Flashback Time, Leona Lewis - I got you
Harry stands before the wide window and calmly leans against it. The call has been going on for quite a while now and the cup of tea is starting to get cold.
He nods along like they can see him and quickly hums in response.
This is the third time in the new week that the production company is consulting with him about casting for the film he's about to work on. It's a big production and a huge role.
It is coming with a lot of commitment and devotion from his part, especially with certain scenes. Nia has already given her permission, even though she didn't think he needed it.
Harry is just a little nervous about being so explicitly intimate with another woman that's not his girlfriend. Celine has an electric presence and they share fantastic chemistry, whatever.
It means nothing to him.
There's an uncomfortable vibe that the production company and network want to milk these roles. A few demands and requests have been tossed around that require more than what he signed up for.
It's a little uncomfortable.
Not to be judgmental but Celine is French and older, she really doesn't care. The woman is a celebrated icon and he's just testing the waters of Hollywood.
He cannot afford to be a bloody diva and have them blacklist him for turning down certain requests.
Harry checks the time and clears his throat on the call.
"That sounds riveting, I'll get my assistant to call you later this week, is that okay?" he speaks up.
"You're scheduled to make an appearance at a yacht party with Celine a week before filming starts," the woman points out across the line.
"I don't remember that being in the script," he furrows his eyebrow.
"We'll have our lawyers contact you with more details, have a good day," the call ends.
Harry groans in anger and is about to throw his phone across the room when he catches himself. Nia won't like that. She doesn't even need any of his dramatics right now.
He controls himself and steadies his breathing. It works for a few seconds and he calmly leaves the living space for their shared bedroom.
In their shared bedroom, Nia is cuddled up in the bed and is struggling to read a Gillian Flynn novel. One of her favourites.
However, it's hard for her to concentrate because she's going through a depressive episode and nothing seems to be helping right now.
Walking on her looking moody makes his heart flutter and he calmly joins her in bed, bringing himself to pepper her forehead with soft kisses. Nia cringes into him and he gladly decides to be the big spoon today.
He inhales the tender and familiar scent that lingers on her, and she gently shuts her eyes for a moment.
This is her safe space and she hopes it will be for a long time.
"I was starting to miss you," she whispers.
"Work call, they got annoying," he replies.
"Can they let me enjoy you before snatching you from me?" she groans.
"Hey, you have me all to yourself for the next two weeks," Harry chuckles.
"Will you video call me from set?" Nia tears away from him with a sigh.
"I can fly over on the days I'm not filming," he offers.
"Stop teasing me," she whines.
This makes him giggle and pull her closer to rest her back against his chest. He takes her fingers and presses sweet kisses on them.
Anything to just feel her. Nia manages to smile because his kisses always find a way to make her feel a tad better. She turns to look at him and he notices that her eyes are super tired.
"Have you been crying?" he asks, calmly.
"I woke up feeling so moody. I thought the nap would help but all I could do was cry," she replies, sniffing.
"Come here," he calmly pulls her even closer and Nia finds herself practically sitting on his legs.
"I don't know what's wrong today," she breathes out.
"It's okay. You don't always have to know," he rubs little circles on her back.
"I hate being the depressed girlfriend, it's so corny," Nia rolls her eyes.
"You know that means I'm a great actor, if you think you're the only depressed one," he smirks.
"Shut up, don't remind me about your acting thing," she pouts.
"Baby, it's okay if you want to be with me during filming," he reminds her.
"Your fans already compiled a whole folder of me being on every single shoot of yours," she chuckles.
"Who cares? You're supportive and I love it," Harry shrugs.
"True but there's the work thing. I can find time to visit though," she touches his face.
"That's my girl," he smiles.
Nia notices there's a little change in the air and she's not sure if it's her moodiness or his own moods starting to kick in.
This is about to be a huge role for Harry. He has wanted this since he heard about it and she knows it's about to do wonders for his career.
"What's on your mind?" she asks, softly.
"Sure you're okay with me playing a sugar baby on the bloody big screen?" He raises an eyebrow.
"That's a kink I'm into," she laughs.
"Oh, is it now?" he widens his eyes, amused.
This makes Nia tenderly bring her hand to wrap around his neck. She leans in and studies his eyes, knowing there's more to his question.
Harry gulps and manages a smile. He has always loved her taking charge.
"What are you nervous about?" she asks.
"Nothing actually, just really excited," he replies.
"Good, because I need you to have fun," Nia smiles and kisses him for a bit.
"I'll call you everyday and keep you updated on every single thing," he says in between kisses.
"That sounds annoying and I already like it," she smiles.
"Of course, you do," Harry chuckles.
Nia stops and tenderly cups his face, deciding to address what could be truly bothering him.
"Hey H, don't do anything you're uncomfortable with, okay? Your fans will still love you, actor or not," she breathes out.
Harry stares at her for a deep moment and nods in agreement.
"I love you so much."
Back to Present, Leona Lewis - I got you
The moment the door to his house opens, Harry feels a tightness around his chest. The house has been cleaned and prepped for his return.
It's been weeks of being away and he doesn't know what he feels right now.
Zayn calmly squeezes his shoulder, a sign of support. The two of them exchange a small smile and stay in silence.
For now, they've agreed for Harry to return to his house and receive his recovery treatment in the comfort of his own space.
The past few days have been good because he's been walking around with a supportive walking stick and he's been having clearer thoughts.
The one problem is that Nia hasn't visited since the day Celine showed up. He knows that the only reason she's here today is because she signed off on him returning home and she's just being kind.
They haven't had a chance to talk since that day in his ward and he doesn't know if she wants to talk to him. The housekeeper walks past them, taking his things to the master bedroom and smiling in joy to have him back.
The door shuts behind the men and he turns to see her walk in. Nia is wrapping up a phone call and Zayn is already feeling awkward.
"This could have been an email - just send me the report," she stresses on the call.
"Mate, do you want to sit or walk around?" Zayn speaks up.
Harry says nothing as he just stands in the centre of his living space.
For the past year, he has avoided spending a lot of time here. He immersed himself in a shit ton of activities that included bike riding and he just needed to keep his mind busy.
He steadies himself on the walking stick and chooses silence for now.
Finally, Nia ends the call and stares at him for a moment. She doesn't know what to say or if she's supposed to say something. She walks over to him and clears her throat.
"Hey," she says, calmly.
"Wow...wow," Harry replies with a small frown.
"What is it?" she asks, confused.
"T-Talking....to me," he points out.
Zayn raises an eyebrow, noticing the tension.
"Am I not supposed to talk to you?" Nia tries to sound formal.
Harry keeps his frown and waves a hand at Zayn, basically gesturing at Zayn to pay attention to the conversation.
"Not...not t-talking to me....many days," he tries to explain.
"You haven't been talking to him? Why?" Zayn is confused.
"I've been busy at work," she replies.
"In...car too," Harry quickly adds.
"Yeah, I noticed you two were super quiet in the car and in the hospital too," Zayn points out.
"Yes...okay," Harry is glad to have his point made.
"Are you seriously reporting me to Zayn?" Nia sighs, fighting a smile.
"You should talk to Harry, you guys are now friends, right?" Zayn gives a mocking smile.
"I hate you so much," Nia chuckles.
"Me...too," Harry quickly adds.
Zayn pauses and gives him a deadly glare. He rolls his eyes and shrugs. These two are clearly unaware of what's brewing between them. He wants to point it out but he thinks they deserve to find out for themselves.
"I'm stepping out for a smoke," he says.
"I thought you quit," she states.
"Yeah, same for you guys," he vaguely gestures at him and walks away with a smile.
Nia is a little uncomfortable as she watches him shut the door behind him. Harry breathes out, knowing that things weren't great the last time two of them stood in this flat.
It was literally the morning of the wedding and they had both decided to break up.
Well, Nia wanted to break up and he wasn't given the option.
Things went south at the wedding and he just doesn't want to relive any of those memories.
"How are you feeling back home?" She starts a conversation.
"Not...g-good," he replies.
"We wanted to take you to your other house, but this one is currently more accessible for your physical recovery, no stairs," she explains.
"Stairs...pain...," he smiles, pointing at his recovering leg.
"Do you want to sit down? Standing too long is not good for your leg," Nia tells him.
"Okay...okay," Harry nods in agreement.
Calmly, she stretches out a hand and he shakily takes it in his. They slowly walk over to the sofa near the window and she smiles at the familiar view.
This place is hitting her with memories but it's currently not about her. Harry exhales as he feels slight pain in his healing leg.
Nia is about to stand up when he shakily places a hand on her knee and she pauses.
"Do you need something?" she asks.
"Not...not talking....why?" He really wants to know if he's done something wrong again.
"Do we have to do this now?" Nia breathes out.
"Friend...yes?" he frowns and she smiles at his serious frown.
"Right. Friends talk to friends," she nods in agreement.
"F-Friends say...why...why not talking," Harry groans a little.
"Can I just say that you're doing so well with your speech? Your efforts are amazing," Nia smiles, controlling her emotions.
"Yes...okay," he slowly nods in appreciation.
Nia breathes out and relaxes on the sofa.
Being tense is becoming a little too dramatic and she knows they're going to talk about every single thing at some point. It's just step by step right now.
"Seeing Celine at the hospital upset me and I just needed some time to myself," she explains.
"Not...not calling her?" he frowns, unsure of his statement.
"You didn't call her? Is what you're trying to say?" she asks.
"Yes," he quickly nods.
"Yeah, she sent me a whole email explaining how you're just colleagues and she sees you as a younger brother," Nia sighs.
"An-angry again?" he asks.
The admission of everything is starting to hit Nia like rocks and she steadies herself.
"You didn't cheat on me, right?" she asks.
"No...n-never...do that," Harry basically wants to protest.
"But you kissed her at that yacht party, right? You made out with her, right?" Nia calmly stares at him.
"Yes...s-saying...for work," he replies, feeling a little ashamed.
"Kissing counts as cheating," she tries to explain and he swiftly shakes his head in disagreement.
"No...told me...for work...yes," he stresses with a groan.
This makes Nia shift a little closer to him and calmly cup his shoulders. The conversation is already starting to have an effect on his mood and she doesn't want that.
Celine made a little reference to a contract and possible reason why he wasn't able to open up about the things that happened at the yacht party.
Nia can see how uncomfortable the memory makes him and she doesn't want to force him to get into it. Not right now. Their main focus is to help him recover and prepare for his tour.
"It's fine. You don't have to talk about it," she reminds him.
"No...no, don't...want you an-angry," he sighs. "Again."
"Hey, I'm not angry, okay? I'm here for you as a friend," she gives him a smile.
"Stay....as friend?" he asks.
"You want me to stay here with you? Sure, we can get you settled in and have something to eat," Nia replies.
Harry wants to say more but he chooses silence.
There's fatigue still pulsing through his body and he's just glad that there's a little bit of light being shed on their past.
Things are clearly not back to normal but this is a step for him.
There's so much more that he wants to tell Nia but it's hard and he goes for the simpler words, for now.
"Thank...you, Nia." Harry says with a small smile.
So, I'm struggling with my writing x