Harry's P.O.V
July 11, 2020
I'm rushing out of the plane gate, and I have my team behind me. Mitch is by my side, and Sarah is right next to him. I swear if we miss this flight, I'm blaming Mitch, because he made us late this morning. I know that being late to the first flight has nothing to do with being late to this one, but I'm still going to blame him.
He had to stop for starbucks before heading to LAX, which made us all late to the ATL flight, which led us to where we are now, so I WILL blame him.
Running across the giant Atlanta airport will forever be a maze to me, but we finally find the gate that leads to our flight. Right as they are about to close the doors, I run up and slam my ticket on the desk. I instantly feel bad for startling the woman, so I apologize out of instinct.
"I'm so sorry, we had a connecting flight, but we are here." I say to the nice flight attendant lady. I am still breathing heavily between every few words. She gave us all a sympathetic smile, and let us through the almost closed doors. Relief washed over me, "Thank you so much again!" I said back to her as we walked down the hallway leading to the plane doors. I checked my plane seat, and nearly let out a groan when I noticed that I was all the way in the back. I hate being in the back, since those are the last people to leave the plane. Stress has been building up lately, and the slightest things are starting to irritate me easier. I head back there, and notice a blonde girl, sitting in my seat.
"Excuse me... I think you're in my seat." I inform the young woman. She looks up at me, with the most beautiful blue eyes, with a look of shock behind them.
"o- oh.. i'm sorry, i thought I was going to be sitting alone.."she stammered out. She seemed flustered by my quick confrontation. "I just get nervous sitting on the aisle seat." She has a southern accent that gives off an act of innocence.
I let her know that she can stay there, but I may have to peak around her. I have a slight fear of airplanes, mainly for when they take off, but I'd rather her feel safe, considering that she seems young. I introduce myself, trying to be a friendly seat neighbor for this long ride. I'm glad that I was placed with someone who looks to be around my age, so we don't have to sit through the awkwardness that arises sometimes.
"My name is Oakland, Oakland Pierce." She lets me know in her sweet southern tone. I'm charmed, and sense that she is fine with light conversation, which is a relief.
"Oakland, like the city?" I asked. I remember driving through that city once while trying to get to San Francisco, so it was weird to hear the name. She nods, and tells me about the origin of her name. Her big blue eyes are locked on mine, and I'm captivated by her presence.
"Well, that is a beautiful name for a beautiful girl." I tell her. I think that if you see something or like something about someone, and it could possibly make their day, then you should tell them. To treat people how you would want to be treated. With kindness.
She smirked at my words, and looked down at her fiddling hands. The flusteredness washed over her makes me smile. She gave me a small 'thank you', and I caught myself staring at her profile for a little too long. I reached down and pulled out my laptop, opening it up to my music editor. I wanted to let out a sigh, since the writing process has been a little harder than expected. Good thing we are on the way to Jamaica. I don't want to deal with this right now, so I looked over at her screen, seeing that she was watching something. Maybe talking to her could take my mind off of my stress. I asked what she was watching, since it seemed to be a movie.
"Oh, it's some random movie called After. My sister and I like to hate-watch teen romance movies, since we know that it isn't really like that in real life." she tells me. I've never heard of the movie, but it sounds weird. I laugh at the term she used. she has a goofy feel to her, and I am glad I can spend this time with her, instead of being consumed by my thoughts.
"Hmm... never heard of it, but I like that term.. 'Hate-watching'. I might have to coin that." I told her. "You seem very goofy." I don't see it as a bad thing at all, I actually like when people have lively personalities instead of putting up a front. I can tell that she doesn't know how to respond, but she lets me know that she has been called that before. I smirk at her without even realizing it. I don't want to bother her too much, seeing as she may be uncomfortable by my upfrontness. I am a pretty open person, and I like to have conversations with strangers. I went back to my computer, hoping that I could come up with something that could be creative, but nothing. I am snapped out of my thoughts by a tapping noise, and I notice that it is the girl. She seemed nervous once the plane started moving, so I put my hands on her shaking ones, and told her to relax. "Don't worry about it, everything's going to be fine." She calmed down, and looked out the window. Soon after, the flight attendant came by and got us both waters. I noticed that she changed what she was watching, and I asked her about the new show.
"Uh... well I'm a dancer, trying to go professional I guess." she tells me. Since there isn't any service, she is playing old videos. Of course, a dancer. The coolest profession. I tell her that it is a beautiful form of art, and she lit up like a Christmas tree with a smile. She told me that made her day, and then asked about what I do. I tell her that I am a singer, and she seems surprised. She asks if I can play her something, and I'm a bit thrown back by her interest. People usually assume that I am either no good, or a complete narcissist, so they don't show much curiosity about me.
I contemplate playing her one of my less meaningful songs, like Kiwi, but I feel something telling me to show her Ever Since New York, one of the most meaningful songs I've written so far. I play it for her, in hopes that she may show me her dancing. She listened, seeming to be focusing on the lyrics. She had a soft, beautiful smile displayed across her face, signaling that she was enjoying it, and relief washed over me knowing that. Once it was finished, she said that it was beautiful.
Do I share the story behind it? I mean if I put this song out there, people will know the backstory so... I might as well.
"When I was in New York once, I actually found out that my step father was sick. I was devastated and wrote the song, wanting to get some better news, but nothing followed." I felt heavy saying those words, but knowing that other people would know about it soon helped me get them out. "I used to struggle with putting my heart into my music, but my friends began to tell me that if I want to be successful, when I have to be okay with the people listening to the deepest parts of me." I spilled out, without even thinking. She maintained eye contact, which really helped to know that she wasn't just blowing off what I had told her.
We continued talking, and she showed me a video of her dancing, which was absolutely beautiful. She told me that it held a very meaningful spot in her heart, and that touched me. We talked about silly things, and before we knew it, we arrived in Jamaica. I am glad that I had someone to fill the time with, but now it was time to leave. We got off the plane, and said our goodbyes, and that was it.
"Dude, who was that?" Mitch asked me as I met up with him in the gate.
"Her name is Oakland, she was pretty cool." was all I could come up with. I mean, I barely knew her, and now she is gone. No need to dwell on her. We started walking towards the exit, since I was the last to load off the plane.
"Well, she was very pretty, H." he says back to me. I nodded at his words, not thinking too hard about them, considering I would never see her again.
But there is something about her, even though I met her only once. I have a feeling that she will be invading my thoughts soon. Might fuck around and write a song about her. Hahahaha.
We got our rental cars, and I drove to the house we would be staying in for however long this trip will end up being. We decided to buy one-way flights, considering this whole writing process could take months. I wanted to come out to somewhere more remote, where I could put my whole soul and life into my music. Jamaica was the choice, and where I will be living for who knows how long.
Once I arrived, I went inside and went straight to my room. I threw everything down, and collapsed on my bed. Traveling always drains me, so I close my eyes for a quick nap.
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Woken up by everyone in my room, I groaned and rolled over. They said that there is a bar that is hosting a karaoke night, and that I should go. I am always down for some karaoke, butI really don't want to go. They begged me, acting as if they wouldn't leave until I was with them, and dragged me out of the warmth of my bed. They tossed some clothes at me while I sat on the edge of my bed, still groggy. I sloppily put on some black jeans and a spotted button up, not even bothering to fully button it up. I'm still in a haze from my sleep, but going out could wake me up. I peaked in the mirror, cleaning up my hair a bit, since it got messy from the nap.
Once everyone was ready, we went out, piling into the car. We went to a local club, and it seemed pretty packed, but we got in quick. I went straight to the bar, and got myself a drink, since I wasn't too fond of going out.
I stood by myself while everyone socialized, when a girl came up to me. Her name was Sloan, and she seemed nice, but I wasn't too interested. She seemed eager to talk to me, batting her brown doe eyes. I forced a smile at her, and excused myself, heading up on the stage as a coverup for leaving her conversation. I was starting to feel the drink as I chose a song.
Killing Me Softly With His Song by the Fugees will always be a classic. I started singing, not caring about a thing in the world, until my eyes met her vibrant blue ones. I signaled her over to me with a quick wave, and a smile crept upon her lips as she made her way towards where I was. I continued singing, smiling through the lyrics. Her presence shifted my mood completely, and I was actually glad my friends dragged me here.
I can't believe I've seen her again. I thought she was gone forever.
I reached down, pulling her up to me. She took my hand, and stepped up on the stage. I pointed the mic to her, and she sang the lyrics. Thank goodness she knew the song. She seemed to be more loose than earlier on the plane, and maybe the drink in her hand had something to do with it. She was much more bold, and I was entranced by her attitude. Once the song was over, we headed off stage and back on the floor. I didn't even need another drink, because her energy was intoxicating by itself.
"Let's dance, Love." I said, taking her hand. She lit up when she heard the next song, and we sang the lyrics to Are You Bored Yet? By the Wallows.
"Oakland, teach me how to dance, since you are a professional" I cheekily said to her.
"Harryyyyy, I'm not a professional," she says back to me with a cute annoyance in her tone. She placed my hands, and told me to follow her lead.
We continued singing, and dancing together. "feels like I've known you my whole life," we sang to each other. it's true, I feel like I am with someone that I hadn't just met.
I felt so drawn to her, gazing into each other's eyes. I decided to go for it, and leaned in, but she was ripped away before anything could happen. I watched as she was pulled off, away forever.
Goodbye Oakland.
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I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
The next chapter will also be from Harry's pov, to explain what is going on in both sides of the "relationship?"
Let me know your thoughts!
Sending all my love <3<3<3