Gone by Dawn | Harry Styles

Happier

0622

Wednesday, 3rd August 2016

The sun has barely made an appearance yet we were all too wide awake. The yellow mixing with the oranges and the pinks amongst the clouds made the place look peaceful and full – tranquil - but yet, the silence in the sky and the shakiness of each and everyone of our breathes said otherwise. With each breath exhaled disguised us, were could have been easily be mistaken for dragons. All of us were drained. Blue and black dressed our under-eyes as many of us struggle to keep our eyes open. We have been worked to the brink. Drills. Upon drills. Upon drills. No one knew what we are preparing for and no one dared to ask.

I clench my chattering teeth to silence my silent cry for warmth. I could practically feel my lips turn blue from the extremity of the cold. My whole body was shivering, begging for me to put more layers on but that wasn't an option. My hands were cold, stiff, practically stone. I was sure everyone is going to get sick from these stupid drills.

As I peeled my eyes from the gravel that laid beneath me, they began to travel up until they met the man who is slave driving us. There he stood with his long leather trench coat with the collar flipped up that he only just began to wear as his new signature look. His hands clasped together behind his back that were also covered with leather gloves and that stupid, fucking hat that gave him his authority disguised half his face. He is a different man and everyone knows it, but no one ever mentioned it but everyone was thinking it.

"Parade rest!" Harry was no longer a Lieutenant; he had been promoted to CAPT. Styles. Talk is that many of the troops think that's why he is more of an arsehole than he used to be and maybe it is the reason as to why he's so uptight now.

Harry no longer has to do the dirty work that he knew all too well; he has Lieutenant Flood, whom got reassigned to Harry's company, where more troops were also assigned to including myself. There is definitely something going on between the two and what made it seem even more believable was the amount of rumours that surfaced before Lieutenant Flood even arrived, before anyone even knew she was going to be assigned here.

"Fall out!" As soon as we were dismissed everyone scattered inside out of the freezing cold rubbing their icy hands together praying that the friction will be enough to keep the blood circulating.

***

0843

Thursday, 4th August 2016

"Private," I stand from my seat to salute the towering body. I don't dare to make eye contact with him but instead stare off into the distance as the fog disintegrates into the hills.

"I need a favour," My arm is quick to return to its natural resting position as my feet take me to stand before him, my eyes are staring back into his icy green orbs.

"What do you want?" It slipped straight out of my mouth before I was able to process how rude it came across. The way his eyebrow was cocked he was also taken off guard by my attitude.

"You know Arabic, no?"

"So, what if I do?" I have no idea where this sudden outburst of a whole lot of attitude is coming from.

"I was hoping you could translate some... stuff for me?" His hesitation intrigued me but also screamed at me to run away.

"What's in it for me?" I ask.

"The goodness in your heart," Harry says with a emotionless face.

"What if I don't," I continue to pester Harry and I know it's working as a deep sigh escapes his mouth and it reeked annoyance.

"Don't worry about it then, I'll get someone else to do it. Forget I even asked," before he walks away from where he stood, I grasped at his hand for him to turn around and to my wish he did.

"I'll do it."

***

1953

Thursday, 4th August 2016

"Is that all?" I ask Harry.

"Yep," he replies back as he stacks the translations into a neat and orderly pile inside of a book. I remain seated as I watch him type a few things into the desktop that casted a white light across his tanned face. His eyes removed themselves from the PC and caught my eyes.

"Still here?" I slowly nod my head as I continued to maintain eye-contact.

"I think we have unfinished business...?"

"Like what?" He leans back into his chair as his intense gaze never leaves me.

"Favour for a favour?" I ask. A smirk grows across his lips as his eyebrow cocks in anticipation.

"Sure, whatever."

"We're all dying to know.... Are you and Lieutenant Fl-"

"Enough," Harry is quick to cut me off from finishing my question that we were all too desperate to know if it's true or not. His jaw was visible clenched and his hands firmly gripped the armrests that are attached to his chair. "What's it to you?" He asks.

"Nothing," I shrug, "Just the talk is tha-"

"I don't give a flying fuck what the 'talk' is, Liv and neither should you. Don't always believe what you hear."

"So... it's not true?"

"What difference would it make to your life?" He leans forward and rests his elbows on the desk with his hands clasped.

"It wouldn't," I say nonchalantly.

"Okay.

"Okay....? Okay as in yes, it's true or.... Okay as in no...?"

"Okay as in, I know you still want to know what I do and who I'm with," It caught me off guard as my eyes felt like they were going to pop out.

"What?"

"Yes, Alice and I are together."

"Why?" It really isn't any of my business, I get it, but it's killing me inside.

"I could ask you the same thing, Olivia. You can't set these double-standards where you can do one thing and I can't. Plus, what I do no-longer concerns you, to my knowledge you were the one who ended things.... Remember?" He's right in so many ways but wrong in many more. His words pulled strings in me that made me angry but upset all at the same time.

"Well... to my knowledge you were the one who was seeing another girl. What even happened to Edie?" Words were pouring out of my mouth.

"Yvie," He corrects me, "I hope you know that I cheated on her with you. Not the other way around, but you never gave me the chance to explain," He sighs becoming clearly frustrated. The room is quick to be filled with tension and silence as I absorb his confession. Guilt overruns my body as my eyes become glazed.

"How long had you two been together for?"

"On and off since we were 17."

"Why would you mess something like that up? That's 10 years, Harry!"

"You really want to know why?" His eyes capture mine in his. I nod desperately wanting to know but also knowing that I probably shouldn't.

"When I was first deployed when I was 22, I was gone for 13 months. And... occasionally she would fly back to England to obviously see her family and what not. But um.... When I came home from deployment, she was pregnant," Listening to him struggle to tell his story gave me goose bumps.

"And obviously the timeline didn't match up. It wasn't mine. We were engaged to be wedded the following year but fell through of course. She never came clean but she knew that I knew. We never officially split; that was until you lashed out on me that night at the clubs and it triggered me," I nod taking in all that he said. The guilt left my mind as I became at ease with Harry's and I's previous relation.

"Just one last thing...Why are you such an arsehole to everyone?" He rolls his lips as he thinks about his answer.

"I don't know, maybe I'm just mad?"

"Well, I want you to be happier."