the social experiment // haylor au

two // stargazing

"Yes, It's me. I hope its okay that I called. I just had some concerns," he said and she noted how his voice was a little hoarse – it was late.

Her voice softened, "No, of course. I'm your psychologist – it's why I'm here. What's up—wait! How did you get my cell phone number?"

"I'm a technology analyst who has hacked into the FBI database on several occasions. Phone companies are easy to gain access to. It would be worrying if I couldn't get your number."

She snorted, "Hey, was that your attempt at a joke?"

"Humor is proven to make correspondence more light-hearted and diffuse any awkwardness or tension. Did it work?"

Taylor found herself smiling and biting her lip as he spoke – Harry obviously had no idea how adorable he was – any girl would be lucky to have this guy, and it was her responsibility to make sure he was emotionally available for that girl to find him.

"Yes, it did work. You said you had some concerns?" she asked, shifting her position on her bed, trying to stifle a yawn.

"Oh yes. You told me to 'come appropriately dressed for item number one on the list you gave me' yes?"

"Yes..." Taylor felt a small smile stretch across her face as she waited for him to continue.

"Which item is item number one? Your list isn't numbered."

"Are you sure you're a genius, Mr Styles?" she found herself chuckling at the absurdity of what he was saying.

"No, I assure you my question is valid, because the first thing here is, and I quote, 'watching the sun set on the beach' and there are a couple of flaws I see in doing that tomorrow."

"Oh, and what are those?" Taylor frowned, holding the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger.

"Firstly, we live in New York, and most beaches are virtually inaccessible by car which is my – and I've gauged, your – preferred mode of transportation and unless you have a private helicopter, travelling out to a beach might be an issue," he took a breath and cleared his throat to begin again, "Secondly, it is currently mid-November and freezing cold outside – by the time we commute to a beach, the sun will already have set, with New York having an average sunset at 4:29pm."

"Oh," Taylor felt her spirits dampen a little bit, She had just scribbled down all the items on the list on a whim, giving no consideration to the season or weather of late.

"Judging by your tone and monosyllabic answer, I think you're a little disappointed."

"Yes, I am," she made an effort to brighten her voice, "But it's fine. We can push it to the end of the list, it's okay," she scratched her head, "What's item number two?"

Harry had predicted that that would be her next plan of action, but glanced down at the folded notebook page he'd kept in almost pristine condition.

"Star-gazing," he said with a rare smile.

Taylor could hear the joy in his voice and she smiled too, "Then we're on."

"What time shall I pick you up?"

Taylor had to sit up and repeat his words to herself in her mind – his words made it sound like they were discussing having a date – but no doubt, Harry was oblivious to the connotations of his question.

"Uh, is six o'clock tomorrow okay?" she said, trying not to convey her amusement at his cluelessness.

"Okay. Bye," he said, but remembered his manners, "And goodnight."