Bird Shit

4th of July - 22:45 PM

'Can't we have one last chance to prove you otherwise?' Harry asks on behalf of his friends that he knows like Poppie as well. They wouldn't have agreed to take her home if they didn't. After she got shit on by a bird, they know what it means to help her shower. It means they want her to be a part of their lives just as much as Harry wants it.

'How?' Poppie wonders because she feels that her minds is set. Her hand is already trying to find her phone in her pocket to call back Henry and tell him everything will be fine. Just some nerves.

'Just give us to midnight,' Harry declares touching her arm for a brief moment.

It are just his fingers simply trailing down her arm for a second that make Poppie's stomach do weird things again. Although she knows what her faith is, she can't say no to Harry. So she nods in case she has to take it back. She can always say it was just her neck having a stretch.

'Let's see who won okay?'

He holds out his hand for her to grab and it looks too good to decline, so she wraps her fingers around his.

She's not ready to say goodbye to this universe just yet so she steps right back in to it allowing herself to enjoy herself to midnight. Then she will go back to her real life. The one where she will become Mrs. Henry.

He's not ready to say goodbye to her just yet so he tortures himself, knowing that she will flee out of his life as soon as it is midnight. But just like always he will give it his all knowing it is never good enough.

Back at the table are two pitchers of beer awaiting them. The game has been won by Liam (no surprise there) and all the other lanes are occupied with screaming teens and dancing lights.

For a moment they sit down, hands still intertwined, and let the rush overcome them.

Louis is back to singing Sinatra, Niall is handing them their drinks and Liam is watching them with judging eyes. You can't fool Liam but for the coming hour they'll try. They'll fool each other as well.

'Here,' Niall hands Poppie her beer and she grabs it a bit too eager. It might be the last beer she'll ever drink and she knows she'll miss this universe more than anything. For a moment she even wonders if she would choose this over her family, but then she remembers how it felt to lose one family member forever, let alone her entire family all in once.

Harry grabs his own drink and in silence they start to sip it. 'Are you okay?'

'Yes,' Poppie answers him much too quick for it to be true. The tension is thick and almost too much but she made her decision. 'Let's just enjoy it for the night okay?'

'Okay,' Harry says. He smiles to her and it warms her heart that he can be this nice to her when she's clearly playing him. He's too good for her.

'So what do you want to prove?' Poppie wonders and Harry's eyes light up at the sheer possibility of cheering her up.

'I could sing for you?'

'Maybe we could sing together?' It isn't Naked Singing Time, but she'll take Singing Time now that she still can.

'What song?'

They look through the catalogue together but there's only one that comes to mind.

'Timber?'

Harry laughs at that, shaking his head a little bit. 'And I will have to do Pittbull of course.'

'No, you can do Kesha. If you want to of course,' she carefully says.

'I don't want to do her, but I will sing her part.' He winks to her before he gets up and lets go of her hand.

They both watch their hands now that they feel cold and empty but get out of the bench to kick Louis off his throne. He looks rather sad when he hands over his microphone to Harry but he obeys.

'How is our life treating you?' Louis asks Poppie as they wait for the right song to start.

'So far, so good,' she answers lightly with a smile.

'You're fitting right in Pops,' he says hitting her behind again before retreating back to Niall and Liam who are playing a game involving dodgy vodka shots that Poppie so far has been able to avoid.

Now that Harry stands in front of her and the first tones of Timber start she wishes she had taken a couple of shots. His hair is long and wavy, his eyes shiny and wrinkled from his smile, his lips curled up in a smirk that dares her and Poppie realizes it is just too much.

She just might need the shots to get through the night.