McKenna Prentiss | July 2, 2017
"So, how's writing going?" Harry asks as he steps into my studio, sitting on the producer's chair as I sat adjacent to him on the couch.
"Well, if you count one song in the last 2 weeks then I guess, fine?" I ask and he chuckles.
"Let's start writing then shall we?" He asks, and I nod, grabbing my journal and opening it to a blank page. He grabs my acoustic guitar and starts to play a few chords.
"I see you, from a different point of view," I sang with the chords Harry was playing, words start to come out naturally.
"That sounds great Kenna!" He says enthusiastically, strumming a few more chords, and he grabs a pen and paper that was on the table, and starts to write as well.
With Harry helping me in the studio, the writing process was a lot quicker than I was used to, with the song completed in under 4 hours.
"Let's see what you have." I ask, smiling at him as he finishes writing on his pad.
"Alright." He says, grabs his guitar and places the paper back on the table. Harry starts strumming the same chord, and his voice fills the room.
I have seen, seen it all in paper dreams
Watched it unfold on the screen
But I never understood
He pauses, then looks at me, urging me to continue on the song, and I look at him confused, but he says "Just go with it."
I have heard, I've heard you speak a million words
Now you're talking to me first
Never thought you would
You just took me by surprise
I can't believe my eyes,
I must be seeing blind
We continue going back and forth, changing a few things, and we had finished a whole song in less than 48 hours. Maybe Harry should join me for more writing sessions.
"That was amazing!" I exclaim, looking at Harry with a wide grin, to which he returns with a chuckle.
"It was! Now you have a third song for your album!"
"Thank you H." I say, seriously, he helped way more than management could've.
"That's no problem Kenna, that's what I'm here for." He says and smiles.
"Now, how am I going to credit you? Do you want your name to be put as one of the writers? or?" I ask, shutting my journal and turning to him completely.
"Well, it's all up to you McKenna, it's your album, plus it also depends on your producer, which is?" He asks, and I shrug.
"Whoever management gives me."
"That's not going to work, no, so I think we could get Julian Bunetta, he produced a few One Direction albums, or you could ask Jamie Scott, the one you sold your song to a few months ago." He suggests, and I just nod along to whatever he's saying.
"It's ultimately your choice McKenna, it's your album, not managements." He says with an encouraging smile.
"Yeah." I nod, and there it is, that awkward silence that I've been dreading.
"So, have you decided?" I asked, and he looked at me confused, but realized what I was asking.
"Uhm, I have talked to Camille about it, and she seemed pretty upset. She thought if I did the show, I was doing it to spite her or something. But I told her that if I do the show, that it wasn't my intention. I talked to Jeff as well, and he said it was an amazing opportunity." He started, and I nodded. He didn't know that me walking that show is in his hands.
"So?" I ask, urging for him to answer my question.
"I've decided that I am going to do the show." He says, smiling at the end of his sentence, and I swear a fly could fly into my mouth right now with how wide it's open.
"Really?" I ask, and he nods, I jump to him, wrapping my arms around his neck as he chuckles.
"Why are you so excited anyway?" He asks as I pull away from the hug.
"Oh, uhm, well people will finally see you perform at a VS fashion show. Plus I'll be there! So we could go around Shanghai. Like two best buds on vacation." I say, playing off my excitement as if him agreeing was just because we would get to spend time together. When in fact, I would only be there because of him.
"So, have you thought about what you're going to perform?" I ask, and he nods, an excited smile on his face.
"Now that is a secret you're going to have to find out when you walk that runway, angel." He says, smirking at me and my heart fluttered when he called me angel, but I brushed it off as him casually being his cheeky self.
I nod, and we stayed in the studio the whole day, playing around with the instruments.
My phone suddenly rang, as well as Harry's. We both look at each other, confused as Jeff was calling him, and Clive was calling me.
"Hello?" I ask, heading into the recording booth to give Harry some space as he talks to Jeff.
"Kenna! How are you?" He asks
"I'm good! Why did you and Jeff call at the exact same time?" I ask, getting right to it.
"Well, as you know, Harry's in Dunkirk, and the premiere is in London, on the 13th. Management called and said you'd be his date for the premiere." He says, and I could roll my eyes with how public management wants Harry & I's relationship.
"So I have to go to London with Harry for the premiere?" I ask, and he agreed. He told me the details of the flight, saying that I was to fly to and from London with Harry.
"Alright, thanks Clive." I said and end the call. I walk back out to the studio, seeing Harry sitting on the couch, guitar on his lap as he strummed a few chords.
"Guess we're going to London, eh?" I ask, and he nods.
"I'll book my hotel and ask Zoe to pack her stuff. Wait, I have to pack as well-" I say, but Harry cuts me off, as he stands from the couch and walks to me, his hands placing themselves on my jaw.
How can you not fall in love with this guy when he pulls shit like this?
"Kenna, hey, it's alright. You don't need to book a hotel, you can stay with me. You don't need to bring Zoe as well, I'm sure you'll do fine without her."
"Oh god, I have to look for a dress!" I say, and Harry just laughs at me.
"Kenna, relax. The premiere doesn't happen for another two weeks. We can look for dresses if you want. I can even show you my suit so we could match. I'll even call and ask Harry for help." He says, and my brows furrow when he mentioned Harry.
"Harry Lambert, my stylist." He says, and I nod. I've never been to a movie premiere before, which is making my nerves go haywire.
Yes, I am the daughter of Charles and Atasha Prentiss, yes they've had countless of movie premieres in the previous years, but I've never been to one of them.
"Thanks Harry. You've done more for me than I have for you, I feel like a terrible weight on your shoulders."
"Hey, Kenna, it's okay." He reassures, pulling me into a hug and kissing the top of my head. Seriously Harry?
We pull away from the hug and decide to continue writing. We were throwing ideas back and forth, with Harry playing some chords and me going into the recording booth and playing the piano.
"Gone are the days, you're used to, say goodbye to those who used you." Harry sang as he played the guitar, and it was like magic, because the minute he sang those words, I immediately had a song in my head.
I rush out of the booth, and jumped on the couch, startling Harry as he almost dropped the guitar.
"Harry would you play those chords again? I have some lyrics that fit what you sang earlier." He nods as he played the chords, whilst I flipped through my journals to look for a few lyrics I wrote ages ago.
And if you've never felt
this way before
i'll show you babe
what you've been waiting for
i can free your mind
help you lose control
cause now's the time
to show you, oh.
I sang as Harry played the chords, the look on his face was enough to give me butterflies in my stomach again. He looked at me with pure adoration in his eyes, and I smiled up at him.
"Kenna, that was, wow." He says, and for the first time ever, I've made him speechless.
"I wrote this a few months ago, and I never found the perfect chords to play it with, but when you played those chords earlier, and with what you sang, I thought it would be perfect together." I say, a shy smile on my face as he looks at me with a grin.
"Maybe you just needed me McKenna." he says, a smug look on his face as I laugh at him.
Maybe I did need you Harry. Maybe I needed you more than I ever knew.
July 13, 2017 | Dunkirk Premiere
I sat next to Harry, who was sitting next to his mom, a proud smile on her face, as we drove through the streets of London. It was the Dunkirk premiere today, and to say I was shitting my pants was an understatement.
I nearly shat my pants twice in the last 48 hours. First was when I was ambushed to meet Harry's mom. She's as lovely as her son, who reassured me that there was nothing to worry about, and that she was ecstatic to meet the daughter of her man crush, my father.
The second was when I was put into a gorgeous Givenchy gown, styled by Harry Lambert. Harry had booked me a hair and make up stylist, and when they were done doing my face and hair, I was floored. My gown was a simple floor length black gown, but the details were in the neckline. It was a black and silver neckpiece that I couldn't even describe, it was gorgeous. It fit perfectly with Harry's dark blue Gucci suit.
When we arrived at Leicester Square, my nerves started to go haywire. I could feel my hands trembling and I swear I could cry.
Harry seemed to sense my nerves and held my hand in the hopes to calm me, which it did, slightly. He leans to me as he whispers reassurances, which made me let out a long exhale as we emerge from the car.
As soon as we exited the car, the screams just increased in volume. Everybody wanted to get Harry to notice them, smile at them, or to just look their way. I turn to Anne with wide eyes, and she just laughs at my surprised look, probably used to how well known her son is.
We walked the red carpet, paparazzi taking photos as Harry put his arm on my waist. We were smiling and laughing, like two good friends. I turn to Anne who had a look of pride in her eyes, soon, tears started to stream down her face. I left Harry's side as he was instructed to sign a few posters, answer some questions from interviewers, and pose for some solo shots.
Soon enough, I was standing alone, holding onto my gown, and paparazzi started to snap photos of me. Once I was sure they had enough photos of me, I quickly rushed to Anne's side and gave her a hug, to which she returned.
"You okay Anne?" I ask, and she nods, suddenly chuckling at her state.
"I'm just proud of him you know?" She says, and I nod, understanding her tears, as she opens her arms and envelopes me in another hug.
Harry then walks back to us, a smile on his face. I don't think anything could break his good mood today.
"Ready?" I ask him, and he nods, the smile never leaving his face. As we enter the cinema, I ask Anne to stand next to Harry as I took a photo of them. Anne placed her arm around Harry's waist and smiled wide. I snapped a couple of photos of them and we head into the cinema.
The movie was amazing. Everybody gave the movie a standing ovation, clapping at Christopher Nolan and the rest of the cast. Harry was so happy and proud, the same smile from earlier adorning his face.
As soon as we left Leicester Square, we headed back to Harry's house to get changed for the afterparty. At the mention of an afterparty, Anne didn't feel up to partying with teenagers so she headed back to her room as Harry and I get dressed.
I got dressed fairly quickly, sauntering down the steps as I checked to see the kitchen and living room empty. Harry was still probably changing.
I headed to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water. I sat on one of the kitchen island chairs waiting for Harry as I scrolled through twitter. I noticed Dunkirk Premiere was trending, so as the "dumb bitch" that Kelsey said I am, I decided to read the tweets.
@username: someone tell me why mckenna prentiss is at the dunkirk premiere?
@username: ok but why is kenna at the premiere? this was harry's time to shine, she could've just sat at home plus harry should've just taken his mom and not someone who's begging for 5 seconds of fame
@username: sis really here hoping she could leech off of harry's fame
@username: can somebody tell her that stealing is bad? and while you're at it, tell her parents too!
@username: why did she have to come in and ruin the day for harry
I decided to stop reading before I could see something that would ruin my mood totally. I look through the photos I took earlier and saw the ones I took of Harry and Anne.
Anne looked so happy to be there, I sent her the photos, and asked her if it was okay to post them, and she agreed, saying it was nothing to worry about.
As soon as I posted the photo, Harry walked down to where I was sitting and saw that I had posted the photo, he gave me a smile.
"Thanks for being there today Kenna, even though it scared you completely." He says, and I chuckle.
"It was fine, H."
"I was just hoping Camille could've been there you know?" He says, and I nod. We left not long after that, heading to the afterparty.
That night, I decide to let loose and have fun, which ended in me taking multiple shots with Harry's friends, cast mates and even Harry himself. Though he wasn't as drunk as I was.
Soon enough, I felt my body hit the soft mattress of Harry's guest bedroom, and felt my shoes being removed from my feet. The blanket was soon placed over me and I felt a kiss on my temple.
I heard someone sigh, and whisper, "You're really making this hard for the both of us McKenna." as they place another kiss on my temple and soon I was drifting off to sleep.
------------
heeeey! this is probably, by far, one of my favorite chapters to write. i'm soft for their writing sessions 🥺
anyway, please continue to vote and comment! can't wait for you guys to read the rest
all my love,
savannah x