𝐊𝐈𝐒𝐒 𝐌𝐄, harry styles

thirty four ! irl

one and a half hour before the public launch,
somewhere in new york city

"mom, please, i am not going to kiss harry again, why are you so worried?'' sadie groans at the phone, struggling to keep up with her mom's constant reprimands and worries while applying another layer of her crimson lipstick with concentration. when the news broke out back in south korea, her parents were quick to contact her number and ask about details and justified explanations of what had occurred between her and the english musician. though she'd rather not go into deep with the controversial story since it's practically broadcasted everywhere online by now, she still decides to answer every question they bombarded her with, truthfully. despite her words being coated with nothing but pure honesty, sadie still has the utter urge to lie about it, and tell them that she slipped and their mouths smacked (excluding the part about the tongue action).

"honey, just be safe and protected when you have sex, okay?"

"mom!" sadie interjects, and she receives a series of chuckles from the other line as a response. they exchange sweet 'i-love-yous' before the call ends, and sadie is left with a slightly smudged lip and a flushed face. she grunts, surfing through her things to look for a make-up wipe until she hears the door unlock, and the previously empty (and exclusive) bathroom is now graced by the scent of pine with woody accents.

harry styles.

still in her velvet robe, sadie whips around to face him, "what the hell, harry?"

"i didn't know you were in here! there are, like, twenty other bathrooms inside this hotel, why are you here?" harry questions, furrowing his eyebrows, completely unbothered by the fact that sadie, his friend turned nemesis, was half-naked in front of him, "isn't this the mens' room?"

"the other bathrooms had too many people, and i offered to finish my make-up in peace," sadie defensively answers, turning back to face her reflection in the mirror, trying not to show her evident struggle to wipe off the excess lipstick on the corners or her lips.

"you still have something over there." harry motions to one corner of his lip, in a genuine attempt to help her out. when he notices how she's definitely missing the reddish spot, he sighs and moves forward until he was behind her shorter frame. instinctively, he grabs her cheeks with one hand and curtly wipes off the smudged lip paint with the other. as he gently brushes his finger against the corner of her lips, he feels his breath hitch at the back of his throat-who knew he could feel this nervous over a girl who the media swore would be his arch-enemy?

"i'm sorry to hear about you and kendall," sadie almost whispers, a hint of concern wrapped around her surprisingly gentle tone. she didn't find the need to yell or mock him. for once, she felt like he needed a friend to console him, and who was she to harry, if not a friend trying to patch things up between them for the first time?

"don't worry about it, it had to happen," harry deeply sighs, continuing to wipe off the excess until her skin cleared up with the crimson line. harry shakes his head, "anyways, i got most of it off, you should be ready to show your pretty little face outside now."

sadie nods, looking up at harry, and as he catches her gaze, he chooses to let his hand remain on the side of her face, feeling the blood rush to the surface of her cheeks until it began to warm up. he chuckles lowly, "you're blushing, sadie."

sadie turns redder and warmer, "what? no, i'm not.''

harry leans in until sadie could feel his lips hover above her ear. he gently whispers, "you are."

and without thinking too much about it, harry moves downwards and presses his soft lips against her neck, letting the feeling of his kiss linger for no longer than two seconds. he eventually pulls away, retrieving his hand from her face, and distances himself until he could perfectly see her stand still. sadie looks at him with bewilderment, "did you just kiss me?"

-----

five minutes before the public launch,
somewhere in new york city

the exclusively reserved streets of new york city are rapidly getting filled with fans and fashion critics, forming a massive crowd in front of a small stage, set up specifically for harry to sing a couple of his songs as a token for everyone's time and sacrifice. all the guests were cramped backstage, ignoring the heat of their close proximities as they continue to engage in jubilant  conversations. sadie, however, didn't mingle as much, mainly for two reasons: one being the fact that she's getting anxious at the sight of so many unfamiliar faces surrounding and watcher her, and second being the lingering feeling of harry's gentle kiss against her neck, just slightlu below her ear—she deems this as one of her weakest spots, which is why she felt an uncontrollable eruption of butterflies in her stomach.

she stays quiet, silently following protocols for guests until she was ushered outside to be introduced as one of the main ambassadors for the collection. the crowd bursts into loud cheers and hollers, and as soon as sadie steps out to see the busy street, she's met with an array of flashing cameras, almost blinding her on the spot but the words and questions escaping most of the paparazzi's mouth made her feel sick to her stomach.

they still wanted to know about the kiss.

she hated how they thought highly of their power and influence to apply tons of pressure towards her, even rushing her to make cryptic statements whether she's slept with harry or if harry has kissed her anywhere else. she hated the attention she's been receiving, but keeps silent—after all, bad publicity is still publicity.

sadie waves at the photographers taking bursts of photos, shooting positive comments towards her way so she could flash them a genuine smile. she retains her stoic facial expression, and just as harry begins to sing his songs, she's immediately bombarded with questions about their private relationship.

even if she could, she didn't know what the right answer was. what were they, really?

"sadie! over here! wave at us!" they holler at her, and sadie instinctively turns to them, waving with a forced small smile across her face. as her eyes surf the crowd for any sort of familiar faces, just to ease her worsening anxiety, her gaze lands on harry, smiling and goofing off a bit on stage. the crowd clearly loves him, and sadie wanted that for her too.

harry catches her staring, and surprisingly, a small graces his lips, and for a brief second, he sends her a small wave back. as he returns to singing and averts his attention from her to the cheering crowd, sadie can feel the blood rush to her cheeks; she hates how he can make her blush like that—it makes her feel as if she was under his spell, and she doesn't want him to let go of the hold he has on her.