Nina's posture had gone rigid, the air seeming to get stuck in her throat as her eyes were set on the man in front of her.
There he stood, looking as if he wasn't expecting Nina to open the door – to see her. Olly stood, lips parted slightly, hands limp and if he hadn't had that banana an hour ago, he was sure he would've collapsed.
"Nina." He breathed out, "I-It's you."
Nina was left speechless, hand tight on the doorknob, heart thumping rapidly against her chest that if biology and science were non-existent, it surely would have jumped out of her body.
"What the fuck do you want?" She found herself asking, tone hostile – a tone that a year ago she wouldn't have imagined to be speaking in to Olly, especially Olly.
"You have every right to scream at me, to shou-Fuck, to hit me even, but please just listen to me." Worryingly, Olly spoke, sorrowful eyes set to look into Nina's angry ones.
In one swift motion, Nina let go of the knob, stepping closer to Olly in an angry stomp, raising one finger to his face, "You think you can come here a year later and tell me what to do? You think it's that easy? You think I'm that easy?"
"No, that's- that's not it, I swear, I-" Without knowing better, Olly had gently reached to Nina's wrist to lower it, only to have Nina yank her hand away from him.
"Don't touch me."
Olly put his hands up, taking a step back, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," when Nina didn't reply and only glared at him, he went on, "I've been here for a while. I came to Flynn's last party but he-he hid you from me, I couldn't find you and I know that you wouldn't miss his gathering for anything," he said quickly, "Well except if you have an early class the next morning – but uh, you graduated so that just-" Olly mumbled to himself before pausing, "Nina, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"For what?" She asked, "What exactly are you sorry for because I have a list and I don't want you staying all damn day here apologising for everything on it."
"I'd do it if you let me," Olly replied, "I'm sorry for leaving like that. You didn't deserve it."
Looking down at his shoes to avoid eye contact, Olly missed Nina's face soften as her gaze fell behind him, on her boyfriend who got out of his car, grabbed his purse, and locked the car before approaching her with a smile.
"Uh, hello, good evening." Harry said casually as he approached them, seeing Nina hold out her hand for him before he held it and stepped closer to her, standing beside her.
Olly's head snapped up, eyes instantly falling on their hands before looking up at Harry.
Noticing the tension, Harry glanced from the man in front of him to his girlfriend beside him, who seemed to have a tight hold on his hand.
"Who are you?" Spitefully, Olly asked.
"Don't talk to him like that." Nina instantly commented, Harry's mind gears working as he took notice that it was the first time for him to see Nina angry.
Protectively, Harry's hand moved from Nina's to wrap his arm around her waist, stepping closer to her, "I'm Harry." As they weren't public, Harry refrained from mentioning that he was Nina's boyfriend, yet knowing that his body language was enough to prove so.
"My boyfriend." Nina did it for him, causing Harry's stomach to flutter and erupt in jitters.
Olly looked from Nina to Harry, and back to Nina. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."
"You think I like you enough to do that?" Sarcastically, Nina asked. "If you don't mind, we have plans."
"I need to talk to you." Olly replied sternly, looking intently at her.
"And I don't."
"Then just listen!" Olly's voice was raised, causing Nina to look at him in shock.
"Alright, mate, this isn't good. Just respect that she doesn't want to talk or to listen. No need to raise your voice like that, should learn better on how to handle rejection." Harry spoke, face hard.
"How about you learn to fuck off?" Olly replied sarcastically, looking at Harry, "Get out of it."
"You're pathetic." Nina shook her head at him, "You come here expecting what? And now you're insulting my boyfriend? A man you wish you were half as decent as he is? Stay out of my life," Nine raised her pointer finger, "You've done enough damage and I'm finally fixing it up."
With that, Nina turned and walked inside, but not before grabbing Harry's hand to pull him with her, slamming the door.
_
Nina was acting as if nothing had happened; she didn't mention who that was to Harry, didn't even cry out of anger.
The moment they stepped inside, she told him about the food she had prepared and was excited for him to try, and even later, as they ate the last bits of food on their plate, Nina was asking Harry about how things were at the studio.
"They were nice," Harry replied slowly, looking at her unsurely as she ate, "Finished two tracks today."
"That's great!" She beamed, "What are they about?"
Harry wasn't sure whether Nina was just an amazing actress when it came to hiding her feelings, or if she really just didn't give a shit about the incident he had seen. Nonetheless, Harry placed his hand on hers, "Honey, do you want to talk? About what happened out there?" He nodded his head to the side.
At the question, Nina's smile faltered, looking down at her plate before playing with the penne pasta with her fork, "Sorry." She mumbled.
"Look at me," Harry said softly, "Nina, look at me, honey."
And she did.
"It's okay. Whenever you want to talk, I'm here, and I'm all ears."
At the assurance, Nina seemed to relax – maybe she relaxed too much because the next thing she knew, her eyes were getting tearful.
"That was Olly."
It seemed like someone punched Harry in the throat as he heard what she said. As if his guts had spiraled around one another, Harry suddenly felt full.
"Olly." He repeated, "The ex?"
She nodded, "The ex."
"Oh."
"Yeah," she chuckled slightly, "Oh."
"He seemed pretty devastated to say the least." Harry said, trying to not come off us as rude or, worse – jealous and insecure. Olly was handsome.
Nina gave him a shrug, "Guess so. Wanted to apologise," she rolled her eyes, "To talk."
"And? What about you?"
"What about me?" Confusingly, Nina asked, looking at Harry.
"Do you not want him to talk?"
The scoff that Nina released wasn't directed to Harry, but rather the idea of having a talk with Olly on how he fucked her up.
"No, I don't," she replied, "That-" she paused, closing her eyes as she took a deep breath before looking back again at Harry, "That bloke had me waking up one morning, after 4 years of being together, to an empty bed and one single note that said he was sorry. A single, fucking note," she stressed, "One whole month of me trying to reach him, only to find that he blocked me from everywhere.
"The only way I knew that he wasn't abducted was when his mum called me after the second week to tell me that he was safe before she hung up. This man destroyed me, had me seeing a therapist and getting started on antidepressants while he was away in God-knows-where, doing God-knows-what, and you ask me if I don't want him to talk? No, I fucking don't."
Deep down, Harry was glad that she got that off of her chest, that she had her moment. It was why he stood up and approached her, hugging her against his stomach as she sat while he stood.
"I'm sorry I'm only just now telling you about that." Nina mumbled softly before she sniffled.
If it weren't for the reminder, Harry would have had forgotten that it wasn't him who knew of what happened – it was Mick.
"It's alright, I appreciate you telling me about it. You didn't have to." Harry assured her, gently stroking her hair.
"How are you so gentle and understanding?" Nina sighed, pulling away to wipe her eyes before looking up at her boyfriend.
"You make it easy," Harry replied genuinely, "Come here." Offering his hand, Nina placed her palm in his before letting Harry walk the both of them to her living room, sitting and pulling her to his lap. "Fuck him," he began, brushing back her hair, "If you don't want to talk with him, don't. Nobody's forcing you to do anything – nobody should."
"I just- What would he even say? Sorry I left so suddenly and ghosted you after 4 years of a perfect relationship? Sorry I fucked you up?" Her shoulders went up before she slumped down, leaning against Harry and resting her head on his shoulder, "I'm happy with you. Olly was always so indecisive when it came to important decisions, would pick something then regret it. Maybe I should've looked further into it, should've realised that maybe it meant something.
Maybe I'm not so different from an ice cream flavour or a job offer."
Harry frowned, wrapping his arms around Nina, "That's not true," he shook his head, "God, that's not true. Of course you're much more important. You're a human being – an incredible one. You're everything any man and woman and anybody else can ask and look for, Nina. That sick excuse of a man couldn't see it. I know this is so cliché, but anyone would be lucky to have you.
I'm so fucking lucky to have you."
When Nina sniffled, Harry turned his head to press a kiss to her head, lingering for a moment before pulling away. "Before he left, when I was awake, he told me that he loved me," she softly said.
"He lied right to my face and I couldn't even see it." Nina mumbled, nuzzling her head in Harry's neck.
His heart ached, getting reminded of the secret he held tightly and secured away from the one person who deserved to know the truth.
"I don't think you're like him," Nina added, "Unless it takes me another 4 years to realise that." And although she joked and chuckled, it hurt Harry that her ex had done all that.
He really needed to tell her the truth.
_
[ twitter ]
ninamaye
the fact that some people think it's so easy to barge into sb's life after fucking them over is ???
1k Retweets 437 Quote Tweets 3k Likes
ninamaye
anyway hey. earlier today
9k Retweets 12k Quote Tweets 22k Likes
..
[ instagram ]
harry.stylesupdts Harry followed Nina Maye Brown and liked her recent tweet/picture. // August 2nd, 2019.
View all 437 comments
fan1 as he should
fan2 can't blame him
fan3 took him long enough!!!
fan4 she's so beautiful I hate her
fan5 SHIP
↳ fan6 ew no
↳ fan5 @fan6 this is a harmless ship ??? simply try to get a life if you aren't okay with harry dating
_
Their night was lovely to say the least. With two cups of tea by her window, Harry and Nina had dived into a hearty conversation about their past.
They sat opposite to one another, her leg stretched on his lip as he had a hand resting on it, both seeming to find comfort in the setting.
"We're still friends," Harry said, "Camille and I. We're on good terms but we don't really talk, which is fine."
Nina nodded understandingly, motioning for him to go on.
"And I think- I wrote this song about her a while back before I knew you," he clarified, "When I asked you once, when we were Facetiming, if you were okay with her being on the album and you said that it's my music and that I should express myself however I please," without being aware of it, Harry's lips stretched into a small smile, "I think that was closure for my closure if that makes sense."
"It does." Nina assured with a smile that mirrored his.
"Yeah," he chuckled, shrugging, "That's that."
"How is the album coming along?"
He wasn't sure what to tell her.
Does he tell her that he had 10 tracks ready, 5 of which are about her?
Does he tell her that Lights Up, the song she had made an appearance in the music video of, was inspired by the day they had their test photoshoot and the night when they stargazed on Flynn's building's roof? Does he tell her that he thinks she's so much like gold that he wrote a song called Golden about her? Does he tell her that when they danced in his kitchen before their first kiss, he had written Sunflower Vol.6? What about Adore You and how he watched her go all bashful when he called her "honey"?
Does he tell her that he wrote Watermelon Sugar a day after he had tasted her?
"I'm definitely more relaxed with that one than the first one," he answered, "And it's already set that Lights Up will be the first single we'll drop."
"That one-" Nina beamed before slumping, a bashful smile on her face, "Uh, you told me I inspired you with that one."
Smiling, Harry moved closer to her, leaning to place a soft peck on her lips, "Not just that one."
Nina's eyes widened, a gasp leaving her lips, "Shut up..."
"No joke."
"You didn't!" She laughed gleefully.
"Oh, I did." Harry nodded with a smug smile.
"Oh my God." Nina placed her hand on her mouth in surprise.
"What? You think it's hard writing about you?" Harry rhetorically asked, "It can't be hard when you're just, like that."
"Like what?" She tilted her head, a childlike smile on her face.
"This," Harry motioned with his hand, "You. Funny, talented, witty, so fucking gorgeous and absolutely mind-blowing in other things." Harry ended with a suggestive smile that had Nina laugh as she covered her face.
"Stop."
Harry giggled to himself, feeling full of himself at how bashful and shy he made her. Resting his hand on her thigh, Harry gave a gentle squeeze before she looked at him.
Nina wanted to take him in. She wanted to leave and grab any of her cameras, maybe her polaroid, to capture that moment; the serenity in the company, how genuine it all felt, and how Harry's presence had made her feel at ease as though nothing inconvenient had happened hours ago – but she didn't want to interrupt the moment. Nina didn't want to leave him, even for a second.
"You know," she began, bending the leg which Harry didn't have his hand on so she can hug it to her chest, "I would've never thought that I'd meet someone, only to be their girlfriend so soon. Hasn't even been 3 months." She chuckled, "If someone were to step back and check our timeline, they'd probably say that we're faster than a bloody airplane."
And he agreed. But between the time of texting her as Mick, and meeting her, and travelling with her, to their sleepovers and dates, to their nightly ritual of talking on the phone, Harry couldn't bring himself to say that they were going fast.
Nina thought the same. Find someone you connect to so well and you'd think you spent a lifetime together – know someone for years and have them walk away from you in a sudden moment and you begin to question if you had known that person at all.
"I think it's what happens when you don't really have to plan something," Nina continued, "Like, I knew for sure that I didn't want anything to do with relationships. No romance with men, no romance with women, just go through the day solo," she shrugged, "And it's all because of these trust issues I carried around. But then- But then you came," Nina breathed out dreamily, smiling at Harry, "And I don't know how you did it – how you do it, but it's been easy with you."
Harry felt like his heart was soaring, but good God, he should've thought before speaking.
"I didn't think I'd fall in love again but here I am."
And just like that, Nina stiffened, smile faltering slightly, lips parting as she stared at him.
It seemed to take Harry a moment to realise his slip-up. His eyebrows shot up, opening and closing his mouth.
"What?" Nina's voice wasn't above a whisper, staring at him in surprise.
"It slipped," Harry quickly said, taking a breath before he rubbed his temple, "I'm sorry. This is so fast and embarrassing, I loo-"
"Harry," Nina interrupted him sternly but was still gentle. Standing up, she approached him, Harry turning fully to face her as she stood between his legs, hands gentle as they held his cheeks, "It's okay."
He wanted the earth to split in half, swallow him, and maybe spit him out strong enough to send him to space.
"It's okay," she repeated, "But I'm not ready to say it."
Maybe he should've felt insecure, sad even, but he didn't. It was how gentle she was that had put him at ease, knowing that she needed time and he was willing to give that to her.
Harry was willing to give her anything to make sure that she stayed right there, beside him and being exclusively his and him being exclusively hers.
God, she had power over him that she probably wasn't even aware of.
Putting his hands underneath her crewneck, Harry grazed her skin softly as he looked up at her. "I'll wait."
_
From: chrisatkinson@snaplux.co.uk
To: ninamayeb@snaplux.co.uk
cc: jeffreyazoff@fullstopmgmt.com
Subject: Harry Styles' Album Cover
Good day, Nina🌹
Please make sure you drop by the office tomorrow before 3PM to sign the contract of being in charge of Harry's album cover and to discuss the payment and whatnot.
P.S. Jeff & I have big news to share!
Love you, kid!
Papa Chris
_
[ mick🥬, nini📸 ]
nini📸:
I don't think I would've been where I am in my life
If it weren't for the advice you have given me
i'm just v happy with how things are right now
with harry and I
I guess I just want to say
thank you :)
..
Nina had then locked her phone and placed it on her bedside table, being careful not to wake Harry who had his head on her chest, an arm and a leg draped over her.
She had failed to notice how Harry's phone lit up with messages as it lied on the bedside beside him.
//
this story's timeline is as good as 2020 is
also i recreated a tumble account, harrylilies (yes, one 'l') and i'm too emotional