prom date | wroetoshaw

Book Shop Frenzy

For the purpose of this story, we are going to pretend that Harry and the Sidemen are like, Harry Styles type of famous. Just for the story :)

"You...brought me to a book shop?" He asks, holding onto my hand like instructed. I'd told him to close his eyes at the top of the street, but now that we stood right outside of the shop, I'd let him open them.

"I did. It used to be my favourite place. There's a cafe upstairs, though. That's where we're going," I tell him, getting ready to have to explain why I no longer liked the cosy little shop.

"Used to be?" He asks, and I knew it was coming.

"You said to take you somewhere I may associate bad memories with to make good ones instead. This shop here is a bad memory, but I don't want it to be."

"What happened?" He asks, following me up the narrow stairs that still, after all this time, never seemed to end.

"I was sat up in the cafe doing some work when I found out Will had been cheating on me. I tried coming back here a while after but I couldn't do it. By myself, anyway," I explain, finally reaching yh r top of the stairs, the cosy cafe coming in to sight. Books still lined the wall, and it had a Victorian sense about it. The shelves were made from a deep oak wood, bright and shiny like they'd been meticulously polished every day.

There were smaller tables and armchairs in the corner, and bigger tables with smaller chairs in the middle. I made a beeline for the corner table, right next to the fireplace - it never got switched on until five in the winter, which was when I tended to visit here when I did come.

"I don't read, but I'm willing to try it it means this will feel like your happy place again."

"I feel like the types of stories you'll like are those ones over there," I point over to the other side, where my attention turns to two girls who look like they're absolutely freaking out when we both turn to look at them. A strange feeling starts up in my stomach, but it's not the one I enjoy - it's one full of anxiety.

It confuses me, though, because they're not looking at me. Their gaze goes slightly to the left, and I soon realise they're staring at Harry. It then clicks. He's in public, he's well known on the internet - this shouldn't come as a surprise to me.

"They look excited," I say softly, turning back to Harry who looks reproachful. Almost guilty.

"Yeah," he says stiffly, looking anywhere but behind me.

"Are you alright? Do you wanna go? We can go if you'd like," I offer, but he shakes his head firmly.

"No. We can stay, make this place a good place. I just don't want to stay if you're going to feel uncomfortable. It usually starts off with two people saying hi, and before you know it you're bombarded," he explains, scratching his head awkwardly.

"If it gets too hectic we can leave, but I'm alright at the minute. It's just two girls," I say innocently. I had absolutely no idea.

"The minute it gets busy, we're out of here," he agrees, and the way he seems so certain that more people will come does make me become slightly on edge, I had to admit.

I left him in the corner, going over to the bookshelf myself, passing the two girls who immediately stopped talking when I walked past. I ignored it, picking a few books for him to choose from. I was just about to pass them again when one of them started talking to me.

"Excuse me - are you Harry's girlfriend?" The blonde one asked, her friend gasping at the question.

All I did was laugh a little. What was I even supposed to say without it sounding weird?