Through the Lens

Promises

Harry's POV

I took deep breath as I stared out at the creek as it flowed across the back side of Ryan and Kelsey's property, just taking a minute to gather my thoughts as my goodbye party went on behind me. Everyone had gathered to see me off and say goodbye, knowing that I'd be heading back to LA in the morning. It was about 1pm on a Sunday afternoon, and I was feeling particularly nostalgic about my time in Lily Ridge. For the first time in my adult life, I'd had a taste of normalcy. I'd had the opportunity to spend time in a place where nobody wanted anything from me, and everyone genuinely seemed to care about me as a person.

I knew I'd never be able to explain to them what their loyalty and support had done for me, I could only hope that I'd be able to make it back often enough to continue to spend time with them, to remain a part of the community I'd come to love so much. I wanted to see my godchildren grow up, to watch Soph run around after her brother and convince people to try tigger ice cream, to see them become the best of friends and grow up to be the kind of people their parents hoped they would be. I so desperately wanted Lily Ridge to remain a large part of my life, and I planned to do everything I could to make it happen.

"Am I interrupting?" I heard a familiar voice say behind me, snapping me from my thoughts as I turned to see Ryan standing behind me.

"Oh, uh no. Not at all." I said, surprised and trying to refocus myself. "Just taking a breather."

"You alright?" He asked as he came to stand beside me, handing me a beer as we both stared out at the creek.

"Yeah, just trying to soak it in before I go back to dead grass and palm trees." I sighed as I took the beer, nodding at him in thanks before I took a sip.

"Should be nice to see some of your friends though, get back to work. I know Niall misses you like crazy." He smiled softly, doing his best to put a positive spin on it.

"I miss him too, it'll be nice to see them." I said, taking a deep breath as I tried to see the bright side.

"I know everyone's been saying this to you for the past couple of hours, so it's probably lost its sentiment...but for what it's worth, I personally am really gonna miss you around here." He said sincerely. "It's weird to think you won't be just down the road anymore."

"I'll miss you too, bro. All of you guys. I mean, fuck. I miss you already." I laughed lightly. "What you guys have done for me...I can never explain what it means to me. You're family to me, always. No matter what happens, you ever need anything, you call me."

"Same goes for you, Harry." He said as he placed his hand on my shoulder, gripping it tightly. "You ever need a place to escape, someone to listen, or even someone to tell those paps to fuck off, just pick up the phone."

"I'll keep that in mind." I chuckled.

"Plus, my kids need their godfather around. Don't think you're getting off with just the label." He smiled.

"I wouldn't dream of it. You can expect large presents on all occasions, and I will happily fly them to wherever I am if they need a good talking to." I said sincerely. "I wanna be there for them, I wanna watch them grow. I promise I'll do everything I can to be a big part of their lives, you guys have given me one of the greatest honors of my life. I don't take that for granted."

"I know you don't, we'll stay in touch and it'll all work out. Kels and I were even talking last night about taking the kids to Disneyland in a few months, maybe we can have lunch or something while we're there."

"I'd love that." I smiled at the thought. "But I'll need a lot more than lunch. You guys stay at my place, no arguments."

"Like I said, we'll sort it out." He chuckled.