RECAP

“The boys should be here any minute,” Niall commented.

“Oh, I didn’t know they were coming.” I said happily, excited I would get to see them all before they left.

“Yeah, there’s one more thing...” Niall said nervously.

“What?” I asked him, worried at his discomfort.

The door opened quickly, slamming into the wall behind it. I jumped and whipped my head around in surprise.

“Hello, Grace.” A feminine voice purred.

My heart sank and I looked up at her face.

“My Aunt thought it would be nice if we invited her so you would know more people. I just found out,” He rubbed the back of his head worriedly.

I squeezed his hand in reassurance to let him know I wasn’t mad at him.

There, standing with her body pressed tightly against Harry was Harper.

There were so many things that were going through my mind- things I wanted to say to her.

But only two words came out.

“F*ck you.” I spat vehemently.

 CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

     Her eyes seemed to gleam in delight at my outburst- Harry froze in surprise at the frost in my voice and the tension was as thick as tar. He glanced between the two of us and slowly tried to pry Harper off of him as he backed towards the door. Niall squeezed my shoulder, trying to comfort me.

“Oh, has little Grace finally come out of her Goody two shoes image?” She sneered at me, and the hate in her eyes was prominent.

I stumbled for a response, still so caught off guard by the way she had been treating me. The things she had said to me were unforgiveable and so unlike the Harper I used to know.

“What, nothing to add?” She mocked me, flicking her hair over her shoulder.

“What is wrong with you?” I said, narrowing my eyes.

“I’m just exposing the real you, nothing more.” Her cat eyes flicked to Niall and she gave him a flirty wink. If I got any more upset, I was pretty sure steam would start coming out of my ears.

“You know what, Harper? I could care less about what you think of me. You have been nothing but a two faced b*tch ever since you’ve been here. I am ashamed I ever considered you a friend.” I looked at her with disappointment.

She scoffed, “Please, I felt bad for you- you were so pathetic in Vancouver I thought it was my duty to make you less of a loser.” She glanced at her freshly manicured hands and flicked her eyes up to hold my gaze. She paused for a second, letting the venom in her eyes cut through my defenses. “It also didn’t hurt your brother was a hot piece of ass.” She smirked.

I gaped at her, unable to respond with dignity.

She continued her brutal verbal attack mercilessly. “It wasn’t hard to hide what we did together either. Preston was always so worried you’d walk in on us. I assured him you were to naïve to notice- and you were.” She laughed daintily.

Niall seemed to shudder beside me. “Get out of my aunt’s house. Right now.” He hissed, and I had never heard anyone sound so angry. I smiled slightly, putting my palm on his chest, holding him back.

“Ni, it’s alright.” I said quietly.

I turned back around to see Harper looking at me with distaste. I walked slowly closer and stopped just in front of her. Before she could react, I raised my fist and punched her hard in the cheek, watching as her head snapped to the side from the force.

“Never speak to me again. You disgust me.” I spat, taking Niall by the hand and moving to go back inside the house.

She laughed lightly, clutching her face. “You know Grace; I only ever stuck around for Preston. I was never your friend.”

I paused, not bothering to turn around. “I never knew who he was talking about when he complained about a needy girl practically stalking him. I realize now that I’m not surprised it was you.”

Niall looked at Harper with hate. “I expect you gone within the minute.”

Harry looked down at Harper and followed Niall and I in the house, leaving her outside on the porch by herself. As it started raining, she called out to me.

“This isn’t over, you know.”

I closed the door tightly behind me. I looked up from the ground to see the boys staring down at me in awe of what had just happened. Niall put his arm over my shoulder and Harry coughed awkwardly.

“That was intense. She’s always seemed a little psycho to me.”

Zayn nodded in agreement. “What a weirdo.”                        

“Now I know never to get on your bad side… you have a good right hook.” Liam laughed.

I laughed in appreciation of the guys in front of me- the people who had been there for me when I needed them. I would always support them, no matter what happened in the future.

“Thanks guys. Let’s get back to the party.” I smiled, taking Niall’s outstretched hand.

As we walked down the hallway, Niall tugged my arm and we stopped. He brought me close to him and rested his head in the crook of my neck. “I’m proud of you, babe.” He murmured.

I closed my eyes and enjoyed the moment. “Thank you, but it was something I should have realized a long time ago.” I said quietly. I wasn’t exactly proud I had resorted to violence- it wasn’t like me. But I was through letting her treat me like I was inferior.

He kissed me lightly and I traced my hand through his soft hair.

“I’m going to miss you,” I said quietly.

“I’ll miss you more.” He chuckled.

I sighed, feeling the warmth our two bodies created between us. I pulled away reluctantly.

“We should get you back. You leave the day after tomorrow.”

He nodded and we walked out to the kitchen where the party was in full swing.

We talked with everyone and ate good food. It was overall a great night.

“Hey Niall, do you want to play a song with me?” A little boy with bright blue eyes asked when the party seemed to be winding down for the night.

“Sure James.” Niall smiled at his little cousin.

If I learned anything tonight it would be that Niall has a lot of family members- and every single one of them are just as amazing as he is.

They went to the corner of the room and Niall picked up the guitar while James grabbed a little drum from his toy trunk. It was adorable to say the least, the way Niall acted with kids.

They didn’t really play a song; Niall just played a couple of chords on guitar while James banged his drums. Soon enough his family was standing around clapping to the music. It was quite a sight.

Of course, nothing lasts forever and soon we heard the noise of vans outside and lots of people talking. Curious, I peeked through the curtain and was met by blinding flashes of various cameras.

I let the curtain fall back in place and walked back over to Niall. I felt like somehow this was my fault. They had successfully evaded the paparazzi and there was no doubt in my mind that Harper had let them know where they were.

I went to sit on the couch and noticed Pete sitting in his wheel chair around the corner, listening to the family singing and having fun. Something was wrong and I felt it in my bones.

I slowly walked over to him, wondering why he seemed so sad.

“Hi Pete,” I smiled at him. He looked startled for a moment and then regained his composure.

“Sorry for sneaking up on you,” I laughed. “Why don’t you come into the kitchen?”

“Oh, they’re having lots of fun. I don’t need to be out there.” He shrugged.

“I’m sure Niall would love to see you more before he leaves.” I smiled.

“I’m feeling a little tired now, I’m sorry Grace but could you please wish Niall good luck on tour for me?”

I paused, pursing my lips. I knew Pete was going through something at the moment, he just seemed so depressed and I wish he would let someone in.

I smiled, “Of course. I hope you feel better.”

He seemed to grimace and said, “I’m getting what I deserve.”

I stared after him as he wheeled back to his room. I was so confused- how could he possibly deserve how he is feeling? No one deserved it, no matter what they did.

Niall came to find me sitting on the couch.

“What are you doing all the way over here?” He joked, nudging me with his shoulder.

I just came to sit down. I smiled at him and pecked him on the cheek.

“It’s getting late, everyone is heading home. I should take you back now before Michael and Luisana kill me.” He laughed, offering his hand to help me up.

I nodded, “If you want I could always take a cab home? Then you could spend more time with your family.” I offered.

He shook his head. “No way, I’ll be coming home to visit when I can, so I’ll see them soon enough. I’m going to make sure my girl gets home safe.”

I blushed a deep red and he leaned in for a kiss.

I kissed him and when he pulled back I sighed. “The paparazzi are here, I’m pretty sure Harper called them.”

Niall swore under his breath. “That’s alright, we had a great night. They can’t spoil quality time with my favourite people in the world.”

I smiled. “Alright. Let me just say goodbye to everyone first.”

He nodded and joined me in hugging everyone before we left.

“Thanks for having me Aunt Kim. Give Pete a hug for me, I’m sure I’ll see you guys soon.” I hugged her tightly.

“Of course dear, and just because Niall won’t be around for a while doesn’t mean you can’t stop by for a visit every once in a while. It would be nice to see you.” She smiled fondly at me.

I said goodbye to Maura and Bobby, hugging them tightly and promising to keep in touch.

Lastly I gave the boys a hug and they promised to stop by and say goodbye before they left.

When we opened the door everything lit up, the cries of the paparazzi and the flashes of cameras blinded me and if it weren’t for Niall clearing a walkway for us, I wasn’t sure I would have been able to navigate through the crazy photographers on my own.

We got in the car and Niall put the car in reverse, starting to back up despite the people behind us.

“If I don’t force them to move, they’ll purposely block me so we can’t leave.” He explained, seeming to read my mind.

“This is crazy.” I said in disbelief. Even though I had experienced the paparazzi with Niall before, I wondered if I would ever get used to them.

When we finally made it out, we saw the vans begin to follow us.

I sighed, “Man they sure are persistent aren’t they?”

Niall nodded glumly. “They’re one of the only downfalls about my job.”

I took his hand and we drove most of the way in a comfortable silence.

When we neared my house, I quickly got out our gate and garage opener. When we pulled through the now open gate, we stopped just far enough in front of it that we could close it without any of the paparazzi’s cars getting through. Next, I opened up my garage that connected to the side of the house and Niall drove in.

When we got out we checked the security monitors showing the street in front of the house. More and more vans seemed to be appearing, blocking the way out.

It was already two in the morning and I doubted we would be able to get Niall out without a fuss.

I rubbed the back of my head nervously.

“Do you want to stay over?” I asked, looking into his eyes.

A mischievous smile lit up his face and he leaned down for a kiss.

“Lead the way, babe.”

If I thought the butterflies in my stomach were bad before, they were going crazy now.

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Hi guys :)

Sorry it took so long for the update. I've been really busy.

I'm not too sure how I feel about this chapter, but I gave it my best shot!

I wonder what's going to happen when Niall stays the night? ;) Haha.

Love you all as usual :)

Vote/comment :) <3

First comment gets dedication!