Save Me Please
Commencement
*Set Two Years Later*
"Does my hair look alright?" I frantically ask Gemma as I stand with her behind the stage. I run my fingers through it for the billionth time.
I'm nervous as hell. I'm finally graduating from here and moving onto one of the best colleges to study History, which is great. (Plus it also has a great soccer team.) But I was voted by the entire student body to give our commencement address, which is to all the freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors, family and faculty at our school.
Fuck my life.
Gemma adjusts my hair under my mortarboard, slapping at my fingers to stop me. "You look fine. I promise. Do you honestly think I'd let you go out in front of thousands of people like that?"
"Yes."
She rolls her eyes at my pathetic, nervous joke. "Do I need to get my brother here to calm you down?"
"That would be preferable." I give her a silent thanks as she goes off to find Harry with the other soccer players (including the now-graduated Zayn and Louis who both flew from their respective colleges to see my speech.) I go over my words, hoping that I speak to everyone because everyone needs to hear these words.
"Hey, babe." Harry wraps me in a hug. I was so out of it I didn't even see him come up. "You nervous?"
"Extremely." I lean my head in his chest.
"You'll do great. I mean, you haven't even let me hear your speech yet but I know you'll do great." Harry says with a gentle poke.
"Subtle hint there, Styles. But I think I'm ready to go up there." I smile, pulling away. "Go back to your seat."
He nods, giving me a final kiss which I have to prematurely end because I'm sure he'll mess up my lipgloss.
I step out onto the podium, shuffling my papers. I'm met with applause, which I accept with a graceful and grateful smile. I clear my throat.
"My name is Beck Braydon, and I've been chosen to speak for our graduating class. There were a lot of worthy people who could've been chosen, but I'm glad you guys picked me. Because I have a very unique message: one of hope for those who feel hopeless.
"The first year and a half of high school was, pardon my French, pure hell. I was miserable after being constantly bullied by the people who picked me to stand up and represent them today. I had lost all hope. I actually planned to kill myself."
There's a collective gasp from the audience. I can't look at Mom, Gemma, Anne, the boys, least of all Harry. I keep my eye on no one, just kind of glancing around.
"I know, it was that bad. But then I got a savior, who is my current boyfriend and championship-winning goalie Harry Styles. And I will never stop being grateful that he decided to step back into my life and gave me the hope I now have today."
"But most people aren't that lucky. I'm sorry to break it to some of you, there usually aren't knights on white horses off to rescue you from the demons and dragons of high school. The only person that can save you is you. After Harry gave me the will to keep going, I stood up to my bullies and I kept going. I'm going to one of the best colleges in the country, I have a 4.1 GPA and I've made friends who I hope I will never forget. And I'm telling you this as a person who stood in front of a mirror with a bottle of vodka and a thing of pills planning to end it all." I ignore the gasps.
"If you take anything from this speech, I want you to know that you need to keep going. It will get better, whether you force it to or everything just decides to fall in its place. It will be hard, trust me. But I believe every one of you out there could do it. So thank you for picking me to come up here, and I hope my story provided some inspiration. I mean, fuck it, we graduated from high school!" I through my hands up, relishing the gasps of the people at my cussing. "What else is there? College? C'mon, you guys. We got this. To our graduating class and everyone after us." I step back to gesture that I'm done and every single person in the audience stands up and applauds feverishly.
*At Niall's Graduation Party*
I look around for the boys. I wasn't able to say anything to them after because a bunch of random strangers (parents and students alike) had to tell me how brave I was and I how inspiring I was. While I was very grateful to their feedback, I really just want to see my best friends.
My mom cried driving me over here. She was so proud of me for coming through about my story (I had told her sometime back junior year) and she told me that she couldn't have had a better daughter.
While I love my mom, I was grateful we were approaching the Horan house because I did not need to mess up my makeup with my tears.
I look around the kitchen, knowing where Niall is he's where the beer is (his parents are turning a blind eye). I'm suddenly wrapped up in a hug and spun around to face the hugger.
It's Louis and Liam. "Hey!"
"That was the best fucking speech I've ever heard, Brayden. Congrats." Louis bows to me. I laugh.
"Thanks for showing up." I tell him.
"Seriously, Beck, that was fantastic. A little heartbreaking, but I loved it." Liam says.
"Thanks. Sorry I broke your heart."
"We just hate to hear about the bullshit to happen to you." Liam gives me a pout. Before I can say anything, they both wrap me in a group hug.
"You're the bravest motherfucker ever!" Louis shouts in my ear.
"Get off me, you weirdos!" I laugh, but they don't relinquish me for at least a minute.
"Hey, Beck!" Niall shouts, pushing through the crowd with Zayn. "Great speech. Pure stuff. Fucking sweet." He approaches just as Liam and Louis decide they need beer and leave me be.
"Thanks." I grin.
Zayn, never one for words, just hugs me. I hug him back.
"Hey! Hands off my girl!" Harry jokingly shouts, quickly approaching. Zayn raises his palms as if to say I don't want trouble and they leave us be. My boyfriend then turns a bit serious. "We need to talk."
He leads me up to Niall's brother's room, which is miraculously empty. "Why didn't you tell me any of that stuff?"
"I dunno, Harry." I seethe under my breath. "Every time I tried to tell you, it seemed like a shit time. And it's not something you can text someone or leave as voicemail. I know I just told over a thousand people, but most of those people were strangers. Telling you was going to be different. I had to admit to myself and you that I was going to kill myself and the only person who stopped me was you. And it just seemed terrifying to admit I needed someone."
"Do you ever feel that way anymore?" He asks quietly.
"Some residual stuff." I say honestly, turning away. "But nothing really serious."
Harry, without a word, just pulls me onto his lip and gently kisses my neck. "You're allowed to need me you know. I need you too. People in love need each other."
"I know." I tilt my head for him to better access. "I'm glad I have you, Harry. And I'm thankful you helped me through my dark times without even realizing it. I just needed to save myself, and I knew you'd try to save me." I give him a smile.
"Love you babe."
"Love you too." He's about to go for my lips when 4 loud boys barge into the room. I pull apart, pursing my lips together annoyed.
"What?" Harry and I both ask, annoyed with the interruption.
"On my brother's bed!?" Niall yelps. Zayn smacks the back of his head.
"Guess what?" Liam asks, like an excited puppy.
"Your speech is viral on YouTube. Someone filmed it and posted it, and it already 500,000 views."
"Holy fuck!" I yelp, almost falling out of Harry's lap, but he keeps me tighter in his grip.
As they all shout their congrats, my savior whispers in my ear, "Congrats babe. You deserve it."
THE END
"Does my hair look alright?" I frantically ask Gemma as I stand with her behind the stage. I run my fingers through it for the billionth time.
I'm nervous as hell. I'm finally graduating from here and moving onto one of the best colleges to study History, which is great. (Plus it also has a great soccer team.) But I was voted by the entire student body to give our commencement address, which is to all the freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors, family and faculty at our school.
Fuck my life.
Gemma adjusts my hair under my mortarboard, slapping at my fingers to stop me. "You look fine. I promise. Do you honestly think I'd let you go out in front of thousands of people like that?"
"Yes."
She rolls her eyes at my pathetic, nervous joke. "Do I need to get my brother here to calm you down?"
"That would be preferable." I give her a silent thanks as she goes off to find Harry with the other soccer players (including the now-graduated Zayn and Louis who both flew from their respective colleges to see my speech.) I go over my words, hoping that I speak to everyone because everyone needs to hear these words.
"Hey, babe." Harry wraps me in a hug. I was so out of it I didn't even see him come up. "You nervous?"
"Extremely." I lean my head in his chest.
"You'll do great. I mean, you haven't even let me hear your speech yet but I know you'll do great." Harry says with a gentle poke.
"Subtle hint there, Styles. But I think I'm ready to go up there." I smile, pulling away. "Go back to your seat."
He nods, giving me a final kiss which I have to prematurely end because I'm sure he'll mess up my lipgloss.
I step out onto the podium, shuffling my papers. I'm met with applause, which I accept with a graceful and grateful smile. I clear my throat.
"My name is Beck Braydon, and I've been chosen to speak for our graduating class. There were a lot of worthy people who could've been chosen, but I'm glad you guys picked me. Because I have a very unique message: one of hope for those who feel hopeless.
"The first year and a half of high school was, pardon my French, pure hell. I was miserable after being constantly bullied by the people who picked me to stand up and represent them today. I had lost all hope. I actually planned to kill myself."
There's a collective gasp from the audience. I can't look at Mom, Gemma, Anne, the boys, least of all Harry. I keep my eye on no one, just kind of glancing around.
"I know, it was that bad. But then I got a savior, who is my current boyfriend and championship-winning goalie Harry Styles. And I will never stop being grateful that he decided to step back into my life and gave me the hope I now have today."
"But most people aren't that lucky. I'm sorry to break it to some of you, there usually aren't knights on white horses off to rescue you from the demons and dragons of high school. The only person that can save you is you. After Harry gave me the will to keep going, I stood up to my bullies and I kept going. I'm going to one of the best colleges in the country, I have a 4.1 GPA and I've made friends who I hope I will never forget. And I'm telling you this as a person who stood in front of a mirror with a bottle of vodka and a thing of pills planning to end it all." I ignore the gasps.
"If you take anything from this speech, I want you to know that you need to keep going. It will get better, whether you force it to or everything just decides to fall in its place. It will be hard, trust me. But I believe every one of you out there could do it. So thank you for picking me to come up here, and I hope my story provided some inspiration. I mean, fuck it, we graduated from high school!" I through my hands up, relishing the gasps of the people at my cussing. "What else is there? College? C'mon, you guys. We got this. To our graduating class and everyone after us." I step back to gesture that I'm done and every single person in the audience stands up and applauds feverishly.
*At Niall's Graduation Party*
I look around for the boys. I wasn't able to say anything to them after because a bunch of random strangers (parents and students alike) had to tell me how brave I was and I how inspiring I was. While I was very grateful to their feedback, I really just want to see my best friends.
My mom cried driving me over here. She was so proud of me for coming through about my story (I had told her sometime back junior year) and she told me that she couldn't have had a better daughter.
While I love my mom, I was grateful we were approaching the Horan house because I did not need to mess up my makeup with my tears.
I look around the kitchen, knowing where Niall is he's where the beer is (his parents are turning a blind eye). I'm suddenly wrapped up in a hug and spun around to face the hugger.
It's Louis and Liam. "Hey!"
"That was the best fucking speech I've ever heard, Brayden. Congrats." Louis bows to me. I laugh.
"Thanks for showing up." I tell him.
"Seriously, Beck, that was fantastic. A little heartbreaking, but I loved it." Liam says.
"Thanks. Sorry I broke your heart."
"We just hate to hear about the bullshit to happen to you." Liam gives me a pout. Before I can say anything, they both wrap me in a group hug.
"You're the bravest motherfucker ever!" Louis shouts in my ear.
"Get off me, you weirdos!" I laugh, but they don't relinquish me for at least a minute.
"Hey, Beck!" Niall shouts, pushing through the crowd with Zayn. "Great speech. Pure stuff. Fucking sweet." He approaches just as Liam and Louis decide they need beer and leave me be.
"Thanks." I grin.
Zayn, never one for words, just hugs me. I hug him back.
"Hey! Hands off my girl!" Harry jokingly shouts, quickly approaching. Zayn raises his palms as if to say I don't want trouble and they leave us be. My boyfriend then turns a bit serious. "We need to talk."
He leads me up to Niall's brother's room, which is miraculously empty. "Why didn't you tell me any of that stuff?"
"I dunno, Harry." I seethe under my breath. "Every time I tried to tell you, it seemed like a shit time. And it's not something you can text someone or leave as voicemail. I know I just told over a thousand people, but most of those people were strangers. Telling you was going to be different. I had to admit to myself and you that I was going to kill myself and the only person who stopped me was you. And it just seemed terrifying to admit I needed someone."
"Do you ever feel that way anymore?" He asks quietly.
"Some residual stuff." I say honestly, turning away. "But nothing really serious."
Harry, without a word, just pulls me onto his lip and gently kisses my neck. "You're allowed to need me you know. I need you too. People in love need each other."
"I know." I tilt my head for him to better access. "I'm glad I have you, Harry. And I'm thankful you helped me through my dark times without even realizing it. I just needed to save myself, and I knew you'd try to save me." I give him a smile.
"Love you babe."
"Love you too." He's about to go for my lips when 4 loud boys barge into the room. I pull apart, pursing my lips together annoyed.
"What?" Harry and I both ask, annoyed with the interruption.
"On my brother's bed!?" Niall yelps. Zayn smacks the back of his head.
"Guess what?" Liam asks, like an excited puppy.
"Your speech is viral on YouTube. Someone filmed it and posted it, and it already 500,000 views."
"Holy fuck!" I yelp, almost falling out of Harry's lap, but he keeps me tighter in his grip.
As they all shout their congrats, my savior whispers in my ear, "Congrats babe. You deserve it."
THE END
No prob. :)
8/5/13