British Rose

7. Interlude

(Charlotte's texts are in italic, Harry's are in bold.)

Charlotte's Apartment – Brighton, UK – Thursday, 15th of August

The minute Charlotte turned the keys in the lock of her apartment door, the noise in her head returned. It had almost died down during the LA days. She set her suitcase down in her room and went for the kitchen to make herself a cup of English Breakfast, a weak attempt at fighting off the jetlag that was about to hit her. Harry had given her some advice on how to manage through the first few days after returning, mainly to avoid sleep until the late hours of the day to try and return to a normal rhythm. Something Charlotte was in need of, more than she wanted to admit to herself. The days spent with Harry had been a good lesson in letting loose and not adhering to a tightly planned schedule, but it also made her realize that in the end, she thrived on routine and plans. Too much freedom was not for her. Especially with the amount of work piling up in her inbox.

She sat down at the kitchen table to sip on the hot beverage, check her inbox for urgent messages and text a few people that she was back on home ground. Which included Harry.

Her finger hovered over the message icon next to his name in her contact list.

She finally managed to press it, the blank page of their not yet existing digital conversation staring back at her.

Hey :). I'm back home. The flight was good. I know it's the middle of the night where you are, so I hope you are sleeping well and will be happy to read this when you wake up. xx C

Hitting send, she proceeded to type a similar message to her mum and Giovanna, who was at work, then returned to getting herself busy with unpacking, trying to at least turn down the volume in her head.

H's house – West Hollywood, LA

Harry woke up to the sound of plates clattering in the kitchen downstairs. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes to bright daylight shining through the ground-glass windows of his bedroom. He shut his eyes again immediately.

Groaning, he turned over to look at the clock on his nightstand.

10:45 am.

Given he hadn't slept for most of the night, he must have fallen into the land of no dreams in the early morning hours, knocked out from insomnia.

He walked down the stairs to the kitchen lazily, his body a wobbly mess.

"Hey mate, good morning." Niall's cheerful voice was too much for Harry's exhausted brain.

"Turn it down a bit, will ya?" Harry sat down at the counter, a tiny smile forming on his lips when Niall handed him a steaming cup.

"Hope I didn't wake you up." Niall resumed preparing some pb&j sandwiches for the both of them.

"No, not exactly. Didn't sleep a lot last night, to begin with. Thanks for coming over, though." Harry had given Niall the code to his house ages ago for emergencies. Apparently Niall thought Charlotte leaving was one, and telling from the state Harry presented himself to him, his intuition had been right to come over and take care of him.

"Have you heard from her yet?" Niall placed a plate in front of Harry and walked around the counter to take the seat next to him.

Biting down into the sandwich, Harry shook his head.

"Well, haven't checked my phone yet. I'm sure she texted when she got home, she promised to."

They ate the rest of their breakfast in silence. Niall knew his best friend long enough to know how to act. His presence was the only comfort Harry needed, leaving him enough space to be sad and heavyhearted. Having seen the two of them interact, he understood good enough how special Charlotte was for him, and vice versa. Hell, he even got a bit heartbroken when he had to leave his best friends to go back to work or the like after spending time with them. Special people leave traces in your heart, open spaces that burn like a fire on low flame during the time spent apart.

Niall took care of the kitchen while Harry went to take a shower.

Returning to the living room in some clean sweatpants and a t-shirt, he plunged down on the couch. Niall was clicking through the program. Harry watched absentmindedly.

"Wanna talk about it or shall I just put on The Notebook?" Niall turned his body slightly to look at Harry. It may have sounded like a joke, but he was completely serious. That movie managed to keep H company and comfort him in ways he never could.

"I just miss her, that's all. There's not much to talk about."

"Just in this case is enough to rip your heart apart. I can see it. Did you make plans to see each other again?" Niall placed a hand on Harry's thigh.

"Yeah, but no details or dates yet. I think I'll go home on the 30th and then spend at least a week and a half with mum and Aria. Maybe I'll go down to Brighton the end of september. It's a nice time of the year to visit the coast."

"That's good! I'm excited for you." Niall proceeded to flick through the on-demand program until he found Harry's favorite movie.

It was mid-afternoon already when Niall decided to wake Harry up. He had fallen asleep pretty quick watching The Notebook.

When he was sure Harry was awake enough to answer to a question, he handed him his phone that he had gotten from his bedroom earlier.

"Mate, you should probably get back to your girl before she goes to sleep again. It's almost midnight there already."

Harry's eyes widened in shock. "Oh crap, you're right." Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he took the device from Niall and unlocked it to check for new messages. There was one from Charlotte sitting in his inbox.

Seeing her name on the screen put a smile on his face and an ache into his chest. She was so far away from him now.

Hey love, glad you're home safe. Sorry for answering so late, Niall came over and I didn't sleep much last night so I fell asleep watching a movie with him. Hope jetlag is not too bad. Talk tomorrow? xx H

He hadn't even put down the phone to get something to drink when the familiar ping sound announced a new message.

Poor baby. I hope tonight is better for you sleep-wise. I'll see how jetlag treats me, kept myself pretty busy the whole day to maybe sleep a bit tonight, no sleep on the plane for me haha. Sure! Text me what time works for you, I have nothing going on besides coursework.

xx C

P.S. say Hi to Niall if he's still there!

"She says Hi."

Niall's heart warmed, seeing the immediate improvement in Harry's mood when Charlotte's text had arrived.

How about early evening? Around 5 or 6 your time? I wanna go for a jog tomorrow, so I'll be back by then for sure.

Now go to sleep please love, have a good night!

P.S. He says hi back!

Charlotte's Apartment – Brighton, UK

The artificial light of the phone screen was the only source of illumination in Charlotte's bedroom. Although it was technically still summer, she had pulled the covers all over herself. There was some source of heat missing.

Planning out the next day in her head, she added "Call H" to her list.

Sounds perfect. I'll be done with most of my stuff by then, so I'll be all yours.

And a good, or at least better, night to you too. <3

xx C

She put her phone away and closed her eyes with some of the warm feeling returning to her chest that she was missing earlier. The buzz in her head was down to a mild white noise.