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Everything's all right
Just hold on tight
That's because I'm a good old-fashioned lover boy
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Harry Styles
Harlow and her little damp cloth trick seemed to work wonders, because I woke up with no sign of a headache or hangover, thank fucking god. I actually feel fresh as a daisy, and waking up next to Harlow tangled in the crinkled white sheets never fails to put me in a good mood.
She was already awake when my eyes opened, looking at me with an inviting smile on her face as her croaky morning voice gave me the standard 'morning'. She sounds like an angel when she talks, but when she sings it's like pure heaven. Perhaps that's the reason I woke up without a hangover, because her and her angelic voice somehow managed to rid me of all ill.
I pulled her into my chest and for a few minutes she just lay there listening to my heartbeat and drawing around the pattern of the butterfly on my stomach, which made my heart flutter. When she sat up, she then rested her head on her elbows with her chest flush against mine and an innocent smile on her face.
I wish we could stay like this forever and I wish I didn't have to go off and fight tonight, because for some reason I've actually enjoyed the peace which isn't often given. The fact that this isn't just a normal fight, but one where it puts an end to the rivalry between us and also, I did stupidly put Harlow's life on the line.
I'm confident we'll win, and even if we don't she's safe, because there's no way in hell any of us will let her go with him. They might be related by blood, but she's not one of them and I'm not letting them take and corrupt her. She doesn't deserve it.
She doesn't deserve any of this and it's my fault, so I'm fixing it all tonight.
No matter what.
Harlow jumped out of bed after telling me she loved me through broken kisses which somehow only seemed to grow my love for her. It's funny how the second I think I love her the most I possibly can, I take one more look at her and instantly fall ten times harder.
Unable to stay away from her, I get up from bed and head straight to her bathroom where she's brushing her teeth. I wrap my arms around her waist and rest my head on her shoulder. She handed my own toothbrush back to me and shoved it into my mouth as she then proceeded to spit her toothpaste down the sink and rub god knows what fancy shit onto her face.
She always puts things on her face in the morning and I don't know what any of it is, but it makes her look a lot more awake and fresh. She looks beautiful either way but whatever 'rose water' is clearly works wonders.
"What's that?" I ask her as she opens this liquid and drops a few droplets onto her face with an actual dropper.
I don't think I've seen one of those since I failed science in school.
"Keeps my skin fresh." She says, pulling the toothbrush from my mouth and rinsing it under the tap as I bend over to spit down the sink.
"Can I have some?" I ask again, completely fascinated by this whole routine of random liquids and creams she rubs on her face every morning.
Harlow turns around with a little giggle and pushes the hair out of my face, tucking the few strands that reach my ears behind them. When she drops a few drops of that stuff onto my face I flinch at how unexpectedly cold it is and she just laughs and then rubs it into my face with her soft hands.
"I feel fresh now." I smile, teeth on show and everything which Harlow just mirrors back with her own grin.
After watching her do the rest of her morning rituals with so much fascination, the two of us headed down stairs. Harlow was wearing a white t-shirt of mines with 'women are smarter' written across the chest and I've got sweatpants hooked onto my hip bones.
I bought that top thinking of Harlow, knowing it'll definitely end up in her wardrobe and eventually become hers so I'm glad she's really utilising it. I had a feeling she'd like that one.
It was one of her fancy smoothie bowls and coffee for breakfast, with the Queen's greatest hits album playing in the background. Every time I stay at Harlows I feel like I'm staying at a hotel with all this fancy, healthy shit she eats. I mean before I met her I'd have like cocoa pops or something, now I have stuff like avocado and smoothie bowls and oatmeal.
Last week I went to a coffee shop, I got a coffee and a banana... a fucking banana. Usually I'd get something like a muffin or donut, but turns out I actually really like bananas.
I've become my worst enemy...she's turning me vegan.
"Ooh lover boy..." she sings in the kitchen, washing the bowls under the tap with a smile on her face. When she turns round dramatically, flipping her hair as she did so to look me in the eye, "what you doin' tonight, hey boy?"
I'm convinced she's Freddie Mercury reincarnated into the body of a 25 year old woman, and I fucking love it.
I head over to her, swaying my hips to Freddie's voice echoing through her open plan kitchen and living room. Her hands were quick to snake around my neck, mine around her waist and immediately I'm taken back to that night where it took me so much to convince her to dance with me to Suck It and See by the Arctic Monkeys.
She's come along way, I'm glad she's comfortable with me.
It means a lot more to me than I let on.
"That's because I'm a good old-fashioned loverboy." I sing down to her, kissing her forehead and just standing there with her in my arms, letting myself love here in the moment as we're both the pure picture of happiness.
We didn't do much for the rest of the day. We did a lot of singing, a lot of dancing too and I genuinely think I've somehow found myself my own version of Stevie Nicks. Harlows literally everything I've ever dreamed of and the fact she's mine will never fail to keep me baffled.
We took a trip out to that favourite flower shop of hers, where Harlow picked up her bunch of flowers. A very autumnal bunch this time, but they're still colourful because i don't think that girl would dare to pick a bunch of flowers lacking in colour. I paid for them, because I've decided that I want to be the one to buy her flowers every week. However I don't really know much about flowers, so Harlows gonna start licking them and I'll pay.
She wasn't too happy about that one, in fact when I slammed my card down on the reader before she had the chance to get hers out she elbowed me in the side and begged poor June to cancel that payment and let her pay.
Thankfully June was on my side, she reminded Harlow that apparently her mother told her to never settle for less than a man who buys her flowers every week and now that she's got one, she needs to accept it.
With a pout on her face, she tried to act mad at me on the ride home, but when I pulled into the coffee shop drive through and handed her a large coffee she couldn't even deny the smile she was desperate to wear.
By the time we made it home again, the anxiety hit me like a truck and I could tell Harlow began to grow more nervous as the time went on. Both of us seemed to be avoiding the conversation though, each time we'd stop talking we'd end up finding something else to speak about or take out a new record to play.
That only works for so long though, because eventually there's no avoiding it as the time was extremely quick in passing and soon the evening crawled in. At this point there was no other conversation we could have, both of us had become too nervous to talk yet we're still completely avoiding the elephant in the room.
That was until Liam called and said the five of us needed to meet before the fight, which really did put into perspective that in an hour's time I'll be face to face with the man who thinks he's going to take her from me.
I suggested the club to Liam, because if we're talking about the fight I want Harlow to be there and we don't have much time. I want her to be there so she knows I'm not hiding anything from her, so that she understands that we're gonna do whatever it takes to win.
For her safety and ours.
"Birdy..." I swallow the lump in my throat, crouching down in front of her and holding her two hands. "We've got to leave now."
She nodded reluctantly, clearly in distress and very nervous. So I picked up a book from her coffee table and placed it into her hands, one I remember her saying she hasn't read because hopefully it'll help her pass the time.
"Liams sent a taxi to pick us up, we can't take our cars because I don't want to leave any cars at your club and then find out where you are." I tell her, kissing the back of her palm. "Take this book and read it, hopefully it'll pass the time and I'll be back for you before you know it."
Harlow nods, "I trust you." She says, kissing my forehead and then taking to her feet, pulling me up with her.
There was a car waiting outside for us, so I threw Harlow a jumper of mines and we both pulled our black converse on to our feet before wandering out to the taxi. Both of us were are completely suffocated by our nerves, but we're also not very good at acknowledging that so I'm guessing it's just gonna be a game of 'I'm fine' until this is all over with.
Liam and the guys were waiting outside of the club when we got there, so Harlow took out her keys and let us into the empty club which is thankfully closed on sundays.
Everyone seemed nervous, even Niall and Louis which is saying something considering they never do shut up. Zayn invited himself behind the bar and poured himself a glass of straight tequila to calm his nerves.
"Our numbers are still greater than theirs. The guys are fully prepared and they're ready for a proper fight. We're outnumbering them by at least a hundred and our guys are much stronger than theirs." Liam states, trying to reassure us all.
My arm is wrapped around Harlow's shoulder, hers around my waist as we listen to Liam tell us these facts to try and make us both feel better about this, but the two of us both know we won't feel at ease until this is over.
"Our guys are showing up in ten, Daniels in fifteen but nothing will start until you and Daniel come face to face." He adds through a sigh. "I'm predicting two hours but we've got a plan for if it goes wrong."
I look at him confused, "what plan?"
"Josie is at home and she's safe considering this doesn't involve her like it does with Harlow. We've all got her number so if something goes wrong we call her and she'll come here, get Harlow and the two of you guys will drive out of the city to a hotel."
"How the fuck is Josie gonna get in here? It's gonna be locked and Harlow can't use her fucking phone without being tracked, Liam." I groan frustratedly, suddenly feeling a lot more nervous about all of this considering we've got to have a fucking plan B.
Niall walks over with a spring in his step, like he's just come up with the master plan however all he does is hand Harlow an old phone with one number in it's contacts.
"Josie is the only one with this number so if someone calls you Harlow it's Josie and you need to answer." Niall says, "Josie isn't tied to this at all, so if they see she's going out of the city nobody will bat an eyelid, which is why Josies doing it and not you, styles."
As much as I'd like to be the one who helps Harlow, I can't because they'll hunt me down. Liams idea works a lot better than mine and I didn't even think of having a back up plan. I was too caught up in trying to ignore the fact I could be kissing goodbye to her in just minutes to make a plan, so the fact he did it for me makes me so fucking proud to call him a friend.
Harlow nods, tucking the phone into her pocket and then squeezing my waist a little tighter which I've noticed she does when she gets nervous. I tuck my hand into her back pocket and place a kiss on the top of her head because I really am dreading leaving her right now, it's the last thing I want to do.
"No time to hang around, we'll wait outside." Louis says, clapping his hands and standing back up. "Harlow, we'll see you soon, promise." He winks, wandering outside like he owns the place.
Zayn and Niall said goodbye to Harlow and followed Louis, leaving just me, her and Liam alone in the club. Liam is the only other person with a girlfriend and presumably Josie was worried about him so he probably understands this. On the other hand, Josie only has to worry about Liam, poor Birdy has to worry about me and herself which is shit, but that's probably my fault.
"Remember that thing with Josie is only the worst case scenario plan, it'll probably not need to happen." Liam sighs, placing a hand in my shoulder. "I'll let yous say goodbye but Harlow, I don't know if it helps hearing it from me or not but I promise it'll be fine."
Harlow smiled and then they shared a hug, a goodbye hug. It made me choke up a little and it wasn't even me doing it.
The good thing about her being in her club right now, is how much happiness it brings her. This place is her pride and joy and although it's currently empty for the night, I'm praying it brings a little bit of calmness to her.
Liam wandered off and that meant all that's left for me to do is say goodbye, but I don't want to say goodbye. The next time I see her I'll be all bruised and injured because although we'll win, I'll definitely still endure a few punches and I don't want Harlow to have to see me like that.
Although if me receiving all a few hits means she's safe, I'll do it forever.
"Baby?" I say quietly, lifting her face up with my finger hooked under her chin, "I'm expecting a full book review by the way."
Harlow smiled, tilting her face back down and then pressed her forehead against my chest and her arms around my waist. "Please be careful, Harry."
"I will be birdy, can't let anything happen to me because I've got one important song I still need to play you." I smile, wrapping my arms tightly around her.
"Promise?"
I pull back from the hug and hold my pinky finger out to her with a smirk. Harlow smiles up at me hopefully and wraps her pinky around mines. Both of us place a kiss onto our thumbs and then press them together, because I take pinky promises very seriously and she knows that.
"I pinky promise." I tell her.
I take both her hands into mine and hold them up to my lips where I place a kiss on the ring I got her, the one we have matching. Staring into her eyes, we soon share a kiss that has sparks flying in every direction and I never want to take my lips off of her.
But I have to.
When I do there's that glint of sadness that appears in her eyes, but I know she's just anxious which is completely reasonable. I will be okay though, so will she and together we'll come out of this completely fine.
The Vultures will be no more. Nobody will be around to terrorise her, place dead birds in her car and kill her cat anymore.
Everything I do tonight will be for every ounce of pain that Daniel and his fuckibg father have put her through because they think she's family. Family don't do that to each other though, and tonight Daniel will be paying for ever hurting my birdy.
"Before I go..." I swallow nervously, "remember when I told you sometimes it's the people that want to disappear that really just want to be found?"
Harlow nods and I squeeze her hands a little tighter as I'm trying to think of how to put this into words without making it seem like a goodbye.
"Whatever happens tonight..."
"Please don't say goodbye to me, Harry." She sighs.
I can't imagine how she's feeling right now. She lost her grandmother, her mother, her cat, her friend...everyone she's gotten close to has left somehow, which is exactly why I'm not doing that. This isn't goodbye, it's I'll see you in a few hours.
"I'm not." I quickly rush my words out , "Birdy I'm never saying goodbye to you, never leaving you ever, okay?" I say, cupping her face and forcing our eyes to meet. "What I was saying is..."
I really do have to be careful how I word it without making it seem like goodbye. But then I realise how much I'm overthinking this, because I can say exactly what I did that night I first said those words to her.
"I said the people who want to disappear are the ones that want to be found, and Harlow...we found each other."
Harlow's eyes completely glassed over, yet her lips formed into a smile which caused me to do the same. She then nodded and stood on her toes so she could place another kiss on my lips, followed by a hug that I never want to end.
"I love you," she whispers, "you need to go though."
I do...
"Birdy, I'm expecting a full book review I mean it." I chuckle, pointing at the book on the table as I reluctantly pull away from her. "I love you, see you soon sweetheart."
Just like that, the club door slammed shut behind me and I'm locking it shut with the key she handed me. Everyone's looking at me in pity although I'm feeling nothing but pure rage and adrenaline.
It's time to make Daniel pay for ever causing my birdy to feel one ounce of sadness, and I'm not leaving that fight until he's done exactly that. Not only am I going to be fighting through anger, fury and sadness, but I'm now fighting for love so Daniel better be prepared for the storm that's away to hit him, because I sure as hell am.
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Just hit 20k... I love you all.
Who's ready for some excitement;)