Note To Self (Harry Styles AU)

Chapter Seventeen.

The high pitched ringing of Aubry's cell phone was what woke her at 5 o'clock sharp that Sunday morning. The sun had barely made it over the horizon, leaving the sky a shade of navy and the interior of Harry's bedroom nearly pitch black. She was confused about her surroundings when she lifted her face out of the pillows to reach for the device that laid face up on the mattress beside her, the glow of it illuminating the room just enough to make out the silhouettes of the objects around her.

Her finger swiped across the screen to silence the alarm and she plopped the phone back down on the bed. She remembered the night before. She purposely fell asleep in hopes she wouldn't be sent home by Harry after the movie had finished, and her plan had worked. It was early the following morning, but she noticed she was alone in bed.

Harry's sheets smelled just like him, mixed with a fresh laundry scent that told her they must've been washed recently. His scent lingered, but he did not. She rolled onto her back and stretched out on the cold sheets, a clear sign that she'd been alone for a while, and yawned. Winnie wasn't in bed with her, and neither was Harry.

At first she'd gotten the impression that she was completely by herself, until she heard the jingling of Winnie's collar from the other side of the room. The alarm hadn't woken only Aubry up, but Winnie too. She made her way through the darkness to rest her head on the edge of the bed and sniff at Aurby's leg as a way of saying good morning.

Aubry sat up and smiled at the dog, patting her head for a moment before she walked away to head toward the door. When Aubry didn't follow, she turned back to look at her expectantly. The dog began to pace back and forth across the floor, waiting for Aubry to get out of bed and open the door for her.

Aubry giggled, but she was curious about where Harry had gone so she decided to get up to find out. Winnie was happy when Aubry finally opened the door and she lead the way out, Aubry following closely behind. She was sure to be quiet, very aware of Harry's parents asleep just down the hall and the fact that she was technically an unwelcome guest. She was uncomfortable and felt very out of place outside of the agreed upon hiding spot for her which was Harry's bedroom, she knew there was a chance of her getting caught. She didn't even have any clue for where to look for Harry, until Winnie's nose nudged at Gemma's door and it popped open, apparently not latched properly.

She saw as the door slowly swung open silently and in the dim lighting streaming through the window, she caught a glimpse of a lump under the blankets on the bed before Winnie jumped on top of it. A groan of pain from the person sleeping underneath was heard as the dog's paws dug into their back, but the sound was unmistakably Harry's voice and she knew she'd found him. She stepped into the door frame and watched as Winnie began to lick Harry's face to wake him up, her tail wagging happily even when he pushed her away and grumbled, "Leave me alone."

The sound of Aubry's giggle was what actually woke him up. He lifted his head out of the pillows to peek over his shoulder at where she stood in the doorway, though he was groggy and his vision was unclear. He wiped at his eyes, his words coming out mumbled and slurred together lazily. "What are you doing?"

"It's five," she answered, which confused his drowsy mind. He had no idea why in the world she would be awake at five in the morning, only that he was tired and he had a dog's paw digging into his thigh. She quietly let the door click shut behind her to keep their voices from traveling down the hall before she continued speaking, "It's Sunday." He still didn't understand and it showed on his face. "Church."

Harry's head plopped down face first into the pillows and he groaned into them, then again in pain when Winnie's foot stepped on his spine. "Church doesn't start until nine," he reminded her, voice muffled by the pillows.