me after you ; h. styles

before i got to know you.

"Stupid," Stella whispers to herself as she looks in the mirror. She has spent the last two hours getting ready for dinner. All because Harry may be coming. Maybe. She doesn't even know if he's coming.

She decides to leave her face alone and pulls her hair into a French braid. She looks at herself in the mirror again after she gets dressed and rolls her eyes. She doesn't know why she's obsessing over how she looks. It's not like Harry would give her the time of day anyway. He probably meets many women who are much prettier.

Stella heads down stairs, where she can hear her grandparents chatting in the kitchen. The soup is almost done and her grandad is setting up the dinner table.

"I told Harry he could come to dinner tonight if he wanted," Stella says as she helps out.

"Oh, you saw Harry today?" Robert asks her as he takes a seat to rest.

Stella nods. "I took Loki out while you and Nan were out today and he was out there as well."

"Oh, good. So is he coming?" He asks.

She shrugs. "He didn't give me a straight answer, but I suppose we could set him a plate at the table," she answers as sets a place at the table for Harry.

"I'm glad you invited him," Robert comments. "I worry he gets lonely in that house. You know... Harry is very sensitive and he's very shy, but most people wouldn't know that about him because most people don't know him. So, try and be his friend, will you?"

Stella raises her eyebrows in surprise. "Grandad, I hardly know how to approach the man," she tells him, laughing quietly. "He just seems very private and I understand why he would be, so I don't want him to get the wrong idea about me."

"Harry is kind," Robert responds in a soft voice. "I think he would appreciate it."

Stella says nothing, but nods her head. She is about to ask how she can go about being his friend when there is a gentle knock on the front door.

"I can get that," she says and leaves the room.

She opens the door to reveal Harry standing there with a bottle of wine in his hand. He is wearing a white tank top tucked into a pair of wide leg black trousers with a matching blazer. There is a pearl necklace fastened around his neck.

"Oh, hi," Stella greets him with a surprised tone in her voice. "You made it after all." Stella steps aside so that he can make his way in.

"Couldn't say no to that chicken soup your grandmother makes," he responds as he steps inside and Stella closes the door behind her.

"I can take that from you," she says to him, taking a step closer to him so that she can grab the bottle from his hands. She realizes then that she is standing so close to him that she can smell the scent of his cologne. "Oh, wow, you smell good," she blurts out before she can stop herself. She meant to only think it, not say it. Stella feels blood rushing to her face and her cheeks grow hot as she blushes a bright shade of pink.

"Thank you," Harry says nonchalantly. He probably gets compliments all the time. "I like your hair."

Stella laughs nervously. "Thanks," she responds quietly and fights the urge to touch her hair to make sure it looks alright. "Robert's just in there, if you want to join him. I'll open this and be right in."

Harry nods and heads off into the dining room. Stella blushes again and goes into the kitchen where her grandmother is finishing up dinner. She sets the bottle down on the counter, sighing as she grabs the wine bottle opener.

"You're a bit rusty," Grandmother says next to her. Stella looks over, embarrassed, and raises an eyebrow. "At flirting," she adds. Stella asks how she heard that. "Darling, I'm seventy-three, not deaf."