Taste (H.S. / A.U.)

Chapter 49*

DOUBLE UPDATE: Chapter 48-49

ELOISE DUPONT

*Thud*

It was the rudest awakening you could imagine.

"No." I shout through the muffled pillows that my face was buried deep into.

"Yes bedhead. We have a lot to do. Not my fault you spent all night out with your boytoy. And do not get me started at finding out you snuck out in the middle of the night before that. Get up and get ready, we have brunch with the group before heading over to the O2." Jade was unamused with my tactics of sleeping in. It's not that Jade was actually mad, she was pouty that she wasn't getting her way. She wanted details, but I just felt like Harry and I have so far had so much of our relationsh-uh- friendship on display so far that maybe yesterday was more of a us moment.

Between selfies in front of Big Ben, hidden kisses before dinner, holding hands while walking the streets of London past the Prime Ministers home, and more. Harry did get noticed twice, and we were beyond blessed that the timing for it was once while just in line, allowing me to pretend to be another strangle mingling for an autograph. Harry loved that because he was cheeky enough to say he was going to take photos with his fans, all his fans. Harry and I have a photo of us, two strangers in line at the Tower of London. Oh what a story that will be fun to tell someday later down the road, him giggling about it while I roll my eyes at his ridiculous behaviors I have grown accustomed to. Every time I think I am used to Harry's estranged antics, he outdoes himself with a new one. 

The second time was much different, Harry out of my view for a majority, only when I turned the corner from the corridor where the restrooms were did I see Harry with a pen in hand, numerous papers shoved in front of him. I could hear it before I saw it, not knowing that was what the commotion was centered around. Harry tugged at his hat, trying to push the brim further to make sure the notice would fall somewhere else, but it was a failing tactic. I stood in the hallway, hand resting on the cold stone that felt foreign and empty, just like myself in the moment. Watching Harry's life once again unfold right before me, but all I could do was watch. 

Harry didn't notice me, I stationed myself in that hallway, watching as girls giggled, tugging at his arm to try and put around them while taking a picture, asking him questions and inviting them into his life for the moment. I wondered if I ever seemed the same way, a person who pushed myself into his space without noticing how much of a people pleaser he was to just tell me no.

His outfit easily could have blended him into the crowd I would assume, but not for his fans. The ripped blue jeans and bulky cream sweater didn't disguise him, neither did the black sunglasses and matching hat. It's like he had an aura you could sense from a mile away, knowing just who was beneath that disguise.

Despite every effort of Harry, and myself, my mind was never at ease yesterday. I tried pairing my favorite outfit, a pair of loose flared black silk pants with a baby blue turtleneck that screamed comfort. It helped it was a cashmere blend as a gift from Jade, far too expensive but a staple item of comfort to me now. Yet, it did not work.

My mind more often than not drifted back to that moment, and just what it could mean.

I remembered laying under the blanket with Harry, a mixture of cold chills and tingles flowing through me with the beauty of the sunrise. The beauty was too good to pass up and I dug through the blanket to find my phone, snapping a few photos to never forget this exact moment. Who knows if Harry and I are forever, but we are right now, and that was something I never wanted to forget.