Madness ➮ Harry Styles AU

B7

Harry

"Hello, mum." I smiled, the smooth string attached to the mylar balloon I held loosely, caressing my fingers and palm.

"Harry!" She replied sweetly, immediately directing her attention away from the television to me, standing leisurely in front of the wooden hospital door.

Hurriedly, I rushed to her side, the reflective balloon bouncing up and down in sync with my motions and the squeaking of my sneakers on the cream tiles evident.

When I did reach that area between her twin-sized hospital bed and the pale green wall, my arms extended gingerly to hand her the balloon and a rosy pink scarf I had found on sale at the thrift store earlier and decided that it would suit her very nicely.

"Oh Harry... you didn't have to.." She said in a soft voice, in which she says every time I bring her a gift and yet I still consecutively do. "Is this a scarf?"

I nodded.

The warmth of her smile was radiant as she wrapped the crocheted material around her neck and I guess that in that moment, all was right in the world.

"It's lovely, Harry... thank you..." Her sweet, innocent voice trailed off at the end of the sentence.

With that, I pressed my lips to her forehead gently, while muttering a soft, yet sorrowful, "I love you" against the creases of her skin.

Within pulling away from the gesture, in which all that was close shifted delicately from blurry to focused, she giggled a happy "I love you too."

Suddenly, looking intently at me as I did her, her brow creased at the slightest, knit together in worry.

"Where's your pen?"

My hand shot up instinctively to check the empty space behind my ear, only to be pelted by the wondrous memory of me clasping Ashley's petite fingers around the width of it.

"I, uh... I left it at home." My answer was a bit too vague for my liking, but I was far too caught up in reminiscing upon the majestic memory of her.

"Are you sure, Harry?" My mum asked hesitantly, noticing the fact that my mind was elsewhere.

"Yeah," I nodded.

"You haven't, like, given up right?"

Lips parting at the slightest, I released a laugh, vibrating with amusement and the unusual, stark, feeling of pure contentment. "No... no I haven't..." My gaze faltered for a moment, my mouth suppressing a sigh. "You just watch, I'll write something good and earn enough money for the both of us, I promise."

I held my pinky up inches away from the tip of her chin and watched as she lapped her pinky around my own, ultimately securing the promise in the only way we knew of.

And as if on cue to ruin every moment of my life I found to be remotely enjoyable, Matthew emerged somewhat dramatically from the hospital doorway.

His hair was unmanaged, sticking up at strange and wild angles, and his eyes a deep forest green, stunningly cloaked with this unnatural hybrid of happiness and mystery.

Sometimes I wondered if my mother had married such a horrid excuse for a man because he looked extremely similar to my father. Their features nearly parallel. Their personalities however, were like day and night.

One, sunny and bright and wonderful and beautiful.

The other, miserably doused with darkness and treachery, notorious for being the pinnacle of all things evil.

"Anne!"

"Hello!" She giggled in that way she always does.

Whilst sauntering his way over to her, I was greeted with a warm smile, and "Hello, Harry." To which I ignored altogether, leaving his expression to fall a bit, and myself satisfied that I was able to make it so.