- Autumn's Point of View -
I would've turned on my heel and sat next to Rita if it were my choice. Instead, I was forcefully sitting next to my dad as he acted young and cool around those five boys.
He had interrogated me the night before on how I knew one of his clients. He didn't know Harry, because he and mum had become distant long before the divorce and before we actually got closer to Anne and her family. It was better that way, less awkward than it already was.
I crossed my legs and acted busy, when I was actually playing a game on my phone. I could feel stares and wasn't brave enough to look up and see who was the culprit.
They were discussing something about the album and schedules. I didn't exactly care, so I wasn't paying any attention whatsoever. It wasn't like I was going to be able to pay attention if I wanted to in the first place. He was here.
I got out of my seat, fed up with the quiet stares, and walked inside, despite my father's silent pleas to stay. I wasn't some sort of magnet that was keeping them. They weren't going to agree with my dad's ideas just because I was there. I was of no importance.
I heard a quiet 'excuse me' and footsteps coming inside. I rolled my eyes, knowing who it was. Ignoring the footsteps coming to a stop directly in front of where I was sitting, I picked up a book and started reading, not caring what it was. After a few seconds of reading and ignoring his clearing of throats to get attention from me, I realized I was reading a Harry Potter book. I turned to the cover and grinned at the worn out drawing.
"You're still difficult to reach, I see," he said, and I looked up.
"The bathroom's over there," I pointed toward where I had shown Niall and Liam only twenty minutes ago.
He shook his head, "I don't need it. I wanted to talk to you."
"You already are," I said and turned back to my book, ignoring his annoyed sigh.
He grabbed my book and held it out of arm's reach, giving me a satisfied smile when I crossed my arms and looked at him, "I'm listening."
"Hi!" he said loudly, grinning and moving closer to give me a hug.
He wrapped his arms around my waist and squeezed me tightly, while I stiffly waited for him to let go. It was like getting a hug from a stranger, but worse.
He pulled back, "Tough crowd."
I let out a small laugh, "Always."
"So," he said, sitting on the armrest of my chair, "What's happened back home since I left?"
I shrugged, "Nothing, really. At the beginning of when you left, Will kept gloating about how his best friend was famous."
"What do you mean by at the beginning?"
"No one in town really cares anymore," I said, being honest, "We've moved on."
"I mean," I continued, realizing it sounded rude, "We're proud of you and all, but it's not that big of a news anymore."
He nodded, "I understand."
"Everyone still loves you, though," I blurted out.
He turned and smiled, jumping on my lap and hugging me, "Even you, Grumpy?"
"Don't get your hopes too high," I replied and he laughed.
He hugged me tightly, "Don't worry. You'll fall in love with me eventually."
"Excuse me?" I said, raising one eyebrow at him.
He just grinned at me like the cocky bastard that he was and shrugged, "They all do."
I shook my head. Fame had really gotten to his head, hadn't it? The idiot thought he could make any girl, including me, fall in love with him? Moving on to the next joke. Then again, he had always been a confident, arrogant boy, running after every girl in sight, except for me. I was off-limits, since we were practically family. I knew all of the weird things Harry did and all of his disgusting habits, so how could I ever like him in that way? Honestly...
"Get off of me, before I get my pepper spray out," I said and he jumped off automatically, hands in the air, like he was being arrested.
I laughed, "Thank you," I said, patting off the imaginary dust off of my lap.
"Age has been," he gave me a once-over, "very kind."
He wiggled his eyebrows at me. The weird little pervert.
"Autumn," my dad said as he walked in, making me jump, "We're going out for ice cream. You want to join?"
I gave him a curious expression, "Didn't you guys just eat ice cream?"
Niall nodded as he came in, followed by Liam, Zayn, and Louis, "We did."
"Then why would you-" Louis cut me off by pulling me out of my seat.
"Ice cream is the greatest food ever invented!" he said, looking out into the horizon dramatically.
And to think I just met him...
"Autumn," he said, sounding very secretive.
He came closer and whispered in my ear,"Do you scream for ice cream?"
I nodded, going along with his act, "I do, Captain Tomlinson. I do."
He grinned, "Fantastic then!" then pulled me toward the door while skipping, "Onward we go!"
I had a feeling I was going to get along with Louis Tomlinson just fine.
Everyone followed behind us as we walked down the path from our neighborhood into the city, filled with the best stores and restaurants. After a few minutes of walking and occasionally stopping to go into a store or admire a piece of art, we walked into an old-style ice cream parlor, who's sign also said it was a pharmacy. I thought these kinds of parlors would be gone by the 21st century. I guess I was wrong as we walked in to a brightly colored shop with booths and a real jukebox. On the corner, there was indeed a mini pharmacy, where an old woman with red hair was getting her medicine.
"This is an old favorite," my dad said, coming in last.
I'd never been here, considering I'd never even been to California. The fact that my dad had an old favorite here in California and I didn't was a sort of sad reminder that he hadn't exactly been there at all. Yet, the boy standing behind me with the curly hair had, but had only been absent for the past two years. He seemed like a more favorable person to forgive than my dad.
Actually, Harry hadn't done anything wrong to be forgiven in the first place. He had just gone out and followed his dreams. It was me who took his leaving to heart and was being selfish. Why was I even so resentful towards him?
I played with my messy, brown hair as the boys ordered God knows how much ice cream all on my dad. My eyes widened as each boy got sundaes that might've weighed as much as me altogether. Okay, maybe I was exaggerating a bit, but still. It was a lot of ice cream.
I underestimated how long it would take for them to finish, for every few seconds, one of them would stop and groan 'brain freeze', then continue scarfing it down his throat. Liam was the only one who had refused to use a spoon for his sundae, because of some strange phobia of his and was using a fork instead. After a while of eating, Harry stopped for a few seconds, seeming a little dazed, then turned to me and smiled, pushing his plate over.
"Want some?"
I shook my head, already feeling full just by looking at them, "I already ate some at home."
He pushed it closer to me, "I insist."
I shoved it toward him, "No, I insist."
"Can't you be fun for once in your life?"
I glared at him, "I am fun, Harold."
He raised his eyebrows at me and smirked, "Doesn't seem like it from here."
I was sick and tired of Harry Styles's taunting. I grabbed the spoon from him, took a heaping amount of ice cream and shoved it into my mouth.
"Happy?" I said, even though he could barely understand me since I was still trying to swallow the ton of strawberry ice cream in my mouth.
"Ecstatic."
Then I felt it. The cold burning in my mouth, wearing me out. My eyes were watering and my mouth was on fire. I flapped my hands around my mouth like an idiot, trying to make the fire stop. I forcefully swallowed it and sighed when it went away.
"Aren't you pretty?" Harry said as he showed me his phone.
He had taken a picture of my dilemma, me not noticing. My hands were fanning my mouth, making me look like a bird, and I had a terrified expression, like I was going to die.
"Delete it," I said, being dead serious.
"Okay," he said, surprising me by how easily he gave in.
The Harry I knew would usually put up a fight. Nice to know he had changed for the good for one thing.
"Though," he continued, "I don't know how that's going to help the fact that I already posted it on Twitter."
"You what?!" I shrieked, causing people in other booths to turn around and stare.
Niall and Zayn stopped eating to hold me back from pouncing on him.
My father tried calming me down, "Now, now, Fall. It was just a joke."
"Yeah, Fall," Harry said, mimicking my dad, irritating me even more, "It was just a joke."
"I will kill you in your sleep," I said as I calmed down.
"Maybe next week," he said and smiled at me sweetly, "I have a photoshoot this week."
Two words. One imbecile. My nightmare. Harry Styles.