What we become

17. Graduation

Graduation day had finally arrived. I could see mum and dad waiting in the auditorium, talking with Jess's parents. There were two empty seats beside them; reserved for Harry and one bodyguard. I was watching from the wings of the stage, hidden behind the curtains when he arrived.

He was dressed in Chelsea boots, dark skinny jeans and a plain white shirt; his signature look. His hair pushed back effortlessly, not a curl out of place, he strolled in looking around briefly, the hint of a smile on his face as his eyes met my parents. They waved him over, and he joined them, ignoring the fact the whole auditorium had gone completely quiet in his presence.

The last three days were spent predominately in the ocean; surfing, swimming, and collapsing on the sand to kiss and sleep and talk. Jess was mainly by our side as we were out, but she never came back to the hotel with us; that was time for Harry and I to be alone. We were completely absorbed in one another; getting to learn every facet of one another in the most intimate way possible. We built a connection that ran as deep as the blood in my veins.

Those days were, without a doubt, the most perfect days of my life. We were often followed by paparazzi and hordes of screaming fans. A few times, we got stuck inside a shop and had to be rescued by Harry's security team. He seemed so at ease with it, so comfortable with the lack of personal space and the flashing cameras in his face. I wasn't sure if I could ever get used to that kind of attention. But Harry was born to be a star; from his charismatic personality, to his beautiful face and body, to his soulful, sultry voice. There was nothing about him that was ever intended for a normal, average life; he was born brighter than the sun. 

"Quite the entrance," Jake said as I took my place in the line beside him, and I smiled. Even on my graduation day, Harry unwittingly stole the show, but I didn't mind. I was happy to share my life with him and I knew what to expect now.

We were called out in alphabetical order to receive our high school certificate. There were 200 of us to get through, but thankfully my name was one of the first to be called. I shook the Principal's hand as I accepted my certificate and I heard Jess, mum, dad and Harry all cheering loudly as I did so. I blushed, gave a small wave, and focused on making it down the stage stairs in one piece. Jess smacked me playfully on the arse as I walked past her to take my seat in the auditorium. A moment later, Jake joined me. He was smiling from ear to ear.

"We did it," he cheered quietly, and I smiled in return.

"Hey," he leaned over. "I'm having a party tonight, if you wanted to come? Your fella is welcome too."

"I can't, sorry." I replied apologetically. "We are heading to dinner with my parents, then we have a flight to catch at eight."

"A flight?" he asked, sounding interested. "Are you guys going on holiday?"

"No," I replied, "I'm actually moving to England."

"Wow," he breathed. "With Harry?"

I nodded, hesitantly. I was aware I was uprooting my life for a guy I had just met, and a famous one that had a reputation as notoriously moving through women quickly at that. 

"Well that's really cool, Ella." He smiled again and seemed genuinely happy for me. I felt a little piece of me relax and realised I had been holding my breath. I hadn't told many people my plans; I was worried about what people would think of me, packing up my life on a whim and following a guy, whom I had only just met, all the way to the other side of the world to be with him. "You have to check out Greece, Croatia and Spain while you're over that way. They were my absolute favourite places when I went through Europe last year with the folks."

"Yeah?" I asked, genuinely excited. "Why is that?"

"The people, the place, the culture." He exhaled and turned to me with a smile that lit up his eyes. "It's just magical."