gif is of another version to sydney ( ariana grande )
C H A P T E R ~ N I N E
Gemma and Sydney ran through the crowded and cold streets of downtown Louisville, in search of a cab or car with Harry and the rest of the band in it. They knew the SDF airport was nowhere near downtown but decided to look there first anyway. So if Harry was not in a car, he was very far away from them.
After quite a while of running with no sighting of Harry yet, the two girls sat on a bench next to a building where Sydney was on the verge of tears. "We're not going to find him, are we?" She sulked, her big eyes looking up at Gemma sadly.
Gemma frowned sympathetically. She didn't want to tell Sydney that the chances were actually quite slim, and Harry was probably at SDF right now. "Just have hope, okay?"
"Okay." Sydney said quietly, but it was obvious she had lost all hope already. "There's one last place we could look, I guess."
"What is it?" Gemma asked. She definitely did not like to see Sydney like this, even if she had only just met her. It was disheartening to see a young girl about her age so sad over her little brother.
"This place I used to work." Sydney explained, and she was already standing up as if she were ready to sprint towards it in that moment. "Starbucks, it was on third street."
Gemma looked at the street sign next to them. "We're on second street now, do you wanna check?"
"Yeah." Sydney nodded, her eyes full of sadness and lost hope. They almost seemed empty but full at the same time. "I think we should hurry, because I forgot my ex-boss' children at the airport."
"Oh." Gemma laughed. "Well, we better hurry then."
♣
When they finally got to Starbucks on Third Street, Sydney was the first to step inside. Gemma followed, and she smiled at the sound of the door chiming. But when she saw that the store was completely empty, with the occasional customer and barista as an exception, both Gemma and Sydney felt like giving up.
"He's not here." Sydney said in a low tone of voice. "Maybe we should just... give up."
"I don't know..." Gemma had a weird feeling. "How about we check a few more streets?"
Sydney hiccuped, which was weird because she hadn't been before. "Okay." She said. "But I have to go to the bathroom first."
Sydney disappeared into the hallway with the bathrooms, and Gemma took the opportunity to look out the window. The streets of Louisville were busy ones, and it seemed like a vast majority of passing cars were yellow ones-- cabs with checkered patterns on the side. People walked dogs and talked on phones while walking, and snow flurried lightly.
Suddenly she heard a toilet flush, and assuming it was Sydney she gazed in the direction of the bathrooms. She felt her stomach lurch when she saw her little brother, and his eyes remarkably widened when he met her gaze.
"Harry." She said lowly, careful so Sydney wouldn't hear while she was in the bathroom. She'd have a fit. "Why are you here?"
"I should ask the same!" He exclaimed, tussling with his hair. He walked over and gave Gemma a hug, then walked to the till and grabbed a drink and a brown paper bag. "Did you come here with anyone, I thought I heard someone else?"
Gemma didn't know whether to speak up or not. But then another toilet flushed, and out came Sydney. She looked at Gemma, confused, then when she looked at Harry she completely flipped. "Harry!" She squealed, and he turned to face her before freaking out as well.
"Sydney!" He yelled, and the two hugged in a tight embrace. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again." He said when they pulled away. The both of them were smiling like idiots.
"Me either!" Sydney laughed. "I thought you'd be in your private jet just about now."
"Nope." He said, "I needed a bathroom break desperately. And it just so-happened to be at my favorite coffee shop. The same shop I didn't see you at yesterday when I wanted to say goodbye."
"Oh." Sydney remembered that she had left the job yesterday, which was Tuesday. "I kind of quit."
"What?" Harry seemed confused. "But that's how I met you, Sydney. You're my barista."
"That's one of the reasons I quit." Sydney's head hung low. "I didn't just want to be your barista, Harry. I wanted to be more."
"Sydney, I--"
"I wanted to be more than just 'Harry Style's Barista'. I wanted to be Harry Style's girlfriend. But you make more money in a concert than I do in a year, and I just don't understand how that'd work. It made me feel like I was some sort of inferior. "Barista"." She said, "Don't you just hate to be known as a "Barista"?"
Gemma watched the whole conversation unfold, and she could safely say she felt Sydney's pain. A label had grown on her, and it wasn't one that she could control. All because of a occupation she had.
"But you weren't just a barista." Harry said. "You were my friend."
"Were?" Sydney was clearly upset. "But now since I'm not a barista anymore, I'm not your friend. Because you don't have anyone in Chesire who'll serve you up a tall caramel macchiato with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry on top."
Harry shook his head. "No, that's not what I mean. You were my friend Sydney, but I want you to be more. Will you come to Chesire with me?"
So much was unraveling in this small Starbucks shop it was crazy. By now a crowd had formed, and people were snapping pictures and taking photos. A select few teens were asking for phone numbers and autographs from Harry and Gemma.
But Sydney knew she couldn't go. She had a student teaching career to fufill. She couldn't throw all those years of education down the drain. "Harry, I'm trusting you when I ask if I should go with you." she said.
The whole shop was filled with silence.
"No." Harry finally said. "You shouldn't. You have too much here that you've already built on. Louisville is your home. And I'm just a visitor. Maybe we should just part ways, Sydney."
That's exactly what Gemma and Sydney didn't want to hear. She was hoping he'd come up with a better solution than to just leave and never come back.
"Okay." Sydney said meekly, and all she wanted to do was go home and cry. "I'll miss you, Harry."
"We can stay in touch." He said. "I have your number, you have mine."
"I'll try to come to your concert next year in Louisville for your next tour." Sydney contributed. "We can meet up somewhere."
"Yeah." Harry agreed, and the crowd around them started humming something that sounded like a bunch of "awe"s. "I'll miss you loads, Syd."
"Likewise." She wiped her eyes, probably filling with tears, and gave Harry the tightest hug she could. When they pulled away, Harry stared into her eyes and she stared into his. He rested his forehead on hers, and it looked something like from a romance movie. Except one of them was leaving the other, and that is not a movie or fairytale ending.
"And Sydney," Harry added.
"Yeah?"
"You may not have the highest IQ, but you're a smart girl." He encouraged. "You're going to be a teacher, and look at me. I dropped out of high school."
Sydney giggled. "Only because you wanted to be a singer."
"Maybe." Harry laughed along. "But maybe because I had to have a backup plan to cover for my terrible ability of picking up new skills."
Sydney laughed. "I'm stupid, too. Join the club."
Harry checked his watch and sighed. "Sydney, I have to go." He said sadly, and gave her one last hug.
"Okay," She gave in easily. "Bye Harry."
He turned on his heel and started toward the door, his drink and bag still in each hand. "Bye, love." He said without turning back around. Sydney caught one last glimpse of the pop star that she could call her friend before he opened the door and walked out. After he was gone, the only thing to comfort her was the sound of the door chiming.
"Hello, welcome to Starbucks! My name is Brooke and I'll be your barista today."
Sydney quickly turned around and she found herself eye to eye with her ex boss. Knowing she had left the woman's children at the airport alone, and that she was being treated as a customer, and that Harry was gone, and a lot of other things, Sydney ran out the shop-- crying.
And Gemma just stood there, unsure of what to do or say. "Tall vanilla bean frappe." She said shakily. "To go."