Tying You To Me

Chapter Eight: 2019

November 2019

"Harry! You can't do it like that. It's going to burn."

"It's fine."

"It's not!"

Quinn watched in horror as Harry rotated a marshmallow over the lighter he'd pulled from the back of a kitchen drawer, trying to avoid burning his fingertips as he toasted the fluffy treat. But it only took one second before the marshmallow crossed the very fine line between perfectly toasted and burnt.

It had been Harry's idea to spend Saturday having a cozy date night at Quinn's loft. He'd wined and dined her with a candlelit dinner of his famous cacio e pepe served alongside a vintage red, and when he mentioned dessert, Quinn figured it would be equally fancy, so when Harry pulled a bag of Jet-Puffed Marshmallows, a box of graham crackers, and a bar of Hershey's chocolate from the cabinet, she was surprised.

"You were talking about your summers at camp last week, so I figured we could throw it back and try to make our own version," Harry had said, unwrapping the ingredients.

Which is how they found themselves standing over the sink, Bic lighter in hand, trying to toast marshmallows with no fire pit in sight. After Harry's third failed attempt, Quinn laid her hand on his arm, gently suggesting they try something else for dessert. Harry, stubborn as ever, destroyed two more marshmallows before accepting the pint of ice cream Quinn had offered as a consolation prize.

Quinn snuggled into Harry's side, digging her spoon into the carton he was holding while he pulled up the new reality show they had started last week. Ice cream on the spoon, she held it against Harry's lips, which he opened to accept the treat as he pressed play.

It had been a perfect evening.

Honestly, all of her evenings had been perfect since that night in Lisa's bathroom.

After their official reconciliation, Harry and Quinn quickly adapted to being a couple. His remaining days in New York had been spent with Quinn, in his apartment, where they enjoyed cooking meals together and searching for apartments until Quinn found the loft of her dreams in Clinton. As much as Harry wanted Quinn to continue to stay in his empty apartment, he knew having a place of her own was important to her, so he was right by her side the day she signed the lease, carrying boxes and assembling furniture until the early hours of the morning.

When it was time for him to leave the city a few weeks later, he made a promise that the distance wouldn't come between them this time, and that he would be the partner Quinn deserved. She was hesitant, but each day, Harry lived up to his promise, checking in with her throughout the day, making sure they talked before bed each night, and counting down until they could reunite in person. He was the perfect boyfriend, and Quinn was over the moon when Harry returned to the city in September as promised, ready to serve as Quinn's date to Maria's wedding.

The effort wasn't one-sided. Quinn carved out time to visit Harry when he was in Los Angeles, spending time with his friends and watching him work through songs for his upcoming album. She made sure to communicate with him as much as she could, realizing that her tendency to hold things in contributed to their prior downfall.

Things weren't perfect. They'd had a few spats over trivial things – like driving to the reception venue for Maria's wedding and trying to figure out what time to arrive at the airport – but overall things had been good and healthy, and Quinn had started measuring her life in the number of days until she could see Harry again.

Quinn knew things wouldn't always be easy, especially with the new season of SNL gearing up and Harry turning his attention to promo for his new album, but they'd discussed how they would get through this busy stretch. Quinn was certain things would be fine, knowing that she could survive without seeing Harry in person, but she was still pleasantly surprised when his name came up during a pitch meeting for the final stretch of episodes for 2019.