Anna || HS

Anna 2- CHAPTER 54

~Winter 2921: Part 1~

Harry- 27/28
Anna- 27
August- 5
Robin- 4!
Florence- 2
Hazel and Milo-17-18 Months

~December 2021~

Harry POV:

The first week of December is full of holiday programs at the school our kids are attending. I assume that's because it is the last week before the winter break begins. We are in the thick of Christmas planning amidst Anna and I both working way more hours than we intended to back in the fall when we made the choice for both of us to work while in Los Angeles for the year. That's what being in L.A. does to you, though. When I am in L.A., I always have this sense that I shouldn't be sitting still. That there is time being wasted if I am not producing some sort of evidence of success. It's somewhat toxic, to be honest, and I think both Anna and I can see how the shift in our locale for the year has played a massive role in our shift in our priorities. We have yet to talk about it, but I can pretty much guarantee that we will be back in London next school year.

Today, Viv is staying back with the twins while Anna and I, and a small army of security, take August, Robin and Florence to go skating at Pershing Square. Jeff, of course, required that we rent the facility out, so we opened our private session to our Los Angeles friends to skate with their kids. Ben and Meredith are bringing Ruby and Grace, Maddie and Cash are bringing Elle and Easton, James and Julia are bringing all three of their kids and then there's the five of us, plus Tony and Sadie. It's quite the crew, really.

Unfortunately, as soon we start putting on skates, word spreads that Harry Styles is the person that rented out the rink, on a random Tuesday night. Fans begin to gather outside, lining the barricades of the rink like I am about to give them an impromptu concert. August immediately freezes as he attempts to get on the ice on shaky skates while people scream his name from the sides. He shakes his head, fear and sadness both overtaking his features, and refuses to grab my hands and join me on the ice. "Fucking hell," I curse under my breath, looking over at the fans and running my hands through my hair, trying to stay calm but also needing them to allow my family to have a few moments. It's not about me. This is about my kids.

"Harry, you have to do something about that," Anna says as she skates by with Florence holding on to a walker looking thing. Tony is currently skating with Robin, because Tony is her favorite person on the planet. I stop them and ask Robin to skate with Ben for a few minutes so Tony and I can try and solve the fan issue.

"Bubbs, I am going to ask them to leave," I tell August and his eyes glisten, like he didn't know that I could ask them to go away, or perhaps like he didn't know that I would ask them to go away. Tony and I head over to the fans where I gently explain that this is a private event because my children want an evening with their dad, not an evening getting their pictures taken by my fans. I pose for a few photos, have Tony take down some names for some merch gifts, and ask them to not share my location or post anything until tomorrow. As an added measure, Sadie calls in some reinforcements to clear the area around the ice rink. There might still be on lookers, but they are across the street now.

I skate back over to August and his smile is so wide. "Thanks, dad," he says as he looks over at the now empty barricade surrounding the rink. "Now, will you show me how to skate?"

"I'm not very good myself, but maybe we can work on it getting better together?" I say, laughing. I truly am miserable at skating, but I'd do anything for him to make him smile.

Anna POV:

My two-day-a-week, very part time, position at AR Harris has turned into a much bigger commitment than I intended. At first, I refused to miss dropping off the kids at school, or picking them back up, so that meant that I had to try and squeeze so much into those six short hours as I could. That became near impossible, so Harry and I worked out a schedule where he would do drop off and I would do pick up on the days that all five of the kids were at school, meaning I could go in early and he could stay later at the studio. That worked for a while, until it didn't.