polaroids & scrunchies \\ a short story

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song for this chapter//  a million dreams from the greatest showman

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two years. two years of laughter, passion, love, care, and all day 'twilight' movie marathons. harry had actually grown to love the movies, but what he loved more was how much audrey adored the characters. he always remembered every single reason why she loved or hated each character, and he would probably never forget, either. not because it was special to him, necessarily, but more because of how often she would talk about the characters. in the battle between edward cullen and jacob black, she chose jacob, but she didn't hate edward, either. as a matter of fact, she liked them both for very different reasons. if anything, her least favorite character was bella because of the way she treated jake. "but then again," she would say, pouting her lips slightly as she thought about it once more, laying comfortably against harry's bare chest. "i'm not against her, either. when you love someone, you love them. i can't hate her for that. in fact, i actually understand her."

currently, harry sat alone in their shared flat, catching up on gilmore girls. audrey was in toledo, ohio, visiting her hometown for thanksgiving a week early. they would see each other for a couple of days before harry would fly out to cheshire to see his family, and then a week after that, it would be back to classes, again.

the rain was gently pattering against the window as jess and rory argued on the screen. he had fallen asleep during a couple of episodes, and audrey told him to catch up, otherwise, she'd watch the rest without him as a punishment. he couldn't help but laugh at her, but he wouldn't dare miss any episodes. he loved gilmore girls, thanks to audrey. it was one of his favorite tv shows.

when jess began to storm off on the television, his phone began to ring. like a lioness towards her prey, harry attacked his phone, quickly answering her facetime call. the phone took a moment to load, but soon enough, audrey's face was filling the screen. harry squinted at the screen, examining the surroundings she had in the background. he snorted as he realized where she was.

"are you in the bathroom, aud?" he laughed, and she rolled her eyes.

"listen, i had to pee, but i also said i would call at four, your time. so, here i am, calling you at four, your time." she shrugged. 

"yes, a facetime call of my girl on the toilet is what i absolutely live for." he teased, and she stuck her tongue out at him as a toilet flushed and a sink faucet turned on. she set the phone against a piece of the counter and shook her head at him.

"you're acting like you've never called while you were on the toilet, and we were in the same damn house."

harry snorted, recalling the memory and hiding his red cheeks behind his hands. "that was one time, audrey jensen. one time!"

"one time too many." she laughed, picking the phone back up and leaving the bathroom.

they talked for about half an hour, and harry got to say 'hello' to many of her family members, like her older sister from queens, and her mother from bradford, england. when audrey finally hung up so she could join her family, harry found himself in front of a mirror, hair cascading over his shoulders in long, loose curls. he took one of audrey's scrunchies, pulling it into a bun and tying it off. he went to grab the tv remote once again, but he stopped, an idea forming in his head as he looked to his hair, again. and as quick as he formed the idea, he grabbed his coat and ran out of their shared flat, locking the door behind him.

the salon smelled like hairspray and shampoo when he arrived, and not very many people were inside as their day was coming to a close. he walked up to the counter and smiled politely at the lady behind the counter, whose name was 'margaret.' she returned his energy and called for fran, who was an older lady he used to work with at a bakery just three years ago when he first started college.

the older woman smiled at him, giving him a hug as she realized who he was. "my goodness!" she beamed, looking up at him. "how much you've grown, harry!" she gestured for him to follow her to her corner, and he followed, making sure to take smaller steps so he wouldn't beat her there with his long legs. he sat in the chair, and fran tied a sheet around his neck.

it didn't take harry much time to decide when the older lady looked at him, asking him what he wanted. he quickly tore his girlfriend's scrunchie out of his hair, making sure it was safe around his wrist, and popped his knuckles. "cut it off, all of it." the lady nodded while harry sat in the salon chair, grinning at himself in the mirror as the hair stylist chuckled.

"that sweet girl of yours is sure going to be shocked, harry." he looked up at the lady, smiling as he did so.

"you think she will?"

"i know," she spoke. "but she'll love it, because she loves you." harry blushed with a sweet smile at that. he paused for a moment and looked at her in the mirror.

"hey fran?" he asked, and she looked back at him in the mirror, scissors in hand. "is there a way i could donate all this hair to charity?"

with a genuine smile, she nodded her head. she began to cut at his hair, and he watched as she set a massive chunk of curly hair on the counter. as she proceeded to snip away at what remained on his head, he admired the little pieces of brown hair float to the tile flooring. he didn't mind losing all of his hair, anymore.

it actually made him happy.