Save You Tonight

After the laughter had died down and every bit of the food was consumed, it was time for me to leave the three boys. If I was being completely honest with myself, I didn’t want to go back to my flat. Every fiber of my being was going against leaving this building and hitting the streets of London again. I knew it meant that all traces of evidence that this night had occurred would be gone. Harry talked a big talk, saying that he was completely sure that I would become good friends with them, but to leave his presence made me worry that it would make me leave his mind. After all, he did meet thousands of girls, all hoping that they would be the one that would stick there.

But as I lifted myself off the sofa to bid my farewells and leave, Harry jumped up after me. “Mind if I walk you home? Don’t want another incident like the other night taking place.”

My heart raced as Niall and Liam got the cue that it was time for them to go if Harry himself was leaving the flat. “Bye bye, Maya. It was nice meeting you. Hope to see you soon,” Niall said sleepily, reaching for me and pulling me into a friendly hug. As he pulled away, his hand found the top of my head and ruffled my dark brown locks into a disheveled mess. No wonder Harry’s hair was so messed up all the time.

“Harry, I like her quite a bit. If you don’t keep her around, I’ll kill you, hear?” Liam told Harry with a stern, fatherly tone. The serious boy turned to me and his big brown eyes changed expressions. “If I don’t see you before I’m off to Chicago, I would just like to say that I’m glad Harry met you. Keep the boy in check while I’m gone, please.”

I glanced over at the grinning Harry before telling Liam, “I will. I might have to save his ass a few times. He seems to stumble across trouble fairly easily.”

Content with my response, Liam smiled sweetly and gave me a sincere hug. Once we all made it out into the hallway, Liam and Niall made their way to their respective flats just a few doors down. Harry then looped his arm through mine, beaming down at me. “Shall we?”

Minutes later, the two of us were walking along the streets, my gym bag over Harry’s shoulder and a tight knit hat covering his mess of curls. “Is that to disguise yourself?” I asked him stupidly, gawking up at him as if he wasn’t real. Out on the streets, he seemed to be a figment of my imagination.

“Pretty much,” he replied, readjusting the cap and making some of his brown hair messily stick out at the bottom. He took a fleeting glance over his shoulder every few minutes as we walked in quiet.

“Thanks for letting me stay for dinner tonight,” I finally said, breaking our sleepy silence, seemingly pulling him from his own world with my voice.

“Oh, absolutely. It was a blast. I’m so glad we bumped into one another on the pavement earlier,” he replied distractedly. I worried at his attitude suddenly, a jolt of concern coursing through me. Certain that he was already bored with me, I focused my gaze downward to the concrete below my feet, hoping this walk would be as quick and painless as possible. Surely I would never see the boy again.

“Yeah, yeah…” I mumbled in agreement. My voice shook, tears forming at the brim of my eye lids. I was just about to sniffle loudly when he spoke up, completely alert and back to the same Harry I had just spent a majority of my day with.

“I’m sorry if I seem so distracted… I just, well, you seem to attract big men in suits, so I’m keeping an eye out,” he said quietly, almost as if he were paranoid that people were listening from the passing alleys.

“I absolutely understand. Thank you,” I began, feeling touched by his vigilant, if not unnecessary, scanning of our surroundings. “It’s the first time I’ve felt like somebody actually cares.”

Harry paused, peering down at me incredulously. “Surely you don’t mean that. Your parents, your friends? What about them? They never cared?”

“Nope, I’m just little Maya from America, seeking refuge in a foreign land,” I replied simply.

“Well, I do care. I know you got ninja moves, but I’ll be certain I never see you pinned to a wall by a big scary man ever again,” he exclaimed, a pitying look in his eyes and a half-hearted smile on his face.

“Thank you,” I mumbled, sending us into a more comfortable silence than before. Now that it was quiet, I could hear the sounds of pavement crunching beneath our shoes, Harry’s soft breathing, his slightly fast heart rate, and the muffled voices of the scant number of people still on the streets.

I glanced at the clock on my cell phone and found that midnight had passed, yet here Harry was. He was still here with me. I just wanted to tell him everything about my powers so that he could understand me fully and know that I was different than other girls. I looked at him from the corner of my eye as we walked and he was still darting his eyes around like a character in a horror movie, certain that something sinister would emerge from the shadows.

Unexpectedly, I heard him begin to hum “You’re the One that I Want” from Grease. I chuckled lightly at his choice of song in such a situation. “Damn Louis, always playing that stupid soundtrack wheneva he’s back at the flat. He tells me ‘Whenever ya scared, Harold, just sing Grease songs. It’s like Maria from Sound’a Music always says when you scared, you sing and it makes you feel better,’” he defended himself by doing a spot-on imitation of his band mate, and blushing madly at being caught humming such a tune.

“It’s alright. I love oldies music. It’s my favorite,” I told him through laughter, feeling an overwhelming adoration for the curly haired boy.

“What’s your favorite song, then?” he inquired, happy to be on a lighter subject. I pursed my lips, starting to wrack my brain for what could possibly be my favorite song. Then it came to me.

“‘I’m Beginning to See the Light’ by Duke Ellington, but my favorite is when Bobby Darin sings it. I love his big band feel to it,” I answered him confidently, watching as his face lit up.

“Great song…” he concurred, closing his eyes slowly.

“Yeah, I love it.”

“Now that the stars are in your eyes, I’m beginning to see the light,” he sang quietly in his low, slightly raspy voice. I hadn’t heard many of One Direction’s songs, but I assumed many of them were auto-tuned to have good voices. When I heard Harry’s singing voice, my knees turned to jelly for a few seconds. He had talent. The tone of his voice and the soulfulness that was underneath the words made me instantly understand why he was a star.

I bit my lip and averted my gaze to the concrete, noticing a familiar painting on the block of pavement that I knew to be in front of my building. Glancing up, I found that my destination had been reached. I stopped, causing Harry to lurch back just in time for a bright flash. A man with a camera had jumped out from behind the bush to snag a photo of the two of us with hands clasped.

“Oi!” Harry yelled, lunging at the already gone paparazzi. “Well, that’ll hit the Sun tomorrow, no doubt. I’m sorry, Maya.”

While he apologized, all I could imagine was my face on the cover of a tabloid. The CIA would be furious. I was supposed to keep my powers a secret, which is why I had always essentially kept my existence a secret by never befriending anyone. Maya, the girl hand in hand with Harry Styles late at night, would be anything but a secret.

Almost expecting Cameron to be in my flat, I accepted Harry’s offer to escort me up. He held a cheeky grin as he entered my humble abode while I flicked on each light in the small apartment, certain that an agent would be waiting for me.

“Coast clear,” I muttered, realizing that we were alone.

For a moment, I stood there, merely taking in his features with my supernatural eyes: his tanned skin, his mess of curly hair jutting out from beneath the cap, his lean body that I so desperately wanted to see more of, and, lastly, his eyes. I knew how cheesy it was to be guffawing over someone’s eyes, yet I didn’t care. For me, I could see every detail of them. There was a light ring of sea foam green surrounding the pupil that faded into a darker forest green around the outside. The intricate lines of color created an amazing piece of artwork within just a small radius. I felt sorry for those with average eyesight, for they could never see the small details that I could.

“Just one ninja move, please?” Harry blurted out, a pleading look in those eyes I had just been studying. Without even a mental protest, I flipped myself into a back walk-over with ease, and then did a silent and effortless front handspring into my tiny kitchen, where I pulled a spoon out of my silverware drawer, bending it completely between my thumb and index finger. Slinking over to him, I handed him the spoon, evoking a gulp of excited nervousness from him. “That was the hottest fuckin’ thing I have eva seen. Christ, you’re so flexible.”

I laughed loudly at his response, never failing to remind me that he was still a teenage boy. His immaturity made me feel so complete. My situation left me with the need to be mature and collected at all times, but when Harry was around, he knew the right times to fill the gap that I had in the carefree, adolescent aspect of every teenager’s brain. It was nice to be able to laugh.

“You know, Harry, today was probably one of my best days. I feel so grateful to have spent the day with someone I can confidently consider a friend already, so thank you,” I said delicately, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear and fidgeting with my hands. I didn’t want him to leave. I didn’t want him to tell me a lie, then leave without ever seeing him again. I could see him moving on to other girls, probably ones with supermodel looks and more experience with guys. He was a famous pop star for god’s sake, how the hell could he think that I was special?

Yeah, so I had powers. I could transfigure myself slightly. I could see, hear, smell, touch, and taste things better than the average human. So I could move around water and I was extremely strong and flexible with the ability to heal minor cuts on my body. Looking over the list in my head, it all seemed impressive. But I wasn’t special. I was just a freak.

Just when I began to truly feel down again, Harry spoke with a smile upon his lips, almost as if he were reading my mind. “You’re a pretty damn special girl. You just come into my life-”

“Actually, you ran into my life,” I interrupted him, causing him to playfully roll his eyes and raise his hand.

“You come into my life and you befriend my best mates with no difficulty. You clearly go to the gym a lot. That’s so hot. And you’ve got this lost look about you that makes me wanna help you find whatever it is you're looking for,” he finished, taking a deep breath and then planting a soft kiss on my cheek. Never had I ever felt such a thing. He was so close. His warm lips touching my cheek so gently made me hear only the blood pumping through me. He lingered there, his lips hovering by my ear, his warm breath tickling my ear and making my skin shiver with goosebumps, and he added quietly, “Find me.”

I was just about to fall into him when he made his way toward the door. My mind was dizzy, I was a complete wreck, like I'd just woken up from a dream and was slightly delirious, trying to figure out what was reality and what was just a dream. He surprised me as he bid me goodbye. “I best be off. Lou might get back from El’s place and wonder where I’d gone off to. I’ll see you around, Maya.”

“Goodbye, Harry,” I said to him as he shut the door slowly behind him. I hoped that it wouldn’t truly be the last time I saw him. Then an idea popped into my head. I dashed into my bedroom, raiding my closet and quickly finding what I was looking for. I raced down the hall as I witnessed the lift closing with him inside. I yelled his name, his head snapped up and he stuck a hand out, stalling the doors from closing completely. I presented the sparkling shoe to him, a heel that I had bought just to look at, knowing that I’d never get the chance to wear them. He seemed confused, but it clicked when I told him. “Make sure you return this to me one day. Here’s a reason for you to find me.”