informed consent | short story + one shots

switch

WARNING: this ends on a cliffhanger lol
WARNING PT. 2: this is technically no longer harry styles fanfiction!! his last name has been changed in all the chapters - everything else (physical features, names of parents/friends, etc.) remained the same

Word count: 21,435
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“What do you think the worst feeling is?”

Nat’s question made Mia lean her head back for a bit, her lips pouting in thought. One of her hands rested on Ribbon’s tummy, who was curled up on the single couch against her thigh. His paw kept flexing against her leg as he purred in comfort. Her other leg played with the ends of her braid.

Her hair had been in the braid all day and it had come loose a couple of times. The first time was rather quick, because Harry insisted on braiding her hair this morning. He claimed he wanted to get the practice in and Mia didn’t have the heart to correct or criticize his skills. So she left the house with a braid that wasn’t all that good, causing the soft pink scrunchie to fall out of her hair after just about thirty minutes of leaving their apartment.

“Hard question?” Natalie smiled and Mia chuckled, “Yeah, it is.” It was Friday afternoon and she was sitting in Nat’s office as the autumn sun shone through the window, engulfing it in a soft orange hue as the evening set in on this October day.

It was Halloween, actually. And Mia and Harry had a party to get to tonight. Mia hated to admit the idea on its own had left her feeling jittery and nervous all week. A party. It was still kind of foreign to Mia. She’d know a bunch of people there - which felt nice. But she also knew she’d hardly leave Harry’s side and she’d also be sort of glad to be back in the peace and silence of her own home.

“Loneliness, I think.” Mia settled on responding to Nat’s question. Natalie hummed and nodded, scribbling down Mia’s answer. Mia scratched behind Ribbon’s ear as she swallowed, “Or more specifically, loneliness when you’re not alone. Like… when you’re in the room with someone you love but you still feel lonely. And unseen.”

“Unseen.” Natalie repeated softly, “Is that a feeling you’ve had often?”

Mia’s chest squeezed a bit, “Yeah, with my parents.” She shrugged, “A lot, actually. But I think I also make myself feel lonely quite sometimes. Like I refuse to go out a lot, preferring to stay home by myself because I’m too anxious. And then I sometimes regret it, because it’s a bit lonely.”

Nat tilted her head to the side, “You stay home a lot by yourself?”

“Well, I used to. When I lived by myself. Now I don’t anymore.” Mia’s lips curled up a bit in a smile when she knew she spent all her nights with Harry. Natalie smiled along before taking a breath, “Does Harry ever make you feel lonely when you’re with him?”

Mia puckered her lips before slowly shaking her head, “No. Even when we’re with his friends and he’s pulled into every conversation and I’m just sort of there… he still includes me and let’s me know he’s also paying attention to me. Like he’ll have an arm around me or he’ll play with my hair while talking to someone else. It’s nice.”

“That does sound nice.”

“Although one time…” Mia nibbled her lip, “I mean sometimes I try and say something to him and he’s too focussed on his video game and he doesn’t hear me and then it makes me feel a bit sad.” She admitted. Natalie nodded again and Mia took a breath, “But yeah - that’s alright. He apologizes after.”

“So you tell him when that sort of stuff bothers you?” Nat questioned and Mia softly smiled, “Mhm. I don't think I can hide it very well, either. Like when something bothers me, Harry notices immediately and we talk it out.”