Timeless [ A Harry Styles OU ] {1/2}

sixteen

a/n: thank you for getting timeless to 10k reads! I love you guys :D this chapter is a doozy so I expect to see a lot of yelling in the comments haha!

Harry pushes his way through the crowd of crew members in the bar. They'd all headed here after his show in Melbourne tonight. One of the sound crew members was heading home early before the last few shows because his wife had gone into impromptu labor during the show tonight. The brand new baby girl and her mother were completely fine — but everyone wanted to give Alex a proper goodbye before he got on the red-eye flight Rhea had secured for him from backstage.

"Hey, H," Jeff grabs his arm as he's trying to sneak by his manager. Harry's eyes are focused across the room where he can pick out the top of Rhea's head. She's seated at the bar and he hadn't gotten a chance to talk to her because her flight had gotten delayed earlier. She'd finally come back halfway through the show and he'd immediately spotted her, even amidst his stage antics. She'd dropped her bags off to the side, taken over a headset, and jumped into action. Ever since his conversation with Aaliyah, Harry had hovered over Rhea's contact name numerous times — fighting the urge to call her. This was something he needed to do in person.

"Jeff... hey, listen, I'll be right back, yeah?"

"No, no you don't — Alex needs help picking a name," Jeff declares, sliding a beer into Harry's hand. "They're stuck between Elizabeth and Penelope."

Harry grips the beer and stays rooted in spot, turning towards Alex. "M'leaning towards Penelope, mate. S'not common."

Alex who has a beer of his own in hand lets out a laugh while lifting it up in cheers, "My wife likes Penelope too."

"Listen to her, reckon it's the best way to go," Jeff says, eliciting laughter from the group of men that have gathered around.

Harry tears his eyes away and glances back over to where Rhea is. The crowd has parted just a little, enough for him to get a clear look, but it all melts away when his eyes settle on her. But it only lasts for a moment.

His blood runs cold and his breath stops when he realizes she's not alone. Since Rhea's back is to him, Harry has full view of the bloke who's got his hand on her knee. His jaw locks when he recognizes it as her ex, the wall street banker.

What the fuck is he doing here?

Harry's never seen red before, he's always gawked at that description, but now he is. He watches as her ex makes her laugh and she tucks her hair behind her ear. It pains him to think about the beautiful, bright smile that's without a doubt on her face. When she moves her hair, it reveals the emerald green lace of the bralette that she's wearing under one of Niall's tour shirts and when her ex's eyes flash to the same place, Harry's no longer stuck frozen in place.

"I'll be right back, sorry," Harry says, excusing himself. He only pauses to take a swig of his beer and slam the bottle on the bar top before walking swiftly towards them. His anger only grows hotter, burning through his veins when he watches the man reach forward and caress Rhea's cheek with a slight graze of his knuckles. As he gets closer, he sees that this man isn't just coming onto Rhea. She turns to the side just enough for him to get a good look at her. He knows those moves. He's memorized the glint in her eyes, he can practically feel the flutter of her lashes, and as he comes up next to her, he sees the familiar sinking of her teeth into her bottom lip.