This Thing Upon Me [Order The eBook] [Harry Styles]

Chapter 5 (The Reunion)

Published March 30, 2020

(DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. It's important to remember this is all totally fabricated, embellished, and exaggerated for entertainment)

"I'll be seeing you...in all the old familiar places..."

Billie Holiday | I'll Be Seeing You

The rear exit wasn't exactly pap-free, but it ensured they were kept at a distance. I followed Jeff and crew down the stairs (behind Ringo of all people), into the haze of a night that threatened rain. Every few steps, I stopped and glanced back, searching for any sign of his emergence. Then I pictured myself back inside, gazing down an empty corridor, watching him move briskly in my wake. My name was on the tip of his tongue, but he never uttered it. Never called out to me.

Now we were ten minutes into the ride home and Glenne ventured:

"Coffee?"

"Mm-hm. Sure." I muttered against my fist, elbow propped along the window.

"Sooo..." She began, after rerouting the driver to the nearest 24hr diner. "How was it?" I knew the question was directed at me without even looking. Playing it safe, since I couldn't trust my expression at the moment, I continued to watch Beverly Hills whiz by out the window; asphyxiated.

"Lovely spread." I said, unwilling to encourage her further. 

The stop and go traffic made our driver lurch, and once or twice my motion-sickness nearly got the better of me. With one more careening halt, a water bottle flew onto the floor at my feet. Luckily the cap was still in place, or it would've ruined my shoes and whatever the hell was left of that awful night. We took off again and I could feel my stomach become queasier with each sudden acceleration. Besides, the vodka had made me hot, and the jasmine car-freshener was sickeningly sweet.

"Not the party..." Glenne insisted, after a careful pause. "How was it? It's been a while since you've seen him right?"

"Sure." I shrugged. "A little while."

"C'mon, H, give me a little more than that-"

"Of what?" Jeff interjected. "What're we on about?"

"You didn't see?"

"Obviously not, babe. See what?"

"Zayn! How could you not see?! Where the flip were you?"

"How could he see anything when he never stops talking?" I scoffed.

"Yeah, yeah. And how many times did you leave the table your damn self?"

"Back off, mate."

"Well you're in a mood, Harvey."

"Am I?" I grimaced.

"What crawled up your ass?"

"I told you, he saw Zayn!" Glenne shouted.

"Ah...small world." He condescended. "So uh...he see you?!"

"Mm-hmm."

"You speak to him?'

"Nope."

"No?"

"No." I said again, honing in on the point. "He just sort of...waved....and then that was it."