I think a Mitch POV is what we all need
...
Mitch
Harry Styles is one lucky son-of-a-bitch to have a friend like me.
He ran his plan by me to try to win Amelia back a couple of days ago. At first I thought he was crazy, which he probably is, but I agreed because of how lovesick he sounds. Honestly, he's lucky that I like Amelia and that I want it to work out with them. They are unnecessarily cute together it blows my mind.
So here I am, driving through New York City while looking for Amelia's apartment with Harry's request in tow. I already feel jet lagged having come from California. I landed probably two hours ago and my body hasn't adjusted to the time difference yet. It's not a huge difference but it's enough to make me irritable.
I'm still in shock over how this situation has affected Harry. I knew that he cared for Amelia, more than any other girl he had been with, but seeing it unfold like this baffles me. He really loves her and it's obvious that she loves him too. It's frustrating that things ended up like this but hopefully they can make up. I worry about them if they don't, specifically Harry because I can actually see how it's affecting him. I have no idea how Amelia is.
I talked to her twice since that day at the hotel. I called her later that night to make sure she was okay, which she wasn't. And then I texted her last week to check in on her. She sounded decent that day, but it was over text so I have no doubt she wasn't telling me the whole of how she felt. I opted not to tell Harry I had been in contact with her because it probably would have caused him more pain.
I sigh heavily as I park outside of the apartment building where she lives. I can't even believe I found parking, honestly. It's like I was meant to be here, which gives me hope that something good will come out of the day.
As I'm exiting my car, I notice an old lady coming out of the apartment complex. I quickly grab Harry's request and hurry over to her, taking the door from her hands. She smiles at me, thinking I just wanted to hold it for her. While that's not entirely untrue, I return the smile.
Harry said Amelia is in apartment 14C. I walk up the stairs to the third floor and quickly find her door where the gold numbers and letter are plastered on it. I take a breath before I knock. I have absolutely no idea how I'm going to explain my presence, but I hope I can think of something on a whim.
Unfortunately, I am not greeted with Amelia. Instead, her roommate swings the door open, a cold gaze in her green eyes. Her overall presence is unnerving and I wonder why Amelia liked her so much. Maybe something shifted and her demeanor is just worse now but she seems like she is straight out of Mean Girls.
"Who are you?" She asks me, her tone unwelcoming.
"You must be Shannon," I say, outstretching my hand. She doesn't take it, which is half expected, so I awkwardly retreat. "I'm a friend of Amelia's," I continue. "I was wondering if she's around."
Shannon rolls her eyes.
"She doesn't live here anymore. Moved back in with her parents last week," she tells me with a huff.
Figures.
I should have expected this would be anything less than easy. I thought finding a parking spot out front was a good sign but I suppose not.
"Great," I mutter.
Shannon's narrows her eyes at me.
"You're a friend of Harry's too," she comments. I nod. "Well you can tell him that he ruined my relationship with my best friend and that he can go to hell."
And just like that, she slams the door in my face.
I can't help but snort at her juvenile behavior. I technically know what went on between Shannon and Amelia, but it must have been worse than I imagined since Amelia moved out. I could only imagine what the fight must have been like.
I sigh and turn on my heel, walking back out of the rundown building. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I quickly dial Harry up as I make my way out to my car.
"How'd it go?" Harry frantically answers.
"It didn't," I tell him. "She wasn't here, mate. She moved out. Shannon said she's with her parents now but I don't know where the fuck they live."
"Oh - uh - well they're not terribly far away," Harry tells me, his voice shaking slightly. I know he's angling to ask me to drive there but he doesn't want to push it. He already knows I am doing him a huge favor by coming all the way to New York. "They're out east on Long Island. Maybe an hour and a half drive..."
I unlock my car and get into it, sighing as I do. As much as I don't want to drive, I've already made the trip so I might as well. It's all or nothing. Plus I promised Harry and I don't break my promises.
"Alright," I give in. "Text me her address, yeah? I'll swing by. But I swear to God, Harry, if she's not there, I might actually have a stroke."
I vaguely hear Harry chuckle on the other end.
"Thank you so much, Mitch. She should be there," he reassures me. "I know she has off this week so she won't be in class. But if for some reason she's not there, hopefully one of her parents is."
"Okay," I sigh. I run a hand through my hair. "And by the way, Shannon said you ruined her and Amelia's relationship and that you can go to hell," I laugh.
Harry scoffs.
"Bullshit. That's not at all what happened," he says.
"I know, I know. I thought it was more comical than anything. She seemed really pissed but she's the one that started this whole thing. It's quite hypocritical."
Harry laughs bitterly.
"It's ridiculous, that's what it is. If it weren't for her, I would be happy and content with my girlfriend right now. She wouldn't have gotten in my head," he tells me. "Not that I can entirely blame her though..."
"We'll fix it, Harry," I tell him. "Now let me go and text me Amelia's address so I can head out before it gets dark."
Harry and I exchange goodbyes and within a minute he sends me Amelia's address. I plug it into the GPS and he's right. It's only about an hour and a half away. It's not too far but the thought of driving back to my hotel later is not appealing. But I opt not to think of that until the time comes.
...
It takes me a little quicker than I thought to get to Amelia's. I sped a little plus traffic was decent so I'm happily surprised to arrive nearly 15 minutes early.
I huff as I park outside her house. There's only one car in the driveway, which is the blue Mustang Harry bought for her for Christmas. I thought he was insane for buying it for her but he sounded so happy when he found it at the dealership. He FaceTimed me to show it to me and he wore a huge grin the whole time. It was actually quite endearing.
Once again I exit the car with Harry's item and make my way to the front door. I vaguely hear children screaming from upstairs, leading me to believe at least someone is home.
I knock on the door and shift on the balls of my feet while I wait. Finally, I breathe a sigh of relief when I see the familiar face of Amelia Christmas open the door.
She looks the same as when I last saw her, but more sullen. Like Harry, I think she's lost weight and she looks exceptionally tired.
"Mitch?" She asks, furrowing her eyebrows at my surprise appearance.
"Hey Amelia," I say, awkwardly smiling at her.
"I - uh - I wasn't expecting anyone," she says. "Uh, come in. It's just me and my siblings home right now."
She swings the door open further and I thank her as I follow her in. It's a cute house, much better than her apartment. It's a decent size and decorated nicely. Pictures of her and her family litter the walls giving it a homey feel to it which I especially like. They seen family oriented.
"Can I get you anything to eat or drink?" Amelia asks as we pass through the kitchen.
"Oh, no. I'm okay. Thank you though," I respond.
The air isn't exactly uncomfortable between us, but it's definitely uneasy as neither of us entirely knows what to say. I follow Amelia into her sitting room, sitting on a chair opposite from where she sits on the couch. She quickly turns off the television to her side and directs all of her attention to me.
"How are you?" She asks, timidly.
"I'm good," I reply. "I can't complain honestly. How are you?"
She laughs, slightly.
"How do you think I am?" she asks.
I give her a sad smile.
"Honestly? Not great," I say.
"Spot on."
"You moved out of your apartment, I see. I stopped by there earlier and Shannon told me you live here now."
Amelia rolls her eyes. I can tell she's pissed by the expression on her face. It's one I rarely see on her. The only time I saw something even remotely like it was when she stormed out of Harry's room the night of the incident.
"Obviously you know what happened," she tells me. I nod. "When I got back to our place that night, I went off. I couldn't understand why she would do something like that. She had some sort of excuse and then she tried to twist it like Harry was the bad guy. She kept going off about him and she threatened to tweet about it so everyone would know what an awful person he is-"
"But he's not an awful person. I mean yeah shit hit the fan but he's not a bad guy," I interject, feeling a bit defensive over Harry.
"I know," she sighs. She looks beyond distressed. "I think that was what really made me move out. I could almost live with her jealousy but I couldn't take her trying to make Harry seem like this...horrible monster."
Amelia looks down at her hands a fiddles with her fingers. I can tell she's deep in thought, most likely about Harry.
"I - uh - Harry fucked up," I say, causing Amelia to look up at me again. "That's why I'm here. He knew that a phone call or text wouldn't do so he asked me to come drop something off to you since he can't get off work. He's in London right now."
Amelia's silent as I reach forward and hand her Harry's request. She looks at before hesitantly taking it in her hands.
"He's really sorry, Amelia. He knows he fucked up. He didn't know what to do for the longest time. He was just moping around. Refused to talk to anyone, really. But something in him snapped the other day and he came up with that," I point to the stack of papers in Amelia's hand.
She reads the first page over and over, her eyes dancing as she does.
"'To Amelia'," she reads.
She looks up at me, an anxious expression on her face. Harry wrote her a replica of her thesis paper, using his own words to describe his love for her. It's incredibly cheesy and sappy but it's what he wanted to do.
"I can leave if you want to read it alone-"
"No," Amelia cuts me off. "Please stay."
I nod and give her a reassuring smile.
"Yeah, of course," I tell her.
She smiles at me graciously before flipping over the title page, her eyes skimming over the words Harry wrote for her. I pull out my phone and send a quick text to Harry, just letting him know that I'm with Amelia. I don't go into detail about how it's going quite yet. I can't tell where Amelia stands right now. It's obvious she still has some kind of feelings towards Harry because of her need to protect him against Shannon, but I just hope that this paper is enough.
I hope this works out.