Early Morning Glory | Harry Styles AU

/16/ worries worries worries

"So when is this happening?" I looked over at my brother as I took a sip from my coffee.

We were on our way to our first jeweler of the day after stopping at one of my favorite bodegas to grab a coffee and a bagel.

"Next week, probably. If I can wait that long." He laughed lightly.

"You know what she wants, right? Like, round or square, gold or silver, extra bits or simple?"

"Yeah—or at least I think I do." He ran a nervous hand through his hair, "I remember her mentioning something about only wearing gold jewelry."

I nodded, "That's a start. Anything else?"

"Something about art decor? I don't know, she showed me a picture of some girls antique ring a few weeks ago and was talking about how it was old—like, from the thirties or something."

"You mean 'art deco'?" I smiled and tried not to laugh because I knew he was trying.

"Yeah, that was it, I think."

I threw my arm around his shoulder, or tried to, but he was several inches taller than me, "You are so lucky I'm helping you."

He nudged me in the ribs, "Don't make me regret asking." He failed to hold back his smile.

Everrett had called me yesterday to tell me that he had decided that he was finally going to ask his girlfriend Abby to marry him and asked if I could help him pick out a ring as soon as possible. I obviously agreed and was extremely excited that Abby was going to become a permanent part of our lives. She was so much like Everrett that her and I got along perfectly, but she didn't have any of his annoying parts which meant she never bothered me. Over the past three years, I had come to see her as a sister and I was so excited for them both.

We had a list of jewelers to get to—a long list—and Ev was insistent on finding a ring today since he was super impatient to ask her.

The first one we went to was close to my place, but had nothing that looked remotely art deco or antique like. The second one had rings that were way too over the top for the kind of girl Abby was, and the third has a few promising finds, but were way out of Ev's current price range.

"Did you research any of these places before adding them to the list?" I said with a sigh after we walked out empty handed again.

"No," he said meekly. When I gave him my classic 'are you kidding me' glare, he said, "I didn't think I had to! I figured they would have a, you know—an array!"

"Men are fucking useless," I rolled my eyes and mumbled as I walked ahead of him towards the subway to get to our next stop.

***

We were standing at the counter of our fifth jeweler when my phone vibrated against the glass counter, making the entire thing rattle. I glanced and saw Harry's name and picture fill the screen before quickly ignoring it and apologizing the man in a suit, staring at me over his very expensive-looking glasses.

The man moved to go and grab some rings he though Ev would be interested, disappearing behind a dark wooden door and Ev turned to me, "Just call him back, Aud. It's the third time he's called, so he obviously has something important to tell you."

"No, we're supposed to be spending time together. We rarely do this anymore and this is important. He can wait. It's probably nothing."

"Have you guys...you know?"

I gave him a confused look, "What?"

"You know..." he checked behind him for the man before forming one of his hands into an 'O' and sticking his pointer finger through it."