murder house / h.s

fourty one.

Avery's POV

Harry and I were sitting at the dinner table, eating breakfast. Not a word had been exchanged between the two of us since our quarrel at the store, yet we still sat across from each other and quietly ate our oatmeal. Out of the blue, my mother appeared from around the hallway's corner and slapped a newspaper on the table. Harry grabbed it before I did.

"Read it out loud." my mom egged on before it even looked like Harry got a chance to read it. I just glanced expectantly at him, waiting for the words printed on the paper to leave his mouth. But he didn't speak.

He slid it to me, and that's when I looked him in the eye for the first time in almost a day. There were dark rings around his eyes, and his hair was an unruly mess. It looked like he had been spending his whole night just fiddling with his hair, since he had spent it in the bathroom instead of my room.

"Well?" Mom said, rather impatiently. I let out an exasperated sigh and read the title, my hands shaking as every word sunk in.

"Pop star faked his death," I read. "Harry Styles, 21, was reported dead after the end of the 20th season of Murder House. Though the officials say he had met his demise, many eyewitnesses have seen him out in plain sight. Denise Roberts, 14, had an encounter with him at the grocery store. 'I know for sure it was him,' she says. 'He didn't deny it and he was wearing that same pair of Ray Bans'. Denise has proof of this, keeping his sunglasses with her ever since she has seen him. Why would he make up such a hoax?"

Harry just shrugged and took a sip of his coffee. It took everything within me not to lunge at him; to pin him down and slap some sense into him. I still, after all this time, failed to see why he wanted everyone to know about this. It only gave him even more bad publicity, and if he wanted to start the band back up this was the last thing he needed.

"You realize this is ruining your shot at the band." I told. The words slipped out without any true discretion from within. My eyes peered over to my mother, only to see she was giving me an approving smile-- like I was right.

But Harry did the opposite. His stare was cold, but I could tell he didn't mean it to be.

"I have to talk to you." he said lowly. "In private."

I nodded, and followed him back into my bedroom. I jumped in my place when he shut the door and locked it, but I was soothed somewhat when he gave me a consenting smile.

"We haven't talked in a day, just about." I said, only to break the ice in search of answers as to why. "Are you mad at me or something?"

Harry joined me, sitting on the bed. I couldn't say that I was upset with him, but something about the way he was behaving wasn't sitting right with me either. I was used to him acting sweet and kind, or dominant and protective. Now, he was just being arrogant and acting a prick; I hated to admit it.

"No." Harry finally answered. His jade eyes seemed to have a glint to them, like most people's eyes do when they are lying. I found it hard within myself to believe his words, so I gave him a fake smile and nodded.

"Well why haven't you spoken to me?" I asked him. It was hard not to cry, but I managed to hold it in. "Why haven't we talked?"

Harry looked straight into my eye, and I could feel the effect his gaze had on me down to the soul. His emerald eyes staring into mine made me feel like I was on another earth, and despite the circumstances I felt like I was falling in love with him all over again.

He snapped me from my thoughts with his unexpected words. "Because I was thinking." he said to me, which only made me scoot closer. It was my way of telling him to go on without actually having to say a word. "I was thinking about what you said. About people knowing."

I grinned. It had come to me that maybe he was finally realizing the gravity of the situation, and that he would start making efforts to make it look like he was no longer alive like before.

But I was wrong.

"And I was trying to think of the words to say it." he continued, and I could've sworn I felt my heart sink in my chest. I shouldn't have expected him to change his mind so easily because of a little fit I threw in the store. "But I wanted you to know that you're worth it. I don't need the band, or the money, or the fame. I don't need to be known for something good. Why should I care about what complete strangers think of me?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but he stopped me before even a syllable could get out.

"My future isn't in some band that I made millions with. That was a teenage thing. A thing of the past, a faze if you will. My future, and my entire life is with you. And I'm not letting anything get in the way of that."

A smile crept onto my features, since it was hard to contain it. Words couldn't explain my love for him, but words could certainly explain my luck. Actually, words could only explain how confused I was on the concept of luck.

"How did I deserve this?" I asked, in a state of disbelief. I had never thought for a second that Harry had liked me back, and here he was telling me that he loved me and wanted to spend the rest of his life was me.

No, it wasn't a proposal. I knew something like that wouldn't be heading our way for quite some time, and the thought set me at ease. I wasn't ready for something like that, though the thought was appealing.

But what really made it special was the matter of luck in the situation. It was nothing but fate that both of us signed up for what looked like a set up death trap. What would have happened if we were watching a different station and completely missed the commercial? What would have happened if Harry were to go to a different bar in his time of trouble and not see the ad? What would have happened then? Surely, one of us would have turned up dead. But we saved each other's lives, and for that I couldn't feel luckier.

Even though Spencer was gone, and the public was becoming aware of Harry's death hoax, I managed to find gratefulness and luck in the both of us. It may not have all been sunshine and blue skies, but I knew that soon it would be.

So as Harry scooted closer and closer until our lips touched and that soon escalated to something a little more than that, but not much more, the realization struck me.

My whole life was sitting right in front of me. Literally.

• • • •

ew the end is coming what a blessing and a curse :(:

I think I need to do short stories from here on out bc I can never fully stick to a full out one. I think I'm deleting 18 but I don't want to disappoint a lot of people. idk I'm torn.

but still saWYER IS SO HOT CAN WE DISUCSS THIs he may be a hillbilly but he can certainly hill my billies ;)

wtf