Note To Self (Harry Styles AU)

Chapter Eight.

The following day was a Friday and the last day he'd be with Aubry for the week, so he was lucky that it didn't rain. They met up on the corner as usual and made their way into the woods just like they had all the times before. Harry didn't bother with pretending to write, he laid back in the grass with his head propped up on his backpack as he relaxed and listened to the birds chirp.

The air was slightly cool, but the heat from the sun's rays made up for it. He watched a squirrel jump from branch to branch in the trees, creating a rustling sound and making a few leaves fall and drift down to the ground.

It was the same as any other day, as soon as Aubry had taken her place on the boulder she got lost in her writing and didn't mutter a single word. He had kind of grown a liking for that, how he had time in his day to just relax and enjoy someone's company without the pressures of communication. He liked that he didn't need to speak to make things comfortable with her. He liked how there was no awkward tension between them that made things feel forced. He liked the simplicity.

He'd never experienced anything like the connection he had with Aubry. It'd originally started off as a curiosity and a desire to explore her mind, but it quickly developed into being something he felt he needed because, even though he was still a nervous wreck, she somehow calmed him. When he spent time with her in silence, he wasn't a high-strung mess like he usually was.

For once in his life, he had time where he wasn't worried about anything, he didn't feel jittery and anxious about the tiniest of things, and he could clear his mind until he existed peacefully. It was a relief and it felt good to finally relax.

That day didn't go exactly the same as any others had, because while he allowed his eyelids to flutter closed for a few minutes, he heard twigs snapping under feet and faint voices coming from inside the woods. His eyelids flew open and he sat up to look over by where the sounds were coming from, feeling his heart pound in his chest all over again. Aubry had even stopped writing to look too.

The sounds grew louder and louder until branches were pushed out of the way and a blond boy stepped through into the clearing. He let go of the branches and they snapped back into place, just as a voice came from out of view. "Ow, you fucking twat!'

The blond boy laughed, cackled, really, and the branches were shoved out of the way again by a brunette boy as he passed through. He dusted himself off before he shoved the blond by his shoulder, making him laugh more.

"I thought I told you guys to leave me alone when I'm out here," Aubry called over to them and they turned.

Harry recognized one of them. He was short, at least compared to Harry's size, with a curvy body and bright blue eyes. His brown hair was styled into a fringe and his face held a look of annoyance about the fact he'd just gotten hit with tree branches. Louis Tomlinson, the boy who was missing from the charity ball because he's gay.

"I thought I told Niall to stop slapping me with branches, but clearly neither of us have listening skills," he grumbled, looking at the palm of his hand and rolling his eyes. "Now I have tree sap on me, too."

"You're so dramatic," the blond one, who Harry assumed was Niall, chuckled and Louis hit him again.

"It never comes off, Niall!" he shouted, and now it was Niall's turn to roll his eyes. "I'm going to have sticky hands for two weeks."

"I haven't gotten laid for six months, don't talk to me about sticky hands," Niall said. Harry caught on to the reference and looked away uncomfortably, but Aubry laughed. "Anyway," he chirped, making his way over toward her while saying, "Aubry, Aubry, my favorite lady, have you missed me?" in a sing-songy voice.