The Story of Us

Audrey

New York City – May 1st, 2016

“Audrey,” she heard and her whole body tensed at the sound of the voice – the deep, sultry voice of Harry Styles.

She looked up into the eyes of the man who hadn’t left her mind in weeks.

“Harry,” she breathed quietly.

“Hi,” he said, smiling weakly at her.

“Wha-what are you doing here?” She asked, looking around the small diner that was her and Niall’s spot – not Harry’s. Harry had never been there before.

“I mean, how… how did you know where I was?” She stammered, her brain already answering the question for her as she spoke it.

Niall.

“Niall told me where I could find you. I hope you don’t mind,” he explained.

“No, no. That’s fine,” she said, feeling incredibly flustered.

“I think we should talk,” Harry said, looking straight in her eyes, showing no hesitation or uncertainty.

“Yeah,” she nodded, dropping her eyes from his.

“Can I sit?” He asked carefully.

“Sure. Yeah,” she told him.

Audrey waited as he took the seat across from hers – the seat Niall usually occupied when they were together at the diner.

“Listen. I’m just going to come right out and say it, okay,” Harry said, boggling her with his words of intrigue. She knit her eyebrows together as she looked into his eyes.

“I like you, Audrey. And… and I don’t regret what happened, okay,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

Her mouth dropped open slightly as she stared at him in disbelief. This wasn’t really happening was it? Because if it was, then she literally needed to hope and pray that the constricting in her chest wasn’t due to some sort of heart failure.

“You—” She choked out.

“I like you,” he said again.

“Oh,” she breathed through the daze she was in.

“Oh?” Harry asked, his eyebrows heightening.

“Uh…” She stammered as her brain stalled inconveniently.

“Jesus, Audrey,” Harry scoffed lightly, breaking his vision away from her. She was upsetting him. That much she could be sure of.

“I’m sorry,” she breathed, apologizing for her lapse in the conversation.

“You’re sorry? For what? Are you… are you trying to let me down easy? Because I can take it, okay,” Harry said, his voice filled with annoyance.

“Harry, no. No,” Audrey said quickly, shaking her head. She couldn’t believe this was happening.

“Then what, Audrey?” He asked impatiently.

“You don’t understand,” she said quietly.

“I don’t understand what?” He asked. She was digging herself deeper and deeper with every moment that passed without explanation.

Audrey’s eyes looked up into his narrowed green ones, hoping her words would come out right.

“I’ve liked you, okay. I’ve liked you for a long time,” she said, shaking her head, feeling like a complete idiot.

“Yeah?” He asked, a bashful smile turning up his lips.

“A long time… like, years,” she confessed.

“What are you talking about? We only—” He cut himself off and Audrey looked up in time to see his eyes grow wide.

“You…” He breathed, looking like he was coming to some sort of realization about her.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

“Niall said you… that you didn’t. You weren’t a… fan,” Harry stammered.

“Well, I was. I am. I just… I… I don’t know. I didn’t want to… fuck,” she breathed, unable to complete a full sentence let alone a thought in her head.

“You didn’t want to what?” He asked, his voice coming out sharp.

“God,” Audrey grumbled to herself, hating how uncomfortable the whole confession was.

“You’ve just been lying to us?” He asked impatiently.

“No. No, I haven’t,” she said as she shook her head.

“You weren’t honest,” he scoffed.

“And what does it even matter?” Audrey asked, letting her voice raise slightly, feeling the annoyance building up inside of her.

“It matters, Audrey,” Harry shot back.

“Why? I’m still the same person, Harry. Niall and I still met under the same circumstances. You and I still met under the same circumstances,” Audrey argued.

“If Niall knew, I’m sure we wouldn’t be sitting here talking about this right now,” Harry scoffed unforgivingly.

His words cut through her. They were hurtful and mean, whether he meant them to be or not. Audrey felt the stinging of tears in her eyes.

“Well, I guess then we wouldn’t have made the mistake we made then,” she shot back at him, immediately wishing she could take the words back.

“You’re right,” he seethed, meeting his angry eyes with hers for a few moments before he stood up abruptly.

Audrey watched him turn and walk toward the door without another word. He didn’t even bother to look back and she knew she messed up by not telling them. But once it all started, she wanted to do everything in her power to keep it all running smoothly. So she kept it to herself. And a part of her was certain she would do it all over again if she was given the chance to go back.

.

Harry

New York City – May 1st, 2016

“Niall!” Harry called out, once he got back to the flat.

“In here!” He heard him call from the make-shift recording studio he put together in one of the bedrooms.

Harry stomped toward the room, feeling the ball of anxiety building in his chest.

“Did you know?” Harry asked him as soon as he turned the corner into the room.

“Did I know what?” He asked, pulling the headphones off of his ear, letting them rest on his neck.

“About Audrey,” Harry scoffed.

“What about her?” Niall asked, looking baffled.

“That she’s a fan,” Harry scoffed even louder.

“What?” Niall asked, making a confused face.

“Yeah. She’s a fan… of us. Of One Direction. All along,” Harry told him.

“Nah-uh,” Niall said, smiling as he shook his head, turning back toward the soundboard in front of him.

“I’m not kidding, Niall. She’s been a fan all this time. She was always a fan. When you met her, she knew who you were, mate,” Harry said, moving toward the couch and plopped himself down onto it.

“No,” Niall said, turning his chair toward Harry, looking at him in disbelief.

“I swear to god, mate. She just told me. She’s been lying to us all along,” Harry said, throwing his feet up onto the coffee table and crossed his arms tightly over her chest.

“You just talked to her?” Niall asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“Yeah, mate. I just fucking talked to her,” Harry said impatiently.

“Why… I mean, what… what were you talking about?” He asked curiously.

“I told her I liked her,” Harry said, shaking his head.

“And she told you she was a fan?” Niall asked, looking at him confused.

“She told me she has liked me for a long time. And then that’s when I put two-and-two together,” Harry explained.

“You put two-and-two together? Did she actually say she was a fan?” Niall asked skeptically.

“Niall, she is a fucking fan!” Harry yelled at him, letting his annoyance come out with his words.

“Ohh-kay,” Niall said quietly, backing off slightly.

“I can’t believe she lied to us,” Harry scoffed.

Niall sat there silently, contemplating for a little while, just staring at the floor. Harry was waiting for him to get as annoyed as he was and show some sort of emotion over the betrayal they both were subjected to.

“You don’t have anything to say?” Harry asked after a few minutes of his silence.

“I just… I don’t know. She’s still Audrey,” Niall said, shrugging lightly. Harry’s eyebrows knit together as he looked at him in disbelief.

“She’s still Audrey?” Harry scoffed.

“Yeah. I mean, she might have been a fan, but over the last couple of months she’s really been a friend to me, Harry. I just… how can I be upset with her when I probably wouldn’t have thought twice of ever going back to the diner if I knew she was a fan?” Niall explained.

“It doesn’t bother you at all?” Harry asked, wanting to know Niall was on his side just a little bit.

Ever since they were put in the band, privacy was a big issue for them because of their fame. And to know someone just weaseled their way into their private lives didn’t exactly sit right with Harry.

“She’s still Audrey,” Niall said again.

“Well, it bothers me,” Harry said, pulling his feet off of the coffee table as he sat forward.

“You’re just angry because you slept with her,” Niall said with a mischievous smirk at Harry.

“This isn’t funny,” Harry glared at him.

Niall’s doorbell rang seconds later, causing both of their heads to snap toward the doorway of the room.

“I’ll get it,” Niall said, pulling himself off of the chair.

He disappeared out of the room and Harry pulled himself up off of the couch, walking toward the hallway. He could hear Audrey talking to Niall from the foyer.

“Niall, I’m sorry. I just… I just didn’t… I didn’t know how to—” Audrey stammered.

“It’s okay, Audrey,” he heard Niall say, forgiving her instantly.

“I just saw you that day… I saw you and I was so… I was happy. And… and I… I wanted to talk to you, introduce myself and it just… we started talking and… and I’m sorry. I should have told you. I’m sorry,” she said, sounding incredibly distressed.

Harry’s heart softened in almost an instant after hearing her honest, heartfelt apology to Niall.

“It’s okay, Audrey. Really. I was just talking to Harry—” Niall started.

“Harry’s here?” She asked quickly, sounding almost scared.

“He is,” Niall said.

“I’m sorry,” she breathed.

“When he told me, I realized you’re still the same person I met in that diner,” he told her.

“I am,” she said.

“And nothing’s going to change, is it?” He asked.

“Nothing’s going to change,” she assured him.

“Well, alright then,” Niall chuckled.

“I never… I was always me, Niall. I never pretend to be someone I wasn’t,” Audrey told him.

“I believe you,” he said finally.

Harry quietly stepped into view of the two of them. Audrey’s eyes met his immediately, looking slightly panicked. Niall turned to see him too.

“I think you two need to talk,” Niall told them.

“Yeah,” Harry breathed, moving toward the two of them.

Niall backed away from Audrey and went back to the back bedroom, leaving them alone.

“Harry, I’m sorry. I really am,” Audrey said as soon as Niall disappeared.

“It’s just really hard for me to trust people, Audrey. I don’t take it lightly when people lie to me,” Harry told her.

“I didn’t mean to. I didn’t want to. I just… I didn’t know how to… to say it,” she said, scrunching her face up, looking pained.

“So, why did you run away?” Harry asked her.

“I-I didn’t. You did,” she said, looking at him confused.

“Not today. I meant the last time I was here,” Harry told her.

“Oh,” she said, looking down at the floor.

“If you liked me so much, then why did you run?” He questioned.

“Because I liked you so much. I just… I… I couldn’t face you. I didn’t… I didn’t want to see the regret in your eyes. I didn’t want you to give me some stupid excuse to let me down easily. I ran because I couldn’t face you in the morning,” she said, unable to pry her eyes away from the floor.

Harry took a step toward her, watching as her eyes darted up toward his again.

“I wish you hadn’t,” he said, taking another step toward her.

He was close enough to hear her sudden intake of breath as a result of his words and his closeness.

“Because you wouldn’t have seen regret in my eyes,” he told her sincerely.

“Harry…” She breathed, looking uncomfortable.

“I like you, Audrey,” he told her again.

“But…” She started.

“No, buts,” he said, shaking his head lightly as his hands found her waist, pulling her slowly toward him.

Her eyes stared into his the whole time and he was sure if he was looking hard enough, he probably could have seen her heartbeat jumping against her chest.

“I like you, Audrey,” he breathed against her lips.

“I like you, Harry,” she whispered back.

“So, as long as you continue to be you—” He started to say.

“This is me, Harry,” Audrey assured him.

“Good. So, stay you and we shouldn’t have a problem,” he said, smiling as he looked down to see her lips pull up into a smile.

Harry pushed forward, kissing her lips, sealing their feelings for one another.

.

Audrey

New York City – May 4th, 2016

Audrey was sitting at the counter in the 38th Street Diner, her books sprawled out across it as she tried to study for the stupid test for her Sociology class. A couple of days passed since her little secret came out – that she was a fan of One Direction. It was also a few days since Harry confessed to liking her and kissed her in the entryway of Niall’s apartment.

She hadn’t seen either of them since. Harry was still in New York, but she knew he and Niall were both busy writing and recording for their upcoming solo albums – which, let’s face it, were going to be epic. Audrey was still kind of feeling alienated due to her little confession, so she didn’t want to be the one to make the first move – even if it was Harry who kissed her in the end. She still felt like a hindrance on them and she wasn’t entirely sure why.

“Chocolate cake, Audrey?” George asked her as he brought a piece over to her on a small plate.

“Georgie, no,” she whined playfully.

“On the house,” he said, smiling at her.

“George, are you trying to fatten me up?” She asked, smirking at him.

“You need a little meat on them bones,” he told her sincerely with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Chocolate cake is not going to give me meat. It’s going to give me a coronary,” she told him with a laugh.

“Eat it,” he told her in the playful demanding tone he had.

Audrey sighed, watching as he set it down on the counter in front of her. There was no arguing with him, ever. He always won.

“I bet Niall or that other fella wouldn’t mind seeing a little meat on your bones, either,” George told her.

With just the mentioning of them, Audrey’s cheeks blushed and a small smile crept up her lips.

“I told you that boy was sweet on you,” George said, smiling back at her.

“Niall? No,” Audrey said, shaking her head.

“Then that boy you ran outta here the other day?” He asked curiously.

“I did not run him out of here,” she scoffed.

“He ran,” George pointed out, causing Audrey to sigh.

“Whatever,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“You playin’ games with them, Audrey?” George asked, arching his eyebrow at her.

“I don’t play games, George. I am offended that you would even come to that conclusion,” she told him.

“Don’t even. You’re a woman. You all play games,” he said, wagging his finger at her.

“George!” Audrey laughed.

“Sad but true,” he said, looking at her knowingly. She scoffed as he walked off chuckling.

Audrey threw her hood up over her head and slunk down in the seat, really trying to focus on the study material that was in front of her. But all she could seem to think about was Harry and Niall… and of course, what George just said.

“I do not play games,” she mumbled to herself as she mindlessly read the same line over and over again.

She didn’t know how long she sat there unable to focus or concentrate. She was just staring at the pages of her book, seeing words, but not being able to comprehend them. She knew she should have been straight with them from the beginning. No, she should have never gotten herself involved with them in the first place. But, who was she kidding? She would have never been able to stay away – just like she couldn’t keep her mind off them now. It was impossible.

“Ahem,” Audrey heard George clear his throat loudly, causing her to nearly fall off her stool because he startled her so badly.

“Jesus, George!” She said, gripping at her chest.

“Do you talk to your mother with that mouth?” He scolded her.

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly.

“Are yous two fighting?” George asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“What? Who?” She asked, watching as George nodded his head back toward the dining room.

Audrey quickly turned around to see Niall Horan sitting at her usual table dipping a tea bag in and out of a mug.

“No. I don’t think so,” she said, turning back toward George as her cheeks blushed wildly.

Was he mad at her after all? Did he think it over and decide she wasn’t worth being friends with in the end? Every insecurity she had over the situation came to the forefront and she was doubting everything.

“Go talk to him then. Maybe he didn’t see you,” George pressed.

“I don’t want to bother him,” she said, waving it off.

“Audrey, he’s sitting at your table. Go talk to him,” George pressed even harder.

“Fine. But I’m not taking this chocolate cake with me,” she told him.

“I’ll box it up for you and you can take it to go,” he said, smiling widely at her.

“You would,” she said, giving him a playful glare as she closed her text book and shoved it in her bag.

“I will,” he chuckled, grabbing the small plate off of the counter as she turned to head toward Niall.

Niall must have been lost in his own head because he didn’t see her coming until she was standing right in front of him.

“Audrey!” He said, looking surprised to see her.

“Hi,” she said quietly.

“I, uh… here, sit down,” he said, standing up like a gentleman to offer her the seat across from him.

“Alright,” she said, sitting down, setting her bag on the floor at her feet. Niall sat back down and smiled at her.

“You’re at my table,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, uh… I was hoping I’d run into you,” he told her.

“You were?” She asked, looking at him skeptically.

“Yeah. I haven’t seen you, you know, for a couple of days,” he told her.

“I’ve… I’ve been busy. School and stuff,” she said, letting her eyes wander away from his.

“I understand. I’ve, uh… I’ve been writing a lot,” he told her.

“Cool,” she said quietly.

“Listen, I just… I don’t want things to be weird,” Niall offered.

“It’s not,” she told him.

“I can tell it is,” he said, quirking an eyebrow at her.

“What do you mean?” She asked, finally looking into his eyes again.

“I mean, you and Harry… you’re like… I don’t know. You like each other, right? I don’t want things to change between us. I want us to still be friends, Audrey,” Niall told her.

Bless his heart for not bringing up the other elephant in the room – that she was a fan.

“No, no. I mean, I have no idea where Harry and I stand, but you and I… things could never be weird, okay. You’re Niall and I’m Audrey and we’re friends. I don’t want things to change at all,” she told him.

“Good,” he said.

“Good,” she reiterated.

“So, have you eaten?” Niall asked.

“George is trying to shove a piece of chocolate cake down my throat, but other than that, no,” she said, smirking at him.

“Him and his chocolate cake,” Niall chuckled.

“I don’t know what it is. I should tell him I’ve developed an allergy to it or something,” she laughed.

“He’d never believe you. Besides, he’d just slip you a piece of apple pie or a cannoli,” Niall laughed.

“There is no doubt in my mind that he would,” Audrey laughed with him.

She enjoyed where they were with one another. She was glad they were still friends and that he could look past her little white lie. She really appreciated him and respected him as a person for that. And she was certain after all of this, Niall Horan would be a friend for life no matter where she stood with Harry or how big of a fan she was all along. He was most definitely one of the greatest souls she ever had the pleasure of knowing.

Notes