Little Shy Ariel (ft. Harry Styles)

Chapter 24 - Respect

Chapter 24 - Respect

“And why are you here?” I ask Ella once we’re sitting on a fence near the stables. She told me she used to come here to have lunch with her best friends, Charlie and Olivia who also left when Ella did.

Ella has also told me she left last year when summered ended, once her contract expired and back then she had thought she was never coming back.

“Oh, that’s because I came back before to face Rhonda, you know? To cut all the ties and tell her she couldn’t control me anymore. I also told her that I would come back from time to time to check on her, make sure she’s treating this place right and the people who work here. I came to check on her and I was surprised to see that she’s being nicer to the employees. I was also surprised to see she got a hold on the lake.” Ella looks at me, the question clear in her eyes.

“We were having money problems,” I say before she can ask the question out loud. We had to do it. Dad is still the owner, we just… we just provide a service.”

“Well, that’s not… terrible,” Ella says. “But still, be careful with Rhonda. She’s too clever.”

“She’s been really nice to my father and I,” I tell her which clearly surprises her, but then she smiles, glad with the news. I hope.

“And you like the centre?” Ella inquires. “Is Rhonda really doing a good job?”

“Yes,” I reply in all honesty. I mean I… I don’t really talk to everyone but I see them and… they look content. And the guests are really happy. I mean, Harry has told me how much he likes this place.”

“I see that boy made a new friend, uh?” I remember how Harry said Ella was his friend and he liked they way she treated him so normally.

“I guess,” I say feeling my cheeks heating a bit at the mention of his name. “He misses you. He’s told me that.”

“I’ve missed that idiot, too,” she laughs. “Did you know he has a moth tattoo?” Ella says bursting out laughing but I only open my mouth in surprise. “It’s huge and in the middle of his torso. Seriously, that boy is crazy.”

I laugh too because Ella’s laughter is just so contagious. She’s so easy-going and welcoming. I mean, at the beginning I talked too much because I was too excited and I wasn’t even thinking. I was only thinking of Niall. But once that excitement went away we still talked. I could still answer her questions and asked a few myself. She doesn’t make me feel nervous and she’s really nice.

“He’s a good guy, though,” Ella adds once her laughter has faded. “A good friend.”

“He is,” I agree, looking down at my lap and putting one lock of hair behind my ear, thinking of Harry. My heart races immediately when his image comes to my mind and I feel that tingly sensation in my guts, what I assume are butterflies.

Ella doesn’t say anything else but I know she’s watching me, I can feel her eyes on me and I feel nervous. Can she tell what I’m thinking? What I’m feeling? Is it obvious?

I see her hand on my thigh, a soft touch yet comforting and I know, I know in that moment that she’s figured it out, that she’s aware of my feelings for Harry. I just fancy him but I wonder if she sees herself in me right now, a younger Ella, an Ella that was starting to fall in love with Niall. How do I look to her right now?

“It’s gonna be all right,” she whispers and I nod because when she says that, the heartbreak comes again.

I don’t say I’m in love with Harry but if one day I fall in love, I would like it to be with Harry. And I’d love if he falls for me, too. Like Niall fell for Ella and she fell for him. I’d like that.