Whatever Chains (Sequel to Where Your Heart is - A Harry Styles fanfiction)

Part Fifteen: Santa Claus is coming to town.

"I don't know if you noticed, but Christmas was months ago." I mock her, sitting at the edge of her bed. "Perhaps you'd like me to give you a calendar as a belated gift."

She waves me off with her tongue sticking out, and she continues to fold and pack what it is fairly the biggest, most hideous collection of Christmas sweaters, leggings and stockings I have ever seen in my life.

"That won't be necessary. I know exactly when Christmas is." She retorts as she looks around to see if there's another ugly item to add into her bag. "But since my dad had to travel for work that week, we decided to postpone it until we could celebrate it together. We're big fans of the Holidays."

I chuckle loudly and she scowls.

"I can see that, love. That's quite a selection you have there."

I poke my finger inside the bag and I take out a particularly funny sweater that features a Gingerbread man with actual googly eyes and fur pom poms along its body.

"Give me that!" She snatches the sweater out of my hand, putting it back carefully in its place. "Now... you can stay here if you want, but there's a few things you should know about the flat. A few... tricks."

I watch her pace around the room as she begins to enumerate the handful of things she thinks I may need to know.

The elaborate technique that needs to be followed by the book in order to stop the toilet from overflowing, the special ritual one needs to perform not to freeze to death or get first degree burns whilst showering, and so on.

I watch her but I don't necessarily listen to her. I've been practically living in this apartment for over a month now, so I'm quite familiar with it's quirks by now.

Plus, as the moment of her departure to her hometown rapidly approaches, I am more and more keen to the idea of not being left behind.

"Or I could just go with you." I suggest, seemingly detached, as if it wasn't about what I want so much as what I consider most convenient. "You know... so I don't flood the place or perish in the shower."

She sips the bag closed and looks at me, standing straight and tilting her hips to the side in a pensive manner.

"What about you sister? " She asks, scratching her chin. "Or... I don't know... your own flat? Because you have one in the city, don't you?"

As a matter of fact, I don't. I used to have one until the year before last, but once the media found out about its location it became almost impossible to get in and out without it ending up in the news; so I decided to sell it and crash with friends or my sister whenever I needed to spend some time in the city.

That arrangement seemed to work just perfectly when I was touring, but now that that is over, I guess I should be looking for a much more permanent one.

"Or... I could just go with you." I insist, bullheadedly overruling her other options like they are nonexistent.

"Sure." She caves, lifting her hands up in the air in surrender. "But didn't you have that thing tomorrow?"

Damn. She's full with excuses today. And really good ones at that, because actually I do have something that requires my attendance tomorrow.