Unchanging [h.s. au]

twenty-eight

The girl who looked back at me in the mirror looked vastly different than she did 3 hours ago. After being dropped off by Harry, I immediately set to work to get ready for our date. I had showered, picked out a summer dress, curled my hair, and done my makeup. Usually whenever I was with Harry, I hadn't cared about my appearance, but now that things had changed between us, I wanted Harry to know that I didn't always look like a hot, lunatic mess. 

I swiped some lip gloss along my bottom lip and then looked myself over one more time. I put my hand on my hip and practiced smiling at my reflection. I let out a sigh of frustration when it turned out to be more of a grimace. 

Changing my stance, I flipped my hair over my shoulder and said to the mirror, "Hi, Harry," in sultry voice while batting my eyelashes. 

I was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. I immediately switched off my bathroom light and hustled down the stairs. 

I took a deep breath and opened the door to a smiling Harry. He held a bouquet of flowers in his hand and looked good. So good all that practice in the mirror at saying hello became pointless since I felt so flustered. 

I panicked and lamely ended up pointing finger guns while saying "Hey," to him. 

Harry laughed and pointed back. "Hey to you, too. These are for you." He held out the bouquet. 

My heart felt warm in my chest at the gesture. He was the perfect boyfriend already. 

"Thank you, they're lovely." I brought the flowers to my face and inhaled. 

"Clara, did someone ring the doorbell?" My dad came around the corner and saw us standing there. "Oh, hi, Harry."

"Hello, Mr. Kingston."

"I'm going out," I stated matter of factly to my dad. "With Harry. See you later." 

I turned to push Harry out the door before my dad could cause more problems. 

Before I slammed the door shut, Harry called out, "I will have her back by eleven as promised!" 

I huffed at Harry when we got into the car. "Why did you have to remind him? I was planning on staying out until the early morning to make a point." 

"And I was planning on making your dad actually like me. Sorry, but I'm bringing you back right on time." 

"Fine," I said, knowing fair well that this is exactly what my dad was hoping would happen; Harry doing the right thing so I would have to go along with it. "Soo, where are we going tonight?" 

"A carnival."

**

I had been living on this planet for 18 years and never in my life had I been to a real carnival. Sure I'd been on amusement park rides and eaten cotton candy before, but never a legitimate carnival. The flashing lights were beautiful against the background of swirling ocean and Californian tree line. 

"You don't get motion sick, do you?" Harry had leaned down to mutter in my ear. 

I laid the back of my head against his chest and replied, "Not at all,"

He laced his hands with mine and pressed his cheek against mine. "Good,"

Looking at the entire scene in front of me, I knew exactly which ride I wanted to do first. I raised our connected hands and pointed at the craziest looking ride in the park. "I want to do that one." 

"Are you sure?" Harry sounded worried. "Usually people build their way up, um, from like the tame rides to the more scary ones, you know?"

I put my hands on my hips and turned to face him. "Harry Styles, are you afraid?"