The Reinvention of Harry Styles

Molly was in the tub, taking a bath and relaxing, when Harry came right in and sat on the edge of her bathtub to chat with her.

“Umm, boundaries?” She said and rushed to cover up.

“What? I’ve seen you naked, besides, that’s not why I’m here.”

“Okay, then why are you here, in my bathroom, nearly in my bathtub with me?” Molly asked.

“I want to meet her,” he said, his eyes bright. “Daisy, I mean.”

“I know who you’re talking about.” Molly nearly rolled her eyes. He had not stopped watching her youtube channel since Molly introduced him to it yesterday. “You probably can, if she wants to. Why?”

Harry shrugged. “I don’t know, I kind of want to hear how we’d sound together.”

Molly sighed. “Talk to Jeff, maybe he can have someone get in touch with her.”

“That’s smart, Jeff will know what to do.” Harry hopped off the edge of the tub.

“And Harry?” Molly sat up and leaned on the edge of the tub, right where Harry had just been sitting. She kept herself covered, suddenly feeling very vulnerable.

“Hmm?” He turned around in the doorway.

“What did you mean yesterday morning, right before I showed you that video of Daisy? Something about the lines were blurred-”

“Nothing.” Harry shrugged. “I was just tired and rambling.” He smiled and continued out the door.

“Of course.” Molly slid down in the tub until she was nearly submerged, and remembered the last time Harry had paid her an unexpected visit in the tub. ‘How ironic…’


***

Daisy was surprised to see she had two emails in her inbox looking to book her for a gig. The first one she deleted, since she hadn’t exactly had a nice experience the last time she played in that bar. The second one, though, confused her. At first she thought it might be some kind of ‘cease and desist’ order for covering Harry Styles’ music without his permission. But as she read further, she realized this was probably the opposite.

***

Jeff, Molly, Harry, and a few others sat in Jeff’s office watching Daisy’s covers of Harry’s songs. As the last song came to a close, Harry smiled. “Isn’t that fucking amazing?”

“What do you want from us; you want us to sue her?” Jeff raised his eyebrows.

“No, I just want to get in touch with her,” Harry restated, but it didn’t seem to be getting through to Jeff.

“Do you want to, you know,” Jeff cleared his throat and leaned closer. “Hook up with her?”

Molly, sitting clearly within earshot, groaned loudly. “No, he just wants to meet her!”

Jeff sighed and glanced at her before returning to Harry. “So what, she covered some of your songs; lots of people do that.”

“It’s so much more than than that.” Harry moved closer, with a brightness in his eyes Jeff hadn’t seen in awhile. “She didn’t just cover it, she filled in whatever I was lacking, the emotion, the higher notes I can’t seem to hit live, the stage presence...Just find her, okay? I certainly can’t just leave a comment on her YouTube channel like ‘hey this his Harry Styles I’d like to work with you’, can I?”

Jeff closed his eyes and sighed. “No, certainly not.” He smiled. “I’ll have someone get right on that.”

“Thanks, mate,” Harry clapped him on the shoulder on his way out the door, Molly in tow. He had obsessed over Daisy’s covers of ‘Two Ghosts,’ ‘From the Dining Table’, ‘Meet Me In the Hallway’, ‘Sweet Creature’, ‘Ever Since New York’, and ‘Sign of the Times’ since Molly first introduced him to it yesterday. It was just her and her guitar, and she put more feeling into it than Harry ever had.

***

“Daisy, are you sure? This isn’t some kind of prank?” Zoe followed Daisy around their small apartment as she frantically packed her small suitcase.

“Yes, I’ve spoken on the phone with his manager. He wants to play a few songs with me!” Daisy beamed, and dug through her closet.

“But...Harry Styles? I mean,” Zoe made a face. “Isn’t he the one that dated Taylor Swift?”

“Yeah, but I don’t think that has anything to do with it…” Daisy ignored her and kept digging for that one dress she loved, and knew it was somewhere in her closet.

“You kind of look like her, you know…” Zoe added. “I’m just saying, he has a bit of a reputation for being into the ladies…”

“Please, he’s just some boy - I can take care of myself.” Daisy jokingly rolled her eyes and stuffed the dress into her suitcase. “This is probably a once in a lifetime opportunity. I don’t want to end up playing my guitar in bars for the rest of my life.”

“I know, I just-”

“I know you’re worried,” Daisy interrupted and placed a hand on Zoe’s shoulder. “I can handle whatever this is. I’ve gotten someone to cover my shift for me, and I’ll probably only be gone a few days, okay?”

***

Molly had not seen Harry happier in their few short weeks together. He was constantly humming, practicing his lame jokes on Molly, chattering to her about random aspects of his upcoming tour. After a few days, Molly didn’t think she could take his happiness anymore, and could not wait until they could meet Daisy, so Harry would stop talking about her.

Yet when that day finally came, Molly realized Harry’s unnecessary happiness was actually quite reasonable. Daisy was just as bubbly and friendly as she seemed online, and she really was the shorter, strawberry blond version of Taylor Swift. Perhaps that’s why he seemed to have instant chemistry with her, or maybe he really wanted this to work and was trying extra hard, but it was clear they sounded and looked great together.

At the studio, Molly and Jeff watched Harry and Daisy play with Harry’s band from behind the glass, where the producers would normally sit if they were recording. Molly was tapping her foot anxiously, wondering what she had gotten herself into.

“Jealous?” Jeff asked quietly, and Molly shot him a look.

“No,” she answered quickly, then thought maybe it would make more sense for her to have answered affirmatively. “Well, kinda. I mean, look at her: I can’t compete with that.”

“True. She really does look like a short Taylor Swift, except the eyes, maybe.” Jeff noted, and Molly rolled her eyes.

“She even dresses like Taylor did back when she first started out,” Molly added, and they went back to listening to them rehearse in silence.

At the end of the day, the band broke up for the day and Harry joined Molly and Jeff.

“What do you think?” He asked with a grin and looked over at Daisy chatting with the band in the studio.

“You certainly seemed to get along with her,” Jeff stated the obvious, and Harry laughed.

“It’s hard not to!” He glanced back over at her.

“She seems friendly,” Molly noted.

“But you think we sound good together, right? I’ve heard the playback, but how does it sound live?” He asked.

“You two actually do sound great together,” Jeff admitted, and looked over at Molly for confirmation.

“I agree, she harmonizes well; you guys look and sound amazing together, like two peas in a pod.” Molly nodded, but didn’t seem very enthusiastic.

“So, do you think it’s possible I could maybe add her to our repertoire? If she’s available, of course, but I’d love for her to tour with us.”

Molly and Jeff exchanged glances, before looking back at Harry, who eagerly awaited an answer.

“Harry, you can’t just add someone to your band.” Jeff shook his head, and looked over at Molly for help.

She shrugged, knowing she had gotten them into this mess. “I mean, he’s got a point.”

“See, listen to your girlfriend, for once she’s right-” Jeff started, but Molly cut him off.

“No, I meant Harry was right. Daisy filled in that ‘thing,’ whatever was missing, from Harry’s performances so far. He needs someone else he can interact with on stage, and her voice really does compliment his, and fills in where he’s not as strong.” Molly shrugged. “I certainly didn’t realize they’d get along this well, but I think she would be an improvement.”

Jeff sighed. Molly was right; Harry just didn’t quite have that same stage presence he’d had in 1D, and until he gained that, maybe giving him someone else to work with on stage would be beneficial. “So, what, it’s now, ‘Harry Styles, introducing Daisy Rutherford‘?”

“Exactly, and he’ll get credit for introducing an unknown to the music scene, he’ll get lots of positive praise - and you will too, probably.” Molly nodded at Jeff. “I’m sure she’ll need a manager, maybe you can add Daisy to the Azoff collection.”

Jeff smiled to himself and nodded; he hadn’t thought of it like that, but this would certainly bring Harry and co. some good press.

“Maybe they can re-record some acoustic versions of a few songs, and you can sell them on itunes or something.” Molly could not believe she was suggesting marketing ideas to Jeff.

Jeff eyed Molly with a new perspective suddenly. He had been quite suspicious of Harry’s ‘new girlfriend’, especially when he found out she had a degree in marketing, but Molly seemed to have a good head for business and actually seemed to have Harry’s best interest in mind.

“Brilliant.” Harry left to rejoin Daisy and his band, and Jeff was about to get up when Molly turned to him.

“Harry just needed his ‘Garfunkel’.” Molly commented.

“What?” Jeff turned to her.

“She’s the Garfunkel to his Simon,” Molly explained. “Not that Harry is Paul Simon, don’t get any ideas... “ They had already tried painting Harry as baby Jagger, Mick Fleetwood’s son, the reincarnation of Prince and Bowie...they didn’t need to add Paul Simon to that list.

Jeff shrugged. “I didn’t say anything.”

“Though, that girl is no Garfunkel, either,” Molly added, more thinking out loud than talking to Jeff. “She won’t want to be his sidekick for long.”

“You know, I often doubted the legitimacy of your relationship with Harry, but after seeing you watch them today, it’s clear I was wrong.” Jeff leaned in closer and quietly added, “and knowing Harry, you have reason to worry.”

Molly glanced up at him long enough to see he wasn’t just saying this to be malicious, and muttered “thanks,” before Jeff left.

Molly watched the two talk and laugh about god knows what. Jeff was right, she had reason to worry. Yet Molly was not worried about losing her ‘boyfriend,’ she could lose her job, her way of life, and everything she had worked so had to fix on Harry’s solo career. Yet, maybe Daisy was that missing piece of the puzzle that would pull the loose ends together. Maybe Molly’s work here was done, and like Mary Poppins, she would float off toward her next project.

Notes

shorter chapter, but I wanted to get it up before the weekend because I will be away, and I really want to know what you guys think of Daisy! I have something in mind for her, I just have to work out the details.