A Day In The Life // H.S.

16. | It's Brilliant

I woke up to the sound of pots banging around in my kitchen and I was immediately startled. I jumped out of bed and ran towards the kitchen. I looked around the corner to see Chloe cooking, in her pyjamas. My heart rate decreased when I realized I wasn't being robbed. "What are you making?" I asked, walking over to the island and sitting on it. "Hey, counters are for glasses, not for asses," she said, hitting me with the spatula. "It's my counter!" I protested, standing my ground. She just rolled her eyes.

"I'm making some pancakes. I need to go in a bit and I wanted to eat before I left," Chloe explained, mixing the batter. "Oh, okay. What are you doing today?" I asked, a bit shyly. "First, a conference call with Jessie at one o'clock, then finalizing the title of the article, then around 4 I'm meeting with you and some of your team to go through the final draft of the article. Then it gets sent off to publishing and next week, it's on stands," she said, and I widened my eyes. "You mean next week at this time it's all going to be over?" I asked, and she nodded. "Yeah, it's not like it was going to take a year to follow you around and get the inside scoop on your life," she said, like it was blatantly obvious.

"Well, I guess. It just went by so quickly," I said, and she agreed. "That's true. I didn't expect it to happen so fast but soon there will be an amazing article out in the world for everyone to read, and at least that's something," she said, smiling sweetly towards me. "Does that mean you're going to be leaving too?" I asked, nervously awaiting an answer. "Yeah. I'm gonna have a full time job at the headquarters in New York. That's a really big deal. I can't work there if I'm across the country," she explained. I sighed. I pretty much knew that already. Then, she interrupted my train of thought

"Look, Styles, I really don't want to leave here again without any idea of what I am to you. Am I one of your friends? Am I like between friends and more than friends? Harry, really. I'm constantly confused. What role am I playing in your life?" she asked, turning her attention away from cooking entirely. I didn't really know if I had an answer, because I hadn't really thought of it myself. I was thinking about asking her the same question before she left, since I wanted to know what I was to her. She beat me to it.

Before I could answer, Chloe's phone began to ring. I frowned. "Who would be calling you right now?" I asked, and she shrugged. She glanced down at her phone before answering it quickly. Must be somebody important. "Hello? Yes, I know. Yes, for sure. No problem! Talk soon!" Chloe said before hanging up the phone. I raised my eyebrows at her. "It's just Jessie. She said there's no need to call her later because what she was going to talk to me about has been sorted out. All I have is the meeting later and then I'm heading back to New York," she said, and a sharp pain ran through my heart.

"Like, today?" I asked, and she nodded. "Yeah, there's some work to do at headquarters before the article comes out that I have to be involved with," she said, putting some pancakes on a plate for me. I attempted to smile at her as a way of saying thanks, but it was extremely hard. "So, do you think you can answer my question from before?" Chloe asked, looking me in the eye. "I was going to ask you the same thing, to be honest," I said, eating the pancakes in front of me. "Really?" she asked, and I nodded my head.

"Interesting. I don't even know what I would have said," she said faintly. "Yeah, it's a confusing topic," I smirked at her. "Are you even okay with being in anything close to a relationship when you live a life like this?" Chloe asked me. I shrugged. "I actually think it would be nice. It would be like one constant in a world of ongoing change." I explained. "Then how come you've never been in a serious relationship before? You've only had flings," she pointed out. "The right girl hasn't come into my life," I said simply. She nodded her head.

"Well, take it from someone who's been in a long term relationship, sometimes it's not what you think it's supposed to be," she said quietly and my heart broke. "That's because he didn't treat you right. Not every guy is the same as Ryan," I said softly. "Maybe, but there was a time when I was so in love with him. And then there was a time when I couldn't stand the sight of him. I don't want that to happen again," she said. "It won't happen if you're with the right person, Chloe. You have to believe in that," I said, smiling sweetly at her.