flower crowns // l.s.

❁21❁

Harry and Josh had kept in contact after Gemma's breakdown. Harry wanted to see her, honestly. She'd been through a lot. But airplane tickets can be expensive and the rent was due soon. Josh, though, really does have a fortune. Harry wasn't the one to just accept such a thing, but was convinced that it's best for Gemma to have some family comfort. And it would be nice to get away from everything. He needs this a lot, needs space away from all of his problems to spend some quality time with his sister. And he's never been to America, so that's definitely a bonus. So he accepted the free airplane ticket.

"Did you get your toothbrush?" Liam asked, Harry's suitcase in his hand.

Harry laughed and nodded. Liam seemed to be worried that Harry wouldn't have everything he needed. "I do, Liam. And toothpaste."

"Good, good," he said as he patted Harry's shoulder. "I'm just a call away, okay? We can FaceTime, too. You know . . . in case you miss us."

Harry smiled and pulled Liam into a hug. "It's only, like, a week or so."

"Ten days! The longest we've been apart since we've lived together," Liam said, voice muffled against Harry's shirt.

Liam's kindness made Harry's heart swell, now beginning to tear up. They pulled away from the hug and Liam cleared his throat, straightening up and acting like he didn't just shed a tear on his friend's shirt. Niall, on the other hand, didn't seem as upset.

"Right, so. I'll be sleepin' in your bed, just saying," Niall quickly spoke, tugging Harry into a hug and patting his back.

Harry laughed and shook his head. "Don't eat on the bed, please!"

Niall backed away with pursed lips. "Yeah, no, sorry. Can't say I won't."

And then someone spoke over the speakers, which said that Harry's plane was now boarding. Harry looked at his friends and grabbed his luggage, passport in hand as he waved and backed away slowly. He was a giggling mess when Liam accidentally hit Niall when he lifted his hand to wave. He'd miss them.

+ + +

That wasn't fun. Well, the first class part was, but not the taking off and landing. Harry had never been on a plane, never needed to, and the only thing he wished was to have a companion to travel with so he wouldn't have had to do it alone. But now he's in California—exhausted, but he's here. He had his luggage in hand as he looked around for a familiar face, hoping to find Gemma as quickly as he could so he could go to her place and sleep.

After an unpleasant few minutes, he then spotted that light hair that belonged to his sister. She was waving, her arms sticking up and flailing all over the place. They hadn't really talked since what had happened the last time they were together, but since she'd been through a lot recently, Harry thinks it's best to just leave it alone and not bring it up.

He made his way to her happily, dropping his luggage to the floor so that he could properly embrace her. She hugged him tightly and he could feel her smile against his neck. It was when he pulled away that he noticed that Gemma was standing with a tall man. He had dark, messy hair and facial hair that suited him rather well. He stood with squared shoulders and a white, tucked in button-up. He seemed rather proper, that's for sure, but it had to be Josh. Harry smiled and shook Josh's hand when he extended it out towards him. "Josh," he smiled, nodding his head.

"Harry, nice to finally meet you," he spoke. Very American.

Harry grinned and ran a hand through his hair, reaching for his luggage, but then retreating his hand away when Josh reached for it instead. He cleared his throat and watched as he walked off with it, leading them outside and to the car. Gemma wrapped her arm around Harry's, skipping happily.