GREEN (RL Harry Styles fanfic)

27. Brown Sugar

"You don't think it's weird you're getting on a plane for half a day to meet Harry's mother and you two have never really been on a date?" Jessie's voice came through loud from the other end of the phone.

"Well when you say it like that, yes, it's weird. This whole thing is weird when you look at in pieces. The fact that my boyfriend is Harry Styles is a weird enough concept to grasp." I answered back.

"Yeah, how has it been going since you two lovebirds got serious?," Jessie asked half teasing me and half inquiring.

It had been almost a week since Harry had asked me to be his girlfriend and I had accidentally one-upped him with my 'I love you.' In the time since, our relationship had flourished and we only grew closer. Perhaps it was because we had always been honest with each other, or maybe it was the impending separation due to Harry's tour. Either way, my relationship with Harry was blissful.

In that same time span the world's perception of our relationship had changed in the complete opposite way. The dating rumors had all but dissipated, in fact, many publications implied we hated working together. After last Saturday, when our shopping trip had been papped, the photos were released.

The playful flirting in the car that had Harry tugging at his hair in complete sexual frustration promoted the headline 'Harry Styles new business venture has him pulling his hair out in frustration.' The back and forth texts to one another in the trim shop made it appear we were both interested in our phones more than one another. They even had a quote from the tiny Chinese woman who sold me my buttons about how I said I was texting my boyfriend. It was almost comical how wrong the media could be, but in this instance it was working to our advantage.

"Things are going really well Jess. I've never been in love like this before." I could hear Jessie's judgement through the phone as she huffed.

"I seem to recall you saying that to me before, and we both know what happened that time." Jessie was referring to my ex in college, Tony. The same ex who she had mentioned at Harry's when she took it upon herself to bring up my past sex life.

"Harry is nothing like Tony Jess! He's not a mooching addict asshole," I spat back at her, completely annoyed she even brought it up.

Tony and I dated for 2 years, my entire time at college in LA. We had met at the tattoo shop where he was apprenticing. I was quickly smitten with his charm and bad boy vibes and things moved fast between us.

"I know Harry's not Tony, Liv. He's seems like a great guy. But I'm just saying, things moved fast between you and Tony too, and you were in too deep by the time you found out who he really was. I just want you to be cautious."

She had a point. Tony and I were "in love" within two weeks and within a month he had moved into our apartment because he had been fired from his un-paying job at the tattoo shop, which meant he couldn't crash in the shop anymore. The next two years were full of break ups and make ups all due to his behavior. I should've seen the signs that Tony was not only an alcoholic, but also using, but I was in complete denial. I defended him to friends and family and claimed he was just misunderstood. The final straw was when Tony was arrested for possession of cocaine and sent off to court ordered rehab. I hadn't seen him since, and I hadn't talked to him in about 5 years, when he called me up wasted and begging for me to take him back. I promptly changed my number. I knew I was better off without him, he was an asshole, but the realization that I was with someone for so long and had been lied to hurt.

"You and Harry haven't even gone public with your relationship, and that's sure to change the dynamic. Just make sure you know what you're getting into," Jessie continued. "I just don't want you to get hurt."