My Little Bird

Eleanor didn't have to worry about the boys interrupting their girls' day again.

They hadn't seen any of them for three days. The boys had all mysteriously gotten busy at the same time, which left them with zero spare time to hang out. Asher spent those days with her cousin, visiting the sites and enjoying the local color, and she had fun, but she was slightly suspicious of their behavior.

Her first week in London, the boys had invited her somewhere every day, but now suddenly she wasn't even talking to them, save Niall, who was constantly texting her. Eleanor laughed it off as ridiculous when Asher asked her if they were avoiding her, but then she immediately went to call Louis and they agreed that something should be done to throw Asher off.

When she woke up on the fourth morning, she found a green sticky note attached to her forehead. She peeled it off of her skin and read over Eleanor's neat handwriting before throwing the covers off her legs and immediately heading for the bathroom to take a shower. Louis had taken El for breakfast but they were all supposed to meet at Liam's flat afterwards to hang out.

Every day for the rest of the week, she went over to Liam's to hang out with the boys. It was always her, Liam, Niall, and Zayn; sometimes Louis and Eleanor came too, but she hadn't seen Harry once. When she asked where he was, she was informed that he had gone up to see his family for a few days.

She was sitting in the center of Liam's sofa, Niall right next to her, while Zayn scrolled through the music library to find something suitable to listen to. Liam was on the phone in the kitchen and he hadn't heard her come in so when he finished his phone call, he walked back to the living room, already rattling off information that he wouldn't have said if he had known she was sitting there. "Cheryl told Harry that the video cut is finished so she wants us over there tonight before we all go out."

Asher's eyebrows furrowed at Liam as he walked in, freezing in his tracks, and the other boys threw each other nervous glances. She wasn't sure where to even begin trying to understand his statement. Harry? Video? Go out? As far as she knew, Harry was in Holmes Chapel with his mother so the confusion was plainly evident on her face at the mention of him being in town.

"I thought Harry was in Cheshire," she stated after a long moment.

"He was," Zayn quickly replied. "He's home today."

"Oh." Asher nodded her head, accepting his answer as the truth. She really wanted to ask about the rest of Liam's statement but she didn't want to seem too nosy. After all, what they had planned to do after she left was none of her business. And she really wanted to know what the fuck 'video cut' meant, but she said nothing, not wanting to be too intrusive.

The three boys exchanged looks and they were all silently praying that she wouldn't ask anymore questions. Honestly, they needed to have a group meeting about what to say to her in cases like this because they weren't doing a very good job with their lying so far. If Louis had been there, he would have been able to keep a better cover.

Liam attempted to diffuse the tension by putting on the television, but when he saw that the show playing was a London celebrity news station, he fumbled hurriedly with the remote control to change the channel before Asher could hear any of the rubbish they were spewing. She didn't seem to notice the panic in all three of them as the channel was changed to a weather station.

Niall managed to change the subject to the movie that he'd suggested she watch the previous week and then he went about ribbing her when she confessed that she hadn't been able to finish it because she had become so bored. Gradually, the conversation about Harry was completely forgotten about until she went down the hall to the restroom. The boys huddled up as soon as she was gone and they were whispering harshly about the whole thing, though they weren't very good at it.

Asher could hear them as soon as she came out of the bathroom and she silently crept back down the hallway to listen from just outside the living room.

"I just feel bad lyin' to 'er," Niall sighed, his whispering failing miserably.

"It's better this way, mate," Zayn replied, patting his friend's shoulder. "Trust me, it's worse for Harry. At least we're still hangin' out with her. He's over there hidin' in his flat."

So Harry was already home? If that were the case, why wasn't he there hanging out with them instead of sitting at home by himself? And then that's when she realized he was avoiding her. What Liam said next only confirmed it.

"Louis and I tried talking to him when he was over yesterday, but he just avoided the subject."

So he hadn't just returned; he'd been home for at least a day, though she had a nagging feeling that it had actually been longer. She would be surprised if he had even gone home to Cheshire at all. She shook her head and put on a neutral face as she waltzed back into the living room, humming to herself as if she had heard nothing they had just said. The three of them straightened up in their seats as she walked in, picking up her phone from the cushion where she'd left it and tucking it into the pocket of her leather jacket.

"I'm gonna get going, boys. I still haven't been to Trafalgar Square or the London Eye so I think I'm going to just make an afternoon of it."

They all looked at each other, unsure of what to say. They obviously agreed that she shouldn't just be walking around London all by herself, but at the same time, they'd all had a discussion and decided that they should try to avoid the public eye with her around in order to protect her. "Is Eleanor going to join you?" Liam finally asked.

"No, remember she and Louis went up to see his family for the day. The won't be back until after dark." Eleanor had woken her up at 5 that morning to inform her that she was taking an impromptu trip to Doncaster for the day with Louis to spend some time with his family. She promised that they would return by ten or eleven that night but that meant that Asher had the entire day to herself.

"Well, I'll see you boys later." She gave them a smile as she headed out the door while they just sat there silently.

It was a forty-two minute walk to Trafalgar Square, but luckily she'd brought her headphones along and was able to listen to the music that she'd downloaded onto her phone. The only artist in her library was The Beatles, but with the extent of their discography, she had the ability to be occupied for hours.

She spent awhile walking around there, observing the statues and the other tourists before she moved on and walked another mile to the London Eye. She bought a ticket and walked into the designated capsule, taking a seat on the wooden bench in the center. There were only a few other people inside the capsule with her and they all talked amongst themselves while she sat silently, enjoying the views of London from over 400 feet in the air.

After the thirty minute ride was over, she spent some time walking through Jubilee Gardens before finally heading back toward Eleanor's flat. By the time she got back to the correct area, it was nearing eight p.m. so she stopped at a place called Finch's Cafe to have dinner.

She pushed the french door open, hearing a bell jingling as she shut it behind her. The place was completely deserted and she half wondered if they were even open because it sure didn't look that way. She took a seat at the table by the large front window and shortly after, a young man appeared from the kitchen, looking somewhat surprised to see her.

A smile slid onto his handsome face as he approached her, handing her a mint green colored menu. "Evenin', love. Can I get you some tea or coffee?"

"Coffee, please. And a glass of water."

"I'll be right back."

He disappeared behind the counter as she scanned the menu in her hands and a few minutes later, he returned with a hot cup of coffee and a tall glass of ice water. "Ready to order?"

"Yeah, I'll just have the ham and swiss sub. But no tomato and extra avocado."

He nodded, giving her another smile. "I'll just put this in. Name's Olly if you need anything."

"Thanks, Olly."

Asher sat at her table, sipping on her coffee and observing her new surroundings as Olly went around the room, wiping tables down. When he reached the tables close to hers, she took the opportunity to talk to him. "So are you always this busy?"

He chuckled at her sarcasm, leaning back against the counter and looking to her. "Actually, we're not usually this busy. Regina's thinking of closing the place down because we just don't have any business."

"I'm sorry to hear that. This place is really cool."

"I've been working here since I was fifteen. It's going to be sad to see it go." He sighed somewhat sadly and ran his hand over his short, dark hair. "But anyway-....."

"Have a seat," she told him, using her boot-clad foot to slide the other chair out from the table. He glanced back toward the kitchen before walking over and sitting down across from her, resting his arms on the table top. "I'm Asher, by the way."

"Lovely to meet you, Asher. So what are you doing in England?"

"I'm staying with my cousin for the summer as sort of a gift to myself for making it through my freshman year of college."

"Rough first year?" he asked, chuckling.

"You have no idea. And I was just taking gen ed classes! It's really going to suck when I get more involved in my major."

"What are you majoring in?"

"English. I know, I know, it's so boring." She'd heard practically everyone in her life mainly her parents tell her that her major was ridiculous and she'd never be able to find a job with an English degree unless she wanted to be stuck as a high school teacher.

"I'm actually an English major too." Her eyes widened at the boy in front of her, but he just smiled at her surprise. "I don't really look like the English major type, I guess. A lot of people have told me that." He was right; he definitely looked more the athletic type than the reading/writing type with his soft-looking dark hair and warm dark gray eyes. The dark scruff lining his jaw gave him a more rugged look.

"No, it's just-....." She shook her head, glancing down at her chipped lavender nail polish. "So how far in are you?"

"Oh, I just started last semester. I took a year and a half off to work and save up some money so I'm older than everyone in all my classes, which is odd." Asher nodded her head, mentally calculating that his age would be nineteen or twenty.

A bell dinged from somewhere in the kitchen and Olly hopped up from his seat, excusing himself. Asher sipped on her coffee and a few seconds later, he returned with her plate, setting it down in front of her and sitting back down in the seat across from her with his own plate. "Hope you don't mind me intruding on your meal."

"Course not," she grinned. "It's nice to have the company."

"Why exactly are you eating alone anyway if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh, my cousin went up to Doncaster with her boyfriend for the day. I've only been here for two weeks and this is the first time I've been without a dinner buddy."

"Well it's good I showed up then," he teased, taking a bite of his sandwich.

Asher spent the next hour sitting with Olly at the cafe until they closed for the night and he walked her the two blocks back to Eleanor's flat, giving her a sweet kiss on the cheek after collecting her phone number and promising to call the next day.

She'd had a rather wonderful day and she was in an exceptional mood until she glanced down at her phone screen, which held a photo of her with her five new friends all piled together on Niall's sofa, and she remembered that Harry was avoiding her for some unknown reason.

She decided she had to find out why.