The Kindness Of A Sunflower (h.s)

thirty seven

Recap:

Harry has asked Paige to join him on tour as his opening act due to an emergency with Jenny Lewis. She accepted and got ready for tour. She was able to go to England for the holidays with Harry and meet his family and Harry went home with Paige to meet her mom however some painful memories were brought back and revealed. Paige was sexually assaulted by her ex, Dean, when she was younger and bumped into him hen she was home. Harry learned of this past experience and supported her. They got her ready for tour by putting together a small band with friends from her school and getting everything ready for tour. They just finished a successful first night of tour but at the end of her performance, Piage thought she caught a glimpse of her past yet again. Was Dean really there in Italy or was it a figment of her imagination?

january 12th, 2022

bologna, italy

Paige

The face that had haunted my dreams.

The face that I worked so hard to keep from crossing my mind had been one in a crowd of thousands.

I feel my heart skip a beat and drop to the floor. My breath hitches and gets caught in my throat.

Why was he here? Was my imagination playing tricks on me? Maybe all the adrenaline pumping through my veins was causing me to hallucinate.

When I left the stage, I was greeted by a beaming Harry with arms extended wide open for an embrace. The scent of vanilla and woody tones calms my racing heart and brain and I smile into the comfort of his chest. After the compliments and kisses were shared, he walked on stage ready for his leg of the performance. The bubble of comfort he had created in those five minutes had popped the second his body had been taken away from mine and my brain started to race again.

I feel faint.

I walked back to the dressing room to get changed into a simple t-shirt and jeans and grabbed a hair tie and a water bottle. I took a few deep breaths before I walked back to the audience.

Before stepping into the sea of people, my eyes scan over the spot where Dean had been standing.

He wasn't there.

I blinked a few times and looked around the area again, but no sign of the man who caused my heart to race four times its normal speed. With deep breaths, I walked into the crowd to watch the performance. I wanted to be taken somewhere else, just for a little bit. I wanted to just have a distraction.

Was it real?

Was he actually here in Italy?

No.

There is no way.

My adrenaline was pumping at an all time high. My brain was just playing tricks on my eyes. I tried to clear my mind and enjoy the performance in front of me. At one point Harry had gotten two cream pies to cream Sarah and Mitch on stage. He even spotted two girls in the pit dressed as bananas and added a little intro verse to Watermelon Sugar in their honor, which brought a smile to my face.

I stood in my spot and watched him with intent and complete adoration during Cherry. His voice had always calmed me even before I knew him, but now it went an extra mile.

I had started to be able to sense his presents and an instant wave of calm and relaxation washed over me from head to toe. Right now was no different. Even in a sea of people, he was able to make me feel like I was the only one there. He looked at me during one of the choruses and smiled.