I HAVE A NEW STORY!! It's a Harry Styles AU!!
It's called 'AS IT IS'!
It's a single-mom, second chance romance, & I promise it kicks off with all the feels & ahhhhhh I'm so excited! The first ten chapters are up already and I typically update more than once a week (:
Please go read so we can all experience another gut-wrenching romance together (:
bonus chapter — coachella 2022
(april 2022; 1 month before wedding)
Norah
My fiancé was headlining Coachella!
Neither of us had ever gone to the Indio festival nor had we ever had the desire to do so, but there wasn't a better time than the present—contractual obligations aside, of course.
It'd been a jam-packed couple of weeks with Harry's rehearsals and the release of his new single 'As It Was'. His album was dropping in a month and a half—right before our wedding—and because of the timing of it all, life was busy but still exciting.
Worlds were colliding as Mr. Harry Styles himself requested I photograph his hour-and-a-half set tonight. He was killing it. He owned that stage, and he owned everyone's hearts but most of all mine.
He was playing his new single, and it was the first time he was playing it live in front of a crowd. I had full body chills listening to a crowd of 100,000 singing back to him a song that had been out for only two weeks.
"Coachella, how you feeling?!"
He looked directly at me in the VIP section as he slowly slipped off his massive, black feathered coat. The smirk on his face told me he knew exactly what he was doing to not only me, but the crowd as they roared back at him. He wore a rainbow sequined jumpsuit with a very deep cut in the front.
I got the perfect shots of the strip tease, then cupped a hand around my mouth, "Yeah, take it off!"
Beside me, Winter echoed the same sentiment just as loud as I did if not louder.
If he didn't hear us, he certainly read our lips as he pursed his tight to keep from breaking his composure.
The crowd went berserk as the chorus hit.
'As It Was' blended into 'Adore You', and then into 'Golden'.
The music cut at the end of 'Golden' to which he started walking down the long runway. "My name is Harry..." Screams sounded out so loud I could hardly hear my fiancé through the speakers. "It's a pleasure...it's a pleasure to be here in front of you tonight. Thank you so much."
Harry went through the same little intro he gave during the beginning of all his shows, but I hung onto every word of his because I knew this one was different for him. He'd be playing a couple new songs from his album tonight and getting a live reaction from fans. Then, Shania Twain was making a guest appearance sometime in the middle of the show.
"Oh my God, Norah! Hi, Norah!"
Fans' reactions of me over the years has changed gradually. I typically got nothing but positive interactions which was a complete 180 degree shift from a couple years back while Harry and I had been broken up. It wasn't too difficult to beat out getting bottles thrown at me.
Nowadays, I didn't normally interact too much with fans, but it wasn't to be rude or disrespectful. I was very protective of myself as well as mine and Harry's relationship. I didn't want people to judge or criticize me for not reacting the right way or for saying the wrong thing. A small smile and wave was normally the most I gave fans. Even then, I sometimes got the response of: "Oh, she's trying so hard. Does she actually think we care?"
My social media was private and the only pictures paparazzi got of me were at festivals like these, concerts, or any kind of events where Harry and I were well aware cameras would there.
"Hi, Norah!"
"Norah!"
Winter chucked and nudged an elbow into my side. "You gonna make them yell all night?"
I turned and gave a small smile and wave to the fans.
Carolina came and went. I stayed to one side of the stage with Winter since Harry had a couple other photographers including Anthony Pham shooting his set, too. I brought my camera to my face to take some more when the beginning instrumentals of a song I couldn't place started up and it distracted me. I forgot about the fact that I'd never heard this new song and it would require my full attention.
"I have a small story to tell you all," Harry said, still pretty out of breath from all his running around. "About five years ago, I met someone who changed my life forever. Because of them, I found purpose even in the smallest of events."
My eyes stayed glued on him as he walked over to the part of the runway that was closest to where I stood.
His gaze panned over the crowd, but stopped on mine. That stupid little hot as fuck smirk appeared again. "And because of them, I just kept driving. And even though we got lost sometimes, we always found our way back home."
Winter curled her arm through mine and squeezed. "Oh my God, Norah," she whispered into my ear. She was one of few who knew about my and Harry's drives—which he most definitely was currently alluding to.
That was the last thing I heard from the outside world before he became all-consuming. Before the sound of my voice—my laugh came through the speakers, sounding to over a hundred thousand people.
My giggle, then, "Let's go, hurry up!"
Harry winked at me from his mic stand.
He'd recorded audio of one of our drives.
The song began with recounts of various objects and actions before the chorus asked the question Harry and I asked each other almost every drive, "Should we just keep driving?"
During the beat break, I very faintly heard mine and Harry's laugh together, but it was so quiet I wouldn't be surprised if not too many people heard it.
Tears sprang to my eyes. Harry was capturing our moments together beautifully.
"I will always love you."
Oh my God.
The bridge of the song was my favorite. The lights on the stage pulsed with every line talking about so many things that were loosely connected to either our lives or our friends' lives.
"'Choke her'?!" Winter slapped me on the arm. "Kinky bitch!"
I wouldn't confirm nor deny that line...
...but I don't know who else Harry would be choking with a sea view.
By the end of the song, I'm screaming my heart out. To this day, I never allowed myself to listen to Harry's album pre-release. Of course, if he was way too excited to show me something, I'd let him, but I liked to keep that old part of me who was the biggest fan of him intact. I liked to wait like everyone else.
He headed towards our side of the stage and tucked his head into his arm as if wiping sweat off his face, but I knew he was kissing his lower bicep where his heart tattoo was. It was his way of kissing me and saying he loved me when he couldn't in front of so many people.
He moved onto the next song effortlessly.
And the next.
And the next.
Until he only had a few songs left in his set and Jeff approached Winter and I, telling us we had to go backstage for the next song. I didn't argue or ask questions because it was way too loud out to try and have a conversation. Besides, I trusted he had a reason behind asking this—or at least Harry did.
Melodic guitar strumming sounded out just as Winter and I got to the top of the stairs to the side of the main stage behind a wall that kept us out of sight from the crowd. We didn't have a great view of the entire stage, but I could see Harry in profile and the unfathomable size of the crowd. I took a few more shots at that vantage point.
My fiancé enraptured my soul as he began singing.
He sang about a house that wasn't a home.
About smiling through the pain.
About paving your own way through life without any reservations about the past.
As he started the second verse, my mind flashed back to early on in our relationship when I would talk about my mom or dad. The way I would flippantly describe such blatant emotional abuse by both parents that turned physical by one.
Listening to Harry on stage felt like I was transported back five years ago. It felt like present Harry was speaking directly to past Norah—directly to the frightened young woman who never realized just how apprehensive of life she was. He was telling her she didn't have to go home, she could keep moving forward no matter how long the journey might take her.
He was taking her home.
He gave me a home.
I found a home in him.
"You can start a family who will always show you love."
A sob escaped from my startled gasp, and Winter held onto me tight.
I would make sure my kids didn't have the childhood I had. Harry and I would make sure of it.
Our wedding couldn't come fast enough because that motherfucker was going to have to get me pregnant sooner rather than later.
When the last bit of the song played out, a small commotion sounded around us. Stage crew alerted for Harry's departure off stage. I saw what they were talking about as Winter stepped away from me and Harry's figure jogged off stage straight into my arms.
"I love you so much," he said into my ear.
I ignored the sweat and heat radiating off his body and pulled him impossibly closer.
"Harry, what the fuck? I'm crying my eyes out. I should be dancing my pants off instead."
He chuckled. "Don't cry, love. And don't take your pants off yet, that's for me to do later tonight."
"Uh, yes the fuck you are after those two songs."
He pulled back and showed me his ear-to-ear grin. His thumb reached up to brush away some stray tears. "Good surprise?"
"Yes, but you're going to have to play those for me again later."
"Of course. Whenever you want. They're yours."
"Am I getting royalties off that first one? You used my voice and laugh, I heard it."
"I'm glad you caught that. And in about a month my royalties are your royalties and vice versa, alright? Think you can hold off on the paycheck for that long?"
"Harry on stage in ten! Nine!" A crew member shouted out the countdown.
"I can hold off." I pulled his face down to mine to kiss his lips. "I've never been more in love with you than I am right now. And it's only growing by the second, so you better get out of here before I do something about it."
"Mm? What are you going to do?"
"Four! Three!"
He kissed me once for every second he had left before he had to run back on stage to finish his set.
When he left my arms, I felt the loss like a blistering chill, but it thawed as I felt my heart starting to beat on that stage.
Winter came up from behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist, dropping her chin onto my shoulder. I held onto her arms in front of me.
"I'm so happy for you, Norah."
God, I was so happy for me, too.
...
Ahhhh another bonus chapter done ;(
I've seen so many comments about Keep Driving and Matilda being about Harry/Norah & it's so true, so I NEEDED to put that in writing. I love you all so much & love how you can connect this story to shit like this ahhhhhh
Hope you all are well. I'll let you know when another bonus chapter is in the works....
In the meantime, don't forget to GO READ MY NEW HARRY AU FANFIC 'AS IT IS' <3
Stay safe! <3