Don't Forget Me (Harry Styles)

Chapter Four - Dinner

I’ve decided I’m going to update this story on Mondays or Tuesdays, so that’s going to be my schedule. This chapter isn’t very long as I expected it to be, but I thought it would be better to just leave it there. Please comment and vote, I really like to know what you think about this story so far and I don’t exactly appreaciate silent readers..

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Chapter Four - Dinner

I was nervous. Dead nervous. I could feel my hands trembling as I looked out the window, waiting for our guests to arrive. Who was I kidding? I was looking forward to seeing Harry again. But I was still mad at him, and I would be mad at him for quite a while. I couldn't just let him get way with it. He had this way of getting to people with his eyes. The way they shine when he's sad or the way he pouts when he needs something. He could make me forgive him even if I didn't want to ever forgive him. What he had done didn't deserve forgiveness anytime soon. He needed to know what I went through for himself. As desperate as I was to be his best friend again,  I needed to be strong and resist the temptation. Of course I missed him. I missed his hugs. I missed our sleepovers. I missed our jokes. I missed everything.

I snapped out of my thoughts and I realised he could be arriving any minute now. I skipped out of my room, heading for the kitchen to ask my mother if she needed any help. She was taking the lasagne out of the oven and setting it over the table.

"Hey mom, need any help?" I chirped gleefully.

“No, I’ll be alright on my own, dear. But please open the door for our guests when they arrive, alright?” she whispered in return. I nodded and exited the kitchen without another word. Just as I was about to go back to my room and wait, I heard a faint ding-dong coming from the front door.

“They’re here! Open the door, Emily! I’ll be there to greet them in a second!” my mom screeched, sounding a bit demanding. I walked to the door and stood on my toes, peeking through the tiny peephole on the door. I glanced at the four figures at the other side of the door before swinging it open.

“EMILY! Oh my, we haven’t seen you in ages! We missed you!” Anne mused cheerfully as she pulled me into a warm hug. “I missed you too! I’m so happy to see you again!” I assured her, pulling away to greet her husband. Robin pulled me into a small hug, repeating some of the things Anne said with a reassuring smile. Behind him was Gemma with her arms wide open, waiting for me to jump into them.

“Emily Knox, you are a terrible friend!” she stated as I buried my head into her chest, hugging her tight. “We live across the street from each other and we haven’t spoken in what? 3 months? I hate you!”

“I’m sorry Gem, I really am! I don’t know what happened, I’ve been a bit off lately, that’s all!” I stated, laughing as I pulled away from my friends arms.

“I forgive you this time, but this is the last time!” she finished, following her mother inside.

Before my eyes stood a tall boy, much taller than I remembered him. He was looking down, avoiding my eyes. I took a step forward and cleared my throat.

“Hi,” I whispered, frowning slightly as I waited for the green-eyed boy to look up. To my surprise, he looked up, meeting my gaze. Be strong, I reminded myself, don’t give in.

“Hi Em, you alright?” he mused, forcing a smile. He had changed a lot since the last time I saw him. His hair was longer, so he had a bigger curls. He was a lot taller, and he looked skinnier, too. His cheeky smile was definitely the same as always, and his still shined just the way they did six months ago.

I nodded, going back inside with Harry following behind me. Our families were waiting for us at the table, minus my mother who was still in the kitchen.

My mom patted the vacant spot beside her, indicating me to sit by her side. As long as I didn't have to sit next to Harry, I didn't really mind my seat. Harry was sitting right across the table from me, between Gemma and Anne. I wasn't next to him, but I was in front of him instead. Great.

"Well, what are you all waiting for? Dig in!" my father bellowed excitedly. And with that, everyone started off with their portion of lasagne.

The meal was full of stories and laughter as we shared the latest events in our lives. The conversation was mainly about Harry's new life style and how he's coping with it. Apparently he was really happy and proud of himself, but at the same time he missed his "normal life". He said he loves his fans more than anything and all the support he gets means a lot to him, but sometimes it's annoying to have them following him around everywhere he goes. Fame means letting go of your privacy. Fame means letting go of almost everything. A new idea was circling around my head. Was that why Harry decided to stop talking to me? Because of fame? Did I mean nothing to him anymore?

Robin's voice brought me out of my thoughts.

"Why don't you kids go upstairs and catch up on all you've missed? It's been months since you last talked face!" he suggested with a grin. No, I answered inside my head. But I couldn't just tell everyone I didn't want to talk to Harry on my own, they would notice something is going on. My brother, who was the only one who knew about what was going between me and Harry sent me a reassuring smile, indicating me to follow Robin's advice. I got up and thanked my mom for the meal, pushing my chair back under the table. I headed up to my room without even making sure Harry was following after me. He knew how to get to my room anyway. I sat down on my bed as Harry walked in, closing the door behind him. He turned to look at me, his green gaze burning into mine. Then whispered the only words I wanted to hear from him.

"I'm sorry" he whispered, sitting by my side. His expression was honest, sincere. He really meant it, and I could see that. But "I'm sorry" wasn't enough. I didn't even want to hear the rest of it. He could save his explanation for someone else. He opened his mouth to continue, but my hand stopped him.

"Save it, Harry. I don't care," I mumbled coldly, getting up. I turned around to look out my window when his arm turned me back so I was facing him.

"Please, Em. Just hear me out, will you?" he pleaded, his eyes shining as if trying to fight back tears. Don't give in, I reminded myself. I shook my head and pulled away from him. I was about to break into tears, but I resisted. I promised myself to be strong.

"Emily, please. Just listen to me, I can explain," he begged, resting his hand on my shoulder.

"I said I don't want to hear it, Harry," I replied without even looking at him.

"Fine," he finished, storming out of my room. I sighed, staring at the open door, expecting Harry to come back in. But he didn't.

"Alright, what's going on between you and Harry? I can see something's wrong" my mom inquired, bursting into my room without a warning. I didn't even move a muscle.

"Emily, tell what happened," she asked me once again, sitting on my bed. There was no point in keeping this a secret anymore, so I told her. I told her everything. I told her about Harry avoiding my calls and how that made my feel. When I finished, tears were already rolling down my cheeks.

"Harry was stupid, doing that to you was wrong. But your reaction wasn't right either. You need to listen to what he has to say," she mused. "Everyone deserves forgiveness," she added with a smile. I nodded. It felt so relieving to tell her everything. I felt like I pushed all the weight and hard feelings off my shoulders. So I decided that if Harry comes back to try explain, if he even comes back, I'm going to let him share his explanation. My stood up, giving me a small pat on the back and left my room, leaving me on my own again. She was right, everyone deserves forgiveness. Everyone deserves a second chance. Harry was getting his second chance, and I just hope he doesn’t blow it. I hope he doesn’t come up with some lame excuse like “I lost your number” or “I was too busy”. There are many other ways of reaching me other than my phone and he couldn’t have been busy twenty four/seven for six months. So I decided to wait for him to try to talk to me again and if he doesn’t, I’ll try to reach him to hear him out myself. Harry Styles deserved a second chance.