*Author's Note*
Two updates in 12 hours, I figure that should make up for the past five days! Can't wait to hear what you guys think of this one :)
Sarah <3
Hailey's POV
"Alright, kids. Wake your asses up, let's get this show on the road!" Kali said as she threw a pillow at us and Matt and I both groaned.
I had no idea what time it was, or how she even got into his building, but I just cuddled back up to Matt and tried to pretend she wasn't there. His bed was warm and cozy, and I should have known better than to think she of all people would just let us be.
"Oh hell no, you are not about to ignore me!" She laughed as she immediately jumped up on to the bed and began shaking us both until a large groan escaped Matt. "I have arrived, I'm here, wake up!"
"Jesus Christ, how did you even get in here?" He said in annoyance. "I was comfortable."
"Yeah well now you're not, so get up." She said as she chucked a pillow at his face and he immediately grabbed her ankle and she fell onto the bed at our feet. "Well that was uncalled for." She laughed as she stared up at the ceiling.
"What was uncalled for was you waking us up like that, you know how Hailey is in the morning. You could have got us both killed." Matt laughed as he stumbled out of bed and pulled a pair of sweatpants over his boxers before he grabbed a t-shirt and pulled it over his head.
"True story." I yawned. "I'm actually impressed with myself that I haven't clawed your eyes out."
"Me too." Matt smiled as he leaned down and kissed my cheek before turning to Kali. "And now that I'm up and don't wanna kill you as much, get over here and hug me."
Kali immediately jumped from the bed and into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist as he spun her around, kissing her on the cheek before he finally put her down and she jumped on top of me.
"Hailssss!" She laughed as she shook me. "Get up! We're in Torontooooo! It's time to explore!"
Matt just laughed and shook his head as he headed into the bathroom to shower, shutting the door behind him as I propped myself up on my elbows.
"Okay, how the fuck do you have this much energy?" I whined. "I'm gonna need you to tone it down for at least an hour."
"If I do will you get up?" She grinned.
"I'm already up. I will be more up after I shower and eat something. Then we can explore all you want." I yawned as I held out my pinky finger. "Deal?"
"Deal." She smiled as she wrapped her pinky around mine.
We spent the next hour or so waking up and getting ready, before we headed off to grab breakfast at this cute little restaurant around the corner from Matt's place. I was surprised to see it was almost noon by the time we got there, but I guess Toronto being three hours ahead of Lily Ridge meant it was only 8am for me. Kali caught Matt and I up on all her latest escapades in Boston, and how she was chomping at the bit to get back to Belize and see what was going on with the research we'd done while we were there. I was told more than once that it was 'balls' that I wasn't going, and I just laughed and shook my head at her. She filled us in on some of the latest gossip regarding Isaac and some girl he'd met while we were in Asia, and I just smiled and shook my head at her.
"So what are we doing tonight, Matty?" She asked as she popped a piece of bacon in her mouth.
"Actually, we're gonna have dinner with some friends. And then I have a surprise for Hails." He smiled down at me and I immediately became skeptical.
"What kind of surprise?" I asked slowly.
"The best kind." He laughed. "Relax, I'm not gonna take you out to the woods and shoot you or anything. Stop looking at me like that."
"That's only because there's no woods around here. We're in the middle of the city." I laughed and he just scoffed rolled his eyes.
We finished up lunch and spent the next couple of hours walking around Toronto, Matt taking us to all the touristy spots and showing us his favorite places, before we made our way back to his place to get ready to go out for the night. I hadn't been able to get much out of him other than he just said he'd gotten us tickets to something, so I figured that was the most info I was gonna get. Kali and I were digging through our suitcases trying to figure out what to wear as we stood there in our bras and underwear, while Matt laid on his bed throwing a ball up in the air and catching it again, when I let out an exasperated sigh.
"How the hell am I supposed to know what to wear if I don't know where we're going?" I said in annoyance.
"Just wear something nice." He rolled his eyes at me. "We're going for a nice dinner, so whatever you wear to dinner will be fine."
"That is literally zero help." Kali laughed.
Matt sighed as he rolled off the bed, pushing us both out of the way as he lifted our suitcases onto his bed and began rummaging through them.
"What is happening?" Kali chuckled as she looked over at me, before turning back to Matt. "Are you seriously trying to choose our outfits right now?"
"Shut up for a second, let me look." He said as he pulled out a little black dress and threw it at her. "You wear that."
She laughed as she held it up and looked at it, shrugging her shoulders as she unzipped it and stepped into it, and I helped do up her zipper while Matt rummaged through my bag.
"Annddd...." He mumbled as he pulled a couple things out and held them up, throwing them back into the bag and pulling something else out. "Hails, you wear this."
He tossed me a light green, long sleeved romper I had packed, which I inspected carefully and decided I really didn't have anything else to wear, before I shrugged and stepped into it. We'd already done our hair, so after we threw on some jewelry and found appropriate shoes, Kali and I were ready to go. We were waiting for Matt to finish throwing on his own clothes when his friends, Tyler and Andy, arrived and kept us company until he was ready. They both seemed very nice, and I was excited to get out for a nice dinner with new people in a new city.
After a few more minutes, Matt emerged ready to go and the five of us headed down and made the short walk to a really nice restaurant a few blocks away. I suppose that was the beauty of living downtown in a big city, everything was in such close proximity you could walk almost anywhere or take transit, and there were always tons of options at your fingertips. I had to admit though, it just confirmed my belief that I could never live in a big city since there was no nature to be seen. No mountains, no creek to lull me to sleep, no trees or rocks to climb.
Dinner was delicious, and by the time we were finished my stomach was sore from laughing so much. I'd had a couple of glasses of wine and did feel the effects of it, but Matt and his friends were hilarious. I couldn't remember the last time I'd just gone out for a nice dinner and enjoyed the company so much, and I found myself a little sad when Matt said it was time to go to wherever it was we were heading.
"Well, it was so nice to meet you guys. Kinda sucks we have to cut it short." Tyler smiled as he hugged us goodbye.
"You're here all week though, right? We should go out one night for sure." Andy said.
"Totally! That would be so fun." Kali smiled as she gave him a hug. "We all have to go out before we go."
"I'll set it up." Matt laughed before we all said goodbye, Tyler and Andy taking off one way down the street and the three of us going the other.
Kali and I each linked an arm with Matt as we made our way down the street, the warm summer air wafting around us as we walked, talking and laughing about various things. After about fifteen minutes, we turned the corner to see what looked to be some kind of alley or back entrance to something, and I immediately laughed and shook my head.
"Okay, so instead of the woods you're gonna kill me in an alley?" I laughed.
"Shut up, stop being difficult." He chuckled as he led us over to a door and knocked on it.
A few seconds later, a large man opened it, a huge smile crossing his face as his eyes landed on Matt.
"Matty!" He said excitedly. "I didn't know if you were still coming, the opening act is just ending."
"Of course I am, we're here for the main show anyways." Matt smiled.
"Alright, well come on in. I'll take you to your seats, pretty good ones if I do say so myself. This place is packed, this show has been sold out for almost a year." The man explained as he held the door open for us.
Matt introduced Kali and I as he led us down some hallway, and from what I gathered by the way they were talking, Matt had brought us to some kind of concert. Kali didn't seem to know either, so she just shrugged every time I looked at her for any type of clue as to what was going on. We finally made our way to the main area, and found our seats which looked to be about four rows from the stage, a large pink curtain hanging in front of it as everyone seemed to wait for the show to start.
We sat down, Matt smiling over at me proudly, and I just rolled my eyes at him.
"You gonna tell me who we're seeing now?" I laughed as I looked around for some kind of clue.
My eyes scanned the room, and my breath hitched in my throat when I saw something a few feet away that immediately made my heart start to race as I slowly started to piece things together. A few seats down, there was a girl wearing a t-shirt with Harry's face on it.
My eyes quickly began to scan the room, falling on more t-shirts, sweatshirts, posters and merchandise, all with Harry's name and face on them. My heart was thumping against my ribs as I realized exactly where we were, and I immediately felt like I was gonna be sick.
"Hails? Are you okay?" Matt asked worriedly as I hunched over and he made me sit down. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Matt..." I said as I closed my eyes and swallowed hard. "Who's concert is this?"
I looked up at him, worry clear in his eyes as him and Kali watched me carefully, and he looked back at me confused.
"It's...Harry Styles. I thought since you listen to his album non-stop that you might wanna see him live." He said slowly as I held my head in my hands at the confirmation of it.
It wasn't that I didn't want to see Harry live, in fact I would have been ecstatic under any other circumstance, but I was completely unprepared, a little drunk, and I had no idea how Harry would feel about it. I was close enough that he might spot me, and he would obviously think that I'd known I was going to see him and didn't bother to tell him. The whole thing was just a bizarre coincidence that I had no way of being prepared for.
I obviously hadn't told Matt or Kali that Harry was Harry Styles so they were both completely perplexed as to why I would be so shook by Matt bringing me to a concert for an artist that they both knew I listened to a lot.
"Hailey, what is it? Talk to me." Matt said as he placed his hand on my back. "Do you feel alright? Do you wanna go?"
I took a deep breath and sat up in my seat, feeling bad that he'd obviously thought I would love the surprise, and turned to look at them both watching me carefully.
"First of all, I need a fucking drink." I sighed.
"Okay...I can get you one..." Matt said slowly. "But why don't you tell us why..."
I exhaled deeply as I prepared to tell them something I knew they would have a strong reaction to, knowing I didn't exactly have a lot of time to explain it before the show started, before I closed my eyes and pulled myself together.
"Harry Styles is uh...he's Harry." I sighed.
"Yeah....that's his name..." Kali said, looking at me like I'd lost it.
Her and Matt exchanged glances, trying to figure out what the hell was going on, before they turned back to look at me.
"No...you guys, he's Harry." I said, emphasizing the name that they'd both heard me mention a number of times over the almost two years I'd known them.
They both watched me for a second, looking confused, until slowly the realization crept across their features, and both of their faces dropped.
"Wait..." Matt started. "You mean, Harry like...fucking Harry?"
"Yes." I practically whined.
"Are you telling me...your Harry...the love of your fucking life, Harry...this is, this show...." Kali started, thinking out loud.
"Yes, that is what I am telling you. Harry, my Harry, the love of my fucking life, who told me to move on with my life, is about to come out on that fucking stage and I haven't seen him in a year and I'm losing my fucking shit." I said, feeling like I could start hyperventilating any second.
"Alright, okay. Let's uh...okay, yeah..." Matt muttered. "Um, yeah no, okay. We can go, yeah we should go."
Just as he grabbed my arm to leave, the lights went down and everyone began to take their seats, essentially ensuring we couldn't leave without being in everyone's way and possibly drawing more attention to ourselves. Matt looked back at me helplessly before Kali leaned into my ear and offered her own solution.
"Okay, plan B. I'm gonna go get you like five drinks, and you're just gonna get drunk as fuck." Kali said quickly as she disappeared before I could say anything.
I looked back at Matt as a guitar started playing behind the curtain, my heart beginning to pound so hard that the beat of it was all I could hear in my ears as I tried to prepare myself for seeing Harry in a matter of seconds. I watched as a spotlight shone on the curtain, lighting up a shadow behind it and I immediately knew he was right there as his voice echoed through the room. My hands here shaking as Matt threw his arm around me and pulled me into him, kissing my forehead as I waited anxiously for the curtain to drop.
And just like that the curtain fell to the ground, and there he was.
He was standing there maybe 20 feet away, in an all black suit, holding a guitar, and looking way fucking hotter than I needed him to. I was frozen in place, unable to move and unable to tear my eyes from him as the crowd erupted around us into screams as the music for Ever Since New York began to play. He casually strummed his guitar, not really looking into the crowd much as he seemingly prepared himself to sing his first song.
I watched him carefully as he began to sing, knowing the meaning behind the song, and I suddenly felt less anxious as I listened to him pour his heart out on that stage. Of course, feeling slightly less anxious didn't stop me from throwing back three shots when Kali came back with them and then handed me a drink for each hand that I quickly began to sip on.
I could feel them both watching me worriedly, but as time went on I got a bit more comfortable as the familiar songs echoed through the room, and of course the alcohol started to help after a few minutes. I couldn't stop watching him, seeing him up there doing what he did best, and my anxiety slowly began to shift to pride.
I was proud of him, for being up there and singing songs that meant so much to him, that were so personal, sharing that with a room full of strangers. His voice was smooth and comforting, and he was every bit as good live as he was on his record. I felt Kali and Matt start to relax a bit too once they saw I wasn't so anxious, and I think it had helped the Harry had started his set with some of his more mellow songs.
"Okay, I know I probably shouldn't say this...but god damn Hails, he is fucking gorgeous." Kali leaned over and said as she took a sip of her own drink. "I'd be getting drunk as fuck too if my ex looked that good."
"I know, he looks so fucking good." I whined as I buried my head in her shoulder.
I watched him as he sang the lyrics to Two Ghosts, and I couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic as he sang about dancing in the kitchen in the middle of the night, missing those days. It was a little strange to see him up there, almost like he was a different version of the him I knew, but at the same time he was more him than I'd ever seen him. It was some weird paradox that made very little sense.
Once he finished, he addressed the crowd for the first time, and the sound of his voice sent warmth through my entire body as I watched him smile, the dimple appearing in his cheek.
"Hello, Toronto." He beamed as the crowd erupted. "How are you?"
"Alright, but how does someone go from looking like a sex god to ridiculously adorable that fast?" Kali laughed. "Who the fuck is this guy?"
"That's Harry." I sighed. "He's literally everything all at once."
"You best believe I am getting all the details on this later when we get home." She said as she nudged me.
"I'm Harry, I'm from England." He continued. "Thank you very much for having me, it's very nice to be back in Canada, it's probably the place that feels the most like home to me outside of England. You've always been very kind to me and I appreciate that."
The crowd continued to cheer for him as he spoke, his eyes continuing to look into the crowd as he seemed to make eye contact with everyone in front of him, letting them have their own little moment with him as he smiled and waved. They were completely enamored with him, and I couldn't stop watching it.
"Anyways, thank you all for coming to see me, I know I don't get to do this if it isn't for you. So from the bottom of my heart, if you have ever supported me in any way, thank you so much."
"Jesus Christ, I'm falling in love with him." Kali scoffed as she threw back her drink and I just laughed at her.
"For the next little bit my job is to entertain you, and your job is to have as much fun as you can possibly have. I know that there are a lot of things going on in the world, in life, that aren't always easy and I just want you to know that right now, in this room, you can be whoever you want to be. I love you, we all love you, and whether you are black, white, gay, straight, transgender, whoever you are or whoever you want to be is okay in this room. You are loved, and you are safe here." He said, holding his hand to his chest in sincerity, and I felt myself tear up at his message.
I looked around the room, every single person was gazing up at him with adoration. Some people were clutching pride flags, or the person next to them, and you could genuinely feel the love in the room. Harry had created a place where everyone felt loved and accepted, and as proud as I was of him for all his success, I think I was most proud of what he had done for people. He'd given them the freedom to be themselves, whoever that was, even if it was only for a short period of time.
"I want you to hold hands with the person next to you, someone you don't know, and I want you to turn to them and tell them that you love them. We have a choice every day when we wake up what we want to put out there into the world, and I ask you to please choose love. Choose love, give love, be a lover. Some days are harder than others, and I know that sometimes we don't always feel like giving, but I want you to remember this feeling in this room right now. Everyone needs more, and when you leave here tonight I want you to take the love in the room and put it out there into the world, and hopefully make a difference to someone who needs it. So here we are, all of us together, and that's a lot of love to spread. I love you from the bottom of my heart, and for the next hour or so I want you to forget about anything outside of this room. I want you to sing, dance, or do whatever makes you happy."
"Yep. Yep, that's it. I am madly fucking in love with him." Kali said as she reached over and took my drink. "Give me that."
I laughed as she sucked it back, and I just turned to look at Matt who just chuckled and shook his head.
"Can I have the house lights on, please?" Harry asked and I immediately felt my heart drop.
"Oh god..." I said breathlessly as the lights turned on and Harry began to scan the crowd.
I gripped Matt's arm, feeling him and Kali both tense beside me, as the three of us stood there just waiting for Harry to spot us. He scanned the crowed, smiling and waving at everyone as he went along, and just like that he turned his head and his eyes landed on mine.
He saw me.
I swallowed hard as he held my gaze, his green eyes burning into mine from the stage as I fought the urge to bury my head into Matt's shoulder. Part of me wanted to run and hide and never see him again, the other part of me wanted to run up on stage and rip his clothes off, but neither part won as I just stood there frozen while we stared at each other.
"Oh shit..." Matt mumbled from beside me.
It felt like we'd been staring at each other for an hour, when it was probably only a matter of seconds, before I watched Harry's mouth curl up into the biggest grin I'd ever seen. His eyes were sparkling as both of his dimples became firmly indented in his cheeks, his teeth on full display as he beamed at me from the stage.
I felt relief wash over me at the fact that he was so obviously happy to see me, but I could tell he was just as surprised to see me as I had been to be there. He smiled at me for a few more seconds before he brought his microphone up to his mouth and began to speak.
"I think I've spotted an angel in the crowd here tonight." He said excitedly with a dopey grin. "Although, who am I kidding? You're all angels."
The crowd erupted into cheers as he turned and continued his little speech to the crowd, slowly walking across the stage as he looked out at everyone.
"You know, I've been to Canada many times with my amazing friends, and every time I come back I just fall more and more in love with all of you." He started.
Again, the crowd ate it up as he smiled out at them, hanging on his every word.
"I have to say, my favorite thing about Canada has got to be the bears." He said as he turned back and grinned at me. "You know, they're all cute and cuddly, but they can rip your face right off if you poke them. Especially in the morning, do not wake a sleeping bear."
He chuckled to himself, shaking his head, and he was obviously extremely amused with himself.
"And then they hibernate in the winter, kinda disappearing for a while but then they just pop back up right when you least expect it. I bet they give the best cuddles. What sweet creatures those bears are."
"What the hell is he on about?" Kali laughed and I just rolled my eyes at him.
It was good to know his jokes hadn't improved. He kept looking back at me to see my reaction, and I couldn't contain the smile that spread across my face. That little shit knew exactly what he was doing.
"Alright, enough of my ramblings." He laughed as he walked back and placed his microphone back on it's stand. "While this room is full of angels, I myself truly only know one. This is Only Angel."
I cheered as loudly as I could as the intro began, Kali and Matt both looking at me like I had completely lost my mind, before the beat kicked in and the three of us started to bop around to it. I'd played it enough times that Matt knew it, and Kali seemed to enjoy it as Harry pranced around on stage singing it.
He made his way over to our side of the stage as he sang the second verse, looking directly at me as he sang the lyrics we both knew he'd written for me, grinning so huge that I was surprised he could sing it as well as he did. I yelled the lyrics along with him, and both of us were smiling from ear to ear as we danced around. It was by far my favorite song on the album, and hearing it live was a treat in itself, aside from the fact that Harry was practically singing it to me.
He continued with the show, restarting Kiwi twice because he didn't feel it was up to par with the reaction he'd wanted, continuously looking over to me to gauge my reaction to his diva behavior. I noticed that when he finished Sweet Creature he had kissed his H pendant that was surprisingly still hanging around his neck, and when he looked over at me I clutched mine in my hand and he smiled. He continued to shoot me little looks and smiles throughout the show, and it was obvious that he was very aware of my presence.
He ended the show with Sign of the Times, an anthem that now fit his show perfectly after I'd seen it and what it all stood for. It was his way of bringing it all together as the room lit up with cell phone lights and he belted out the lyrics about needing to move away from the chaos that the world had become. It was a powerful moment that had brought tears to my eyes, watching the man I love inspire so many people through his music, making a positive difference in the world.
After he'd done all of his bows and blown a million kisses to the crowd, he disappeared to the side of the stage and the lights came on, leaving me to turn to look at Kali and Matt who both looked equally as moved as I was. Kali had tears in her eyes and Matt looked a little awestruck, and I was proud that Harry had been able to have that affect on people who weren't even particularly fans of his.
"That was..." Matt said, sounding a little in disbelief. "I think that was the best show I've ever seen."
"He was really, really good." Kali agreed. "Wow."
I sighed as the crowd began to clear out, looking back at the stage where he had been standing just a few minutes earlier, and knowing it was time to leave. I wasn't sure what the protocol was with me seeing him after the show according to our little understanding, so I figured it was best to just leave to avoid any extra weirdness. I was just thankful I'd been able to see him, and I'd settle for that.
Matt's friend came back to get us and escort us out the back so that we didn't have to wait through the crowds, and we were just about to leave when I heard someone call my name behind us.
"Hailey!" She said as I turned around to see Anne beaming at me. "Oh Honey, I am so happy to see you!"
Matt and Kali exchanged glances as she came over and wrapped me up in a tight hug, and I realized just how much I had missed her.
"It's good to see you too." I smiled as I pulled away. "It's been way too long."
"Isn't that the truth." She smiled warmly as she turned to look at Matt and Kali. "I'm sorry, I'm Anne. I'm Harry's Mum."
"Oh, Anne these are my friends, Matt and Kali." I introduced them and Anne gave them each a warm hug.
"So very nice to meet you both." She smiled. "Well, come on then. Harry's sent me to come get you."
I swallowed hard at the thought of it, but couldn't help but smile at his tactic. He knew I could never say no to Anne. She grabbed my hand and began pulling me back down the hallway, and Matt and Kali followed nervously, shooting me a look as if to ask if I even wanted to see him. I was definitely drunk, and I had no idea what the rules were when it came to our little deal.
"Actually, I really have to pee." Kali laughed as Anne stopped walking and turned back to face us.
"Me too." Matt piped up.
"I can take you." Anne smiled. "Hailey, love. Harry is right in there, through that door. I'll take your friends and we'll meet you there."
"Okay." I said nervously as I fiddled with my outfit, Kali and Matt both mouthing 'Good luck' to me before they disappeared down the hall with Anne.
I took a deep breath and turned toward the door, a bit thankful for the alcohol in my system, knowing there was no way I'd still be there if I was sober. I closed my eyes as I knocked lightly on the door, and it felt like hours before it finally opened and I was met with those piercing green eyes and a smile that forced my own to cross my face.
"Hey, Bear." He smiled. "Come on in."
I nodded as he stepped to the side to let me in, and I entered his dressing room. I looked around and took it all in, exhaling deeply as I turned to look at him.
"So this is it, huh? The big glamorous Rockstar life." I smiled.
"Something like that." He smirked as he leaned against the wall near the door.
He was still wearing the black dress pants and shirt he'd worn on stage, but he'd tossed the jacket over the back of a chair and the top few buttons on his shirt were undone so his swallow tattoos were peeking out of it as the skin of his chest was exposed.
"It's uh, it's really good to see you." He said, awkwardly clearing his throat. "I had no idea you were in Toronto."
"Yeah, I'm just here visiting Matt before he leaves for his next contract...he um, he brought me as a surprise because he knows I like your music, he didn't know that we...you know." I muttered. "So I didn't know I was coming to your show until we got here."
I watched as he became visibly uncomfortable, but I wasn't sure why. He anxiously rubbed the back of his neck with his hand as I watched him, and I suddenly didn't feel a single ounce of awkwardness.
"Nice move, by the way." I smiled. "Sending your mother after me because you know I can't say no to that precious little face."
He instantly smiled, a light laugh escaping his lips. "Yeah well, a guy's gotta do what he's gotta do, right?"
"Apparently." I chuckled, taking a small step back as I seemingly stumbled on nothing.
Harry watched me carefully for a few seconds, before he smirked to himself and began to make fun of me.
"Well look at you, stumbles. Had a few drinks?" He laughed as he took a few steps toward me.
"I'm not drunk." I lied.
"Yes you are."
"No I'm not."
"No?" He questioned as he reached up and gently poked my shoulder, and I instantly stumbled backwards.
"Okay, maybe a little." I laughed as I steadied myself. "In my defense, you would have gotten drunk if you didn't know you were gonna see me, and then found out and didn't know, but had to, and then-"
"Hails, just stop. You don't even make sense." He laughed.
I watched as he looked at me, studying me as his eyes ran over my face, his smile slowly fading to something more serious.
"I've missed you." He said quietly, almost as if he wasn't sure if he was allowed to say it, so he was hoping I wouldn't hear him.
I just looked up at him, my entire body aching to just throw my arms around him and never let go.
"You look really good." He said. "You uh, you look happy."
I just looked at him, our eyes never leaving each other. It was almost as if we were afraid to blink, like the other would disappear if we took our eyes off them. His hair was shorter, styled differently than I'd seen it. He looked different somehow, older maybe, but he had a glow to him. He looked happy too.
"Your show was amazing, Harry." I complimented him. "I'm really, really proud of you."
"Thanks." He smiled shyly. "I um, I'm really glad you got to see it."
I bit my bottom lip as I contemplated my next question, not knowing if it was appropriate to ask, but the alcohol in my veins didn't care.
"It's ending soon right? Your tour?" I asked, nervously biting the inside of my cheek to contain my smile but I didn't think it worked.
"Yeah...October. A couple more months." He said, both of us knowing why I'd asked.
"And then what?"
"Um...I uh, I'm still figuring that out I guess." He mumbled.
I nodded, tucking my lips into my mouth in an effort to stop myself from saying things I shouldn't.
"I told your brother that maybe we'd all spend some time together with the kids, maybe a little vacation or something." He shrugged, doing his best to look nonchalant. "I don't know what you've got going on or anything, or if you're-"
He was interrupted by the door opening, Anne appearing with Kali and Matt in tow, and the three of them looked at us like they'd just walked in on something they shouldn't have. An awkward silence took over the room for a few seconds before Harry cleared his throat and put on the most polite face he could muster.
"Hi, I'm Harry." He said as he stepped toward them and held is hand out to Kali. "It's very nice to meet you."
"Kali." She smiled, and I could practically see the hearts in her eyes as she looked up at him before he turned to Matt.
I saw Harry visibly tense as he paused, the same sort of tension I'd seen from him the first time I mentioned Matt, but I had no idea why. He seemed to size him up for a minute before he cleared his throat again and offered his hand.
"Matt, right?" He smiled as he shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, I've heard a lot about you."
I scrunched my face a little, finding it odd that Harry would say that since I had hardly told him anything about Matt other than the fact that we were on contract together, but I shrugged it off as I watched Harry charm them both in the way that only he can. Kali and Matt told him how much they enjoyed the show, and the three of them chatted about their upcoming contract and where Harry was headed to next.
Anne came over and stood beside me, throwing an arm around me and kissing my head as she whispered in my ear.
"He is absolutely ecstatic that you're here, love. He's missed you so much."
I shot her a soft smile as a woman poked her head in the door, scanning the room until her eyes landed on Harry.
"Sorry, Harry. We've gotta get you to the airport or you won't make your show tomorrow." She said apologetically.
"Of course, I'll be right there." He said politely before she nodded and closed the door.
Harry sighed as he turned back to face me, his mother looking at him like she wanted to cry.
"I'm sorry, I have to go." He said, the disappointment dripping off his words. "I really would have liked to have had more time to go for dinner or something to catch up, but I guess this is just how my life goes."
"That's okay." I said, doing my best to reassure him. "We should probably get home anyway. I'm pretty tired."
Harry nodded as a silence fell over the room, Matt and Kali standing behind us awkwardly as Anne watched us.
"Uh, well Kals and I will meet you outside. We'll give you two a minute." Matt offered, and I nodded as they turned to leave and Anne followed them, leaving Harry and I alone.
I could see Harry lost in his own head, seemingly battling within himself as to what he wanted to say or what he could say. He seemed tense, almost like he was in physical pain or something, before he finally shifted his eyes and looked at me.
"It was really good to see you, Bear." He said softly, and I could have sworn I saw his eyes moisten before he blinked and it disappeared.
"Yeah, you too." I replied.
It was obvious that neither of us wanted to leave that room, but much like a metaphor for our relationship, we both knew he had to.
"Well, I guess I should go." I said, doing my best to sound perky. "Can I...is it okay if I hug you?"
I watched as a smile crossed his face, along with something that looked an awful lot like relief, before he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into him. I completely melted into him, the familiar feeling of his warmth enveloping me as the scent of him wafted through my senses, and my eyes welled up with tears at just how much I'd missed him. All of the tension and the awkwardness faded as soon as I was in his arms, and I never wanted him to let go.
He held me like that for about a minute, both of us just soaking in each other's presence, and much like the last time I'd seen him I did my best to memorize everything about it. I could have sworn I heard him sniffle as he pressed a soft kiss to my head, before he pulled away and took my hands in his, looking down at me and studying my face.
"You take care of yourself, Hails." He said softly as he pressed a lingering kiss to my forehead.
"You too."
I sighed as we stood there, both of us knowing I needed to leave, but neither of us wanting me to. I held onto the one thing that had been giving me hope for the past year since I saw him, and it gave me enough courage to look up at him and ask him for reassurance.
"October, right?" I asked.
"Yeah..." He said slowly, swallowing hard.
"Okay." I sighed, giving his hands one more squeeze before letting them go. I leaned up and pressed a lingering kiss to his cheek, seeing him close his eyes tightly before my lips met his skin, before I pulled away and looked up at him.
"See you in the hallway, Harry." I smiled softly before I stepped around him and left the room.