Painted Lady {h.s}

falling

★ HARRY ★

September 16th
1997

"And the Grammy for Best New Artist goes to... Painted Lady!"

All of the air vanishes from my lungs, the world ceasing to exist at this very moment. On instinct I throw my head into my hands, completely overwhelmed with my own emotions. I can hear the faint uproar of applause from my fellow peers, but my brain tunes it all out. Time quite literally moves in slow motion.

Two hands land on my wrists, squeezing me tightly. A faint kiss being planted on my forehead. I slowly pull my hands away from my face, my eyes welling up with tears at the sight of the joy in front of me. Lorelai sits directly in my eye line, her hands on my wrists. Tears stream down her face quickly but her glowing smile contradicts them. She mouths words that I can't hear, but I'm certain they are words of endearment. Her hands leave my wrists and her arms wrap around my shoulders, embracing me tightly as I finally stand up from my seat. I wrap my arms around her waist and lift her body in the air, my lips connecting with her cheek over and over again.

"You did it baby. Your biggest dreams just came true," Her soft voice comes ringing through my ears, her voice full of emotion.

I place her back down on the floor, her hand brushing my shoulder as I go to celebrate with the rest of the band.

Mitch pulls me into a tight hug, my head hitting his chest. He sways us back and forth as we get the cue to make our way up to the stage to accept the award. Mitch pulls his arms away from me and I lead the group through the tables of some of our idols and peers. People reach out to fist-bump me in congratulation, so many hands flying out to pat me on the back. My heart threatens to burst out of my chest at the immense joy I am experiencing.

I walk up the short steps to the stage, the harsh spotlight burning my eyes and skin. The award runner graciously hands me the golden prize, surprising me with its weight. As I make my way up to the microphone, I look out at the crowd. I can't even help the emotions that begin to bubble over when I stare out at everyone up and out of their seats cheering for us. My eyes connect with Lorelai's like magnets. Her hand on her heart, and her eyes flowing with tears.

She is the reason I am up here today.

I clear my throat straight into the microphone by accident, the crowd laughing lightly at my mishap before I begin my speech.

"Shit," I breathe a laugh. "Wow-This is... This is a dream."

"I want to start by thanking everyone at Full Moon who believed in us, and continue to support us day after day. To Mad Max, our producer. We truly wouldn't be here without him, honestly. The music would sound like shit without him. And to my best friends turned bandmates. Mitch Rowland who taught me how to play guitar. Zayn Malik, my college roommate who coincidentally knew how to play the bass. And his ex-girlfriend, Harlow Hayes who, now we all know, wanted nothing to do with him in the first place. A kick-ass drummer with a kick-ass nickname. Niall Horan who stumbled into the right room at the right time, getting thrown into the chaos of it all. I couldn't have done it without any of you. And lastly... To the person who makes me a better person by just existing. Who supported me from the day she met me, and helped me through my hardest times. My sun, my moon, and my star... My wife, Lorelai O'Conner Styles. I wouldn't be standing up here without you, baby. I love you, and I love you all! Thank you!"

This is going down as one of the best days of my life-

I'm woken up abruptly by the chilling sensation of ice cold water being thrown on me. My eyes snap open, my nervous system thrown out of whack. My entire body is drenched, including the bed below me. My eyes dart around the room, unable to piece together anything that is happening. My brain is fuzzy, my teeth chattering, and I can't see through the streaming water down my face.