If I Lay Here

Notes

CHAPTER FOUR:

The manager nodded and led us to a different hallway, away from the lobby.

“Harry?" I said trying to get his attention again.

“Yes," he answered rather quickly. His green eyes were focused intently on my eyes as we followed that manager to a set of double doors.

“Thank you for all of this," I said standing on my tip toes to give him a kiss on the cheek before rushing out the doors to his waiting car. A huge grin spread across Harry’s face as we ran. I couldn’t help but giggle at his excitment. Harry and I reached the car without being noticed. Like a gentle man, he opened the door for me so I could slip into the passengers seat. Then we were off. On the road, I quickly checked my phone.

“Ten missed texts from Chloe," I muttered aloud, but meaning to say to myself. Harry glanced over worriedly.

“Does she know we’re friends?" he asked.

“I’m worried she will freak out, you know? She is…my best friend, but…a tad…obsessed," I explained. Harry nodded as we turned into my driveway. I noticed the light to Aiden’s room flashed on as we pulled in. His little head was peering through the window, trying to see what was going on.

“I’ll walk you to the door," Harry offered while leaning to open his door.

“It’s fine," I said, “My little brother’s awake." I pointed up to Aiden spying above us. Harry leaned forward, smilng, and when he saw Aiden, waved up at him. Aiden, embarrassed, slunk behind the curtain.

“Before you go," Harry said, “We are having a concert tomorrow and there’s room for two more. I really want you to come." Those last six words were enough for me.

“That’d be awesome!" I exclaimed, “Just call me tomorrow with the details." The smile returned, and stayed when I gave him another light peck on the cheek.

“Hey, how did you know we were in L.A?" Harry asked as I was getting out of the car, “I was hoping to surprise you."

“You guys have very dedicated fans," I told him.

“They’re great," he said, “I’m glad you found out.

“Me too," I said smiling. After saying goodnight to Harry I ran up to my front step. As he drove off, he waved through the window. For a moment, I stood there, smiling at what a great day it had been. Suddenly, I heard the window crack open from upstairs.

“Ally," Aiden called from up in the window, “Who was that?" My little brother is so protective, it’s really rather cute. His little blond curls werre just leaving enough room for his eyes to peek out.

“That was Harry Styles, from One Direction. Hey, you wanna come to a concert with me tomorrow?" I asked him. Aiden’s eyes lit up.

“Of course! I’m gonna go to sleep right now so I can stay up all night!" he exclaimed while shutting the window. In less than a minute the lights were out, meaning Aiden was already fast asleep. The moment his head hits the pillow he’s out cold.

I needed some sleep myself. It was such a busy day and not to mention, already 10:30. Quietly, I let myself in to the house, giving a slight wave to my parents as I passed by, and headed up to my room. I was getting ready for bed when I received a text from Harry.

HARRY: Goodnight:) Louis and I will come pick you up at six!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Six o’clock came sooner than I had hoped. Butterflies were racing around in my stomach as time inched closer. Aiden had been ready for over an hour and I was frantically running around my room. My hair was a mess, my make up needed touching up, and I could not for the life of me find the floral dress Aiden bought me for my birthday last year. As I was rushing to put my eyeliner on I noticed my mom standing in the door way.

“Need any help?" she asked, placing the basket of laundry she had on my bed.

“Floral dress," I said while putting on the final touches of my mascara before shaking out my curls. My mom returned with the dress in minutes. With ten minutes to six, I slipped on the dress and grabbed my phone. There was a message on it.

HARRY: Liam needs me for some work on soundcheck. Louis offered to come get you:)

I sent off a text to say “okay" when Aiden called up to me from downstairs.

“Ally! Someone just pulled in!" he yelled, “He’s coming to the door!" Just then, the doorbell rang. My mom, who already made her way bacck downstairs, answered it before I could.

“Hello Mrs. Striker, I’m Louis Tomlinson and I’m here to pick up Ally," Louis said kindly. Taking a quick glance around, he spotted me at the top of the stairs and smiled.

“Bye Mom!" Aiden shouted, sprinting out the door to Louis’ car. I gave my mom a quick peck on the cheek before leaving with Louis. Once in the car Aiden began talking non stop.

“Louis, where is the concert?" he asked curiously and while talking to Louis like he’s known him his whole life.

“Down on the beach," Louis explained, “What’s your name lad?"

“I’m Ally’s brother, Aiden, I’m ten years old," he told Louis with confidence. I caught Louis laughing quietly to himslef as Aiden asked me more questions; questions about the concert, if it would be cold, and, of course, Harry. Luckily, Louis pulled in to the beach parking lot giving me the opportunity to avoid having to answer.

“I have to go meet the boys back stage, so here are your tickets and I’m sure I’ll see you after the show," Louis said handing us a ticket each before racing out of the car. Aiden and I got out as well and began to head over to the crowd forming infront of the stage. When we handed our tickets to the man at the gate he turned them over, searching for something. Whatever it was, he found it quickly, and then proceeded to lead Aiden and I towards the front of the crowd. The rest of the fans were just as confused as me, but moved over politely.

The sun was just beginning to set when the boys ran out on stage; Liam in a nice plaid shirt, Zayn in his red and white sports jacket, Louis in his stripes and suspenders, Niall in his red polo shirt. Then came Harry in a navy blue blazer, his hair seeming extra curly and his green eyes shining bright. He picked me out right away and gave me a huge smile. A few of the fans noticed. I could feel their piercing glances.

“How are you L.A?" Liam called causing an eruption of cheering and a few ‘I love you’s from the crowd. “We have a special performance tonight, Harry has chosen all of the songs!" Again, the crowd went wild. Without anything more What Makes You Beautiful began to play. The fans were singing along, Aiden was bouncing around, and I was watching Harry. He was looking at me with a huge smile throughout the song. The rest of the boys noticed too. Whenever they looked over at him they began to smile as well. This went on through Up All Night, Everything About You, Stole My Heart, and One Thing. By this point nearly half of the fans were staring at me. Some were smiling, but others looked upset.He did this for me. He was singing everything for me! My heart was fluttering.

The music transitioned to Stand Up, with Harry still bouncing around smiling. A few of the fans were actually taking pictures of me. Several let out a huge ‘awww’ within the first few seconds of the first verse.

“This is the cutest thing ever!" one of the girls cried. I could feel my cheeks turning bright red. Harry had done all of this for me. Every song he picked…it all made sense now. When the song ended everyone was still cheering.

“Massive thank you to everyone for coming out tonight and supporting us," Zayn said to the fans. Harry’s eyes opened wide.

“Wait!" he cried, “I have one more song!" The boys gathered in a huddle on stage. When the huddle broke, everyone had a huge grin on their faces.

“There comes a time…" Liam began. The crowd broke into a mixture of aw’s and gasps as the boys began to sing Elton John’s The Way You Look Tonight like they did on the XFactor live shows.

"…it takes my breath away, the way you look tonight." Harry sang to end the show. Giving a final wave, the boys ran off the stage. A few moments later, I noticed Harry peeking out from behind the stage. His eyes lit up when he spotted me and he waved me over. I made sure that no one was looking before sneaking behind the stage with Aiden. Aiden saw Louis with Liam, Niall, and Zayn and ran right up to them.

“That was awesome guys!" he cheered giving each of them a high five. I looked around for Harry, but I didn’t see him anywhere. All of a sudden, someone came up behind me, and grabbed my waist. I knew it was Harry when his curls fell on my shoulders.

“Hello Mr. Styles," I said grabbing on to his hands. He smelt like cool peppermint sending chills down my spine.

“Did you enjoy the show?" he purred, rocking back and forth aimlessly. My legs were literally melting. If he wasn't holding me up I would be in a ball on the ground!

“It was incredible! Did you do all of that for me?" I questioned still in shock over the whole performance. Harry turned me around so that we were still hugging, but he could look into my eyes.

“Yes," he replied, moving a piece of hair from my eyes, “You know I've been thinking. I'm exremely lucky those dogs chased me that day.As freaking random as it was, I still wouldn't have become so close to you. I really like you Ally. You are cute, funny, and you are incredible to talk to. Ally Striker, will you be my girlfriend?"

“Absolutely!" I cried hugging him tight and burying my face in his warm chest. Harry lifted my chin so our eyes met. Then he bent down until our lips were touching. I could feel Harry smiling as we kissed. I couldn’t help but smile myself. This was just too perfect. As Harry’s lips moved smoothly on mine, I could hear the flash of cameras, but Harry didn’t care, so I ignored it. His left hand was intertwined in my hair as his right hand was holding me close to him. Eventually, Harry pulled away smiling. He took my hand and led me over to the boys.

“Well congratualtions you two," Liam said with a huge grin on his face. He knew Harry’s plan the whole time. By the look on all of their faces, I could tell everyone knew. Aiden stepped forward with his arms crossed on his chest.

“Congratulations on what?" he asked. Harry, who hadn’t noticed Aiden before, released my hand so he could kneel down.

“You must be Aiden," he said sweetly.

“You must be the guy with the nice car," Aiden snapped back. This didn’t phase Harry.

“if you would like, I could give you a ride in it," he offered. Harry had Aiden’s undivided attention now. “We could play some football, erm I mean soccer, in the park too."

“I like you," Aiden said giving Harry a high five. All of the boys began to laugh.

“We’re going to meet some fans, I’ll meet you at the car?" Harry said to me.

“Yeah that’s fine," I replied stealing Aiden away from his new friends. As soon as the boys turned the corner to the awaiting fans I could hear Harry being bombarded with questions about me.

“Who was the girl you were singing to?" someone asked.

“Louis! Is Harry still single?" another cried.

“Where did the mystery girl go?" someone else wondered. The boys all responded with the same answer.

“We love you guys, but let Harry have a bit of privacy," Liam advised. Without answering anymore questions and simply waving, the boys made their way to the car. On our way home, Aiden wouldn’t shut up. He was singing along to the songs on the radio with Niall and Zayn. Louis was busy on his phone. Liam was dancing along to the music. Harry just sat there smiling with me under his arm, probably soaking everything in like me. When we got home Harry told Aiden he would be around by noon.

“We have an interview in the morning so be ready!" Harry exclaimed before giving me a quick hug. Aiden ran into the house, tired and excited at the same time. “I like Aiden, he’s quite cheeky."

“Get some rest," I told him while ruffling up his curls. Harry laughed. I gave him a light kiss to end the night and then they were off.

At around 11:30 my phone buzzed signaling a new text. I rolled over to see who it was from, nearly blinding myself with the light.

HARRY: Louis just reminded me there may be a question about who is single tomorrow...they ask it everytime...what do I say?

ME: Do what ever you think is best. They are going to find out eventually...this seems kind of soon.

Harry was right. He will be asked that question no matter what. It seems a bit odd to confirm our relationship only a day after we confirmed it ourselves, but that is what will happen if you start to date an internationally famous boyband member. Usually, the couple is given a bit of time to adjust and let the fans adjust. Not now.

HARRY: I'm sorry...I wouldn't drag you in to this so soon if I could help it. Get some rest! Xx..