Liberate • Harry Styles

twenty one.

We landed on the Tarmac and I stretched my arms, yawning and smiling at a sleepy Harry beside me. The flight map on the back of the seat in front of me let me know we were in Detroit, Michigan.

Since I was fired, me and Harry were acting like a somewhat normal couple. But it was weird, acting like a groupie. I had spent the last three days going to his Washington show and the two Philadelphia shows, sitting in on rehearsals and soundchecks. It was hard to do anything outside of our hotel room after the countless interviews, rehearsals, and shows.

Not only that, but I was bored. I was someone who needed work. I couldn't just sit around and let Harry do all the work, I needed to be involved somehow. Jackie was handling all of the social media accounts, and you could tell she was dropping the ball. I needed to call Simon that night, before the Detroit sets and interviews.  Harry and I talked it over, him voicing his concerns that we had still not came clean about our relationship, just generally avoiding every paparazzi. Rejoining his PR team would be a tricky move, but we finally worked out a plan that I thought could work.

That is why I could smile at the landing strip at the airport as the plane slowed to a stop. I was confident in my next move, and I was determined to get my job back.

"Baby, we're here." I kissed Harry on the forehead. He had his head resting on my lap, his legs sprawled across his seat and into the aisle. The flight attendants kindly disregarded the blockage, as they would rather stare at him and fan their faces dramatically. I had only had a couple minutes' sleep out of the hour and a half plane ride due to their stupid obsession.

Harry's eyes stayed closed as he sat up, stretching his arms and causing his toned arms to flex. A giggle was heard from behind us and I turned around to see the flight attendants staring at Harry. It was amazing - he was a famous attractive popstar, yet he was completely unaware of the fact that everyone was staring at him.

We exited the plane directly onto the Tarmac as the other passengers exited into the airport. We were met by customs officers who checked our luggage and carry-0ns before giving us the okay. A large black van pulled up and a valet hopped out, allowing Paul to hop in the front seat. Jackie, Lou, and a couple other crew members took another van that pulled up, leaving me and the boys in the one driven by Paul. I sat in the back with Harry and Louis, momentarily meeting eyes with Niall awkwardly before he smirked and looked away. That bastard was still waiting. His previous words rang over and over in my head the whole car ride. What could Harry still possibly be lying to me about? It'd seemed like in the last eleven days since we met, we'd basically learned all there was to know about each other.

We arrived at the hotel and checked in, Harry and I taking the elevator up to our room. He placed our suitcases neatly in the corner and turned around. Our eyes locked and there was a minute of silence before I spoke.

"Before I do this, I just want you to understand: doing this will put an enormous strain on our relationship. Once we are in the public eye, if we are not united together we will break the moment they start to spread rumours about us. We have to stay strong and work through this or we will not, I repeat not come out the other side alright. Do you still support my decision?"

Harry looked at me and nodded. "Of course, baby. But it seems like you are hesitant."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, maybe you're the one who thinks our relationship might not make it." Harry crossed the floor so we were standing face to face, less than an inch between our bodies. I could hear his shallow and quick breathing as he took my cheek in his hand. I rested the weight of my head in it, looking at him for a little while before letting his hand drop and turning around. I walked to my suitcase and took out my pajamas.