Day 21      Harry POV         (January 6th 2014)

“Someday I'll wish upon a star

 And wake up where the clouds are far behind me

 Where troubles melt like lemon drops

 Way high above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me

Somewhere over the rainbow, blue birds fly

 Birds fly over the rainbow, why then, oh why can't I?…”

Judy Garland echoed quietly through the store. My head was set on a pack of Kleenex tissues, my eyes staring up at the shut off lights. The store attendant had gone upstairs to her and her parent’s apartment just above the shop. Her parents were out of town and taken the family car with them, or we would have been out of there long before.

I turned my head to the side. Sure enough, Liam was still watching me closely. I couldn’t decide if he didn’t trust me not to run into the woods to find Lou and the others or if he was just trying to wig me out. Either way- he was getting his point across.

Charlotte had been pretending to sleep for hours now. I wasn’t stupid, and she seemed to assume I was. She sat curled up beside me with her head hidden by her arms. Her breathing was short and quick.

I tried closing my eyes, but every time I did I could see Niall asking me to keep his secret.

“Please try to understand. I don’t want to worry her. I’ll be fine, guys. I’m just tired.”

He only got worse.

Out of my daydream I heard the softest voice start to hum beside me as Judy Garland sang the last line of her timeless song.

“If happy little blue birds fly beyond the rainbow…Why, oh why can't I?”

I closed my eyes once more, praying for a better day.

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Charlotte POV

It was the hardest night of my life.

I saw his eyes every time I closed mine.

“Don’t look,” I say for the hundredth time. “It’s a surprise!”

I take his hand in mine and lead him to the kitchen table. The lights are low and the TV is playing softly in the background.

“Ouch!” Niall laughs following a deep thud. He’s run right into a bookcase.

“Oh sorry honey,” I try to stifle a giggle. I take his other hand and tug him towards the smell of dinner.

His slippers shuffle across the hardwood. When we reach the table I untie his blindfold, watching it fall to the floor. His thin eyelids flitter open. Two bright blue eyes stare at the spread before us. “You- you did all this?” He asks in shock.

“Of course,” I reply, “With a little of your mom’s help.”

He smiles and the grin spreads up into his eyes. They glisten and glow like a thousand stars. He directs them towards me- sending shivers down through every inch of me. He’s speechless, but I can hear every word he isn’t saying by looking into his deep eyes.

His joyous giggle rang through my head in a chilling echo.

“Stop it! Stop it, you big jerk!” He laughs and hollers. His giggles turn into snorts as I attack his feet under the blankets. He kicks and screams, fighting with all his pathetic might.

“You can’t run forever!” I shout after him as he takes off out of our bedroom. Max and Buble’s barking follow after him.

I swallowed a lump that had formed in my throat. I was too tired to cry, and still too hopeful to try. I pushed all those memories to the back of my mind. Not too far back as to be forgotten, but just enough to not break my heart.

I opened my eyes, looking out from behind my folded arms. Harry was sitting beside me, just about to fall asleep. I saw Liam watching us quietly, emotionless and dry. I snuggled farther into Harry’s side, surprised when he latched an arm around my back. He held me close and tight as I rested my tired head onto his chest. His breathing slowed and his arm grew heavy. I sighed, letting myself relax- thinking only of Niall and the life he promised to share with me.

******************************************************************

"Charlotte, Charlotte, wake up my love.”

My eyelids flew open wide. Harry was no longer beside me. I looked left and right for the boy who was talking to me. The voice I had heard was nowhere to be found. I rubbed at my tired, bloodshot eyes. Early morning sunlight poured in through the windows. The light hit my legs on the ground and made me smile slightly. The fresh snow from last night’s storm glittered like solid gold.

A beeping noise caught my attention. I turned my head to see a pot of hot coffee steaming on the counter. Beside it was a stack of packaged bakery goods, priced with bright red stickers. I strolled over to the counter and poured myself a paper cup of morning joe.

“You’re awake.”

I nodded. “Sadly, yes,” I said.

The store clerk smiled at me. She came towards me in her store uniform- a red woven top and a pair of dark pants. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help. My parents are so far away and I don’t know where your friends could be-”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I interrupted her, “You saved us.” She blushed, looking to the ground. “We owe you everything and I don’t even know your name.”

“Michelle,” She replied. “My name is Michelle.”

“Pretty,” I told her.

“I brought you these,” Michelle said. She held out a small pile of folded clothes. They were hers. “I thought you might want to get cleaned up.”

“Thank you,” I replied. I took her up on her offer and made my way to the bathroom. I shed my filthy layers and threw the clothes in a sopping pile under the sink. I stared at my face in the mirror- frightening myself a bit. My cheeks were hollowed and scratched. Smudges of dirt ran up and down my face and arms. I scrubbed myself clean, feeling better than ever before when I was finished.

I walked out of the restroom minutes later. Michelle told me that help was on the way, and in return I told her how we all got into the mess to begin with. She watched me curiously as I spoke, sipping a cup of juice. Her hazel eyes went wide as I relayed our tale in great detail. Every few minutes Harry or Liam would walk past, and Michelle would glance to them pitifully before staring back at me once more.

“Twenty one days?” Michelle mimicked.

“Yeah,” I said, “It’s been too long.”

“Charlotte!” Harry yelped my name. My head snapped to attention. I jumped to my feet- ready to fight or flee.

Harry turned towards me, his face painted with an expression I had waited so long to see- relief.

“They’re here to take us home.”

I ran towards the window. I couldn’t believe it even when I saw them. There they were- three French police cars, two tinted SUVs, and a big United States FBI van.

Men filed out from the police cars, pointing guns to the street. Harry went to run for the door before I grabbed him by the arm.

“What?” He asked. “What’s wrong?” His eyes searched me frantically.

“The guns,” I said. My throat was dry. “They- they make me nervous.”

Harry looked behind us to where Liam was standing unsurely. “It’s okay,” Harry said with a smile, “We’ll protect you.”

Liam came to my side, grabbing my hand in his own. My other one was taken up by Harry’s. “Always,” Liam said.

We walked out into the sunshine together- all three of us- better and braver than ever before.

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Liam POV

I never thought the nightmare would end. I thought it’d go on forever- that things would never be normal again. But we were one step closer. And as I stood at the front of a police car, answering questions, I knew we were going home. I could finally breathe.

“Let me go!” I heard Charlotte scream. My peace was shattered as I went into sudden defensive mode. I whipped towards her direction, ready to kill anyone who laid an unwelcome hand on her. “Stop!” She screamed again.

Charlotte was being led into the back of an ambulance by multiple men who held her by the arms. She fought them, yanking and kicking away. I ran past the detective who had been comforting me.

“Mr. Payne,” The detective said. He grabbed me by the arm. “They have to take her to the hospital. You, as well. Then we can head down to the British Embassy and get you all ready to go home.”

I looked back to Charlotte. A lady from one of the forces had managed to grab her and hold her close, calming her down tremendously. She was crying into her shoulder.

“What about the others?” I asked. “Niall?”

The American detective nodded, “We’ll find them. We found you, didn’t we?”

“Actually, we saved ourselves.”

The detective sighed. “Don’t worry, Mr. Payne. Everything will be fine. You need to worry about yourself, and we’ll worry about the others. Leave it to us. Go to the hospital, get your clean bill of health, and call your family. I’m sure they’d like to know you’re okay.”

“What about Niall and Lou and Zayn’s family, huh?”

“Like I said,” He repeated, “We have this under control.”

I looked back to the ambulance that Charlotte was just getting set into. She stared at me blankly with a look that mirrored my own.

“Fine,” I said, “Okay.”

The detective helped me into the backseat of a car. He smiled down at me. “It’s good to see you’re alright,” He said, “The whole world has been looking for you bunch.”

“Well it’s not over yet,” I said to myself as he slammed the door.

I watched the forest fly past me as my driver sped away- sirens blasting and lights flashing.

I wondered if I had done right by everyone- my bandmates and poor Charlotte. If this didn’t end well, if this story didn’t have the happily ever after the world wanted it to, I would only blame myself.