Forever (h.s.)

Chapter 26

Chappie 26: Drunk in Love
"Won't you come with me?" Harry whimpered, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear and sticking out my bottom lip. "Come on love, it'll be fun." I shook my head for what felt like the thousandth time, pulling his hand from my ear and holding it against my waist.
"I have my phone call with Fiona tonight, you know that," I told him. "And besides, that's not really my scene anyways."
Harry and the boys were headed to a club for a celebratory party, hosted by George and the rest of one direction's management, for the huge success of their promotional tour. Harry really wanted me to go, but I would much rather let him hang out with his friends and then have him to myself later on than sit around bored and crowded for three hours.
"Okay," he agreed sadly, leaning in for a kiss, maybe to make up for all the ones he thought he'd be missing by leaving me behind. I gave his curls a tug and practically had to push him out the door.
"It's already eight thirty, you'll be late," I scolded, squeezing his hand and giving Harry his keys.
"I love you!" he told me, just as his face disappeared from the doorway.
"You too, Harry," I said, smiling to myself and texting Fiona that I was free for our phone call. Waiting for her to respond, I tossed a load of laundry into the washer, stalked Facebook for a while, and all the while blasting little mix over the Bluetooth speakers that fame had bought Harry. Ever since Zayn had introduced me, claudia and rachey to perrie, we'd been absolutely addicted to their demo album. Little Mix's voices were heavenly powerful, their songwriting genius, and I had no idea how they weren't famous yet. But they were with us, practically idols.
Half an hour later, my phone rang. I dropped everything and curled up on the couch.
"Fiona! Hi."
"Hey! I miss you."
"You too."
Distance made the heart grow fonder, but it also made conversation lighter.
"So.....how's your man?" she asked cheekily, after a silence.
"Harry? He's fabulous, as usual. Left me all alone tonight for some party...." Fiona laughed, because she knew I was kidding. "Wanna know what kind of party it is?"
"Sure," she said, sounded confused and interested.
"Celebratory! Fiona, their tour went incredible, the boys are borderline superstars right now. Some girls came to our house the other day, just to see Harry!"
"Are you serious? That's amazing! I gotta call Liam and....." She trailed off. I knew the subject was sore, it had been just long enough since they'd been separated that it was supposed to be forgotten. I gave her a second to collect herself before speaking again.
"Their actual tour, like One Direction tour, should start right before Christmas. I'm flying you out, you're coming, no questions asked." I could hear Fiona's mood lighten as we started talking about the tour, being together again. I told her about Rachel and claudia, about perrie and Little Mix, about both my parents heading off into the sunset and my new living situation with Harry. It felt like old days, talking each other's ears off for half a lifetime, and before I knew it the clock read 11:37 and my phone was telling me I had a call on the other line. Thinking of Harry, I told Fiona to hold on and switched lines.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Sarah." To my surprise it wasn't Harry, but Liam. "So, Harry's in pretty rough shape over here..."
My stomach dropped. "Rough shape? Like what?!" My mind was reeling, picturing blood and broken bones and Harry's car wrapped around a tree.
"Don't worry, relax love. He's just drunk." Liam voice was so calming that the fact that he'd gotten drunk was irrelevant to the fact that he was okay. "It was all George, he was practically forcing them down his throat. The only problem is, I've got Lou, perrie, Niall and Zayn hitching rides and my car is full....d'you think you could come get him? He definitely shouldn't be driving, and he wants you more than anything besides."
I could hear Harry's voice in the background then, slurred and sleepy sounding. "Is that Sarah? Is it lovely? I want her, I need her here please, Liam, can you get her? I need her." I heard Liam murmur something in reply to Harry but I'd already told him I'd be there and hung up. Switching back to Fiona's line, I summed it up in a hurried voice. I was worried about Harry, but at the same time I was happy that he wanted me, no, needed me right then.
"Harry's gotten himself drunk," I told Fiona as I dialed the taxi company from the landline. I'd take it there and drive Harry's car back to the house. "Anyways, I've got to go get the baby. I'll text you later, okay?"
"Oh my gosh, tell him he's an idiot for me. Can't wait to see you, okay?" she replied, half laughing.
"You either. Love you! Bye!"
"See you soon."
I slipped on my boots, pulled Harry's sweatshirt over my head, and skidded outside onto the dark rainy street just as the taxi pulled up I'm front of me. I told the driver where to go and sat back. Just then, my phone vibrated with a call from Harry. Again I pictured death and gore but when I pulled my phone out of my pocket, it was a dozen voicemails from Harry with no more meaning than anything a drunk teenager could string together.
"Liam's telling me to stay put, don't wanna"
"There's seven red cars in this lot, that's more than the silver ones, isn't that weird?"
"I love you, when are you coming for me?"
"There's a statue of an angel over here, it reminds me of you"
"I think I see you! Oh.....nope, that's not you..."
The taxi pulled into the club's parking lot and I immediately saw Harry curled up on the doorstep, curls messy and t-shirt rumpled. He looked cold. Liam's car was parked two feet away, and the rest of the boys (plus perrie) were sat around it, taking and laughing. I went up to them and knew right away that Harry wasn't the only one a little off that night.
"You okay to drive?" I asked Liam, hoping for the best. He nodded.
"I don't drink much," he said earnestly. I smiled, and then laughed as he guided a slightly tipsy Niall into the backseat. "Thanks for coming to get Haz," Liam said. "See you around, I think Perrie's got some crazy couples thing planned for before we leave on tour."
"Sounds lovely," I teased, though I knew it would be. "Bye Liam, good luck with these....kids."
Zayn laughed from the passenger seat as Louis peeked out the window and called out to a nearby pigeon. "Kevin! Is that you?!" Niall, though he had no idea what Lou was talking about, burst out laughing.
"They need someone to look out for me like you do, Liam," I told him. "Best big brother ever." Liam grinned and gave me a hug before getting into the car and driving off.
"Love!" It had taken this long for Harry to notice I was there, and he came up to me slowly but with purpose. "I missed you." I caught him in my arms and held him steady against me, kissing his cheek only to smell the alcohol on his breath. He nuzzled his nose into my neck, then started to giggle.
"Can we get you home, angel?" I asked him, smiling in amusement. Drunk Harry was pathetic and hilarious at the same time.
"You're pretty," he told me slowly, trying to kiss me but tipping over halfway. Then he burst out laughing and stumbled into the side of his car.
"And you're crazy," I murmured to him, holding him steady again as I opened the door and pushed him gently into the passenger seat. He sat willingly until I'd made it halfway around the car, at which point he opened the door and fell out again.
"Owww," he told me sadly, standing back up and promptly starting to giggle again. I picked him up and brushed him off, grabbing his arms and facing him towards me.
"Let's get in the car Harry, okay? I wanna go home." Harry grinned lazily at me, then pouted.
"I don't want to, I wanna stay." He tried to pull away from me but I just laughed and pulled his weak body back my way. "Hey, let go of me," he whined.
"But I love you," I told him, and he turned back towards me with a childish grin. He nodded sweetly and kissed my cheek before obediently getting back into the car. "Thank you, angel."
The ride home was like a reality show happening right beside me. Harry told me endless knock knock jokes and laughed longer at himself than it took for him to slur the words out. Exhausted with himself, he curled up in the seat beside me. By the time I pulled into Harry's driveway, he was out cold. It had started to rain lightly again, and I was cold and shivering trying to wake Harry to get him inside.
"Harry, wake up, let's go inside." My teeth were chattering. He groaned and shifted slightly, lips parted in half-sleep. "Angel, please, it's freezing out here. Let me take you inside and cover you up." Harry rubbed his eyes and turned to face me, eyelashes fluttering open. His eyes were clearer like the alcohol was wearing off, but barely.
"Do I get cuddles?" he asked me so innocently, so sweetly, that I wanted to curl up beside him right then, in the seat.
"You'll get lots of cuddles baby, come on angel just come inside with me," I promised. Harry rubbed his eyes again and allowed me to help him out onto the damp dark street.
"Lots of cuddles from my lovely," he mumbled, taking my hand loosely in his long fingers, letting me lead him up the stairs and into the silent house. "I love you, Sarah. I love you, okay?" He offered me a messy kiss and this time I accepted, touching his lips with mine as I slid his jacket off his shoulders and dropped it to the floor. He was going slow and sleepily but still passionate, his hands sliding lazily around my waist.
"Okay," I whispered to him, and he grinned. Squeezing his hand, i led him upstairs and into the bedroom. He curled up on the blankets and tired to take me with him but I pulled reluctantly away, going to the dresser and tossing a pair of grey sweatpants at harry. When I returned from the bathroom after brushing my teeth, he was laying on his side wearing nothing more than sweatpants and my paper airplane necklace.
"You're pretty," I told him truthfully, and he bit his lip, fluttering eyelashes at me. He was less intoxicated now than he was exhausted, and it made him adorable and incredibly easy. I made my way around the room, changing into pj pants and a tank top. I could feel Harry's eyes on me every second, which got me thinking about things. About....big kid things. I was going to be seventeen in two days, but Harry had never brought up sex so neither did I. Maybe we just didn't need it right then to prove that forever with us was forever. But either way, I liked the way his sleepy eyes followed my exposed body as I replaced my t shirt.
Harry opened his arms without a word as I put down my hairbrush and switched off the light. Without a word, his inexplicably warm skin curved around me and he wrapped a strong arm around my waist. Without a word, his curls fell over my neck as he nuzzled into me and fell asleep.
The next morning I woke up when the sun did, streaming through the curtains at 8:30 am. It was Saturday, the day before my birthday, and Harry styles was hungover and draped across me like a blanket. I could have woken up laughing. I did giggle to myself a little as I left Harry fast asleep and snoring lightly to go and make him some coffee. As I waited for the comforting smell (though I didn't really drink the stuff) to fill the kitchen, I checked my phone. Claudia, Rachel and I had created a group chat that we were on constantly, and this morning there was an emoji-littered message from Rachel.
"What're we doing for your birthday??????"
"Don't know," I replied. "All I want is you guys to come over, and some food."
I knew it was too early to expect rachey online, so I left my phone on the counter and started pouring hot coffee into a mug for Harry. As if on cue, I heard footsteps as he shuffled into the kitchen still wearing nothing more than he was last night.
"Good morning, sunshine," I said quietly, watching as he recoiled from the light in the window and fell into my arms from where I was sat on the countertop. He rested his head on my shoulder and left it there, breathing softly into my neck, his arms finally sliding around my waist as he kissed me gently before pulling away.
"I feel like crap," he informed me, running two hands through his hair before stretching his arms over his head.
"I made you coffee," I said, holding out the steaming cup to him. Harry took it willingly and pressed the mug to his pink lips without actually drinking it. Then he lowered it again, giving me adoring eyes and tilted head.
"Thank you lovely," he said quietly, sincerely. I smiled at him and he returned it. Then Harry stepped between my knees again, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. He tucked my messy hair behind my ear, and stayed there for ten minutes as he finished his coffee. Then Harry seemed to think of something and he started to giggle, then looked at me and asked:
"How bad was I last night?" I snorted and reached back to retrieve my phone. Without another word I played for him all the ridiculous messages he'd left me the previous night, his words just as slurred and adorable as I remembered them. Harry's cheeks flushed a little in embarrassment, and by the end his head was in his hands. I picked it up gently with a handful of silky curls and he looked sheepishly at me.
"Angel, it was the cutest thing I'd ever seen." His eyes lit up, a small smile turning up the corners of his lips.
"Yeah?" I nodded in reply, and he gave me a dimpled smile, his head dropping to my shoulder again. "I'm sorry," he told me, to which I only giggled and kissed him again.
The next day I slept inexplicably late only to find that Harry was already gone from the bed. I got up slowly, brushing my teeth and pulling on Harry's sweatshirt over my leggings, and then finally heading to the kitchen.
"Surprise!!!!" I jumped three miles high and let out a squeal, falling back into Harry's waiting arms. Niall, Rachel, claudia, Louis, Zayn, and Liam has popped out of various furnitures and Rachel was now pelting me insistently with balloons and streamers.
"Happy birthday, love," Harry murmured into my ear.
"Happy birthday, sayruhhhhh!" the gang echoed. I grinned, still a little worked up from the jump scare, but happy to see them all.
"Thanks you guys," I said, giving whoever showed up a hug before sitting down at the counter to see it piled with presents and food. "Thanks very much," I repeated, smiling widely and allowing Harry to take my seat and pull me into his lap.
"Presents or food first?" Liam asked.
"Presents," everyone shouted, except for Rachey and Niall, who called, "Food!" Then they laughed and stared adoringly at each other until Niall leaned in for a kiss. Everyone giggled at them but Claudia got us back on track by pushing a large purple-wrapped box at me.
"Who are you from?" I asked the present, checking for a tag until I found Louis' name scribbled on the bottom. I gave him a grin and ripped open the paper to find a t-shirt with the words "well-behaved girls seldom make history" scrawled across the front.
"It's lovely," I told him, laughing and letting claudia hand me another gift. This one had "love Zayn and perrie" on the tag in neat script, which made me ask:
"Where is perrie, by the way Zayn?"
"She wanted to be here, but she and the girls had some sort of meeting with a manager a few towns over. She sends love though," he replied with a smile.
"That's so cool," I said. "I really hope Little Mix gets famous soon, then I'll have lots of celebrity friends when I'm old and poor." There was a silence, then everyone cracked up. "That's not the only reason," I insisted, but the moment had passed and everyone's attention was on Zayn and Perrie's present. As I started to open the paper, Harry's hand slid around my waist and tugged at the wrapping himself.
"Hey!" I slapped his hand away and he giggled into my shoulder. He did it again and I held his hand far away from my present as I tried to open it with my left hand. Harry squirmed away from me and pulled the bow from the top, pulling me against him and sticking it on my forehead. I laughed and steadied myself.
"Are you done?" I asked him, still giggling. He kissed my shoulder in return. "I thought so."
The rest of the day was a blur of good things. I opened the rest of the presents, all hilarious and perfect gifts I never would have thought to ask for. We spent the morning in the park, playing soccer in the chilly air and warming up with soup in a cafe when it got to be too much. Then I went off with Claudia and Rachel. They took me back to Claudia's house for movies and skittles all afternoon, then we went out and pretended we knew how to bowl for two and a half hours. I was exhausted and happy when we finally dropped me back off at Harry's.
"Happy birthday!" Claudia and Rachey called from the window as the car drove away. "Love you!"
I opened the door and immediately smelled cinnamon. Or was it nutmeg? The lights were low and I walked, confused, through the foyer to see Harry standing shyly by the counter wearing a t-shirt and jeans, but a look in his eyes that told me this was special. He'd set up candles on the countertop, and a plate of ginger cookies (my favorite) sat waiting.
"Happy birthday, lovely," he said lowly, his eyes fixed on me as I left my coat on the ground and ran into his arms. He held me tight and when he brought me up to kiss him, he tasted like ginger.
"You've already eaten some of my birthday, haven't you?" I scolded, and he bit his lip before laughing.
"Oops."
"I love you," I told him softly. He nodded before leaning down to kiss me for real, dropping his jaw against mine as I tugged on his curls. We pulled part far too soon, but I knew he had a "secret" plan I had to follow along with. Harry pulled out my stool and then sat across from me.
"I have something for you," he told me. I looked up from my cookie with sparked interest. He pulled a small silver box from under the table and for half a second, my mind called out "engagement ring" but the thought was washed away as quick as it came when I opened the box.
It was a necklace, a delicate silver with twisting branches that came down to form a word...."forever". My jaw dropped as I watched it sparkle in the candlelight.
"Angel it's...perfect. I love it."
"You do? Yeah?" His voice was heavily accented and eager, like every ounce of his soul counted on pleasing me with this present. I nodded and he grinned proudly. Then Harry stood, came up behind me, and moved my hair to one side as he clasped the necklace around my neck. Then he kissed me right below the jaw and just held me there, lips barely touching my skin, arms around my waist, mine on too of his.
"You're everything to me, you know that right?" I could feel every loving word echo off my skin.
"Yes," I told him. He smiled, letting out a sigh. "I love you, Harry Styles." Harry said nothing, but he spun my stool around and caught me in his arms. His lips hit mine with a passion inflamed by the candlelight and the necklace and everything we'd ever said, and my body followed his to the couch where he lay me down and dropped his lips to my neck. Each warm kiss made me dig my hands deeper into his curls because I loved the way it made his breath stutter.
His forearms on each side if my head, Harry's lips trailed up the neck, behind my ear, and back up to my mouth. I kissed him back with more meaning than I ever had, and I think he felt it too because before long his breath was unsteady and he could barely pull himself together to kiss me. Harry's tongue dragged lazily along my bottom lip and he finally lay down beside me, his head on my collarbones, curls spilling over my neck. His long fingers traced circles on my stomach, making me giggle and tense up my muscles. But soon I was used to it and I felt myself drifting off, my hands gently playing with Harry's curls.
"I love you," he told me, his voice low and sleepy.
"You too, angel."