Anna

The Way It Goes

"No way!" Clare shouted, making us all laugh at her. We were in line at security, waiting to board our plane to LA and a fan had come up to us and was telling us all about her experience at the show last night, and Clare was absolutely fascinated by the fact that this fan had flown in yesterday from Oregon just for the show, and was going back home today.

"Also, congrats to you two!" The fan said, looking at Harry and I. "Not going to lie I kinda shipped it when you talked about her last night at the show, so I was happy to wake up to the news this morning, although I'm sorry it had to come out that way."

I had never been more confused. "Sorry, what? What news?" I looked up at Harry, who looked just as confused.

She suddenly looked extremely awkward. "Have you not seen? The media is blowing up about you two being together."

"Together?" We both exclaimed.

"I'm not-"

"We're not-"

We both scrambled to explain, but neither of us could seem to get a full sentence out.

She quickly scrambled for her phone, unlocking it and tapping on her screen a few times before showing us the article pulled up on her screen.

I let out a loud gasp. It was a picture of Harry and I in San Francisco. Harry was pulling me through the mob, his hand wrapped tightly around mine. The article read 'The Harry Styles and Annalise scandal. Is she his opening act, or something more?'

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no," was all I could say.

Harry was silent, and so was the rest of the band.

"So...you're not together?"

Harry or someone else must've shaken their head, because she suddenly looked extremely guilty. "Oh my gosh...I am so sorry, I shouldn't have assumed-"

"It's okay, love. It's not your fault," Harry said, comfortingly. "It's not your fault."

"I should probably go, it was really nice to meet all of you."

We all gave her a hug before she left.

"Harry what are we gonna do...what if Jeremy sees this? He's going to be at the show tonight! He'll be so angry...he'll kill you. He's going to be so mad...this is exactly what he thought would happen, only he thought it would actually be true. He's not going to let me tour anymore-"

"Annalise," Harry interrupted my rambles. "You need to calm down. We can explain this to Jeremy, we know it's not true, so there's nothing to be worried about!"

******

"I'm so nervous, he'll be here any second." I shifted uncomfortably on the couch.

Harry started to walk over to me. "Hey, Anna it will be okay-"

"Back away from her."

My eyes shot up to the door, seeing Jeremy standing in the doorway, a pass hanging around his neck. I had never seen him look so angry.

"Jeremy-"

"No!" He shouted, making me flinch. "You told me that nothing was gonna happen. You were gone one day, and what do I wake up to? A picture of my girlfriend holding hands with this douche bag covering every article on the internet! I told you that he couldn't wait to get his nasty hands all-"

"Jeremy!" I exclaimed, getting to my feet. "Nothing happened."

He scoffed. "You're going to try and tell me that those pictures were faked or something? Because that was very clearly you holding hands with him was it not?"

"Jeremy, if you would just-"

"I don't want to hear your BS!" He shouted. "You're just as bad as he is aren't you?"

"Hey," Harry interjected. "Don't talk to her like that."

Jeremy's eyes flashed with anger as he started closing in on Harry.

"Jeremy-" I warned, my heart starting to pound.

Jeremy curled his hand into a fist and swung at Harry. I yelled his name, but Harry had seen it coming, and just barely dodged it.

Three security guards came rushing in, pulling Jeremy away from Harry.

"Are you okay?" I asked Harry, quickly.

He nodded, regaining his composure.

"I'm so sorry," I said, before turning and following the security guards out of the room.

"I can handle him from here, thank you."

The guards gave me an unsure look and hesitantly let go of Jeremy. Once they walked away I placed my hands on Jeremy's arms, looking him in the eyes. "Jeremy-"

He tried to shrug me off but I stayed firm. "Hey, hey. Listen to me." He finally stopped moving, meeting my eyes. "Nothing happened between Harry and I. He was simply trying to pull me away from the mob that was surrounding us, that's all. The paparazzi caught a picture of it and blew it up into this whole thing, that's just the way it goes in this life. I'm sorry you had to see that, Jeremy, I truly am. But you have to believe me when I say it meant nothing."

He looked down at me, his eyes softening into a look of hurt. "I just...I don't want to lose you."

I shook my head, moving my hands to either side of his face. "You're not going to lose me, Jeremy." I pulled him into a tight embrace, my arms wrapping around his neck as his arms held me protectively.

I kissed him on the cheek as we separated. "I love you, okay? Never forget that."

"I love you, too." He smiled as he played with a strand of my hair. "Just...be careful, okay?"

I nodded. "I know, Jeremy. I will."

I heard someone clear their throat softly. I looked back to see Harry standing down the hall, halfway out of the doorway.

I turned and looked back up at Jeremy. "Will you please, apologize to him? He meant no harm, Jeremy. Really."

"Why should I-"

"You almost punched him," I said, softly. "The least you could do is say you're sorry."

He sighed, hanging his head for a moment before detaching himself from me and walking over to Harry. I turned, hooking my hand onto my other elbow as I watched the awkward exchange between the two of them.

"I'm sorry, man. I let the articles and the media get to me and-"

"There's no need to apologize," Harry interrupted. "I completely understand where you're coming from, I would probably react the same if I were you."

I knew that wasn't true, but I appreciated Harry for being so kind about the whole thing.

His eyes met mine and I gave him a grateful smile.

"Jeremy," I called, making him turn around. "I'm on in a few minutes. Why don't you go find your seat?"

He nodded, walking over to me and planting a quick kiss on my lips before passing me to exit backstage.

I walked over to Harry, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you, Harry."

He gave me what looked almost like a sad smile. "Anything for you, Anna."

I turned, dropping my hand and walking towards the stage.

———————————————

lowkey Anna is blind lol. poor girl.

prepare for a major time jump next chapter 👌🏼