A/N: this is the diner layout, but imagine it to be 50's themed;)
Oakland's POV
I felt my wrist tugged in the direction of a small restaurant; Harry dragging me in, since we have been milling about the streets with no direct plan.
It feels quite strange knowing that Harry began this day with no trajectory of what we would be doing, since he always seemed to have something up his sleeve when it came to our daily adventures.
I scuffed my navy converse on the sidewalk, kicking my legs behind me when my body was thrown out of alignment by Harry's grip. He swung the door open and we instantly heard A Teenager's Romance by Ricky Nelson.
Breaking through the threshold of the building, hand and hand, I could swear on my whole life that we traveled back in time. Every inch of the restaurant played a role in portraying the 50's diner theme.
The checkered black-and-white floor, the super sick jukebox in the corner, the accents of red all around.
Harry and I stopped the second we stepped foot through the door, shocked to see such a retro place on the small island. The large room was in the shape of a circle, having an upper level full of booths and seats, and a few steps down, there is what seems to be a dance floor in the center, but it was completely unoccupied.
I looked up to Harry right as he was looking down at me, both of us trying to suppress laughter from escaping. We were at quite the loss for words, to say the least.
"This was... not what I was expecting." he whispered down to me.
I rolled my lips into themselves, trying not to crack a smile. "Me either." I shook my head.
Right as the final word left my mouth, the hostess approached us, her lips painted a bright shade of rosy red, matching perfectly to the decor. She had a wide grin upon her face, clearly having the act of the kind worker down to a T.
"Just two?" she asked.
"Yeah, just us two." Harry responded, looking back down at me.
She led us to a booth along the circular loft, most of the rest of the tables filled with either locals from the island, or old couples. One couple gave me a suspicion that they have been together for as long as they could remember.
The looks in their eyes told each other that they would and could never love another person. They held a hand across the table as if it was just natural, and my soft heart trickled up my throat at the sweet sighting.
Once we passed them, I snapped out of my gaze towards them, having an unconscious smile drawn upon my lips.
We sat down once the waitress laid the menus in front of us, both of us thanking her politely. I am still full from the breakfast earlier, since it is only a few hours past, so both of us wern't very hungry for a full meal.
"What are you smiling about?" Harry asked with a slight chuckle leaving his lips.
I shrugged, looking back over my shoulder to the old couple a few seats down. "You can just feel the love radiating from those people." I said once I turned my head back to the man in front of me.
He leaned to his right to get me out of the way of the view, and I could see the second his eyes registered the sight across the room. His face completely softened, the edges of his lips tugging upwards so slightly that you would have missed it if you blinked.
He snapped his eyes back to mine, then down at his hands that rested on the table in front of him. Melancholy fell over his features.
"That's how my mother and step father would look at each other." he whispered ever so quietly.
A memory flooded into my thoughts right then, back to the day that I met Harry, on the plane. He played me a song he had written, one he was really proud of, about his step father. I didn't even know Harry a bit, but I could tell in that moment that he loved and missed him more than anything.
I felt a string tug at my heart, sorrow fueling my body right as his words left his lips. I was at a loss for words, I've never been too good at consoling someone, but I could tell that he wouldn't want an 'I'm sorry' from me or really any sympathy. He has already coped with it, and now there is just a lingering sting of pain that will never fully dissipate.
I reached across the table, placing both of my hands on his that twisted at his ring-clad fingers. He shot his head back up to mine, but you could just tell there were memories filling his head right now.
"They must have really loved each other, then." I said softly.
He brought a smile up onto his lips, nodding simply. "Yeah, they really did." he responded.
"And that's the most beautiful thing in the world, isn't it?"
After those words dripped from my mouth, we didn't exchange any more words, just sending each other those same stares that tell a million more words than we could ever speak into existence.
We quickly were bursted out of the bubble that we seemed to always find outselve in by the waitress coming up to us, wide grin from ear to ear.
"Good morning!" she cheered, looking down at her watch to check the time. "Yes, still morning." she chuckled. "How can I help you both today?"
I snapped my hands back from across the table, laying them in my lap. "Oh, I'll just have a black coffee." I ordered, looking over at Harry across the table.
"I'll do the same." he grined back at her before redirecting his eyes on me.
"Thank you..." I began to say, looking down at her nametag to be more formal. I read her name, Gladys, when I saw in small writing above 'Owner'. "Gladys." I smiled.
"You are the owner?" I asked, sparking a conversation with the sweet older lady.
She nodded, and I could sense she was about to spill her whole life story onto us. "My husband and I, thirty years ago, met on this very island."
We both raised our eyebrows at her words, somewhat enthralled, wanting her to continue.
"We quickly fell in love, but parted our separate ways when we left the vacation. We just couldn't seem to get each other out of our heads, and one day, years later, I ran into him back in the states, and instantly knew that it was meant to be. We dropped everything and moved back to where it all began." she told us, smiling so genuinely that you could feel the joy and love she has for her husband radiating off of her.
"Wow.. is he here?" Harry asked, looking around the diner.
She shook her head, "no hon, he passed away five years ago." she said with the same small smile Harry has on a few moments ago.
"O-oh I am so sorry." Harry said right when he heard.
"Oh darling," she started, resting a hand on his shoulders. "It's all okay, because he loved me and I love him more than the stars and the moon," she said with sympathetic eyes.
"And that's the most beautiful thing in the world, right?" she finished.
Harry broke eye contact with her, looking at me with a soft smirk and baby doll eyes. He nodded to Gladys' words, "yeah, it really is."
"Well!" Gladys clapped her hands together. "I'll be right back with your coffees." she said, giving us one nod before heading away.
"Love," Harry said. I looked up at him, and rose my eyebrows for him to continue. "Where do you want to go to college?" he asked, starting light conversation as we waited for our coffees.
I sucked in a deep breath, not ready to think about the future around him. I shrugged my shoulders, "not sure yet, but I want to be in New York." I told him.
"New York is awesome. Would be perfect for you." he said, and I noticed a sense of longingness in his eyes.
"Yeah... but I start senior year in about a month." I softly spoke, struggling to comprehend the fact that I'll be back in South Carolina by the end of this week. He nodded, sensing both of our uneasiness of the realisation, and he let the conversation die out.
I began to let my eyes drift around the diner, looking at all of the retro decor lining the walls. There were different black-and-white pictures filling up every inch of the wall space, with little descriptions below them.
My eyes landed on one specifically, hanging right above our heads. A young couple right outside of this very diner. The caption reading 'Henry and Gladys on opening day.'
"Harry, look." I pointed.
"Wow." he breathed out. "You can definitely tell they loved each other."
"Yeah," I said, looking back at him, while he kept his eyes on the picture. "I think I know exactly what they are feel-" I begin to say, but am quickly interrupted.
"Alright! Your coffees have arrived!" Gladys said, walking up with two saucers holding our coffee on top, steam rising from the ceramic mugs. "You two looking at the pictures?"
"Yes'm, we noticed that one." I said, pointing back up to the previous picture.
Her eyes flashed up to it, the corners of them crinkling when a smile grew on her face. She let out a content sigh, looking as if she was reliving the memory right in front of us.
"The day my life truly started." she said almost only to herself.
She then looked down at us, "so, are you two lovebirds visiting the island?" she asked us.
"Oh, we aren't lovebir-" I begin, but she cut me off.
"Breathtaking, ins't it?" she says, winking at me as if she knew what she had done. "Well, if you guys need anything else, just hollar!" she said as she walked away.
Once the intriguing woman left, we both picked up our mugs and sipped the warm coffee. I let out a hum when the heat hit the back of my throat, already feeling a jolt of energy as it hit my stomach.
"So... you have no plans for today?" I asked Harry, who began to pour a packet of sugar into the mug.
He shook his head, "nope, nothing. We'll find our way throughout the day." he said, stirring with a mini spoon.
We sat there, just swimming in each other's presence, sipping our coffees and enjoying one another, until Harry perked up.
"Gladys!" he called out to her as she finished taking another table's order near us.
She came over, the same smile that hasn't seemed to leave her face yet. "Yes, dear?"
A smirk grew on his face, "does that jukebox happen to work, or is it just decor?" he asked.
"Oh, it works alright! Go try it out!" she urged, stepping to the side to let him out of the booth.
He nodded, standing up, and walked right over to the machine in the corner. He stood there, thumb and forefinger playing with his bottom lip as he decided what to play. I watched him the whole time, seeing the exact moment when he figured out which song he wanted.
He pressed the numbers, turning around to me as the jukebox wirred to find the song. He waved me over, and hesitantly I stood up, walking over to him.
"Cmon," he said, taking my hand once I reached him, and pulling me towards the steps that led down to the dance floor.
"Oh, no Harry." I said, stopping on the steps.
"Oh, yes Oakland." he mocked, and right as he finished his sentence, the song began to play.
Love Is Strange by Mickey and Silvia began to radiate through the diner, and I could instantly pick up where I had heard the song. Of course he chose a song from one of my favorite movies, Dirty Dancing, and I know that it was just luck, and that we always seemed to just happen to know exactly what the other likes.
"You're a dancer, Oak... teach me some moves." he urged.
I rolled my eyes, taking the final step down to the checkered floor, quickly crashing my chest to his as he pulled me in. he smiled down at me, clearly not needing to be led like he said he would.
Harry has this tendency to build a bubble around us, always creating a space where it only feels like we live in the entire universe. I dance along with him to the song, in a room full of people that are probably staring and gawking at us, but in this moment, we feel completely and utterly alone.
And it feels amazing.
The upbeat music caused him to sway smoothly to their voices, humming along quietly to the tune. "Do a spin." he whispered.
Right after those words, he spun me out, still holding my hand, and giving me a a raise of the eyebrows and tilting his head down slightly. Both of us are unable to wipe these stupid cheesy grins off of our faces. He spun me back in, dipping me while singing the words right to me.
"Silvia" he called out to me.
"Yes mickey" I continued the 'conversation' within the song.
"How you call your lover boy?" he pulled me up from my horizontal position, bringing us back to the same place we were, swaying.
"Comere lover boy" I said back, feeling the crinkles by my eyes from smiling so hard.
"And if he doesn't answer?" he narrowed his eyes as if he were truly asking me a question.
"Oh lover boy" I batted my eyelashes.
"And if he still doesn't answer?"
"I simply say, Baby, oh baby."
He grabbed my right hand in his left, practically ballroom dancing with me in the middle of this diner, without a care in the world. We moved around, feeling some eyes on us, but brushing it off since we lived in our little bubble. Within a few seconds, we heard a random gentleman call out to us from his table.
"Do the lift!"
I looked around, confused by what the man meant, then looked back at Harry, who had a stupid smirking grin on his lips. Then it clicked that they were talking about the lift from the movie.
I widened my eyes, shaking my head. "Oh- oh no. not happening."
Harry tilted his head down, "oh, cmon." he pleaded. "We have to please the people." he said, opening his arm to gesture to the people eating, less than half of them actually even watching us.
"Go." he nodded. I shook my head, but he continued speaking. "You're a dancer. You've partnered before, I'm sure."
"Yes Harry, but-" I began, but was cut off.
"Then let's do it! You can trust me."
I rolled my eyes, feeling Harry's grip on my waist release as he pushed me away. He gestured his hands for me to come on, so I channeled my inner Pas De Duex that I've practiced plenty of times in classes. I rolled my shoulders back, tilting my head left and right, before taking off.
I ran up to Harry, his hands instantly grabbing my waist and hoisting me up into the air. I closed my eyes, somewhat scared since he probably doesn't know what he is doing, but opening them once I realised I wasn't near death and about to hit the ground.
I sucked in a deep breath, and after a few moments, Harry swung me down, allowing me to wrap my legs around his waist. We're centimeters apart, staring into each other's eyes. A wide grin on both of our lips in surprise as to what we just did in this random diner on this small island.
"I told you that you could trust me." he whispered, his breath fanning across my lips. He pressed a small kiss to my forehead, and swipedhis tumb across my cheek once he looked back at me.
What shattered the walls around us was the sound of clapping throughout the restaurant, and the song that seemed to have come to and end without either of us even realizing. We broke our gaze from each other, looking around, and I slid out of harry's grip, planting my converse back onto the checkered floor.
I looked up at Harry who was already looking down at me, and he raised his eyebrows before extending his arm out to gesture towards me. I gave him a small nod and smirk, grabbing his hand and turning towards the restaurant to take a dramatic bow.
We laughed as we exited the building after thanking Gladys. We went to pay for our coffees, but she said that they were on the house, since we gave her more entertainment than she has seen on that dancefloor in years.
Once we heard the bell at the top of the door chime, we noticed that the streets were now flooded with people, but we couldn't tell why.
It seemed that people were excited for something, but we couldn't tell, until I noticed a few traffic cones blocking the street. Harry and I followed the crowd of people, soon seeing a bunch of white tents lined up in the middle of the road.
Tons of people were at each tent, and that's when I realized, "it's a farmer's market!" I said, looking up at Harry, who had just feathered our fingers together.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's explore." he said, leading the way through the busy street.
We moseyed our way down the road, swinging our arms together, and admiring the things people were selling. There were plenty of fruit sellers, a couple selling unique art, and even some women selling homemade jewlery.
Harry stopped in front of the jewlery stand, looking at each piece, but focusing on the rings. As he looked at everything, I drifted off, picking up my camera that hung around my neck, and began taking pictures of things around me. I love how Happy and carefree everyone seems, as if this right here, walking around a simple market, is the best thing in the world.
A small stand run by an older sweet-looking man was filled with flowers. I've always been drawn to flowers, because ever since I was young, my mom would always keep fresh ones around the house, bringing life into our home.
I walked up to them, instantly going straight for my favorites, peonies. I reached down, pulling one out of the stand, bringing my nose down to smell the heavenly aroma of the flower.
"Angel," I hear the british accent behind me. I turned around to see Harry a few meters away, holding something behind his back.
I waved him over, holding up the peony, and he leaned over to do the same as me.
"Heaven right?" I said.
"Pure heaven." he said, going along with it.
He looked down at me with a little smirk on his lips, and I furrowed my brows. "What's up?" I asked.
"Turn around."
I tilted my head at his request, and he just rolled his eyes. "Just turn around." he chuckled.
I huffed, and finally did as he said, still confused until I felt him reach around me, then something lightly hitting my chest. I looked down as he pulled my hair back, revealing a dainty necklace laying on top of the chunky gold necklace I was already wearing.
I turned around, holding it in between my fingers and looking down at it. It was a gold chain with a red gem on the pendent, attached to it was a small golden letter 'H'.
I finally looked up at him, still confused. "What's this?" I asked.
He held up his right hand, revealing a new ring, specifically a gold one with a red gem in the middle. We both just smiled at each other, and even though where tons of people around, it felt as if they all disappeared.
Harry always makes it feel like that.
Just the two of us.
"Thought we could match." he said.
I let out a sigh, turning around to stick the flower I was still holding on to back in its place, then turning back to be facing Harry. I hopped up onto my toes, wrapping my arms around his neck for a full hug.
"Harry you didn't have to do this." I whispered next to his ear.
He held my waist, pulling me back a little so that he could look into my eyes.
"But I wanted to..." he said.
"That way, there is a piece of each other in how we dress."
After what he said, I moved my hands from his neck to his cheeks, kissing his lips quickly as a form of responding to his meaning filled words.
"Now, cmon." he began. "Let's get out of this busy street."
I nodded, and we walked side by side away from the crowded market. Once we got to the edge, where the traffic cones ended, it felt like a breath of fresh air from being surrounded by many people.
We picked up where we left off before we found the farmer's market, drifting around the streets with no set plan. We found a smaller, somewhat hidden street, canopy trees casting a shadow over the ground, and littering the road with small white flowers that fall ever so often from a simple wind.
The second we hit the edge of the road, Harry pulled his hand out of my grip, causing me to turn around. He stood there, a few steps away, waving his hand over to for me. I met up with him, and he reached around my neck, grabbing the strap to my camera.
"Gimme this." he said, taking it in his grasp and holding it to his eye.
I held my hands up to cover my face, never really liking when people take pictures of me. I felt him grab my hands, pulling them down to reveal my 'mad' face. He didn't buy it though, causing a smile to grow on his face from my pouty lips.
"Oh please, Baby. you look beautiful, and I want it to be remembered." he says, dropping my hands down by my side.
I let out a huff, bringing my hands back up to cup my cheeks, putting a soft smile on. He held the camera up, snapping a picture. He lowered it, keeping his eyes on mine, just staring at me, and taking in every feature. He took his bottom lip between his teeth, releasing it after a second, and taking off with a smile.
"Let's go." he said, grabbing my hand to pull me along, and jogging down the street.
I let out a laugh as we skipped and ran down this random empty road. I looked around, seeing that there are still some shops along the street, but all of them seem smaller and not as well known. Most are empty, just a lone sales man or woman behind the counter.
"Wait." I said, pulling him towards a certain shop that caught my eye. "Let's go in here."
I pulled the door handle, Harry reaching above my head to hold the door open behind me. We walked in, and you could instantly hear Jackie and Wilson by Hozier playing throughout the store.
It was a musical instruments store, the walls lined with all different types of guitars, pianos, drums and so much more. I looked back at the door, reading the name of the store backwards, seeing 'Marten's melodies' written in bold on the glass window.
It was empty, but I saw how Harry's eyes light up like a night sky when he realised what he was surrounded by. I began to hum to the music as Harry led me around, admiring what I am guessing are some very special instruments.
Our heads snapped towards the back when we heard someone coming through behind a small curtained doorway in the back of the store. An older man emerged, raising his eyebrows when he saw us.
"Good afternoon! Welcome to Martin's Melodies. I am Martin himself... sorry I don't get many newcomers." he said, surprised by two random people browsing.
He came up to us, asking "do you two play?" when he saw Harry basically gawking over a really cool guitar.
It was an acoustic, painted black and purple with what looks like stars and a moon hand painted on it. It was really beautiful to me, so I know that someone like Harry was completely in love.
Harry snapped out of his trance by the question, nodding quickly. "Oh- yeah I play." he stuttered.
"Here," Martin said, already reaching to grab the guitar off of its hanger on the wall. "Wanna take it for a test run?" he encouraged.
I watched Harry perk up, a smile instantly growing on his face from excitement. He carefully took it out of the man's hands, holding it in front of him to look at it up close. After a second of admiration, he moved to sit in an open chair, resting the guitar on his leg, and began to play.
I watched his fingers melodically play the cords, flashing my eyes onto his face as I picked up the song he strummed. The Night We Met by Lord Huron soon began to fill my ears. He kept his voice quiet, but he began to sing the words for just Martin and I.
"I am not the only traveler,
Who has not repaid his debt,
I've been searching for a trail to follow again,
Take me back to the night we met."
He continued singing the next verse, and my heart sank to my feet as I watched him focus solely on the strings. At some point before Harry played, Martin turned down the music playing throughout the store, so Harry's voice and guitar playing was the only thing filling the silence.
"I had all and then most of you,
Some and now none of you,
Take me back to the night we met."
'I wish we could go back to the night we met, Harry. I wish oh so much that I would have more time with you. I'd be willing to give all of me to you if that meant that I got to be with you longer, but the cards just don't always play right, so the next four days will be savored for the rest of my eternity.' I thought as I listened to the melancholic song.
He faded out after the first chorus, looking up at me as he spoke the last line, 'take me back to the night we met.' once more.
Martin began to lightly clap, all three of us smiling as Harry's amazing playing, per usual. His talent continues to amaze me every time I get to experience it. Harry stood up, walking over to hand the guitar back, but Martin rose his hand to stop.
"Keep it. It belongs with you." he offered, smiling genuinely.
Harry's eyes almost popped out of his head from those words, shaking his head. "Oh, no I could never." he said in return, trying to hand it back but failing.
"Please, I insist. This is your guitar." he says back.
Harry let out a deep sigh, looking back at the instrument. "But-" he began to say, but was cut off.
"Hang on." the owner said, leaving us to head back through the curtain.
Once Martin was out of sight, I turned to face Harry, who still looked in shock. "Harry," I said, getting his attention. "That song was-" I wanted to complement, but was cut off by Martin coming back.
He was holding a guitar case, walking back over to us, and taking the guitar from Harry's hand. He placed it in the case carefully, closing and shutting the little locks to keep it secured. He then tilted the case up, putting the handle into Harry's hand.
Harry opened his mouth to speak, but Martin beat him to it. "Please have it. I don't see many talented young men like you coming in here, it's mainly locals who just need the essentials, so I want you to have this, because I know it will be in good hands." he tells Harry, pleading with his eyes for Harry to take it.
Harry sighed, looking at the case handing from his grip. "How could I ever thank you?" he asked.
"Become famous one day, son." he said, claping his hand on Harry's back.
A smirk grew on Harry's face, and he gave him a quick nod. "Will do, for you."
The owner responded with a nod, and Harry and I began to make our way towards the exit. I propped the door open, both of us turning around to call out another 'thank you' before leaving.
Once we were out, I turned to Harry, smiling up at him. "That was insane." was all I could form.
He shook his head in denial. "I can't believe that just happened." he spoke back.
"Me either." I said as he grabbed my hand, directing us back down the calming street.
I leaned my head on his arm as we walked, feeling quite at peace. At the end of the street, there was a small dock that led out to the beach. Harry and I mentally were on the same page, and began down the wooden slats. The waves crashed at the shore, and there were only sparse people walking along the sand.
Once the dock cut off, we stepped on the sand, feeling it morph to the shape of our shoes beneath us. We walked in silence along the shore, feeling the same comfort we seem to always find ourselves reveling in. no words were needed to be spoken for us to know that one was fully engaged in the other.
He swung his arm up and over my head, resting it around my shoulder as I kept my hand connected to his. I stopped, facing the water to take in the crystal clear sea.
"I don't think I'll ever be able to get over this view." I spoke out, breaking the silence.
"Me either." he whispered.
I looked up to him, seeing his eyes were never on the ocean, but glued to me. I smiled up at him, and he leaned down to place a kiss on my head before I leaned it back on his arm.
"You know Harry," I began. I heard him hum out, allowing me to finish my sentence. "I wish we could go back to the night we met." I spoke so softly that I was worried that he didn't hear me.
I was flashed back to that night, even though it wasn't the exact time we first met, but the night we rekindled ourselves. The night at the bar, instantly knowing it ws him up on that stage from the words he sung felt like you could have said it was a year ago and I would 100% believe you, but really it was less than I could imagine.
"Me either, love. Me either."
We found ourselves sitting down on the damp sand, not caring about the clothes we were in. I kept my head on his shoulder, his arm wrapped around my waist and resting on my hip. We stared out at the water, only ever saying a few poetic words to each other as we sat there.
We're creating memories as we speak.
After a while of soaking in every drop of each other's presence, Harry checked the time, which read a bit past 4pm. We really had a full day, spending every waking second together, but the second he spoke I wished it wouldn't end.
"I think it's time I take you back to you're house." he said, stretching his arms across his chest.
"But why, the sunset is going to happen in about an hour?" I whined.
He took my chin between his thumb and forefinger, tilting my head back. "You have family dinner, and you promised to be there."
I huffed, not wanting to leave just yet. "Will you come, please?" I begged.
His face faltered, pursing his lips as he bit the inside of his cheek. He shook his head, "I can't, angel. I need to get a bit of writing done with the band." he said.
I nodded, looking down at the sand between us. "Alright, yeah let's go." I said.
He tilted my chin back once again, reconnecting our eyes before flicking his down to my lips. Before I knew it, he was pressing his lips to mine quickly, and I couldn't even register it before he pulled away.
"Cmon, let's get you home."
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I hope you enjoyed this chapter!!
So sorry it took so long to post. I've had a crazy April, full of dance competitions, senior prom, AP exams coming up, and I will be fully vaccinated by the end of the month!!!
Please let me know your thoughts!!
Sending all my love<3<3<3