I'm still laughing at his ridiculous stunt while he beams about it from the driver's seat. By the time I finally get myself in an upright position we are out of the parking lot and headed to whatever "Ricky's" is. He sends a mischievous smirk my way and asks "So, what do you want to listen to?"
I surprise him with my quick response. "Well I really only listen to two genres and that's smooth jazz or heavy metal, soooo I don't know if you'd really know the kind of artists that I like."
I have to press my lips together to stop from laughing again. He laughs softly to himself while he nods his head, "I believe I've seen you in a Queen shirt before, shall we have a listen to them?"
He remembers what I've worn!? Oh shit, I gotta step it up now. I didn't know he was paying attention. Fuck.
"You can never go wrong with Queen." I smile over at him as I Want to Break Free starts to pour from his speakers.
This moment feels very surreal to me. It's dark out now, almost 8 pm on a Monday night. We aren't really in downtown at all so there aren't an abundance of lights, just enough to light up our faces when we turn to each other on certain lyrics. I can't believe how comfortable this is, how easy it feels to just be here, sitting the passenger seat of Harry Styles car while we sing along to Queen.
The windows are cracked so we have a slight breeze, after 3 or 4 more songs the scent of the ocean trickles into the car. A few minutes later we pull into the parking lot of a very small shack that's basically on the beach. I don't even know where we are right now, I was too focused on the bigger picture to notice what exits we took.
When we get inside the restaurant my mouth is instantly watering. I can't help it, it smells absolutely incredible in here. The walls are painted bright orange with a stunning mural on the back wall of women dancing.
Their dresses are full and bright, the picture is quite mesmerizing, it's like you can see the movement but it's obviously not really happening. Harry places his hand on my back and guides me over to the long table where the rest of our group is seated. Before we can make it there a very small woman intercepts us, throwing her arms around Harry's waist.
He leans down to hug her and gives her an excited "Hola, Maria!" I have absolutely no idea what was said after that, they had an animated conversation in Spanish, Maria pointed to me at one point and Harry laughed softly and shook his head, he introduced me to Maria briefly and then we made our way to the table.
Harry explained that shes the owner, she runs it with her son, Ricky. They have a sweet story of their lives printed on the back of the menu.
Harry pulls a chair out for me next to Charlotte and he sits down next to Mitch, we spend a few minutes looking over the extensive menu before ordering. The conversation is lively between the group of us, all talking and eating and laughing together. It felt warm and comfortable to be here with them even though I didn't know any of them at all.
They laughed at my jokes the few times I made them, and held conversation like they really cared what you had to say. They were just good people at the core of it all.
"Do you like tequila?" Harry's voice near my ear brings me out of my thoughts.
I give him a raised eyebrow while I answer, "Tequila ranks higher on my list of loves than any man I've ever known."
I shoot him a toothy smile while he throws his head back laughing. "Margaritas it is then! Maria makes the absolute best." He says while turning to flag her down.
"Harry Styles if you feed me anything with gold tequila in it I will give you ridiculous foundation lines for the rest of our time together."
He looks at me with his mouth agape, "What do you have against gold!? Also, how do you know that I prefer gold tequila?" He has that stupid smirk on his face with his eyebrow raised as he bats his eyelashes at me.
"Oh please, I've seen the video of Lizzo chugging your wine glass full of tequila. It circled twitter for weeks!" We are both laughing now as Maria bring tray of beautiful margaritas to our table. Harry's being a slightly different color from the rest, I shake my head at him in disgust.
"It's good to know you have one flaw at least." I say while taking my first sip.
"Oh darling, if we're listing my flaws you're gonna need a very large journal, Jo." He sips his margarita and raises an eyebrow at me, sucking faster. I catch on to his game and take huge pulls through the small straw, gulping down the delicious drink, determined to win this race.
Everyone at the table is preoccupied with their conversations, this moment is reserved for just Harry and I. My eyes bulge out of my head while I hear my glass empty just before his. I raise my fists in victory while he shakes his head and then places it against my lowered arm.
"Brainfreeze," he mumbles into my arm as I lay my head atop his messy brown curls.
"Awhhh, you poor thing. You'll get better at that over time." I giggle to him while he raises his head to glare at me before breaking into a smile.
We leave the small restaurant about an hour and a half later, it's quite late now and I'm in desperate need of sleep. Harry and I make it into the car and start our drive home, I don't last very long before I start nodding off to sleep.
I've had 3 margaritas and it's 11:30 at night, can you really blame me for napping? Even in the presence of Harry Styles?
"Jo...Joooo...Josephine?" I wake up to Harry gently nudging my arm.
"Oh shit sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep." I'm suddenly very aware of the fact that I was asleep in his car.
Oh my god, did I drool? Did I snore!? Do I talk in my sleep? Oh god I hope not.
"Nothing to be sorry about, Jo. If you give me your address I'll take you home, you can't drive tonight."
Oh DUH.
I can't drive like this, even if I wasn't drunk I'm way too damn tired. I could call Frankie though, or Nicki. One of them would come get me. "Oh no you don't have to do that, it would be so far out of your way. You can just drop me at my car and I'll call a friend or Uber home. It's really no big deal, thank you so much though."
"It's no trouble at all, Jo. It's really not far and I like driving anyway. I don't get to do it to often so really you'd be doing me a favor." He smiles at me and bats his stupid eyelashes my way and I can't tell him no.
I groan while I close my eyes and roll my head back to the window. "Okay, fine. Thank you." I mutter quickly.
The rest of drive is pretty quiet, he plays some music that I haven't heard before but it's soft and soothing and perfect for the dark ride home.
When he pulls up to my apartment complex I'm immediately hit with a mix of nerves and a little bit of embarrassment. I'm very aware that he's been famous for such a long time, he has never lived in anything close to our tiny 1 bedroom. It's a strange feeling to him have him witness our small complex.
He pulls into a parking space and surprises me by getting out of the vehicle. "Harry, what are you doing?" I ask him when he holds my car door open. "Just making sure you get up safe and sound. Can't have you falling down the stairs or something, we need you on set tomorrow."
I shake my head at him and let him follow me up the stairs. I manage to only wobble a few times on my way up which resulted in Harry placing his hand against my back until we were on level ground again.
We approached my front door and I was instantly struck with the realization that when the door opens you can see almost all of the apartment...including the large poster of Harry himself hanging on our wall...the poster in which he's naked.
Jesus Christ, just throw yourself down the stairs. Just end it here. I managed to slide past the air freshener incident but if he sees his naked body hung on my wall this man is going to file a restraining order.
I try to swallow down the panic and thank Harry while simultaneously trying to push him away from the door, praying to God that he takes the hint and bids me farewell.
I fumble through my bag to get my keys and then finally the sweet, sweet words leave his precious mouth. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks again for coming out with us tonight. I'm glad you did, it was fun. Goodnight Jo, sleep well. See you tomorrow." He gave my shoulder a squeeze and turned to the stairs.
I finally exhaled after what felt like 15 minutes and hurried my ass inside to go to bed.
~
The next few days were some that I know I will never forget. I was absolutely exhausted but I'd never felt so full of life and fueled by my passion. I spent two more days on set working so hard on creating the perfect looks for the Watermelon Sugar and Lights Up visuals.
We stuck to a seventies vibe for Watermelon Sugar to pair well with the music video, I gave him the thinnest purple eyeliner moment that made his green eyes pop even more than usual.
While She was my favorite look, Lights Up was a very close second. I gave Harry a slick, glossy look that went from his eyelids down to his cheek bones, it had a slight green shift to it so when he tilted his face in the lights it would pick it up. I chisled his cheekbones and jawline and gave his cheeks a peachy blush with a matte finish.
They left his hair beautifully messy, curls falling into his face when his hands weren't in it. He was shirtless for this shoot so I brought the gloss onto his chest and collarbone like a highlight, making him look absolutely otherworldly. I had similar gloss put on each person in the set but they were tinted all different colors so that in each shot they all looked like a shiny, sweaty rainbow.
It was beautiful, I was absolutely in love with some of the still photos, ready to beg Hélène to release some of them so fans can have them. There was one in particular, it was a candid shot, of Harry with his head leaned back and slightly to the right. He was laughing at something Mitch had mumbled from off set and the light hit him so perfectly that he just glowed.
He looked like light was leaking from him in slick sweat, his hand sliding down his chin after wiping his mouth, his smile was wide and uninhibited. He looked free. It captured my favorite song on the album so perfectly that I felt my eyes well with tears when Hélène showed it to me for the first time.
The days passed quickly, all of us pretty absorbed in our own pieces of the puzzle. After the first day we all fell into a bit of a flow, knowing where we were needed and when, staying out the way when we needed to and just gravitating around each other in a really fascinating way. There was no tension on set, no side glances or hushed whispers, just a very mellow feeling that would occasionally be broken by fits of laughter or unanimous singing to the best part of a song.
Before I knew it I was getting ready for today, the last day on set. I don't really know how to feel about today. I'm exruciatingly sad to have to leave them after today. I'm absolutely dreading going back to my hell hole of a normal job. I'm heartbroken over the fact that I won't be able to touch Harry's perfect face anymore after today. The bubble will pop, and my carriage will turn back into a pumpkin at midnight.
At the same time, I'm thoroughly exhausted and I miss my friends. Its only been four days but it feels like a lifetime ago, this project has consumed my body and mind wholly. I've barely even seen Nicki, which I know she doesn't take offensively but it still kind of sucks.
I pull into my parking space, gathering the gift boxes for each of my assistants. I got them each a new blending brush with their name engraved into it, the same gift that Tony gave me after my first project with him. I truly enjoyed working with them and I want them to feel as appreciated as I did.
I'm humming to myself quietly as I make it up to the studio door, opening it slowly when I realize that there are no lights on inside. The light from outside illuminates the floor but is quickly extinguished when the door closes behind me.
"What the fuck?" I mumble to myself as i run my hand along the wall, feeling for a light switch. Suddenly every fucking light on the set is on and somehow brighter than ever, and there is deafening chorus of "SURPRISE!!!" being screamed into my general direction.
I am unfortunately quite uncoordinated, which means this shock to my system causes me to stumble and flail my limbs before yelping as I fall to the ground.
"Fucking hell, are you alright, Jo!?" Harry says as he and Mitch rush over to make sure I'm not broken. I am fine, just very confused.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm fine. What the hell is going on?" I ask them as they help me back to my feet.
"Well we're trying to give you a pleasant surprise, not scare you shitless." Mitch responds as I look around the room, back to the area they came from. There are streamers hanging from the catwalks, ping pong tables set up toward the back of the room, a large projector screen hanging where the backdrops used to be, and several huge beanbag couches in front of it.
Foil balloons adorn the wall that read "Congrats Jo" and a small table holds a cake with our group photo printed on it. I looked around the room in awe before looking at the group of people giggling and smiling at me.
I then shift my attention to the men holding me upright, my head whipping from Mitch to Harry, looking for an explanation as to what the hell is going on right now.
"We wanted to celebrate you today and your first project as a lead artist. All of us have been blown away by your creative mind and beautiful artistry, so we wanted to spend the day celebrating it that brilliant mind of yours. We've watched you really blossom in your role here in only a few days, and we'll be sad to not have you around everyday." Harry delivers that stunning fucking speech while maintaing eye contact and then has the audacity to look surprised when the tears start to pool in my eyes.
"Oh no, no we don't want you to be sad, babe." Harry says as he wraps his arms around my shoulders, pulling me into him tightly. I'm to overwhelmed with emotion to realize that Harry Styles is hugging me right now.
BITCH IM NOT. OH MY GOD HARRY STYLES IS HUGGING ME. HARRY.EDWARD.STYLES. IS HUGGING MEEEEEEEE.
Right now it just feels natural that would be hugging me while I cry. My arms are wrapped tightly around his waist while he sways us in tiny incriments and his head is tilted on top of my own while I cry onto his shoulder, sniffling like an idiot and trying not to stain his grey hoodie.
Although this particular hoodie doesn't look too important considering the neck of the hood is torn to shit, just held together by the tied strings. He runs one of his large hands down the back of my head, smoothing my hair and soothing my brian, after a few strokes I've settled enough to pull away and face him. "Are you okay?" he asks softly.
I sniffle a few times while I nod my head, "Yeah, yeahI'm good. Ohh shit that was rough, Jesus you can't just go around being that nice to people, and saying those type of things, it leads to far too many emotions." I chuckle softly while wiping at my eyes.
"Thank you so much, all of you, really. This has been so incredible and I'm so heartbroken that we wont be doing it everyday. I've loved every minute of it, thank you for making it so perfect and so special."
I can feel the tears pool again just before Mitch claps and says "Alright we all love each other, blah blah blah enough of the sad shit lets have a fun day and eat some damn cake for breakfast."
The day was perfect. We ate cake at 11am and watched When Harry met Sally. I sat on a bean bag couch with my assitants who absolutley loved their gifts, each of them thanking me profusley for the opportunity. We all laughed together at the film while we mingled around and drank coffee, and ate more snacks.
We played a ping pong tournament that I didnt completley fail at but definitley didn't win, that title went to Harry, which was shocking to.... no one. We watched Pulp Fiction next, which I still don't really get, but love to watch every few years.
We listened to music, dancing around the open floor space to a variety of great music, from Backyard Boy to Burning Love. Harry, Mitch and Jeffrey each gave us their best Elvis dance moves during that one which almost resulted in me pissing my pants.
Hélène took pictures of us all day, and we took pictures of each other, and videos too, that would never be seen by the outside world. Memories were made that will never leave this bubble, staying perfectly encapulasted in this beautiful time. If this day were a movie scene it would be a silent montage of events played with a building coming-of-age song layered overtop.
It was incredible, to feel so appreciated and loved on by this group of people that I've known for under a week, even if you total in the other two shoots we've been on. I was not ready for the end to approach so quickly, the group dwindled down as people went home to prepare for tomorrow, another day in the life.
Soon it was time for me to say goodbye as well, the evening had long since set in, and the reality struck that I did indeed have to work tomorrow. We gave long hugs goodbye, making the rounds through everyone left and finally landing on Harry.
He pulled me into a tight hug and hummed against my head before saying "You'll be dearly missed while you're away, but I hope to be seeing you again very soon Jo. Please, don't be a stranger, okay?"
I answered him with another squeeze and a promise to not be a stranger, thanking him for the millionth time before finally making my way to the car. I made it all the way out of the parking lot before I started to cry which is really pretty impressive I think.
~
I wake up the next morning to my alarm screeching at me. My eyes are puffy and sore from crying, and I slept in my makeup so I look like an absolute train wreck.
I can hear the destinctive sound of Nicki and Pete enjoying a lively round of morning sex which makes me crinkle my mouth up. I reach for my phone to distract myself and see three missed calls and a voicemail from Santana.
I bring the phone to my ear and listen to the loud message, "Josie girl why the fuck don't you like me? We could be so *belch* good together. The sex was so good. Wasn't it good, Josie girl? Didn't you like it? Fuck, you sounded like you liked it. You were all over me that night, what the fuck was I supposed to do!? And now you just...you just act like it didn't even happen!? Fuck that, Jo. Fuck that, and fuck you. You just led me on like that, fucked me like that and then blow me off? You wanna pretend like we're just fuckin friends after that!? Do you do that a lot? Just whore the fuck around whenever you get-" his drunken mumbling quiets as the voicemail beeps, stating that the time limit had been reached. A tear rolls down my face while the bile rises in my throat.
Bubble, *popped*.
--------------------------------------------------------
Hi, Hey, Hello,
sorry it took me a while to update, I've had a bit of a crazy week between getting a new kitten and battling my mental health. I'm so glad to get this chapter up for you though! Let me know what you think, babes. I absolulety squeal with joy any time I get a comment notification.
If you want to hear more from me my twitter is @ stachestyles_ (:
Don't forget to vote if you like it!