a million tiny little things

The mini-golf game ended sooner than either of them wanted it to. Harry and Fallon continued to hold hands and touch each other throughout the rest of the course, but their first kiss continued to be a mystery. Fallon had beat Harry by a measly two points, and her adorable elation over her success was enough for Harry to never want to win again.

Fallon found Harry’s hand as they walked back to the front counter, shyly smiling up at him. She didn’t want their date to end, but she wasn’t sure if Harry had other plans, or if she should suggest extending the evening.

God, she was adorable. Harry squeezed Fallon’s hand as he dropped their clubs on the return counter. He didn’t want to take her home yet, but they had discussed nothing further. Harry assumed the golf game would last longer, and he didn’t have the next step planned. Such an amateur move. If he was smart, he would have had steps two, three and four with Fallon planned out.

“Uhm…” Harry began, drawing out the sigh as they approached his car. “Well, this was fun. Even if, technically, I suppose… I lost…”

Fallon laughed. “Yeah, you suck,” she teased, nudging him playfully.

“Oh, stop,” Harry laughed. He chewed on his lower lip as they stopped in front of his car. “Uhm… so I was of thinking… Like, are you hungry? We could… if you want, I mean. If you can’t, or have to go… that’s okay…”

Fallon beamed. “Yeah!” she exclaimed, not intending on sounding as excited as she did. She blushed, dropping her head. “I mean… yes. Hungry. I am.” Her face warmed further as she heard her Yoda-esque words.

Harry laughed. “Eat we should, then?” he joked. “Where do you want to go?” he asked her. He didn’t care; he only wanted to spend as much time with Fallon as he could.

Fallon looked down at her outfit. “I’m, uhm… well, I’m not dressed to, like… go anywhere nice, I don’t think…” she told him. She didn’t know what sort of restaurants Harry frequented, but she assumed denim shorts and Adidas sneakers would not be part of the dress code.

“You look amazing,” Harry assured her. “But, uhm… well…” He trailed off. He didn’t want to take Fallon to a place where she would feel uncomfortable even though she looked fantastic.

“Have you ever been up Mulholland Drive?” asked Fallon as an idea formed in her mind. “Like, above the Hollywood Bowl?”

Harry furrowed his brow and shook his head. “I don’t think so?” he answered. “Uhm… I might have? I’m not sure,” he laughed. “Why, what’s up there?” he asked.

“There’s this neat little park up there,” Fallon told Harry, rocking on her heels. “You can see the whole city, and the ocean and everything. We could get food and just go… Like, hang out?” She shrugged. “If you want to?” The idea sounded better in her head than out loud. Out loud, it sounded like she was suggesting they hit up Make-Out Point. But that might not be the worst suggestion either.

“That sounds perfect,” Harry told her. It sounded much better than quiet small talk in a crowded restaurant. Not to mention, he wanted alone time with Fallon, and this would be the perfect opportunity. He opened the passenger door for her. “Good idea, Catnip,” he added with a smirk, giving her braid a tug before he shut the door for her.

“How does Chipotle sound?” Harry wondered, climbing into the car. He hoped Fallon didn’t prefer something gross like McDonald’s, but he would go wherever she wanted to. He might need several antacids and a colonic after, but he would go.

Fallon grinned, relieved Harry didn’t suggest a weird vegan restaurant. She guessed he might have wanted to. “I love Chipotle,” Fallon told him. “Good idea, Effie,” she teased back.

Harry let out a groan, reaching for Fallon’s hand. “Is that really going to be a thing?” he wondered, but he didn’t care. He found it endearing. Perhaps only because Fallon was the one saying it.

“Yeah,” Fallon answered, laughing. “Don’t deny it, you think it’s kind of cute.”

“I think you’re kind of cute,” Harry countered. More like hot as hell. He glanced at Fallon and gave her a crooked grin. He could see her cheeks redden at his words. She was even cuter when she blushed.

Fallon smiled, looking down at her lap as her face warmed. The flirty, confident girl seemed to have left the building. “Well, I… uhh… I try…” she teased back, chuckling. “I guess you’re kind of cute too,” she added after a pause, looking up at Harry. More like hot as hell, she thought to herself.

Harry laughed. “Well, we just agree on everything, don’t we?” he teased, squeezing her hand. “I guess the next step is seeing if we agree on our Chipotle order.”

“Extra, extra guac,” Fallon told Harry. “And enough so we don’t have to share.”

“Obviously,” Harry agreed. “Guacamole is a no-share zone. But I might share salsa with you,” he added as an afterthought. “We’ll see.”

Fallon snickered. “Just we’ll see, huh?” she asked. “Look like I’ve got my work cut out for me.”

Harry squeezed Fallon’s hand again. “Don’t worry,” he promised. “Pretty sure you’re cute enough to have some of my salsa.”

“You’re too kind,” Fallon laughed. She wouldn’t tell Harry, but she was pretty sure he was cute enough to even share guacamole with.

**

“Wow,” Harry commented, stepping out of the car and observing the view. It had taken some time to get up the narrow, windy road, but seeing the entire city – and then some – stretched out as far as the eye could see, Harry determined it had been worth it. The sun was just beginning its descent towards the Pacific Ocean, and the bright oranges, pinks and reds of the sunset sky were waking up, taking over for the blue of the day.

“Right?” Fallon agreed, joining Harry at the fence. She pointed over her shoulder. “I used to live, like… a few minutes up the road, so I’d come down here a lot. Got drunk on Four Loko down over there when I was fourteen and hanging out with the wannabe rebel rich kids,” she said with a laugh.

Harry followed her gestures, looking where Fallon was pointing. “You lived here?” he asked, unable to keep the incredulous tone from his voice. The homes in this area were huge, multi-million dollar estates. He didn’t want to sound rude, but he’d assumed Fallon and her mother struggled in some downtown apartment, not in a Hollywood Hills mansion.

Fallon climbed the fence, settling on the top rung. “In a little pool house,” she corrected. “My mom didn’t even have a bedroom. We… we were not rich,” she added. “My mom just enjoyed being able to tell people we lived off Mulholland Drive,” she said with a roll of her eyes.

Harry smirked. He enjoyed hearing Fallon mention her mother. To him, it meant she felt comfortable with him. “Nice to be so close to something like this, though, yeah?” he asked, standing next to Fallon and resting his hands on the top rung.

Fallon nodded. “It was a nice place to run away to,” she agreed. She gazed out over the city, remembering the times she would run away to the lookout – whether a fight with her mother or a fight with her mother’s boyfriend of the month or a bad day at school with the kids she didn’t fit in with. “It’s so weird…” she said, her voice almost inaudible.

“What is?”

Fallon looked at Harry. “Just… being here… I haven’t been here since I was a kid. I don’t know why I suggested it,” she confessed to Harry.

He looked alarmed. “We can go!” he quickly told her. “We don’t have to be here if you don’t want to be,” he said, however wondering why she suggested the lookout from her past if it brought up bad memories for her.

Fallon shook her head, dismissing Harry’s comment. “No, no,” she assured him. “I… it’s good. It’s just… I would come down here, just a miserable teenager… I was so fucking lonely. And I would just sit here and stare out over this huge city and wonder if, somewhere out there, there was someone who would get me. Someone I could talk to and trust, and I…” She trailed off, waving her hand. “Never mind…” she determined. She didn’t need to get deep with Harry – it was the one thing she was trying to avoid doing.

Harry shifted closer to Fallon, placing his hands on either side of her. “Keep going…” he urged her, his voice low as he rested his cheek against Fallon’s head. Somehow, he knew what she would say.

Fallon shook her head. She suspected Harry knew what she was about to say. “It’s okay,” she told him. “But, uhm…” She placed her hand on top of Harry’s. “I’m glad you’re here,” she confessed. She wanted to tell him why, how she felt so comfortable with him and didn’t think he would judge her, or her past, or her secrets. But the stacks of cinder blocks surrounding her heart stopped her. She wanted to trust him and almost could, but with trust came vulnerability and opening herself up to Harry was a terrifying notion.

Harry squeezed Fallon’s hand before wrapping his arms around her. “I’m glad I’m here, too,” he whispered. He rested his chin on her shoulder, the comfortable silence embracing them as they looked out over the city, each one struggling with their own unvoiced thoughts. It had been a long time since Harry met someone like Fallon – someone real, not putting on a show for cameras and press. He liked her, he knew that much, and while he wanted to reassure her he wasn’t going anywhere, his career didn’t make it easy for him to make promises.

“Hey Fallon?”

“Hmm?”

Harry touched Fallon’s cheek, nudging her to face him. He looked into her eyes, big and blue without a hint of surprise behind them. Like she knew what he was going to do. And then, he kissed her, and the world fell away. It was slow and soft, comforting in ways that words would never be. His hand rested below her ear, his thumb caressing her cheek as their breaths mingled.

Fallon twisted her body, facing Harry and pressing against him. She ran her fingers down his spine, pulling him closer until there was no space left between them and she could feel the beating of his heart against her chest. She balanced precariously on the fence, but Harry had a protective grip around her body and she felt safe against him, in his arms.

The kiss destroyed Harry’s every thought. For someone whose mind always focused on the future, that what-ifs, it was a rare sensation to only focus on the present moment. His usual mode of hurrying from one thing to the next disappeared; he had no wish for the kiss to end. Drunk on endorphins, his only desire was to touch her, feel her perfect softness. He savoured her lips and the quickening of her breath that matched his own. A kiss like this was a beginning and, despite his difficulties with the word, a promise of much more to come.

Fallon swallowed hard, pulling away from Harry and staring into his bright green eyes. She instantly missed his warm lips against hers. She never knew a kiss with such innocence could be so intimate and electrifying. Her skin tingled, covered in goosebumps despite the warm spring evening. She licked her lips, still tasting Harry’s sweetness. There was no turning back from the feelings Harry’s kiss provoked.

A slow, crooked smile appeared on Harry’s face. He tucked a lock of Fallon’s hair behind her ear, letting his fingers linger against her skin. “Finally…” he murmured. He already wanted to kiss her again.

Fallon smiled, keeping her arms tight around Harry. “Ditto,” she whispered, leaning her head against his chest. They embraced quietly for a few more moments. Harry’s heartbeat was a comfort, a daytime lullaby. She didn’t want to let him go.

Harry squeezed Fallon’s hand. “Come on, pretty girl,” he urged. “Let’s eat, so we can both have guacamole breath the next time I kiss you,” he teased, helping Fallon from the fence.

Fallon let out a quiet giggle, holding Harry’s hand as she jumped from the fence. “Good thing I like guacamole so much,” she quipped.

Harry flashed Fallon a grin. “It’s even better in breath form,” he joked, letting go of her hand to open the back hatch of his car. “Okay, don’t think I’m smarmy because there’s a sleeping bag in here,” Harry told Fallon. “I had a friend borrow it, and I’ve just not brought it into the house yet. I promise,” he added for good measure, hoping Fallon didn’t think he made a habit of kissing girls under a blanket in the back of his car.

“Ah, preparedness is key,” Fallon told him. She believed him, but also couldn’t help but wonder how many other girls he’d been close with. But it wasn’t anything they needed to discuss at that moment, so she brushed the speculation aside. “You play guitar?” Fallon asked instead, noticing the case in the back of the car. “Isn’t that Niall’s gig?” she teased.

“Oh, shush,” Harry instructed with a laugh, opening the back passenger door and retrieving their bags of food. “I’m learning. Thought it might help me look cool. What do you think?”

Fallon offered him a slow shrug. “Well…” she began, laughing as Harry scowled at her. “Can’t hurt, right?”

Harry shook his head at her. “You’re funny,” he deadpanned, handing Fallon her fountain pop. “Get in here,” he added, sitting on the edge of the car and sliding in. “Do you play?” he wondered, picking up the case and moving it on the back seat.

“Uhm…” She did, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to tell Harry. He might ask her to play. “A bit,” she settled on, opening her Chipotle bag. “My grandma is musical, very talented,” she added, unwrapping her taco and wondering how she would eat it without making a mess of herself or Harry’s car.

“Yeah?” Harry asked, scooping an obscene amount of guacamole onto a chip. “You going to play for me?” he wondered, shoving the chip into his mouth. He reminded himself to not be so piggish with his next bite. Guacamole was just so good.

Fallon laughed. “You never know,” she admitted, taking a bite of her taco. She felt a drop of juice drip down her chin, but before she could reach for a napkin, Harry touched Fallon’s chin.

“Got something right there,” he murmured. “And, oh… some right here, too…” He ducked his head, fluttering his lips against hers. He laughed as he realised she still had a mouth full of tacos. “Mmm… I should have got the chicken too,” he teased.

Fallon blushed, but not from embarrassment, just bashfulness. “It’s delicious,” she told him after she swallowed. “The guac seems tasty too,” she added, pursing her lips together. Sometimes her coyness surprised her.

“It is,” Harry agreed, not picking up on Fallon’s subtle cue. He popped another chip into his mouth, watching as Fallon’s gaze dropped to her lap. “It’s… oh!” he chuckled, realising what she’d said. He leaned closer. “You like the guac breath?” he murmured, brushing his lips against Fallon’s as he spoke.

Fallon nodded. “Maybe a bit,” she whispered back, parting her lips for Harry. Her breath hitched as their lips slow danced together. It was official. Harry Styles was her addiction.

**

Harry wiped his hands on the napkin, removing the corn chip grease, before tossing it into the bag along with the rest of his garbage. He shifted closer to Fallon, reaching for one of her chips. For someone who said she needed extra, extra guacamole, she sure didn’t devour it like he did.

“Hey!” Fallon exclaimed, pushing his hand away from her guacamole. “What did we say about sharing?” she scolded him, a teasing grin on her face. She didn’t care.

Harry frowned. “That was just about my guacamole,” he retorted. “Besides, you’re the one who said you liked the guac breath, so this is actually for you,” he added, popping a chip into his mouth and giving Fallon a cheeky grin.

“Oh, you’re such a gentleman,” answered Fallon with a roll of her eyes. She pushed the food towards Harry. “But, lucky for you, so am I,” she teased. “Go for it, seriously. I’m full,” she assured him.

“Yeah?” asked Harry, a wide grin on his face. He really liked guacamole. “Thanks… you’re kind of sweet,” he told her. His tone sounded teasing, but he was serious. She was.

Fallon shrugged, watching as Harry dipped a chip into the guac. “Only sometimes,” she teased back. She rested her chin in her hands as she looked out at the city lights below. There was something about lights – Christmas, city, the lighting aisle at Home Depot – that was so beautiful. She found it almost poetic how the lights below hardly changed since the last time she was at the lookout, but her life had completely transformed.

Harry scooted closer to Fallon, wrapping an arm around her waist. “Thanks for sharing your place with me,” he murmured, resting his chin on her shoulder as he pressed a gentle kiss on her cheek.

Fallon let her head drop against Harry’s. “Thanks for coming up here with me,” she whispered back. “I don’t think I… not by myself…” she added. She gave her head a slight shake. “I don’t mean that to sound pathetic. Just… thank you…”

Fallon had so many secrets, and Harry wanted to know every one. He couldn’t push her to tell him anything before she was ready, but he wanted something. He wondered if it might sound selfish to want something from a girl he was only just getting to know, but he asked anyway.

“Tell me something…” he told her. “Just anything you want to, a story or… anything… Something I don’t know… something about you. It doesn’t even have to be an embarrassing story,” he added, tickling her side.

Fallon let out a quiet laugh. “Those are always the best stories though, aren’t they?” she mused. She found Harry’s hand, playing with his rings as she thought of a story to tell him. There were so many to choose from, but she didn’t want to tell him anything deep. But she realised she wanted to give him something.

“I can yodel.”

“Yodel?” Harry repeated furrowing his brow. That wasn’t quite what he’d hoped for. “Uhm… well, that’s… neat…” he said, unsure what else he could say. It frustrated him – couldn’t she give him anything better?

Fallon laughed. “Yeah…” she answered. “My grandma taught me…” Fallon continued to play with Harry’s rings as she slowly removed a cinder block from her wall. “When my parents split up, I was like… four or five. No, four. And my dad worked a ton, so my grandma watched me and Adam a lot…” It’s not a story about Adam, she reminded herself. “Uhm… so anyway, she’s super musical, and she was always playing the piano or guitar and just singing, all the time. She sang everything, like even when she was baking or something… Three cups of flour…” Fallon sang quietly, the tone of the last word rising and falling with a slight yodel sound to it.

“Adam’s your brother?” asked Harry, pleased the yodelling tidbit had a story behind it.

Fallon nodded. “So, anyway…” she continued, sidestepping a conversation about her brother. “Uhm… she bought me this little pink guitar… or was it yellow…?” Fallon furrowed her brow, trying to remember the childhood toy. She waved her hand. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. I would follow her around, just strumming like crazy on this thing and trying to yodel… I was basically just making a whole bunch of racket,” she laughed. “So, to save her ears, and everyone else’s, she taught me the proper way.”

Her hesitancy to talk about her brother was as enigmatic as her reluctance to discuss her mother. So many secrets. Still, he enjoyed hearing anything about her life, no matter how small it may be. “So… you going to let me hear?” he wondered. He suspected she wouldn’t, but hoped she would.

Fallon tilted her head, looking at Harry. “If you ask me nice, I might,” she teased him. “And don’t make fun of me,” she added as a second thought.

Her words wounded Harry. He pressed a kiss against her cheek. “I promise, I wouldn’t ever make fun of you,” he told her. Did she think he would? “I reckon yodelling is a wonderful talent. Like a lost art, almost, isn’t it?”

Fallon shrugged. “I guess. My, uhm… my mom never liked the yodelling,” she admitted to Harry. “She said it made me sound like a hillbilly.” Okay, Fallon, enough about her.

Harry frowned, tightening his grip on Fallon. Even though Fallon seldom spoke of her mother, Harry didn’t like the woman. How a parent could be so hurtful to their child was beyond him. “Well… I reckon it’ll make you sound like… like… that lady from that movie… The Sound of Music!” he determined. He kissed Fallon’s cheek again before reaching into the backseat for his guitar.

“You don’t have to,” he assured her. “But I… you don’t have to think I’ll make fun of you. I like you,” he admitted. “So I’m… I’ll only make fun of your golf skills or cute hairstyle that I actually really like,” he teased. “But not this. Never this.”

Fallon’s stomach tumbled at his words. “I like you too,” she murmured. She didn’t know what those simple words meant yet, but it didn’t make them any less true. “And I don’t mind if you make fun of my winning golf skills, or my hair… because I’ll just make fun of yours, too,” she told him, reaching back and tugging on Harry‘s bun.

Harry grinned. “My hair’s like a national treasure now!” he countered, opening the guitar case. He pulled the instrument out and strummed a couple chords.

“Not in this nation,” Fallon teased, watching as Harry pulled out the guitar. With his curly hair and the tight shirt, he looked every bit a rockstar with the guitar. But he didn’t sound it, Fallon realised, wincing as Harry strummed.

“Give it,” she instructed, holding out her hands. “It’s super out of tune.”

“I don’t really know how to do that yet,” Harry admitted, handing the guitar to Fallon. At least she was holding it now. Perhaps she would sing for him, after all. “You look pretty hot, holding that thing,” he teased, nudging her knee.

“You’re just trying to butter me up so I’ll yodel for you,” Fallon answered absentmindedly as she concentrated on tuning the guitar.

Harry laughed. “I’m really not,” he told her. “Well… okay, a bit…” he said. “I’m sure you sound amazing, but no pressure. I’ll just harass you until you do,” he teased.

Fallon rolled her eyes. “I would expect no less,” she answered, strumming out a few chords. She hadn’t held a guitar in so long, she’d almost forgotten how good it felt. She plucked out a few more chords, testing the instrument. “Just because I’m blonde don’t think I’m dumb, cause this dumb blonde ain’t nobody’s fool,” she sang out with a hushed voice. She let the single line of the song hang in the air for a moment before handing the guitar back to Harry.

He grinned at her. “What song was that?” he asked. Fallon was feeding him tiny bites one at a time, but he hoped she would someday give him the whole plate. He just needed to have patience.

“Dumb Blonde… Dolly Parton…” Fallon told him. “Dolly was a pretty big deal in our house growing up,” she added. She shrugged. “Maybe next time… I’ll…” She trailed off, letting out a sheepish laugh. “You just make me a little nervous,” she confessed.

Harry wrapped his arms around Fallon. “You don’t have to be nervous around me,” he told her, but he knew it was easier said than done. “But… I get it. And… next time?” He raised his eyebrow. “There’s a next time?” he teased.

Fallon looked up at Harry and shrugged. “I mean… I hope? I don’t… If you don’t…” she stammered out, instantly regretting mentioning a second date before he did.

Harry guffawed at Fallon’s stammers. “Fuck, you’re cute…” he commented, pressing a kiss on the top of her head. “Yes… there will definitely be a next time… I can promise you that…”

And a next time after that, and a next time after that, and a next time after that…

Notes