The Photographer - h.s

The stars

Vic

The song is playing except it sounded different this time as it felt like we traveled down the road faster than ever before.

"You are the only exception..." except this time it wasn't a woman's voice, it was Harry's. His voice sang the song beautifully as my dad and I sang loudly. And then... the collision. The sound of metal tearing metal apart. The sound of the truck's horn held down. The feeling of blood running down my face. I looked beside me to see me father hanging in his seat, without movement, I look around panicked looking at witnesses running to come save us, I turn to him and I see his long curly hair hanging low, his green eyes stuck open, blood covering his face.

"...Harry?..... Harry?!"

I sat up quickly and fought to catch my breath, one hand clenching the sheets, and the other,  his arm. He gently stirred, and peeled his eyes open. When he saw me sitting up he quickly pushed himself up and turned on the lamp on the table beside him putting a hand on my back.

"Hey hey hey.... hey, angel." He said quietly and wrapped his arm around my back and pulled me into the side of his body as I caught my breath. I sat up and shrugged him off, I didn't want him to sit here and try coddling me. He put his hand softly on my back again and he ran it up and down my back. "Are you okay?" He asked and I clenched my jaw and my breathing started to get heavier.

"Harry..." I said and he shifted beside me and grabbed my hand in his, I slipped my hand out and ran it through my hair instead.

"Vic..." he said hesitantly and I let my head hang low. "Victoria... look at me." He said softly and I closed my eyes for a moment. I didn't want to look at him, I don't want to be here right now, I wanted to lay back down and disappear, I feel so... vulnerable right now. I feel very open and exposed. I feel so small and I hate it. I shook my head as the headache set it, the pounding becoming louder and louder. "Baby..." he said softly, the light has become to bright in the corner causing my to squint a little. Harry took his hand from my back and leaned away and turned the lamp off before leaning back.

I slowly turned my head and looked up to him. He was staring at me, but not with pity or anger for waking him up. He was looking at me with a soft expression coated in concern and comfort. He wasn't looking at me like someone who just saw him dying in a dream- no... this was compassion. He pushed away form my face and tucked it behind my ear and leaned closer to me.

"It's okay." He said just above a whisper and placed a hand on my cheek offered me a small smile and nodded once at me before I let my body fall into his. I rested my head on his chest as he wrapped his arms around me, running his hand up and down my arm. All I can think about are his comforting words and the warmth of his touch.

"Do you wanna try going back to sleep?" He asked and I bit at the inside of my check and shook my head. He nodded and leaned in, kissing the top of my shoulder. "Are you up to go look at the stars?" He asked and I the corners of my mouth turned up and I looked up to him and nodded. "Yeah?" He asked smiling and I nodded again and smiled. We got out of bed and I turned to grab my colorful patchy sweater and I picked it up in my hand and I could see Harry looking at it. I threw it at him and he caught it in his arms and looked at me.

"You can wear it. I can tell that you want to." I said smugly and he smiled and skipped his arms into it and buttoned up the large wooden buttons. It looked way better on him. I grabbed a foresty green sweatshirt off his chair that said "obsession" on the front and threw it over my head. I followed him out of the room and to the door leading to the garage. We slipped on our shoes and we got into his black SUV. I brought the seatbelt over my shoulder and buckled it in place and looked over at Harry who was just looking at me with a small smile.

"What?" I asked and she tilted his head and leaned in and gave me a quick kiss and smiled at me before putting his seatbelt on and starting the car. His presence felt so full, we sat in silence as he drove, soft music playing from the radio filling the space.

"Arlo let me pet him a few days ago." I said and looked over at him as a large smile broke across his face.

"It's because he knows you're good." He said gently and I smiled and looked at my hands. He always knows exactly what to say, he knows how to make me blush and how to make my heart swell.

We climbed up the last stretch of hill and approached the ledge overlooking the lights. The black sky was an amazing contrast for the limited buildings that were still functioning at 3am. He walked up beside me and we stared out at the view. He brushed his pinkie against mine and hooked them together before intertwining our fingers. It was such a soft gesture, something he's done several times before, when he wasn't sure what our boundaries were. It was hard to believe how comfortable I feel with him, with someone I've known for only almost 5 months- it's felt like so much longer.

"See that?" He asked and pointed out at an area to the left. "That would be a pair of roommates staying up way too late, drinking wine and watching cheesy reality shows." He said and the image he painted in my mind made me smile. It reminded me of Soph and I when I first started my job, we used to stay up all night drinking wine coolers and making margaritas and watched 'The Bachelor' together. I miss those nights with her and I need to make a date with her soon for another.

"And that one, is a little boy turning on the light in the kitchen because he woke up and needed some water so he's sneaking a snack while he's at it." I said while pointing at in a different direction and he smiled and nodded before pointing again.

"And that, that is is a girl that's stayed up late, working on projects for her job to get ahead for the next day. She has no idea just how important she is to the people around her, or just how big of an imprint she makes on the people she meets. She is... beautiful, inside and out. She's... she's lovely." He said softly and looked over to me as we stared at each other. His eyes glanced down to my lips and back to my eyes before he leaned in and kissed me softly. It wasn't like the kisses we've shared before, this wasn't rushed or held back. This was slow and full, it was passionate and earth turning.

This moment was everything. I felt so present with him, like we were the only two people in the city. He was right...about this spot. It was a place to go feel just as big or as small as you needed. To be honest with who you are. This spot was his, this spot is important to him, but it's important to me now too. This is the spot and this is the moment where I knew that I love him. I am in love with Harry Styles, and it it is the only thing echoing through my mind as I stare at his beautiful complexion in the dim glow of the city.