FOUR YEARS LATER:
I wake up to the screaming, "SURPRISE!" I open my eyes and see Laura, Mya, and Meg standing over me. Today is my 24th birthday. Just 4 years ago, I had met One Direction. Just 4 years ago, they had become my best friends. Just 4 years ago, I had went on tour with them, Mya, Meg, and Laura. Going on tour with the boys was awesome. It was fun and exciting and I even sang a few times. Being with Louis again was great. Right now, we're taking a break. We're back in my hometown at my old house. Louis's sitting on his bed. "They would not shut up." He says. I laugh. I get up. They jump off the bed. I hug Louis. "Happy birthday, Nemo." He laughs. I smile and go to the door. I open it and as soon as I walk out 4 boys jump out at me, yelling, "Happy Birthday!" I'm scooped up by Liam and the rest of the boys- even Louis, who's gotten up- and taken to the kitchen. "Thank-you, guys. But I can walk." I laugh.
Niall fixes me breakfast. Pancakes with syrup and a candle in the top. A plastic one with a light in it. "Aw, thank-you." I say. I get up and kiss him on the cheek. "Don't I get a kiss?" Louis says. "You didn't make me this lovely breakfast." I say. He stares at me as I pick up my fork so I get up and kiss him on the cheek. He smiles. "Birthday Girl!" Laura calls. I eat. "Birthday Girl!" Mya calls. I finish eating. "BIRTHDAY GIRL, CAN YOU COME HERE?" Mya, Meg, and Laura shout. I get up and go to the hallway. "In here." Meg says. I walk in mine and Louis's room and they say, "Surprise." I start crying and smiling at the same time. "It took a while, but we did it." Laura says. It's a big collage of pictures of One Direction, me, the girls and me, all of us, and different things. It must've taken forever. In the middle in big bold letters it says, We Love You, Aria!
The boys come in behind me. I hug Mya, Meg, and Laura. "Thank-you." I say. "And that's not it." Mya says. I pull back from our hug. "What? This is enough." I say. "With all you've done for us? I don't think so." Meg says. "This is from all of us. It's not much..." Mya says, pulling out her video camera. She turns it on and I hold it watching the video. Mya holds a sign, Happy Birthday, bestie. Laura snatches the sign and turns it around, Love you, cousin. Meg and Liam walk into the picture with a sign that says, Our weird 'Sis'. Niall comes in the picture with Harry and they turn the sign around, Your caring side, your shy side, your loud side(: Zayn comes in with a sign, Poke. I WIN. <3 you, Ari. Louis comes in the picture with a sign that says, A-Amazing R-RayOfSunshine I-Intelligent A-Awesome. ARIA. Happy Birthday, love. They drop the signs. And at different times, they yell, "Happy Birthday!" Then bust out laughing because it wasn't on time.
It goes off and I stare at the black screen for a few seconds. I look up at the nervous faces. "Guys," I say. I give Mya the camera back. "I absolutely loved it." I say. Niall quietly says, "Yes!" I smile. "Group hug." I say. All 9 of us go in for a hug at once. When we all go out. I sit on the couch. "Now you better not make me cry anymore." I say. "Get dressed." Laura says. "I just sat down." I say. Laura gets up and grabs my hand. She starts pulling on it. She manages to get me off the couch, so I just decide to do as told. I wear, a blue and white striped shirt, Louis's suspenders, red jeans, sneakers, and my gray beanie. I have my hair in a braid when I'm all ready. When they're all ready, it's about lunch time. We walk out and Louis takes my hand. "Close your eyes." Mya says. "Fine." I mutter and close my eyes, as Louis leads me into town.
They talk as we walk. It seems like forever until Mya announces, "We're here. Open your eyes." I open my eyes. "No way, this place is expensive." I say, starting to turn around. Louis looks at me with his beautiful eyes shining brightly, so I stop. "We know these owners. Remember? The part of the family that will give us anything to get us to stop using their brooms as wands and swords." Laura says. I turn around and laugh. They lead me inside and we get our food and sit at a table to eat. We talk and laugh as we eat. When Louis and I are done, he takes my hand. "Aria." He says. "Louis." I answer. He smiles. He reaches for his pocket and pulls out a box. It says: ARIA. "Happy Birthday." He says. "Louis, you didn't have.." I begin. "Aria, open it." He says in one of those weird voices that he uses to cheer me up. I laugh and open it. A gold heart necklace with, Nemo, on it in cursive. "I hated putting Aria on it, because I know you love being called Nemo." He grins.
"Louis, it's beautiful." I say, forgetting that everyone else is there. "I seen you looking at it. You wouldn't take your eyes off it in the shop. You know the display that said, Cimmie." He says. "But you didn't have to get it for me." I say. "I had to. It took a lot of work too. I went to get it one day, and the french dude kept telling me there wasn't a heart necklace with a name pronounced 'Kimmy.' Just a heart necklace with a name pronounce 'Kimmay.' Then the whole lecture about names." He says. I giggle. "Thank-you, I love it." I say. He puts it on me. Laura smiles at me. "True love." She says. I giggle. When they're all done eating we pay and go out. We walk around. It's gotten later. Some fans I pass tell my happy birthday. I smile and say thank-you. We all walk to the park.
Louis and I sit on the merry-go-round. "Remember four years ago?" He says. "How can I not?" I say. He smiles and then stares at the ground. I look at him. I scoot closer to him. "Louis." I say. "Aria." He says. "What's the matter?" I ask. "Nothing." He says. I scoot as close to him as I can get. He looks at me and smiles. "Tell me." I say. "I'm sorry. For ever annoying you. For not telling you about that girl four years ago, first. For leaving you. For-" He begins. "Stop it. You're never annoying. It's okay, I'm fine. You came back, that's what matters. You don't have to say sorry for anything." I say. He hugs me. After a little while, Louis and I meet up with everyone else at a tree. "Hello, my people." I say. "Ari." Laura smiles.
I start climbing the tree they're all sitting under. "Aria, stop being a monkey." Mya giggles. I hold out my hand to Louis as I sit on a kind of high branch. He climbs a little and then takes my hand and sits next to me. They talk below us. Louis and I talk about different things. The tour, concerts, and fans. "Having a good birthday?" Louis asks. "Good? Absolutely awesome." I say. He smiles. "Aria." He says. "Louis." I say. "Can I ask you something?" He asks. "Yeah, anything." I say. He looks at me and then looks away. "I've never done this before so.. I'm nervous. And I can't exactly say it. Or I might throw up on Liam's head. So, I'm gonna have to put it in a knock-knock joke." He says. I smile. "Go ahead." I say. He looks back at me. He looks nervous. He swallows and then says, "Knock-Knock." Everything but us talking is silent. "Who's there?" I smile. "Mary." He says. "Mary who?" I say. He starts to smile a bit. "Marry me." He says, taking out a ring.
