You Were a House on Fire | Harry Styles

seventeen

a/n: guys. you have no idea how much i love this chapter. i've literally been planning it since day one and im so excited that im finally putting it out.

Roe sauntered up to the two girls that had planted themselves in the corner booth. As soon as they entered the diner, they had been speaking in hushed tones, leaned into each other, and casting glances around the dining room as if looking for someone.

"You girls ready to order?" She poised her pen on the small pad of paper in her hands.

"Yeah. Actually, we had a question first," the blonder one of them said. Roe nodded for her to continue, and this time the girl leaned close to Roe instead of her friend. "Have you ever seen Harry Styles here? We've heard he's been here before and we're hoping to meet him."

"What?" Roe asked, dumbfounded.

"You know, Harry from One Direction? There's just this rumor-"

"Where did you hear that?" Roe's tone came out sharper than intended.

"So, he has been here." The girls shared a mischievous look before turning back to Roe, "When do you think he'll be back?"

"Do I look like his secretary?"

"Identical." She rolled her eyes, slouching into the booth with a huff. "I'll just have a burger. Thanks."

"Same," her friend quietly agreed.

Once Roe made it to the back room a few minutes later, she pulled her phone from her locker and quickly opened her Twitter app. She wasted no time searching through any and all hashtags relating to Harry. Most of them were the typical fanfare and photos from concerts or events, but every so often she came across something deeply sexual or crazed. Nothing she could find said anything about the diner, though, and she sighed in relief. There were mentions of Chicago here and there, which made her slightly paranoid, but she hoped the city was big enough to keep her anonymity.

When she finally returned home, she immediately kicked off her shoes and collapsed onto the couch. She stared up at a thin crack in the ceiling, mentally reviewing her schedule for the next day; get the kids up and ready for school, go to Jewel to pick up a boutonnière for Aaron's prom, and stop by Sara's salon for a quick emotional pick me up before heading back to the diner. Curious about the weather forecast, Roe opened her phone only to see her searches of Harry still front and center.

Guilt coursed through her, reminding her of the promise she made to herself early on in their relationship, but if she was already this far in, she might as well keep going. So, she refreshed the page. In an instant, the entire screen was flooded with pictures of Harry at a wedding, and her heart dropped. It was his cousin's wedding, she knew that- their last conversation still horribly fresh in her mind.

Out of a large group photo, she only recognized his mom and sister, though everyone else wore similar warm eyes and bright smiles. She fleetingly imagined herself in that picture. She would've had to borrow a dress from someone, or bought something cheap from the Bins, and it would've been hell making small talk about who she was, where she was from, and how she met Harry. But maybe she would've had fun dancing. It had been so long since she made friends outside of Sara, and her chest ached the longer she scrolled through pictures of people dancing and laughing together. Most of all, she missed Harry.

Roe closed Twitter and opened her photos app. She searched desperately for a picture of the two of them- or even just of him. Something only she had access to. She found just one picture; him sprawled out in her bed on his stomach, the sheets twisted around his legs, and his messy curls covering nearly every inch of his face. The sun had fully risen hours ago, but Roe couldn't bring herself to wake him up just yet. She took the picture weeks ago, though it felt like much longer.