The Girl with the Purpled Streaked Hair

The hysteria of the party was constantly escalating. Everyone was talking or laughing or conjuring some sort of loud noise. No one was holding back tonight. Every single person loved the movie and once it was over all the guests attended the after party to celebrate the boys' impressive success. Harry and Lori were together the whole time the first half of the party, meeting more of his friends and colleagues, but Perrie had somehow snuck Lori away so she could introduce her to Jade and Leigh-Anne. As the girls were talking Harry grabbed Lori's hips, making her jump at the sudden contact. Her jumpiness made him smirk and she hit his arm as a little form of revenge.
"Want to go to the photo booth?" he asked.
Lori nodded and quickly said goodbye to the three girls as Harry pulled her away. To their luck the photo booth was open so they hopped inside and closed the black curtain to improve their privacy. Harry hit the green start button and a count down appeared on the screen. Their first picture was of them making angry faces, then of them doing the duck face, and then Lori just stuck her tongue out as Harry displayed the peace sign with an overenthusiastic face. As the count down began for their last picture Harry turned Lori's face toward his and gently began to kiss her. She began to kiss him back and their kiss became more intimate as the picture was taken. Neither of them broke away, ignoring the flashing screen that read Pictures Printed!. Harry's hand slowly began to run up her bare thigh, but was quickly removed when they heard the sound of the curtain being pulled back. Niall and his brother, Greg, were peering in at the shocked couple, very embarrassed that they had interrupted. Lori and Harry scrambled out of the booth as they muttered a humiliated apology and Niall just tried to hold in his laughter. Red heat rose in Lori's cheeks as she and Harry grabbed the pictures and walked from the photo booth.
"Like them?" Harry asked as he showed her the picture strip.
"I love them," she breathed. Harry wasn't able to hear her voice, but he knew by her face that she adored the photos.
"Keep them," Harry said as he handed them to Lori.
"Are you sure?" She asked hesitantly.
"I want you to have them."
Lori smiled as she took the pictures from Harry's large hands. The pictures meant a lot to her, they were something she could hold while Harry was away; something she could feel when she missed him. This was the Harry she knew, the silly yet affectionate man who always had her smiling. She wished the world saw what she saw, but then again she was glad he was like this only with her; it made her feel special.
"Come to New York with me," Harry said, his eyes observing every little detail of Lori's face.
"What?" she exclaimed, utterly shocked by his request.
"We're flying there tomorrow morning. Come with us. We can explore the city, go sight seeing, whatever you want to do. I just want you with me."
Lori shook her head while a huge smile spread across her face. He was incredibly good at shocking her and he liked that. He liked that Lori would just go along with almost anything.
"You're insane," Lori scoffed, but she nodded yes.
Harry pulled her into a tight hug and lifted her feet off the ground, causing her to erupt in laughter. They continued to enjoy the party, indulging themselves in complete and utter celebration.
***
"Come on Harry, we have to wake up," Lori begged as she gently shook Harry. "Lets go, Styles. Rise and shine superstar, we still have to pack before Paul picks us up. He'll be here in like an hour."
Both of them were exhausted from the night before. The moment they got back they crashed onto the bed together. Harry pulled the covers over his head only for Lori to remove them. He groaned and Lori tried to suppress her grin.
"You're a meanie," he said in his deep, raspy, sleepy voice.
"A meanie who needs you to get up. I have to go shower so I want you up by the time I get out."
"Yes, Mum," he mumbled as Lori left the room.
"I heard that!" she called from outside the door, making Harry chuckle.
Seconds later he got up and walked to the kitchen to make himself some tea and Lori's coffee. As the water boiled he changed into a pair of black skinny jeans and a dark blue t-shirt. After he tied up his white converse he drank his tea and walked into his room to decide what to pack. Lori walked in wearing black leggings and a matching tank top, her hair still damp from the shower. She walked over next to Harry and crossed her arms over her chest just to mock him.
"There's coffee in the kitchen if you didn't know. Want to help me find what to pack?"
"How long are you going to be in New York?"
"Just a few days. I was thinking of bringing four of everything."
Lori walked into his closet and threw a white t-shirt, his Rolling Stones t-shirt, a dark blue button shirt, and a gray t-shirt on his bed. Then she threw four pairs of jeans on it as well, one black pair, two blue pairs, and a gray pair. A black blazer and a gray blazer were thrown on his bed moments before Lori came out. They examined the pile of clothes on his bed.
"Am I a stylist or what?" Lori asked sarcastically.
"Well done, but something is missing."
Lori walked back inside the closet and threw a green beanie on top of the pile.
"Thank you!" Harry called.
"I suppose you can pick out your underwear and socks by yourself," Lori replied as she began to exit the room.
"Lori, you need to cover up," Harry walked into the closet and came back with a black sweater in his hand, "Wear this. It'll be cold this early in the morning."
Lori pulled it over her head and looked down to see that it read Teenage Runaway on it. She thanked him and walked into her room to quickly back what little clothes she brought. As she was folding up the gorgeous dress Harry had gotten her a smile subconsciously formed on her face, remembering their little trip to the store. After applying her makeup and tying up her converse she walked into the kitchen with her luggage in her hand. She poured herself some coffee as she waited for Harry. His cat jumped onto the island that Lori was leaning on and nuzzled her arm with his small fury head as if that was it's way of saying goodbye. Harry walked over to Lori and his cat and petted his head before they walked to the front door.
"Got everything?" Harry asked as he pulled his keys out of his pocket.
"Yup."
A car horn honked outside five times, signaling that it was Paul.
"Time to go," Harry said.
***
"One two three four I declare thumb war. Five six seven eight, this'll be a piece of cake."
Harry and Lori were sitting next to each other, thumb wrestling on the plane with the rest of the boys. The airport had been swarmed by fans and paparazzi so Lori was naturally frightened, but Harry had helped her through the crowds a long with a few security guards. All the boys were overjoyed to see Lori, they didn't even question why she was with them. Eleanor and Perrie were at the airport to say goodbye to their boyfriends and hugged Lori goodbye as well, telling her to keep an eye on them during the flight. As Louis and Eleanor kissed goodbye Harry had taken off his beanie and pulled it over Lori's face, making her laugh at his random behavior.
"Shield your eyes!" he had yelled, "Protect your innocence!"
That was when Niall scoffed and yelled "You bloody hypocrite!". Then he told everyone what he had seen inside the photo booth. Lori's cheeks grew hot, but she just stuck out her tongue and gave Harry a kiss to his lips, making the boys holler and whistle. As Lori and Harry lazily thumb wrestled they began to talk.
"When's the premiere?" she asked as she noticed how large Harry's hands were compared to her own.
"Seven, I think. What are you going to do once you get back home?"
"Sleep," Lori answered, causing Harry to laugh. "When did you know you wanted to be a singer?"
"Ever since I was a little kid, I just liked performing in front of people. It gave me a huge rush. What did you want to be when you were little?"
"You're an amazing performer so dream accomplished. I-I don't really think I had a dream when I was a little kid. I was a strange child, still am."
"You didn't have a dream when you were younger?" Harry asked in disbelief. "You didn't want to be president or a princess or anything?"
She shook her head and smiled. "Nope, I was just weird."
"Well what weird things did you do?" Harry asked curiously.
Lori began to laugh to herself, remembering something from her childhood that Harry wanted to know desperately.
"What?" Harry asked, "What'd you do?"
"When I was like seven we had read a book about Halloween at school and it talked about what little kids were afraid of. Some were afraid of ghosts or the dark or spiders. My teacher told me that it's called a phobia when you're afraid of something and I began to wonder what phobias I had so I went online and searched up a bunch of phobias. I printed out a list of what I thought I had and I'd carry it around in my pocket. Weird, I know, but I had become really paranoid of what I had."
"So you self-diagnosed yourself?" Lori nodded. "What'd you have?" Harry chuckled.
"Agateophobia, the fear of being insane," Lori admitted sheepishly
Harry began to laugh and Lori hit his arm with her free hand. She pulled her hand out of Harry's grip and crossed her arms over her chest. Harry knew that the little smile on her face was fake, he could tell this wasn't a laughing topic for her. He noticed her eyes were a little shiny and immediately felt guilty. His arms wrapped around her, but she shrugged him off.
"It's not funny," she whined, the small smile on her face still there. "I really thought I was insane because I didn't fit in with all the other kids. T-That's why I became so shy."
"Hey, I'm sorry for laughing. I didn't know you really were scared."
Harry wrapped his arms around her again in a comforting embrace and this time she didn't object. He really was sorry that he had made Lori a little upset. She usually wasn't one to get hurt over harsh words, she had become immune to them thanks to her parents.
"I wasn't laughing at you," Harry said comfortingly as Lori leaned into him, "I just never would've thought you questioned your mental state. You're not insane, you just have a different perspective on life which I love. If it matters, I think you're perfectly sane."
Lori looked up and smiled at Harry before kissing his lips. He always knew how to make her feel better and she couldn't understand how he knew all the right words. She was scared of how many feelings he gave her and how easily he could make her open up.
"It matters a lot," she said softly.
***
Lori walked through the door of her and Harry's hotel room and sat next to Harry on the couch. They had landed an hour ago and had some free time for a few hours before they had to get ready for the premiere. Lori's bus back to Pennsylvania wasn't leaving until eight. He smiled at her and wrapped his arm protectively around her shoulder, making her feel warm by his touch. He kissed her on the lips, a short and sweet little peck that made her smile. She nuzzled her nose into the crook of his neck and kissed his tendor skin.
"It's amazing outside," she said, "let's go do something."
"What do you want to do?" Harry asked as he stared into Lori's bright eyes.
Lori got up and attempted to pull Harry off the couch without any success, making Harry chuckle. She sat on his lap, facing his beautiful face.
"Come to the beach with me."
"Okay, let's go," Harry complied without giving it another thought.
Lori got off of Harry and followed him into his bedroom. She grabbed her bikini from her suitcase, silently thanking Christine for making her pack it, and walked into the bathroom to go change. Harry quickly changed into his swimming trunks while Lori was in the bathroom. When he was done he knocked on the bathroom door moments before Lori opened it. He looked her up and down and smiled. She was wearing jean shorts and a t-shirt to cover up her swimsuit. His arm slung over her shoulder protectively as they headed out of their room and Lori wrapped her arm around his torso. They walked out to his car and the usual screams of fans were less frightening to Lori than they had before.
As they drove Lori stared out the window, admiring the beauty of busy New York. She jumped out of the car the moment they got to the beach and Harry immediately followed her. He caught up to her, picked her up, and carried her into the cold water bridal style. Laughter erupted from their smiling mouths as Harry spun them in the water, Lori clinging onto him for dear life even though she knew Harry would never drop her. They were both glad no one was around, no reporters, no fans, just them. He carried Lori back to the sand, their legs soaked. They stripped to their bathing suits and ran back into the water. As they waded Harry grabbed the back of Lori's thighs and lifted her into the air. She wrapped her legs around his torso and pressed her body to his bare chest. They stood there in the water, staring longingly into each others' eyes while Lori was wrapped around Harry's muscular body. She leaned in and kissed Harry's plump lips. His tongue slipped into her mouth and his grip on her grew a little tighter. Slowly, Harry got deeper and deeper into the water and Lori knew what he was going to do.
“Don't you dare!” she yelled, but was ignored as a mischevious grin spread across Harry's face.
He brought them underwater, crashing his lips onto hers the moment they were fully submerged. After a few more moments he brought them back up for air, but their lips never separated. He could feel Lori laughing in bewtween their kiss. Their lips still kept connection as Harry walked them back onto the beach and laid them down in the warm sand, his body pressed onto hers. When their lips seperated Harry sat up and effortlessly lifted Lori onto his lap. Her arms went around his neck and she watched Harry make a heart in the sand with his finger. He put a H and a L in it and then kissed Lori's lips for a few seconds before separating and leaning his forehead against hers. Being with each other was so simple and easy and yet it confused Lori as to how one person just staring at you could mean so much. As they enjoyed the silence and the comfort of one another Lori caught Harry staring at her scars. She quickly turned her arm so they were hidden.
"Sorry," Harry said quietly, "I didn't mean to stare at them.
"It's alright," Lori answered as she shrugged and stared at the sand, hoping that'd be the end of the conversation, but it wasn't.
"Do they ever still hurt?"
Lori shook her head. "I haven't done it in a long time." She looked into Harry's concerned eyes. "Don't worry, Harry. D-Does it bother you?"
"Of course not!" Harry answered instantly. "Why would you think that?"
"I-I just don't want you thinking you're obligated to 'fix me' or something like that. I want you to know that I don't want you being with me just because of that one thing. I'm not as broken as I used to be and I don't expect you too kiss my scars away or anything like that."
“But what if I want to kiss them away?” Harry lifted her arm and softly kissed each scar. "I know you're strong Lori. I want to be with you because to me you're not broken at all. It's inspiring how you did it all on your own. Don't think I'd ever think you're weak, but if you ever did need someone I'd want to be the person."
Lori smiled and kissed Harry on the lips. "Thanks, it means a lot to me. You mean a lot to me."
“You mean a lot to me too, more than you think. Lori, I want you to be mine, no one else's. Be my girlfriend.”
Lori didn't say anything, she just smiled, and kissed him. He pulled her in tighter, trying to rid any space between them. If the world was fair they would've just stayed there in the sand, kissing each other, but the sound of paparazzi made them disconnect. They gathered their things and ran towards Harry's car.

Notes