MY GIRL // Harry Styles

Homeward Bound

Four years had gone by, and the small town called Holmes Chapel had partly faded from Harry's memories. He had his own life now, which was more than the life of any ordinary 22-year-old, and of course, he must make room in his mind for new, bigger, and better things.

Many years ago, had anybody told him he was going to get a massive movie contract, and turn famous before graduating from university, he would've laughed and called them crazy. Now his face was everywhere on billboards, on televisions, on the internet. People followed him around and took photos of him. He had all the money to spend, got invited to exclusive parties, and won big awards with his name on them. So there was no reason for him to come back to his little house in Holmes Chapel.

His family still lived there, but he flew his mum out to stay in London for most of the time, and his sister now had her own life with a boyfriend. The Styles hadn't sold that house because it still had emotional values to them, but they were rarely there anymore. Harry couldn't even remember most details of his childhood bedroom, let alone the treehouse in his backyard, or the girl who came there every single day, waiting for him to come back.

He did come back. But it was for a different reason, one he had never expected.

A funeral.

.

.

.

"Look at these paparazzi on the street."

Celine heaved a sigh as she peeked through the window curtains to take a look. The heavy silence in that living room was the opposite of the loud and intrusive crowd waiting in front of the house next door.

Eighteen-year-old Thea was sitting on the bottom stair with her head in her hands, her red eyes were swollen while another girl was comforting her. The girl was Amala, Celine's girlfriend. They had been dating since junior year, now both graduated from high school and were still together.

Even though Thea wasn't the only special girl in Celine's life anymore, she had never felt deserted, knowing her tiny best friend would always be by her side and she would also do the same. Now with Amala in the picture, the three of them were inseparable. Those two had been Thea's rock since her mother's death, and she could never thank them enough for just being there for her.

"Why did he have to come back?" Thea exhaled, fingers gripping her own hair. "I don't want all these people at my mother's funeral."

"Calm down, I'm sure they'll get tired and leave in no time," said Celine, who quickly exchanged looks with Amala, because they both knew those paps wouldn't leave until Harry did.

"Why couldn't he just stay gone?" Thea mumbled, mostly to herself, and she really meant it. She wished he had never returned. She'd gone as far as avoiding all the news about him and she'd been doing so well in the last four years. But her mother's death seemed to be just the calm before the storm. With his unwanted return, he would bring a whole crowd of people with cameras to her mother's funeral.

"When is Blake gonna be here?" Asked Amala, but Celine shook her head fast to tell her girlfriend not to mention that name. It was too late since Thea had already heard her.

"He's not coming," she replied, eyes glued to the floor. "We broke up."

The hurt was still etched in her voice when she talked about him. Even though she would never admit it, her two friends both knew she had really loved that boy.

Blake Roman was Thea's first official boyfriend. He had treated her so well, and even though she'd lost her first kiss in the treehouse four years ago, Thea had given all her other firsts to Blake. But two foolish teenagers fell in love at seventeen, what did they know? It wasn't until graduation and facing big decisions of futures and dreams that they realized it wasn't going to work. They weren't going to work.