All Again

CHAPTER SIX

BECCA

Then.

Some would call it fate, or meant to be---I call it my Grandma Shelly.
My spring classes would resume in late January 2015, but I would not be there for the start.
Four days before I was set to take the plane back with Kelsey, my Great-Grandmother, who was ninety-three, unexpectedly passed.
And I, unexpectedly chose to stay behind for a few days, missing my first few classes.
My parents had a lot on their plate. Living in Los Angeles and owning a few businesses took up a lot of their free time, and anytime I came home, it was a little expected for me to help and I was glad too, except at the coffee shop.

"Becca, you're spilling." My mother sung in my ear as she walked past me on January 25th, flustered from the busy day we were already having.
I immediately looked down at the coffee beans that scattered the floor.
"Ugh!" I groaned. "Mom the machine is jammed again!" I whined.
I hated the space-like machines they had.
"Well fix it!" She said impatiently, before turning to a customer and putting on her best smile at the front counter. "How may I help you sir?" she asked cheerily.
I rolled my eyes and tried to focus on the machine, but it hated me.
"Need help?" I heard asked beside me.
It was my younger sister Taylor.
"Please." I pleaded, bending down to pick up the beans before someone tripped.
She headed over, helping me and began to try to fix the machine.
"I don't know how you do this everyday." I grunted. The only jobs I had ever had, were in retail and I thought they were a dream. Food service was not for me.
"I don't have a choice." she said with a laugh.
She was sixteen and this was her first real job- though she was cheating, if you ask me. She had it pretty easy. She could start late, leave early and pretty much make her own rules when my Mother wasn’t around.
I stood, my back stiff from being on the floor for a few seconds.
Man I was out of shape.
"I'm going with Dad tomorrow. Help him out at the store." I proclaimed suddenly.
I was two hours into my shift and ready to throw in the towel. Damn my mother, and her specials.
"Good luck." she said, snapping something on the machine. It grumbled and then like magic, was back working. She turned to me, resting her arm on the machine. Despite the reddish tint to her brown hair, and her height, we were twins. "It's worst there then here." She noted.
"Couldn't be." I mumbled.
I never really had to work in my parents stores, since they had opened both after I went away to college. I was in my fourth year and had two more semesters until I graduated in December 2015. Since I had been away, their businesses had picked up and were doing really well.
"Stop chatting. More working." My mother said suddenly walking past us again.
She was a nervous wreck and flustered, but she loved it. I liked to think she inspired the term 'superwoman'.
I smiled at her, and headed to the front counter. There were five of us working today, but we had a pretty steady line.
I quickly began taking orders-thankfully, not filling them- and soon the line was working its way down.
It wasn’t so bad.
"Can I get a Vanilla Chai Tea, a croissant and a small Caramel Mocha to go please?"
I nodded, punching the order in. "And your name?" I asked the woman in front of me.
"Bev." she said shortly, digging in her purse. "Can you guys make it quick too? I'm late for a meeting."
I nodded politely. I was use to rude customers and was good at brushing them off.
As she retrieved her money, I stepped away from the counter a bit and gave my sister the order. "And can you speed it up? She has a meeting."
"Then why did she stop here first?" My sister hissed. "She's not special and I’m not going to rush."
I chuckled at my sister. She had always been spunky.
My mother, who was nearby, heard the conversation and cut her eyes at my sister.You better.
We both quickly went back to work, and I headed over to the lady.
Quickly taking her money, I started to wrap up her croissant.
I moved really fast since she was in a 'rush' and didn’t pay attention to my surroundings.
I could hear the door chime over our ‘coffeehouse tunes‘, signaling someone had entered, but I didn’t look around.
I looked directly at the lady and handed her the food.
"Your order will be up quickly." I said putting on my fakest smile.
She didn’t acknowledge my words and left the counter quickly, rolling her eyes.
I sighed and smiled at the next patron.
She was around my age and noticeably bubbly.
"Hello!" she says. "Can I get one of your Mango Smoothies please?"
I nodded and smiled, genuinely. "What size?"
"A large."
I nodded 'okay' and tapped in her order.
As she dug in her purse, I took a quick look down the pending line to see how many people were left to serve, then, my fucking mouth dropped.
I had to be dreaming.
"Here ya go!" the girl in front of me said, handing me her credit card.
My eyes didn’t shift, but I grabbed the card.
How was this my life?
Standing in front of me was Harry.
Harry Styles.
Again!
He was dressed in black jeans, a cream shirt and was wearing black sunglasses.
He was not paying any attention to me and was talking to a guy that was with him.
I shook my head and chuckled to myself.
Why did this keep happening to me?
Why was this guy everywhere suddenly?
I quickly swiped the girl’s credit card and looked in his general direction.
The guy he was talking to, was pointing to our menu, and it was clear Harry had never been here before.
I immediately wondered what his impression was.
My mother’s shop was pretty updated and retro.
Various arts pieces lined the wall, and the warm mahogany wood counters trimmed in various hues of reds and whites was there to create a comfy home away from home feeling.
Most of our regular customers would come plop on our couches and stay for hours tapping in their laptops or talking with friends.
I hope he liked it.
Bubbly smoothie girl stepped to the side and an old man stepped up. He wanted his order simple; coffee, black.
I rang him up quickly and peeked at the line. This time, my eyes caught Harry's. At least, I think they did. He was wearing those sunglasses and wasn't really clear what he was looking at.
I turned quickly and looked at my sister. No one around me had noticed he was there or they just didn’t care.
"Taylor!" I called quietly.
Her head popped up from pouring some milk in a cup.
I didn't speak and just slowly nodded in his direction.
She followed my eyes but didn’t catch on right away.
"Hey how ya doin'" A guy said as he approached the counter.
I quickly acknowledged the man and then turned back to my sister. Look!
She peered out again and then this time, she got it.
"Oh my God!" she shrieked.
My mother and the other employees all looked at her. My mother's eyes quickly observed what she was looking at and she looked back at her in confusion.
I turned back to my customer.
"Hi sir. What can I get you?"
He quickly spouted out his order, but I was annoyed when he suddenly chose to linger.
"So your name is Becca?" he asked.
I nodded and looked behind him. Harry was still watching me, but he had now removed his glasses and our eyes met.
I blushed and quickly looked away.
"Short for Rebecca?" the man asked.
"Short for Becca." I said impatiently.
"How old are you?" he asked, leaning and getting comfortable. "You're...quite stunning."
I put on my best fake smile. "I'm also quite working. Is there anything else?"
My voice was honey, but my words were venom.
He said nothing more, lifting off the counter. I think I heard him mutter 'stuck up bitch' but I didn’t care. He walked away quickly.
Harry Styles and friend were now one customer behind in the line and boy did I love this next customer.
It was a mother and a child and she was stalled, scanning the menu for options. I was thankful she was prolonging the inevitable.
"Um..." she hummed as she searched. "First time." she said with an embarrassed chuckle. "I've got a Groupon."
"No worries." I said and didn't dare look behind her. Instead, my eyes focused on the food behind the counter, my sister whispering my name trying to get my attention and the child she was with, who was tapping and playing some game on a cell phone. It sounded like Fruit Ninja.
"What do you want Michael?" the customer asked her son, still stalled.
"Idon'tcare." he mumbled, not even looking up from his game.
The mother rolled her eyes and I heard a small snort of a laugh. Very quiet, but there.
I looked up and it was Harry who was watching the child. His smile was wide and it was beautiful. Feeling eyes on me, I glanced at his friend and saw he was watching me-watch his friend.
I turned quickly to the lady.
"Um...let me get a Peppermint Hot Chocolate for him, and I’ll try a...Vanilla Latte."
"Sounds good." I said.
I tapped in her order three times due to nerves and shaky hands (and Harry’s friends stare) and give her a total.
She quickly paid and thanked me for my patience.
"No problem." I said but I was a basket of nerves. My words came out as a mumble.
Why was I so nervous?
It was Harry and Friend's turn.
I took a deep breath and turned to them both as they approached the counter.
"Hi." I said.
"Hello." Harry drawled in his unique accent and smiled.
His friend was no nonsense and began to order; quickly.
It was obvious he had been here before and I had to quickly look at my screen and enter everything. Like before, I fumbled a bit and had to adjust the order twice before getting it right.
"Anything else?" I asked when I finished, looking up. His friend nodded no, but Harry was studying me.
"Yeah, is that your name?" he asked, his accent like butter to my ears. He pointed to my name tag.
I looked down as if I didn’t know it was there or what it said.
"Yeah." I said.
"We met in New York didn't we? A couple weeks ago?" he asked. "You didn't want my picture."
His voice was playful and I immediately blushed. I was hoping he didn't remember me.
Awkward.
"Um yeah. Guilty." I say.
He smiled. "Oh well nice to meet you again Becca." he said.
His friend watched us but didn’t look too amused by the whole conversation.
“Harry?” he cut in, taking his attention briefly.
Stay focused. I quickly remembered I was at work too and began to help fill their order.
It was two Lattes and two bottled waters.
As I grabbed the waters, my mom unexpectedly slithered over.
"Hi." she said warmly. "I'm the owner Alicia." she placed her hands out for them to shake it and I looked at her in shock.
Did she actually know who they were?
Being in a prime location in Malibu, my mother was use to meeting celebrities and always made sure to introduce herself personally- despite it being a coffee shop. Still, I barely was familiar with Harry a month ago and would be surprised if she was.
I held the waters awkwardly as they both shook her hand.
"It's a hot one today isn't it?" she asked, attempting to small talk.
I inwardly cringed for her. My Mother was a very smooth and a charismatic woman, but I didn’t want her to embarrass herself; especially since I had already taken care of that a month ago at the airport.
I moved beside her and handed out the waters.
Harry looked solely at me as he took it from my hand.
Seconds later, I felt a third presence beside me. My sister.
She was definitely going to embarrass me.
Kill me now.
"It is." I heard Harry answer. He said something else, but I was to busy whispering to my sister to hear.
"Who is making their drinks?"
"Jim."
I turned and looked at 'Jim' who was not even paying attention to what was happening. A thirty year old man doesn't care about popstars.
I flashed my eyes at her and told her to go back to her spot before she made this whole thing weird.
She ignored me.
"Well your drinks will be up in a sec. Nice to meet you!" My mother said and I realized the conversation was ending.
"Thank you." Harry said and his friend nodded a farewell.
Harry placed his sunglasses back on his eyes and waved at me. "Nice seeing you again Becca. Have a good one.”
"You too!” I said quickly and awkwardly and my sister immediately looked at me.
“Again? What does he mean?” she whispered loudly.
Harry and friend both moved out of the way and further down the counter.
“I met him with Kelsey a month ago.“ I said quickly. “It’s nothing.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked in a rush.
I shoo her off and point to them.
“There’s your chance.” I quickly remind her. Go bug them.
And of course my sister darts.
My mother walked away too.
The next customer was up, but like me, was now watching Harry.
“Is that…?” I heard her begin to mumble and I turned to look at him once more.
He was now talking to his friend and concentrating on him.
I didn’t get starstruck, but he carried something with him when you met him. This time, I just wanted to watch him and soak up his energy.
As my sister handed them their drinks, I felt myself disappointed. It had now been not once, not twice, but THREE times that I had seen this man in the past month. Stuff like that didn't just happen and I would probably never see him again. I suddenly felt tempted to ask for that picture and a re-do of our previous meeting.
I didn't get the chance.
Harry and his friend headed out of the shop quickly.
All I could do was sigh.
****************************

I was back the next day at the shop really early.
I had another red-eye flight that night and wanted to help out all I could before I left.
Despite my resistance to work at the coffee shop, my sister was right when she said it was more fun to work there than at my father's nutrition store. Selling and restocking vitamins was less work, but definitely not more exciting.
It was 6am, and I had since got over my run-in with Mr. Styles. Though if I was to be honest, my interest was piqued once more.
Later that night I found myself browsing Google again and some silly site SugarScape and got the updates. Supposedly Harry and the blonde from last month were getting cozier. They had spent her birthday together and had been spotted a few times in LA together since.
She was pretty and I found myself browsing her Twitter and Instagram too.
Nice work Styles.
However, he was days away from opening his tour with his band in Australia so I estimated whatever they had, would have to be put on pause soon.

Since I opened with my Mom, I was on preparatory duty and getting everything ready for the day. Soon, the morning rush would bustle in and we would be swamped until around 10am.
I quickly moved through my tasks, and took a few orders. Before I knew it, it was past 9am, and I had made it through the thick of the rush with my other co-workers.
My sister was at school, and coming to help in the afternoon.
"Becca. Can you help me?" I heard called by my mother and rushed to help since the people had died down tremendously. "Can you replace these please?"
I looked down at the near-empty milk containers and mixers.
"Sure."
By now, the main people in the shop were on their laptops with headphones in and paying no one attention.
I headed to the back to gather supplies and restock everything.
I found my place out of the way behind the counter and began to replenish the stock. I was happy. As long as I wasn't making the drinks, I was glad to do anything.
I got lost in my work and tuned everyone around me out.
I could still hear the door chime and the occasional yell of an order, but other than that I wasn't paying attention.
Well.
Until I heard his voice.
I had been bent over, opening a box, when I heard “Hello Becca.” in a deep British accent.
Bringing my eyes up slowly, I once again looked at Harry Styles and he was smiling at me.
"Oh come on!" I said and laughed. What the hell was my life? I was one of the least likely people to care that I kept seeing him. Fate wasn't fair. Where was Kelsey and my sister?
Harry chuckled at my sudden outburst. I could tell he was taken aback.
"How are you?" he asked.
I shook my head in disbelief. "I'm good. How are you Harry?"
He smiled. "Oh you know my name?"
"Of course." I said placing down the gallon of milk in my hand. "You're stalking me."
This time he laughed. As he did, I took him in quickly. He was wearing a hoodie again and this time, his hair was pulled back in a bun. He seemed like he was on his way to the gym or just leaving one.
"I promise I’m not. I'm here for the coffee."
"Oh? You liked it?" I asked.
"Yeah it's pretty good. Your mum has done a good job. I like the décor and everything." He said gesturing to our walls.
I looked at him in confusion. How did he know the owner was my mother?
Had I volunteered that information? Had my mom?
He noted my expression.
"She's not?" He questioned. "You two just look alike."
"Oh no. No she is my mom." I said quickly. "But I didn't think anyone noticed." I said honestly.
"It's your eyes. The hazel. They're very pretty." he said. I blushed and turned away.
If anyone had nice eyes, it was him.
"Um..." I was at a lost for words suddenly. "So have you placed your order yet?" I asked looking towards the cashier who had taken my place at the counter.
"Uh no. I saw you and thought I’d say hi first."
"Oh. Is your friend here?" I asked, not even sure what to ask this man in front of me.
"Jeff? No." he said. "We're not exactly glued at the hip." He joked.
"Right." I said. I was sure my face was as bright as a tomato.
He continued to look at me.
"So I have a question. Do you live here or New York?"
"Both. I go to school in New York."
"Oh. What do you study?" he asked casually and I paused.
Here, Harry Styles was, in my mothers coffee shop asking me what I studied.
I must have looked at him like he was crazy because he stopped.
"What?" he asked looking around.
"Nothing." I said quickly. "I'm just...you're just..." I paused, looking for the right word.
"What?" he asked smiling again, turning back to me.
"You're just Harry Styles, and you’re here and you're talking to me about my studies." I said as if I was trying to comprehend.
He sighed, but didn’t seem upset and shrugged. "Exactly I’m just Harry Styles, I guess. This is me."
I nodded. "I'm seeing that. You don't act like other celebrities." I said bending down to grab some vanilla creamer.
"Who else have you met?" he asked curiously.
"None like you." I said with a chuckle.
"Oh hello! You're back!"
I turned in time to see my Mother stand beside me.
"Yeah. Hi." Harry said politely. "I was just telling your daughter Becca that you make wonderful coffee."
"Do we? Well great! Is there anything I can get you?"
"Sure. Uh...I don't remember what I ordered yesterday but-"
His green eyes clouded and shifted to the menu.
My mind flashed to he and his friends order.
"I do." I said. "A latte. And I think Taylor put some of our mixed creamer in there."
Harry looked back down at me.
My mother instantly smiled at me and winked; proud I’m sure.
"I'll get it for you. One moment." She said with a warm smile and sauntered off.
Harry’s eyes locked with mine.
"Your mum is very nice."
"Well she's a lovely woman." I said and shook up the Vanilla creamer in my hand. I switched out the older container and began to grab a different bottle.
I don't know what I said, but it caused Harry to stop and look at me curiously. His gaze was strong.
"What?" I asked after a few seconds. His stare was intense, and his eyes burned through me. I was surprised I didn’t catch fire.
"Can I ask you a question?" he asked.
I shook up the Hazelnut creamer in my hand. "Sure."
"How old are you?"
"I'm 20. Why?"
"Do you have a boyfriend?" he asked ignoring my question.
My eyes grew wide. "Why are you asking me if I have a boyfriend?" I said quickly.
He began to answer, but stopped, when he looked past me.
My mother was headed over with his drink and she honestly had to have made it in two seconds.
"Here you go! On the house!"
Harry smiled. "Oh that's sweet, but I feel bad not paying for it."
He dug in his pocket and my mother waved him away. "I won't hear of it. Have a great day. We hope to see you soon." she said and as soon as she appeared, she disappeared.
I looked back at Harry and he smiled at me.
“I really like her.” he said pointing at my mom’s previous spot. His dimples highlighted his face, but I couldn’t focus on that.
Why had he asked me if I had a boyfriend?
"Well." he said shaking his drink. "I should go. It's almost been a record that I’ve been standing here so long and no one has bothered us."
I smiled and nodded. That’s right, he was a superstar.
It was quite surprising.
"Well have a great day!" I said cheerily. I was more confident today and not a fumbling idiot.
Though today was probably the last time I would see him, I was proud of the way I handled this run-in.
“You too.” He said, reaching for a napkin in front of him.
"Do you have a pen?"
I looked behind me and grabbed the nearest one I could find.
I handed it to him.
"Thanks." he said with a wide smile.
He bent down, setting his drink on the counter and began to scribble something.
I didn't even hide that I was watching to see what he wrote.
However, he was too fast for me.
He finished up the 'note' and flipped it in his hand so I couldn't see what it was. He handed it to me and then picked up his drink.
"Here. Don't share it with anyone please."
"Is it your autograph?" I asked with slight excitement. Kelsey or my sister would go crazy for it.
"Yup." he said simply and turned away from me to leave.
I didn't even watch him walk away, flipping the napkin over. When I did, my eyes quickly looked back up but he was already walking out of the door.
He was a liar.
It wasn't his autograph or even his name.
It was a phone number.

Notes