The Other Side

Chapter 6

As we're sitting down for dinner, I hear a knock at the back door, and I call out that I've got it as I race to answer it. I was right, and Harry is standing there, looking pretty pleased with himself.

"Tomorrow anytime after eleven," he says with a grin. "Niall will fly in from Ireland tonight, and it's only a short drive for them all to get here in the morning."

I let out a breath, glad this is going so well. "You're a life saver!"

"Yeah, well just remember this. Cause you totally owe me now." Harry smiles and heads off.

"What was that about?" Mum asks with a raised eyebrow when I get back to the table.

"Harry's just doing me a favour," I reply sheepishly.

My parents exchange looks, but I ignore them, because I'm too excited. Tomorrow is going to be the best day ever.

Tuesday morning I act totally casual, ignoring Hope like I normally do. I won't tell her I'm dragging her away from school until the last minute. She'll think I'm insane, but I know she won't expect all of One Direction to be waiting for her.

"Hey," I whisper, intercepting her on her way to third period. "Let's go."

"Huh?" she looks at me, so confused.

"Well, I haven't had a complete day of school since last Wednesday, and I don't want to break my streak," I say with a grin.

"What are you talking about?" She's got no clue.

"Just come with me, ok? I have something I need to show you." My eyes beg and plead, and I refuse to let the gentle grip I have on her arm go.

She says nothing, but I feel her body give in, and quickly I'm guiding her through the school halls, dodging teachers and weird looks from students. We keep up the quick pace until we're out of the school view.

When we slow, she asks through gasps for air. "What are we doing?"

I shake my head with a smile. "You'll see."

We walk in complete silence then, and instead of going to my house first, I just walk straight through Harry's front gate. I check my watch and it's quarter past twelve. Perfect timing. I can hear noise coming from the back, so I head around the side of the house, Hope obediently following behind.

"Hey," I call out as the five boys come into view.

"Hey Alexia!" Harry calls with a huge smile. "Hey Alexia's friend."

I look back at Hope who is standing frozen, so I pull her gently forward. "This is Hope."

The boys all sing out a chorus of 'hi' and 'hello', and Harry lists them off by name, but I'm sure Hope knows them all like I do.

"Isn't this heaps better than school?" I ask Hope, dragging her along and plonking her on the couch between Harry and Niall. I sit on the outdoor chair opposite them, next to Liam.

"To you, anything's better than school. I don't think you've been a whole day since I moved in," Harry laughed.

"Whatever," I retort with a roll of my eyes. "Weren't you guys supposed to be rehearsing or something today?" I question, implying they should sing for Hope. Niall already had his guitar out ready.

"Oh yeah, this is what we do," Zayn says. "Sit around playing randomly. Take it away Niall!"

They all laugh and Niall starts strumming away to what I quickly realise is One Thing. Liam starts singing next to me and it's amazing, like more amazing than seeing them sing live on TV or at a concert. Harry's next and he's smiling away as he sings, but I try to avoid looking at him. Instead I watch Hope's reaction, which is better than I imagined. I'm so glad Harry did this for her.

They finish the song, and Hope and I clap and then we all start laughing.

"That was amazing," Hope says, the most confident I've ever seen her.

"She talks!" Louis cries out, punching the air.

They all start talking then, and I try and stay back, keeping all attention on her like she deserves for today. Harry keeps looking over, obviously happy that I'm happy he helped out. Each time he does I avoid his gaze by looking at Hope or my shoes.

"Oi, another song," I hear him say. "What Makes You Beautiful."

So the boys sing their first single, and again it's so awesome and Hope is having a ball. Liam and Louis get up to go around the couch with the other boys, singing to Hope who is blushing furiously and giggling. I look at Harry, ready to give him a smile and mouth the words thank you, but when I do he's already staring at me - singing the chorus as his eyes bore into mine. I can't bring myself to look away until the song is over.

Another break from singing and we're all laughing and joking again. And then Hope says the words I've been dreading.

"I should go," she says.

"No!" All the boys cry out, and so do I.

"I have to get back before my parents realise I skipped out on school," she says with a sad smile.

It's not fair. I want her to stay here. I want this day to never end.

"One more song!" Louis whines.

Hope sighs. "Ok."

"Any requests?" Niall asks.

Hope replies instantly. "Moments." She looks down wistfully. "It's my favourite song."

So they oblige, and it takes everything I have not to cry. I look at Hope, and I'm surprised to see her smiling even more than before. She's so strong, I don't know how she doesn't break down. When the song is over, she gets up and they all hug her goodbye. I can see as they hug her, she winces, maybe just from bruises, maybe from broken ribs. But I can tell from the look on her face that she doesn't care. The pain is nothing today.

"I'll walk you back to school," I say, and she goes to decline, but I won't let her.

Again our walk is silent, but neither of us seem to mind. I keep wishing there's something I can do, but when we get to school and she turns to me, I see that I've already done what I could. She's smiling at me, her long blonde hair looking more radiant than ever, her blue eyes clear as the sky. And she's beautiful. She's so beautiful, I've just never noticed before because all I've ever seen is pain.

Hope comes in and hugs me then, and she's stronger than I could have ever imagined.

"Thank you, Alexia," she says sincerely. "Today is the best day of my life."

I smile. I hadn't expected thanks, I hadn't wanted thanks. I only wanted this - to see her happy, if only for a day. She turns and walks back to school, and I can hear her humming 'Moments', the sound slowly fading as she becomes distant. I can't stop smiling as I walk home. I'm glad something good has come of all this, and I'm glad that it was for Hope.