Beauty and the Beast

Harry

My key rattled in the lock. I was ready to just turn on the TV and go to bed. After recording the boys and I had to sit through out a four hour meeting, then interview, the record another song. I was done.
Quickly I grabbed a frozen dinner from the freezer and shoved it into the microwave.
But when I opened the door to my bedroom I jumped about a foot in the air at the sight on my bed.
She was laying there with her left hand behind her head and her right was draped lazily over her belly. The smoke from the cigarette she was holding between her index and middle finger was trailing upward lazily.
"I was wondering when you were gonna get here," she said not breaking her gaze away from the ceiling, "iI've been waiting for at least twenty minutes."
Slowly she picked up her right hand and brought the cigarette to her mouth, finally turning her head to smirk at me as she blew the smoke from her mouth.
"What are you doing here?" I asked somehow managing to keep my voice from shaking.
"Do you know how many people! in this last month alone, you have treated the way you treated me tonight?" she questioned.
I tried to think but I couldn't remember.
"Twelve, Harry, twelve."
"So?" I asked trying to sound indifferent.
"Why?"
I don't answer this was all happening too fast with no explanation.
"Who are you?" I asked loudly.
"Evelyn, we just met twenty minutes ago, and again three days before then, and before that last Wednesday. . . shall I go on?"
I shook my head and she stood quickly changing as she did so.
Below us the microwave went off loudly.
She wasn't dirty or wide or thirty five anymore, she was beautiful young and intimidating.
"How did you get into my apartment?"
She rolled her eyes and fanned out her fingers, "Magic."
"There's no such thing as magic."
"Says you," she said slowly bringing the cigarette to her lips again. She flicked the ashes onto the floor, "What happened to you?"
I said nothing.
"Something has changed inside you Harry Styles, something has become evil. Why? Is it because of your fame, has all of it gone to your head? Made it blow up like a ballon?
"No I don't think so," she continued stepping closer to my frozen frame in the doorway. "Sometimes we don't even know how we become beastly, but you have that's for sure."
"Beastly?"
"It's a word old timers like myself use."
"But how to teach one to change their ways?"
"I don't need you to teach me anything."
The microwave beeped again impatiently.
"That because you can't be taught, but that doesn't mean you can't learn."
Another step.
Silence.
"To see yourself as others see you, is that what you need? To truly become beastly in look as you are in soul?" she pulled the cigarette to her mouth again tantalisingly slow, we were close enough that she could blow the smoke right into my face, which she did.
"I can change," I said looking anywhere but her eyes.
"But you can't."
Another step.
As fast as a snake she reached out and grabbed my arm pressing her thumb onto newest tattoo, that of a rose near my elbow. It turned an angry black under her skin, it was like she was touching me with open flame. A strong wind blew through my room whipping my hair around, and evil smile took root on Evelyn's face and she spoke loudly and the microwave beeped again.
"Harry Styles, you are a beast."
In a flash she was gone, the wind stopped and the microwave beeped one last time.
Where Evelyn was standing was nothing left except the faint smell of smoke and a tiny square mirror.
When I looked in it I screamed at what I saw.

Notes