You & Me (Harry Styles)

Chapter Three

I walk upstairs in a complete daze. I pass by my neighbor on the way up and he's looking at me like I'm insane. That's when I realize I'm aggressively pinching my arms. This has to be a dream. I hear my phone buzz in my purse and freeze. I let out my breath and continue walking when I realize it's from the group chat.

"You make it back ok?" - Alexa

"Yep! Been back for a bit, sorry I forgot to text!" - me

"I am noy cominf hom tonight Ellison" - Erica

I laugh as I put my phone to charge. She's so weird, I love her. 

I walk into my bathroom and pause as I walk by the mirror. I rest both of my hands on top of the counter and take a good look at myself. My once sleek, slick bun is now a mess of fly-aways. My turtle neck is hanging off of me weird. My once favorite skirt now feels all wrong. Why would he want my number?

On queue, I hear my phone buzz from my bedroom. I take a deep breath before walking over to pick it up. The text is from an unknown number, which can only mean one thing.

"Hi, it's Harry. Wanted to make sure you made it up alright?" - Unknown Number

I'm hyperventilating.

"Hi, thanks for checking! Made it up to my apartment, about to hop in the shower." - me

Right after I press 'send' I realize my mistake. Holy fuck, why did I just tell him I was getting in the shower? Oh God, Oh God, Oh God. I see the icon pop up that means he's typing. The icon disappears. The icon reappears again after a moment. What am I doing? Why am I staring at my phone like a lovesick 15 year old? Come on, Ellie. Pull it together for 5 seconds.

I decide to silence my phone and hop in the shower without looking back. While I'm in the shower, I begin examining my body way too closely. I look down at my boobs and sigh. They're fine, really nothing to write home about though. I run my hands over my flat stomach. No abs or modelesque hourglass. I continue down to my hips. My birthing hips, as my mother likes to say. No matter how much cardio and exercise, these things don't seem to quit. And my thighs, oh God my thighs. The most unproportionate part of my body. I silently curse my half-hispanic heritage for a moment. I pause my thoughts. What am I doing? I've always loved my body, flaws and all. Why am I letting one tiny interaction with a celebrity get to me? I shake my head quickly and shut off the shower. I need to get out of here before I go down a dark rabbit hole.

I dry off and take my time blow drying my hair. I've already accepted that I won't be sleeping tonight so I'm in no rush to get in bed. I'm also in no rush to see if Harry responded to my mortifying shower text.

Once I've completed my nightly skincare routine, I finally make it back to my bedroom and pick up my phone. I have 3 new messages. All from Harry.

"Sounds good. Enjoy, Ellie." - Harry

"Wow, that sounded kind of creepy. I just meant enjoy the shower and your evening." - Harry

"By enjoy the shower, I just meant enjoy getting clean....I am going to shut it now." - Harry

I stare at my phone in disbelief for a few moments before I start hysterically laughing. Oh my God, this is the most ridiculous night of my life. Harry Styles nervously triple texting me, what a hoot. I compose myself before I type out a response.

"Lmao, it's all good! I knew what you meant, but thank you for the extended explanation. Much appreciated." - me

He responds immediately.

"Phew, I thought I might've scared you off with my unintentional creepiness. Glad to see that's not the case." - Harry

He was worried he scared me off? I catch myself smiling at my phone. Hard. Oh no, I am crushing hard on Harry Styles. And not just Harry Styles the amazing singer celebrity, but Harry Styles the goofy guy texting me at 3:30am.

"I've experienced creepier. Give me your worst and I'm positive it still won't be that bad." - me

"That really is an unfortunate reality for women. On behalf of all men, I apologize." - Harry

I laugh out loud. I can't even remember the last time a guy has made me laugh out loud over text.

I begin to let out a yawn when something dawns on me. I'm pretty sure Harry is playing as MSG again tomorrow. It's almost 4am. And he's sitting up texting me when he should be resting. I go full mother hen mode as I type out my response.

"How can I not accept that apology? Also, shouldn't you be getting to bed? It's late and you're performing again tomorrow. I'd really hate for you to go on stage tired." - me

"Are you planning on coming to the show?" - Harry

Huh? Does he know how expensive the tickets are?

"I actually wasn't. Not really in the mood to sell bodily fluids to be able to afford a ticket." - me

"Hahahaha. Fair enough." - Harry

"What if I give you a ticket? Will you come?" - Harry

Holy balls. He wants me to come to his concert. I set my phone down beside me and begin pacing around my room. Any tiredness I was experiencing has left the building. I see my phone screen light up from the corner of my eye and jump on my bed to grab it.

"Only if you're free, of course. You can bring friends too, if you don't want to come alone. If you're busy, though, I totally understand." - Harry

I relax a little. He wants me there. And I can bring my friends, which weirdly makes me feel better about going.

"Of course I'll come." - me

"And thank you so much. I'll bring my two friends. Mainly because I think they would actually kill me if I went to a Harry Styles concert without them lol." - me

"*Ticketmaster Attachment*" - Harry

"Go ahead and add those to your Apple wallet. I'm so glad you'll be able to make it, your friends as well. Those tickets will give you suite and backstage access. Feel free to come around 5 during sound check, then you all can have dinner in your suite if you'd like." - Harry

Holy shit. Suite access? Backstage access? What is seriously happening? Oh God, Erica is going to have so many questions.

"Oh my, you didn't have to do all that but thank you! What do I tell my friends when they ask how I got these tickets?" - me

"You tell them that Harry Styles gave them to you 😉" - Harry

A winking emoji. Harry Styles just sent me a winking emoji. I'm dead.

I check the time, 4:15am.

"Fair enough. They'll believe that for sure 😉" - me

"I should get to bed and so should you. It's late, and now I have a concert to be ready for tomorrow too 😉" - me

I'm going overboard with the winking faces. Stop it, Ellie.

"Of course. Sleep well. Goodnight, Ellie." - Harry

"Goodnight, Harry." - me

I stare up at my ceiling until I see the sun begin to rise.