Falling | h.s

fourteen

JANIE'S POV

It was midnight when Harry called me an Uber to take me back to my hotel. We spent the day putting together "Treat People With Kindness" with the help of his musical team and we couldn't be more in love with how it was turning it. When midnight finally rolled around, Harry practically pushed me out the door, telling me to go home and get some sleep. I was hesitant, because we only had a few days left together, and I wanted to make sure the music was as good as it could be before I left the state. But before I could protest, he had called me an Uber and herded me into it. 

When I got into the Uber I was shocked to see twenty text messages from Charlie in the past hour, the most recent one dating to only five minutes ago. Why was he awake? It was three am in Tennessee. They were all in gibberish, making it clear to me that he was incredibly drunk. Instead of trying to decipher his messages, I decided to call him. 

The phone rang twice before he picked up with a slurred "Helloooo?"

"Charlie? Babe?" 

"Jaaaaaanieeeee," he slurs out again with an excited tone. "My girlfriend!" I hold in a giggle, not wanting him to think I was laughing at him. 

"Hi, C. What's going on? You okay?"

"Just miss you," he sighs childishly. "Wanna hear what you're doing out there. Haven't heard from you in daaaaaays. I miss you."

"Yeah, I know, I'm sorry. I miss you, too. I've just been really busy," I say nonchalantly, hoping that he was too drunk to further question. 

"Busy doing what? You're just getting drunk and gossiping," he slurs out and I sigh. I don't want to lie to him, but I'm also exhausted and I'm worried he won't be happy that I've spent so much time with another guy.  

"Actually, babe, it's super exciting. I've been, uh, actually writing music out here. With a real musician," I exclaim and he makes a noise of confusion. 

"With who?" He says, his disapproval clearly evident in his voice. I pause for a moment. He'll be happy for me, right? This is my dream. 

"Harry Styles," I breathe out and Charlie goes quiet. 

"Harry Styles?" 

"Yeah," I nod instinctively. And then, he starts to laugh. It wasn't a drunken giggle or a laugh of disbelief, but rather a full belly laugh. Like what I had said was the funniest thing that he has ever heard. 

"Okay, what are you really doing out there," he says between laughter. 

"I'm being serious, Charlie!" I defend myself and his laughter only gets harder, this time elevating to a full cackle laugh. The Uber pulls up in front of my hotel and I flash the driver a tight smile before exiting the car. With Charlie's laughter still going strong, I decided to walk to the beach in front of our hotel rather than disturbing my sleeping friends. I take off my shoes and leave them on the sidewalk as I let the white sand envelop my feet. 

"You're being funny tonight," Charlie giggles and I sigh deeply, walking towards the water. 

"Charlie!" I exclaim, frustrated, and his laugh begins to subside, "I'm being 100% serious. I've spent the last few days working on his album with him. We've been in his studio and everything. Please stop laughing." I'm pacing back and forth on the white sand, trying to walk off some of the anger I can already feel building. 

"You're not kidding?" He asks. 

"I'm not kidding." 

"Okay, then. How did this happen?"