The Only One {Harry Styles AU}

14. Now pt. 2

Sunday as we were finishing clearing up the last of the dinner dishes, you asked, "Do you want me to take you home tonight or in the morning?" I don't know why, but my heart started pounding with anxiousness.

I asked uncertainly, "Do you want me to stay tonight?"

"I always want you to stay." Now my heart was pounding from excitement rather than nerves. You always want me to stay. It was everything I wanted to hear.

"But I have to get up at 4 to be on set by 5."

"Shit. I guess drop me on your way in the morning." There was no way I was going to pass up the chance to sleep next to you again. You were all fucking face rainbows when I glanced back up at you. I tipped my head to the side, grinning back. You bit your lip for a second, then asked me to come to a Hollywood party with you, and my nerves returned in a flood, a tidal wave, a tsunami. "I don't really have anything to wear."

You shrugged, the Maddie Turner shrug. It was a shrug that meant you didn't care what anyone thought. Which was huge, given that you had spent so long hiding. "What you always wear is fine." But while you may not have cared what people thought, in that moment I did. I cared that all my jeans had holes in them, that the edges of my nicest shirts were slightly frayed, that my boots were scuffed on the toe. I cared. I cared that I was going to be entirely out of place beside you, wearing off the rack clothes and surrounded by Gucci suits. I cared what people thought of me. I wished I didn't, but I did.

"What are you going to wear?" If you were going in jeans or something, I figured maybe it really wouldn't matter.

"A dress." Shit. You reached into your closet and pulled out a dress so slight it could have been just a shirt, and even then, there wasn't much to it. "This dress." Shit.

"Okay, I'll go." Seeing you in that dress would be worth enduring a little embarrassment for being the worst dressed idiot there. After we'd finished getting our stuff ready for tomorrow, we settled into bed, and I curled myself around you, a big spoon holding you tight against my chest. "Sweet dreams, love," I whispered into your hair, but your light snore let me know you were already asleep. I lay there for a little while longer, listening to the soft rhythm of your lungs at work, breathing in the scent of you, so uniquely you, until my eyelids fluttered shut. What a wonderful way to fall asleep.

You dropped me off outside my place so early the next morning. It was still dark out, and there was a frosty chill in the LA air that I had not yet experienced, mostly because I was usually fast asleep at this hour. I leaned across the centre console and kissed you quickly. You rested one hand on my cheek. "Thank you for being here with me," you murmured. "I know my life can be pretty dark sometimes...."

"I'll always be here for you, Maddie." We kissed again, and then you shooed me out of the car, saying that you were going to be late. It was quarter to five in the morning, so my first order of business was to get back in bed. I slept for another five hours. But it was an uneasy sleep. I dreamt of a desolate island overgrown with wild foliage and fraught with odd echoing sounds--rustling and wailing that floated through the trees in a sibilant, shrill symphony. I was trapped in a pit, desperately clawing at the walls to get out. Rats bit at my bare toes, and I whimpered and tried to kick them away, but they just kept gnawing at me. Water started pouring in from above, and when it reached beyond my head, I started to gasp and panic. I thought the entire island must be sinking into the sea.

Liam shook me awake. "Harry, mate, are you okay?"

"Hmmm? What? What happened?"

"You were gasping and almost like crying," he replied, deep worry furrowing his forehead.