More Than A Melody (H.S)

Chapter 15 - Aurora

Thank you everyone that's been reading and voting! I still can't quite get over how many people have been reading this! I have lots planned for further chapters!
Enjoy this one!
Lx
***

I feel frozen and I'm definitely dripping as I walk through the door, back into the kitchen area, I'm shivering so hard and my fingers feel like they might fall off.

"Fuck." Harry's lip trembles with shivers as he comes in behind me.

"We need to warm up." I say, as I rub my hands up and down my arms.

He nods, "strip."

I gawk at him, raising my eyebrows with a tiny playful smile.

"Get the wet clothes off." He says laughing, "put them straight in the washer." He adds with a grin as he pulls coat off, it literally peels off his body, it's that wet, I'm momentarily distracted as I watch him strip down to... nothing. I've barely just taken my coat and my trainers off.

He knows I was watching, he smirks at me as he stuffs his wet clothes into the dryer.

I pass him my coat and my leggings, but I feel a feeling of self consciousness wash over me and I'm suddenly nervous and want to flee to the bedroom or the bathroom to fully remove the rest of the clothes.

It's silly considering he's seen me completely naked both last night and this morning, but my heart is hammering in my chest.

"Are you okay?" He asks, his voice is soothing, it almost completely takes away the thoughts, just those few words.

I nod and take the rest of my clothes off, passing them to him to put in the dryer, I'm still absolutely freezing, bouncing from one foot to the other. He sets the washer on to a wash and dry setting and then dashes from the kitchen, he grabs blankets from the chest behind the couch and carefully wraps one around my shoulder, I smile and him and pull it closed, sinking into the fluffy material. He wraps one around himself, using his hands to rub along his body.

"Fuck that was cold." He laughs.

I nod, "cold but fun." I grin, my teeth still chattering slightly.

We each grab another blanket and move to sit on the couch, covering every little bit of ourselves with blankets.

"I'm so glad these were here." Harry says, "this place is so lovely, the hosts are amazing. There's everything you could need..." he hums, tucking some of the blanket over his feet.

I nod, "I've never stayed at an Airbnb before." I say.

"I've stayed at a few across Japan, but they were much more basic than this. This is... like a proper home." He smiles and looks around.

"It is... how long have you booked it for?" I ask him, I've been curious to know how long he's been planning to stay since he arrived here.

"I've booked it for four weeks, for now. I'm not sure if I'll stay longer or not as long... I told the lady that I'd pay these for weeks up front and let her know my plans later."

I nod, "wow, four weeks is pretty long." I smile, "you must really like it." I laugh.

He nods, "I do. I like the quiet..."

"It's not very quiet when I'm here!" I joke.

"No, it is... it still is. I don't mean quiet as in no noise, I just mean it's less busy, it's peaceful and I don't feel the usual stresses or being constantly tied down with something."

"Is that why you're here? To get a break? From your job and stuff?" I ask, I keep my voice quiet, like I'm tiptoeing around the subject, I don't want to seem to nosey or make home talk about things he doesn't want to.

He nods, "yeah... things got a bit overwhelming, I was getting so little sleep and just... running myself into the ground and no one seemed to be giving a shit." He sighs, "except for my mum, every time I spoke to her she expressed concerns, said I needed a break. But I love working, I really do and I know my job is not like anyone else's, I'm lucky, but I really was close to burning out.
I took off... only my mum knows where I am. I let my manager know I'd be away for a while, that I just needed a break. I guarantee I have a lot of angry emails..."

I look at him as he speaks, when I picked him up at the airport I could tell he was worn out, only a few days ago, he seems so much different now, rested and like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders.

"I think it's important to look after yourself, I'm sure your manager will too, no one should be angry at you for taking some much needed time out..."

He looks at me and nods, "yeah... lots of people praise about protecting mental health, but sometimes I don't think they really understand how too. I was signed on to do a movie while writing and recording another album for myself as well as writing for other artists, and my team wanted the whole process filmed for a documentary. I just... flipped out I guess, I backed out of the movie and flew home, but then I felt like I didn't want to be there, so here I am..."

I nod, "wow, that's... a lot." I say, "I can't do any of that, but I can't imagine even trying."

He sighs and nods, "I feel bad back out now, and saying no to things I've never done before, but if I didn't... I can't imagine the work would turn out well. I'd just have ended up even tireder and angrier, I'm hoping I can get some writing done while I'm here, so that I can go back with that at least."

I smile at him, "I think here is a great place for that, hopefully your creative juices will flow."

"I hope so too... have you ever tried song writing?"

I shake my head, "no... I liked poetry in high school, but I can't sing, so songwriting wouldn't benefit me." I laugh.

"You never know, not all song writers are singers, poetry is a good step to start with..." he says.