Human [Harry Styles]

Chapter Twenty-Three.

"Say what you wanna say and let the words fall out. Honestly, I wanna see you be brave."
~ Brave, Sara Bareilles

[A/N: I highly recommend listening to the song through the whole chapter (yes even if you have to repeat it five times). Ever since I've heard it, I've thought of this specific chapter for this story!]

Harry

            I can’t help my smile spreading into a large grin at hearing Marley’s words. Everything about her is suddenly different too, the way she’s holding herself, the tone of his voice, the fire in her eyes. She’s got this.

            “Let me tell you the truth,” she says, and with that, she grabs the papers she just turned over on the podium, instead choosing to crumple them up and toss them aside like they’re nothing. “The real truth.”

            I can’t help admiring Marley Sorin, even from the sidelines like this. Just something about watching her change in an instant, snap to someone with more confidence and determination than I’ve ever seen in her… it’s inspiring, refreshing even.

            Part of me even thinks that hey, maybe I should say something myself in the next few days. That is, if Marley’s speech ends up going as well as I hope it will.

            “To be honest,” Marley starts, turning and giving me another small glance.

            In response, I offer another thumbs up and nod of the head, telling her to just go for it. She’s got nothing to lose, and I have a good feeling she won’t lose anyways, not this one, not this time.

            I’m surprised when Marley walks over towards me then, though just as I’m about to ask what she’s doing, I realize she’s not even focusing on me, not really. She’s going for the stool to my left, a little wooden one that looks like it could barely hold a couple notebooks, let alone a fully-grown person.

            Ignoring the fact, I can only watch with surprise as Marley sends me a quick wink and grabs the stool, turning and carrying it back onto the stage with her. The most surprising thing is that instead of going back to the podium, she places the stool on the area in front of it and sits down, completely exposing herself.

            Someone’s getting brave.

            “I know a lot of people have said some… pretty awful things about me,” she says, clasping her hands in her laps and scanning over the audience. “And it’s all because I was cowardly in that moment, the moment I had a gun pointed in my face with two options: to live or to die… And I chose to live.”

            I’m not as surprised by this as everyone else seems to be, though that’s because I’ve heard something along the same lines from Marley. The difference between this time and all the others though, is that it already sounds like she’s settling down, ready to tell all of it. Now, it’s obvious that she’s not just going to tell the truth; she’s going to tell her story.

            “But the thing is,” she continues. “Either way, he would have killed my friend for trying to stop him, and that was her decision. And though it may have been a mistake, for both of us, and we could have done a lot of things differently, I think a lot of us forget that not everyone is a hero… Sometimes, we forget that we’re only human.”

            I can’t help grinning widely as she glances back towards me. She’s repeating almost my exact words to her from what seems so long ago, sharing that sometimes, it’s okay to be afraid, because it’s just a part of our humanity.