✓ lights /styles au/

5 Wedding

sometimes cracks can't be filled.

(A/n: Sorry in advance for how slow this chapter and the next will be. Really, really sorry,)

Harry flipped his arm from over his eyes and opened them. The soft orange light that peeled through his pupils let him know that it was early morning, and the draft coming from the side let him know the window was open.

He groaned and sat up, the sheets falling from his naked chest and making him tilt his head to the side. Something was different. He bit down on his lip and held out his left hand to the edge of the bed, his right one touching the spot beside him only to feel a head of hair. He frowned and took a breath. "Jo?" He called out softly, pushing his hair back and then rubbing his eyes.

He sat against the headboard with his hands on his lap; unsure of what to do.

After arguing with his thoughts, he slowly slipped from the bed and pulled the sheets back onto Joey who was softly snoring against a pillow or the mattress (,Harry couldn't tell which one, but her snores sounded muffled).

He pulled his pants over his legs and searched the floor for his shirt only to feel the carpet. That was when he turned toward the sleeping girl and brought his hand to the thin shirt she was wearing.

He decided he'd let her keep it.

+++++

Josephine was greeting guests at the black gate of the wedding arena. Her phone was pressed to her ear listening to the bride as she groaned about how horribly the day was going. "Breathe," She cooed softly, shaking the hand of one of the men who brought in a date.

She held out a drink for the couple from the side table, waiting for the waiter that was suppose to be doing her job. Everything was a mess and she could barely keep up with anything. She stopped checking invitations a while ago but didn't dare tell Leslie.

"In the end, it's just you two. You know that, babe."

The response from the other side of the receiver was a small hum. "I might really like this guy, Joey."

"Really?" She smiled. "That's nice because he must really like you too."

"You think so?"

Josephine's eyes widened as a new crowd of people began to pour in toward the gate, though her eyes were stuck on a specific gentleman she expected to wake up next to. Her eyes narrowed on him while her lips fell open. "Shit," she breathed out.

"Hell," Leslie mumbled. "What is it? What's wrong? Wedding crashers?...Should I come down?"

"No, stay," Jo said quietly. She noticed a girl hooked to Harry's arm and couldn't help the small frown and pang of jealousy that split through her lips and chest. Shakily exhaling, she motioned for one of the servers to finish the next round of people. She was thankful that she didn't have to verbally ask them for help; walking away with her head down. "Do you know a Harry?"

Her friend's voice boomed through the reliever, "last name?"

Josephine shook her head. "Don't know his last name, Les, but he has these really nice green eyes and long hair."

"Oh!" She nearly yelled. "Gale's friend. Yeah, he's a real nice guy sometimes; never feels bad for himself. Does he want to talk to Gale?"

She fought a frown as a group walked past her. "I don't know."

There was a pause. Then: "Are you interested in Harry Styles?"

"Styles?" She asked. That was an odd last name.

"Why do you ask about him?"

She looked over her shoulder discretely. His date was standing so close to him. She hated to admit they looked really nice together. "We met a few days ago and he ended up sneaking away from my apartment this morning."

"Shit," Leslie laughed. It was a soft one that reverberated through the line of the phone. Jo had to lift it from her ear for a moment before settling it back. "You're kidding, right? Oh God, Joey, why don't you go talk to him and-"

"He has a date, Les." She looked up at him and his eyes reached hers for a slight moment; a quarter of a second. She whipped around and closed her eyes. "I think he saw me."

She laughed again. "You're joking, right? Babe, Harry definitely cannot-"

"I'll call you back, alright?"

"Don't bite, okay? You can be really aggressive sometimes."

She ended the call.

+++++

"Gem?" Harry called to his sister. She was holding his white cane since he had no place to put it. They were seated in one of the closest chairs to the alter. He couldn't get Joey's voice out of his head; sure he'd heard her when he walked past the corridor that held the kitchen and bathrooms.

"Yes?"

"There's a girl somewhere near the entrance we came through. Short hair and a love bite on the left side of her neck, do you see her?"

"How am I suppose to-"

"Just look, please."

There was a moment of silence and then a ruffling sound. "There's a girl arguing with a man near the floral gate to the left."

He smiled. "Louis will be here soon. Can I excuse myself for a few minutes?"

Gemma tapped her fingers on his twice and he smiled, getting up from his seat with ease. He felt her jab his cane into his torso softly but he shook his head against it.

"Don't need it. I'll be back, okay?"

"Yeah."