McKenna Prentiss | March 14, 2017
I woke up to my phone ringing. I blindly feel around for my phone on my bed. I grabbed it and saw that it was Kelsey calling me, at 8 in the morning. Seriously Kelsey?
"Hello?" my voice coming out hoarse and groggy.
"Kennie OH MY- wait, are you sick?" Kelsey's tone went from excited to worry once she heard my voice.
"No Kelsey, you woke me up, now what's up?" I say, snapping because I don't like being woken up, especially being woken up by my phone ringing.
"Woah, looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." Kelsey chuckles, and I just groan in response.
"Seriously Kelsey, what's up?"
"OMG! Okay, you didn't tell me you were dating Harry Styles?" Her demeanor suddenly changing to an excited one, shrieking and yelling in excitement.
"What? Where did you hear that?"
"It's all over twitter McKenna! So, are you two official already?" She asks, her excitement and giddiness overflowing.
"No, we're not dating, we're just friends. Harry and I just went to his house the night of your party, then had breakfast the next day, and I may be having brunch with him today?" I don't think Kelsey heard the full thing because she shrieked the second I said I went to his house.
"YOU WENT TO HIS HOUSE?!" I pull the phone away from my ear, feeling that she might've ruined my eardrum.
"Seriously, Kellie, was that all you heard?" I asked, and it was silent, until she spoke again.
"But you, McKenna Townes Prentiss, went to his, Harry Styles' house?" she said her words slowly, as if to confirm that whatever she mentioned was true.
"Yes, I did Kelsey, but it was a one time thing."
"One time thing my ass! So, you two fuck buddies now or what?" She asks, her words coming out with a sarcastic hint to it, but I knew she was all but sarcastic.
"No, Kelsey, we're not. We're just friends. I think?"
"Kenna, honey, you know I love you, but I would be a shit best friend if I told you to just be friends with the one Harry Styles. You seriously not that scared to be in a relationship again." Kelsey sighed, and I just rolled my eyes at this.
"Kelsey, I don't want to go through what I went through again, I just want to keep what's private, private."
"Kenna, Harry's different." Kelsey sighed again, and I shook my head, even though she couldn't see me.
"Kels, we're not talking about this." I say, to which she sighs.
"Okay, okay, I'll stop. Just, Kenna, you can't hide behind that wall your whole life. Okay Kenna, I'll let you go now. Just," she stops herself before she sighs and continues, "just promise me you won't live your life trapped."
"Kelsey." I warn, knowing full well that I'm never going to break these walls down.
"Alright Kenna. I love you, bye." she says and hangs up. I know Kelsey had good intentions, but I genuinely don't think I'm ready for that. As Kelsey hung up I decided to go on over to twitter and see what people were saying.
@username: of course, harry goes for the "model"
@username: i smell something fishyyy this aint right
@username: does anyone notice how her parents made the headlines yesterday and now she's "suddenly dating" harry styles?
@username: it's a stunt, obviously, I mean harry would never go for her
And just like that, my self-esteem went from 100 to negative infinity. If there's one thing my parents taught me about reading hate is that you're not supposed to let it get to you, but it's hard. Really fucking hard, seeing people judge and criticize you and they don't even know you.
I wanted to break my silence, I wanted people to stop talking about me as if I'm not human being and they can just tell me what to do. I wanted to say something, but I just know people won't believe me, so I just stay silent.
I decide to get out of bed and just get ready. I'm meeting Harry for brunch again today, as much as I hate that I'm starting to feel attached, there's something with Harry that just pulls you in. It's like you just constantly want to be with him, or be his friend. I know it's crazy to think that, trust me, I'm questioning my sanity too, but in this industry, you'd need all the true friends you could get, and Harry? Well, he's just the most honest and humble person you could ever meet.
After taking a shower, I decide to text Harry, just to make sure we were still on for today.
I decide not to reply, and just continue getting ready. Since it was just brunch, I decided to go for a more natural make up look, and left my hair as it is. I decide on a pair of jeans, a navy silk button down with red stripes and some converse, cute and casual. I grab my purse, stuffing my phone and wallet in, putting my shades on the top of my head and leave my room.
I walk down to the kitchen, and to my surprise, Harry was already there, leaning up against the kitchen counter, a mug in his hands, talking to my mother, who also had a mug in her hand.
"Thought you said you'd be here in 20?" I speak up, which grabs the attention of both Harry and my mom, both had a huge grin on their faces, Harry's looking more excited, while my mom just looks like the cheshire cat.
"Kenna!" Harry exclaims, as he places the mug down and approaches me for a hug, I stood there stiff and confused. Is this how friends usually act?
"Hey, H." I say once he releases me from the hug, and I take in his outfit, he was wearing a grey Harley Davidson top, a black button down that he left open, black skinny jeans, and a paper boy hat?
"Where'd you get your hat, want one of those." I say, grabbing his hat and placing it on my head, which just falls in front of my eyes, his head was bigger than what I expected. Well, physically, not egotistically.
"I think they suit me more." He says, chuckling as he takes his hat back and places it back on his head. "Ready?"
I nod, moving over to where my mom was and kissing her on the cheek. She waves a goodbye to Harry and he returns it by blowing a kiss to her, seriously?
We hop in his car, and he pulls out of the driveway. I put on my shades and Harry grabs his phone to play some music. I hear a familiar tune play, but I never expected him to listen to this artist.
"You listen to Daniel Caesar?" I ask, the surprised look not leaving my face.
"Of course I do! He's amazing!"
"Did you know I wrote a song for him?" I ask him, tucking a hair behind my ear and I look to see pure shock on his face.
"Really? What song?"
"Streetcar." I say, a proud smile on my face when I remember working with Daniel. He's honestly one of the best music artists out there, his music is so soulful and honest, which is why I wanted to collaborate with him.
"No way! That's my favorite song on Pilgrim's Paradise!" He says excitedly, smiling at me. "What was your inspiration for that song?"
"I was at that point in my life where I was tired of how mundane and repetitive my life was in South Carolina, don't get me wrong, I love my gran, but it was that moment where I wanted to move to LA, you know? To finally live with my parents and start my career."
"Understandable." He says, nodding in agreement, "But my favorite is still Japanese Denim, that song was beautiful."
And I agree, we continue talking about artists and musicians we've grown to love, and music that we both didn't know we both loved.
We arrive at the Beachwood Cafe, and as if on cue, paparazzi start snapping photos once we got out of Harry's car. We kept our head down the entire walk to the Beachwood, ignoring the calls and questions from the paparazzi.
When we entered, Mary was waiting for us, leading us to the table we were at before, and leaving us to get started on our food.
"So, how's the album?" I ask, and he shrugs.
"Getting there, need a few, or 2 more songs to finish it off."
"How many songs do you already have?"
"8." He says, and I nod at this, silence engulfing us as we waited for our food to arrive.
"So, how about you?" Harry speaks up, placing his hands on the table and drumming them before continuing with his question, "Your mom told me your planning on releasing an album at the end of the year, that seems exciting."
"I do plan on releasing an album, but writing's been eh, there's been better days." He furrows his brows at my statement.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, writing has always been difficult for me, cause I don't like being too open or vulnerable, and it's just hard cause I have to do it by myself, the writing." Once the words came out of my mouth, his face just morphs into shock, his jaw goes slack and his eyes go wide.
"You write, alone?"
"I mean I do ask help from Jamie, but so far, the songs I have for my album, it's just been me."
"I could write songs with you!" He suggests, his face suddenly lights up, smiling and what not.
"H, don't you have your own album to finish?" I ask, but he just pushes that thought away.
"It's almost done anyway, plus, no one needs to know I helped you, besides, think of it as a mentor teaching a mentee." He states, his demeanor suddenly shifting as if he were a teacher.
"Harry, that's too much to ask, I think I'm okay."
"How many songs does your album need?" He asks, dismissing what I said beforehand
"12."
"How many have you written so far?" He asks, and I pale, I've only written one song, well two if you count the song I gave to Niall a few weeks ago.
"One." I say quietly, hoping he didn't hear it, but he did.
"You've only got one song? For a 12 track album? McKenna, this is why you need a team, you can't work on a whole album by yourself."
"Well Management," I was cut off by him scoffing at my mention of management.
"Kenna, when it comes to management and music, they don't necessarily have to control everything. If there's one thing I learned while making this album it's that I controlled every single strum of guitar, every hit of that drum, so just trust your gut, and let me help you."
"Okay, fine." I finally give in, to which he smiles at, and our food arrives, which makes his smile even bigger, if that was possible.
Our brunch consisted of talking, and lots of talking. Harry was that kind of friend, the one who'll listen to you even when you think you're rambling on too much, and he'll make you laugh too much that water will come out of your nose, yeah, that happened.
Overall, brunch was good. In a way, it kind of solidified my friendship with Harry, since he said we should make it a weekly thing, but I told him not to force it if he was too busy.
"I'll never be too busy for my best friend." He says and winks, which made me narrow my eyes at him and give him a look.
"You do know you're going to have to fight Kelsey on with that title." I said and just laughs, nodding.
"Well, as your best friend, I think it's time for me to know who you fancy." He asks, smirking at me and his eyebrows wiggle up and down in a suggestive manner.
"And as my best friend, I think it's time for you to know that I don't have time for any of that." He looks shocked, and he even scoffed when I mentioned how I didn't have time to have a boyfriend, let alone a crush.
"Come on McKenna! Just a crush? No one?" He asks, elbows propping on the table and his head in his hands, grinning at me in the hopes of getting me to break.
"Yes Harry, no one."
"Well, your mom begs to differ." I froze, suddenly looking to him with wide eyes and he smirks at my state.
"What did she tell you?" I ask, wary of what might come out of his mouth, and ready to be embarrassed by it.
"Well," He said, drawing out the word, but I smack his arm and he laughs, continuing on, "She mentioned how you might've had a favorite in One Direction, and she said it was a certain curly headed lad, green eyes, tall, you know?"
He smirks at me. His dimple evident as his smirk grows wider, eventually laughing at me, while I sat frozen in place. Seriously mom?
"I don't fancy you." I said, distaste laced in my voice when I told him this, I liked them when I was 16. Everybody did.
"Aw, love, it's okay, no need to be embarrassed." He says, reaching to grab my cheek but I swat his hand away, my eyes glaring at him.
"Seriously Harry, I was 16. Everybody loved you then."
"And yet you're the only one who is embarrassed to admit that you did." He grins, and I just kept glaring at him.
"Okay, how about you, who do you fancy?" I say, changing the topic and relaxing my eyes, glaring at him was like glaring at the sun, it can give you a headache.
"Ohh, changing the topic now love? So you agree, with what your mom said?" He says, chuckling, never letting me live what my mom said down.
"No comment. Come on Styles, let's hear who you fancy? Let me guess, another model I suppose?" This time, it's him who freezes and I sit there smirking at him.
"Erm, well," He starts, laughing uncomfortably, and I just grin at him, two can play at that game Harry, "Well, she is a model, I've fancied her just recently. But I've known about her for a really long time. We met through a mutual friend, and she's absolutely gorgeous."
If I knew any better, I would say Harry was already in love with this girl, why do I feel a sudden urge of jealousy about it then?
"So, what's her name?" I prod on, seriously Harry, I only needed a name.
"Camille, Camille Rowe." He says, and he has a small bashful smile on his face, I smiled at him, but I felt my heart falter at the news. This is why you don't get attached in an instant McKenna, you've only known him for a week at most, why would you assume that he likes you?
"I've heard about her! Yeah, she is gorgeous." I say, trying to keep that smile on my face, if my singing career doesn't work out, at least I know I could try for acting.
"Have you met her?" He asks, the smile never falling off his face as we continue to talk about her. I knew liking someone who was way out of my league was too good to be true. I hate myself for getting attached to easily, and in this industry, you'll have multiple broken hearts by the time you reach 30.
Brunch went from exciting and fun, to embarrassing and sad. I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up that much. What was I thinking?
We continue on talking about anything, and everything, from his One Direction Days to how I started in modeling. Mary then approached us and placed the bill, it was a good thing Harry was on his phone cause he didn't notice me pay. Mary came back with the receipt and Harry was just sat there with his mouth hung open.
"Why did you pay! I was supposed to pay!" He argues, and I just sat there with a grin on my face.
"Can't argue anymore H, food is paid." I said, shrugging and he just pouts. If Harry goes for Camille, she is one lucky girl.
"Let's go?" I ask and he is still pouting, his eyes going soft and he looks at me with puppy dog eyes, seriously Harry?
"Fine." He sighs, and moves out of the booth as I stand waiting for him. We walk out of the Beachwood, thankful that there were no more paparazzi's and head to his car.
We were in his car, I don't know where we were going, but he hands me the AUX cord, and urges me to play some songs. I look at him weirdly, being so used to him playing songs from his phone. I had an idea, which made me smirk at him, and he just looked at me confusedly. You are going to regret handing me that AUX cord, Harry. I play the song, and as soon as the familiar tune hits his ears, he grins.
"McKenna Prentiss!" He exclaims as I grin, raising my hands as we drive through the freeway, feeling the song and just having fun.
Maybe it's the way she walked
Straight into my heart she stole it
Through the doors and passed the guards
Just like she already owned it
We both sing to the song, yelling out the lyrics and just laughing along. I continued to play some One Direction songs until we reached, a studio?
"Not to be rude or anything, but what am I doing here?" I ask, and he just grins at me.
"Well, I thought I'd give you a glimpse of what it's like working with a team. And I thought my best friend would wanna spend a day with me." He grins, and his mood is just so infectious, and I grin back at him. We get out of the car and he holds out his hand for me to take, I look to him confused, but he just reached for my hand and held it. We head into the studio and his studio was like the studio in my house, but this was bigger.
Once we enter, I see three other guys, one who had a guitar on his lap, another was sitting on the producer's chair, in front of all the buttons and mixers, and another was on the couch, typing away on his laptop.
"Harry!" the one who had a guitar on his lap says. Harry lets go of my hand and gives all three guys a hug, then a handshake.
"Guys, this is McKenna, McKenna, this is Mitch, Kid & Jeff." He introduces as he goes down the line, I shake my hands with all of them.
"Oh, Ms. McKenna Townes?" Kid says, a smirk on his lips as he looks to Harry, and I look to Harry as well, giving him a confused look, and he just glares at Kid, then looks to me with a sheepish smile.
"Sorry?"
"Kid's just joking around Kenna, don't mind him." Harry says, motioning for me to sit on the couch next to Jeff. He then takes a white guitar, and starts playing some chords on it. With the chords he's playing, it sounds more rock than what I've heard in One Direction, but I guess that's what happens when you go separate ways, you venture into your own style and genre of music.
He starts to hum along the tune of the guitar, Mitch then grabbing the bass guitar and trying to match the tunes of Harry's electric guitar.
"She's an angel, only angel, my only angel" Harry sings, subconsciously muttering words and lyrics as he does, writing down ones he's repeated and seemed to love. I'm in awe, watching someone who loves doing their job is just beautiful. Harry seems like he's in his own world as well, trying to come up with lyrics and chords to get the song as cohesive as he wants.
I look to see Jeff, a proud smile on his face as he watches Harry. I look back to Harry and feel my lips twitching up in a smile as well. I know I've only spent a week, at most, with the guy, but he made me feel like I've known him my entire life. Am I more than infatuated with him? Am I starting to develop feelings for him?
Possibly, but I should stop. He like someone else.
"So," I say, interrupting the silence that was looming for the past few minutes, Harry looked up to me and smiles, "Angel? This is how you're going to win Camille over then eh?"
Harry's smile falters, but it was replaced by a shy one, he scratches the back of his neck as he looks down at his journal. Jeff snaps his head to me, a confused look on his face, as Mitch and Kid were just grinning at Harry.
"Camille?" Jeff asked Harry, confused as to why I said that, he looks from me to Harry, no one saying a thing.
"Yeah, sure, it's about Camille." Harry says, his smile growing bigger as he says this, Jeff still confused as he narrows his eyes at the lad.
"Camille? Camille Rowe?" Jeff asks again, his eyes never leaving Harry as he sat there confused as to what Harry was talking about.
"Yes, Jeff, don't wear her name out will ya?" Harry snaps, which earns a snicker from Mitch and Kid. Harry then looks to me and shrugs.
"Well, angel. She is a VS angel right?" he says which earns a laugh from Kid.
"Kenna is a VS angel too you know." Kid speaks up, which earns a blush from me and a bashful smile from Harry. This song is about Camille, I mean Harry said so.
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long chapter for today!! i also added some photos to show Kenna & Harry's outfits :) i hope you enjoyed this chapter!
all my love,
sammie x