For Your Eyes Only

“So when is the wedding?” I asked Kally over skype. She squealed and shifted the camera to a view of her calender.
“In two weeks! It’s on the 27th. Can you make it in time?” she asked.
“Kal, why did you wait so long to ask? This is kind of last minute.”
“I know you have to get work off and stuff, but it’ll be fun!”
“Oh, it’s not work… I guess everything happened so fast I just forgot to tell you.”
“Tell me what?” she asked.
“Well, remember how you were like, completely obsessed with every boyband ever when we were younger?”
“Yeah…”
“Do you still follow any of them?”
“Not even remotely. I’ve been too busy.” I paused, trying to find a way to state the facts without sounding stupid.
“I, um… I guess… Kally I’m dating Niall Horan,” I forced. I heard her spit dramatically, telling me I told her that mid-sip of something.
“Are you serious?! Niall freaking Horan?! How could you not tell me this sooner?! How long?!”
“C-calm down, Kal. We’ve been dating almost four months now. I met him in Cheshire while he was at Harry’s house back in July. Right now I’m-”
“Are you on tour with him?! Oh my gosh, Annie! I hate you for not telling me! Argh!” she whined. I laughed at her frustration.
“Annie!” I heard from the other room. I turned my head to see Harry calling my name.
“Who’s that?” asked Kally.
“Harry,” I said, muting the mic as she began screaming. “What’s up?” I asked him. He flopped down on his stomach, taking the same position on the floor as me.
“Niall has to do a couple of solo interviews and then he’ll be done. He just wanted me to let you know. Who are you talking to?” He pointed to the skype call, where Kally was grinning like an idiot at the camera.
“Ok, cool. Um, this is Kally. She wants me to be her Maid of Honor. She’s my friend from America.” He laughed as she made a face. I groaned, already embarrassed. Harry reached over and hit the sound button, effectively unmuting her.
“Hiya, handsome,” she said flirtatiously.
“You can’t say that, you’re getting married,” he laughed. I giggled and informed Kally that I’d find a way to get there for the wedding, and hung up, much to her dismay. She seemed thrilled about this wedding. By the way she talked about this Mark guy, I knew she was so deeply in love that there was no way out. “She seems… nice,” he said with a cute grin.
“Harry, she’s insane,” I replied with a giggle. “She used to tell me that she was going to be the mother of your children.”
“Oh… I don’t know, I wouldn’t mind.” A cheeky grin took over his features. I laughed and punched him hard in the shoulder. Kally really was beautiful, though. She had a short blonde pixie cut and went for the more ‘go get em’ look with her make-up. She had big brown eyes and was always smiling. Maybe that’s why we’d been so close. She never asked about home, only wanted to have fun when were together and not focus on the bad stuff.
“Harold Edward Styles, you should be ashamed of yourself.” He laughed and slung an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into a side hug.
“Hands off my girlfriend,” Niall growled, entering the room. I tensed and turned to see his face, hoping he wasn’t angry. His mouth was turned down into a deep frown, but his eyes were alive with mischief, alleviating my tension. Harry got up and mumbled something about finding Liam and Louis, then left as Niall laid down on top of my back, careful to keep his weight off me. “Hey, pretty thing,” he mumbled. He nuzzled his nose through my hair and inhaled, making me glad I’d chosen to shower that morning.
“Hiya, handsome,” I replied, repeating the term of endearment used by Kally not five minutes ago. It was one we used to throw around in freshman year. We even catalogued the number of guys who liked it versus the number who didn’t. Niall seemed to love it, evidenced by the soft kisses he place along my hairline at the back of my neck. “Ni, the friend that called last night… she asked me to be her maid of honor.”
“Really?” he said, barely bothering to remove his lips from my neck. I tilted my head to the side, granting him a bit more access.
“Yeah. The wedding’s in two weeks, though. On the 27th.” He paused and turned my chin to get a better look at my face.
“Oh, um… I’ll have to check with Paul. I know we can fly you out, but… would you mind if I came along?”
“Are you kidding? I’d love it,” I said with an enthusiastic smile. That would be perfect. “I’ll just clear it with Kally. She’ll say yes, though.” I had barely finished when my phone began to ring. I didn’t recognize the number, but I answered it anyway. “Hello?”
“Hello, is this Annie Powl?” came the feminine reply.
“Yes, it is. Can I help you?”
“I was told to call and inform you that the date of Jackson Powl’s funeral. He’ll be honored at the Plymouth County Cemetery on September 28th at 7 P.M. Eastern Time.”
“O-oh… thank you,” I whispered. The caller hung up the phone, leaving me speechless. I had tried not to think about Jackson since the first call. I had pushed those thoughts away. I just wanted to forget, but I knew I had to go.
“Hey, you ok, babe?” Niall asked softly, wrapping his arms around me protectively, as if shielding me from whatever it was I was feeling. I sniffed and nodded into his shoulder, not willing to risk my weak voice. “I heard. We’ll make both. That is, if you want to,” he said nervously. He was being cautious. He probably didn’t want to spark another panic attack, but I didn’t feel like that. I just felt a deep sadness spreading through me. I guess it would never go away for good.

Notes

Seriously. Harry Edward Styles needs to post a selfie RIGHT THE HECK NOW