He continued. "I tried to fight back, but two of them pinned me down and this buff guy beat the shit out of me. When I was down, they went through my stuff. They were fast. I think I fainted, I don't remember." He looked ashamed.
"When I woke up, everything was a mess. My dresser was trampled, sawdust all over my floor. The only thing unscathed was the wall. Oh, and they pillaged the fridge too." He finished, and I shuddered in anger.
"I'll fucking kill them." I shook my head. "I'll kill them!"
Harry stood up from his seat and walked towards me."Relax, Alice." I looked at him and he had a crooked smile on his face.
"Relax?" I said in disbelief. "You expect me to relax after seeing him," I pointed at Fry, "Black and blue? I'll MURDER those fucking cowards. That's what I'll do. I will find them and kill them."
"We appreciate the determination, Bryan Mills." Harry said, shifting his weight. "But foolish determination won't get us anywhere. Not in this situation, at least. That's what they want; they want to subdue us. They want us to do something irrational and stupid. We need to avoid violence as much as possible."
Liam nodded, rubbing his hands together. "Harry's right. With Rosie as an instrument and the pretend "bad guy", Morrison will try and tick us off. He believes that ransacking our apartments would all the more ignite our anger against The Union Daily. He wants us to defend his company. It's best not to feed his psychotic ego."
"So we'll just act helpless like sitting ducks?" I said, incredulously.
"No. We'll take it slow. We initiate step number one of the plan." Zayn said.
I bit my inner cheek. "Which is?"
"Temporary evacuation." He said sternly. "Fry. You and I will be staying at Niall's place for the week. Liam—"
"I'll be staying at Sophia's." He said rather proudly.
"Brilliant. Harry—"
"They won't come back." He replied, looking down. "They won't."
"Don't be a clot. Let this shit simmer down for a week and you're safe to go." Zayn said. He looked at me funny and I raised an eyebrow. "Alice needs protection."
"What?" Fry and I said in unison.
"She could be the next target. Rosie knows. Alice is a potential victim." Zayn said and I suddenly felt helpless. "Harry, you can protect her."
"No." Fry said, shaking his head in utter disapproval. "I did this. This is my fault. I should be the one to protect her. Not him."
"Don't be stupid. Look at you! You could barely even blink!" Zayn retorted.
"I'm her best friend!" Fry roared and I flinch. "Her safety is my responsibility. If they beat me up again, then let them. I don't give a flying fuck. For as long as I'm able, I will defend her with all my being."
"Oh your martyrdom brings tears to my eyes. How very, brave." Zayn said and I wanted to slap him. "But we don't need a martyr right now, Fry. We need soldiers. We need to be tactical, pragmatic. Wouldn't you think it's wise to stay away from Alice, even just for a week? If ever those blockheads come back in your apartment again and find out you're not there, they'll intuitively lay into Alice's place. They will kill you and take her away. Do you want that?"
Fry was silent. We were all silent for a moment, until I decided to break it. "I think—I think Zayn's right. We need to be smart about this." My hasty mind speaks for me, and I suddenly felt like a pyromaniac.
Fry looked at me, defeated, and I was close to tears, but I held back. "Alice..."
"Fry, you have to stay with Zayn and Niall. It's for your own good. They'll protect you." I said, trying my best to sound firm. He looked betrayed—I would be too if I was in his position—and I felt really bad inside.
"Why can't she stay with us instead?" Fry said, sounding desperate.
"You wouldn't want her to stay in a house full of frat boys now would you?" Zayn said, smirking. "Would you?"
Fry looked horrified. "Over my dead fucking body I would!"
"Wait." Harry said. "Niall lives in a frat house?"
Zayn nodded. "His brother, Greg, is a fraternity leader. You may know him—Greg Horan?"
"Ah. That guy's a superstar." Harry said.
"I guess you can call him that. He's got the rep." said Zayn, smiling. "So, Alice, what do you think? Don't worry, if you don't like the plan, we can always sort something out."
I hear Fry scoff and I felt apprehensive. "I don't...I'm..."
Trusting Harry and letting him stay can either be the biggest mistake of my life or the greatest. I look at him, searching for conspicuousness, for future trouble or misdemeanor, and I know judging whether to trust a person or not just by looking at his physicality is a foolish act, but at that crucial event, I thought it was the wisest thing to do.
He smiled at me, and I suddenly remembered the time when he willingly showed me his wisdom, the time when he told me that that everything happens for a reason; that there is always a connection and a reason for everything.
Maybe there is a predetermined plan laid out for us.
Maybe that's why I felt uneasy and apprehensive around him. It was because I had allowed myself to think that he was to be untrusted.
Maybe Fry was wrong. Harry did nothing but help me—help us. I am oblivious!
Maybe I was meant to trust him. That way, the predetermined plan, whatever that is or wherever it is, will come along well for the both of us.
Harry waved his hand in front of me. "Alice?"
"The couch is yours." I said, convinced I was doing the right thing. "But it isn't as tremendously comfortable as a bed. You're going to strain your neck. I hope you can bear the long ordeal." Everybody chuckles, including Fry.
"Watch out for Houdini. That dog poops everywhere. Literally." Fry commented and I laugh.
"Okay now that everything's been said, we should start moving out." Liam said and everybody agrees. "I'll see you guys on Monday. Be safe, sentinels."
"Alice?" Harry said, burying his hands in his pockets.
"Yeah?"
"I hope your decision wasn't forced."
"It wasn't." Wasn't it? "I'm happy."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Harry."
"Are you really, really, really, really sure?"
"If you say really one more time I'm changing my mind."
He grinned.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I just had a thought."
"What? Tell me."
"It was just a random thought, Alice." He shrugged.
"I love the random."
He raised an eyebrow. "Do you now?"
"Everything that we do, every unintentional act that happens, no matter how random it may seem, is placed in our paths for a reason." I said dramatically.
"Using my own words against me, huh?" He laughed. "Brilliant."
"What were you thinking about?" I asked.
He looked at me for a moment and said, "I'm just excited, you know, to spend the whole next week with you. It'd be great to spend the night with somebody for a change."
"The lonely nights are temporarily postponed, eh? Well...I'm excited too." I rushed out the words, flushing when he smirked at me.
"Alice!" Fry interrupted us. He looked at Harry grimly, and then turned to face me. "We need to talk."
* * * *
Harry's moving in! *screams*
What do you guys think of this chapter? Too straightforward? Confusing? Let me know 'cause I'm worried about this one.
p.s. harry in le gif is so adorable
Inessential fact of the day: If you don't know who Bryan Mills is, he's the awesome dad played by Liam Neeson in the movie "Taken".
- piper