within the meadow √ h.s.

t w e n t y o n e

niall's wedding was coming up and harry had barely began planning his bachelor party despite delilah's suggestions to begin.

delilah was laying on a blanket in the meadow and reading a book, and the cold autumn air rested on her. harry was trying to come up with ideas for the speech he was going to give at the wedding. he bit on the pen cap as he thought then quickly scribbled possible words onto the paper. they sat in silence aside from the birds chirping and the whistle of the breeze.

delilah yawned and felt her eyes craving to shut and block out the light. the truth of harry's departure was creeping up on them quicker than they cared to admit.

a month and a half left.

it all blew by like the wind of autumn through their hair, and it kept delilah up at night. she was so happy that harry was going to do what he wanted, but where did that leave her?

harry was going to be doing his own thing while delilah would be stuck with her books and the meadow. going to college had slowly dwindled from her desires because of its out of reach nature. delilah loved harry and was so happy for him, but she was stuck.

"do you think i should bring up a childhood memory, or would that be too cheesy?" harry asked a drowsy delilah.

"but you're cheesy, so i think it's only fitting," a lazy smile on her face as harry tried to hold his back and fake a glare at her.

their love was loud. louder than the birds chirping, louder than the breeze whispering in their ears, even louder than the words on the pages of delilah's books. it was loud, and roaring, and soon it would cause a destructive rumble before it comes to a halt and leaves their hearts in shambles and silence.

but until then, they were happy and optimistic. harry and delilah had no clue what the universe had in store for them, and it's unfortunate everything had to end.

+

"niall..niall always got us into trouble," harry spoke into the microphone with his dimples on full display. "but there was never a dull moment with him. he's always been my best friend, and nothing could ever change that. i am so happy that he found erica to balance him out because everyone needs that. you two are such a wonderful couple and i am so happy for you two. congratulations to mr. and mrs. horan!"

glasses were raised, clinked, and downed. niall hugged harry with tears near the edge wanting to spill out. the night was absolutely exquisite.

delilah wore a soft lavender dress and a smile. harry and her danced all night and laughed, and maybe got a little drunk, but they only had around a month left.

time was ticking, and the clock was running out. they smiled their brightest, laughed their hardest, and loved their loudest.

they began to spend most of their time in the meadow, because that is where the magic blossomed. lenny hired a girl just a year younger than delilah named mila. he knew of harry's soon departure and hoped the extra hand would allow delilah to spend more time with harry.

delilah was lost in a book with her head in harry's lap as he watched the scenery with a heavy heart. the beautiful landscape would soon be out of his reach, just as delilah would be. "delilah?"

she didn't hear him and allowed the words on the pages to keep their hold on her. "darling? are you listening?"

no answer.

harry chuckled at the intense focus she had. "sunshine," he said a bit louder while running his fingers through her hair. "hello?"

"hm? sorry, what did you say?" delilah was brought back to harry and released from her book as she sat up.

"i was going to ask you if you were ready to go since it's getting dark and cold," harry smiled.

their fingers were intertwined across the center console of the car as they made their way to her apartment. a thought had been weighing heavily on delilah's mind that she wasn't sure how to approach. she was certain that harry would find it silly, but she wanted to know.

"harry?" her voice was barely audible.

"yeah?"

"we- how come we never made anything— we never put a label on us, and i just wondered if it was because you knew this would end?" her words came out harsher than she intended and she winced at the flash of hurt she saw in harry's eyes.

"i actually thought about it. many times, in fact. but thinking about it made me scared out of my mind because things were so perfect and i didn't want to ruin it. when me leaving came into the equation, i knew that i wanted to keep the transition as simple as possible for the both of us. now that i think about it, there probably should have been a conversation but i am just so in love with how everything is and i know if there was a label, and we put an end to that, it would really feel like the end and that would kill me," harry's hold on her hand tightened, never wanting to let go of these moments and feelings.

delilah's apartment was cold. it was cold and the heater was broken, so harry and delilah climbed into bed and found themselves intertwined with one another trying to maintain the heat between them. delilah listened to his heartbeat with her head on his chest while he rubbed circles on her back."

harry soon noticed there was a wet spot over his heart that he thought to be drool from delilah's tired state, but when harry caught a shaky breath from delilah he realized that it was a puddle of tears. the rhythm of harry's heartbeat sped up, and he held her closer to his chest with no words to share.

"i love you, my sweet sunshine, delilah."

"i love you, harry."

harry loved delilah, and delilah loved harry. their month together was over in no time, and it caused a hurt they had never felt before. the timer went off, and they had never wished to hear that incessant ticking more than then. it was over quicker than they could blink, and as delilah kissed harry goodbye before he walked through the terminal on his way to spain, she smiled knowing it could never truly end with the memories embedded in her mind and love louder than any other.