You Still Remember (Harry Styles)

5. One Month Later

Harry’s POV

I’ve been having the same dream for the past few weeks. I’m waiting at the airport, looking around for someone I apparently knew, but I never saw him/her. Because instead, I would see a 13-year-old Alicia, looking and walking around with that wheely suitcase she had when she left.

I would call her name, and she would turn around, looking much more matured. She would look about 19. And then I would see her smile at me. I run towards her. She lets go of her suitcase and runs towards me.

Reaching each other always seemed to take ages, no matter how fast we ran. And when we were finally about to touch fingertips, I would wake up. The dream was cruel. It was mockery. I woke up that morning from the exact same dream, groaning.

“So close…” I muttered to myself.

I forced myself to get out of bed instead of trying to make myself fall asleep again, in hope of dreaming the dream once more. I threw on a white T-shirt and black jeans. I slipped Alicia’s clip in my T-shirt’s pocket before I went downstairs.

The boys were sitting on and around the couch, talking. When I came in, they stopped and looked at me. I didn’t say anything. I just went right into the kitchen. I didn’t notice that they’d followed me until they circled me as I leaned against one of the kitchen counters.

“What?” I asked.

“Harry, what the hell is wrong with you?” Louis asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’re acting strange.” Zayn said.

“In what way?”

“Well, you’re always moping around, and you never join in when we invite you to play FIFA or to goout to a bar. Everyone’s getting worried about you, and so are we.” Niall chimed in. 

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s mid-life crisis?”  I felt a smile creep across my lips.

Louis looked at me exasperatedly.

“Harry, you’re only 20. That’s not mid-life. 20’s only like, beginning-of-the-adult-life or something, I don’t know. I just know, that 20, is not,mid-life.”

There was an awkward silence between the five of us. I decided to take the opportunity and slip around to the other side of the counter. I began to make some toast and a coffee, completely ignoring the boys.

“Harry, we know something’s up,” Liam said, “And we’re here to help you. But we can’t if you don’t tell us anything!”

“There’s nothing wrong with me-I’m fine.” I took my breakfast over to the dining table. They followed me again.

“Stop lying, Harry.” Niall said.

“I told you, I’m fine.”

I slammed my coffee cup down on the coaster, causing it to spill all over the table.

“Shit.” I mumbled. They waited for me as I got a tea towel from the kitchen.

As I cleaned up the coffee, I didn’t notice Niall look in my pocket and pull out Alicia’s clip.

“Niall! What the hell?!?” I exclaimed.I made a grab for it, but he took it away just in time.

“So what’s this then?” He looked at it. His eyes widened when he saw what it was. “A hair clip? What’s that doing in your pocket?”

“It’s…my sister’s.” I lied. “At least it was, until I decided to start using it as a lucky charm. It actually works.”

Well, at least that part was kind of true. Alicia’s clip was my good luck charm.

“Alright…” Niall handed it back to me. I took it back and then let out a small sigh of relief, quiet enough so the boys couldn’t hear me. Damn. That clip was lucky.

“You’re crazy, Haz.” Louis said, rolling his eyes. Although, I thought I saw him give me a small smile.

“Hey, isn’t the news on?” Liam said suddenly. “Will you at least watch that with us, Harry?” He looked at me questioningly.

“OK. Fine.”

I was the first to get a seat on the couch as Zayn turned on the TV and began to find the news. It didn’t take long, and soon we were watching the news guy talking to the studio live from the city.

Suddenly, my attention turned to one of the people walking in the background behind the news guy. She was only there for about a second before the camera angle was switched.

“Wait-go back, go back!” I urged Zayn, who was still holding the remote.

“What? Why?” He asked.

“Give me that!” I snatched the remote out of his hand.

I rewinded the TV a bit and waited for the girl to show up again. I pressed pause when I could see her best. She was dressed entirely in black. She had long brown hair and had a sad look about her. Where had I seen her before?

Then I remembered my dream. Alicia as a 19 year old. This girl looked exactly like her. Could it be the real her? The real Alicia, whom I hadn’t seen for 6 years?

I stared at the paused frame for what seemed like ages.

“Umm…Harry? What exactly are you looking at? Not all of us are as fascinated by the news guy as you are.” Niall said.

“What? No! It’s not the news guy.” I protested.

“Then what is it?”

“Nothing…just press play.” I tossed the remote back at Zayn.

He gave me a concerned look before he played the TV once more. I was no longer paying attention. I was thinking about that girl. Her face…it looked so much like Alicia’s. It had to be her. But that meant she was somewhere in London right this minute. I had to find her.

I jumped off the couch and ran upstairs to get a jacket, ignoring my friends’ surprised/angry exclaims. When they saw me come back downstairs putting on my jacket, they looked more annoyed than confused.

“Harry, you’re doing it again.” Zayn said, frowning.

“Doing what?”

“Acting weird.” Liam added in for Zayn.

“I have to go.” I rushed to the door.

“Where?” Louis asked.

“Out.” I shut the door behind me, ignoring my car and instead running to get to the streets.

Alicia’s POV

 London was beautiful, but it did nothing in helping me to take my mind off things that bothered me the most. London made me think of Cheshire. Cheshire made me think of my childhood. My childhood made me think of Harry.

I still hadn’t found a job. I hadn’t really made an effort, but Jessica got a job at a hairdresser’s, even though she didn’t have any degree to say she was an expert. She had shown an example of her work on a customer, who was very pleased with how her hair turned out and gave Jessica a pretty neat tip, so she got the job pretty quickly.

Jessica didn’t mind that she was doing all the work for now-because she knew that London affected me. Jessica worked five days a week, so she didn’t have time for me during weekdays. Without her around, I had nothing to do but explore the streets of London. It would sound fun to most people, but it wasn’t fun for me.

I didn’t like walking alone. It made me feel uneasy-like people were staring at me, wondering who this creepy Goth chick was and why she was all alone, even though no-one stared at me at all. So, everyday, I would walk around London, listening to music through earphones at full blast most of the time.

I missed Harry more than anything, now that I knew we were in the same area. Often, when I walked, I felt like crying. There was nothing I wanted more than to be reunited with him again. It would feel like my other half was finally re-attaching itself to me. I was still pretty sure he wouldn’t remember me, but if I could just see him, or even talk to him once, I would become whole again, even though he probably wouldn’t know it.

Suddenly, some kind of instinct in me caused me to look up from the ground and look in front of me. I didn’t know why, until I saw him. Saw him looking around half-frantically, slightly speed walking as he moved along.

My best friend, Harry Styles.