Let's Hurt Tonight

12

Amelia

"Please, please, please Amelia," Emma begs me over the phone. 

I rub my eyes aggressively with my fingers, thankful I'm not wearing any eye makeup right now. 

People in the bookstore that I'm in glance over at me, my distress clearly obvious to passersby. Emma has been begging for the entirety of this phone call for me to bring Harry with me when I come home this weekend for her soccer game. It's torture, but I'm only exacerbating the problem by teasing her and refusing to give a definite answer. 

"Am I not good enough?" I joke with Emma. 

"Of course, I want to see you but...it's Harry Styles," she says, whispering the last part. "You know how much I love him." 

Ever since Emma talked to Harry the other day on the phone, he's all she's been talking about. It has been non-stop. I suppose I should have expected it the second I gave Harry my phone, but I didn't think it through at the time. 

"He's not an object," I remind Emma. 

I look over to where Harry stands at the counter of the small café in the bookstore, ordering us some drinks. Something about him in his oversized beige pants, a long black coat, and hair pulled into a bun is endearing. His style, I notice, is very unlike everyone else I see and know and I'll admit that I'm drawn to it. It's cute. 

"I know you like him, Amy," Emma says, causing my cheeks to flush. "You get all dreamy when you talk about him. You might as well bring him so you get to spend time with him and I get to meet him. It's a win-win."

I grit my teeth together, knowing she's right. I do want to spend more time with him. I'm not against inviting him to meet my family this weekend, but at the same time, I feel like it's pushing things. 

But he is my friend. It's perfectly normal to introduce friends to my parents. It doesn't have to mean that Harry and I are linked romantically. 

I'm overthinking, as per usual. 

"Fine," I say, causing Emma to squeal from excitement. "Fine! I'll ask him. But no promises." 

"Thank you, Amelia. Thank you!" 

Emma and I exchange quick goodbyes after a fairly painful conversation and hang up, just in time for Harry to arrive at the table with our drinks in hand. 

"Black coffee for me and some chocolate frappuccino thing for you," He says, putting the drinks down in front of us while he takes a seat across from me. "I hope you like it. There were a couple different options so I went with the one that sounded the best to me."

I smile.

"Thank you," I tell him.

I grasp the cool drink in my hands and raise it up to my lips, taking a sip through the straw Harry must have put in. It tastes chocolatey with a hint of coffee, which I surprisingly like. I asked Harry to surprise me and he definitely did not disappoint. He was a little hesitant at first, for fear I'd hate whatever he got me, but I told him anything sweet was fine, as long as coffee didn't overpower. I don't mind it, but I can't drink it black like he does. 

"How is it?" Harry asks, looking slightly worried.

"It's good," I tell him. He visibly relaxes at my words, his shoulder dropping and his jaw unclenching. "Do you want a sip?"

Harry hesitates before replying, but I pass him the drink anyways after seeing him eye it. He too raises it up to his lips and takes a sip before passing it back.