It was kind of interesting to see how excited Harry was about the upcoming gig, jotting down notes and working on a good set list. He had settled on songs from bands like Temper Trap, Coldplay, Kings of Leon and other bands he loved. He had spoken to my manager Jack about the logistics and they had agreed to keep the gig as low key as possible. There would be no advertisements posted around town or announcements online. Harry was just going to perform on a regular Saturday night and he was more than fine with that.

Everything was on track, until the week before the gig. I did not hear from him Monday or Tuesday. On Wednesday I sent him a text, asking if everything was okay. No response. By Thursday, I was worried.

At work, Jack has been asking me how Harry was doing and for the first week I had smiled and told him all about Harry’s preparations. By this week, I was still smiling but my stomach was in knots. He was not answering my calls and I was beyond worried that he was not going to turn up on Saturday. Way to impress your boss, I wryly thought to myself.

I then felt bad that I was worrying more about how I would look in front of Jack than Harry’s wellbeing. So I bit the bullet and rocked up to his doorstep. With a deep breath I rang the intercom, only to hear a female voice respond.

“Ali?” Harry’s mother said.

“Hi, I was just wondering if Harry was home.” I knew she could see me on a little monitor in her foyer and I suddenly felt and probably sounded extremely self-conscious.

“He is… come on in.”

After the gate clicked open, I made my way up to the opened front door to see Anne watching me closely.

“Harry’s upstairs.” She told me.

“Do you mind if I see him?” I asked, not sure if I should wait or go upstairs myself.

“Go on up.” She said. I smiled politely and turned to make my way up the stairs when I heard her add, “He’s been holed up in his room all week.”

“Oh?”

“He’s been upset all week… I can’t get through to him. Do you know what could be wrong?”

“No…” I said. “I have no idea.”

She nodded as though she were listening to my words, but her mind seemed elsewhere. I smiled again before I trotted upstairs. His bedroom door was closed, so I knocked and called his name. After hearing no response, I paused before opening the door. The curtains were drawn and I looked over to see Harry in bed, lying on his stomach so I could barely see his face. I checked my watch as I walked over to him, to see that it was eleven o’clock. Good. I didn’t feel too guilty about waking him up.

“Harry?” I said softly.

He did not reply and I had to repeat myself a couple of times before he rolled over with a frown.

“What?” He muttered, his eyes still closed.

He opened one eye to see me standing by his bed but did not say anything. I stood there for what seemed like forever, as he closed his eyes again. It took him ages to finally sit up, his hands reaching to flick his long hair back out of his eyes.

“You had me worried…” I said. “I haven’t heard from you in days.”

“Yeah well…” He said groggily. “I’ve had a lot on my mind.”

I moved to open the curtain but he held up his hand.

“Don’t.” He said simply and I watched as he unsteadily got out of bed. He was shirtless, wearing only long cotton pants.

“I didn’t mean to wake you up… it’s just… like I said, I was worried. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.” I stammered.

“What you really want to know is… if I’m going to be there on Saturday.” He said and I detected an edge to his voice.

“Well, it did cross my mind.” I said lightly. “Jack is really excited about it… he can’t stop talking about it. And I’m excited too…”

“I’m glad you and Jack are excited.” He said sarcastically, his attention now on a bottle of pills that he had found on his dresser. He roughly twisted the lid before quickly downing a couple of the small pills.

“What are they are for?” I asked.

“I don’t know if I can do it.” He said suddenly.

“What? Why?”

“I’m not ready.”

“Yes you are.”

“It’s not the right time”

I looked at him, unable to believe what I was hearing. He had been so into the idea last week, working hard to create a set list, even calling an old school friend to play back up. Things had been going so well and now it looked like all the doubt had crept back.

“It’s just not the right time.” He repeated, after I did not respond.

“It’s never going to be the right time, Harry!” I cried. “You’re always going to come up with some excuse to never do anything-”

“Yeah well, you’re pushing me into this!” He yelled back. “You’re pushing me to do something I don’t wanna do.”

“I never pushed you into anything! You agreed to it… you thought it was a great idea. And it is! But hey, if you want to sleep the rest of your life away in this room all on your own… that’s fine! That’s fine by me.”

The sight of him looking at me darkly as though I were to blame for all his problems was enough to make me spin on my heel and walk out of his room. Anne was sitting in the living room downstairs but I did not even bother saying a word to her as I barged out of their house. If Harry wanted to play the blame game and sit in his room and feel sorry for himself, then he could do it on his own.

I didn’t even think about contacting Jack and telling him the gig was cancelled. Harry could do that if he really wanted.

I was having trouble getting my life in order, I couldn’t be in charge of his life too.

X

It was early Saturday evening and I was sitting at home debating on what to do next. I could sit at home and pretend I didn’t know Harry was going to flake on all of us or I could face the music and explain the situation to Jack.

I tentatively walked into the Black Cat, scanning the bar for any sign of Jack. I finally spotted him in a corner, chatting to a group of customers. He smiled broadly when he saw me and I nervously smiled back.

“How are you doing?” He asked.

“Good.” I said, my tone apologetic. “Well actually, I’m here because… I wanted to talk to you
about Harry.”

“Yes?”

“I don’t think he’ll-”

“What?” He looked distracted and I knew I had to cut the chase.

“He probably won’t be coming tonight.”

“What are you talking about, he’s right there.” Jack pointed toward the makeshift stage
where Harry was deep in conversation with his old school friend Roy.

“Oh.” I said faintly at a loss for words.

“They should be starting soon.”

A couple of stools and a microphone had been set up, just as I had envisaged. I watched as he conferred with Roy, before smiling at a couple of girls who stood to the side.

“He came in early… he said he wanted to get his nerves together.”

Nerves? What nerves, I thought to myself. He didn’t seem too nervous now as he stood there, in his dark jeans and worn boots, his blue shirt slightly unbuttoned. He ran his hand through his tousled hair and looked around the room as though in search of someone, but before he could look in my direction, his attention was diverted.

Without a word and without fanfare, Harry launched into his first song. I moved to the bar area where I found a seat out of the way and watched as he performed. His voice was steady and he closed his eyes as he sang, tapping his foot to the bear. A small crowd had gathered to watch him, but it did not take long for the music (or rather who was singing) to create a buzz in the bar.

“Oh my God, I used to love One Direction.” I heard a girl say, pulling her reluctant boyfriend by the arm as she made her way to where Harry was performing.

“Is that Harry Styles?”

“Guys, grab your drinks… I want to sit closer!”

The excitement was now building and by now the performance area was so packed, that I could barely see Harry at the front. When I did catch a glimpse of him, he was smiling and relaxed and it was reflected in his performance. I could not help but smile at how well he was doing and feel sad about the argument we had the day before. Why did he make things so difficult for himself, especially when there was no need?

Jack approached me halfway through the gig, positively beaming.

“I’ve had to bolt the front door.” He said. “Word got around that Harry’s singing here and now everybody wants to get in.”

“Really? Wow…”

I had underestimated the reaction that Harry was going to receive. I had never been a big fan of One Direction, but that didn’t apply to everybody else. Suddenly it hit me how famous Harry had once been, as I watched the audience. They hung on to his every word and applauded every song. A few screamed out a few One Direction songs, but Harry would only shake his head and smile. He had been determined to just play covers and he stuck to his guns, despite the song requests been hurled at him.

By the end of the gig, the crowd were loudly cheering as Harry thanked them with a broad grin. He gathered his guitar and spoke to Roy for a few moments before leaving the stage. A few people stopped him along the way, talking to him, trying to get selfies and even an autograph. I gazed at the scene before me, wanting nothing more but to wrap my arms around Harry. Although I was still a little pissed off after our argument, I still was proud of him.

As he walked by me, our eyes finally met and he paused for a moment before giving me a triumphant smile. Before I could respond, I felt a hand clap against my back. I looked up to see Jack grinning at me and when I looked for Harry, I saw that he was still being mobbed.
Jack led me to the staffroom, where a few people were hanging out, including Roy and some of the girls who worked with me. Jack kept praising me for coming up with the idea of Harry performing and it did not take long for everyone to figure out that I knew Harry a little better than everyone else. This was further confirmed when Harry entered the room soon after and instantly approached me. He placed his arms around my waist and held me close.

“Thank you.” He whispered in my ear.

Aware that all the girls were curiously staring, I closed my eyes to block them out.

“You were amazing.” I whispered back. He embraced me tighter before letting me go and then continued to hold my hand. The group of girls, which included Chloe, looked from me to Harry and back again, unable to disguise their surprise.

There was no doubt about it now. Our secret was out.

Notes

Eek, it's been 26 days since my last update.

Hope you enjoy the latest chapter and that you let me know what you think!