Harry’s P.O.V.
“I think Liam should take this first part, I’ll take this chunk, and then it goes into the chorus with everybody,” I suggested, pointing out the parts of the music.
I was technically in my recording session, but I was done for the day and now working on a new song, also known as Stephanie’s surprise. We had somewhat of a song before but now I had a great idea for a different one, so I talked to my writing team about scratching the first and focusing on this one. For the past few days, we’ve been creating an entirely new song and I was in love with it. They thought it was a brilliant song and talked to management about putting it on the album, management said yes, and now we were figuring out who gets what.
“Yeah, yeah, that should work,” Steve agreed. Steve and August were the ones helping me today and they’re amazing. They’ve been doing some great writing for us to start us out and they’re coaching me on song writing, so hopefully by our next album I can write more.
“Okay, now the second verse,” August said.
“Liam and then Zayn?” Steve offered.
“Can I do a little bit of harmony with Zayn?” I asked.
“Yeah, that’s fine,” Steve answered.
“Okay, um, can you take it from Zayn’s solo then?” I questioned August, who was holding a guitar. He began to play and sang Zayn’s part while I figured out the harmony.
“Sounds good,” August responded and wrote down the notes.
“Alright, now the bridge,” Steve replied.
“Zayn, and then everybody, and then Harry, you’ll sing the chorus once and after that everybody will come back in with the music. Can you handle the high E flat?” August questioned.
“I can try,” I answered. August started playing the guitar and I took it from the chorus that was going to be my solo and once I got to the high note, I sang it with such passion that I surprised myself. I didn’t think that was going to happen.
“Wow,” Steve delivered, looking at me with a shocked expression. I guess he didn’t know I had that in me, too.
“You’ve got it,” August agreed, writing it down.
“And then for the rest of the song, everybody will sing,” Steve informed.
“Alright,” I replied. “So now that we have that figured out, can we practice the entire song for the surprise?”
“Sure,” August responded.
For the rest of the time, August and I rehearsed our new song and I couldn’t wait. Stephanie and Rachel were leaving in a few days and I wanted to sing this to Steph before they left. Niall was going to come in and practice the guitar with August so he could play the guitar while I sang in front of our girls. It was going to be the most amazing surprise ever, especially since the song was about the ups and downs of our relationship over the summer, but no matter what, Steph’s the only one I want. It’s gotta be her.

Stephanie’s P.O.V.
The last few days have been hectic. I did not want to leave England and Harry, but it was my choice to go back to America and finish out my senior year. I’ll be back in no time.
Uncle Harvey and Aunt Christina were now my official new parents. Christina and I went to the town hall with the adoption papers and got everything figured out, so I was now adopted into another family. I know it seems weird that they’re my legal guardians when I’ll be 18 next year, but like they said, and I agree, I just want a stable set of parents that I can go to, no matter what age I am. I now have 3 families I can count on.
It was the day before Rachel and I were scheduled to depart from England and we were in a rush trying to get everything packed up. We’ve been here for almost 3 months, so everything was all over the cottage and even in the house, too. Most of my things were packed but I wanted to make sure I searched everything before leaving so I wouldn’t forget everything. I was stuffing the last of my clothes into my suitcase when Liam dragged me outside.
“What? What’s going on?” I asked him as we stepped onto the lawn.
“Be quiet and look,” he responded.
There, standing on a makeshift stage with a pretend microphone in hand, was none other than Harry. Niall was to the side of him with his guitar all ready to go and I finally understood what was happening. Liam sat me down in a chair near the stage and I suddenly felt butterflies in my stomach as I looked around and saw the other boys standing off to the side with Rachel, Anne, and Gemma. I glanced back at the stage and everyone became quiet as Harry spoke.
“Stephanie,” Harry started, “I know this summer’s been crazy with so many events happening. Some were bad, but most were good, and those good times are memories I’ll never forget. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been writing songs with a few of my band writers, and we hadn’t really had a good idea until something happened recently that gave me the perfect idea for a song, specifically this song I’m about to sing to you. No matter what happens, I’m yours and yours only. Steph, it’s gotta be you.”
Harry stepped away and Niall began strumming, my feet tapping along with the beat. Harry walked forward and started singing.
Girl, I see it in your eyes, you’re disappointed
Cuz I’m the foolish one that you anointed
With your heart, I tore it apart
And girl what I mess I’ve made upon your innocence
And no woman in the world deserves this
But here I am, asking you for one more chance
And on he went with this song, singing passionately and although everyone was around us, I felt like it was just us two. He was staring at me and I was staring at him, feeling a deep connection between us.
As I listened to the lyrics, I understood what it was about and I couldn’t believe it. A sudden realization hit me that Harry wrote me a song. He actually wrote a song about me and for me, and now he was singing it to me. If we were still 8 years old, I would not have predicted this in the future. I wouldn’t have expected coming back to England at all.
The song ended and I was in tears. Happy tears this time, but still. It was like I couldn’t ever stop crying. All of us applauded him but Harry didn’t climb off of the stage.
“Hold on one second,” he said, halting everyone’s clapping. “I just want to make the announcement that this song is going to be on our first album. Obviously I’m not singing the entire song. You lads will be, too, on our album.”
We cheered and applauded again and I couldn’t hold it in. I ran up to him and gave him the biggest hug I’ve ever given him, crying into his shirt. There is going to be a song about me on their first album and it was written by Harry for me. If that’s not love and dedication, I don’t know what else is.
We were hugging for a good while, not wanting to let go of the other, until the boys wanted to tear down the makeshift stage. When we pulled apart, I could see that he was crying, too. That caused me to create more water in my eyes, which spilled down my face, and Harry wiped it away with his thumb. I turned around and hopped off of the stage, Harry following after me, and I climbed up the small treehouse, wanting to be alone with Harry.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I told him once we were settled.
“I know. I wanted to,” he replied, shrugging.
“Is it about the whole cheating thing?” I asked.
“Kinda, yeah. It’s not just about that, but it’s also about me not being there for you when the stuff went down with your dad and everything,” Harry explained.
“What? You were there for me,” I replied, confused.
“I just feel like I wasn’t. I feel like I was a horrible boyfriend to you,” he said.
“Harry, you are the most amazing boyfriend ever,” I responded. “Look at how much you’ve done for me. You brought me back to England, you wrote a song for me, and even though it was a disaster, you helped me meet my dad. Not only that, but you’ve also helped me reconnect with my brother that I never knew I had and both of you helped me find a new family. I got to meet the other lads and was able to see your mum and Gemma again, and we’ve been to some amazing places here that I will remember forever. You are not a bad boyfriend.”
“Well, when you put it that way,” he delivered.
“All I’m saying is, you’ve done a lot for me and made this an awesome summer,” I said. “And now that I think about it, I don’t want this to end.”
“So this is it, huh?” Harry replied.
“But I’ll be back within a year,” I told him.
Harry reached over and cradled me into his arms, rocking us back and forth.
“I don’t want to lose you again,” he whispered.
“And you won’t,” I responded. “We’ll be back together soon.”
“I’m just hoping we can keep this up. I don’t know what’s going to happen with One Direction and if it’s a success, I might not have much time…”
“Stop. Don’t say that. We can do this, Harry. Look at what’s already happened. If we can make it 8 years without seeing and talking to each other, we can definitely make it through this. It’s much better now that we’re older and also, technology has made it easier,” I said. Wow, the tables have turned. Usually it’s Harry telling me things like this, not the other way around.
“I know,” he replied. “It’s just the thought of you being away from me again…”
I couldn’t take it anymore with his constant negative comments and unlatched myself from him, turning around and facing him. I leaned forward and kissed him to shut him up, just like those cliche moments that always happen in relationships. But doing that caused me to feel heartbroken inside knowing that I won’t be able to feel his lips on mine for a long time.
We broke apart and I sternly told him, “Stay positive.”
“Okay, okay,” he responded. I cuddled back into him and we just sat there in silence for a while, taking in each other’s presence for one last time.
.
I couldn’t fall asleep that night because of the thought of going back to America. Things were going to be different now that I was going to be staying with Rachel and her family this next year, although all of my stuff is still at Helen’s. I wasn’t looking forward to seeing her again.
The next morning was insane as everybody was running around everywhere making sure we have all of our stuff. We had decided that all the lads, Anne, and Gemma were coming to the airport with us so it was crazy.
Our flight didn’t leave until later that evening, but Anne wanted to make sure we were all good to go and we were there early enough, so we piled into the 2 cars once we made sure everything was packed and said goodbye to Harry’s house. As we drove throughout Holmes Chapel, I took one last glance at everything I remembered from my childhood, peering out the window like I was a little kid again.
I was riding with Anne, Gemma, and Harry in Anne’s car and suddenly, Anne swerved and took a different route, a road not going to the airport.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“You’ll see,” Anne replied.
The road looked familiar and I wracked my brains to try and figure this out. It wasn’t until we pulled up in the driveway when I understood and I held on to Harry tight.
“No!” I shouted, looking at my father’s house from the window.
“Calm down, Steph, we’re not here to see your dad,” Gemma explained. I glanced at her with a confused look and then I saw him.
Elijah exited the house and shut the front door, approaching the car and climbing in next to me. Anne descended down the driveway and drove off, leading the other van filled with the other boys and Rachel.
“You weren’t going to leave without saying goodbye to me, were you?” Eli questioned, looking at me. I smiled and hugged him as best as I could since we were in the car.
“To be honest, I almost forgot about you,” I shrugged.
“You almost forgot about your big brother?” he asked in a playful tone.
“It’s been crazy!” I apologized.
“It’s okay, I understand,” he responded.
The rest of the car trip was fine as I informed Eli that Aunt Christina and Uncle Harvey decided to take me in and Harry and I told him stories about London. Gemma and Anne were listening and making comments here and there, and by the time we arrived at the airport, we were in a laughing hysteria.
We found a parking spot and the lads all helped to unload and roll our luggage inside. We checked in at the main desk, dropped off our bags, and went through security. Once all of that was done, we walked the length of the airport to try and find our gate. We had about an hour before our flight left, leaving us plenty of time to relax, eat, and even say our goodbyes.
“I don’t want to go back to school,” I declared when we sat down to eat.
“It won’t be so bad. It’s your senior year!” Eli replied.
“What about me? I’ll be there the entire time,” Rachel said.
“I know. It’s just the thought of having homework and stuff is disappointing when you’ve had a summer of fun,” I explained.
“So you did have a fun summer?” Harry asked me.
“Yeah,” I responded, smiling at him. He grinned back and continued eating.
After we ate, we relaxed in the gate but not for long. The flight was going to start boarding soon and Anne wanted to get going. It was time to say goodbye and I began with Eli first.
“Thank you,” I told him, looking at him straight in the eyes. “For everything.”
“No problem. You’re my little sister,” he answered, hugging me. “Promise me that we can spend a little more time with each other next year?”
“I promise,” I replied. “I love you, Elijah.”
“I love you, too,” Eli whispered and let me go.
Next were the other lads.
“Thank you for a fun summer, guys,” I told them, embracing each of them.
“It was really nice meeting you,” Liam said.
“Yeah,” Zayn agreed.
“I had a lot of fun, too,” Louis commented.
“Me, too,” Niall responded.
“I’m just hoping we can all hang out together soon again,” I said.
“That would be amazing,” Liam delivered. “We’d all love to have you again.” He smiled at me and I returned it, also grinning at the other lads.
Then came Anne and Gemma, my mother and sister who’s always cared for me even if we weren’t blood related.
“It was so nice seeing you again, Steph. My, you’ve grown,” Anne spoke, hugging me tight.
“I’m going to miss you guys so much,” I replied, moving on to Gemma. “You’ve been there for me through everything and I can’t imagine what I’d do without you.”
“Don’t make me start crying,” Gemma intervened.
“I already am,” Anne responded, wiping tears from her eyes. I had to give her another hug and soon, I was crying, too.
And last but not least, the one who I love the most.
“You’re really leaving me, again,” Harry said, his eyes glossy with tears.
“But I’ll be back, I promise,” I replied. “And how many times have I broken a promise?”
“None,” he answered, holding me close. He had never hugged me this tight before but I didn’t care. The tighter he hugged me, the more I knew he cared about me.
“Don’t leave,” he whispered before loosening up.
“I have to,” I responded, making eye contact.
“I love you,” he said.
“I love you, too,” I repeated.
He leaned down and slowly pressed his lips to mine. I could feel the hot tears from his eyelashes gently brush my face as we gave our all into our last kiss. It lasted for quite a while until I felt a tap on my shoulder and I knew that was the signal that we were going to be boarding. Harry pulled away first but we locked eyes before I slowly turned around and followed Rachel to our carry on bags. I slung my backpack over my shoulders and glanced one last time at the 8 people who have changed my life forever before disappearing into the walkway that led us to the plane.

I have learned this summer that although there will be dark times, there will always be sunshine waiting at the other end. Sometimes you have to just sit there and wait for it to come and other times you have to be the one to chase it. But no matter what, good memories will replace the bad ones and it’s not the end of the world if something doesn’t turn out the way you want it to. This summer has been one of the best summers of my life and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. It’s not everyday that you get an experience like this, so take those chances when it comes around because chances are rare and you wouldn’t want to pass up an amazing opportunity of a lifetime.

Notes

Author's note will be uploaded like a chapter, so next "chapter" is a long author's note.

Rachel and Stephanie :)