A Shot of Reality [Harry Styles]

XXVII. Hereafter

A/N: So this chapter took me some time and motivation, but I ended up pulling through because guess what? I HIT 600 FANS. Thank you all endlessly for following me, reading my annoying statuses and liking my writing. I know I saw this a lot, but every comment, follow, vote and read means so incredibly much to me. I am eternally grateful, and so glad I can share my love and passion with such incredible people.

Enjoy, for now we are under five chapters left till the end of ASOR. Xx

December 16th, 2011

Harry stared out the apartment window. He saw the traditional green and red Christmas lights glisten under the pale white snow and the sounds of the London traffic and its night life beat against the blanket of stars coating the dark sky. Despite the wintery atmosphere both inside the flat and out, he was shirtless. He felt his skin prick and tense from the cold air assimilating from the ceiling fan spinning above him and for a moment, he almost felt at total peace. That was until; he remembered the reason why he was topless as he scanned the photographs of unfamiliar faces and events framed on the table beside him.

“Harry, babe?”

Harry turned slightly only enough to see the outlet of the voice being none other than Caroline Flack, with her short black silk robe tied around her by a loose knot and her toes skimming the hardwood floors of her living room tenderly.

“Aren’t you going to come back to bed?”

Harry was close to refusing her offer, for he simply just wanted to gaze at the stars without any interruption. As he noticed her golden brown hair tousled onto her head and her jade eyes fluttering at him in suggestion, he suddenly imagined a head of long dark locks falling at her sides and a pair of turquoise eyes smile at him. And that and that only, is the only reason he didn’t refuse.

“Yeah, just give me a second.”

Unfazed, Caroline winked at her much younger lover one last time before waltzing off into the bedroom in much anticipation to resume their “activities.” Harry on the other hand, used his short amount of time to contemplate what he was doing or rather, who he was doing.

Caroline truly was a sweetheart, but one he would think of as his aunt or another female relative. She also was stunningly beautiful, so much so that any guy in all of the UK would gladly take upon what Harry did and what was about to do right now. So why, for the love of God, didn’t it feel right?

In the sky, a rare sensation happened before his seventeen year-young eyes. A comet, one with embers of pale pinks and greens burst before the backdrop of the night like a cannonball but then quickly faded into the bright, permanent lights of the stars like a weak animal, dying at the foot of an unwelcoming world. It was spectacular; but odd, for this occurrence had his doubt all figured out.

His “first time” was with a woman he did not love. He aspired this type of relationship to be like the stars; a usual thing to see, but something that was both beautiful while remaining forever. His relationship with Caroline, however, was like the comet; sensational and a rarity for many, but short-lived and unremarked soon after.

Even after Caroline whined at him to come back to bed and even when his skin stung red from the cold exposure, Harry continued to gaze and gawk at the stars above him. Somehow he knew that just like them, the woman he actually, truly and madly loved was out there right in front of his eyes.

 

The scent of vanilla and coffee is not what initially woke Sydney up. Granted, it did visibly aid it.