Beachwood (h.s.)

San Francisco, CA

"Harry, we gotta go," I say, shaking Harry awake. Our flight was in two hours and we still had to go through security and everything. Harry groans and rolls over, burying his face in the pillow. It was four in the morning. I had booked an early flight to try to go through the airport as smoothly as possible. My anxiety has been elevated throughout this past week, trying to coordinate with my parents, plan what we were doing, pack and still working as well was pretty overwhelming. Mack hadn't made it any easier because she kept asking me to come home and I kept telling her that I couldn't. I was so excited to see my family and tell them about my opportunity with 5SOS. I was also really excited for them to meet Harry, but I mostly wanted to get my dad and Mack's reaction to him. I think my dad was secretly a fan of his because of Mack and I. I know he likes to listen to his music, and once in a while he'd even text me, asking if I'd watched the latest music video. I know they'll also be really excited to hear about my project with 5SOS coming up too because they like their music as well. 

Harry grabs my waist and pulls me on top of him. I squeal in surprise before setting and resting my arms on his chest. "You ready for San Fran?" Harry asks, his morning voice was deep and he sounded pretty tired. His hair was tousled from sleep, but his eyes held a lot of energy and excitement for the trip. I give him a peck and laugh.

"I'm so excited, but I'm so scared the surprise is gonna be ruined," I say, rolling off of him, Harry's arms stay looped around my waist. 

"Mack will be sleeping til 10 at least baby, she's 16," he says waving my worries away with his hand.

"I know, but there's always the what if." 

"You've made it this far, she will still be surprised even if she found out early," Harry says, looking me in the eye. "Just relax baby, we're there to see you family and have a good time."He pulls me to his chest, and kisses my forehead.

*****

The flight was smooth, me mostly just slept. Luckily, the airport wasn't very crowded at 6 AM. I had told Harry that if he didn't want to fly economy, we could drive possibly, but he had insisted that he'd fly economy for a plane ride this short. It could've just been to make me feel a bit better, but it did make me feel less guilty. Harry and I were both wearing sweats and hoodies, not bothering to get ready so early in the morning. It's weird seeing the airport so empty. Harry was stopped by a few fans, but there wasn't a crowd of paparazzi or fans around the entrance or anything.

"Hey Dad," I say as my dad's silver MDX pulls up to the curb at SFO. It was 7 AM and the airport was a lot bustling, probably a lot of holiday travelers. Harry would stop and take photos with fans, some would give me weird looks, but most would be really pleasant, either asking me politely to take a photo for them, or just giving me a smile. My dad pulls me into a hug, Harry was a little caught up with a few fans back inside, so I came to find my dad. His face breaks into a smile.

"Hi El," he says, squeezing me tightly. I hadn't seen him for months, and this was my first Thanksgiving with them in four years. "Where's Harry?" he asks confused.

"Oh he's inside he'll be out in a second," I say, waving my hand to dismiss the confusion. Right on cue, Harry walks out of the airport and starts towards us. My dad's eyebrows shoot up and his mouth opens slightly. 

"El, what the fuck?" he says quietly to me. I burst out laughing. Harry comes over to us with his ands in his pocket. 

"Hello Mr. Cho," he says with a smile. My dad struggles for words for a second, still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that I was dating Harry Styles, and he was right. Snapping out of his daze, he smiles and extends his hand.