10 HOURS AWAY | Harry Styles AU

chapter 26 - ease my mind

"Oh, yes! Brilliant idea. Can you make lasagna?"

"I have never made lasagna." I disclosed and then laughed shortly. "But we can try?"

"This better work out." he spoke up before we left the apartment.

I didn't know buying groceries with Dylan would be immensely entertaining. It took us a long time to find all the ingredients, so we argued from time to time about changing our dinner plans. Nonetheless, we weren't ready to give up our initial idea of making lasagna.

Dylan chose wine to go with our food. Over the last couple of years, he had attended three wine tastings and therefore labeled himself as an expert. I didn't want to burst his bubble, thus I let him search for the perfect bottle.

When we arrived back at the apartment, Harry was still nowhere to be found. Despite being slightly somber about him being not here, I presumed his meeting was going well.

Dylan demanded me to cut the vegetables as he was going over the recipe. He often told me I wasn't slicing the pepper bells properly, but when I told him he could do it himself, he instantly started praising my skills as a chef.

"I wish I could go to Italy one day. I'd eat all sorts of pasta and pizza." he said.

"Italy has more to offer than its food."

"Yeah, sure, but the food must be mouthwatering, Liz!" he spoke with excitement.

We continued – well I continued – to prepare our meal. As Dylan put the oven on, I searched the cabinets for three glasses. Then I opened the bottle of wine and handed a filled glass to Dylan.

"Cheers to our lasagna." I said as I raised my glass.

"May it be the best meal we've ever had." he added.

After we both took the first sip of our drinks, we looked thoroughly pleased with the divine taste.

"I'm afraid the bottle will be empty before the food is ready." Dylan said.

"I am, too."

"If we drink enough, we might not even notice how bad the lasagna tastes."

"Are you already giving up on our meal?"

"Maybe I am." he said, and shrugged nonchalantly.

"We should keep faith. Perhaps it is the best dish we've ever eaten or made in our entire life. I'm sure we did a decent job." I pointed out with confidence.

"Please, don't think you've suddenly turned into a MasterChef."

"Don't ruin my dreams, Dylan." I replied.

While we waited on the oven, we watched random videos on the television screen. We had surely drank too much wine already, since the majority of the bottle was see-through.

Then the well-known ding of the oven was audible from a distance.

"IT'S DONE!" Dylan cheered as he jumped off the couch.

"How can you be this elevated when you were hating on our lasagna not so long ago?"

"People change, Liz." he replied proudly.

Once he opened the oven, the smell of our food escaped. Right then and there, I became even hungrier. If the taste would be an equivalent of the smell, then we had done a confounding job.

Quickly, I shot a glance at the clock. Hours had passed by, but there was still no sign of Harry. A part of me had wanted him to enter his home, so he'd have dinner together