April's POV
"Seriously, Harry? Starbucks?"
I made myself more comfortable into Harry's grey coat, as I looked up at the random coffee shop. I peered through the thick glass in front of me, as I noticed that it was surprisingly empty for one of London’s favourite stores.
"What? It's my own little hide-out." Harry smiled down at me, as I was already following him inside the small, stylish coffee shop. Just as I presumed, there were only a few people seated there, that didn't even bother to look up when we entered. That was a good sign…probably.
We both went up to order our coffees, and soon found ourselves sitting down at a table that hopefully wouldn’t place us in the middle of the attention. I took Harry’s coat off of my shoulders, but I didn’t give it back to him. There was its addicting scent of him imprinted on it, and I didn’t exactly want to let it go…
Did I just compliment Harry’s smell?
“So…” he began, but didn’t bother to continue. From the second I glanced at him I could recognize the intense look he was giving me, like he was trying to read in my soul. It wasn’t entirely strange, as it kind of…flattered me. No one had ever been paying so much attention to me in what felt like ages.
I had to admit, though, that the silence was awkward. I tried to avoid looking at him as much as possible, but I could feel his eyes digging holes in me. None of us spoke a word; the only thing coming from our table was the sound of me sipping from the coffee. I was siently wondering what he was thinking about.
I risked looking up, regretting it almost immediately. He was still fixing me with a deep gaze, as it seemed that his green irises were shining with happiness. Wait, green?
“Are your eyes always changing?” I whispered, remembering the last time I saw them a different colour.
“Yeah, kind of.” Harry laughed shortly, taking a sip from his coffee for the first time.
“They are…nice.” I spoke absently, before even realizing it. I mentally slapped myself. Nice one, April.
He just smiled. A big, genuine smile plastered on his pink lips that soon made me mirror it. Maybe…there really was something about that grin.
“How are you feeling?” he asked out of the blue, after a couple of silent seconds.
“Um, fine, I think?” I responded in surprise.
“No, I mean, aren’t you sick anymore?” Harry continued, with a concerned look on his face.
Was that concern? Was he really worried about...me? Why?
“Oh, err... I’m good. No more sickness for the moment.” I chuckled weakly. “I’m sorry for earlier, though.”
“You don’t have to. I’m sorry that I was the reason that made you run like that.” he said cheekily.
“Shut up.” I murmured. “It’s your fault that you’re some celebrity girls are fainting over.”
“Excuse me, my fault? They love me, I can’t help that.” He laughed, acting hurt.
“Well, technically, you can’t actually love a person you don’t know.” I said proudly, but Harry pouted.
“Why not?”
“In the first place, probably because the person you supposedly love doesn’t even know you exist?” I sighed, avoiding his gaze. “You think that you know everything about them, when they never really cared about you or your existence. They…pretend to appreciate you, signing some stupid things and maybe taking a picture or two, and they soon forget that they had even met you. How can you love a person that does that?”
Harry didn’t respond for a few minutes, as he looked at me with a small frown on his face. It was obvious that he was surprised, but I was shocked myself. I didn’t even know where that came from, or that I actually felt that. But it was true somehow, although that wasn’t exactly my point.
“Love must be…mutual.” I continued, without giving him the chance to react. “It’s when two people are both interested in each other, when they…care about each other, and they feel like themselves when they’re together. Like nothing else matters. You have to understand the other person, to know their fears and hopes. You have to be their special person.” I ended, taking another long sip from the coffee. I felt extremely strange and confused, as I avoided Harry’s gaze. Not only because I wasn’t even aware that I knew those things, but most of the time I was speaking I had his image in my head. But I didn’t love Harry, I barely even knew this guy. Besides that, I used to hate him. So I couldn’t suddenly fancy him now, of course.
Or could I?
“Do you always come up with these speeches in the morning?” he chuckled after a few minutes, as I reached to him over the table to give him a small poke. “So…you said that I have to know..things about someone before I could love that person, isn't that right?” he continued, this time with a more serious voice.
I did, but I wasn’t sure how to respond. Why, from all my previous “monologue” he decided to ask me this question?
I nodded.
“Yeah, then I agree with you.” Harry spoke slowly, looking into my eyes with sincere eyes “But let’s suppose that the person is technically a stranger; you barely even know each other. Though, they keep invading your mind; you can’t help but think about them, every minute of…every day. And you feel that you want to know every little thing about them, but you have no idea how to…know them. What do you do?”
During the next moments, I felt all defeated by all the emotions showing up on my face; shock, realization and…disappointment. Shock, because everything he said was describing my last week perfectly; the way he showed up in my mind, while his smile couldn’t let me breathe, and then the realization, remembering that all those things stopped when I met Harry again a few days ago. But I couldn’t explain how, or why. The disappointment though, was another story; I didn’t want to admit it, Mostly because I couldn’t believe that I actually felt sad as now I knew that there was a girl in his mind. A girl out there, that was making him feel everything he made me believe. And that was the proof to my point, again. It didn’t matter if I liked their “One Direction” music or not, to him I was just like any other fan.
But that was okay with me; he could do whatever he wanted with his life. The thing that was pissing me off was that I knew he had seen all my feelings written on my face, and I couldn’t let him see me weak.
“Oh, um, I…err…” I stuttered, as my cheeks flushed red. I shook my head; I couldn’t do this. No. I…
Suddenly, I felt something warm covering my hand, and I could feel my cheeks burning even more. I looked down, noticing Harry’s hand gently squeezing mine over the table, just like he did earlier. I didn’t know why, but wherever he did that, he’d give me a strange sensation of…peace. It was like, only his gently rub on my hand was calming me at least a little bit.
“Hey, it’s okay. Just say what you need to say, I won’t mind.” He smiled reassuringly, but I narrowed my eyes.
“Why would you mind?”
Did I see his cheeks turning a little pink? His eyebrows jumped up in surprise as he spoke.
“Weren’t you going to say….Never mind, just answer that question.”
I rolled my eyes; very convincing. But I didn’t want to insist on this subject at the moment.
“Um…what I would do? I guess…I’d keep trying. If you are really…interested in someone, show it. And at some point, that person should realize that they can really trust you, and I guess that they should give you a chance.” I muttered, trying hard not to roll my eyes. “But why in the world am I giving you advice on ‘how to get a girlfrined’?”
“You’ll see.” He smirked cheekily at me, and I tried not to get redder than I already was.
“You’re such a weird lad.” I chuckled, although my voice sounded a little strangled.
“And that’s why you love me.” Harry smirked, wiggling his eyebrows. I choke on my coffee that was now almost finished.
“Love? Nope, I don’t think so.” I grinned innocently, but he pouted.
“Of course you do, you don’t need to hide it.”
“Don’t make me come back to the love subject."
I was laughing, but Harry just fell silent, staring intently at his drink. Suddenly, a wide grin formed on his lips, and I knew that I was going to regret it.
“Then, what do I have to do to make you love me?” he asked, emphasizing the word "you".
Yes, instant regret.
“Stop it.” I murmured.
"Stop what?"
“This!” I exclaimed, removing my hand from his and fluttering it in front of him. “This cheeky smile and flirty attitude of a hot pop star. It doesn’t work on me.”
“I wasn’t…Wait, you think I’m hot?”
“You’re unbelievable.” I groaned, grimacing at him. He just laughed.
“Alright, I’ll let you win this time. But don’t worry, you won’t get away only with this.” Harry giggled. “Oh, by the way, the lady sitting on that bench outside your house was your grandmother?”
What a subtle way to change the subject, I though as I nodded quickly.
“Yes, I live with my grandma.”
“But then where are your parents…?” he continued, as my expression changed. And he noticed that. “Oh, um, we don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
“No, it’s okay. "I smiled slightly at him, and continued in a weak whisper. "I've never met my father, but he is probably dead by now anyway. My mother died right after I was born.”
“I’m…sorry.” He murmured, but I shook my head, still smiling.
“Don't be. I told you that it was okay.”
“So, is your grandma working, or something?”
“She sometimes sells houses or flats to people through some real estate company, and I usually get some part time jobs, but our house was my mother’s, actually.” I saw Harry looking in confusion at me, so I added. “You know, Rachael Bennett, she was an actress at the theatre you had..that concert.”
He pondered the things for a moment, then his eyes widened; his jaw dropped. Did I say something wrong…?
“You…You’re Rachael Bennett’s daughter? And…oh my God, your last name is Bennett?”
I laughed at his last question.
"It's not funny, you never told me your full name." he pouted, sticking his tongue out at me. "But seriously, you really are Rachael Bennett's daughter?'
“Yes. What’s so weird about it?”
“My mother loved her playing! She always bought tickets to see her at the theatre, even before I was born.” Harry smiled.
“Really?” I raised my eyebrows in surprise. I knew that my mother was “popular” when she was actress, but I thought that people forgot about her after she died.
“She would love it so much to meet….” He continued, ignoring my question, but then he stopped. I also widened my eyes, as I took the last sip from my coffee. We were just staring at each other, processing the fact that he casually invited me to meet his mother.
After a few minutes of silence, he got up slowly.
“I think I’ll go and get some more coffee, okay?” he asked quickly, and I nodded.
“Oh, and Harry?” I said, as he was already walking away. He turned around, and I smiled sweetly. “I would love to meet your mother sometime."
I smirked mischievously as I turned back to the table, the image of Harry’s cheeks turning red and his jaw dropping imprinting in my head. It was so fun to tease him! As I thought about it, he really was a weird guy. But, at the same time, he wasn’t like I previously judged. Sure, he was still the conceited guy on the outside, but the more time I spent with him, the more I noticed that he could just be like any other normal, cheeky boy. Most of the time, he made me forget that he was actually a celebrity. He made me feel... safe, happy. So I was wondering....
"Sitting alone?"
I jumped out of my skin when a gentle voice spoke from behind me. I turned around with the speed of a lightning, and I froze in my spot. Oh no, that was...not good. Why, oh God. Why now?
I cussed for several times inside my head, before I managed to stutter a few words to the person wearing a giant grin.
"W-What are you d-doing here?"
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Hey peeps,
Writer's block strikes again, ruining my hopes to upload sooner -_- BUT, the good news is that I have planned out the next few chapters, so they should come up quicker.
So, so, please don't mind the parts that are too cheesy, I was still under the influence of Titanic when I wrote most of the chapter. Oh well, we've got a surprise guest there! Who may be, who may be? Well, you don't have many choices anyway, haha, but it will complicate the things a little bit ^^
Vote, comment, fan! Love you <3
~Lilly~