Note To Self (Harry Styles AU)

Chapter Sixty Two.

Aubry bent down to discard her shoes when she realized her heels sunk into the ground with every step she took. The grass was cold under her toes, and as they stepped onto the bark mulch surrounding the jungle gym, the soles of her feet felt sore. The swings swayed gently in the subtle breeze, her feet lifting her onto the cold plastic steps of the play area.

Voices carried through the air from off in the distance, causing Harry's paranoia to kick in and panic. "There's people."

"Smell that?" she asked, peering down at the boy who was, for once, shorter than she was. The air reeked of marijuana already. "They're doing the same thing."

Harry glanced around trying to find where the voices were coming from, but he couldn't find anyone through the darkness. Chances were, it was just another group of promgoers that scurried off to do the same illegal activity they were, but he was still apprehensive to let his guard down. His eyes remained glued on the direction he heard the chatter coming from, off toward an open field hidden just barely behind a single tree. The only light was provided by the moon, which wasn't much, and it kept their silhouettes hidden from his eyes.

His foot hesitantly stepped up to stand beside Aubry, not quite able to do so with confidence from being unable to see where the steps were. She continued up the playground, passing by plastic tunnels that always used to shock him with static electricity when he was a child, past the twisty slide that would burn his thighs when his shorts would bunch up on a hot summer day, and she settled at the opening that lead to the monkey bars. The monkey bars Gemma became an expert on, and something he was never able to do at all.

She allowed her legs to overhang the edge, several feet from the ground, and Harry sat beside her with his back leaning against a metal post. His hand snaked into his pocket and he pulled out the necessary tools he was sure to have. The bag of weed was handed over first, then he reached back in to grab the lighter and rolling papers he'd bought from work. He was lucky he'd gotten all the needed supplies in one place.

"You came prepared," she grinned.

"I promised a surprise, didn't I?" She couldn't see the side smile he flashed toward her shadow. "I'm prepared for anything."

He just barely heard her chuckle, meshed with the sound of the bag rustling as she opened it up. The ripe scent carried with the already tarnished air of the surrounding area, but much, much stronger when it hit Harry's nose. "Do you have your phone?"

"Yeah."

"Can you use the flashlight for me?"

Harry shifted to lift his rear end off the floor to retrieve the device out of his back pocket. He fiddled on the screen for hardly longer than a few seconds, and the bright blinding light came to life to hold it over Aubry's hands so she could see. He took notice of her goose bumped skin when her fingers got to work rolling joints for the both of them. His was finished first, passed over to him to hold, before she continued rolling one for herself. He waited for her to be done before he shut the light off, bugs flocking to the bulb dispersing into the night when the brightness vanished.

The rolling papers were given back for him to return to his pocket, and the empty bag was crumpled and tossed aside carelessly. She placed the joint between her lips, cupping her hand around the end as she brought the lighter up to ignite it. Immediately, the lighter was passed to Harry. He did the exact same, and the joint was pulled from his lips to flick his wrist just hard enough to cease the flame that caught on the end to leave nothing but a glowing red ember in it's tracks.

The first puff caused him to choke, certainly far from used to the burn washing over his throat, but not quite something he hated anymore.

She broke the silence. "Where'd you even get this from?"