Harry Styles - Instant Attraction Ch. 12

12. Apart

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A/N: This chapter is written a little differently -- in more of a timeline scenario. The two weeks are kept track of in a sort of diary format, in different POVs, so I hope you enjoy this different styled chapter!

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Day 1 -- Monday: Harry in Seattle

Getting on the plane to Seattle was one of the hardest things Harry had found he'd ever had to do. The second he'd sent the text to Charley, he'd switched his phone off and slipped it into his checked baggage so he wouldn't be tempted to check it or call her. But it didn't stop his mind from whirling. Had she already listened to it? Was she awake? If she had listened to it, what did she think? Was she freaking out? Was she already pulling away from him? It made him almost frantic, and he was glad he wasn't flying private this time -- despite being in First Class, the hum of passengers and constant movement helped to distract him.


By the time he stepped into the car waiting for him in Seattle, he knew she would have listened to the song. He couldn't think of anything else, and he was starting to regret his rash idea. How was he supposed to focus on writing songs and finishing his album, when his heart and mind were all back in LA with a feisty latino beauty.

"So you want to head right to the house?" Mitch had met him at the gate and was in the back seat with him. Harry smiled, trying to switch his attention to his friend.

"Yeah, let's go right there and get into it," he smiled, hoping that if he could focus on his work as soon as possible, he would be able to stop thinking about Charley.

The drive out of the city to the house where the studio was set up was an hour long, and he chatted with Mitch comfortably about his wife and new child. Harry was grateful that all Mitch seemed to want to do is talk about his daughter Maisie -- parents could always seem to find a million things to discuss. He encouraged him to tell him everything, asking to see photos and being genuinely happy for his friend.

The rest of the team was already at the house, and when he arrived, Harry was jovially greeted, pulled into the house for an early lunch and drinks. The property itself was beautiful -- very secluded, huge gardens, no neighbours for miles. When his manager had suggested it, he'd leapt at it, feeling like it was a place he could write, sing, play, walk and relax. Now, though, it just felt like the furthest place away from the woman he loved that he could get.

***

Day 6 -- Saturday: Harry in Seattle

The first few days went by slowly as they all settled into the routine of polishing songs, producing the tracks, replacing lines and sometimes whole verses. Harry threw himself into it, trying to distract himself from thinking about Charley. He'd been tempted the first night to just call her, breaking the pact of being unplugged, but as soon as he'd switched his phone on, he realised they hadn't had any service out here anyway. The overwhelming feeling of disappointment after the initial rush of excitement had just given him more reason to dive wholly into his music.

It was day six when Harry's manager arrived unexpectedly at the house.

"Jeff," Harry said, frowning as he came to greet his friend. "Everything okay?"

"Everything's fine, sorry for worrying you, I know I shouldn't be here," Jeff replied, shaking Harry's hand with a smile. "I'm actually here because an opportunity has come up that I don't think you should turn down, and it requires you to take a meeting in Seattle tomorrow night."

Harry frowned more deeply. "But the whole reason of me being out here is so we're not interrupted. Heading into Seattle for the night would completely negate that," he said slowly. This must be a big deal, if Jeff is out here, trying to get me to meet with someone.

"I know, I know," his manager said, brushing the comment off. "But I think you'll want to meet with this person. It's Stevie Nicks. She wants to meet you."

Harry was blown away. His idol. "Stevie Nicks wants to meet me?"

"Yes, she's here in Seattle and I don't know how she found out you were here, but she asked if you would meet her for dinner. I know how much you love her, so I thought you wouldn't mind if I came out here to disturb you," Jeff said in a rush, a touch triumphantly. He looked very pleased with himself.

Harry's mind was reeling, his mind completely off Charley for the first time all week. "Of course I'll meet her for dinner. Blood hell. Are you sure? Stevie Nicks!"

Jeff laughed and clapped him on the back. "I'll tell her you said yes. Here's the details. I've got to go, but I'll book you and Mitch a nice hotel nearby under your usual travel names. You can come back first thing the morning after."

Harry could only nod as Mitch walked off to have a quick word with Mitch.

***

Day 7 -- Sunday: Harry in Seattle

As Harry accepted a last embrace from Stevie the next night, he felt completely high. He watched the motherly woman brush out of the classy restaurant, completely blown away. He'd just met with his idol, and she had professed how much she loved the two teaser songs he'd released, Two Ghosts and Girl Crush. She'd said she couldn't wait to hear more, and that she was proud of him for following this new sound. He'd opened up to her about how he wasn't sure if his fans would follow him down this road, but she'd told him confidently they'd follow him anywhere. He hoped she was right.

Turning, he suddenly heard his voice called out. "Harry?"

Blinking, Harry brought the woman's face into focus. "Kendall?"

"It is you!" the famous Kardashian sister laughed and rushed up to give him a hug. Harry hugged her reflexively back, and accepted her kiss of greeting on his cheek, kissing her briefly back, narrowly avoiding her lips on his. "What are you doing here?" Kendall Jenner laughed and looked up at him, keeping her hands on his upper arms.

"I was uh..." Harry trailed off, not sure he wanted to share his magical meeting with Stevie Nicks -- he wanted to tell Charley first. "I was just having dinner with a friend, but she's just left."

"She, huh?" Kendall teased with a wink, still holding onto him. Suddenly aware of their closeness, Harry took an abrupt step back, trying to cover his awkwardness by sweeping his hand to the chair Stevie had just vacated.

"Do you want to have a drink before you go?" he asked, ignoring her question. She flashed him a smile before turning to wave at her security, indicating she was staying a moment longer.

"Of course! I feel like I haven't seen you in forever," she laughed, and Harry was immediately reminded of the time they'd casually seen each other. Kendall was vivacious, fun, flirty and light hearted. It had been fun hanging out with her, and she'd never wanted to put a label on anything. With her it was never serious. But she was no Charley.

As they chatted, Harry kept comparing Kendall with Charley, the way she laughed or talked or gestured. And as he'd found in their brief fling, he found himself drifting off as she chattered away. The only real problem was, he'd never found her conversation interesting at all.

Finally, Kendall's security team finally got her up out of her seat. She laughed as she kissed Harry goodbye again.

"I better go before they have a fit," she grinned up at him. Harry smiled down at her vibrant smile. She really was a beauty, there was no denying it. She just wasn't Charley.

"I'll have Jeff send you tickets. Just pick the date you want to go to," he smiled, referring to his tour they'd just been discussing.

"You bet." She hesitated and smiled wickedly at him. "Sure you don't want to come with me tonight?" she asked suggestively, raising an eyebrow.

Harry tensed and tried to be as polite as he could. "I've got a girlfriend," he reminded her with a tight smile.

Kendall laughed. "I won't tell if you don't."

Harry shook his head ruefully at her playful manner. "Sorry Kendall, not this time," he said and gave her a little shove toward her security team.

She pouted, then immediately grinned again. Typical Kendall, Harry thought with wry amusement.

"I'll see you at a concert some time then," she blew him a kiss, winked and sashayed out of the building, Harry shaking his head behind her.

Blowing out a breath, he made his way out back, away from the front doors where he was now sure there would be cameras waiting for Kendall. There was a car waiting for him, and he slipped quietly into it, thinking about his meeting with Stevie, and how much he wanted to tell Charley all about it. He sighed, wishing he'd brought his phone with him. He'd left it purposefully back at the house so he wouldn't be tempted to turn it back on.

What is she doing right now? he wondered, looking up at the lit up space needle. Had she had time to process the lyrics to If I Could Fly? Was she freaking out? Was she realising she loved him too?

***

Day 8 -- Monday: Charley in Los Angeles


Charley had agonised all week over what to do. It was one week today since he'd left her with the song which disclosed his true feelings to her. It didn't say it outright, but after scouring the internet for all possible meanings to the song, playing it a thousand times, she was pretty sure he was admitting he loved her -- and it stole her breath from her every time she thought it.

If that was true, then there was no reason for her to hide her love for him anymore. She'd recklessly pulled her phone out to text him more times than she could count, fingers hovering over the keyboard, mind composing how she'd tell him. Each time she'd put the phone away. While she liked the idea of him switching his phone on to find a message from her saying she loved him, she also thought it was too impersonal. She wanted to see his face when he told her, wanted to see the emotion as he said it back. She imagined the scene a million times over, and it filled her with irrational laughter and happiness every time.

She did finally send a text to him, not saying she loved him, but one to put his mind at ease the second he turned his phone on. The lyrics, 'and I hope that you don't run from me', haunted her. It was why he'd told her in a song. He was frightened, just like her, that she would reject him. How silly, she thought giddily. I should have just told him the second I realised. Now we have to wait two weeks, with all this anticipation.

Her text to him read:

CP: I'm not running. Can't wait to see you -- C xxx

The second she'd sent it, she clicked out, immediately closing the Messages program on her phone. She knew he wouldn't get it until he was back in Los Angeles, so there was no point in staring for the three dots that weren't coming.

Every day for the last week she'd gone for an hour-long run to distract herself from the hole in her heart. She ached from missing him, the nights were the hardest. She wondered if he was achieving everything he wanted to, knowing how important this debut album was to him. Charley knew it would be amazing, especially if Two Ghosts was anything to go by.

Charley reflected on the song, and the meaning behind it. It was so intriguing. Harry had admitted to her that the song was about the relationship he'd had with Taylor Swift when he was so young. He hadn't been ready for any kind of relationship, especially not such a high profile one when he was still figuring everything out. He'd made some dumb mistakes and they hadn't parted happily. This song was his apology to Taylor.

Charley had marvelled over Harry's maturity. The way he'd told the story, she hadn't even felt a stab of jealousy, just complete understanding. It had been a long time ago, but this was his first opportunity to address the feelings of a young boy finding fame and romance too much to handle. She wondered what Taylor thought about it -- if she'd finally forgive him. Harry had said Taylor had completely frozen him out since they'd dated all those years ago -- and so far no one had reached out from her camp about the song.

Charley smiled as her mind flicked to the song Harry had sung for her. Girl Crush. No one else knew that he'd changed the words for her, that despite the song meaning something different, Harry had covered it for her.

The other thing she was desperate to tell Harry, was that her second offer had been accepted on the house. She'd had to wait until Tuesday to find out, but it had been worth every second. Charley had been expecting a settlement date of a couple weeks, but it looked like she could move in this weekend since the house was already cleared out. The children of the people who had passed away were happy for her to just move in when she was ready.

If I Could Fly was currently on repeat in her apartment as she laid in bed on this Monday morning, a week to go until he came back. She'd been unable to listen to much else.

Picking up her phone from her bedside table, she gave into temptation once again and checked the news to see if there was any mention of Harry in Seattle. It was a ridiculous exercise she'd taken to doing every day since he'd left. Completely the opposite of what she knew she should do, but she was so hopelessly in love with him and missing him so much, that any hint of a whisper of him was welcome right now.

Joy leapt in her as the very first result of her 'Harry Styles' search came up with a brand new headline. And then her heart stopped as she read it.

"Harry Styles and Kendall Jenner: Sleepless in Seattle?"

Mind going numb, she tapped on the clickbait and instantly regretted it. At least ten grainy photos showed Harry meeting the famous Kardashian sister at a famous five-star restaurant in downtown Seattle. The photos showed him embracing her, kissing her, having a drink with her, laughing with her. She looked stunning, even in the blurry pictures. There was also a photo showing her leaving out front, and a shot of Harry sneaking out the back apparently at the same time. The article suggested he was leaving to join her at her hotel room.

Charley's mind raced, trying to make sense of what she was seeing and reading. You know how the media twists things, she tried to tell herself, but the photos of Harry kissing Kendall were burned into her mind. The shots were angled so she could see the back and side of Harry's head and the cheek of Kendall's face, but it looked as if they were kissing on the mouth -- her hands were gripping his biceps and her eyes were closed. It was pretty incriminating -- how could he explain away kissing another woman? Tears were suddenly stinging at her eyes.

And anyway, what was he doing in Seattle meeting Kendall Jenner? Charley thought as irrational anger started to build. Here she was, listening to his damn song on repeat like a lovesick teenager, and he was out in Seattle with a famous model -- one of his exes no less! Another emotionally damaging Google search revealed Harry had enjoyed and on-off relationship with benefits with the model, if the media was to be believed. The accompanying photos of her sitting on his lap in a bathing suit on a yacht left no doubt.

Slowly, Charley let her hand drop onto the bed and she stared straight up at the ceiling, blinking back tears. I will not cry. It might not even be what it looked like. It probably wasn't. Somehow, though, that didn't matter as suddenly a new line of thinking struck her.

Here she lay, in her regular, LA bed, about to get up to go for her regular LA run, start her regular LA job and then clock off and eat her regular LA dinner. And there was Harry. Meeting supermodels in expensive, high-end restaurants, recording an album, about to head off on a press junket then worldwide tour. Who was she kidding? She couldn't fit into his life. He deserved someone like Kendall, or Taylor. Someone who moved in the same circles at him and didn't make idiots of themselves at parties for not reading the news or following celebrities social accounts. Despair gripped her and she couldn't fight out of it.

Anger at herself raced through her and Charley threw her phone hard across the room, and she heard a loud crack as it hit the door frame. How fitting that it's broken, she thought miserably as she pulled the covers back over her head. Just like my heart.

***

Late in the morning, Charley finally dragged herself out of bed to work. But after reading the news of Harry and Kendall Jenner in Seattle, Charley hadn't gone onto the internet again. She was done. Angry at herself for breaking her phone, she rashly decided to have a fresh start and ordered a new iPhone online as well as a brand new SIM card. It meant a new phone number. It also meant losing all of Harry's texts. Before she could change her mind, she pulled the old SIM out of her broken phone and bent it in half. No going back, she thought through her silent tears.

***

Day 9 -- Tuesday: Charley in Los Angeles

The new iPhone and SIM arrived in the mail on overnight express the next morning and she distracted herself by setting it up and restoring an old back up. As soon as she opened the Messages up, seeing absolutely nothing, she burst into tears. It was like Harry had been completely erased from her life.

Dialling a number she knew by heart, Charley burst into tears the second Caroline answered. Caroline was beside herself as she listened to Charley's story, unable to come round to comfort her friend as she was currently in Australia at the set of a perfume commercial.

"Charley! You know he wouldn't have cheated on you, he's not that stupid," Caroline said desperately over the sound of Charley's sobs.

"Do I though? I barely know him, Caroline. He was supposed to be off-grid locked in some studio in the middle of nowhere. He couldn't have any contact with anyone, just his band! Then lo-and-behold, he was photographed out having dinner with Kendall Jenner." And maybe leaving with her, the nasty little voice inside her piped up.

Caroline didn't have anything to say to that and Charley rushed on to fill the awful pause.

"But it doesn't matter, don't you see? I can't be with him. It made me realise how stupid this all is. I don't want to be that pathetic girlfriend at home Googling her famous boyfriend to see him flying all over the world with supermodels and famous singers," Charley cried brokenly. "I was never like this before. He needs someone like him. Like Kendall."

Caroline huffed out a frustrated sound at that. "That's ridiculous Charley! You guys are perfect together! Just talk to him when he gets back, okay? Please," Caroline begged. There was a muffled sound in the background. "Shit, I have to go Char, they're calling me. Don't do anything stupid like text or call him, okay? Wait until he gets home and talk to him!"

After hanging up, Charley had stared at the phone in her hands as tears had rolled down her cheeks, shaking her head.

***

Day 15 -- Monday: Harry in Seattle

He was going to see her tonight! God, it had felt like a lifetime, not two weeks. Harry excitedly packed his bags, feeling the anticipation build. His confidence had grown over the two weeks that she wouldn't reject him. His plan had been perfect, Charley wouldn't turn him away. He was sure. She was in love with him, too. Or so he hoped. He often replayed that dreamy whisper in his mind wondering if he'd imagined it.

As he was driven into Seattle, he switched his phone on the second he knew reception was back. A flood of messages and missed calls filled the car with beeps and tones. He hurriedly checked through the call lists, then onto the text messages when he didn't see her name. Heart sinking, he checked and re-checked, but there were no new messages from Charley. The last text in their thread was still the one from him listing the song.