ASHLEY

The car ride back to our hotel was relaxing. Shawn mumbles a goodnight and I hug him. I head to my room, take off my heels and lay on my bed immediately. My toes feel  'free' after I take them off. I just lay  there for a few minutes straight. I decide to text Ruby and Mary, and tell them about the incidents on the roof top.

Ruby:I told you. This is the beginning.

Mary: I ship

Me: you guys. We only talked and exchanged phone numbers.

Ruby: Niall and I did the same thing and look where we are right now ;)

Mary: i agree. Ash, this could be a new positive turn in your life.

Me: ok guys. That's enough.

Ruby: ):

Me: i have to go. Goodnight. Love ya both x

Ruby and Mary: Goodnight Ash. All the love

I close the chat and plug my phone to the charger. Harry said he is going to call me. I wonder why though. I open my laptop, just in case. I browse through social media and like a few posts. As usual, I come across some article about everything that occurred in Madame Tussauds. For me, right now, I feel like it was stupid. For how long am I going to keep taking in all the hate? This has to stop. Honestly, I am tired of being the victim every single time. I've had enough of this in high school. I am not going to let this affect my future.

I browse through YouTube to watch some videos. I hop to Lilly Singh's (aka Superwoman) channel and watch her latest one. She has to be my favorite Youtuber.  Her videos are worth watching and cheers me up.
I watch a few music videos as well, and jam along to them. I patiently wait for Harry's call. I guess he has fallen asleep.

Just as I'm about to shut my laptop, I get a Facetime call. I accept it and there he is.

'Hi hi hi hi am I late?' his raspy voice speaks. I turn on my camera.

'Hey hey hey. No you're not. You're just on time' I reply back.

'Great. I see you haven't changed?'

'Yeah. I'm so tired. I just collapsed on bed as soon as I entered my room' I say and chuckle softly.

'Right. That's okay. Anyway, how was the dinner party?'

'It was amazing. I loved my food. Ruby's comments on the dessert were hilarious'

'I know, but I'm still a professional baker' Harry says and raises his eyebrows.

'You need to prove that, though'

'Okay I'll make the finest pies of England and bring them during the camp. You're going, right?'

The camp. I totally forgot about it. 

'Yeah I guess. I haven't went to a camp for so long. I'm happy that Shawn wants to take me'

'Yeah, it's also going to be good for you. I think if you mix with people, you'll eventually improve' Harry advises.

I don't say anything for a few seconds. Does he have any knowledge about my condition? Did Shawn tell him?

'Yeah, Shawn told me' he replies at that very moment. I raise my eyebrows out of shock. Did he read my mind or something?

'Oh.' That's all I can blurt out.

'Please don't get mad at him. It's not his fault. I asked him about you. I was curious.'

He was curious about me? That's intriguing. I've never had someone, other than people who are extremely close, worry about me like that.

'Yeah. I didn't have the best high school time like others. But anyway, let's not talk about that.' I tell him and he nods.

'Okay.' he replies.  I spot a brown mark on his blue T shirt. I wonder if it's a stain.

'You got something on your shirt' I tell him and he looks at it.

'Where?'

'In the middle. Right there' I point at the top part of his chest.

'Oh this. I was making chocolate pudding. I didn't notice it'

'I see you still like to bake. Why don't you work as a part time baker?' I joke and rest my face on my right palm.

He laughs. 'I wish I could but I'd get papped every single day on my way to work.'

'You got a point. Anyway, what's your favorite pick up line, Mr. Styles?' I sit up with my back straight.

'Eh. Let me think. Hey are you the camera? Because every time I look at you, I smile' he raises a thumbs up and shows his teeth while smiling.

'Haha that was a good one. My turn.'

I clear my throat. 'Hey do you have a band aid? Because I scrapped my knees falling for you.'

We both burst out laughing. My monotone room gets filled with the sound of  laughter.

'I have to say, pick up lines enlightens the mood' Harry says while sipping some tea.

'Yes it does. What are you going to do now?' I ask him.

'Hmm, probably continue writing a song. I have to get it done soon. How about you?'

'Change my clothes and go to sleep I guess.'

'Okay. Oh Gosh, it's already really late' he tells me as he looks at his watch. 'It was pleasant talking to you'.

'Same here Harry.' I tell him.

'Sleep well, Ashley. We'll talk soon. Goodnight.' 

'Goodnight, you too'. With that, we both hang up.  I still can't believe I'm talking to Harry, privately. Moreover, the weird thing is that I don't feel any sort of hesitation taking over my inner self. I guess I'm improving? I don't know.

I quickly change into PJ's and brush my teeth. I am exhausted. I collapse on my bed as soon as I leave the washroom. To my surprise, I fall asleep within minutes. 

.

.

.

.

*two days later*
For two nights, astonishingly, I  haven't seen any nightmares. Although, I woke up in the middle of the night. Shawn's happy to know that I didn't see any nightmares. He's still waiting for my reports to come. The doctor predicted that it should be ready by today. Well, we're going on a camp tomorrow, so hopefully it's ready before we go there.

We're currently packing our necessary things into huge bags. It's going to be a five-day camp. I saw Mary stuffing in a lot of stuff and Shawn was helping her. Niall and Ruby decided to pack  together. In a few minutes, Ruby starts running with his shirt.

'Babe give it back!' Niall screams from the other side of the room.

'Catch me then' Ruby smirks and runs again, Niall after her. I watch them and pack at the same time. They're so adorable. I'm so happy for Ruby.
I turn my head to the other side and see Shawn and Mary sunk deeply in a conversation. Shawn's frequent smirks are telling me that he's flirting. I just shake my head. On the other hand, Niall finally caught Ruby and they're currently hugging each other. I'm surrounded by couples. It's good actually. I love seeing people being together.

I follow up my things with the list that I made. I only need to pack another pair of shoes and the toiletries bag. I quickly stuff them in and shut my bag. I cut off Shawn's conversation with Mary when I call him.

'Shawn, I'm done packing.'

'Okay, keep your bag over there' he points at the wooden cupboard. There are already a few bags inside. I'm guessing they are everyone's bags, excluding Liam, Louis and Harry.
My bag isn't that heavy, which is beyond good.

Liam enters in a moment, with a bag strapped around his body. He opens the cupboard, puts it in and joins me.

'Hey Ash, good morning.' He kindly says while smiling.

'Hey, Liam. Good morning. What's up?'

'Nothing much. Was a bit wrapped up with the song that Harry wrote. It's really good. It might be the new single.'

'Oh really? That's awesome. When are you planning to release it?'

'We don't know yet. Need to talk to the producer.'

'Okay. How's Bear?'

'Oh he's good. He loves his school, which is great. I was a bit worried.'

'That's so cool. I want to meet him'

'Yes I'm going to bring him. He'll love to see you after so many days.'

I haven't seen Bear for a year now. Last time I saw him was during his birthday. He has probably grown a lot by now.

Louis walks in, followed by Harry, with a few bags in their hands. They put them in the cupboard and finally, the doors of it are shut. Liam excuses himself to join Shawn, Mary and Louis. I go back to put my journal inside my handbag. I turn around and see Harry standing, almost colliding with him, again.

'Hey' he lets out. He moves a bit forward, to hug me. I accept it and put my hands around his back. Wow. That was totally unexpected. He smells, undoubtedly, really good. It's identical to roses. We quickly let go, aware of the presence around us.

'Hi. Good morning' is all I can say, even though I want to say a lot of things.

'Good morning. Good to see you in person after two days.' He smiles.

'Same here. Are you ready for the camp?'

'Yes, totally. I've already made the pies. I'm finally going to prove Ruby wrong.'

'We'll see about that.'

We are cut off by Shawn, asking whether we wanted to go to his apartment, which became ready yesterday.
Yes. That means we can finally leave the hotel.

'Yes. Definitely. We'd love to see your brand new, sophisticated apartment, buddy' Niall says and pats my brother's shoulders.

'Do you know how it looks like?' Harry whispers into my ear.

'Nope. Shawn was like 'It's a surprise'. I really hope it's nice and posh' I whisper back.

With that, Shawn and I check out from our hotel. We all get into a mini van, and head to our new home. I'm jumping with excitement. Can't wait to see how it looks like.