Echo Of Us • Zarry

RS 1

Harry's tapping out the melody to a song he's trying to put together with the eraser-side of a pencil. He's in his tiny studio in his house in Italy, finally enjoying some peace and calm. In the past few months, he's learned to enjoy solitude and started to recognize that not every moment he spends on his own is drenched in loneliness and abandonment.

" The door to hell wide open..." Harry sings under his breath. He crosses out a few words on the lyrics he's working on while humming the melody. Then he nearly gets a heart attack.

The door to his studio opens and Harry's pretty much ready to either die instantly if the intruder has a gun or fight for his life if they don't. But the intruder is actually just Jeff, looking pretty harmless in a t-shirt and jeans with a brown paper bag in his hand.

"What the actual fuck ?!" Harry breathes out heavily, his heart rattling in his ribcage, as he lets his back hit the chair. "You scared the living shit out of me, Jeffrey. How did you get in?"

"Sorry," Jeff puts his hands up momentarily and joins Harry at the mixing table. "You gave me a key, remember?"

"I do now, yes," Harry scoffs. "You could've at least texted me."

"I did," Jeff raises his brows. "I've brought food. Figured if you aren't replying you're locked here and you probably haven't eaten in three days."

"I had breakfast this morning," Harry replies while checking his phone, which has been on do not disturb for at least a week now. Sure enough, there are four texts from Jeff and also a missed called. "I made an omelette," he continues. "And I was planning to go out for lunch."

"On your own?"

"On my own," Harry nods as he reaches for the paper bag. Once he pulls out the two containers, he sees it's food from his favourite restaurant in town. And sure enough, Jeff brought him their best dish - classic homemade penne with bolognese sauce. "This is why you're my best friend," Harry remarks and digs in with the wooden takeout fork. A bit of sauce splashes on his notepad.

"Is the song with Stevie done?" Jeff asks around a mouthful of his own food.

Harry nods. "Yup. The guys left two days ago, it's all mixed and ready. I just need to talk her into filming a music video. I've got an amazing concept."

"Stevie loves you," Jeff mumbles. "Against better judgement."

"Excuse you, I'm a dream," Harry frowns. "Anyway, you've got your manager voice on, not your friend one. What brings you here? What happened?"

"I don't have a manager voice," Jeff furrows his brows.

"Yes, you do," Harry sing-songs. "You're using it now. So spill. Spill the tea, bro."

"I hate when you do that stupid valley girl accent thing."

"You love me," Harry gives him a shit-eating grin. There may or may not be pasta sauce on his chin.

"I do but..." Jeff sighs, putting his food down on the table. "When were you going to tell me you're dating someone?"

Harry freezes, a single penne stuck on his fork halfway to his mouth. He lowers his hand and puts the takeout box away. "I thought I did, didn't I?"

"No," Jeff says, his manager voice rivalling an angry soccer mum. "You said you and Lucrecia were just friends. Then I opened Twitter yesterday morning and what don't I see. You and Lucrecia making out like there's no tomorrow. In a fucking bar no less."

Harry clears his throat. He stares at the carpeted floor for a while, before he can face Jeff's angry stare again. "I was a bit boozy, alright? We had gone wine tasting before. It was her friend's birthday party."

"H, you said you were friends ," Jeff gesticulates wildly with his hands. "My email was a shitshow because no one knew you were dating someone. I didn't know you were dating someone. You need to tell me this shit, I'm sorry, I know it's your private life but there's a lot of people on this planet who don't believe celebrities are entitled to one."

"Don't use that word," Harry frowns a little. "Sorry, okay, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. Things just moved so fast with Luc and I didn't even know anything was happening. Before I knew it, we were kind of like... dating already."

"Just let me know next time, yeah?" Jeff slaps Harry's knee and the manager is mostly gone. "I'm getting old, H, I can't go through these shocks. Oh, is she here?"

Harry shakes his head, "Nope, she left last night to go back to Milan to be with Dario. They might come here together in a few days, don't know yet."

Jeff hums, frowning. "I never would've thought you would date someone with a kid. Not very on-brand for you. But Lucrecia is a model. She isn't blonde though."

"Ha ha, very funny," Harry rolls his eyes and gets back to his lunch. "I never would've thought I'd date anyone again because I was supposed to be married now but, life works in mysterious ways, doesn't it?"

"I was genuinely surprised you two lasted as long as you did," Jeff says, chuckling. Harry doesn't react. "Speaking of blonde models, funny how he's the one dating one of 'em now."

Harry stares Jeff down quite nastily, "How many times do you need to remind me that my ex-fiancé left me for his ex-girlfriend?"

" He didn't leave you, you broke up with him," Jeff points at Harry with his fork. "Quite dramatically, dare I say."

"That's a technicality, he's responsible for it," Harry mumbles. "Anyway, that's all in the past. I've moved on, I don't need to keep up with him and that... woman. Do you want me to play you the Stevie song?"

"You still haven't picked a title?" Jeff laughs in disbelief. "You wrote it months ago. Also, you can just call her Gigi you know."

"Shut up," Harry laughs. "And no, I can't. Not until she grows the fuck up and stops throwing shade at me on Instagram like are we fourteen? Honestly, what adult does the shit she does? Every single time I have a new cover out, she starts posting his magazine shoots and shit? I don't want him back, no, thank you. She can keep him and all of his bad habits and tendencies to cheat. I'll be the one laughing when their relationship implodes and Kendall will be texting me she's trying to hang out with her again. Like I don't know how it goes."

"Are you sure you're over it all?" Jeff quirks a brow at Harry.

Harry sighs almost painfully. "Yes, Jeffrey, I'm just pissed off she can't keep my name out of her mouth and every other week there's a stupid tabloid article about it all. If she's so threatened by me, that's not my problem because I don't care. We had what we had, it's over. Some of it was amazing, some of it wasn't. I don't hold any resentment towards Zayn anymore, we just didn't work out, it happens. Sure, I was angry the first few weeks after the breakup. But it's been a year, we're both with different people, I'm happy, I assume he's happy too. That's how life goes. It's neither mine nor his fault that his current girlfriend is more childish than the actual four-year-old child of my current girlfriend."

Jeff raises his brows and shakes his head after a moment. "You guys are weird. I'm glad I'm not intertwined in all that mess."

"What, you wanna date me now?" Harry laughs.

"You have been in an unofficial throuple with Glenne and me for like seven years now, I think I'm good."

Harry laughs again and almost chokes on pasta. After a coughing fit, he looks at Jeff again. "I'm playing you the Stevie song. I don't need an affirmative answer."

--------------

okay one more chapter!! soooo... harry has a girlfriend! and the couple no one likes is back together too so big yikes! but don't worry, things will get better (at some point) 💞😉