Canyon Moon: The Making of the 2019 Album, Fine Line {H.S}

Christmas Lights and Tightropes

December 27th, 2019

{ANNIE}

"Harry, am I allowed to come in yet?" I wail through my bedroom door.

"Nope." He calls back.

"It's been an hour. This is getting ridiculous." I chuckle, staring up at my ceiling, my back against my bed and my stomach growing more and more vicious as it begs for food.

"You'll live." He laughs.

"My stomach might not." I cry. Whatever he has cooking in my kitchen outside the door hasn't made is any easier on me. I have no idea what concoction he's throwing together out of the ingredients I had in my fridge, but whatever it is, it smells amazing.

"Relax, I'm almost done."

I let out a groan, but don't protest anymore. I'm only starting to get used to this. Having someone around, inside my little eye of a hurricane. I've become so complacent being on my own, but Harry has interrupted my bland way of living, but I'm not complaining. In fact, ever since that first night, I've been seeking our little moments like this. Moments that exist outside of time, outside of our own chaotic lives.

"Alrighty." Harry's voice appears with a slight knock at my door. "You can come out now."

"Nah, I think I'll stay here a few more minutes." I tease. "Might catch up on all that sleep you've been taking from me the past few nights."

"Get out here, dickhead." Harry chuckles. It doesn't take anymore persuasion to follow the tummy rumbling smells outside my door from the dinner Harry prepared.

I open the door to find Harry with a shit eating grin and a dish towel draped over his shoulder. His once perfectly styled hair hangs over his forehead and his thin button up exposes his collar bones. I might've just pulled him straight back into the bedroom if I wasn't so hungry. The scene behind him, though, just about brought tears to my eyes.

I don't know how, but Harry found where I store my Christmas lights and they're hung around the room. In the center, he moved around my couches to make room for a small table and two chairs with a small vase of a few flowers from outside my house. How he managed to do all this and make an entire meal in less than an hour is beyond me, but it makes my heart feel like it's going to explode nonetheless.

"Harry, this is...you didn't have to..." I stammer, unable to express how I feel in this moment.

"I figured, you know, since we can't go out on a real date, this is the next best thing." He smiles.

I bite my lip, attempting to stop my smile from tearing my face in two. I wrap my hands around the back of his neck, brining my lips to meet his. He tastes like garlic and red wine, but I don't care.

"You know, I think this is just about the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me." I mutter against his lips.

"That's a shame." He says with a slight chuckle eching through his throat. His eyes change, the line between his eyebrows furrowing into a frown. "Look, Annie. I know this...this is a bit weird."

"What's weird?" I ask, cocking my head.

"This situation. I hate that I can't actually take you out in public or anything." He sighs. "Sometimes, I wish it could just be...normal. I wish I could do normal things. Especially right now. I'm sorry."

I see the sadness grow in his eyes. I think this is the first time that it's hit me how much his career has affected him. He's been in the public eye for almost ten years now. He hasn't known a regular life since he was 16. It suddenly dawns on me that I'm so far removed from everything he's known since then. I don't know yet if that's good or bad. Still, all I have with him is right now. And it kills me that he's apologizing for something out of his control.