The Wanted Girl

Brielle's POV:
I had four more days left in Boston. But I didn't need it. It was the day after I had left and I was already longing to go home. It sounded funny saying that. Home. Because in reality, this was technically my home. Boston. I loved Boston, always had. But even spending time with my dad and the team and even my future colleagues wouldn't be enough. I wanted to go back to Harry and Zayn and Sophie and Liam and Niall and even Louis who was driving me completely insane. I wondered if this space would be good for Harry and I. He said the L-word. He wasn't allowed to say that. He was supposed to wait until we had been together for awhile. But, as per usual, he caught me off guard. Do I love him? No. Could I love him? Yeah probably. He was perfect. He cared for me, took on my dad, made horrible jokes about anything and everything, and so much more. But how do you take something like that? A celebrity boyfriend telling you he loved you? It was terrifying.

My dad and I had a breakfast to attend this morning with the team and I was beyond excited. I hadn't seen the guys in so long I was scared I'd forget their positions and totally embarrass myself. It was like I had spend the last few days cramming for a test and now I was restless and jumpy. I was worried that I would screw everything up.

I put on my outfit, which consisted of my rock revival jeans, sneakers, and my boston baseball shirt I'd had forever. It said 'passion-history-pride' on the front and 'wicked strong' on the back. It was my absolute favorite and around here, pretty much my trademark and lucky charm.

I walked into the dining hall and screamed, "ARE YOU READY FOR SOME BOSTON BASEBALL!" Mocking the announcers voice.

My dad beamed with happiness and the team cheered, "BRIELLE!!!"

I was attacked with hugs and questions as to why I hadn't been around lately. A few accused me of turning into a girl and others asked if 'that british kid' was treating me well.

"Thought you'd just ditch Boston and have some English fairytale?" David asked me.

I scoffed, "You're kidding right? Do you think Kate Middleton can throw from the outfield to homeplate?"

He grinned, "Probably right. Just making sure we didn't lose you to pop music and weird accents. Do you remember ANYTHING about baseball?!"

I pretended to be offended, "David Ortiz. Designated hitter. MLB history RBI's of 1429. With a current average .14 higher than your MLB total. Good for you dude, glad you're not getting TOO old!"

He began laughing uncontrollably and pulled me into a hug, "Well next time pretty boys in town, bring him here. We'd love to meet him."

"He's mad excited to meet you guys too, actually." I said, beaming.

I made small talk with some of the players before settling in my seat next to my dad. I'd never seen him so happy around the players, unless they had just won the World Series that is. He was normally pretty calm around them. Making sure they knew that he was not only in charge, but could kill their contracts whenever he wanted. They respected him like hell, and I think it was nice for them to see him act like an actual human being for once.

"I'm glad you came Bri. Missed my girl." He said, patting me on the shoulder.

"Awe don't get all emotional on me just yet dad!" I teased.

He knocked my arm playfully, "Me? Emotional? I'm a MAN!"

I snorted laughing, "Of course you are."

"So how's Harold been treating ya?" He asked, nonchalantly.

"First of all, it's Harry. Calling him Harold makes me think of old men and christmas carols. Second, he's just great." I said, not so enthusiastically.

"What did he do?" He asked.

I wanted to lie. I mean no girl tells their dad and a bunch of professional baseball players this shit. And yeah, they were all now quiet, staring at me, intently listening. So I figured hey, i'd have like 50 male opinions on the issue, why not.

"He told me he loved me like an hour before I left." I mumbled.

Bryce spoke up first, "Woah. Ballsy dude."

Dan rubbed his hands together and leaned forward, "Wait. How did he say it though. Was it a straight out 'I love you'?"

I thought about it for a minute, "Well no. I mean he said something along the lines of 'if they love you half as much as i do.'"

Dad chirped in next, "Well Bri, that's really different. Doesn't mean he doesn't love you. But it means he wasn't trying to make some statement. Right guys?"

I looked around the long table and all forty five players nodded their head in agreement. Proving right, I'm an absolute idiot.

"So now I look like I made something out of it that wasn't even there." I groaned, resting my head on the table dramatically.

"Well not necessarily, I mean what was his reaction?" Lav asked, listening carefully.

I thought about it for a minute, "Well he looked shocked, like he didn't even realize he said it."

David laughed, "So yeah, you can't hold that against him then. It slipped. Don't freak him out by freaking yourself out."

"I just fucked everything up." I said, wide eyed.

My dad put his arm around me, "No you didn't. Like he said, if he loves you half as much as we do, this won't change a thing. I like that Harry fella, seems like he's got his head on straight."

I laughed as he continued, "He even promised he'd get you back here for playoffs and promised if you supported his traveling now, he'd support you needing to be in Boston later."

My eyes widened, "He said that?"

He nodded his head, "Yeah, he did. I never thought I'd say this, but he seems decent."

I smiled, "Yeah he is."

Lav butted in again, "I haven't even met him but I doubt he's good enough for you."

My dad laughed, "Oh no, he's definitely not. But no one ever will be in my eyes, so at least I know he's taking care of you."

I smiled and cleared my throat, "So what do I do now?"

Ryan leaned back in his chair to stretch and grinned, "You fly your ass back to LA and fix this wreck."

"What if this changed everything?" I asked.

Bryce grinned, "It won't. Boston strong remember?"

I bumped fists with him and winked, "Boston strong."

I pulled out my phone to text my man.
To: Harry Styles
From: Brielle Coxen
I'm coming home. Have a wonderful time on your date today. I heard you raised 32 grand for make a wish. You're incredible.
xox, Brielle <3

Sophia's POV:
I waited outside of my hotel room for Zayn. Connor made sure I was in my best state of mind, taking away all of my alcohol, pot, and even my fucking cigarettes. I wore a loose red and gray striped tanktop and shorts. But apparently, I had to bring two changes of clothes for the day. Zayn was really excited and planned all sorts of shenanigans.

Zayn turned the corner and grinned, "You look nice."

I snorted, "I'm sober, that's probably why."

He nodded, taking my hand in his and pulling me down the hallway. I was surprised at his gesture, and honestly a little uncomfortable. I mean don't get me wrong, I liked holding his hand. But it all felt forced.

"Sophia, we're on a date. I'm allowed to hold your hand missy." He said smiling.

I felt myself loosen up a bit, grinning right back at him, "It's not a real date Zayn, it's for charity."

He laughed, "Connor told me you'd say that. He told me to say that he spent a lot of money to make this happen and that you'd better play nice or he's flushing bubby down the toilet. I have no idea what a bubby is but apparently you'd get it."

My eyes went wide with shock, "HE WOULDN'T!"

"Who's bubby?" He asked curiously.

I smiled sheepishly, "My teddy from when I was two. I used to drag it around with me. He comes everywhere. That little fucker better not touch him!"

He squeezed my hand before letting go of it, leaving me feeling slightly empty, "He won't if you get through this date like a normal person."

We had a photographer follow us around all day, posting pictures online for the world to see. Apparently, the magazine wanted to interest people before they released the article and they were using pictures on instagram and Facebook to do so.

We honestly just sat around and talked for awhile. Covering anything and everything. I told him the most embarrassing stories about Max and I and he told me about all of the horrible shit he used to do to his sisters. They sounded hilarious. Waliyah honestly sounded like a younger version of me. We talked Connor for a while and it was cool, being on a date with someone who didn't want to punch my bestfriend in the face every 5 seconds. Zayn didn't hate anyone. He was stress free. I had always looked at Louis' craziness as passion, finding myself thankful that he cared so much. But Zayn proved just fine that he cared without trying to push me away from everyone I loved. We even talked about Perrie. Which wasn't awkward, it was nice. He told me that she would always scream at him for not making an effort to be closer to me, and he said that this was his way of making up for it. Which by the way, got quite the laugh out of me.

The photographer came up to us and showed us a picture, having to clear if it was okay to post. I didn't even look at it, I was having too much fun to care. My phone buzzed and I looked at the notification.


@MakeAWish: @ZaynMalik and @SophiaGeorge on part one of their date! More pictures to come!

I snorted and showed it to him. He nodded approvingly with raised eyebrows, "We're a cute couple, you know that?"

I smiled, staring at my feet, "I think so too."

He stood up and grabbed my hand. "Where are we going?!" I asked desperately.

"A basketball game!" He grinned.

The game was so much fun. We had great seats and even though we didn't know who we were rooting for, we ended up super into is. Like overly competitive cheerleaders. Half time came and I turned to him, ready to start conversing again.

He raised his eyebrows at me, "Wanna creep on the others?"

I laughed, "Oh my God YES!"

We checked the Make A Wish instagram and sure enough, there were pictures of all 4 of the others.


@MakeAWish: @LiamPayne and his lovely date for the day, Michelle!

We both bursted out into laughter, "SHE WASN'T BIDDING FOR HER DAUGHTER HOLY SHIT!!!!"

He tried to catch his breath, "And I thought HARRY was the cougar lover! Go Payno!!"

I scrolled down to Niall's:

@MakeAWish: Niall and his date, Amber at an intimate concert! Lucky girl!


@MakeAWish: @HarryStyles and his beautiful date, @KendallJenner!

I looked up at Zayn and gasped, "Brielle is going to freak out."

He shook his head in disbelief, "I wouldn't doubt it. I thought it was going to be a kid!"

"Me too. What did she send someone to bet for her?!"

He shrugged his shoulders, "I guess. She texted me and said she's coming home early."

I laughed, "Oh my God because of this?!"

"No no no! This was like way earlier. Said she missed us too much." He nudged me and I grinned.

I scrolled down to the final boy and laughed my ass of at the awkward photo.



@MakeAWish: @LouisTomlinson with fan Holly! Out and About! :)

"Cute couple." He mumbled sarcastically.

I grabbed his hand and pulled myself onto his lap, "Not as cute as us though."

He bit his lip seductively and rested his forehead against mine, "No one could ever be."

I smiled at the butterflies in my stomach, "You make me nervous."

He laughed, "How can I possibly make you nervous."

I shrugged my shoulders, "Dunno. Cause I like you I guess."

He raised his eyebrows, "Oh yeah?"

I scoffed, "I do. I just don't know what to do about all of this. These butterflies need to be murdered."

He laughed, "Now Sophia, butterflies are one of God's creatures."

I shook my head, "I don't know what to do Zayn, I'm scared."

He tilted my chin up so my eyes met his and I babbled again, "I keep trying to make it go away but how do you kill a feeling?"

"You don't. You see where it takes you."

I closed my eyes, holding back long overdue tears, "But everyone's going to be watching, waiting for me to fuck up."

"No matter what happens, I will always be here for you. Always."

I felt my heart skip a beat, "Can we take whatever this is slow?"

"Whatever you want Sophia. I can wait forever, I told you that."

I nodded and he whispered against my lips, "Time for another picture."

I grinned and pushed my face towards his, crashing our lips together. Part of me wonders if the other boys are going to see them. Who am I kidding, the entire world will. But as of that moment, I didn't care. I heard the camera snap and the photographer grinned wildly.

"Can I post it?" She asked, nearly begging.

Zayn looked at me for conformation. I never broke my gaze with him and smiled, "Do whatever you want."

Moments later my phone buzzed. I knew exactly what it was.

I looked up at Zayn and giggled, "You can let go now."

He grinned and kissed me again before sliding open my notification, "I know. I don't want to."


@MakeAWish: Sparks fly! @SophiaGeorge @ZaynMalik

For a split second, everything felt perfect. Nothing mattered. But I knew damn well that everything was about to change. They say that the universe has a great sense of humor. That sometimes having your dreams come true can feel like a nightmare. Because getting what you want always comes with strings attached. Whether a truth like this is in a diary or the Daily News, once it's out it will change everything. Let the chips fall where they may. Along with the friends, exes, and boy band members. One thing was for certain: the wild cards just keep getting wilder. Face your fears and the rewards can be profound. You can discover the true depths of a relationship. Or what you're capable of withstanding. The problem is, the more you gain, the more you stand to lose.

Notes