The Timeline

53.

May 11th, 2017:

In the end, it hadn't even taken her friends for Claire to start doubting Harry.

Something had cracked, and it hadn't been her friends' words or doings to send her into a spiral of self-doubting thoughts that had put her in a bad mood.

It had all been the paparazzi's doing. And Harry's doing.

It had happened a couple days prior, on the 8th of May, as Claire was hanging out at a coffee shop in the West End, after another meeting with the theater company she was in talks with, to join them. It had run quite late, and she needed to get herself some lunch, lest she wanted to end up fainting under some tube station or, worse, in the middle of the road.

She had been in line, two young girls right in front of her, talking non-stop in low voices and lower giggles, elbowing each other and showing things on their phone. For a second, Claire had looked down at them, stuck in the middle of a nostalgia wave for those years of her life where all her biggest worries started and ended with her high school drama, and she had all the time in the world to do whatever she wanted. Then, she had had to mentally whack herself, because she was just 21, and her life wasn't over. Transitioning into the adult part of her life didn't mean that she wouldn't reach a point where she would feel calm and at peace.

And then the one of the girls had gasped so loud she had startled her friend - and Claire, right behind them. She had tilted her phone towards her friend and whisper-shouted: "Harry Styles is dating!!!"

And that had caught Claire's attention, making her heart freeze for a second and her hairline breaking a sweat in the next. It had taken her a full blown second - the third - to understand that no one had found the two of them out, because they had never gone out together in public, nor had they shared any type of affection to each other while outside. And, even if they had, Harry was always very careful with paparazzi when it came to her. He would've never let her be photographed, unless Claire was 100% on board.

Then... What the fuck?!

Trying to not make it seem like she was eavesdropping - which she totally was, by the way - Claire took a microstep towards the two girls as the line moved on, just so she could listen better to what they were saying. They were still whisper-shouting to each other.

"What? When?" - the friend was saying.

"Look, it's on the DailyMail." - the other tilted her phone again. - "Says these are from yesterday, he's in the car with this one girl... some.... Tess."

"What, like in the fanfiction?"

"No, that's Tessa. But, read here." - now, both their heads came together as they looked down at the phone. - "Says they were on a date together, he was driving and he was also using his phone. And that they've been seeing each other for a while, according to sources. He also gave her his shirt, and she has been wearing it. Also posted a picture with it."

The friend snorted. - "Sure. And I'm supposed to believe it. He's with Louis. They're just trying to make some news because his album's coming out... what? This week, right?"

"Mhmh. Right. He just released a song about Louis, didn't he? I'm sure this is all just a cover up."

"And she's a leech."

"Right, like who knows her?"

They stopped talking abruptly, as they reached the cash register; it was their turn to order.

Claire had followed the entire exchange, a really bitter sensation growing at the base of her stomach the whole time, climbing through her esophagus and coating the walls of her mouth. She wasn't that hungry anymore, but it'd be worse if she just got up and left the coffee shop. Then she would've surely fainted, her head now swimming with all those new information.