Aria’s POV

I had been waiting in the airport for hours before I could board another plane to New York. The airport wasn’t busy at all, so I sat by myself, shedding a few tears and thinking about the past few weeks. Harry’s words had hurt but I felt that I deserved them. I felt nothing but low and vile. No matter how hard he tried to play tough, that boy was nothing but a softy. He deserved more than I could ever possibly give him. He could never trust me again, and I wouldn’t ask him to.

But a part of me did hope that he would have came after me and tried to stop me from leaving. It made things hurt worse when he didn’t. I even hoped that he would magically appear at the airport. But no. It just made everything seem more over with us. My mind switched gears to the ones I left behind without saying goodbye. Once they found out, I know that I will be the enemy, and just like Perrie said, she’ll come out smelling like a rose. A fake rose, perhaps, but still a rose.

And then there were the fans… I knew more hate would come my way and I wasn’t prepared for that. So like the coward I am, I got on my phone and deleted my Twitter. None of this is what I wanted. I just wanted to be happy but I screwed that up. It was my entire fault. I started to think about all the “what ifs”. What if I hadn’t told him? What if I never took the assignment? All of those things and more raced through my head and I felt overwhelmed. Reality started to sink in soon. I had no job, very little money, bills to pay, people hating me. I wanted to curl up in a ball and disappear into nothing. But it’s just never that easy.

My flight was called and I began to board. I was leaving the city where my wishes and wants came true. The place where friends and love evolved. But it was also the place where it had to end. I would go back to New York, once again unsure of my future. I was alone with nobody to turn to, nobody to care. But life had to go on and my broken heart had to heal. But I knew it wouldn’t be easy. Life is never easy, so why would this be any different?

I sat in my seat, buckling my belt and turning off my phone. I drifted to sleep, where nothing but the nightmares of Harry being ripped from my arms occurred.

Harry’s POV

I stood there, staring at where she had once been. I couldn’t bring myself to move. Upstairs I heard everyone counting down to the New Year, but I still didn’t move. I didn’t know how long I had been standing there when someone finally came downstairs. Liam and Danielle were hand in hand, smiling and laughing together. Liam’s eyes fell on me and his expression turned from happy to concern. He walked over to me, looking me dead in the eyes, “Hazza, you okay?”

I knew if I spoke, I would break. Instead of speaking, I just shook my head. Danielle stood beside him, worried, “Where’s Aria?”

At the sound of her name, my insides twisted into a knot and my heart dropped. A few tears escaped from my eyes and Liam became more urgent, “Harry, what happened?”

My words came out in a broken whisper, “She left…”

Liam and Danielle looked at each other and turned back to Harry. Liam gripped his shoulder, “Why would she do that?”

I couldn’t explain it all. It was too much for me to live through once. I didn’t want to replay it again. So, I lied, “She had a family emergency.”

I knew they would find out the truth in a few hours but I just wanted to be left alone for the moment. Danielle patted my cheek, “Then why are you so sad, babe?”

I shrugged a shoulder, “It will be a while before I can see her again. You know how it is.”

Liam smiled slightly to himself, “Yeah, I understand. Don’t worry though, mate. You’ll see her soon.”

I nodded my head and they said they were going to go home. I said goodbye and shut my door behind them, locking it in place. Being alone was the best thing for me. I flopped down in my bed, staring up at the ceiling. Tears began to come back to my eyes as I began thinking, I don’t think I will see her soon.

After an hour or so, I closed my puffy eyes, and drifted to sleep. After what felt like only a few minutes, I was abruptly awoken by banging on my door. I rolled over, looking at my alarm clock: 12:17 PM. The beating on the door continued and I tried to ignore it, “Harry Edward Styles. Open this bloody fucking door!”

Louis’ voice was muffled by the walls. He continued his rant, practically beating the door. I had no plans of getting up. Finally after about ten minutes, it went quiet. I sighed in relief and rolled back over, closing my eyes to escape the problems that were still left behind. I drifted back to sleep when suddenly the blankets were ripped off of me. I groaned, opening my eyes to see a pissed off Louis standing over my bed. I didn’t need this, “What the fuck, Lou? How did you get in here?”

Louis’ expression remained serious, “I picked the lock.”

I was slightly amused by the idea of Louis picking a lock but his expression kept me serious, “And what do you want exactly?”

“Your little girlfriend told all our shit to the newspaper,” he hissed the words.

I didn’t want to have this argument but I knew it was coming anyway, “I know, Lou.”

He looked puzzled for a second, “What do you mean ‘you know’?”

“She told me,” I muttered.

He looked taken aback, “That’s why she left, isn’t it?”

I simply nodded my head and his expression turned to sadness. He sat down by me, “I’m so sorry, Harry…”

I didn’t want his sympathy or pity, so I played it off. I shrugged my shoulders, trying to look in-different, “I knew it was too good to be true.”

He glanced at me confused, “So that’s it then? You two are over? You aren’t going to try to fix it?”

I thought over his words. I didn’t want to show how this was affecting me because it would bring down the others: the boys and my family and the fans. The last thing I wanted was everyone to be careful around me like I might break. I wanted to try to make things go back to normal as much as they could, even if that meant on the inside I was screaming. Just the thought of people treating me differently made me feel worse. Putting on a façade was something I knew I would have to do to stay sane.

Deep inside I did want to fix it, but I didn’t think it would ever go back to normal. There were too many wounds and trust issues now. Right now all I wanted to focus on was clearing my head and giving each other space. But if I didn’t play like I was okay, my friends would suffocate me for her. I looked Louis straight in the eyes, “That’s it.”

Louis furrowed his eyebrows, staring at me, trying to decide whether I was lying. Finally he spoke, “I thought you loved her.”

I flinched a little but recovered quickly, “Yeah, well, feelings change. Especially when you find out everything was a lie.”

Louis looked a little shocked but then a little grateful, “Well… As long as you’re okay Haz…”

I lied to my best mate again, “I am, Lou. Don’t worry.”

I tried my best to smile at him convincingly and it apparently worked. He patted me on the cheek and smiled, “I’m glad. I was afraid she broke my Hazza.”

I smiled at him as he stood and walked to the door. He stopped and turned to me once more, “You know, I read the article… She might have been using you at first, but in the end, I do think she truly loves you, Harry…”

He looked at me meaningfully and turned and left the room. I mulled over his words. I didn’t doubt that she loved me. And I did still love her. But this couldn’t just be repaired and we couldn’t just go back to normal. Once everything got out to my family and the fans, it would be that much harder to fix. But I first needed to decide if I even wanted to fix it. Could I even trust her again? I had a lot of thinking to do.

Notes

Directioners,

1) Should Harry have lied about his feelings?

2) Should Harry get over his trust issures?

3) What do you want to see happen next?
Thanks to all the lovely people who read this :)