IN ANOTHER LIFE // Harry Styles

The Tour

Y/N had never talked about how she really felt. Jason had been her best friend since middle school, so he, of all people, would know that better than anyone.

One time in seventh grade, Y/N was bullied by some girls at school. She kept it to herself and one day he found her crying in the bathroom stall after the fifth period.

When they were sixteen, she went on a date with this boy she really liked, ending up losing her virginity to the douchebag who broke up with her the next day. Jason had no clue about that until a week later, when he overheard those boys talking about his best friend in the locker room. It was also the first time he'd got into a fight.

He'd told her before, that she shouldn't keep her feelings and problems to herself all the time, but she insisted on dealing with them on her own, saying that she didn't want to bother anyone else. What she didn't know was, he would do anything, and he meant anything, to keep her safe.

Because he loved her.

He had always loved her.

They sat in front of each other in her bedroom, him watching her packing for her boss' tour. By this time the next day, she would've been in San Francisco, very far away from him. And he couldn't let her go without finding out what had been bothering her for the last couple days. She'd tried to cover it up, but he could see it all.

"What's wrong?" He finally asked, to which she lied and said, "nothing."

"Really? You actually expected me to believe that?" He raised an eyebrow.

This time she didn't answer. She stared at him and the corners of her lips fell downward. He almost thought she was going to cry.

"Lemme guess, someone's cat died?" It was supposed to be a joke but she wasn't smiling in response.

Instead, she said, "try 'falling in love with someone who doesn't love you back'."

"I have."

"What?"

"No, nothing." Jason forced a grin and got right back to the main point. "Is it anyone I know?"

"You might think I'm crazy."

"I won't."

"Well..." She hesitated for a while, toying with the sleeve of the shirt on her lap without making eye-contact with Jason. "It's Harry."

"Your boss?"

"Yeah...."

Jason felt a lump in his throat. How could he not? The girl he loved had just confessed that she was in love with someone else. So Jason wasn't only heartbroken, he was devastated.

"How does he feel about you?" He carried on with another question anyway.

"It doesn't matter," she mumbled.

"Y/N, of course it does." Jason shook his head to disagree. "If you want to—"

"He's got a girlfriend, J," Y/N cut him off midway, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she turned her eyes away from her best friend's. "And she's...she's very pretty...She's famous too. They've been together for two years...He loves her a lot."

"Y/N..."

"Do you know that feeling when you care so much about someone and they care about someone else who doesn't care about them at all?..."

He knew.

"...And whenever you see them together, your heart wrenches and you feel like you can't breathe...and—and all you want is to just—just disappear?"