Not Just Another Cinderella Story

21. All Good Things

CHELSEA

It was nerve-wracking, to say the least, during the minute of silence that settled between us. I heard the quiet humming of the AC as I tried to suppress the strong urge to run away. Finally, I couldn't keep quiet any more.

"You don't have to say anything... I just... needed to tell you, I-"

"I love you. At least... No. I know I do." He let out a soft breath, I felt it rustle a stray strand of hair. We fell into a comfortable silence, until he wrapped an arm around my waist. My eyes drooped slowly, as we fell asleep.

I was slowly waking up to someone tracing circles on the small of my back. Immediately, I knew it was Harry. Maybe it was the feel of his fingers, or maybe it was his scent, so familiar. It was so distinctly him, with no real scent you could compare it to, since he wasn't wearing any cologne. It was like a dream, just the two of us, swathed in warm white linens, as the warm glow of the sun slowly lit up the room. Without opening my eyes, I stirred, humming lightly letting him know I was awake. Harry pulled the covers even closer, so they were half covering my chin. I mumbled sleepily, bringing my hands up to my eyes, rubbing away some of the tiredness.

"Mmm. When's our flight?" he questioned. I peered over at the clock resting on the nightstand.

"In around four hours, which means we should get up and pack." I sat up, before Harry pulled me back down. The warm air engulfed me again.

"Five more minutes. Please?" he mumbled, sleep lacing his voice. Without waiting for an answer, he rested his head under my jaw until I could feel his breath on my neck.

"Only five, we have a lot of stuff to pack away." I fiddled with his hair in between my fingers, letting the tight curls bounce back to his scalp when I pulled them away. They were never as tight after he did his hair.

"I never want to move." And to tell the truth, I didn't either. We were safe together in our little cocoon, it was warm and fuzzy and smelled wonderful. But all good things come to an end, right?   

"Five minutes are up, Harry. I want to get the footage for a new video before we leave too." He reluctantly pulled away, as I disappeared into the washroom. I scrunched in a bit of mousse to give it a slight bit of hold, before messily braiding it to the side and adorning it with a white flower. I grabbed a blue button up shirt with white polka dots that belonged to Harry, throwing it on over a white tank top and tucking it into a pair of skinny black jeans. I applied my normal, natural makeup, then slipping on a chunky coral and gold bangle onto my wrist. I set up my small lighting set and my camera to an empty corner of the hotel room while Harry was in the shower, and started filming a new video.

"Hi guys! Today I want to make a video that isn't anything like I've ever done before for my second channel. It's a little heartfelt, a little serious, and something I think everyone should be aware of. Insecurities." My eyes flickered over to Harry, who had gotten out of the shower and rested on the bed, looking over curiously at me. "Insecurities are something everyone has. And I'm not here to say, 'love yourself, don't care about what others think', because everyone says that. And it's not really that easy. You can't just wake up one day and say 'oh, today I love myself. I have no more insecurities.' It's something you have to truly believe, and honestly, I'm not sure how to do that. You might find someone who can make you believe it. For example, when your mom tells you you're pretty, it's not really a compliment because she's your mom. If a boy you like tells you you're pretty, it's suddenly worth so much more. But what's worth the most is when you can look in a mirror, and say, 'I am beautiful', and really mean it." I ran a hand through my hair thinking about what to say next.

"I think insecurities can really hold you back from things like making friends or having a good time. For me, I was always really insecure about my weight when I was younger. It started with something someone said to me in grade seven. No one should be worrying about their weight so early on. And looking back, I wasn't overweight at all, so I don't really know what I was thinking. It didn't really affect my lifestyle too much, except for the fact that I never went swimming, or wore shorts. It also made me really shy around people. I never made any good friends, and I never had a best friend until I met Dylan and Tyler. I was too shy and not confident enough to try out for the volleyball team in junior high either, and it was a lot harder to get on the ship in high school. So yeah, it isn't just a little voice inside your head, it can do a lot of harm." I heard Harry take in a shaky breath from beside me.