SAY SOMETHING
Chapter 6
Harry's POV
"Harry, Harry, Harry!" My fans chanted in a series of high-pitched wails and screams. Some were in tears and some were laughing hysterically. I tuned them out and listened to the fans that screamed each of the boys' names. This was typical. The five of us were standing in a line outside of the radio station that we had just aired on. After letting the fans take a few pictures of the five of us together we walked slowly up to the line of policemen holding them back. Their screams became even higher pitched as we stepped closer to them. I walked up to a group of girls and hugged each of them. A girl shoved a picture of me and a sharpie into my gut and I looked up to be met with wild blue eyes.
"Good morning love," I smiled and she squealed, "Who do I make this out to?"
"M--my name is Annie." She said and I felt myself flinch at her name but tried desperately not to let the fans see my discomfort. They never knew about Annie even though I wish they could know how amazing she is. I hadn't seen or heard from her in almost two years, but I missed her passionate stare and wild golden curls. I signed my name quickly and handed the photograph back to the small girl with red wavy hair. She threw her arms around my neck and I gave a grunt of surprise as she pulled me down to her level for a hug. She looked to be about 12 or 13.
I straightened myself and looked at the next girl whose skin was sun kissed a golden brown and her hair was ebony black. She looked like she was closer to my age. She was looking at me seriously when she leaned forward. She rested her hands on my shoulders and pulled me toward her. She rested her lips against my ear and when she spoke warm breath billowed around my curls.
"You saved my life and I can't thank you enough Harry." She whispered. I flinched and looked at her as she pulled away. I could see that her eyes were rimming with tears. I ignored the other screaming fans around me and pulled the girl into a hug. I felt her body begin to shudder as she attempted to contain her sobs.
"You alright? Are you good? I'm rooting for you okay?" I said and looked into her eyes at the last statement. She nodded shyly and I gave her one last hug before my bodyguard came over and began to shoo the fans away.
The five of us converged outside of our limo so Paul could give us the schedule for the day.
"Okay as you boys know we'll be in LA for the next few weeks for 1D Day and the release of your new album of course. As for today," he glanced at his watch, "you have roughly two hours before you have an interview somewhere on Sunset Blvd." He clapped his hands in conclusion and I couldn't help but flinch. Annie had showed me Sunset Blvd for the first time. I snapped out of my daze when I realized the other four were already sitting in the limo waiting for me.
"Alright lads. What do you want to do?" Louis asked as he glanced out the window.
"We could grab something to eat?" Liam suggested.
"I'm always down for that." Niall laughed as he patted his stomach.
"Yeah we know Niall." Zayn chuckled.
I ignored their conversation and simply gazed out the window. I wanted to take in as much of Annie's city as I could: The sun, the white clouds, the palm trees, everything.
My attention caught when I glanced at the name of a business: The Gallery of A.
"Hey can you stop here?" I asked the driver and he immediately turned on his blinker and swerved toward the curb.
"What hell Haz? We haven't decided what we wanted to do yet!" Louis chuckled.
As soon as the limo had stopped moving I unbuckled my seatbelt and threw the car door open. "I just need to check this place out." I said without out giving my full attention to them.
"A gallery? What Harry? Are you gonna start decorating your flat more mate?" Niall laughed. I ignored him and shut the door. I looked up at the building and placed the edge of my hand on my forehead to shield my eyes from the sunlight that peaked over the top of the building. I didn't know why I was so drawn to this building, but something was telling me that I absolutely needed to go in.
I pushed the door open slowly and my breath caught as I was overcome in a sea of diverse paintings. Watercolor pieces decorated the left wall while oil paintings occupied the right wall. As my eyes skimmed over the various masterpieces a short brunet girl skipped out of what appeared to be a back room of some sort. I smiled quickly at her and immediately wanted to hide when she registered who I was. It's amazing that I can be recognized literally everywhere I go, however, it would be refreshing if people spoke to ME and not Harry Styles...
"Holy shit," she breathed, "Y--You're-You're H--Harry Styles."
I looked at her and smiled again. "Indeed I am."
"Oh my gosh! Let me just say... Oh Harry I'm such a huge fan of yours. You and the boys have done to much for me." She blurted out like she couldn't get enough oxygen into her system.
"Well thank you. Thank you, I really appreciate that." I smiled and I meant it. "Well this is a phenomenal gallery. You're a very wonderful artist. It must've taken you forever to paint enough to be able to open an entire gallery." I said as I glanced around at the numerous pieces of art.
“Oh no,” she laughed flirtatiously, "I'm not the owner. She's in the back room I'll get her."
“Oh—“ I was about to respond but she had already whirled around and was half walking and skipping into the back room. I shrugged and walked over to the wall with the oil paintings. I scanned them quickly but my attention was caught when I saw something I recognized. Was that? That couldn’t be the beach that I took Annie to… I leaned in closer as I tried to determine if it was truly the place or if I was just being ridiculous and obsessive.
“This is her Harry.” I heard the cheerful brunette say. I turned around so I could meet the owner and the artist responsible for such a beautiful gallery.
“Thank—Annie?” I croaked as I saw her standing only a few feet away from me. Her wild blonde curls hadn’t changed, but she looked older and more mature. I felt my heart ache as I saw her eyes grow wide and her knuckles became white as she squeezed them next to her side. She looked like she was staring at a ghost and it made my heart ache even more when I knew it was because she was seeing me.
The small brunette girl extended her index finger and pointed at us each individually. “Am I missing something here?” She asked and I was tempted to slap her in the face for stating such an extremely obvious observation. My breath hitched when I saw her mouth open to respond but snapped shut just as quickly as tears rimmed her eyes. Seeing her so upset made me upset just like it always had when we were together. Tears rimmed my eyes as well and I hoped desperately that she didn’t see it.
Just then I heard the door ding behind me and to the left, but I didn’t turn to see who it is. I knew the voice and Annie’s facial expression was enough to freeze me into a statue even more. "Harry, we seriously don't have time—holy shit! Annie!?" My shoulders sagged when Annie took her gaze off of mine to look at Niall and a small whimper escaped her mouth. "Holy shit it is you!" I heard the door open again as Niall leaned out to let the rest of the boys know. "Guys you're never going to believe who's here!" He shouted.
“Annie!” Louis chirped and the rest of the boys filed in and her name was said in a chorus. Tears slid down her cheeks and my heard hurt even more. I needed to be next to her. I needed to hold her and talk to her. I needed to just be with….Annie.
“Annie.” I breathed as I took a couple steps toward her but stopped immediately when she flinched away from me. More tears rimmed on my eyes when I saw the pain in her stare.
“What the hell!?” The brunette girl yelled and everyone acknowledged her presence for the first time. “Annie, you know them personally?” She asked more like it was an accusation. Annie just nodded as she kept the ocean blue stare that I knew so well locked on mine. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?” She asked. Was she angry? Seriously? Annie pulled her stare off of mine and looked at the brunette girl with a look of daggers that shut her up immediately. “Annie I—“ But she didn’t keep speaking.
Annie looked up to the ceiling as she tried to catch the tears that were already sliding down her cheeks. She then looked to the floor and pinched the bridge of her nose. She looked up at me and I felt like a massive force hit me full on. There were not many things in my life that hurt more than to see her look at me with so much pain. Did I really do this to her? She shook her head at me and turned around to walk away.
“Annie? Wait. Please.” I croaked and when she didn’t stop walking I followed her.
“Harry let her go.” Louis said softly.
I whirled around and stormed up to him. “Don’t ever say that to me again Lou.” I growled. A normal friend would be mad at me for being so aggressive, but Louis knows me better than that. He knows how much this means to me.
I turned around and started jogging after Annie. I opened the door she went through and was met with a staircase. I paused for a second and then bolted up the stairs. I reached the next floor and peered through the window in the door. I could see Annie next to a counter with an incredible assortment of paints next to it. I took a second to realize that the entire floor was dedicated to art supplies and there were numerous canvases scattered throughout the room. I felt more tears rim my eyes as I realized that she was finally doing what she wanted to do.
All of a sudden Annie let out a small, painful scream and threw her paintbrushes into the sink that she was now standing in front of. She latched onto the edge of the sink and her knuckles turned white again. She collapsed to the floor and I couldn’t take the sight any longer. Her face was contorted as sobs escaped her mouth. She brought her knees to her chest and buried her face in her hands.
“Annie.” I whispered around the knot that was growing in my throat. I opened the door as softly and slowly as I could but the door was heavy and she heard me walk in. Her head shot up and as soon as she registered that it was me her face turned into utter rage and she wobbled into a standing position.
“Leave!” She wailed. “Just go away!” Tears slid down her cheeks like rivers and her voice was so overcome with sobs that she didn’t even sound like herself.
“Annie.” I croaked and I finally let the tears slide down my cheeks as well.
“Harry, can’t you see what you’ve done to me?” She sobbed when I was standing right in front of her. She pounded on my chest with her fist at her statement. “Can’t you see,” she paused, “that I can’t—I just—“ But she didn’t finish her statement because she broke down in more sobs and collapsed on the floor again.
“Annie.” I whispered again and crouched onto the floor next to her. I rested my hand on the back of her neck and she shoved my arm off of her. “Annie!” I said more sternly.
“Stop saying my name! You’re only making this worse!” She cried and her statement was like a dagger to my heart.
Instead of saying her name I pulled her into a hug and sat on the floor completely. She didn’t push me away like I thought she would. She actually accepted the hug. She buried her face in her hands and nuzzled into my chest. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and pulled her closer to me. I rested my forehead on the top of her head as her shuddering sobs shook the tears out of my eyes as well.
“I’ve missed you Annie.” I whispered through the knot in my throat.
"Harry, Harry, Harry!" My fans chanted in a series of high-pitched wails and screams. Some were in tears and some were laughing hysterically. I tuned them out and listened to the fans that screamed each of the boys' names. This was typical. The five of us were standing in a line outside of the radio station that we had just aired on. After letting the fans take a few pictures of the five of us together we walked slowly up to the line of policemen holding them back. Their screams became even higher pitched as we stepped closer to them. I walked up to a group of girls and hugged each of them. A girl shoved a picture of me and a sharpie into my gut and I looked up to be met with wild blue eyes.
"Good morning love," I smiled and she squealed, "Who do I make this out to?"
"M--my name is Annie." She said and I felt myself flinch at her name but tried desperately not to let the fans see my discomfort. They never knew about Annie even though I wish they could know how amazing she is. I hadn't seen or heard from her in almost two years, but I missed her passionate stare and wild golden curls. I signed my name quickly and handed the photograph back to the small girl with red wavy hair. She threw her arms around my neck and I gave a grunt of surprise as she pulled me down to her level for a hug. She looked to be about 12 or 13.
I straightened myself and looked at the next girl whose skin was sun kissed a golden brown and her hair was ebony black. She looked like she was closer to my age. She was looking at me seriously when she leaned forward. She rested her hands on my shoulders and pulled me toward her. She rested her lips against my ear and when she spoke warm breath billowed around my curls.
"You saved my life and I can't thank you enough Harry." She whispered. I flinched and looked at her as she pulled away. I could see that her eyes were rimming with tears. I ignored the other screaming fans around me and pulled the girl into a hug. I felt her body begin to shudder as she attempted to contain her sobs.
"You alright? Are you good? I'm rooting for you okay?" I said and looked into her eyes at the last statement. She nodded shyly and I gave her one last hug before my bodyguard came over and began to shoo the fans away.
The five of us converged outside of our limo so Paul could give us the schedule for the day.
"Okay as you boys know we'll be in LA for the next few weeks for 1D Day and the release of your new album of course. As for today," he glanced at his watch, "you have roughly two hours before you have an interview somewhere on Sunset Blvd." He clapped his hands in conclusion and I couldn't help but flinch. Annie had showed me Sunset Blvd for the first time. I snapped out of my daze when I realized the other four were already sitting in the limo waiting for me.
"Alright lads. What do you want to do?" Louis asked as he glanced out the window.
"We could grab something to eat?" Liam suggested.
"I'm always down for that." Niall laughed as he patted his stomach.
"Yeah we know Niall." Zayn chuckled.
I ignored their conversation and simply gazed out the window. I wanted to take in as much of Annie's city as I could: The sun, the white clouds, the palm trees, everything.
My attention caught when I glanced at the name of a business: The Gallery of A.
"Hey can you stop here?" I asked the driver and he immediately turned on his blinker and swerved toward the curb.
"What hell Haz? We haven't decided what we wanted to do yet!" Louis chuckled.
As soon as the limo had stopped moving I unbuckled my seatbelt and threw the car door open. "I just need to check this place out." I said without out giving my full attention to them.
"A gallery? What Harry? Are you gonna start decorating your flat more mate?" Niall laughed. I ignored him and shut the door. I looked up at the building and placed the edge of my hand on my forehead to shield my eyes from the sunlight that peaked over the top of the building. I didn't know why I was so drawn to this building, but something was telling me that I absolutely needed to go in.
I pushed the door open slowly and my breath caught as I was overcome in a sea of diverse paintings. Watercolor pieces decorated the left wall while oil paintings occupied the right wall. As my eyes skimmed over the various masterpieces a short brunet girl skipped out of what appeared to be a back room of some sort. I smiled quickly at her and immediately wanted to hide when she registered who I was. It's amazing that I can be recognized literally everywhere I go, however, it would be refreshing if people spoke to ME and not Harry Styles...
"Holy shit," she breathed, "Y--You're-You're H--Harry Styles."
I looked at her and smiled again. "Indeed I am."
"Oh my gosh! Let me just say... Oh Harry I'm such a huge fan of yours. You and the boys have done to much for me." She blurted out like she couldn't get enough oxygen into her system.
"Well thank you. Thank you, I really appreciate that." I smiled and I meant it. "Well this is a phenomenal gallery. You're a very wonderful artist. It must've taken you forever to paint enough to be able to open an entire gallery." I said as I glanced around at the numerous pieces of art.
“Oh no,” she laughed flirtatiously, "I'm not the owner. She's in the back room I'll get her."
“Oh—“ I was about to respond but she had already whirled around and was half walking and skipping into the back room. I shrugged and walked over to the wall with the oil paintings. I scanned them quickly but my attention was caught when I saw something I recognized. Was that? That couldn’t be the beach that I took Annie to… I leaned in closer as I tried to determine if it was truly the place or if I was just being ridiculous and obsessive.
“This is her Harry.” I heard the cheerful brunette say. I turned around so I could meet the owner and the artist responsible for such a beautiful gallery.
“Thank—Annie?” I croaked as I saw her standing only a few feet away from me. Her wild blonde curls hadn’t changed, but she looked older and more mature. I felt my heart ache as I saw her eyes grow wide and her knuckles became white as she squeezed them next to her side. She looked like she was staring at a ghost and it made my heart ache even more when I knew it was because she was seeing me.
The small brunette girl extended her index finger and pointed at us each individually. “Am I missing something here?” She asked and I was tempted to slap her in the face for stating such an extremely obvious observation. My breath hitched when I saw her mouth open to respond but snapped shut just as quickly as tears rimmed her eyes. Seeing her so upset made me upset just like it always had when we were together. Tears rimmed my eyes as well and I hoped desperately that she didn’t see it.
Just then I heard the door ding behind me and to the left, but I didn’t turn to see who it is. I knew the voice and Annie’s facial expression was enough to freeze me into a statue even more. "Harry, we seriously don't have time—holy shit! Annie!?" My shoulders sagged when Annie took her gaze off of mine to look at Niall and a small whimper escaped her mouth. "Holy shit it is you!" I heard the door open again as Niall leaned out to let the rest of the boys know. "Guys you're never going to believe who's here!" He shouted.
“Annie!” Louis chirped and the rest of the boys filed in and her name was said in a chorus. Tears slid down her cheeks and my heard hurt even more. I needed to be next to her. I needed to hold her and talk to her. I needed to just be with….Annie.
“Annie.” I breathed as I took a couple steps toward her but stopped immediately when she flinched away from me. More tears rimmed on my eyes when I saw the pain in her stare.
“What the hell!?” The brunette girl yelled and everyone acknowledged her presence for the first time. “Annie, you know them personally?” She asked more like it was an accusation. Annie just nodded as she kept the ocean blue stare that I knew so well locked on mine. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?” She asked. Was she angry? Seriously? Annie pulled her stare off of mine and looked at the brunette girl with a look of daggers that shut her up immediately. “Annie I—“ But she didn’t keep speaking.
Annie looked up to the ceiling as she tried to catch the tears that were already sliding down her cheeks. She then looked to the floor and pinched the bridge of her nose. She looked up at me and I felt like a massive force hit me full on. There were not many things in my life that hurt more than to see her look at me with so much pain. Did I really do this to her? She shook her head at me and turned around to walk away.
“Annie? Wait. Please.” I croaked and when she didn’t stop walking I followed her.
“Harry let her go.” Louis said softly.
I whirled around and stormed up to him. “Don’t ever say that to me again Lou.” I growled. A normal friend would be mad at me for being so aggressive, but Louis knows me better than that. He knows how much this means to me.
I turned around and started jogging after Annie. I opened the door she went through and was met with a staircase. I paused for a second and then bolted up the stairs. I reached the next floor and peered through the window in the door. I could see Annie next to a counter with an incredible assortment of paints next to it. I took a second to realize that the entire floor was dedicated to art supplies and there were numerous canvases scattered throughout the room. I felt more tears rim my eyes as I realized that she was finally doing what she wanted to do.
All of a sudden Annie let out a small, painful scream and threw her paintbrushes into the sink that she was now standing in front of. She latched onto the edge of the sink and her knuckles turned white again. She collapsed to the floor and I couldn’t take the sight any longer. Her face was contorted as sobs escaped her mouth. She brought her knees to her chest and buried her face in her hands.
“Annie.” I whispered around the knot that was growing in my throat. I opened the door as softly and slowly as I could but the door was heavy and she heard me walk in. Her head shot up and as soon as she registered that it was me her face turned into utter rage and she wobbled into a standing position.
“Leave!” She wailed. “Just go away!” Tears slid down her cheeks like rivers and her voice was so overcome with sobs that she didn’t even sound like herself.
“Annie.” I croaked and I finally let the tears slide down my cheeks as well.
“Harry, can’t you see what you’ve done to me?” She sobbed when I was standing right in front of her. She pounded on my chest with her fist at her statement. “Can’t you see,” she paused, “that I can’t—I just—“ But she didn’t finish her statement because she broke down in more sobs and collapsed on the floor again.
“Annie.” I whispered again and crouched onto the floor next to her. I rested my hand on the back of her neck and she shoved my arm off of her. “Annie!” I said more sternly.
“Stop saying my name! You’re only making this worse!” She cried and her statement was like a dagger to my heart.
Instead of saying her name I pulled her into a hug and sat on the floor completely. She didn’t push me away like I thought she would. She actually accepted the hug. She buried her face in her hands and nuzzled into my chest. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and pulled her closer to me. I rested my forehead on the top of her head as her shuddering sobs shook the tears out of my eyes as well.
“I’ve missed you Annie.” I whispered through the knot in my throat.
Notes
Hey guys!! I hope you're liking the story so far!! It's so nice to be back and writing again!!
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Questions:
What will happen after Harry and Annie collect themselves and can hold a normal conversation?
Will Annie still be mad at Harry even though she gave into his hug?
Inspirational Quote: "Sometimes what you're afraid of doing is the very thing that will set you free." <3
Twitter: @HazzaLove37
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11/6/16