Harry's POV
For the past five days, I'd been on top of the world. I spent my days writing music, attending meetings or organizing things for my album, and my nights hanging out at home with friends or talking to Hailey on the phone.
I loved that things seemed to be normal between us even though we were apart, and even though I hated the idea that I might not get to talk to her for so long, I was just glad that I could call her and talk to her about my day if I wanted to. I still felt a little awkward at times, unsure of what I could or couldn't say to her since I didn't know where we stood in regards to our feelings for each other, so I tried to make sure I stayed well within the friendzone so I didn't make her uncomfortable with my feelings for her.
I knew she'd been going through some ups and downs in regard to her leaving, and I knew all too well the anxiety that came along with leaving your family back home while you travel the world. I did my best to be supportive, to tell her how much fun she was gonna have, and I just hoped that she didn't get too homesick while she was gone.
"Alright, so let's just confirm the schedule for next week then." Jeff said as he sat down across from me at my kitchen table with his tablet in his hand.
"Shoot." I said as I took a sip from the water bottle in front of me.
"Okay so Monday you've got a meeting with some producers to discuss your vision for the album so you can choose one and start to discuss strategies. I wanted us to get together with the marketing team to discuss how we want to promote it when it comes out, I know it's a little early but I think if we wanna book some of the major TV shows and what not we need to get ahead of the planning."
"Sounds good, I wanna get all this stuff outta the way so I can just focus on the music." I said, eager to cut through all the red tape and bring all the writing I'd done to life.
"I know, have you decided about where you wanna do it? You still thinking about Jamaica?"
"Yeah, I think that would be best. I wanna just be away and do nothing but write. There's no paps there or friends calling me to go for dinner. I really wanna do this the right way."
"Alright, I'll look into renting a house there and booking studio time for a couple months." He said in agreement as he tapped away on his tablet.
"The execs from Columbia are flying out here on Wednesday morning to go over their part in things, once everything is sorted with them you'll be free to just make the music and not worry about anything else." He emphasized for the millionth time since he'd told me the first time. "I know you know how important this meeting is, Harry."
"I know, Jeff. Just make sure we're done by 11:30." I instructed him, reminding him that I needed to leave enough time to get across town so I could meet Hailey for lunch at 1.
"I've set it up for 7:00am, I think that should be enough time. I've made it very clear that you are unavailable after 11:30 and have another engagement. I tried to get them to come out the day before but they couldn't, so they're taking the red-eye. It shouldn't take that long, we'll probably be done early. Don't worry, I'm not gonna let you miss out on your time with Hailey." He smiled.
I just nodded, glad it was taken care of as Jeff went on about the rest of the week and what I'd be up to. I was so thankful that starting next week I'd be able to get down to the good part, choosing my band and actually starting to put music to all the lyrics I'd come up with. For the first time in a long time I'd started to become more excited about my album than nervous, and with Hailey coming to see me I finally felt like everything was just falling into place.
I tried not to think too much about the fact that she'd be going away, but I was happy for her and it finally felt like all the talking we'd done about us both chasing our dreams was coming to life. We were both about to jet off towards new opportunities and we were finding a way to meet in the middle, even if it was just for a few hours over lunch.
I picked up my phone as it buzzed on the table in front of me, a smile spreading over my face as I saw Hails had sent me a message, and I heard Jeff sigh across from me.
"What?" I asked, looking over at him as he ran his hands over his face, looking frustrated.
"Look, Harry. This past week I've seen how happy you are now that you're talking to Hailey again, and as your best friend I'm ecstatic for you. I've never seen you so happy and I love seeing you this way. I'm so glad she's coming and you guys are gonna get a chance to hash things out." He explained.
"But?" I said, knowing he had another point.
"But as your manager, I need you to be a bit more focused. This is a really important week, and once it's over you'll have the freedom to write and record whenever you want, and make as much time to talk to her as you want. But this week...I need you to be focused on these meetings."
"Jeff, I'm focused. You know how important this album is to me, how bad I want this. I know I've been a little preoccupied with Hails, but I promise you I'm in this. I'm here." I reassured him and he nodded. "It's just that after this week she's gonna be gone for like six months and I don't know if I'm gonna be able to talk to her. I guess I'm just trying to find the balance between the two. But you're right, and I'm sorry. I'll try to be more focused."
"I don't want you to think that I'm not happy for you...I just know how much this means to you and I want to make sure you do this the way you want. Without these meetings, you might not have the opportunity to explain what it is you want, and I don't want you to lose the control you've fought so hard to have."
"I know." I smiled. "I know you're just looking out for me, that's why I made you my manager."
He laughed lightly before I set my phone down in front of me and gave him my full attention while he outlined the agenda for the meeting with the executives from Columbia. I knew it was a big meeting, the one where I would basically be asking them to trust me and leave me alone to make my album. Columbia had always been so supportive of my vision, and I was so grateful for the creative freedom they'd given me, but this particular group of executives they were sending were known to be a little more difficult than others. I just prayed they'd tell me what I wanted to hear so I wouldn't be upset when I went to meet Hails, but if I was honest, I wasn't sure anything could dampen my mood when I knew I'd be seeing her in two short days.
"It's actually too bad Hailey doesn't have more time, I was hoping to meet her and maybe we could all have dinner." Jeff smiled as we finished up. "I know Glenne is dying to meet her."
"I know, it sucks she's only got a couple of hours." I sighed. "But I'll take it."
"Well, if all goes well we'll all be hanging out once things settle down for the two of you. It sounds like she's going on quite the adventure, and this album process is gonna be amazing. Maybe when it's all over you'll be able to focus on each other." He said as he clapped me on the shoulder as we headed towards the door.
"Yeah...that's my hope. I'm just a little nervous about what she wants to talk to me about." I sighed, knowing she'd mentioned it a couple of times.
I couldn't imagine she'd want to have some serious conversation before we both separated for so long, it wasn't like her. I imagined we'd spend lunch laughing and joking with each other, finding ourselves in our own little bubble like we always did, but she made it sound like whatever it was that she had to say was a serious subject and it made me nervous.
"I'm sure everything will be fine." He chuckled. "I'm just happy you get to see her."
I nodded and hugged him before we said goodbye, returning to my kitchen just as my phone began to ring. I looked down and saw it was my Mum, and for the first time in a while I didn't dread answering it because I knew she was so worried about me. She knew I'd been doing much better in the last week, so her and Gem had backed off on the constant checking in.
"Hey, Mum." I smiled as I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and headed into the living room. "You alright?"
"I'm good, love. You?" She asked as I plopped myself down on the couch and turned on the TV.
"I'm great." I assured her. "Think I might take off to Jamaica for a couple months to record."
"Oh that sounds fun, when will that be?"
"Not sure yet, I'll obviously let you know." I laughed. "Anyways, what's up at home?"
"Not much." She chuckled. "I was just calling to let you know that I've let your sister know we'll be spending Christmas in Canada, and I was wondering if you wanted me to extend the invitation to your father since you won't be home for the holidays."
"Umm, no that's alright. I was planning on coming home for a week after New Years to make sure I see him and Grandad. I'll see him then." I shrugged.
"Alright, well Gem, Robin and I will be there with bells on." She giggled. "I can't wait to see Cash and Sophia, I bet they've grown so much."
"Well it's still a couple months away, Mum. But yes, I feel the same way." I laughed.
"I know, I'm just excited. Lily Ridge is so beautiful, I can't even imagine how gorgeous it is in the winter. I'm so happy you thought of it, it's just a shame Hailey won't be there." She sighed.
"It was Hailey's idea, actually." I chuckled. "I promised her we'd be there to check up on them."
"Of course it was. That girl is always thinking about everyone else." Mum sighed.
"I know, but that's one of the things I love about her."
"Are you excited to see her on Wednesday? I hope it isn't too hard for you to say goodbye to her again." She said worriedly.
"I'll be alright, Mum." I assured her. "As long as I know she's happy and doing what she loves I'll be just fine. I'm just happy that of all places, her layover is in LA."
"Fate works in mysterious ways." She smiled. "How long is she there for?"
"Her plane lands at 11, and then we're meeting for lunch at 1. Her flight to Peru leaves at 6 so we have about three hours before she has to be back at the airport."
"That's not much time." She said, and I could practically hear her frowning.
"I know, but I'll take it." I laughed. "I'd take five minutes if it was all she had to give me."
"Look at my little boy, so grown up and in love."
"That I am, Mum." I sighed.
We talked for a few more minutes before I remembered how late it was there and wondered what the hell she was still doing up. I told her to go to bed and said goodnight before I hung up and settled into my couch to watch TV. My house still felt big and empty, but for some reason the knowledge that I was gonna be seeing Hailey just made everything else feel a lot less lonely.
******
Hailey's POV
The past 24 hours had been an emotional rollercoaster that I was more than ready to get off of. My departure was imminent, and I found myself going between complete and utter panic at the idea of leaving and then excitement and impatience about starting the next chapter. I kept crying and not knowing why, overwhelmed with emotions I didn't even know I was feeling, as I prepared to fly away into some completely unknown adventure.
The talk I needed to have with Harry was weighing on my mind, knowing what I wanted to say but having to fight my instincts to run from it. Part of me wanted to just cancel our lunch, to say I didn't have time or something and not face my feelings for him, but I knew that if I really wanted to make things right I had to face my fear. I was absolutely terrified that he'd somehow reject me, that I'd finally give in to my feelings for him and he'd decide that leaving was the right thing and we were better off as friends. The very thought of it made me want to throw up.
At the same time, I knew that the only thing strong enough to force me onto that plane and away from Lily Ridge was the idea of seeing him a few hours later. We'd talked a few times over the past week, and he seemed just as excited to see me as I was to see him. He'd told me he'd been able to rearrange some things, that he had a meeting that morning but he'd made sure he was free by one o'clock to meet me for lunch. I felt bad that he'd had to move things around but he assured me it wasn't a big deal and that he wouldn't miss the opportunity to see me for anything. It was strange how even though he was so far away he could still make me feel so special and supported. At times it made me wonder why I'd dreaded him leaving so much, obviously knowing that not having him there every day was difficult, but now that I could still talk to him he didn't seem so far away.
I was just finishing throwing the last few things into my suitcase when Finn appeared in the doorway of my bedroom, knocking lightly as he smiled softly at me.
"Hey." He said as he entered, taking a seat on my bed beside the suitcase I was trying to pack. "I guess this is it then, eh?"
"Yeah...tomorrow's the day." I sighed, not sure how I felt about it. "We'll see if I survive."
"You'll be fine, Hails." He chuckled. "You're gonna have so much fun. Saying goodbye to everyone will be rough, but once it's over you'll be on the plane and it'll all be behind you."
"Yeah, until I see Harry and fear makes my entire body stop functioning." I rolled my eyes at him. "I don't know if I can do it, Finn. What if he changed his mind?"
My hands began to shake at the thought of seeing him and telling him how I felt, my natural instinct to run away at an all time high.
"Hails, listen." He said as he grabbed my hands and held them in his. "I know how hard it is for you to put yourself out there, to face this head on and tell him everything you want to. These past couple weeks I know you've been trying really hard to get to this place, and try to face all the reasons why you're so scared, and I've been really proud of you. You can do this, I know you can, and I know there is no way Harry is gonna tell you he changed his mind about you."
"I'm so fucking scared, Finn. I am more scared of telling Harry I love him than I've ever been of anything in my life. I'm trying so hard to be different, and I know I can't just flip a switch, but if I ever wanna be with him I know I have to try." I said, my voice shaking with fear just thinking about saying it out loud to his face.
I'd been going over it for the past week since I told him I wanted to meet up with him in LA, what I wanted to say and how he might react. I'd been at Sam and Finn's every night telling them I couldn't do it while they did their best to remind me that pushing him away didn't get me anywhere in the past and I had to just take the leap. The closer the time got the more scared I became and any nerve I'd gained seemed to disappear.
"Maybe I should just wait until I get back, maybe it's not fair of me to just say everything and leave." I said, trying to justify why I shouldn't tell him.
"No, you need to tell him. He deserves to know, and you know that." Finn said sternly. "Tell him everything you told me you wanted to, and I promise you Hails, he'll be nothing but happy about it."
I closed my eyes and sighed, knowing he was right but still wanted to put it off, before I turned and walked back into my bathroom and started gathering more stuff.
"You're gonna visit Gram like you promised, right?" I asked worriedly as I threw some things in my suitcase and turned to look at him.
"Yes. I promise. Someone will be there to see her every single day." He said, doing his best to reassure me. "And Sam and I will check in on the kids, make sure Ry and Kels have any help they need. Stop worrying."
"And when Harry comes for Christmas you'll tell me if he's doing okay? You won't lie if he's miserable just to make me feel better?"
"Hailey. Stop it." He laughed. "I'll keep you in the loop. I promise."
"I know, I'm sorry. I'm insane. I just...they're everything to me, Finn. If something happened while I was gone I know I'll never forgive myself." I sighed, feeling like I could cry at the thought.
"Everyone is gonna be just fine. We're all so happy for you, and we can't wait to hear all your stories when you get back. Just take some deep breaths and stop worrying." He said softly.
I took a deep breath, closing my eyes and nodding as he stood up from my bed.
"Anyways, I gotta work tomorrow so I can't come to the airport with you guys. So, I came to say goodbye." He said with a sigh, hating goodbyes as much as I do, as he pulled me into him and hugged me tightly. "I'll miss ya, Hails."
"Me too." I sighed, melting into him as he held me for a few minutes before he pulled away.
"I'll take care of everything. You go grab the world by the balls." He smiled.
"I will." I smiled. "Thanks, Finn."
He leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead before he turned and headed toward the door, leaning against the frame as he looked back at me.
"You deserve to be happy, Hails. I'll see you soon." He smiled before he disappeared into the hallway and left.
I did my best to keep it together as I finished packing, throwing in my last items before I zipped it up for good. I sighed as I looked down at it, ready to go as my clothes for the next day sat next to it. It was really happening, tomorrow was the day I got on a plane and left Lily Ridge and everyone behind for six months. Tomorrow was the day that I would hopefully have the balls to tell Harry that I was in love with him, that I wanted us to try to be together when I got back, and that I didn't wanna run away from him anymore. Tomorrow would be the day that changed my life, one way or another.