Note To Self (Harry Styles AU)

Chapter Forty Eight.

The rain picked up and continued to fall, large drops smacking against the window glass in the sitting room. The volume of the television hung on the wall was high to block out the sound of rainfall, with Harry curled up against the arm of the loveseat with his feet propped up on the cushion. Aubry sat on the opposite side, leaning away from him with her head propped up on her forearm, eyes glued to The Conjuring playing on the screen.

Snacks were littered across the coffee table, popcorn, chips, and a package of Oreos. Harry had a bag of Cheetos clutched in his hands, the crunching sound as he chewed dulled the volume of the words spoken through the television which helped ease his anxiety for the inevitable coming jump scare. He wasn't much of a horror movie fan.

Covered in a throw blanket, Aubry's foot poked out to brush against Harry's leg, the unexpected touch frightening him for a fragment of a second before he realized it was only her and he looked over. She simply held her hand out in request for his snack. The bag of Cheetos were handed over easily, the crunching bag masked by the sounds of screams blasting through the speakers.

He truly had a hard time watching. The longer the movie went on, the more and more he slouched down in his seat in attempt to shield himself. He felt watched, especially through the wall of windows just beside him that opened up to nothing but wilderness. A secluded house just like the one in the movie, and though he wouldn't admit it, he was scared to look over in fear of seeing a face looking back at him through the rain-splattered glass.

Scared wasn't quite a strong enough word to explain how he felt when everyone had disappeared into the bedrooms to get some sleep, leaving Harry by himself in his parent's room. Liam had taken Harry's usual bed, Niall in Gemma's, and Aubry and Louis shared the guest room. One in the guest bed, and one on the pullout couch. Harry closed up the balcony door he'd left open earlier in the day and drew the curtains closed to block out the outdoors, hoping to settle the irrational fear of seeing something he didn't want to.

The duffle bag filled with clothes was dragged off the bed and placed on one of the decorative cushioned chairs nearby. He opened the side pocket to grab his toothbrush and entered into the attached private bathroom to brush his teeth. He stared at himself in the mirror as he scrubbed his teeth clean, white foam collecting at the corners of his mouth. The brush was pink, the second one of the dual pack mom had bought for he and Gemma to share, which Gemma took the orange one and that left him with pink.

The foamy paste splattered against the porcelain basin as he spit into the sink, running the tap to rinse the toothpaste down the drain and he bent down to wash his mouth out. He turned the faucet off and wiped his mouth on the back of his wrist as he stood, another face beside his own in the mirror as he looked into the reflection. His heart leapt in his chest, body jolting in fright. "Jesus Christ, Liam."

"Heyyy," he warned. "Don't say that."

Harry's toothbrush was placed on the counter, his hand coming to rest over his startled heart. "Sorry, you scared the crap out of me."

He stared at his friend's reflection in the mirror, though nothing was said as Harry opened up the medicine cabinet, obstructing his view of him while he grabbed a packet of floss. Their faces came back into view when the cabinet door was closed. "You really floss every night?"

"Morning and night," Harry answered. He pulled a long string from the package and cut it. 
"If there's anything I've got going for me, it's dentil hygiene."

"No one has time or that."

The floss was wrapped around two of his fingers as he spoke, "That's what everyone says and then they go to my mom asking her to fix their rotten teeth."