Smile for the Camera (Harry Styles x OC)

The Flight Home (Part 3)

     I lift the corners of my mouth in a not-quite-smile. "Can't sleep either, huh?"

     He shakes his head and sits up a little straighter. I drop my gaze and tilt my head downward.

     "Penny for your thoughts," he whispers, brushing my hair over my shoulder like he did in the bathroom.

     I sigh. "Just thinking about how I wish we were in England already."

     I want to sleep in my own bed. I want familiar faces. I don't want to keep looking over my shoulder for Smiles' fans and press.

     He nods. "I do too, and if teleportation was in my power, I'd extend it to you in a heartbeat."

     Wouldn't that be something? To be able to travel anywhere I want in the blink of an eye. I could use that. Smiles could too, I suppose, even moreso than me. He wouldn't have to deal with paparazzi and prying fans while he's just trying to get home. But I don't want to think about that anymore.

     "Let's play a game," I propose. Smiles' face lights up. "To pass the time since neither of us are going to get much sleep."

     "Ok, what did you have in mind?" he asks, bringing his arms out from under his blanket to cross them over his chest.

     "Twenty-one questions. I want to know more about you." I want to understand why there are fans who've devoted their entire lives to you. I want to understand why Hailey cried when she heard you sing.

     "Fair enough, I'd like to learn about you as well," he responds. "So do you want to start or shall I?"

     "Doesn't matter. I picked the game, why don't you go first?" I turn completely to Smiles and bend my right knee so it rests flat on the seat in front of me. I tuck my right foot into the crook of my left knee and fold my right shoulder so part of my back is flat on the seat.

     Smiles does the same, leaning on the outside wall of the cabin as well as his seat. "Alright. Who's Kaden?"

     I'm about to ask how he knows Kaden, when I remember mentioning him in my very limited list of friends. I nod and look him in the eyes. "He's the closest thing I have to an older brother. He works with me and we hang out sometimes. He and Hailey are really the only two people I'd consider real friends."

     Smiles bobs his head awkwardly before muttering, "Good, good."

     "Ok, my turn." I purse my lips and look around for inspiration for a question. I already know what he does for a living and I know a bit more about him from Hailey. I see the daisy laying on his foldable table and remember how Hailey didn't even know what his favorite flower was. I should ask for her, she'll love all the insider information I can get from this encounter. "What's your favorite flower?"

     He smiles and shakes his head. "Guess."

     "Um..." I have literally nothing to go on. "Daisies?"

     "I do like daisies, but they aren't my favorite. Asian Bleeding-Hearts are."

     I have never heard of those. "Asian Bleeding-Hearts?"

     "Yeah, they're this gorgeous reddish pink flower in the shape of a heart with a white tear drop at the bottom," he explains, using his hands to show me the shapes.

     This is the same man that spits water at the end of his shows for emphasis. Makes sense. These days there are very few boys who know the names of any flowers. "Ah, very neoromantic. I'll bet you're a great boyfriend."