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I rejoin Mum and Harry, and can't help but notice Harry giving me a subtle once over from my legs up.
"So Harry," my mother interrupts, "do you have anything planned for dinner? You're more than welcome to join us again. We'll probably end up ordering some pizzas and pasta."
"Thank you so much for your offer Charlotte, and as much as I'd love to stay, I've made plans to pick up some friends from the airport. I was actually going to see if Ava wanted to join me."
"That sounds lovely," she says warmly. "Have a nice time you two."
Airport? He didn't run this by me. Right now I'm barely handling the fact that I know one of the most well known people in the world, and now I'll be meeting another two.
How much crazier does my life want to be right now?
We walk towards his car and I'm pleasantly surprised as he rushes over to the passenger side to open the door for me, and dips an imaginary hat as I enter. Chivalry certainly isn't dead.
"Why thank you good sir," I say in a posh English accent.
He starts up the car, and looking over at him, I notice he is already looking at me, and we both shyly look away.
"So what should I expect?" I ask nervously, referring to the probable case that we're going to be seen in public together.
"I've sort of learned not to expect anything, because I'm constantly surprised. But I've ran it by airport security who have directed me to a less busier part of the airport where hopefully we can remain unseen. Niall and Liam have a couple of bodyguards to lead them to our car. It's all sorted."
Something tells me this isn't going to go as smoothly as it all sounds...
He begins the short drive, and I give him directions to our destination. I can't help but have second thoughts as we are getting closer and closer, and almost speak up several times for him to let me out, but stop myself. I bite my lip nervously and am reassured by Harry as he interlaces his left hand through mine, and rests it on my leg.
"Are you... how are you doing?" He blurts out a little nervously, and it kind of brings me a little bit of comfort knowing he's feeling similar feelings about whatever this is.
"I'm great." I answer rather unconvincingly. "Err... you?"
"I'm good," he nods, and suddenly I am overwhelmed with doubt. What if he regrets kissing me? He might've kissed me because I nodded at him in the pool when he was close. I basically forced him into it. Oh God. He's probably sitting in his chair regretting ever having kissed me.
"You sure you're okay?" he asks again, turning his face to me as if looking for a physical sign of me not being okay.
"Look Harry," I begin, and I can't help but notice him sink slightly in his chair from my tone. "You don't have to do this. You don't have to spend time with me anymore, and I totally understand if you walk away." His expression changes from a sombre demeanour, to a look of subtle amusement.
"Ava," he says, trying to cut in.
"No, really Harry," I interrupt. "I get it. You're a busy guy. You're not here for long. We can pretend the... the... thing never happened, and we can go back to how we were."
"By thing, you mean...?" he asks, almost ready to break into laughter.
No. Don't do this to me Harry.
"The... you know. The kiss," I mumble over the last word, hoping that the passenger seat of the car will swallow me whole, getting me out of this situation.
"And hypothetically speaking," he begins, his manner slightly more serious, "what if I want another... thing to happen again. Because I think you might've underestimated how much I enjoyed the thing and was hoping we could try it again. You know. Permitting you want to of course."
Goosebumps instantly cover my skin, and I'm unable to remove the smile that is now branded on my face.
Yes. A fücking thousand times yes.
"Well. I mean, I can't really say 'no', now can I?" I reply, with a wry smile.
He grabs one of my hands, holding it in a lovely, comforting type of way, giving me the reassurance I needed.
"You have nothing to worry about," he reminds me, with such sincerity that I believe him. I truly do.
We drive into the main terminal entrance of Tullamarine Airport, and my nerves resurface again as I start seeing groups of young girls with signs and One Direction merchandise waiting outside. We park in the drop off zone of a quieter area of the airport, and Harry makes a call to; who I'm assuming is security. He tells whoever is on the other line of our location and some other things that I don't really pick up on. I'm very thankful for the heavily tinted windows, but I still worry that girls may come to this side of the airport once Niall and Liam exit. What is really getting to me most of all is that I have literally no idea at all what to expect. It could go so many ways, and my anxiety levels are at an all time high.
"They've landed and shouldn't be too much longer," he informs me after he hangs up. We both unbuckle our seat-belts and he tunes into a radio station as background music. It is almost calming my heart rate down. Almost.
Harry's hand makes its way once again onto my thigh, and he gives it a comforting squeeze.
"It's going to be okay," he tells me.
"It's just that..." I start, but then falter.
I can't even string a sentence together since I've met him. My life is going to be changed as of today whether I like it or not, and I don't know if this is something I can simply get used to. I know there'll be hate regardless. It's almost a given - even if we were purely friends. But being in the spotlight constantly, just because I'm hanging out with someone? I don't know if I'm cut out for that...
"Was it the kiss?" he asks me, concerned. "Be honest."
I shake my head. How could he think that I would want to take that back? Why would anyone regret something so intimately beautiful. I know I'll remember it for as long as I live.
"No, I liked that," I admit and I see Harry's face flicker at my confession. "I really liked it. I'm just... thinking this is all going a little fast. I'm trying to wrap my head around the world that you've already been exposed to for years now, and I don't know if I'm one hundred percent ready for what comes along with simply knowing you."
Wow.
Too harsh? It doesn't help that I don't have access to his thoughts. I don't know what I am to him. It would help me if I had a little understanding of his feelings but I don't want to scare him off by suggesting any serious talks.
Harry looks over at me and moves his hand to my face. His thumb brushes lightly over my jawline, and then lightly over my lips. I look down and he lightly tilts my chin to meet his eye line.
"It'll be fine, I promise," he tells me reassuringly as his thumb tenderly caresses over my lips. He leans in and I sigh when his lips meet mine. Once again all of my troubles melt away, and are no longer in my thoughts momentarily. I'm just so mesmerised by the fact that he is capable of doing this to me.
His phone begins vibrating and it distracts me from the moment. I pull away slightly, though it only makes him move himself even closer to me.
"Harry...your...phone," I laugh in between kisses.
"It can wait," he replies almost breathlessly, as he kisses me once again.
"Harry!" I laugh again.
He pecks my lips once more before answering his phone, and sighing in an annoyed kind of way before saying hello. He is looking at me while talking to the other person on the other line and slowly licks his lip in thought. The sight of him drives me crazy and I don't know how I didn't realise how completely and utterly beautiful he was prior to meeting him. How could I possibly not have seen it?
I take this time to check my reflection in the vanity mirror, and I am instantly taken aback at the reflection staring back at me. My lips are a deeper shade of red from the cheeky car snog shared moments earlier, and my face is absolutely glowing. I am the epitome of happiness.
He then explains that Liam and Niall are only a few minutes away, so I decide to get in the backseat to avoid people from looking in through the front window.
Moments go by and I begin to hear a swarm of teenage girls screaming.
Fúck.
In a matter of seconds, fans surround the car and I see flashes from what I believe to be paparazzi. People are hitting the car and I cover my face as people try to take photos of the inside of the car. I see Harry waving slightly over the wheel through my fingers and he politely says a few little hellos.
You would think getting two boys in a car would be no trouble at all, but it all seems to be such a tiresome ordeal. Girls hands are reaching into the car as the door opens and camera flashes continue to go off. I notice my half drunken bottle of water on the floor of the car, which is quickly snatched up by one girl snatched it and claimed it as her own. She starts screaming and hugging the bottle, and I kind of want to laugh and tell her it's mine, but it's impossible as what I'm experiencing is complete and utter chaos. I find it absolutely shocking that someone would cherish something so mundane as a water bottle, and can almost guarantee that she'll worship it for the rest of her life, unknowingly thinking it's Harry's - when in actual fact it's mine.
As soon as Liam and Niall are in the car, Harry starts the engine and carefully manoeuvres around the girls to drive away. Now deeming it safe, I uncover my face and see two familiar faces now in the back with me. I'm really glad I watched the movie recently, so I know a little more about them but it is still pretty daunting. As we move off, I look around at the scene, and begin laughing, unable to stop. It appears that I'm the only one that finds this comical, as everyone else in the car acts like this is just a normal, regular day.
"That was mental," I exclaim. "That girl... that girl back there took my water bottle and she treated it as though it were her most prized possession."
"Yeah, it'll happen. Maybe it's an Australian thing. A couple times ago that we were here, a girl nicked my underwear off the balcony," Liam laughs, shaking his head.
"Boys, this is Ava by the way," Harry introduces, and looks back briefly.
I smile and give each of them a little awkward wave.
Niall makes a comment of how he likes my accent, and tells us how crazy it was after they landed.
"We were actually meant to come from the other terminal, but somehow a fan caught wind of it, and more girls showed up. It was mayhem back there. Absolute chaos."
I honestly can't understand how they can deal with this on a daily basis and are still seemingly normal. I was sitting in the car, not technically involved in the masses of people and yet it overwhelmed me. How can anyone get used to something like this?
They all banter back and forth between each other, and I keep a little quiet to give them time to catch up. I'm also still trying to absorb everything that's going on. It is the most peculiar feeling, and I don't think it's properly hit me.
"So this is the girl you met the other day then is it Harry? The one you spoke about on the phone?" Liam says and gives me a little wink to show he's teasing Harry.
"Enough of that, and don't listen to a word either of them say," Harry warns me.
"I want all the gritty details about this one," I ask the boys, referring to Harry, and they each tell me a few harmless stories on nights out, and how he's renowned for not being able to hold his liquor.
I chat to them about their plans while they're here and Niall tells me about his family and friends living in Melbourne, and how he's here to spend a bit of time with them. Liam will be staying with Harry, and mentions how keen he is to get back down here and try out the surfing some more.
Overall, they seem like regular, friendly guys. I get the feeling that their trip is going to be brief judging by their conversation, and it's a major reality check that Harry too, will eventually leave. I don't want to have to ask the question of 'when', as knowing so to speak, will almost ruin it for me. I guess that it's a harsh reality that I'm eventually going to face. Something tells me Harry isn't the kind of guy you simply 'get over', so I'll be left here to pick up the broken pieces he's inevitably going to leave me in. Can't wait.
Question of the chapter: How did you think Ava went in meeting Liam and Niall, and do you think she's going to stick around, especially after experiencing how crazy the airport scene was? Personal question also, have you ever 'stalked' One Direction, and what are your experiences?
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