I'm Right Here- SWM Sequel (Harry Styles)

Chapter 6:

Our group is leaving at 7 this Monday night. I wake up around 1PM after getting 6 hours of sleep from around 7AM. Taylor is laying in bed beside me when I wake up and she's playing with my curls aimlessly as she watches a show on the TV. I give her a kiss on the cheek 'good morning' and get out of bed to get changed. When Taylor goes into the bathroom to take a shower, I jump up from the bed as run next door to Bear's room.

When I open the door, I observe that the bed is empty. Panicked, my eyes look to the mirror next to the bathroom and see Bear brushing her hair with a smile. I sigh out a smile, happy to know that she's okay. She humming a song as I walk up behind her and I don't realize what the song is until she turns around to face me while running the brush through her head and she sings-

"And let me kiss you."

I give her a smile and she returns the action. Her eyes are no longer bloodshot and her breath smells minty fresh. She wears jean shorts and a t-shirt and she's braiding her hair into a high ponytail.

"Hungover?" I ask curiously, not seeing any signs that she is on my own.

"Only the tiniest headache," Bear says with a small laugh. "No one's kidding you when they say it takes a lot. Because it does. And that wasn't even my worst. But thank you for helping me. I was being an ass to you and you didn't deserve it. Well, not completely." She says while turning around to face me and wrapping her arms around my waist.

"Yeah, I deserved some of that. So are we even?" I say kindly. Bear stays silent for a few moments and she smiles when she takes a quick glance at my chest.

"Your swallows are showing. And yeah, we're even." She says while poking me on my chest tattoos of swallows. She walks off back towards the bed and starts to put on her conserve as she sits on top of the destroyed sheets.

"What are your plans for the afternoon? Me and Taylor were talking about taking a walk through the islands shops." I say while going to sit beside her on the bed.

"I think I'm going to go down to the beach and just draw for a while." Bear says as she gets up from the bed and walks over to her bag by the door.

She slings it over her shoulder and walks it over to the bed where she takes it off and puts it on top of the sheets. She looks inside the bag for a few seconds and pulls out her pencil bag and sketch book.

"You know where to find me." Bear smiles after zipping up her bag and placing a tip on the dresser for the cleaning lady.

She carries her bag on her shoulder as she walks out of the room, me following right behind her. She continues to walk down the hall as I go into my room. I manage to lay down in the same spot I was in before on the bed as Taylor comes out of the shower wearing jeans and a plaid shirt. Me and Taylor leave the hotel a little while later and we start to walk down the sidewalk to the city that is close to the airport. As me and Taylor walk hand in hand down the street, I see Bear sitting in the sand on the beach, her head bent over the sketch book in her lap.

Taylor and I get to the airport at the same time as everyone else. When I ask Bear what she drew, she says she's not telling me and walks off. On the plane, me and Taylor sit alone in a row and Bear sits in the row next to us, alone. She takes back out her sketch book and starts drawing again. I'm pretty surprised how happy she's being but Bear always manages to surprise me in one way or another. Me and Taylor watch Grown Ups on our way back to London. Every else in the cabin is pretty much asleep, but Bear is still wide awake.

Me and Taylor fall asleep after watching the movie but I watch every now and then and look over to see Bear still up, drawing. At some odd hour in the morning when I wake up for a second, I finally see Bear curled up in her chair but her bright blue eyes are looking over at me. When I lift my head higher, she flutters her eyes closed quickly. I quickly fall back asleep and I don't wake up until we land in London. Bear comes over to give me and Taylor a hug goodbye, but Taylor looks rather uncomfortable during their hug even though Bear is smiling kindly.

Bear leaves without another word and me and Taylor take a cab to Cheshire. When we get into town, I take Taylor sightseeing to a few places from my childhood. I take her to the bay where we take a picture with the birds in our hands. At the end of the day, I take her to my mom and stepdad's house. While my mom, Anne, and Taylor talk in the parlor, my step dad, Robin, asks me to go into the basement with him. I do and when we're alone, Robin finally speaks up.

"What's on your mind, Harry? You smile like you're happy, but you're not HAPPY." Robin asks curiously.

"I am happy. Maybe not as happy as I should be? Taylor's great and all but.." I start but I'm at a loss for words.

"She's certainly no Bear, that's for sure. You know, I'm still confused as to why you chose Taylor over Natalie." Robin comments with an understanding smile and nod.

"It seemed like the right choice... They're both great girls-"

"But it's unclear to you as to who is better?" Robin guesses. I nod my head sheepishly. "Harry, you know that I think of you like you're my own son. I'm not going to tell what to do because one, you are a grown man and can make your own decisions. And two, I think you already know the right decision." Robin says with a hand on my back.

He gives a kind smile, one which I return, and he heads back up to the stairs. I stay in the basement afterwards for a few minutes, making my final decision. I'd do it tomorrow, before Taylor flew back to Tennessee. That would give her enough time to write a new single. With a deep breath, I walk back up the stairs and go into the parlor where Taylor is laughing with Robin and Anne. As I stand in the entranceway, Dusty silently slinks over and purrs as he rubs himself against my leg. Dusty is my mom's tuxedo cat but he's grown on me. I lean down to pick him up off the ground and place him on my shoulder, his claws poking me in the jacket.

"Oh Harry, back to scaring Dusty already, have we?" my mom smiles as she notices Dusty perched up on my shoulder with his back arched.

"He likes it, mom. I'm a pirate and Dusty's my parrot." I say while closing one my eyes and walking towards my mom with a limp.

"Well, does Dusty want a cracker?" my mom laughs lightly as she stands from her chair. As if on cue, Dusty let's out a tiny meow and my mom laughs as she takes him off my shoulder.