FLICKER (h.s. au)

2.

Two

Harry Styles

As soon as I parked my car, I jerked the keys out of the ignition and willed myself out of the vehicle.

While I wasn't necessarily dreading having lunch with my parents, a gnawing feeling at the pit of my stomach suggested that something was up.

I know my parents.

I am certain that they are not the type to spontaneously plan a lunch meet-up with me, let alone on such short notice. They know how busy my schedule typically is and they don't usually try to insert themselves like this on a weekday. Even when I tried to reschedule and explained that today was too hectic for me to meet, they insisted that we have to meet today. Their unwavering insistence alone was enough to make me feel suspicious and I couldn't shake the feeling that they had something up their sleeves- especially mom.

"Mr.Styles," Sebastian, the usual front host, gave me a curt nod as I entered the restaurant. I frequented this restaurant often. It's where I held most of my lunch meetings with buyers, clients or important people, my parents included.

I gave him a quick nod before scanning the dining area for my parents.

Mom saw me long before I spotted them, her hand was raised in the air waving in my direction to grab my attention.

"Hey.. " I gave mom a hug, kissing her cheek before patting my dads back in a side hug. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" I asked, settling into the wooden chair across from them.

"Straight to business, I see." Mom chuckled. "Can we not just want to have lunch with our dear son? Let's just enjoy each other's company a bit, yeah? How have you been? It's been weeks since we've last seen you." Mom waved off my request to know why they wanted to meet today.

I sighed, giving in to her request and pushing aside my curiosity for the time being. Only because I hadn't seen them in so long. I try my best to at least FaceTime them once a week.

"I've been alright, I guess. Business is good, I got some more investors lined up." I started to ramble about work.

After graduating from college, I had a seemingly absurd idea of starting a fashion company - Styles Inc. I was just 22 years old at the time and knew it was a huge risk to undertake. I mean only a lunatic would think they had a real shot in the industry right out of college.

Me. I'm a lunatic.

I've taken an interest in the fashion industry since the ripe age of 13 years old. I'd always been picked on and made fun of in my teenage years because of my lack of interest in things boys my age typically liked. I wasn't one to play basketball or baseball or any type of sport really. I was the type to be in theater, choir, I spent my free period in the fashion design classroom. I sketched, I sewed, I crafted. It was a no-brainer for me that I wanted to start my own company one day.

After college, almost all of my advisers and mentors told me to spend a few years in the industry working for someone. Definitely do not try to start up my own business. I didn't want to work for someone to have their name on the tags of my work. I wanted my name proudly displayed on my creations. I refused to have it any other way. Everyone thought I was crazy. Not my family though.

My parents were always big supporters. We weren't a wealthy family by any means, not even close to it. We'd lived in a fairly small house on the outskirts of town. Dad was the bread winner of the household, working in a marketing company and mom was a kindergarten teacher. Nevertheless, they made sure that me and my siblings had everything we needed.