Save You Tonight

Harry showed up at my door one afternoon, dressed in a large coat, jeans, and a tight knit hat to tame his wild locks. It had been some months since we had met for the first time, which made me worry that Cameron or someone worse, possibly the woman who had warned me on the phone so many mornings ago, might show up at any time in the streets. Yet when I walked with Harry, I knew I’d be safe. The CIA wouldn’t risk confronting me about confidential matters in front of another person, especially one with fame.

But it wasn’t just the logistical reasons that made me feel secure around him. He constantly assured me that my ninja moves weren’t necessary should another “bugger” (his euphemistic term for Cameron) stop me in the streets while he was around. Although I was certain my fighting skills were significantly better, it still felt nice to see him step up and be a good friend. At this thought, I couldn’t help but let my mind ponder the friend situation in my life.

Ever since that night on the rooftop of the theater, we were inseparable and we were extremely cautious about the media catching on to our friendship. Despite his constant flirting with me and telling me how much he wanted to shag me, Harry and I were just friends. He would joke incessantly, be immature and sometimes downright stupid, but I knew he understood. Underneath the infantile nature of his actions, he knew that I was inexperienced with boys and that rushing into something would only end in disaster. But the two of us grew as close as ever, and now, with his goofy grin, he strode into my flat, falling to the sofa with no grace at all.

“Get dressed. We’re goin’ on an outin’,” Harry commanded, ripping the hat off his head and mumbling, “Damn cap.”

“Harry, I just got done cleaning up. You can’t just barge in here unannounced and expect me to get ready in a matter of minutes.” The irony in that statement made me laugh to myself from the kitchen.

“I can wait. Trust me, you’ll wanna see this,” he told me excitedly, hopping up and joining me by the sink.

“Where are we going, then?” I asked, now curious at what had him so giddy.

“Can’t tell. You wouldn’t wanna go if I told you.”

My interest level dropped a considerable amount, making me go back to finishing up the few dishes left in my sink to wash. To my surprise, he quietly grabbed a towel and began drying the already cleaned dishes, putting each one back in the places they belonged around the kitchen. He obviously wanted to go somewhere badly if he was sucking up to me in this way.

“Can’t we just stay in? Watch a film? I’m exhausted from cleaning my place all day,” I begged him, grabbing the front of his sweater and bunching the material in my hands. I could smell his laundry detergent and the bit of cologne he had on. I raised an eyebrow. “Cologne?”
Harry blushed down at me, a cheeky smile upon his lips.

“I wanted to uhh... smell nice,” he defended himself, clearly not quick enough to come up with a good excuse. He pouted and sighed deeply, pointing a finger at my bedroom door.

“Just go! You don’t need to be fancy. Just get bundled up, it’s a bit nippy out.”

I did as he wanted and changed quickly, wracking my brain with what could possibly have him so energized. It wasn’t like he was taking me out to dinner. It was still too early for dinner. I hoped it wasn’t something that had to do with his current obsession with superheroes ever since the Avengers Assemble film came out on Blu-Ray. I knew he didn’t pay one lick of attention to it when we saw it together for the first time, but when Louis came home with it one evening, he was constantly talking about what life would be like to have x-ray vision, flying capabilities, invisibility. Damn Marvel was making me paranoid that he would catch on to my abilities, but I tried to stay as calm as possible. Of course, using those abilities meant that it took a matter of minutes to shape-shift my hair and makeup into place. I had to sit on my bed for an extra ten minutes to make it convincing for the singer.

Once ready, I came through the door, watching him as his green eyes lit up at the sight of me. I could never get used to the look he gave me when I entered a room. He stood up, shoving his hands into his pockets, shrugging his shoulders and jerking his head toward the door. “Let’s get going before it gets dark.”

I nodded shyly, handing him his knit hat and reminding him to don his sunglasses, just so that people wouldn’t accost him in the streets. When we stepped out of my building, there was a black car waiting for us. I slid onto the leather seats and pushed back my bangs nervously, hearing him mumble to the driver to take us to North London. Harry then settled himself into the back seat with me. My heart thudded loudly, but I came to the realization that there were two rhythms, one slightly quicker than the other. I stared at his chest, then up into his eyes, speechless that he was so anxious.

We rode in silence for a few minutes, but quickly fell into easy conversation about Liam’s latest news from Chicago, having decided to stay for a while with the infamous Twitter girl that he went on a monumental quest to find. Although I had only known Harry while he wasn’t touring, I couldn’t imagine how I was going to take him being gone all the time in the future. He and his friends were the only thing I had in my life other than Margo and Tom, who I barely ever saw in person. What was I going to do once he was off touring the world again? I knew we were just friends, but the thought of him meeting thousands of other girls from around the globe made me extremely uneasy.

He went on and on about how Louis was spending far too much time with Eleanor, never coming back to their flat but opting to stay with her. I could tell he was upset about his best friend ditching him lately, but he confided in me that he was happy to have me around or else he’d be severely depressed. Then there was Niall, who Harry was convinced was more attracted to food than girls, but he was still fun to be around nonetheless. The Irish boy had always made me feel welcome into the group. If I thought Harry could talk, Niall would be the one that could make anyone feel like they were funny enough to be a stand-up comedian. I could make a joke and he would laugh hysterically at me, boosting my confidence each time we conversed. And then, lastly, there was Zayn. Harry spoke very little of the brooding, dark-featured pretty boy when he was around me, but the two of us got on extremely well while we were around each other. Despite his good looks, he was immensely insecure about himself, which was something I could sense from the moment I met him and helped me connect to him in our later meetings. Zayn, although he came across shy, quickly opened up to me and felt as though he could come to me if he had a problem.

As we talked about each of the members in his band, the car rolled to a stop and we got out on a street that looked just the same as the one in front of my building. It was just an ordinary London street. I looked around for a restaurant that we might go to, or just anything that could possibly have him so excited. “It’s about two blocks from here, we can walk,” he assured me, taking my hand in his and pulling me in a northerly direction down the street. My brain was kicking into overdrive the entire two blocks until we got to what looked like an extremely large mass of trees behind a big Victorian building.

My mouth became slightly ajar when I read the letters on the sign posted near the building.

“You brought me to a cemetery?” I asked him incredulously. “Really, Harry?”

“It’s not just any cemetery. It’s Highgate Cemetery. Trust me; this is the coolest thing ever. I visited it when I was a small boy,” he retorted, his expression falling slightly at my reaction.

I had to admit as soon as we got our private tour guide in order to visit the West Cemetery that this was one of the most fascinating places I had ever been to. We strolled through the small lanes covered in yellow leaves, marveling at how green all the trees around us were. It was almost as if we had been transported into another realm, one of silence, of serenity, of dignity. No longer was he the typical prankster, but Harry had transformed into a person who understood the reverence of his surroundings.

The guide, a small old woman with white hair and a kind smile, gave us many facts, showing us important gravestones of notable people, walking us through to the famous Egyptian Avenue, an architectural masterpiece of large columns at the front of a tunnel-like path with tombs and vaults on each side. Then we went into the Circle of Lebanon, where she gave us some time alone. The daylight was waning, but I never felt uncomfortable with Harry by my side as we walked among the tombs of the dead. The great gothic stone structures had us in awe, both of us almost nervous to speak, as if it was sacrilegious.

“It’s so much better than I remembered,” he said while making a daring move by interlocking his fingers with mine.

“I’m sorry I was such a bum and made you drag me here. This is so amazing,” I apologized with a weak smile, stopping within the path of the Circle of Lebanon.

The two of us stood there for some amount of time, stupefied by the architecture. The triangular shapes carved out of the stones stood above each entrance to each of the twenty sunken tombs that looked like they were endless black portals into the unknown. There was an eerie feeling that those black rectangles were almost the doorway to death itself. Behind us, in the center of the circle, was a magnificent Cedar of Lebanon tree, which predated the cemetery by nearly 150 years according to our tour guide. We read each of the family names out loud to one another, but there was still a tension in the air between us.

Harry finally spoke directly to me, a pleading look in his eyes. His words were as proper as could be, each syllable clearly articulated. “Maya, I can’t do this anymore. When I remembered this place, I couldn’t think of anyone else to come here with but you. Because I knew you’d appreciate all this. Then… well, then, I was thinking about everything else I want to do with you and I just, I don’t want to be friends any longer. I want to be more.”

I was quiet, searching his eyes and thinking of everything I could possibly say back to him. With as much creativity that I could muster up while being rendered inarticulate, I responded, “Me, too.”

Harry grinned widely, pulling me close and kissing me softly. It was the most blissful thing I had ever felt, sending my head into a dizzied frenzy and making me overanalyze everything, as usual. For months, I had been wondering what if would feel like to kiss Harry’s lips. After a few moments of shock, I pulled him closer by taking fists full of the front of his sweater like earlier in my flat and deepened the kiss, feeling my knees go weak in the process. The sensation of his lips on mine made me lose my sense of reality with each passing second. Instead, I thought about how I could finally appreciate life. For a majority of my existence, I had despised the fates, feeling that someone or something had made it so that my life was to be completely miserable. But finally, I had a reason to feel that life was looking up for me.

We pulled away with silly expressions upon our faces; I guess it had the same effect on him, too. The tour guide made her way around the corner, informing us that the cemetery was to close soon due to the daylight fading into darkness. Thanking the guide and giving her a generous tip, Harry led me back out to the streets where we searched for the same black car that had brought us here.

Once we found it and got back in, the two of us burst into hysterical laughter. “I can’t believe I just snogged you in a cemetery,” he roared, holding his gut and doubling over in the seat, reverting to his humorous ways once again. I adored the way he was so youthful and vibrant; his smile was so infectious. He was the best thing to happen to my life ever since that dreaded summer day back when I was seven years old.

When we began to simmer, I glanced at him and bit my lip. “I can’t believe you’re my boyfriend.”

And with that, Harry Styles kissed me again.