You Only Want Me When I'm Taken

Chapter 3

June 2010: 

 I suddenly felt awkward and out of place, so I broke the eye-contact with Harry and pretended I was looking at some posters hung up on the wall. After they were done with ‘Summer of 69’, they played a song they composed apparently. For the first time since we moved here, I was actually having a good time.

 After they were done they went backstage. I didn’t really know what to do so I just stayed where I was for a couple of minutes staring at my blank phone, and began to walk out of the arena. As I was walking down the hallway, I bumped into Mr. Lead Singer himself.

 “Hey, Emily” he said approaching me with a smile.

“Hi” I said tugging on my cardigan and running a hand through my hair. There was a minute or two of awkward silence.

“So, what did you think?”

“Hmm, not too shabby” I said jokingly with a chuckle “I actually really enjoyed it. The cover you did was awesome”

“I’m glad you liked it. What are your plans for the rest of your evening?”

“Um, nothing really; I was just heading home”

“You should come meet my friends; we’re all going to this party. You should come with us” Oh great; he’s probably just inviting me to be polite.

“No thank you” I said politely “I don’t really have it in me for a party right now” That was a huge lie. I was craving a party.

“Oh come on” he said “Everyone has it in them for a party. Plus, it’ll be a chance for you to meet some people” I wasn’t really up to the idea of going to a party where I only knew one person “Look” he began “If this is about you feeling awkward about not knowing anyone, I’ll make you a deal”

“And what’s that?”

“You come with me tonight, and I promise you I’ll never leave your side the entire night” I was still hesitant about it. He moved closer to me “Come on, please?”

“Okay, fine” I said.

“Great” he said beaming “Here’s my number, text me your address and I’ll pick you up at nine” he scribbled his number down on my arm.

“Okay, thanks”

“No problem, I’ll see you at nine?”

“Yeah” He grinned at me and walked back into the arena. I looked at my watch, it was 8:15. I only had 45 minutes to get ready. I ended up taking a cab home and starting getting dressed immediately. Why was I getting so worked up over this? I ended up wearing a white summer dress because you can never go wrong with that. I put some make-up on since I didn’t have much time and wore some of the perfume my dad got me last week as a “sorry-we’re-moving-again” present. I was cramming my things into a purse when I heard the doorbell ring. I quickly wore my denim jacket and ran downstairs.

“Dad, I’m going to a party and I’ll be back by eleven!” I yelled.

“Hold on” he yelled back “What party?”

“Um, it’s a party at some girl’s house I met today” I lied. He still looked hesitant “Come on, dad. It’s an opportunity for me to make friends”

“Fine” he sighed.

“Thank you! Bye!”

“Don’t drink!” he yelled as I raced to the door.

 I opened the door and there he was looking as good as ever. I was suddenly subconscious about how I looked.

“Hey” I said closing the door behind me.

“Hey there” he said smiling “You look stunning”

“Thank you” I gushed trying to seem confident as if I get this compliment daily.

“Are you ready to go?”

“Mhm” I said as I started towards the car.

2 HOURS LATER AT THE PARTY:

 Surprisingly, I was having a really good time at the party. I met so many of Harry’s friends, including his band. I also met his best friend, Ashley. She seemed really nice and she was wearing a really cute mini-dress.  Harry also kept his promise as he literally never left my side the whole night. We had some drinks, but we managed to stay sober. We were having a great time dancing when Harry pulled me by the waist and whispered into my ear “Do you want to go get some air?” I nodded my head in agreement.

 I was wearing Harry’s blazer and holding my heels in my hands as we sat down on the grass in the backyard. It was really quiet back there and you could hear the faint sound of the music. The cool summer breeze sent chills down my legs, but it felt really nice. I was in the middle of listing the places I’ve lived.

 “Okay” I started “so I lived in London for about eleven years, but then my mother left. So my father started dragging my sister and I across the UK and the US. First we moved to New York city for a year, then we came back to the UK and lived in Bradford. After about a year and a half my dad decided to move again and dragged us to San Francisco for a year. After that we came back to the UK and lived in Liverpool for half a year, and then about a couple of months in Manchester, and now here I am in Holmes Chapel Cheshire.”

“Wow” he said “You’ve really been places”

“Yeah…”

“Are you moving again at the end of this summer?”

“I don’t know. I feel like this time’s different. Like we’ll actually build a home here”

“I hope so” he whispered moving closer. I laughed faintly and looked at him, studying his every feature. His endless green eyes, his chocolate brown curls, and his mesmerizing smile. I laid my head on his shoulder. I didn’t know if this was me or the alcohol doing so, but Harry seemed to enjoy it and leaned his head against mine. I slept like a baby that night.

PRESENT TIME:

 “Alright” Scarlett said barging into my room “Enough moping around. We’re going clubbing tonight and that’s final”

“Thanks for the attempt Scar” I said sitting up “but I don’t really feel like going out tonight”

“You’ve been saying that for the past two weeks! It’s the summer after our graduation and you’re spending most of it locked up in your room dwelling over something that happened two summers ago.”

I sighed heavily “I guess you’re right”

“I’m just really worried about you, Em” she said sitting down next to me.

“You’re right. We’re going out tonight looking hot as hell, and we’re going to meet some cute college boys and have a great time”

Scarlett laughed loudly “That’s what I’m talking about!”

If only we knew what was about to happen that night.