PRIMROSE [H.S]

eleven

We had been talking about going to Glastonbury for years; but we always found some excuse for not being able to go together: failed subjects, family birthdays or badly planned holidays. In November, after my fight with Harry, tickets went on sale; and once and for all we decided to buy them. It was the perfect time, they wanted me to stay busy in the middle of all the drama I was living, while I simply wanted to enjoy my time with the only ones who had been there for me all that time. It was the perfect plan. 

All our favourite artists were there: Florence + The Machine, The Who, George Ezra, Hozier ... We were so excited that we prepared everything months in advance, we visited hundreds of web pages on how to survive the festival and bought two tents. On the bus ride from London, we felt like little girls again, counting the minutes to arrive. Being honest, I was happy; the happiest I had been in the past months, I had reasons to: I passed all my subjects, my final proyect was almost done, and I was enjoying a dream with my friends. Harry was just a ghost from the past. 

"This's like a dream" said Florence while lying in her sleeping bag. We had 5 hours of concerts ahead, and we wanted to be as awake as possible. 

We all lay down, following her example. We breathed calmly amidst all the hustle and bustle outside.

"I forgot to tell you about Lewis. He and his friends are coming too" spat Isla. We all looked at her with a face of surprise. Was she telling us this right now? After more than 6 months talking about the festival? I took a deep breath, we would need a lot of patience to bear it. I didn't want to say anything about it, so I just took another sip of my beer while the atmosphere became tenser at times.

"You must kidding. You know they are a pain in the arse;  I haven't paid £ 450 to be with them 3 days in a row. If you want to be with them, then do it; we won't. We're staying here" Charlotte was looking for a look of approval. I winked at her so she could notice my opinion about it.

"Calm down, we've come here to enjoy. Don't argue, we can have a good time all together. It's alright" Florence lived in a continuous don't worry, be happy mood, which could make anyone nervous. Everything was peace and love, everything was positivism, until things didn't go as she wanted. 

"I agree with Charlotte, I won't stand them" I added. 

But as always, I was wrong.

After that, all the excitement of being there had almost completely volatilized. I didn't want to get mad at any of them, but I couldn't stand Lewis and all his minions; in fact only Isla did it. They were too much for me, too hooligans at times; they could get drunk with 3 beers and become the worst I had seen in a long time, honestly, I didn't feel like making a fool of myself thanks to them. Chris kept following me like a little boy to his mother, he was tiring. Since that time in The Ned he hadn't spoken to me, but strangely, now it seemed that he cared again.

"Then next year you'll finish university, right?" I looked at him in disbelief, he knew perfectly what the answer was. I looked at my phone shamelessly, it had been an hour without separating from me: his grandmother in Kent, the basketball team, macroeconomics, how difficult it was to take the tube near his apartment. I prayed that someone would get me out of there.

"No, this is my last year. I will start my PhD next year" I replied nonchalantly without looking at him. I expected him to realize how little I was interested in that conversation.

Like a sunbeam in the middle of London's rain, in the distance I could see a familiar face, too many people in our midst didn't allow me to know clearly who exactly it was. I apologized and tried to get away, it would have been the same if I didn't know who he was, just because I had gotten rid of Chris had been worth it. In the end, after getting lost in the crowd, I managed to recognize his face clearly; it was Niall.

He hugged me sweetly, he hadn't done it since that day at the Chicago airport. We had connected so much during summer that he even offered me a weekend in Ireland with his whole family and Harry at the end of the tour, but obviously, that never happened.

"Lacie, I didn't expect to see you here" Niall was one of the most smiling boys I knew, always had a smile for everyone. -I almost don't recognize you with curly hair- I felt proud that he had mentioned it. I had spent half an hour with Charlotte trying to make them look good.

"It's my first Glaston, we had just arrived so I still don't know much. I just know that my Wellies are already dirty" we both laugh.

"How's it going? We haven't seen each other for a long time" inevitably my smile disappeared.I counted the months in my mind as fast as I could. Since September, so almost 9 months. It seemed like an eternity.

"Well, I guess everything is the same as before. I'm still in college, living in Hammersmith, meeting my friends, you know. Nothing has changed" my voice rang in a discouraging tone that I didn't mean. "And you?"

"Just arrived from Sweden, in just a few days I must be in Helsinki, so I decided to take a mini vacation in Glaston."

"You don't have time to breathe, you must be exhausted" I was impressed, they really lived tour after tour, it had probably been years without traveling back home for more than a month. I thought I could never lead that rhythm of life. I wanted to ask him about Harry, but I didn't dare.

"Yes, the truth is that we haven't rested anything in recent years" he paused. "How are you, you know; everything about Harry?"

For a second, I wanted to tell him the truth. Everything I had been hiding for months, while I cried in my room looking our photos on my phone. But I didn't. I just smiled, made a shell that would protect me from any bullet with the name Harry Styles.

"Well, I'm fine" I appreciated wearing sunglasses that covered my eyes at that time; people always noticed when I lied through my eyes, they arched in a completely different way. "It was difficult to return to London after spending the whole summer with you in America, but it has been a long time. I hope he's fine too."

"Don't believe everything magazines say" he snapped. "Most of them just want to sell a headline shocking enough to earn more money" I don't know why I felt angry with his words. It had been 9 months, was he really saying all that right now? Niall trying to excuse Harry in front of my eyes, almost a year later. I noticed how the air was starting to fail, but I tried to hide it. No one but us knew everything that had happened. I was wondering what he would have told them about me. "She rejected some diamond earrings, can you believe it?" I thought with his voice in my head.

"That's none of my business anymore, I guess. At least I got my old life back" I replied laughing. Even trying to downplay the issue sounded ridiculous to me.

"Are you free on the 29th? I'm going to have a party at my house in Kensington. We haven't seen each other for a long time, I would like you to come."

"Of course, no problem, I'll be there."

Thank you so much everybody for your recent support!! Hope you like this chapter; sorry if it's a little short, but I have a lot of work from uni :( I'm very excited with this is story; the following chapters will be very interesting!!!

Pd: New tour dates for Harry will be available November 22th!!!! Are you going to any show?? I can't as he's coming to Europe during my exam season from uni. I'm very very sad about it. 

Lucy xx.