Somewhere Inbetween (Harry Styles AU)

Chapter 7

When we arrive at the record store there’s a small group of guys standing near the door. As we walk by them, I notice their English accents. One guy I notice in particular, not because of his good looks, but because he’s the tallest and reading from a small slip of paper to the rest of the group. His face is serious. Even though I have no idea what they’re doing, I figure they must be friends of Harry’s. 

Niall and the gorgeous boy he was talking to yesterday are sitting on a little ratty sofa near a drink machine. Harry’s standing at the register. He looks amazing in his Rolling Stones t-shirt. What am I thinking? He was June’s. 

“Hi,” Natalie chirps. Niall jumps from the sofa and embraces her in a light hug, leaving the other boy a bit confused. I forgot his name. I walk over to the register.

“My mom has a church thing to go to tomorrow morning, so we should leave then,” I tell Harry. 

“Church on Tuesday?” He says this with humor in his voice, and I laugh. 

“Yeah, it’s “for her own good”,” I say, mimicking my aunt’s voice. 

“Are you not going to tell her where you’re going,” he asks. Seriousness pours into the atmosphere around us. I feel bad about not telling her, but I need to do this and she would never allow it. 

“No,” I respond quietly. He nods his head as if he understands. He doesn’t understand, though.

“So, that settles it then. I’ll pick you up, yeah?” I love how he’s managed to remove the uncomfortable feeling I have in my stomach and fill it with butterflies. I need to stop. No, he needs to stop.

“Yeah, I’ll text you the address later.” 

Natalie, Niall, and the other boy join us at the register. Natalie and Niall are engaged in playful flirting but are interrupted when Harry begins handing out orders.

“Niall, I need you to make sure the Joplin has oil and stuff in it for the trip. Zayn, you go get us food. You two,” he points at me and Natalie, “go home and pack, and make sure you don’t leave your parents too worried.” 

“What’s a Joplin,” Natalie asks.

“You’ll find out tomorrow,” Harry responds. The other boys are turning to leave when I speak up, stopping them.

“They’re coming with us?” I’m confused at this point. I thought it’d only be the three of us.

“Yeah, they were friends of June’s, too.” Harry says this as if it were obvious, but how the hell was I supposed to know? Clearly there’s a big portion of June’s life that I didn’t even know existed. I reply with a nod, and the two boys continue on with their assignments. 

The rest of the day goes quickly. After Natalie confirmed that her parents will be okay with the trip, she drops me off at my house. There’s no car in the driveway. I’m not too thrilled about being home alone. This whole house just reminds me of June. I still need to pack, so that should keep my mind off of her. I throw a few changes of clothes, my Polaroid camera, some toiletries, and a book into a duffel bag. I’ll get the urn before I leave tomorrow so mom doesn’t suspect anything. I have no idea how long this trip is going to take, but I don’t care. I need a break from this town and these people. My mom and aunt return home. No one bothers to say hello. I text Harry my address and fall asleep. 

It’s around ten when I wake up. Harry’s text says he should be here by eleven. I quickly shower and get dressed. I check my bag again to make sure I have everything. Once I finish, I take everything downstairs and grab the urn. I still have fifteen minutes, so I hurry back upstairs to get the CD I found in June’s room. I’m stopped by the blank wall across from my bed. The wall stares at me. I stare back. Every wall in my room is covered with stuff except that one. It used to belong to a large family portrait, but I took it down after June’s death. My thoughts are interrupted by the doorbell.

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Sorry this chapter is so late. It took forever to get edited. Anyway, hope you're excited for what is to come. The next few chapters should be very exciting and I'll try to post them as soon as possible! REMEMBER TO SHARE THIS PLEASE <3