The Middle | Hemmings + Styles AU

32. quite charmed

As I swiped on yet another coat of red lipstick, I gawked at my appearance in disbelief of what I was feeling in the lower pit of my stomach.

I had butterflies. I was fucking nervous.

And it was all over a boy.

I threw my lipstick into my purse and checked the time on the wall clock. Harry didn't strike me as the kind of person to be late but then earlier when I was getting ready it crossed my mind how little I actually knew about Harry. I mean, besides his aversion to completely buttoning up his shirts, and his obvious like for tattoos and music.

I thought about the first time our paths crossed and how he reminded me of a 80s rocker that had somehow ended up in the wrong decade. That still remained the same. He seemed so entirely different to anyone my age, and so much more like those worldly musicians that I grew up loving.

He was Mick Jagger and Michael Hutchence rolled into one with a hint of something extra. There was a spark of something anarchic that appeared behind those green eyes from time to time, breaking his generally composed being. 

And I wanted to learn more about the boy with green fire in his eyes.

My stomach flipped at the mere thought of his eyes, and I sucked in a breath. Fucking butterflies. 

From within my purse, my phone beeped with a text and I quickly retrieved it, thinking it might be Harry with an excuse or an apology. There was a slither of disappointment when I saw Olivia's name instead of Harry's, followed by a wave of guilt when I read the message asking if I had plans tonight.

I still hadn't told her about going out with Harry tonight, figuring I'd wait until tomorrow. And then maybe I'd be so busy at the store that I'd have to wait until Sunday. I knew she'd be mad that I was keeping something from her but Olivia and I were different. She loved retelling every detail of her private life, and I liked to keep mine just how it's supposed to be. Private.

Headlights beamed through the front window as I was trying to decide if I should lie to Olivia or simply ignore her message. I heard a car door shut and threw my phone back into my purse in slight panic. Olivia would have to wait.

Despite knowing he was here, I still startled when the doorbell rang. I looked over at Ringo and Penny Lane's fish tank, silently asking for them to wish me luck and then opened the door trying to look like I wasn't just looking for life guidance from a pair of goldfish.

Harry was standing tall in a white shirt unbuttoned just enough to see the top of the butterfly tattoo that sat on his torso, black jeans and a pair of brown boots. The subtle breeze outside pushed his cologne inside and whatever fragrance it was, I wanted to buy a bottle of it for myself. Was it weird to be attracted to someone's scent?

"Sorry I'm late," Harry spoke earnestly before I'd had a chance to say anything. "I stopped to help a lady with her flat tire."

There weren't any hints of him joking, but something about his crisp white shirt made me think he was lying. "That's okay," I brushed off, turning my attention to lock the door. People lie. I'm no exception to that rule, and I wasn't in a position to question Harry. "What band did you say we're seeing?"

He led me to his car which was very shiny and almost vintage looking. He must have brought it with him from the 80s, I thought with amusement. "Lilac Vinyl," he answered, opening the car door which he closed once I'd climbed in.

The car was tiny inside and every inch was coated in soft cream leather. Something in the back seat caught my eye, something I was still peering closer at when Harry opened his own door and got into the drivers seat.

"Grease marks," he explained. Then he said something else but I was still staring at the dirty white shirt on the backseat.

"You really stopped to help someone change a tire?" I asked, incredulous.

"Her name was Mavis. She was real smitten with me, then again, most seventy year old women are," he laughed, jingling the car keys nervously in his hand.  A frown followed, "You thought I was lying?"

I nodded slowly, feeling embarrassed. He started the car and it sprung to life with a low roar. "Sorry. Bad habit, I guess."

"You've got good judgement, Stella. You should learn to trust it," he answered once we got to the end of my street.

"How do you know?"

"You're here with me, aren't you?" he joked, and that dimple appeared in his cheek. "And you've got a good ear for music."

"How do you know that?" I asked. "I could have terrible taste in music." Not that I did, but what did Harry know about me? I realised this might have been the longest time we'd ever had a conversation without me getting frustrated with him or throwing myself at him. Or him begging me to kiss him; now that's a sound I could get used to hearing.

"I just know."

"But how?" I pressed, growing more curious. Harry was quite happy to put someone else in the spotlight but I'd noticed how tightlipped he became when too much attention was on him.

"The night we met, at the 5SOS show," his eyes met mine briefly before focusing back on the road, "it wasn't the first time I'd seen you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," he almost glared, my incessant questioning starting to test his usually calm nature. I couldn't blame him, I was beginning to annoying myself. "You caught my eye at half a dozen gigs before that." He said the words gently, and slowly. Even more slowly than his usual way of speaking.

"That makes you sound like a stalker," I laughed softly.

"I know," he surprised me by laughing too. "At first I thought you worked for Trick," he glanced sideways at me. "They're our biggest competition, and you kept showing up everywhere I did. So I kept an eye on you."

"So you were stalking me but for business reasons?" I laughed again, flattered that Harry thought I looked like I could work for a record label instead of being just another young girl with a love for vodka and live gigs on a Friday night.

"Observing a pretty girl from across the room? I'd call that research," Harry murmured with a ghost smile.

"So that's why you asked me to come with you tonight to see Lilac Vinyl? Because I have good judgement?" I promised myself that was the last time I'd answer him with more questions.

"Yes, that. And because," holding the steering wheel with one hand, he placed the other on my knee. "if you haven't noticed, I'm quite charmed by you."

His fingers somehow burned the skin underneath my jeans and even though I was rolling my eyes at his phrasing, I was smiling on the inside. Because, as much as it surprised me, I was quite charmed by Harry too.

hella hella hella hella