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Someday, it could be more than we intended
"Can I help you with anything?'' Avery jumped at the sudden voice and felt her heart start to race. The middle-aged man behind the counter of the vinyl store was looking in her direction with a raised brow.
"Yeah," She nervously plays with the hem on her cardigan. "I need a present for a... friend."
He nods and rounds the corner of the counter, making his way towards her. "What does he listen to?"
"I don't know... But he is turning 22," Avery stammers as the man starts to sift through several boxes filled with old vinyl. "And he is called Harry." She adds quickly before realizing that his name says little to none about his music taste.
He sighs and pulls out a colorful record. "Well, everyone likes the Beatles I guess, but I only have two of their albums."
"Do you think he already has it?" She asks, still studying the bright cover.
The guy frowns at her before sighing again. "I don't know, it's in their top three, and if he likes the Beatles he probably does."
"And that one?" she points at another brightly colored album cover. Since Avery didn't know much about the music she decided to go with a pretty one.
"That's Elton John, not very good in my opinion, but he has an album with a Beatles song on it."
She takes the vinyl and flips it around to look at the tracklist. One of the tracks was titled I'm Going To Be A Teenage Idol which, at least in her opinion, fits well with her with Harry's I'm a rockstar exclamation. "I will take this one." She smiles handing it to the cashier.
The guy nods and makes his way back behind the counter to ring it up. "Should I wrap it up?" He asks while Avery searches her bag for her wallet.
"No, thank you. I'm going to."
"I was kidding."
"Oh, sorry."
~
It was half-past seven when Avery left the second-hand vinyl shop and made her way back to her flat. She could have bought the present earlier, but she had only decided this morning that she was going to go to the party. After reading Harry's letter she thought he was mental. Parties weren't Avery's scene, but this morning unjustified guilt overcame her and she decided to go.
At home, she wraps the record in wrapping paper she had bought while she was out. It was brown with little bees sprinkled all over it, in the store she thought it was cute but now that she is looking at it, it seems quite childish. "Well, you've got nothing else to use, so this will just have to do." She whispers to herself.
She decided on wearing a pair of jeans and a red sweater, hoping that Harry's flat would be warm because she despises the cold. With the bee wrapping paper covered vinyl under her arm and her keys and tube card in hand, she leaves her flat at eight o'clock.
~
Saying that Avery was just nervous when she hopped off the tube in Farringdon was a huge understatement. Farringdon is at the border of the city of London, where everything was very nice and incredibly expensive, she had never felt more out of place.
Ignoring her racing thoughts about all of this she makes her way out of the tube station, following the directions on her phone until she is stood outside a very pretty house. The music and flashing lights coming from the windows on the third floor was a sure sign that she was in the right place.
Avery opens the door, gripping the present a bit tighter. They'll think you're stupid. Why would you go for the bee wrapping paper? That's so childish. They'll laugh at you.
She keeps her gaze on the floor, stumbling up the stairs until she is standing in front of a dark green door, decorated with three balloons. While Avery is still debating whether she should ring the doorbell or knock, someone shoves her from behind. She stumbles forward, nearly crashing into the door. The couple gives an apology before they disappear into Harry's flat.
The girl takes a few steps back from the green door. "I can't do this," Avery mumbles. "I can't do this... No. I can do this. It's just a party." She takes a deep breath before entering the flat.
Inside she is immediately greeted by many flashing lights and a lot of people. Most of them are talking to one another, some are dancing. She spots the couple who had accidentally shoved her in the corner of her room making out. The smartest thing is to find Harry first so she could get rid of the present as soon as possible.
Luckily Harry isn't far from her, as she spots him just across the room. As she makes her way to him her nerves What up again. He is standing around and talking to multiple people, two tallboys and a shorter brunette girl. Just the thought of talking to him around them made Avery unexplainably nervous.
As Harry turns around there is an eminent frown on his face until he sees Avery. His smile grows and two dimples make an appearance on his cheeks. "Avery the journalist! I can't believe you made it." He steps forward, immediately wrapping his arms around her tiny frame, he feels her stiffen and contract inter herself, but just brushes it off.
"Hey." She nervously says, her hands gripping the vinyl tighter and tighter by the second. Her gaze moves to the three people around them, sending them a polite smile. The two guys smiled back at her while the girl just simply stared her down.
"What's that?" The brunette asks, nodding towards Avery's hand.
"A present, Jo. What else would it be?" Harry snaps back. "I'll see you guys in a bit." He adds before lightly gripping Avery's arm and leading her to the kitchen. The kitchen was way less crowded, there were far less people and the music isn't as loud.
"Present time!" Harry cheers. The big toothy smile on his face warms Avery's heart. It had been a long while since anyone appreciated her presence to any extent.
"I... I couldn't find any other wrapping paper... I'm sorry. I know it's kinda... ugly and-"
"I love it. Avery. It's cute." he smiles, carefully peeling the tape off the paper to avoid ripping. As if he was going to use it again. As soon as he pulled the record out of the wrapping, she couldn't help but start rambling once again.
"I don't know much about music so I wasn't too sure about what was good, but I liked the song titles. I thought the Teenage Idol one fit you quite well."
Harry watches her with a grin on his face. "Calm down. I love it, Okay? Elton John is the king of the piano. It's a great present. I really love it. Thank you."
He pulls her into another hug, and this time Avery doesn't stiffen.
I don't usually update on Tuesdays, but this is my apology for the two weeks I didn't upload anything♥️✨🦋
