Finer Things // h.s.

Fine Line: Part 1

A/N: Important authors note at the end of this chapter so pleaseeee make sure you check it out!!

December 12th, 2019

Harry's POV

This is it. The night before the world is given my album. The night before I reveal a piece of myself to the larger population and for some reason that scares the shit out of me. Everyone's coming over for dinner tomorrow night, even Mum and Gemma's flight landed this morning to be here for it, but I wanted to spend tonight with her. I wanted to be in the moment with her. The album is my gift to Tilly and this time when I show it to her, I'd rather not do it the way I did last time. S'pose that wasn't the best idea come to think of it but nevertheless it doesn't fail to make me laugh when I think about the look on Dean's face. Dean. I miss him really badly. He was like a second father and I wish I could give the album to him the way I can his daughter. Before he died, I remember being on the phone with him, just a few days before we landed in Manchester.

February 15th, 2019

I shuffle on my feet as I lean against the wall outside, looking over the view as the waves are set afire by the sinking sun that melts into the deep ocean sky. I run my hand through my hair and keep the phone held out on speaker with the other.

"Hmm I can... kinda hear it..." Dean says through a deep cough and I inhale, squeezing my eyes shut as I hold back the tears.

"Here, I'll facetime you-"

"No! Don't you do that, Harold. You don't wanna see me like this." Dean says proudly and I take the phone off speaker and hold it to my ear.

"Remember when I was in year three and I broke out in really awful hives at school?" I ask him and I hear a soft laugh on the other line.

"Mum was in London and she couldn't pick me up from school and Robin was stuck in a meeting, so he wasn't picking up. So Mum told the front office lady-"

"The one with the bright red glasses and the same coloured lipstick?" Dean says and I hear the smirk through his voice.

"Yeah and somehow it always ended up on her teeth? But she was nice and always offered us saltwater taffy... Even if it was at least a month old." I say and smile.

"Tilly loved those damn lollies." He says and I smile.

"Well Mum told the office lady to call you and you had to come pick me up."

"I left work, picked both you and Til up early that day..."

"Sure did. Point being, you've seen me at my worst... I don't think it would be a problem seeing you the way you are right now, Dean." I say and I hear a sigh followed by a quick, 'Alright'.

I take the phone away from my ear and hold it up to the sky and I press facetime, after a few rings it changes from the Caller ID to Dean sat outside by his garden with a drip in his nose. His hair isn't dark and gelled to perfection anymore, rather it sits low and flat, pushed back out of his face. His eyes look hollow and the clear blue of his iris' has faded to make them look grey. The under bags of his eyes are dark, almost purple and his face is drained of any colour and life it once had. I feel a heat rise in my chest as a lump grows within my throat and I force a smile at the camera.

"Hey Dean." I say softly.

"Hello Harry." Dean responds with ten times more warmth.

I inhale sharply and do a spin, showing him the view.