Frames That Used to Greet Me

When I woke up on Tuesday morning, it was because a certain lass was screeching in my flat.

I rolled out of bed near nine, only to find Livia out in the living room, twirling around in some fancy black dress while Lou sat down on the couch and watched her. “Bloody hell, Liv, could you be a bit louder?”

She twirled around once again until she was facing me. “Sorry Haz,” she said, but the grin on her face suggested otherwise. “But look at this dress! Is it not the most beautiful dress you’ve ever seen?”

I took in her appearance quickly. It didn’t seem like anything special; it was a black sheer number, strapless, and it was cut high in the front and then dragged low to the ground in the back. There were some jewels around the waist area, and I’ll admit, Liv did look stunning. But it was also nine in the morning and she had woken me up from all her commotion, so I wasn’t exactly in the mood to be throwing out compliments. “‘s a dress, Liv. Nothin’ special,” I muttered before brushing by her towards the kitchen to get some tea.

“It is not just a dress, Harry. It’s a beautiful dress, one I’ve been waiting on for-fucking-ever, so I’d appreciate a bit more enthusiasm, thank you very much.”

I rolled my eyes and waved her off, but she and Lou both followed me to the kitchen. “I think you look beautiful, babe,” Lou told her, kissing her cheek. This satisfied her enough, because she beamed once again. I made a fake-gagging gesture before returning to my cup of tea.

There was quiet for only a few more moments before Liv was talking again. “Aren’t you going to ask why I’m wearing such a fancy dress?”

“Figured you’d offer that information on your own,” I muttered, taking a sip of my tea.

She rolled her eyes. “The wedding, jackass, which you apparently have forgotten about, huh?”

My face went blank. What bloody wedding?

It wasn’t that now that we were in One Direction, we had events to go to every weekend, but for some reason there was this surge in weddings we had to attend recently. It felt like every time we turned around, we were getting an invitation in the mail. So yes, maybe I did forget about “the wedding”. Bloody sue me.

Lou sighed from his spot next to Livia. “Marvin and Rochelle’s wedding, mate. You, me, and Nialler were invited remember?”

I didn’t, but I nodded as if I did.

“So you have to find a date.”

I groaned. That wasn’t what I wanted to hear. “Why?” I exclaimed childishly. “Niall won’t have one!”

“No, he won’t, but you also said you were going to bring someone. We already RSVP’d, for five.”

I briefly remembered when we got the invitation saying that I’d bring Mickey. It seemed logical at the time, because she was the only girl I talked to on a regular basis. But now...

Cora.

I smiled suddenly and nodded. “Not a problem. I’ve got an idea.”

“Aye, Mickey, yeah?” Lou asked, and Liv watched me expectantly.

I mumbled a quiet yeah before finishing my tea and excusing myself, Livia yelling at me to ask her before it got too late. Before she could go on and on about dresses and God only knows what else, I left to take a shower and get ready.

I had someone to meet.

***

Cora smiled at me as I entered the new coffee shop. Last week we had agreed that it’d be better to go to a new shop, mainly because I was tired of Liv’s judging eyes. It was still a small place, and I went relatively unnoticed, so it worked out fine.

“I was hoping you’d show,” she said once I sat down with my tea in hand.

I smirked. “I’d never leave you alone.”

She laughed, sipping her latte. “Not sure I like the sounds of that, Mr. Styles.”

I shrugged, which made her laugh more.

We talked for awhile about her life, which was nice. For a change I wasn’t going on about myself, but I was hearing about someone else. She said she had some school meetings coming up, to get ready for the impending new school year, which she was surprisingly excited about.

“You love teaching, yeah?”

She blushed but nodded. “So much. It’s always been my dream, and I’m just lucky I get to do it I suppose.”

She asked me about the band then, what we were doing and what our plans were. “We’ll be recording our next album pretty soon actually, and then touring at the end of the year and into next year.”

“That’s exciting! Do you love it?”

Of course I did. I told her it’d been my dream as well, so I understood where she was coming from.

She waved me off. “They’re two completely different things, Harry. You’re in a bloody boy band for Christ’s sake.”

I frowned at her and wanted to argue, but then I realized I couldn’t really. There wasn’t much I could say to that.

We went on like that for awhile, tossing banter back and forth and talking about our lives, but then I remembered the wedding. I didn’t want to bring it up so out of the blue, but I had no choice. “So, Cora, I have a question to ask you, and it’s going to seem a bit... much, but it’s urgent.”

She frowned and looked at me curiously. “Yes?”

“I have to go to a wedding in a few weeks, and I need a date. I’d be honored if you’d choose to accompany me.”

She sighed and I watched as she debated her options. She didn’t seem too put off by the question though, which seemed to be in my favor. Finally, she spoke. “Harry, we hardly know each other. We’re friends though, yeah?”

I nodded.

“So I suppose, as friends, I could go to the wedding with you.” She finished with a grin that made me smile as well. “When is it?”

I gave her the exact date, at the end of July, and she frowned. I couldn’t help but ask her what was wrong.

“I have a string of meetings that week for school. I don’t think I’d be able to make it, love.”

It was understandable. I was springing this wedding invitation on her as last minute as they come, but I still hoped deep down that she’d come with me. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was feeling towards Cora, but I knew I enjoyed spending time with her, and going to a romantic wedding together... well, it wouldn’t be a bad thing, that much I knew for sure.

I told her it was fine, that I’d be fine and she would just have to make it up to me, and then we were back to our banter. We talked some more, and it was nice. Carefree, easy, and nice.

Until it wasn’t.

I never in a million years would have expected Mickey to walk through those doors. I would have bet my mum would have showed up before Mickey. But then there she was, stumbling through the door in her work outfit and heels, digging through her purse frantically as she hurried up towards the counter. I couldn’t help but watch as she seemed to be in such a hurry. I couldn’t figure out why she was there when she so clearly should have been at work, but then it hit me.

I’m a glorified intern! Do you know how many coffee runs I’ve gone on since I started? They treat me like proper shit!

Oh bloody hell.

Cora noticed my attention was elsewhere and turned around to see who I was staring at. “Do you know her?” she asked when she turned back around.

I nodded briefly. “Somewhat, yeah.”

I watched as Mickey got her large order of coffees before struggling with them all. She turned around to head towards the door and--spotted. She took in my appearance, a brief smile falling to her lips as she made her way over to me. “Haz! What are you...?” she trailed off as her eyes took in Cora who was now smiling up at her like she had no idea how bad this was going to get.

“Oh,” Mickey said, her tone and posture changing completely. “Hello. Who’s this, Harry?”

I cleared my throat and stood, mainly because I wasn’t sure what else to do. I gestured to Cora who stuck her hand out in greeting. “Michaela, this is Cora. Cora, my friend Michaela.”

I could feel Mickey’s eyes on me, boring holes into my head, but I ignored her. She gave Cora a tight smile but didn’t shake her hand, mainly because she had them full with the coffees. “Hello,” she said, and it sounded friendly enough.

“Hi! I’m Cora, a friend of Harry’s.” She giggled like that was the funniest thing in the world.

Mickey’s smile tightened. “Yes, he has a lot of those, doesn’t he?”

“What are you doing here Mick?”

She directed her attention towards me, her smile fading immediately. “Coffee run for work. This is the shop that’s closest to the office, so it’s the one I always go to. I didn’t realize...” she trailed off, looking at Cora who was now engrossed in her phone. She scoffed under her breath before looking at me again. “I’ll see you later, Harry.”

“Mickey...” I trailed off, wanting to say more, but I wasn’t sure what else to say. She stood there a moment longer, so I said, “I’ll call you later?”

She scoffed again, shaking her head, before she turned on her heel and strode out of the shop.

I sighed, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath for a moment before I returned to my seat across from Cora. She smiled at me, obviously unfazed by the whole thing. “She seemed nice,” she remarked easily. “How do you know each other?”

I didn’t miss a beat. “She was my sister’s flatmate in uni. We became friends a few years back, and the rest is history.” And a whole lot of late night booty calls I silently added. She didn’t need to know that.

Cora chattered on for awhile longer, but I wasn’t really listening. I was too wrapped up in Mickey. I hoped she wasn’t going to be back to ignoring me again. I made a promise to myself to call her later that night to try and make sure things were still all right, and then I tried my best to tune back in to Cora.

“Well, I should go. Yoga again,” she said, smiling down at her yoga outfit. “But I’d love to do this again on Friday, if you’re up for it?”

I couldn’t say no. I agreed to meet her in the same shop on Friday, and then I walked her out. We parted ways out on the sidewalk with a promise from Cora that she’d see me on Friday. Despite the less than fortunate run-in with Mickey, I was still excited.

Cora was easy. Cora was care-free. Cora didn’t have any complications, and Cora seemed to like me for me. It was odd really, but I hadn’t felt things go so easily with someone in a long time, not like they were. Mickey and I had an easy enough relationship, but it wasn’t a relationship and it never would be. It just... was what it was. With Cora, there was actual potential. Or so I hoped.

I left the shop and headed home. As much as I would have liked to call Mickey right then and there to make sure everything was all right, I knew she’d be at work, so I made a promise to call her later, reassuring myself everything would be fine.