Deception ↠ H.S

Part 2

Anna's eyes scanned the entirety of the man standing in the doorway of the shed. Dark curls falling into his face, piercing green eyes staring back at her. He wore a white t-shirt that clung to the sweat on his stomach. Black ink littering his arm that was leaned against the door frame. Anna opened her mouth to speak, glancing at Liam and then glancing back at the man before pressing her lips together.

"Anna, this is Harry Styles." Liam had a nervous tinge to his voice, waving his hand between the two of them.

"I know who it is." Anna didn't take her eyes off Harry as she crossed her arms, not knowing exactly what to do with them. Harry broke the tension by stepping backwards into the shed, his arms presenting the makeshift room behind him.

"Well, come on in. I'm sure you have questions. Are you thirsty? I have bottled water."

"I'm fine." Anna choked out, waiting for Liam to step through the door before following right behind. She let the door close behind her, the humidity making her instantly feel sticky.

Anna wandered around the shed, taking in the atmosphere. It was a lot bigger than she remembers it being; the time she had to come and collect Liam's golf bag he had stored last summer. There was piles of Liam's things thrown in corners of the room; an air mattress blown up against the wall with a duvet and pillow thrown on top. A guitar rested against the wall. She wondered if he's still any good at it after two years of being "dead". "I thought you were dead. I saw it on the news." Anna glanced over, watching Harry bounce down onto the corner of his bed.

"Isn't everyone here supposed to be dead?"

"No. Well -- Not me. Not Liam"

Liam laughed, his eyes going back and forth between the two of them. "My dad had been hiding Harry in one of his houses in San Diego, I guess. Harry couldn't hide out anymore and he had my phone number from my dad. Harry spent all week road tripping up here." Anna nodded, picking at her nail polish and flicking it onto the cement.

"So why? Why did you do it?"

"I finished a world tour and was feeling a lot of pressure from everyone. Got sick of everyone in the world knowing who I was. I wanted to live a normal life." His fingertip swirled around the cap of his water bottle. "It's complicated. I don't regret it though."

Anna stayed quiet, nodding to herself as the sound of a battery operated fan filled the silence.

"Well, we'll leave you to rest, Harry. Do you need anything? Still hungry after the meal I brought earlier? It's supposed to get chilly tonight so hopefully if you keep that window cracked it'll kill off some of this humidity." Liam clapped his hands together.

"I'm alright, Liam. Thank you so much." Harry sounded sincere, the corner of his lip curling up into a smile.

"Of course, man. I'll check on you in the morning."

Anna awkwardly stepped towards the door, hearing Harry push himself up from the mattress.

"Well it was nice to finally meet you, Anna. Make sure he gets sleep tonight, yeah?" Harry nodded towards Liam.

"Oh, yeah. Yeah I'll make sure of that." Anna stuttered out, pushing the door open and feeling relieved when the air was colder outside than inside the shed.

Liam and Harry said their last goodbyes and they walked to the car in silence.

"Say something." Liam said once Anna started the car back up.

"I don't know what to think, Liam. Why is he in a hot shed and not on the farm?" Anna spat out, turning the air conditioning on high. "You think he's only hiding out because he was bored? What did he do, Liam?"