Floss // A Harry Styles AU

seven

This was a weird situation to be in. I knew it. Harry knew it. The children definitely knew it - it was obvious from the tentative looks on their faces. But we were here and there was nothing we could do about it.

Sitting around a table of four in The Swan, the children animatedly enjoyed burgers and chicken nuggets while Harry and I picked apart our own meals and barely said a word. It was absolutely not where I expected to be on this random Thursday afternoon, especially not after standing Harry up here only a month before. It felt unusual, but it didn't feel awful.

"Mummy, I think Ben's mum is scared of you now." Ruby said as she ate her way around a chicken nugget.

"Dunno about Lorraine, I'm scared of your mum now." Harry joked.

I laughed once, a breathy sound. "Sorry, everyone. But maybe now she'll think twice before passing comment to her children about any of us again."

"It was really cool!" Oscar said.

I smiled at the boy and shook my head. "Thank you, but it wasn't actually cool at all. Could've gone very differently and I shouldn't have lost my temper like that in front of all of you."

And I had really lost my temper. Harry had tried to stop me after I screamed the woman's name across the car park, and I'd ignored him.

"Look after her for me," I said breathily, nudging Ruby towards Harry before I began powering my way in the direction of Lorraine's car.

"Floss, come back." Harry begged, but there was no chance of that happening.

"Hey!" I shouted again. "Lorraine!"

I could see the smirk on her self-righteous face, and it only made it worse.

"Calm down, before you hurt yourself." Lorraine taunted.

"Shut the fuck up." I spat at her. I didn't condone swearing in front of children, but I couldn't control myself. "I don't know who the fuck you think you are, but you can think again if you are for one second under the impression I would ever bring my baby back to your vile, poisonous, disgusting excuse for childcare ever again."

"I don't know what you're talking about." She shrugged.

"I'm talking about you!" I screamed, slamming her car door again when she opened it. "You and your twisted, nasty, prejudiced," I wasn't even sure if I was using that word correctly, but it sounded right, "mediaeval way of thinking. Spoon-feeding your opinions to your son and allowing him to talk to other children as if they're just shit on the ground because you think less of their parents. It's revolting. You're revolting, and cruel, and spiteful, and I feel sorry for your son that he has to listen to you and your gross opinions."

Lorraine, for once in her life, was speechless.

"Whether or not you like me is irrelevant. Your child has been making jokes about someone else's mum, and if you think that's okay - you're fucked in the head. It's a disgusting way to behave. How do you think Ben would feel if you weren't there, and other children started making jokes about it to him? You'd be fucking devastated, wouldn't you?

"You are not special, Lorraine. And neither is your son. You're nasty, and rude, and I feel fucking sorry for whatever happened to you that makes you think it's acceptable to behave the way you do. I am happy without a man in my life and I don't care if you think that's not normal. Harry's baby definitely shouldn't be teased about it, either. Have a little fucking decency, and make sure you pass it onto that child of yours."

I turned away, and then I remembered something else. "And one more thing - don't teach my daughter that it's acceptable for boys to pick on her because they like her. It's not acceptable, it's not normal, and it definitely shouldn't be encouraged. Sort yourself out."