The Reinvention of Harry Styles

Molly and Harry spent the day in Boston together before flying to the next stop on his tour in Washington DC. The leaves were turning, and it was a beautiful fall day.

On the plane to DC, Molly curled up next to Harry once he’d finished talking to someone about replacing Jeff. Things were stressful among Harry’s team as they rushed to find a replacement - but the right person, this time - so Molly thought Harry could use a little distraction.

“You know Harry, I do love the song ‘Strong’ but I have to point out one thing,” Molly started with a cheeky smirk on her lips. “The line ‘when I’m not with you I’m weaker’... I wasn’t with you when you fired Jeff, though?”

“You were with me, in here.” Harry indicated the general location of his heart and smiled. “I just meant, you make me strong, that’s all. Don’t look into it so literally - I thought I was the one who was supposed to take things too seriously?” He teased.

“I know, I’m just messing with you,” she playfully returned. She hoped it didn’t show, but Molly was actually quite relieved to hear that. The line ‘I’m not afraid of love’ stood out to her, and she hoped that hadn’t been Harry’s way of telling her he loved her - because then she’d look like an ass for not saying it back, or at least addressing that fact. She didn’t think they were ready for that, but she never knew with Harry; he was good at surprising her. But if he said not to look into it so literally, then she was happy to leave it at that.

His next few shows went as planned - no more surprise One Direction songs with hidden meanings for his girlfriend. Harry did not address the fact that he’d fired his manager, and stuck to business as usual, just hoping to get through each concert without showing the turmoil behind the scenes. His team had narrowed down the candidates to two people and just had to do some final interviews before a new manager was chosen, but the choice was ultimately Harry’s.

His next show was not for a few days, so they flew to New York to meet with the candidates. Harry listened to all the advice his team gave him, and he and Molly did their own research on their own. After he met with both of them, he was sure of which candidate he wanted to hire for his next manager.

“That’s going to be your next manager?” Molly was surprised. She hadn’t seen any of the candidates they researched and her jaw dropped when she finally saw a picture of her. “She’s quite pretty.”

“Is she?” Harry shrugged. “Doesn’t matter, really; Jocelyn is one of the best in the business, and we’re lucky she’s taken me on with such short notice.”

“Well, you’re Harry Styles, why wouldn’t she want you?” Molly seemed a bit baffled at this.

“Actually, that’s the thing - she didn’t care about that. She’s all business, and that’s what I need.”

“Yeah,” Molly agreed, and stared back at the picture. Did she really have to be so pretty, though? “When do we meet her?”

“I’ve already met her, of course,” Harry smiled teasingly. “But, I’m sure you’ll meet her soon enough.”

Molly felt a bit uneasy as she waited for Harry to return from his show in Atlanta. She somehow felt Jocelyn was now her competition; not because she was attractive, tall, and thin, but because, with a competent manager, Harry may not need her input as much. Perhaps Molly’s role as ‘manager/girlfriend’ would shift to just ‘girlfriend’.

But that’s normal. Most girls aren’t trying to manage their boyfriend’s careers (well, not in the sense she was, at least). She might have to try a little harder now to do ‘girlfriend’ things, whatever that meant. Romance was never really Molly’s strong point, but like everything else, she’d try her best and hope it was enough.

Harry had talked with his new manager several times via phone, but they were planning on having a meeting with his team before his next show in Dallas. Molly didn’t think twice about attending this meeting because she always did stuff like this with Harry. Yet, as she entered the room with Harry (a bit late, as usual), and saw his team and new manager sitting around a conference table, she had never felt more out of place.

Harry seemed calm and didn’t sense any of Molly’s tension as Jocelyn introduced herself to everyone and addressed a few people she’d met before

“I’m sorry, but who is this?” Jocelyn stopped and looked directly at Molly, and Molly’s mouth fell open.

“This is my girlfriend.” Harry answered.

“And what is she doing here?” She looked back at Harry.

“She’s here because I want her to be.” He replied, a bit more sternly.

“I’ve never had a client bring their girlfriend or boyfriend to a strategy meeting.” His new manager raised her eyebrows. Her alert eyes looked around, and when no one made a notion to ask Molly to leave, she shrugged. “Okay, if that’s how you want it.”

“It is, actually.” Harry nearly growled. Harry trusted Molly, because while everyone else on his team had looked the other way while his previous manager made poor decision after another and sent Harry’s career into a downward spiral, Molly - simply a former fan - had the nerve to speak up and do something about it. He knew she would always have his back, but was willing to tell him when he was wrong and smack him around when needed (metaphorically smack, of course).

“Right, well, let’s get down to business,” Jocelyn started and dove into her first task.

The rest of the meeting went smoothly, though Molly could have sworn she felt Jocelyn’s watchful eyes on her as she and Harry left. Molly didn’t want to bother Harry with this, so she kept it to herself. After all, from Jocelyn’s perspective, Molly probably looked like the overbearing and controlling girlfriend, so Jocelyn was probably just looking out for her client.

Yet that night, as Molly stood by the edge of the stage during his show in Dallas- just out of sight of the audience - in her usual spot, she was joined by someone. Molly didn’t even have to look to know it was Jocelyn, because she oddly stood exactly where Jeff had in previous shows.

“He really knows how to work the audience, doesn’t he?” Jocelyn commented as they watched Harry - much to the crowd’s amusement - try out a Texas accent.

“Yes, I’d say it’s one of his strong points. I think he feeds off their energy, you know?” Molly nervously responded.

Jocelyn nodded in agreement, and it was quiet while the two watched Harry. After the next song, she suddenly turned to Molly and looked her in the eye. Molly was surprised and swallowed hard as she waited for whatever Jocelyn had to say.

“So you and Harry have been together since April?” She asked, and Molly nodded with a polite smile. “Yet, you didn’t meet Jeff or his team until July?”

“Around then, yeah,” Molly explained. “Why does it matter?”

“I’ve heard a lot about you from Harry’s team,” she started, and Molly couldn’t discern from her tone if she was about to get a verbal lashing or a compliment (if Jocelyn knew how to compliment people).

“Oh?” Molly sounded worried, but tried to look calm.

“Yeah. They say you really turned things around for Harry, and spoke up to Jeff when no one else would.” Suddenly Jocelyn’s thin lips formed what looked like a smile. “I’m pleased to know Harry’s picked a girl for her brains rather than her looks.”

“Thank you,” Molly smiled shyly. She didn’t think Jocelyn had meant to insult her appearance, but meant it as a compliment.

“Now, I don’t have time to watch the rest of his show,” Jocelyn pulled out her phone to check the time, “because believe it or not, I have other clients and I can’t just follow Harry around wherever he goes.” Molly detected a bit of sarcasm in her tone, and thought perhaps Harry’s new manager felt the same way about Jeff as Molly had. “So, I’m going to need you to continue doing what you were doing and keep an eye on him for me. Sound good?”

Molly nodded. “I can handle that.”

Jocelyn nodded and they parted ways, leaving Molly feeling pleasantly confidant. She could continue her role as ‘manager/girlfriend’ after all, and Jocelyn was perhaps not as intimidating as she had initially thought.

Harry and Molly headed to Austin the next day for one of Harry’s last shows on the North American leg of his tour. They were both looking forward to the short break before the European leg, and planned to go to London in a few days to start acclimating to the time change. Yet when they woke up the next morning, they were yet again met with some disturbing headlines in the entertainment news.

Back in Chicago, Daisy waited out the rabid accusations that she was carrying Harry’s illegitimate child. Just as Harry had, she fired Jeff, but took it one step further: she sued him for breach of contract and libel. Harry and his team had decided not to pursue legal action against Jeff, but promised to assist Daisy in any way she needed, as a form of reparations to the damage caused by the rumors.

While Harry’s lawyers worked on the case against Jeff. Daisy and her new manager set about establishing the truth and getting her career back on track. This unfortunately included distancing herself from Harry, at least publicly, and reestablishing herself as a solo artist - not as ‘the girl who had a few duets with Harry Styles.’

Instead of laying low until after she had the baby, Daisy decided to make the best of the situation and use the publicity in her favor. She and Harry’s team tried to track down the father of her child (Connor, if she remembered correctly) and be as honest about the situation as possible. After having countless reporters and various publications (mostly tabloids) reach out to her for a statement, she finally agreed to speak to one of them.

The magazine she planned to meet with was popular in the LGBT community, and she hoped they would understand her situation and portray it accurately. She met with the journalist, a young woman about her age, at a local cafe during off hours - so it wasn’t too busy.

“Lydia, nice to meet you,” the reporter introduced herself, and the two settled into their table in a quiet corner. The two chatted for a bit and Lydia asked some generic questions before jumping into the issue at hand: “So tell me, how does a lesbian such as yourself accidentally end up pregnant?”

Daisy knew this question was coming and had prepared for it, and she figured it was best to get it over with. “Well, I am bisexual, and at the time of, um, conception, my girlfriend and I were taking a bit of a break.”

“A break?” Lydia wrote down her answers and waited for Daisy to continue.

“Yes, like many couples, we had a bit of a fight and decided we needed some space to get some perspective.” Daisy tried to answer as calmly as possible.

“So, to get perspective, you slept with a random guy and got pregnant?” Lydia asked with a look in her eye Daisy didn’t appreciate.

“We hooked up, it was a one night stand - something a lot of young people do. I didn’t really think about it too much at the time.” She answered carefully, trying to sound casual.

“So, you’re not a lesbian, you’re bisexual?” The reporter clarified.

“Yes, I guess if I had to put a label on it, that would be the right term.”

“Then, why did you say in an interview with Harry Styles, that you were a lesbian?”

Now Daisy’s blood was starting to boil; she had specifically stated that she would not answer questions about Harry. The reporter clearly could have worded her question differently to avoid using his name, but of course she had to throw it in their to get some attention for this article. “Well,” Daisy started. “I actually said I was gay. At the time of the interview in question, I was in a committed, monogamous relationship with a woman, and I felt that qualified me as being ‘gay’.”

“Why did you feel the need to say that during that particular interview? If I recall, you weren’t asked about your sexual orientation.” Lydia checked her notes to double check.

Daisy took a deep breath to calm down, but it did not help. “Well, to be honest, I was so tired of people assuming I was sleeping with Harry because it was so far from the truth. I wanted to dispel those rumors once and for all because I was uncomfortable with that. My girlfriend was getting fed up with it, and I’m sure Harry’s girlfriend didn’t like hearing about it either!”

Daisy froze as she realized the words that had come out of her mouth. She tried to remain calm, and look like it wasn’t a big deal that she’d just mentioned Harry Styles’ girlfriend, but the reporter caught on quickly.

“I’m sorry, his girlfriend? I wasn’t aware he had one; do you know her personally? Is it a serious relationship?” Lydia asked quickly, well aware that she had caught a juicy bit of gossip.

“I just meant, if he had one, I’m sure she would also be upset.” Daisy shrugged, as if it was no big deal, but inside her heart was racing. As unhappy she was with Harry for this unwanted attention, she didn’t want to drag Molly into the public eye. “We were not that close, I wouldn’t know if he had a girlfriend or not.”

Lydia nodded and wrote this down quickly. “Mm-hm…” It was clear Lydia didn’t believe this, and Daisy knew nothing she could say would change her mind, and if she tried to argue the point further, it would only look suspicious. She sighed and accepted this, wrapping up the interview quickly.

As she feared, the next morning her interview was published, and as expected, it was all about Harry Styles’ supposed girlfriend.

“Harry Styles’ Baby Mama Hints at his Secret Girlfriend. How Does She Feel About His Illegitimate Child?”

“Has Womanizer Harry Styles Finally Found a Serious Girlfriend?”

“Who is Harry’s Mystery Woman?”

Notes

I don’t know why, but the name ‘Jocelyn’ stood out to me for Harry’s new manager (she’s completely fictional, btw).

Also, I finally saw ‘Dunkirk’!!! I loved it, and really hope Harry continues acting.

I had some free time the other day, I thought I'd put my edited novel back up on Amazon. I had been waiting to do part 1 and 2 together, but part 1 on its own seemed long enough. I've been trying to get this done while I've been out of work (almost 10 months now), and it's finally close to looking somewhat completed!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078XLGR3G

I'd really appreciate it if you could check it out, and if you do read it, maybe send me some feedback : )