Just A Moment

“But I missed his birthday! How do I make up for something like that?” I groaned, staring morosely into the fridge.

“Hannah Michelle Clarke. Get out of that fridge and stop worrying! I don’t even think he’ll be angry!”

It was December 31, New Year’s Eve. I was on the phone with Zayn, about to cry. What was wrong? I’d forgotten Louis’ birthday.

“I will worry as much as I please, thank you very much!” I said, woefully closing the fridge. “And you don’t think he’ll be angry?” I laughed. “This is Louis! The Sassmaster from Doncaster! The Queen! The-”

“Erm, the what?” came Zayn’s dubious reply.

I blushed. “Oh, uh, those are things the fans call him sometimes…” I bit my lip and squeezed my eyes shut. I couldn’t believe that I had just blurted those sacred secrets to a member of One Direction… “You have to promise not to tell him!”

“I won’t tell anyone!” Zayn laughed. I breathed a sigh of relief at his response before slumping into a kitchen stool.

“So should I still try to ship something for him with your gift?”

“No, no, no, no! First of all, please don’t get me anything! I really don’t even need anything except seeing your lovely face on my birthday, okay? So just Skype me or something!”

“Zayn, we Skype all the time, that’s hardly special!” I rolled my eyes.

“I can hear you rolling your eyes, you crazy fool!” he said in that funny Arabic accent he sometimes does. “Don’t you do that! And don’t even consider shipping anything over here for anyone. That costs crazy amounts of money and not even Louis is worth that!”

“I’m not even worth what?” I heard a door slam in the background just before Louis’ voice rang over the airways.

“Oh, sure, Lou, come on in!” Zayn said away from the phone.

“You in your apartment?” I asked, popping a grape from the fruit bowl into my mouth.

“Yes, and now apparently, so is Lou.” I heard the endearing exasperation in his voice. “Right, gotta go, Han. Talk to you later!”

“Hello Hannah! I promise you whatever it is I most certainly am worth it!” I heard Louis yell.

“I know, Lou!” I laughed. “Tell him I love him, yeah?” I asked Zayn.

“Oi, she says to fuck off.” Zayn drawled.

“ZAYN!” I yelled.

“What?” I heard the feigned innocence in his voice.

“Ugh, Skype me later.” I shook my head tiredly.

“Kay bye!”

I chuckled as I hung up, only to see another call coming in.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Hannah! Carter here!” The familiar British accent said with its usual pep.

“Hey!” I smiled. “What’s up?”

“I know I said we wouldn’t need you in again until later this week, but would you be available to come in tonight? It’d just be for a bit sometime after six.” I groaned inwardly.

“You know I’m good with this kind of thing, Carter, but does it have to be tonight? I mean, it’s New Year’s Eve…” I felt bad saying anything.

“I know, I know, I know, and that’s why I feel so horrible asking you to do this at such a short notice!” I heard the apology in his tone. “But there’s someone who dropped by today who absolutely demanded to work with you.”

“Me?” I said dubiously.

“Yes! And they won’t be around tomorrow, so it needs to happen tonight.” There was a short pause as I bit my lip in thought. “Did you have any specific plans that it’d be cutting into? Because if it’s easier we could make it earlier…”

“Oh, I was just going to drop by a friend’s house a little later. My mom’s out, and all my siblings but one are at their own friend’s houses so it’s really just me and my little brother. I’m dropping him by his friend’s around nine…” I looked at my watch. 4:30. “I mean, honestly, if he could just come along and play his DS in the corner and if we could get out by 8:45, I’m all for it.” I shrugged.

“Fabulous! Do you want to come by earlier then? Say, 5:15?”

“Yeah! Sounds good! Sorry it couldn’t be 6 like you wanted!” I said, feeling bad.

“No, don’t worry about it love, you know how much everyone loves you around here! 5:15 will be fine. And how are you and your family?”

“Oh, we’re all good-” I moved to the refrigerator again, grabbing the milk because I had a sudden craving for it. “-yeah, this is the first New Year’s Eve we’re all doing our own thing, so it’s kind of weird, but we’re good! How’s Shelley and Roger?” I asked about his wife and 3 year old son.

“Actually on their way to Shelley’s parent’s house, which is why I am ever so grateful you could come in now!”

“Ooo, the dreaded in-laws!” l laughed.

“You know it… Well, I’ll see you in a bit!”

“Okay, bye!” I hung up with a smile before dialing my mom. I got her voicemail. “Hey, Mom, I just wanted to let you know that Carter called me in for a few hours, so I’m taking Jake with me then dropping him off at Adam’s. Call me if you need anything while I’m out or just want to check in. Love you! Bye!”

Twenty minutes later, I had donned my favorite grey sweater, black skinny jeans, black ankle boots and grabbed my peacoat from the hall closet.

“Jacob! We’re leaving now!” I called up to his room.

“Where are we going?” He yelled, running down the stairs.

“I told you, we’re gonna grab a quick bite to eat and then we have to go to see Carter for a bit. You remember Carter?” I said, slipping his coat over his thin shoulders.

“Oh yeah! He’s the guy that gave me the chocolate and the slurpee and told me not to tell Mom!”

I stopped. “He did what?”

“Oh…” The boys eyes darted back and forth guiltily. I laughed and tousled his hair.

“I’ll just have to have a talk with him then, huh?” We raced to my van and got on the road to New York. “So before we hit the city, what do you want to eat?”

“Chicken tenders!” He shouted, bouncing in the front seat.

“So Chik-fil-a?” I asked as we approached the local shopping center.

“Yes! I love their chicken it’s so juicy and crispy and it’s the perfect flavor and wow it’s just so good can I get the grown up meal instead of the kid’s meal because the uh the grown up meal gets more chicken and more fries and their fries are like Jesus and…”

I let him go on and just listened with a smile. He was usually quiet, but once he got the chance to start talking, he wouldn’t stop.

Once we’d gotten our food, we set back out on the road towards the city. We turned on the radio to the local country station because it was Jacob’s favorite music, and while he sung along to all the songs, I lost myself in thought.

~~*~~

Flashback

Once the doors had closed, I quickly sent each of the boys a quick “safe travels” text before the took off. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, Harry’s number was under ‘S’. ‘Sex God Styles ;)’ to be exact. I thought about changing it, but instead decided that it gave me a little piece of him to hold onto.

I was just about to leave the main terminal when I heard my name being called. I turned, rather startled, to see a tall, clean cut man who looked vaguely familiar.

“Hannah Clarke?” He asked in a British accent.

“Yes?”

He stuck out his hand with a bright smile and said, “Carter Anderson!”

I shook it firmly. “And how may I help you, Mr. Anderson?” I smiled into a pair of open grey eyes that radiated kindness.

“I work for Syco Records and was wondering if we could sit down for coffee and have a little chat?”

I drew my brows together and smiled unsurely. “Well, yes, of course, but I’m not sure I understand why you need to talk to me-”

“Brilliant!” He interrupted with a smile. Gesturing to the Starbucks directly behind us, he said, “Shall we?”

Once we had ordered, we sat down at a quiet table towards the back. I stirred my vanilla chai tea nervously as he approached, blowing at his hot black coffee.

“So… did I do something wrong? I tried to shelter the boys during their stay, I really did-”

“No, no, love, that’s not at all what this is about!” Mr. Anderson chuckled.

“Well… then why else would Syco be interested in me?”

“Well, we recently received your demo along with a very high profile recommendation and-”

I almost choked on my tea. “I’m sorry, my demo?”

“Yes, your demo.” He said slowly, not understanding my shock.

“I am so sorry for wasting your time, but I really think you have the wrong person-” I started to stand.

“You are Hannah Michelle Clarke, yes?” He protested, standing with me.

“Well, yes, but-”

“And you sing, yes?” He continued.

“Yes…“ This time my response was slower.

“I must say, my dear, that I have never heard a variation of What Makes You Beautiful quite like your own! Your piano skills are incredibly impressive as well. However, what I believe caught everyone’s attention most is your original piece. We were told that not only was it original, but complete improvisation.”

At this point, I had frozen and begun to figure out what was happening. I sat down slowly.

“May I ask exactly how recent your acquisition of my demo was?” I asked suspiciously, waiting for him to confirm my thoughts.

“Actually, we only received the digital copy early this morning London time. But once Mr. Cowell got a hold of it-”

“Simon Cowell heard my- my demo?” I gasped.

“Well, the source was very high profile and incredibly insistent, so Mr. Cowell was rather predisposed to listen to it!” Anderson adjusted in his seat and leaned forward. “Basically, Hannah, Syco would like to take you on as an artist and produce an EP for you. Then, we’ll see where it goes from there. Mr. Cowell’s main priority right now is making sure that you sign with Syco and Syco only.” He smiled in amusement at my bewildered expression.

“Am I honestly getting signed to a record label?” I finally croaked.

“As soon as we go through the agreement and you sign these papers, you most certainly will be!” Anderson pulled a crisp white contract from his briefcase and pushed it across the table. I stared blankly at it.

“Mr. Anderson, please tell me this isn’t a joke?” I pleaded barely above a whisper.

“Please, Hannah!” He laughed, a pleasant sound. “If I’m going to be your manager, you’re going to have to call me Carter!”

When I got home that afternoon, I was in complete shock. I was barely able to explain what had happened to my mom and the rest of my family, but once I’d gone through it once, I couldn’t stop telling it. To my sister, my best friends, my neighbor, the pizza guy…

And then came the call I’d been waiting for all day.

“Hello?” I said expectantly.

“Hannah!” Came Niall’s joyous reply.

“So I take it you landed safely?” I stretched out on my bed and stared at the ceiling, focusing on his voice.

“We did indeed! Liam watched all three of those Toy Story movies on the flight but he refused to wear headphones and just quoted them the entire way! It was agony!”

I laughed. “So I guess you’re all just about home then?”

“Yeah, we’re all beat. It’s about midnight here so we’re all probably just going to go to bed straight away.” I heard him let just a little of the fatigue through in his voice.

“Well don’t let me keep you! Go to sleep!” I encouraged him reluctantly.

“No, no, we’re still in the car. Stay on with me till I get home, ok?”

“Of course!” I smiled.

“I can hear the smile in your voice, you know.” He said softly.

“And I can hear the tiny little one in yours!” I responded, biting my lip.

He let out a little laugh. “I think I’m going to miss you a lot.”

I sighed. “I know I’m going to miss you a lot.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

After an easy silence, a thought came to mind and made me giggle a bit.

“What?” Niall asked.

“I was just wondering did Zayn sleep all the way?”

“Pff, all six hours and thirty minutes or whatever it was! I don’t know how the man does it! I mean, six hours with no bathroom, no food, no nothing just sleep?”

“Niall, you do realize that when you go to sleep at night you usually don’t go to the bathroom or have food for seven hours or more?” I laughed.

“Well, yeah, but this is a plane ride in the middle of the day!”

“I hear you on that one!” I laughed in agreement, but suddenly remembered something and cut myself off. “Speaking of Zayn, did you hear what he pulled?”

“Oh jeez…”

“Oh, so you did?” I accused him lightly.

“Well, to be fair, I didn’t know until he’d already sent it. But all of us are incredibly impressed, Hannah! Zayn especially! Honestly, even if he hadn’t known you the way he does, he would’ve done the same thing. You’ve got a talent and a dream and everyone deserves for their dream to be given a chance.”

“Aw, jeez…” I said bashfully, rolling my eyes.

“It’s true!” He protested.

“If you say so… But Zayn is going to get it!”

“What’re you going to do to the poor man?” Niall sounded eager.

“Well don’t you sound excited!” I chuckled.

“Oh, it’s always an entertaining sight to see a good mate really get it once in a while!”

“Well in that case I’ve got you covered!” I full out laughed.

“I like the sound of your laugh.” I heard the smile in his voice.

“Really?” I blushed, quieting down. “I’ve never really liked it…” I rolled over on my stomach and started playing with the duvet cover.

“Well I do. It’s just… you.” I closed my eyes at the sweet simplicity of it all.

“Thanks, Niall.” After a prolonged silence, I said softly, “You getting sleepy?”

“What? Hm? No, no, I’m here, yeah, I’m here…” I could tell he’d drifted off.

“Niall?”

“Hmm? What?”

“Niall, go to sleep. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“I can stay up-”

“Go to sleep!” I chuckled quietly.

“Okay.” He resigned easily. “Good night, Hannah.”

“Night, Niall.” I smiled and watched my phone until I saw that he’d hung up. I sighed happily, thinking about the conversation, and just lay there for a bit before hopping off my bed and settling at my computer. I logged onto tumblr, twitter, my email, and just derped around online for a bit before my Skype rang with a video call.

I didn’t recognize the caller I.D. but decided to answer in case it was one of the boys. Sure enough, when I clicked ‘accept’, Zayn’s face came onto the screen.

“Helloooooo!” He trilled brightly.

“Well hello.” I said stoically.

“And how are you lovely child on this beautiful night?” He maintained his smile.

“Peachy.”

“Oh, that is wonderful, just wonderful!” He laughed and clapped like a child. When I didn’t respond he just kept going. “So did you like your surprise?”

“Oh, yeah! It was-” I stopped myself. “It was honestly the most incredible thing that anybody has ever done for me.” I said softly before taking a breath. “BUT THE FACT THAT YOU TOOK MY PERSONAL PROPERTY AND DID SOMETHING LIKE THAT WITHOUT TELLING ME OR GIVING ME AMPLE TIME TO THINK THIS THROUGH AND JUST THREW ME INTO THAT KIND OF SITUATION IS COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS AND I’M STILL TRYING TO FATHOM WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED TONIGHT!”

A beat, and then, “So you liked it?”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, Zayn, I loved it.” I looked into the camera. “Thank you.”

“Oh, anything for you, my little pigeon!” He smiled goofily.

I laughed. “You’re crazy, you know that?”

“Oh, yes, but you are crazy as well, which is why we get along so loverly!” He giggled. Yes. Giggled.

I leaned in close to the camera and squinted, saying, “Zayn? Exactly how high are you?”

“No, no, Hannah, you’ve got it wrong, it’s ‘Hi, how are you?’!” He said blurrily. I scowled as he broke into laughter. “My god, Hannah, I’m just kidding!”

“Oh, yes, you’re just hilarious!” I nodded.

“I know!” He threw his arms out happily. “And it’s really late here but I’m not tired at all because I slept the entire fucking plane ride! Fuck yeah!” He danced in his chair.

“And they said you couldn’t dance!” I mocked him.

“Oh, believe me, love, when I say that I can’t!” He laughed.

“Well, as much as I’d love to stay up with you to teach you how to dance, I actually have a pile of make up work that I put off til the last minute. So. I must leave you.” I said wryly.

“Noooooooooooooooooooooo!”

“I really do and it’s all your fault!”

“It is none of the sort. You’re bloody insane.”

“Yeah, well, either way, I really do have to go. But I love you and I’ll see or talk to you soon?” I asked.

“Most definitely. Good night, Pigeon!” He smiled and waved.

“Good night!” I waved before clicking off. I smiled, shaking my head at the craziness that had ensued throughout the day.

Then, of course, reality called and I started on the massive pile of work that sat before me.

~~*~~

So now my brother and I were on our way to the small Syco studio in New York City where I’d begun working over the past few weeks. We’d been having writing sessions not only for myself, but for other artists as well. They had found that many artists liked my writing style and enjoyed fresh ideas, so I was becoming more popular around the studio.

So far, we’d only recorded one song of mine and it ended up being that first one that I’d written with Zayn. The next one had been decided on but we had yet to record it. We were scheduled for that one within the upcoming week.

“So when we get there, you’re just going to sit next to me and play your DS in complete silence, ok? This is really important and I need you to cooperate.” I said to him, snapping out of my reverie.

“Got it! And I still get to go to Adam’s later?”

“Definitely!” I smiled at his eagerness.

Once we’d made our way through the crazy New York traffic and miraculously found street parking, we headed into the tall building that housed the small studio that Syco was using for a few artists in the New York area. While their primary offices were in London and Los Angeles, they had small studios in Nashville, New York, and Florida.

“Alright, so what’re you gonna do?” I asked my brother one more time for emphasis.

“Sit, play my DS, and be quiet, right?” He repeated boredly.

“Yes! Thank you!” I smiled, pushing open the door to the studio Carter had directed me to.

But it wasn’t Carter who greeted me with a boisterous “HANNAH!” and a bear hug to end all bear hugs.

“Do you know how difficult it was to keep this secret from you?”

“God, it is good to see those rosy cheeks again!”

“Darling, that outfit is literally perfect! And you! You’re gorgeous!”

“HANNAH BANANA!”

“Haz, you know she doesn’t like being called that…”

The boys were back.