Woman ☆ Harry Styles AU

::three::

My studio was silent, for the most part. The only noise was my breathing, the air conditioning unit, and the stroking of the brush across the canvas. I was working on a project for my oil painting course, it wasn't anything spectacular though. I was patiently waiting for a text from that beautiful woman. We were supposed to meet after my last class earlier but she had something come up unexpectedly.  This room had a strong smell of mineral spirits floating around, and I knew I would regret it if I didn't open the window more. I laid my brush over the towel on my small table and went to drag the window higher up. Just as I got it to where I wanted it, my phone started ringing.

My brows furrowed as I wondered who would be calling me in the middle of the afternoon. I rushed to pick it up off the table. My chest tightened as I read the name on the screen. A huge, unavoidable lump began growing in my throat. I read over the word again, surely I was just seeing things.

Sloane

The phone kept ringing, but I knew it wouldn't go on forever. I answered the call and hesitantly pressed the phone to my ear.

"H-hello?

"Harry! Hi!" She was so cheerful, how was that even possible?

"Um, hey."

She sighed heavily, causing me to be a little concerned. "Sorry for calling so late.. um, I'm available now if you'd like to meet up."

My throat swelled as I realized it would soon be time to see her in person. I got a little choked up at the thought. "Uh, s'fine. Where would you like to meet?"

"I know a nice park we can go to. Is that cool?"

"Sure, fine with me."

"Okay." Sloane definitely had a smile on her lips. "I'll text you the address! See you soon."

"Okay. Bye, Sloane."

She laughed gently. "Bye, Harry."

•••

When I arrived to the park and found her sitting on a bench under a huge oak tree, I could feel my stomach bubbling. She looked marvelous in her T-shirt and blue jean shorts - I didn't even think it was possible for someone to look so, so good in casual clothing. The way her hair moved in the gentle breeze made my heart skip a beat. She looked utterly immortal with the sun rays shining on her skin, sparkling her complexion. I shook the thoughts off, now wasn't the time to get carried away.

"Hey, Harry." She grinned brightly as I sat down beside her, dropping my bag on the ground.

"Hi, Sloane." I smiled back.

Being so close to her, I could smell that same cherry scented perfume as the first time we got close to one another. She smelt like sunshine and her eyes twinkled. It looked like sunlight reflecting off beautiful ocean waves. All I could think about was her and cherries.

Cherries, cherries, cherries.

"How was your day?"

I cleared my throat at the suddenness of her question. "Um, alright. Yours?"

She shrugged and rolled her eyes, moving them to stare at the grass below our feet. "S'okay."

"Um.." I didn't want to overstep any boundaries, but I found myself asking her anyways. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah."

Something wasn't settling inside of her. I didn't like that. I hated knowing she was upset about something. I cleared my throat as I leaned down to grab my bag. I saw her feet and how cute they were, the baby pink polish made her seem so youthful.