With Harry leaving the next day for a small tour around America with the boys, he and Penelope wanted to make sure that they got to spend time together at least once more before their three week separation. They were meant to have dinner at Anthony and Mage's house earlier in the week, but One Direction’s management was lovely enough to schedule a meeting on the one day that was good for both of them. As it goes, Harry also needed to go shopping for clothes, but put that off until the last minute. So the couple decided to spend their day at the shops together.

“Try this hat on,” it looked like a cross between a bowler hat and a fedora. Harry bowed slightly so Penelope could put it on his head. “Hmm, I’d hoped it would make you look like a prat,” He looked offended and amused, “but it actually looks pretty cute.”

“Cheers, babe,” He said taking the hat off of his head and pushing it down on her s so it covered her eyes.

Penelope flicked the brim of the hat so it lifted above her eyes, “How dare you. You’re such a naughty boy, Harry.”

“You have no idea,” he said as he slid his hands suggestively low around Penelope’s waist. “I actually really like that hat on you.” Some of Penelope’s hair was in her face so Harry pushed those bits to the side.

“I liked it on you more though,” she said with a smile. “You should get it.”

He rested his chin on top of the hat she was wearing and made a sound to indicate he was thinking. Suddenly he walked across the store and picked up a dress. “You should get this.”

The dress was white with a pink flower pattern. The neckline was quite high, but there was no back to it disregarding the two thick straps that met at the skirt. It almost looked like an overall dress made from expensive, floral fabric.

“I don’t even know what that would look like on me,” Penelope said apprehensively. “I doubt it would look good.”

He looked outraged, “You’d look so fit in this!”

A sales woman working at the shop approached the couple, “Hi, my name is Catherine. Would you like me to open a dressing room for you?”

“Yes,” Harry said while Penelope insisted that she didn’t want to try the dress on.

“Well, if you don’t mind me giving my opinion, it couldn’t hurt to just try it.”

“Yeah, Nell, it couldn’t hurt to just try.” Harry said with a pretend smug attitude. “I think you’ll look great.”

Catherine chimed in again, “I agree actually. You have a long torso and a really nice waist line. That dress would be breath-taking on you.” She looked at Harry and with an impressed voice said, “Good choice.”

“Well I’ve been told that I have great taste,” Harry said with a camp accent.

“So, how is it that you can’t dress yourself?” Penelope joked.

“Oh you’re so funny!” He said sarcastically as he knocked the hat off of her head. It hit the floor with a small thud.

“Would you like a pink dressing room or would you prefer white?” The sales woman asked kindly.

She pursed her lips for a moment. “Pink I guess.”

Harry smiled brightly and then looked around him, “Wait, try these on too!” He proceeded to pick up any dress within reach. A navy blue skater dress with waist cut outs, a sheer, tight black dress with solid blocks to cover up rude places, a coral peplum dress, and a striped sleeveless dress.

“What, are we playing dress up?” She asked as he thrust the clothes into her arms.

“Nah, I’ve got my dolls at home for that.” Harry laughed as Catherine walked Penelope to her dressing room. Harry tried to follow, but Catherine gave him a stern look. “I was just going to help zip up the back and things like that.”

“Of course you were, dear.” She said pushing him out of the room. Then she turned back to Penelope, “Love, if you need a different size or any help, I’m right outside for you.”

“Okay, thanks very much!” She called back through the closed door.

Penelope hung the items on the rack and undressed looking away from the mirror. She took the first dress Harry chose off of the hanger. It didn’t look to have a zipper or any buttons so she simply pulled it up over her legs. Much to her dismay, this dress required the wearer to remove her bra. Smoothing out the front of the dress, she turned around. Her eyes went wide. The dress was lovely. She pushed her hair behind her ears and turned so she could see the back or rather, lack thereof. Her eyes went even wider. Penelope quickly turned forward again as if she had accidentally exposed herself to some imaginary person in the room and then completely turned her back to the mirror.

“Okay,” she said with a hand on the door knob to signal she was ready.

“Let’s see it!” Harry shouted with great enthusiasm.

Penelope stepped shyly out of the dressing room with her lips pursed. Harry’s smile couldn’t have been any bigger.

She started babbling nervously, “It’s a little small and the back is shocking to say the least. I don’t normally wear dresses like this, but I think… I think I like it. Does it look okay?”

“You look lovely,” Catherine said placing her hands over her heart.

“Awh, thank you,” Penelope said laughing bashfully. “Harry, what do you think?”

Harry who hadn’t said anything yet stepped toward Penelope and slid his fingers between hers. He smiled brightly, “I think I have the most beautiful girlfriend on the planet.”

Penelope smiled shyly as her boyfriend leaned down to kiss her. “You’re so sweet Harry.” She looked him up and down, “I think it would probably look better on you though.”

“Do you really think so?” He asked putting one hand on his hip and shifting his weight onto one leg. “I don’t know if it will suit my hips properly.”

Catherine laughed at his feminine mannerisms, “Maybe you should try it on.”

Harry got legitimately excited, “Will you really let me try it on?”

“Well, I was joking actually—“

“Please let me try it on!”

“It would be a good laugh,” Penelope added.

The sales associate sighed. “Fine, but we’ll have to get you a bigger size.”

Harry let his jaw drop comically, “Catherine, I’m appalled. What are you trying to say?”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m trying to say that I’d be, not only shocked, but also concerned if you were a women’s size 6.”

“Well then.” Harry crossed his arms childishly.

The sales woman picked up a larger size of the same dress and shoved it into his arms, “Go on!” She led the pair back into the change room, intending to give Harry the room next to Penelope’s, but instead he slid into Penelope’s room closing the door before Catherine could notice. “Harry, will you please remove yourself from this lovely lady’s dressing room?”

Harry was tall enough that he could peek over the door, “We’re not going to do anything dirty. I just need help putting this thing on.”

“Listen, if you take longer than three minutes, I will open the door and pull you out of there.”

“Sure thing, ma’am.” Harry said slipping his shirt off over his head. He looked at Penelope, “Are you going to change? We can’t wear the same dress, Nell. It would be so embarrassing.”

“Oh, shove it,” She pushed him playfully. “I’m not wearing a bra. I can’t change while you’re in the room.”

Harry finished tugging his pants off. “I’m your boyfriend, its fine. You’re okay with me wearing a dress, but you won’t go topless in front of me?” He laughed.

“Fine, you prat, I’ll change.” She slid her straps off of her shoulders and covered her breasts with one arm as she slid her dress down her legs. When she looked up from stepping out of her dress, Harry was just standing there in his boxers making no effort to put on the dress. “Would you hand me one of the dresses please?”

He looked behind himself at the rack of dresses and then back at Penelope, “No, you come get the dress.”

“You’re being silly, Harry.” Penelope said walking over to where the clothes were hung up, but Harry stood in between her and the outfits and grabbed her free arm. She laughed, slightly exasperated. “What are you doing? Cut it out!”

“Get your dress.” Harry smiled as she tried to wiggle free the arm that wasn’t wrapped around her chest.

“You know what?” She said frustrated, but still laughing. “I’ve got a better idea.” And with that, Penelope pressed her breasts against Harry’s chest and hugged him so he couldn’t pull away to expose her.

“What are you doing?” Harry shouted, playfully trying to pull her off of him.

She giggled as she extended one arm, “I’m getting a dress!” She yanked it off of the hanger and used it as a shield when she stepped away from him.

“No, wait come back,” he smiled tickling her hips and making her jump.

Catherine’s voice came over the door, “Harry, I’m giving you one minute!”

“I’m trying, but Nell keeps distracting me!”

“Oh, come off it!” Penelope acted like she was going to kick him, but he grabbed her foot. “Oh my goodness, I’m going to fall!”

Surely enough, seconds later, Penelope fell flat on her ass, clutching the dress to her chest.

“Harry!” Catherine chastised through the door.

“Okay, we’ll be out in one minute! I promise!”

Penelope had successfully grabbed another dress that didn’t require a bra, the coral peplum. She faced a corner and peeked over her shoulder to make sure Harry wasn’t staring and surely enough, he was. He stood there with the dress pulled up to his waist, leaning against the wall as if he looked cool. Shaking her head, Penelope proceeded to step into the dress and slide her arms into the sleeves. As soon as she adjusted the neckline, she felt Harry push her hair over her shoulder. He let his hands slide down her back before pulling the zipper up. Penelope smiled as she turned to look at him. He smiled back and her heart fluttered. His green-blue eyes, deep red lips, and bright white teeth were more than enough to make her blush and giggle. To her, he was breath taking even if he was currently wearing a dress. She helped him put on the sleeves of his dress and together, they looked at themselves in the mirror and laughed.

“You look better than I did in that dress!” Penelope shouted. “Look at you, you’re beautiful! Spin for me! I want to see the back!”

Harry turned and posed with one hand one hand on his hip, “Do you like what you see?”

“Extremely sexy,” She said putting her hands on his back.

There was a knock on the door, “Hey, come out! I want to see!” Catherine called.

“Alright, I’ll open the door, but I’m not walking out,” Harry laughed.

As soon as he cracked the door, she burst into giggles, “Now that is a sight to see. You should really thing about taking up cross dressing as a hobby.”

“Please don’t encourage him,” Penelope said stepping out from behind her boyfriend.

“Oh, Penelope, you look darling in that dress,” She took Penelope’s hand and pulled her in front of the large three-panel mirror. She could see Catherine beaming in the reflection behind her.

“The dress is beautiful.” Penelope said playing with the peplum ruffle at her waist.

“You’re beautiful.” Harry said with a half-smile.

“Awh,” Penelope cooed as she walked over to give him a kiss. “You’re beautiful too, Harriett.”

Harry grunted in disapproval of his new nickname. “Oh, I’m a girl, am I?” He pressed his head against hers.

“We’ll you’re the one who wanted to wear a dress.”

“Fine then,” Harry grabbed Penelope’s ass before quickly closing the dressing door and locking her out.

“Hurry up in there!” she said wiggling the doorknob.

After a few minutes, Harry emerged from the dressing room in his normal clothes. By this point a small crowd of paparazzi had formed around the store and Penelope was hiding awkwardly in a corner.

“Do you want to leave?” She asked. “There are a lot of people out there. We don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”

Harry smirked, “Nah, you can’t really let paparazzi get in the way of your life, you know. Unless you feel uncomfortable, then we can leave.”

Penelope peeked her head around a wall and saw the flashes and then looked back at Harry, “I’m okay if you are.”

He grabbed her hand and pecked her on the lips, “Finish trying on your dresses.”

She walked back into the changing room. Trying on the final three dresses, Penelope felt equally as uncomfortable in each of them. The dresses looked beautiful, but she felt like they made her look so… expensive. She had never felt that way after putting on a dress and she wasn’t too sure if she liked it. When she would walk out of the small room, she’d put on a big smile because she knew how irritating it would be if she expressed how strange she felt every time. So, she gave the dresses a chance. Nevertheless, every time she stepped out of the dressing room, Harry told her how beautiful she looked. Catherine would quickly confirm his comments.

Penelope could tell that they were genuinely delighted with each dress so she finally thought that maybe it was her perception of herself that was warped. Maybe it was okay to feel beautiful in these extravagant dresses that she originally felt so out of place in. Yet, when she was finished trying on all of the dresses and it was time to leave, Penelope gave Catherine all five dresses to return to the racks.

“Are you sure?” Catherine nearly pouted, not because she was missing out on a sale, but because she felt these dresses were practically made for Penelope. “You looked absolutely amazing in this blue one!”

“I was just trying them on for fun.” Penelope said laughing it off. “I can’t afford a necklace here, much less a dress.”

“I’ll get them for you,” Harry chimed in. “You can go ahead and ring our things up together, Catherine.”

Catherine smiled and was just about to make her way to the check-out desk when Penelope stopped her. “No, no, no. Absolutely not. I won’t let you buy those!” Her slight French accent seemed a little more noticeable.

“Why not?” Harry asked sounding confused. Light bulbs from cameras continued to flash through the store windows.

Penelope tilted her head to one side, confused as to why he was confused. “I don’t want you going around buying me these huge extravagant gifts, Harry!”

He paused and then slowly said, “…,but I want to buy these for you.”

“That’s really sweet and I appreciate it, but I can’t let you spend all that money on me. I would feel weird. Catherine, please just put the dresses back. Thanks so much.”

The sales woman gave a sad smile and proceeded to put the dresses on a rack of other clothes that would later be returned to the showroom.

Harry walked closer to Penelope and talked in a low voice. “Nell, if you’re worried that I think you just like me for money, you should know I don’t think that at all.”

“Well, that was a small part of it.” Penelope sighed. “I don’t want you to think that you have to like… buy my heart or whatever.”

“I don’t think of you like that at all, Nell. That’s why I want to do things like this for you.”

“You don’t have to though,” she tip toed to give Harry a soft kiss. “I’m perfectly fine with just having your company. Also, I’m just really bad about accepting gifts from people.” She giggled. “I’m more of a giver than a taker. Do you get what I mean?”

Harry smiled and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, “I think that’s one of the things that makes me really like you a lot.” They walked up to the counter. “So, can I buy you the dresses?”

“Not this time, no. I don’t think so.” Penelope shook her head laughing.

Harry smirked, “Fine, then next time I will.”

Catherine rung up all of Harry’s clothes, folding them neatly and putting them into bags. The couple thanked her for her help. Penelope continuously apologized for trying on all of those dresses without the intention of getting them, but the sales woman insisted that she had loads of fun assisting them. She insisted they come back soon.

Harry turned to Penelope before they stepped out. “So, it’s going to be pretty loud. Just keep your head down and don’t answer back to them.”

As the pair walked out the door onto the pavement, they were instantly blinded by white flashes. Penelope had never experienced anything like it. Even looking down, lights floated all around her vision and she felt extremely dazed. People were shouting asking her name, who she was, how old she was. She immediately wondered how Harry could go through this constantly and remain so calm.

Harry leaned over to Penelope, “Are you okay?”

“Never better,” She laughed.

Suddenly, a man reached out, presumably to tap Penelope’s shoulder. It seemed that the crowd of camera carrying observers became so rowdy that the man was pushed over and as a result, he pulled her down with him. Her right ankle rolled and she fell over onto her hands and knees. Harry reacted immediately.

“Are you all insane?” He yelled as he helped Penelope. He got more frustrated as the sound of camera snaps continued. “What the hell is wrong with you? You just hurt her! Back off!” He finally got her to her feet despite the crowd. There was a scrape up her right leg from the pavement. “Are you okay?” His tone was more serious and concerned than before. She could tell that he was extremely angry.

Penelope put on a smile, “I’m okay. I just hurt my foot a little. Don’t yell at them. It was an accident.” She pulled his arm so they could keep walking.

“It wouldn’t have happened if they would mind their own damn business.” He was beyond frustrated.

“It’s fine, Harry. I just don’t want them to get mad at you and write mean things.”

“I couldn’t care less what they write. I care if you’re okay, Nell.”

They finally got back to Harry’s car and they quickly jumped inside to escape the noise. Thankfully, the paparazzi didn’t surround his car or follow him into the street like Penelope had seen done to other famous people in the tabloids. As soon as Harry got onto the motorway, he began apologizing.

“I’m really sorry about that. Some days they’re worse than others. I just feel really bad because I know you didn’t ask for any of that.” He sounded slightly embarrassed and ashamed. “It’s the shittiest part about all of this. Paparazzi make it really hard to have a good day.”

Penelope felt sympathetic, “I know it’s an occupational hazard. I’m not upset in the slightest, so don’t feel bad or worry.”

“So that didn’t piss you off or get on your nerves?”

“I’m not going to lie, it was definitely disorienting. It’s not something one experiences every day, but I always sort of knew that if things turned out well between us, this would happen eventually.” She was trying to comfort him. “It doesn’t bother me, Harry.”

“I just get so frustrated sometimes because all I want is a normal relationship and it always has to be so complicated.”

“Listen, you’re an extraordinary guy with an extraordinary life, so I guess we’ll just have to be extraordinary too.” Penelope smiled at him.

“You’re amazing, Nell,” Harry said, noticeably happier than a moment ago. Penelope’s smile grew and she leaned over in her seat to kiss Harry’s cheek.

In order to fully restore Harry’s happiness, Penelope turned on the radio and tuned in to the classic rock station. They sang at the top of their lungs to Queen, Kiss, Elton John, and a slew of other artists as they made their way back to Harry’s flat. The pair got especially excited when Summer Lovin’ from Grease was on. As they pulled into the parking spot and he took the keys out of the ignition, she slid her fingers between his and sang cheesily in his face.

“He got friendly, holding my hand!”

Harry laughed and continued the song. “Well, she got friendly down in the sand,” he sang as he smiled and slid his hand up her leg. Penelope giggled and quickly hopped out of the car. “Oh, come on!” he shouted jokingly.

“We should take your things upstairs,” She said with a laugh, purposefully ignoring his advances in order to tease him.

When they got into Harry’s home, there was a stack of suitcases in the corner and it suddenly changed Penelope’s mood. It didn’t make her sad; she was already used to Harry having to be away. However, she was always going to miss him, no matter how understanding she was.

“So,” Harry said as they set the bags down on his couch. “Since you wouldn’t let me buy you anything, I figured we could share this.” With a smile, he pulled out the hat they tried on in the store. He walked up to her and placed it on her head. “It’s your turn to have it.” Harry had a cheeky look on his face, satisfied that he found a loophole in her “no gift” condition.

Penelope glared at him lightheartedly, “Oh, you’re so clever!”

He smirked, “You don’t have to tell me, I’m already fully aware.”

“Oh, are you? If you were so clever, you’d know that I got you a gift too.”

Harry was taken aback. “Really?”

“Yeah, you have to close your eyes and I’ll give it to you.”

He looked at her skeptically and closed his eyes. Penelope quietly walked behind him and took off the hat and shoes. She saw Harry’s head tilt in bewilderment. “No peeking!”

“I’m not!” He answered, throwing his hands up over his eyes.

Penelope took off her shirt and shorts, putting them neatly on the couch and put the hat back on her head. “Okay, you can look now.” She said walking back in front of him.

Harry’s grin was beautiful. “Wow.” He walked up to her and put his hands on her waist. “You’re beautiful.”

Penelope mocked his voice, “’I’m already fully aware’.”

“Well aren’t you hilarious?” He said and in what seemed like one motion, he slid his shirt over his head and picked Penelope up. She giggled, wrapping her legs around him. He smiled back, “You’re sure you want to do this? I mean you’re not just doing it because I leave tomorrow?”

“I’m certain,” She said with her hands on either side of his face.

Harry tilted his head up to give her one slow, tender kiss. Then suddenly he shouted, “Let’s go then!” And with that, they both laughed as he ran down the hall, stumbling to his bedroom with Penelope in his arms.

Notes

Sorry, it's been so long guys!
Busy month, but this chapter is extremely long haha
I hope you like it!
Sorry there isn't a sex scene, (if you like that)
I'd like to keep this more of a cute story :)
PLEASE PLEASE PLEEEEASE LEAVE COMMENTS! even if its two words!
It would mean so much to me <3
They inspire me to write more!
Anyways, keep reading and have a lovely day!!