[Harry]

The bubbling in the pit of my stomach only increased more as I stepped onto the small front porch, my hands shaking uncontrollably from pure agitation. Tonight I have scheduled another date with Jenny, who sounded excited through our message exchanges a few days ago. The past couple of weeks have been lovely. She was quick to inform me that her daughter wouldn’t be home so there was no risk of her seeing me, despite me wanting to meet her correctly. Also, she told me she’d be waiting in the living room.

I lift a shaking hand to the door, banging my knuckles against the wood a few heavy times to make sure my arrival is heard clearly just in case she isn’t currently on her couch. My heart is beating unsteadily, and my knees feel extremely weak. It’s not like it’s our first date, so I have no clue as to why I’m feeling so anxious.

The door swings open suddenly, a beautiful woman is revealed to my eyes. A sweet aroma of strawberries fills my nose - she always smells so nice.

“Jen.” I smile, reaching out to quickly hug her. We only put one arm around each other, yet it’s perfect. “Good evening, love. You look stunning.”

I leave a soft kiss on her forehead, causing her to flush and hide her face by looking down at her feet. I lift her chin with my finger, her head tilting backwards.

“When will you stop being so shy around me, hm?” My hand falls from her face once I know she’s going to keep her eyes locked on mine.

“When you stop flirting so much.” She mumbles, still slightly embarrassed.

“It’s not flirting, it’s the truth. You look amazing.”

“Stop.. Harry.” She sighs, a small laugh escaping a second after.

“Alright, we’ve got to get going.” I say, gesturing for her to walk ahead of me.

She does as I insist and starts the short trip to my car in the driveway. Her mother isn’t here right now so I had the chance to use the drive way instead of the street this go around. Speaking of her mother, I want to know what her daughter is doing.

“So, Rosalie isn’t home?” I casually ask as I open the car door for her.

She gets in, sits her purse between her feet, and answers me, “No. My mom took her to my grandmother’s for a visit. She lives about an hour away.” She informs me, in which I nod.

It doesn’t take but a minute for me to get in the car and back out of the drive way. Currently, the traffic in her neighborhood is very light - almost non existent.

“Harry..” Her voice trails off, making me curious about whether she’s alright or not.

“Yes, love?”

“There’s something I want to tell you.” She sighs, slouching down in the seat.

I glance over, “What is it?”

Jenny becomes quiet, only the sound of our mixed breathing is in the air. For a moment I thought about pulling off the road, so that we could talk if something serious is on her mind. However, I continue driving, hoping she will tell me.

“It’s about Rosalie.”

This sparks my attention even more. I grip the steering wheel, unsure of what’s about to come out of her mouth. I swallow harshly, pushing down the nervous lump in my throat.

“When you picked me up a few weeks ago... she.. she s-saw you from the bedroom w-window.” My heart comes to a stop, fearing the worst. Jenny continues, “.. my mom said she cried until I got home.. when.. when I walked in.. she started.. saying how mad she was at me.. for being with you. She said it to my mom.. she doesn't know that I was told.”

My entire existence feels weak and broken, she despises me. I can’t blame the poor girl, I lashed out on her mother for no damn reason at all. I clench my jaw, trying to hold in my emotions. There has to be a way I can mend things with her.

“I.. I tried to.. to tell her you.. you were just upset that night.. she wouldn’t listen.” It’s evident in her voice that she’s being greatly effected by this. “I don’t know what to do anymore. I tried everything.”

My mouth opens, yet no words come out. Thoughts are stuck in my head, leading me unable to think about anything else. Rosalie doesn’t like me, she clearly doesn’t want her mother to have any sort of association with me, therefore I am in a tough situation. All I want is to be with Jenny and be happy with her. I want to take care of her and keep her safe - I feel the same about her daughter. I just want to show them how much they mean to me.

“Harry.” Jenny sighs, pulling me out of my depressed thoughts. “Rosalie wants to meet you.”

Instantly I think I’ve gone absolutely crazy. I’m hearing things, right? She didn’t just tell me that, did she? My throat is dry, shock begins to take me over. The heart in my chest is violently thrashing around - is this real?

“Wh-what?” I stutter, squeezing my hands tight around the wheel.

“She told me she wants to meet you.” Jenny explains further, her tone still soft beside me. “But.. I don’t think I’m ready for that to happen. And-“

She comes to a halt, making me glance over at her. I’m concerned about how she’s handling this, how this is treating her mentally. From what I can see physically, she’s not phased. There aren’t dark circles under her eyes from the lack of sleep. She hadn’t been sluggish. She seems somewhat normal - except her voice. I can easily hear the worry laced in her words.

With a deep exhale, she carries on, “When I told her that.. her behavior got even worse. She was demanding to speak to you. But like I said.. I’m not allowing that just yet, not this soon.”

“I don’t want you to rush this, I know it means a lot to you. It has to be a tough decision.” Despite not wanting to, I tell her this in hopes of lifting her spirits.

“It’s very tough.”

My eyes linger over to her as I reach a stop light. She must have felt my stare because she turned her head, eyes catching mine. She smiles slightly, almost apologetically.

“She wants to know if you’d be willing to talk to her. Of course, it’ll be a while. But I think she’ll calm down about it if she knows you’re alright with it. She's so worried that you wouldn't want to.” Jenny mentions, her head shifting so that her gaze is directed out the windshield.

“Of course I’ll be willing.”

“I-I guess I’ll let her know.” She mumbled.

“And let me know.. when her and I can talk.” I throw out, knowing that I sound completely desperate for this to occur.

“You know I will.” She leans forward, her fingers twisting the knob to the air conditioner - turning it on a higher setting.

I don’t mind her actions, I like for her to be utterly comfortable when she’s with me. Knowing that her daughter wants to discuss things with me both excites and terrifies me. It could truly make or break the relationship I have with Jenny - a friendship wouldn’t even be possible if Rosalie ends up hating me entirely. Jenny will pick her daughter over me and it will always be that way. No matter how we feel about it, if her daughter isn’t happy then she’ll do whatever she needs to do to please her. It doesn’t come as a surprise though, that’s her child - of course she’ll do what’s best for the two of them. I comprehend this fully, even though it hurts.

“Where are we going?” She questions, crushing the short silence we held.

“There’s this nice Italian place I want to take you to, since you love pasta.” I smile, feeling her eyes on me.

“You remember that? I told you that the first time we went out.” She says with a slight bit of shock.

“I haven’t forgotten anything we’ve ever talked about.” I smirk gently, “you don’t seem like you can say the same, love.”

She gasps, “I can remember everything, too, Mr. Styles.”

“Well, Ms. Scott, to prove your claims true.. tell me my sister’s boyfriend’s name. I’ve only mentioned him once.” I display a proper tone, making her giggle at my goofy behavior.

“His name is Evan.” She answers with great pride.

I let out a huff, “Correct. How many major cities does my father have offices in?” My decision to carry on the game just makes her laugh, I could listen to that beautiful sound forever and never get tired of it.

“46 major cities and 13 additional places.”

“Hm, you do listen. I forget that one all the time.”


-


For the fifth time in the past fifteen minutes, her eyes are trained on her phone screen. I gulp gently, nervous that something has happened that she might need to tend to. My attempt at keeping myself focused fully on the road has failed. The light from her screen keeps flashing in the corner of my eye.

“Rosalie is throwing a fit with my mom.” Jenny sighs out, I can hear the slight annoyance in her voice.

“Why’s that?”

“She knows you’re with me. She is very upset.” Jenny says, making my heart skip a beat - but not in a good way.

“She hates me.” I mumble, shaking my head in shame.

“She just doesn’t know you, and she's jealous that I'm with you.” Jenny shakes her head, clearly not agreeing with me.

“If she ever gets to know me I’m sure she’ll still hate me, Jen.” A huff comes from me, irritation nagging in my head. “She watched me treat you like fuckin’ shit. And I made you cry. If I were her, I’d hate me, too.”

Jenny takes a deep breath, evidently she’s become annoyed with me. It’s obvious that I’m not the best person in the world, so it’s no surprise that she’s feeling that way.

“Harry, please don’t do this.” She speaks gently, hesitating only slightly.

“I’m being honest, Jenny.”

“Just shut up about it, please. I have to hear her talk about every single day so I’d like to go a few damn hours not talking about it.” The anger she displays caught me off guard - perhaps I’ve took things too far.

“I’m sorry.” I mumble back, keeping my attention settled on my driving for the rest of our drive.

Notes

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