Simon had arrived home much sooner than expected. They all had.
The moment he stepped into my bedroom, he had run over to my bed and jumped in next to me.
For the next hour he let me cry into his shoulder, moan about everything. Complain at how unfair everything was.
It was exactly what I had needed. My older brother.
"It'll be okay - you don't have to see him again, he will not hurt you again."
"I just don't get it, I love him and I don't get why that wasn't enough for him," I spoke sadly, looking up at Simon. "And hey - Wait - how come you're back so early? I thought tour wasn't ending until the first week of December? You've only been gone for six weeks?"
"Well, we hired a new manager, Vik's friend from America, but then Harry stopped turning up to meet and greets so we decided to cancel it and give everyone refunds."
"He stopped turning up? Why?"
"Because he was reminded of the situation. He probably felt guilty." Simon guessed.
I nodded my head. I had gone a while without contacting him, and although I would never admit it, it killed me.
I was so used to waking up next to him, going to sleep next to him. I was used to seeing his text messages pop up. Cute little messages that would get me through the day.
And in the space of a day it had been ripped away from me.
"Well anyway, Vik's friend - our manager, sorry, Eloise, she's staying here for a while. So you have another friend if you need her." He spoke quietly, giving me one last squeeze before leaving the room.
Once again I was left alone with my thoughts.
Why had he done it?
Why was he denying it so furiously?
Could there be the possibility he was telling the truth?
No, Sophie. You can't think that, it'll be the cause of your misery.
But what if I gave him the benefit of the doubt and I just - text him?
No.
As if on cue, my twitter notification went off.
I still had my alerts on for when he tweeted. The first time since the whole rumour started.
I didn't do it.
I audibly groaned. Why was he taking this public? It was already bad enough with the pictures spreading like wildfire over twitter.
I swore under my breath before touching his icon and selecting message.
direct message - wroetoshaw
Harry, you need to stop with this cryptic tweet shit
Give me some time to explain. Please.
Harry I've told you so many times now, it's over
You stopped messaging me for ages.
That was because I actually broke my phone
You broke it? How?
Threw it against the wall
But that's not the point
We're still over
Sophie, I love you. With absolutely everything in me. I'm not a cheater. I would never even dream of cheating on you. All I'm asking is if we can meet up and I can talk. I promise I'll leave you alone after that if you still don't believe me.
Fine
Really?
Sure. I'll meet you in the coffee shop we used to go to. I assume you know which one I'm talking about.
Yes I do
Today?
Three
Done. I love you
Seen
I had absolutely no clue why I had just agreed to that. I wasn't even sure the big brother instinct in Simon would let me go to see Harry. I was going to have to lie.
This would be the first time I would have stepped out of the house since tour - and honestly? I was bricking it.
It was nearing two in the afternoon, and the coffee shop we had agreed on was the other side of London. I would have to leave now to make it there on time.
I was stuck in couch clothes, it would have to do. I wasn't going to make an effort just to hear him out today.
I made the mistake of looking in the mirror, causing me to groan at the reflection. I looked like absolute shit. My eyes were swollen - from crying so much from this whole ordeal.
I had broken out, most likely due to the stress. My eye bags stuck out like a sore thumb; sleep had not come easily the last couple of weeks.
I could hear voices down in the kitchen - definitely JJ, Simon and Freya. That meant Josh was probably with them too, and Vik and his friend, Eloise, were probably in his room.
I wrote a little note, popping it on the table by the front door explaining that I had gone out for a walk, before slipping out of the door and walking out of our drive.
Taking a bus would be my best bet, and I prayed to whoever existed up there that no one would recognise me.
***
I'm here, sat outside.
I heard my phone go off, quickly reading the twitter message that Harry had sent. I was walking down the road that accommodated the coffee shop, I would be seeing him in person in less than two minutes.
I had no idea what I was going to say to him, how I would react. I wondered if this was a bad idea, if I should just turn back whilst I could.
I pondered on that thought, but pushed it to the back of my head. I could do this. I could get answers.
The bell rang as I pushed the door open, the overwhelming smell of coffee attacking my senses.
His back was turned, I could tell from his unruly hair that it was him. My heart was hammering in my chest just at the sight of him. I wanted to hug him, I wanted him to hold me, to tell me this was all a dream. That me and him were okay. That none of this had happened.
"Harry?" I whispered, now just standing a little behind him.
He whipped his head around sharply, standing up quickly when he heard my voice. He cocked his head to the side, as if he was taking me in, before I saw his eyes glisten - he was close to crying.
"Sophie," he replied, unsure of what to do. We were both unsure of what to do. To shake hands? To hug? Or to just avoid contact?
We avoided contact. I sat opposite him, placing my phone on the table as he swivelled in his chair.
"Thank you so much for coming to hear me out, I," he began. "I - these last few weeks have been complete hell for me," he spoke earnestly, his expression soft.
I nodded my head. "For me too."
"Before I explain any of this I want to make this very clear. I did not, I repeat, did not, cheat on you, Sophie. I could never even dream of it."
I shook my head, burrowing a cough that was close to escaping my lips. "But Harry," I choked, feeling the tears build up in my eyes, " I saw the pictures, and then she was fired and everything just, everything went to shit!" I spoke, wiping my eyes on my sleeve.
"I know, we fired her because she had caused so much hassle, so much unnecessary hassle. We thought it would help you, help us. Not because I was guilty. Not because she was guilty." He spoke, looking at me directly in the eyes.
It was as if something just clicked in that moment.
That momentary mutual look of understanding.
"You promise you didn't cheat on me?"
"God, Sophie. I promise. I'd do all of the lie detectors in the world just to prove it to you."
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"Okay. I believe you. Okay."
It was as if he did a double take. He looked at me, stared at me even, as if looking for signs of me joking.
"You're being serious? You do?"
I nodded my head, a smile making its way onto my face. The first genuine smile that had surfaced since this whole mess had started.
"Can I? Can I hug you?" He asked, almost nervously.
I nodded my head, the both of us standing up simultaneously. He wrapped his arms around me, taking me in and resting his chin on my hair. I had missed this.
"Consider this your birthday present," I managed to joke, looking up at him to see him laughing down at me. "Whilst saying that, we're taking it slow. No jumping in deep. Okay? We do this my way, and if we do it my way, I still need some time."
"Agreed. Whatever you want."
Hope you guys enjoyed!!!!! So, yesterday Harry streamed and he noticed me and he talked to me!!! It was literally the best day of my life, and I cried to my friend on the phone for a solid hour. I've some pics below (I asked him to smile for me and he did 🥺🥺🥺) so yeah. I'm very happy and I'm going to try and write some more today! I'm in a good mood so hopefully Harry and Sophie will be happy too <3
ps: sophie's instagram is @sophhieminter go give it a follow !