Idiosyncrasy (Harry Styles AU)

Twenty-five

Chapter 25

Bethany

I tried insisting that I wasn’t ready to go see Sandy yet; after all, it had only been a week and a half since she was buried. But Harry told me that if I don’t do it now, I never will. And I guess he’s right.

He’s been taking such good care of me over the past week, refusing to leave me alone. It was like he was almost afraid to leave me on my own. He should know me well enough by now to trust me not to do anything irrational, but I guess he’s just worried for me. I guess everyone would be, given my situation.

We stopped by a florist and bought some bright red roses for her grave; her favorite. Zach told me so when he set a bouquet by her casket the day of the funeral. He always got her red roses, so I guess I will too.

Now, as harry and I walk around tomb stones to Sandy’s grave, I fight the intense urge to scream and run back down the hill to Harry’s rental car. Sandy doesn’t deserve to be here. She shouldn’t be in the ground surrounded by rows of strange dead people. Not yet, anyhow.

She deserved to get married, have kids, and live a long and happy life.

Tears blind my eyesight, and I stop walking. I shake my head at harry, fiddling with the ribbon tying the flowers together.

Harry stops too, then walks toward me and wraps his muscular arms around me. I hiccup, trying to keep back the sobs in my chest.

“She deserves a visit. She’s been here alone for too long already,” he croons in my ear as the rears silently make their way down my face.

I don’t agree. Honestly, I think Sandy couldn’t care less if I visited her or not. She’s dead. Fucking dead.

Minutes pass, and soon my tears subside and I pull away from Harry’s protective arms.

“Okay,” I whisper, deciding to do this for Harry’s sake and Harry’s sake only.

I start toward the grave and take a shaky breath, stopping in front of the head stone. I chew my lip as I read the familiar words.

Here lies, Sandra Leah Mathews. 1992-2014

And I’ll be gone, gone tonight

The ground beneath my feet is burning bright

The way that I’ve been holding on so tight,

With nothing in between.

I sniff and lean forward to place the roses beside the cold stone.

“I can leave you alone, if you want,” Harry whispers to me.

I nod silently, not taking my eyes off her name engraved in the grey marble.

As soon as Harry’s footsteps fade away, I drop to my knees, sobbing.

This all seems so surreal. This can’t be happening; it’s a dream. I’ll wake up and Sandy will pound on my door to wake me up for school because my alarm clock malfunctioned just like she always does.

But deep inside, I know that’s not the case.

“Sandy,” I choke out. It feels weird saying her name out loud. “It’s not fair that you were murdered. You . . . you should have lived long enough to get married to Zach.” I pause, sighing as more tears make trails down my cheeks. “You should have had kids. You deserved a longer life.”

It feels oddly good to get all this out, even though I’m talking to a dead person.

“But,” I whisper, wiping my eyes. “I’m grateful for all the time we spent together. And now you don’t have to live next to your annoying best friend.” I laugh a little, pulling at the dead grass.

I sigh, placing my hand on the moist dirt that has her body buried six feet under. “I miss you already, Sandy.”

“But the Big Bang Theory is the best!”

“Beth, come on. Can we please just watch something else? I love America, but not their shows.”

Harry crosses his arms, stubbornly not moving from blocking my view of my favorite show.

“Harry, please move,” I beg.

“No.”

I narrow my eyes at him, standing from my place on the couch. I shove him with a giggle, but he barely moves.

“Harry,” I groan, pouting like a five-year-old.

He holds out his hand. “Give me the remote,” he demands with a slight smirk.

I shake my head defiantly, hiding the device behind my back.

Without warning, Harry steps closer to me, smirking wider. He reaches around the back of my waist, grasping my wrists. He leans in close to my neck, breath fanning down on my cheek. On instinct, my eyelids flutter closed and I sigh lightly. He brings his lips down on my cheek, and I lean my head against his chest in surprise.

Suddenly before I know it, the remote is in Harry’s hands and he’s doing a victory dance around the room.

I can’t help but feel slightly disappointed. I miss the contact of his lips on my skin already. Which is weird . . . Harry and I are just friends. Nothing more.

Harry switches the channel to a chick flick, and I laugh. “Really?”

He shrugs, flopping down on the couch. “Beats an American show any day.” He pats the space beside him, and I comply, sinking into the soft cushions.

 After my visit to Sandy’s grave, my heart feels immensely lighter and I feel like I can move on with my life soon.

But, moving on or not, crying all day has finally started to take its toll on me. I start to blink slowly. I lean my head against Harry’s shoulder and he slings an arm around me comfortably.

“We should do something tomorrow,” I mumble sleepily, tying my best to focus on the screen in front of me though it’s close to impossible.

I soon give up and just close my eyes. I can feel him looking at me, even though my eyes are shut, and I suppress a sleepy smile.

‘Like what?” he whispers, lips close to my ear.

I smile to myself. “There’s a pub not far from here.”

He chuckles, moving a strand of hair away from my forehead. “Sounds good, Beth.”

Sleep overcomes me, and I fall asleep with the faint sounds from the TV in my ears and the smell of Harry in my nose.

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Okay so I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while :P I'm going to Florida tomorrow so I won't be updating for a week maybe unless I get off my lazy ass and actually type it on my iPod xD but yeah . . . enjoy and love Betharry ;)

(And I dont feel like picking out a song for this chapter cuz I'm fucking tired so yeah :)