Arcane

chapter 4

The night went on, song after song. Each one blowing my mind at how talented he is, I couldn't keep my eyes off him. If only he would look my way, and recognize me.

But he never did.

He interacted with the crowd a lot, making jokes and playing around. Reading signs and having fun. I like seeing this side of him, reminds me of when I knew him. I wonder when he learned the guitar, if he had a singing teacher, or just is naturally amazing.

"Are you okay?" I hear from besides me, I see Chelsea looking at me with concerned eyes. "What?"

"Your crying"

What? I reach my hand to my eyes, pulling them back and seeing tears on my fingers. "Shit, is my makeup ruined?" She laughed, "Nope, it's waterproof" I smiled and thanked her, watching as she turned around and sang along with Harry.

I knew some of his songs, Adore You, Kiwi, and Golden. I'm definitely going to listen to him more though, show my support somehow.

Even if he'll never know.

After another 20 minutes he paused and set his guitar down, "I have one more song I'm going perform for you all tonight" yells of protest came from the crowd, "I know, but we only have about 15 minutes left. This song I wrote about someone I went to Primary with. This is Sweet Creature."

I felt my heart stop, turning around to Chelsea who was already looking at me. "Did he just say what I thought he did?" I asked, and she nodded furiously.

No fucking way.

As I listened to the lyrics I felt the waterworks start,

We're running through the garden
Oh, where nothing bothered us
But we're still young
I always think about you and how we don't speak enough

I can't help but think this is about me. All the times we ran through the park and my mum's garden.

I saw Harry look through the crowd, seeming to search for something. I stopped breathing when he looked in my direction, stopping when we met eyes. I held my breath as his eyes widened a bit, taking a double glance, furrowing his brows. He continued singing as if nothing happened but his eyes didn't leave mine for the rest of the song.

Chelsea had punched me in the arm several times but I ignored her, people were pointing at me saying "Is he staring at her?" Which I also ignored, it seemed like nothing else mattered.

Did he remember me?

Does he hate me?

He started smiling at me, and I felt my own smile form, my eyes starting to water. After the song finished he took a bow, blowing a kiss to the audience and eventually came off stage. He kept glancing at me as he walked off, heading to the middle aide to walk through. My breathing got shallower, anxiety and excitement rushing through me.

What if this is the last time I see him?

Before going through the aisle I saw him whisper something to a security guard who looked at me. Oh god. He was going to kick me out, get a restraining order on me or something.

He probably thinks I'm some sort of stalker.

As the crowd went while over Harry walking through the middle aisle to say hello and receive flowers the security came towards me and I froze. I felt Chelsea get tense besides me. As he stood in front of us he asked, "Ember Evergreen?" I nodded with wide eyes, "You'll need to come with me."

"Wha- have I done anything wrong?" He shook his head, opening part of the barricade and motioning me to walk through it. "Uhm, my friend is here with me and"

"She can come too."

Chelsea hit me in the arm, "Come on!" I walked through the small barricade, my heart beating so fast I thought I was going to faint. He lead us backstage to a small hallway, to a door with a paper on it labeled, Mr. Styles.

Chelsea squealed again and went to open the door when the security guard stopped her, "Mr. Styles only requested for Mrs. Evergreen. You'll have to wait in a different location, follow me. Mrs. Evergreen, you can go ahead and wait inside." Chelsea scoffed and rolled her eyes, following the guard and turning around to face me, "Tell me everything!" I sent her a thumbs up and watched as she entered a different room down the hall.

Time to face the music.

I lifted my hand a bit, an inch away from touching the door handle. He's not in there yet, the guard told me to wait. What am I so afraid of? I took a breath and turned the handle, walking inside. Looking around, I saw a big vanity, a rack of different suits and clothes next to it. A mini fridge and couch was in here too. Not too bad for a dressing room, at least I think, the closest thing to a dressing room I had ever been in was the changing/locker room at my work.

I wiped my hands on my pants and sat down on the couch which was surprisingly comfortable. God I need to calm down, I can already feel a panic attack growing. Deep breaths deep breaths deep-

The door handle turned. Time seemed to slow down as the door opened, everything feeling surreal once more as I saw Harry in front of me. My body betrayed me as I stood up without a thought, no words being exchanged between us. I almost took a step towards him but stopped, hesitating.

"H-Harry?" My voice was quiet, strained, and I felt my throat start to close. The familiar pressure behind my eyes forming.

"Ember?"

I let out a sigh of relief, not hesitating this time as I closed the distance between us, wrapping my arms around his neck tightly pressing my body into his. He immediately pulled me closer and held my waist, nuzzling his face into my shoulder. I let out quiet sobs, hearing him sniffle a bit. "You remember me" I thought out loud, not expecting him to answer. "Of course I do" He replied, making me only sob harder. I was on my tiptoes, him being too tall for me but didn't let go. There's no way I'm ever letting go again.

But that's unrealistic. I have to let go.

But it was so hard. The hardest thing I have to do today.

I squeezed tightly once more, then stepped back, taking another look at him. Cupping my hand around his cheek, and I felt him lean into my touch. "This is so fucking crazy" I murmur, earning a quiet laugh from him. His own hand went up to my cheek, wiping away a tear. The gesture so familiar to me. A tear of his own escaped and feel down his face, "I'm so sorry, Harry. So so sorry." I said, shaking my head, getting mad at myself. "I should have told you I was leaving, I should have called or texted, I should have-" He cut me off, pulling me against him again, wrapping his arms around me.

"I missed you, Em."