Chapter 25 – The final chapter.

"Bye baby, I love you" I stirred, not quite knowing what was happening. A brush of curls on my cheek, a warm kiss on my forehead and realized. His scent awoke me even more, his body hanging over me, my eyes not letting me focus on anything but his dark silhouette.

"Love you too" I managed to squeak timidly, a warm body suddenly tightly embracing me. I smiled as his lips brushed mine, unable to open my eyes due to the bright beacon of light that flooded the dark room from the hallway. His body weight on top of me was comforting, his legs either side of me sent my mind into a frenzy of thoughts. His lips brushed the skin of my cheek, his eyelashes skimmed the moisture that was left behind. His tongue trailed down my throat, making me giggle in a daze.

"Is this one of those nice dreams I sometimes have? When you and I.." I whispered, trailing off - My fingers threading with his soft brown curls.

He pulled away, taking my hand in his and kissing each fingertip gently.

"Unfortunately not" He said with a cheeky grin "but I'll talk to you later, okay?" He added, my head already lolling against the soft pillow.

"Mmm-hmm" I replied, unconsciousness already taking over, the darkness inclosing in on me rapidly. The silhouette blurred, the room became dark again, the small click of the door handle only just audible.

I lay in the cold and lonely bed, my eyes fuzzy and skin clammy. Jetlag seared my brain, a thumping headache chimed against my skull; I could feel the blood vessels on my temples throbbing against my skin. I sat up; sunlight seeped faintly through the material of the thick curtains. I tried to think straight, my eyes flipping around the room.

There was no Harry; no noises rang through the entire house at all; which was extraordinary for a house occupied with 5 boys.

Then, I remembered; I was alone. No Harry, no boys; Alone.

They had left in the early morning before the sun had even broken, heading up North for rehearsals for the upcoming X Factor Tour. I crashed my head back on the soft pillow, letting my heavy eyelids shut slowly again. I shifted my position, my arm drifting over the cool mattress and gliding under the pillow that was supporting my head.

Something slid silently down the pillow next to my head, a light thud hitting the duvet; a small crack of rustling paper reaching my ears too. My eyes shot open, scanning the duvet underneath me.

A small cassette tape lay on the soft, white duvet; a small note cellotaped to the back.

I reached my hand out towards the alien object; I hadn't even seen a cassette since the Teletubbies days.

I squinted my eyes, trying to focus on the small scrawl of writing on the paper strip of the cassette.

For you

I flipped the tape over, the piece of card covered in Harry's small handwriting.

You know how much I love you, but you know me – always the romantic ;) I've been waiting for the right moment to give you this. Every time I've missed you when we've been apart, I would record a song…

"Love is not, when it alteration finds."

I read the writing quickly, my eyes blurring with moisture. I smiled, a small laugh escaping my lips, a sliver of a tear running down my cheek. I could not love this boy more than I already did, but the things he did; the effort and thought he put into everything he did for me made me feel indescribable things; a cauldron of emotion stirred in my stomach, a feeling of happiness and love – every word to describe Harry bubbled inanimately too.

I fumbled with the tape, realizing that there was more on the flip side of the piece of card. A Playlist.

Isn't She Lovely

Chasing Cars

Free Fallin'

Maybe I'm Amazed

Wonderful Tonight

Home

I Just Called To Say I Love You

My hand was trembling slightly, as I looked around the room. How was I going to listen to this thing? I suddenly spotted a piece of card taped to the dressing table, in the same coloured card as the note.

I jumped out of the bed, my naked legs tingling as my feet hit the cool carpet. I stepped over to the dresser, stooping slightly to rip the note off cleanly.

You stand here at the beginning

Of a quest that you wont regret.

When you search the place we cuddle,

You'll find the note quick, I bet.

I laughed, it was a game.. A scavenger hunt. Even without him here, Harry never failed to make me smile like an idiot.

"Place we cuddle" I thought deeply.

Sofa.

My feet sped over each other as I rushed down the stairs, a smile spread across my face, eager to find the next clue.

I ran into the living room, cold and quiet. Scanning the sofa, another scrap of card lie gently on the seat. I scrambled for the card as if it would disappear if I didn't grab it.

You're looking for a box

That stands so strong and bold.

If you choose to look inside,

You'll find it's oh so cold.

I held the card in my agile fingers, reading the note quickly again. My mind filled with excitement. Although I was alone I felt somewhat fulfilled, happy and content; almost like Harry was still here with me.

There was only one place that would be "oh so cold" – Zayn's favourite place in the whole house.. The fridge.

I skidded into the kitchen, my toes already frozen from the glossy tiles that covered the floor; I heaved the heavy door open. The American-style fridge was a huge with an ice machine and shelves that stretched from above my head to the floor.

Sat in the middle shelf, surrounded by loose eggs and a carton of milk, was a small red box. It was a card box, with small hearts drawn all over it neatly in black ink.

I slid my fingers around it, guiding it closer to the edge of the shelf. Once I finally had it in my hands, I hastily took the top off and peered inside.

I thought what would lay inside the box would be the cassette player, and that would be the end of the hunt.. But another small note rested on a handful of red tissue paper.

A man's heart can be reached

In a round a bout way,

Open the door to this place

And you might get there today.

In case you need a bit more info

I'll try to brighten your mood.

Follow your stomach to another place

You could store a little food

I pondered on his carefully thought out words, "store a little food" could only mean one more place… The pantry.

I twisted around, facing the white door of the pantry head on. I was giddy and nervous about what may be waiting for me inside, but there was nothing in this world I wanted more than to hear Harry's sweet voice again.

I skipped to the door that had been left ajar – coaxing me to open it. I placed my fingers over the handle; it was cool to the touch, making my legs shiver slightly.

I pulled the handle toward me, the door swinging easily open; my breath held tightly between my dry and chapped lips. The breeze from the opening door blew over my face; strands of hair flew up and then settled again, tickling my nose.

I examined the small room, the window at the end streamed sunlight, swirling patterns covering the grey tiled floor reflecting off tin cans than lined the shelves.

There, in the middle of the floor was a blanket laid in a perfect square, a cassette player positioned in the middle and two cushions stood up against one side, slanted slightly. I sighed, smiling to myself, wishing he were here to enjoy this magical moment with me.

I clasped the cassette in my hand tightly, preparing myself for what was to come; thoughts fluffing my brain. I was still only in my pajamas; my hair tied loosely in a bun on the top of my head.

I tiptoed toward the blanket, my feet finding the soft material after a few steps. I slid down, my back resting against the pillows. I felt giddy; my knees shook slightly as I picked the small cassette player up from the floor, easily fitting in my hand.

I pressed the open button, and expectedly the draw popped open. I slid the tape in, holding my breath as I did. Shutting the lid down, I didn't know if I could cope with listening to it without completely breaking down.

As I sat in the solitary silence, not daring to press play, I remembered the lyrics to a song I used to love.

"And this is my mix tape for her, it's like I wrote every note with my own fingers"

My finger hovered over the play button, crystal tears threatening to fall already.

Click.

I waited in intense anticipation, just the slight static noise playing. The air felt heavy around me. All of a sudden Harry cleared his throat and a chime of acoustic guitar strings started to play a recognizable melody.

I smiled, weeping tears glided down my cheeks continuously.

"Isn't she lovely? Isn't she wonderful?"

I curled into a ball; knees tight to my chest, sobbing quietly to myself, but a huge smile spread across my face too.

In that moment I knew that the most important thing to me was the boy who I loved with every fiber of my being, with every sinew of my anatomy.

He was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

In that moment, with my head in my hands, I prayed - Prayed to God that nothing would ever come between us, because I knew I would never be able to love someone as much as I did him.

Emotion poured out of me, huge sobs escaped my trembling lips but Harry's voice, blissfully unaware, drowned out the commotion. Unexpectedly the next track started to play; I listened, trying to control the spasms that tried to burst out between my lips.

As I concentrated on Harry's voice, one line engraved on my mind, and in my heart forever.

"We don't need anything, or anyone…"

This was my Mixed Tape. This was his Mixed Tape. This was our Mixed Tape.

A/N – I just wanted to take the time to thank every single one of you that has been reading TMT for the last few months. I looked back on my documents this morning – 18th of December was when I first started writing this. I had 13 followers on Tumblr, and was writing for no real reason. Over those months I have grown as a person, and I have all of you to thank for that. Every one of you that has left me a nice message, or feedback has been a part of this absolutely wonderful and awe-inspiring experience, and I will never forget what The Mixed Tape has done for me. It's bought new (in some cases, best) friends, new confidence, and has taught me indescribable amounts. I really hope you have enjoyed reading The Mixed Tape, because I know that I have absolutely loved writing it.

I went into writing the first chapter with nothing to lose, it had no real purpose – But overtime it has gained a purpose. A purpose to let people escape into the world I had created through my writing, and I really hope I have done it justice for you all. Again, I can't thank you all enough, and I really hope that I have ended this whole journey well for you.

Now that TMT is finished, a little message would mean the world to me. At this very moment I almost feel like a little part of me has died – The characters have become so much a big part of my life it feels a little strange to be writing this.

This journey has been incredible, and I can't describe how much you all mean to me.

Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart.

-Sophie xxx