Status: Active x
Tongue-Tied
From The Moment I Met You
I sunk into my old white couch, looking around the empty room, plain cream walls, and the view of London from my window. I had a lot of work ahead of me before I turned this empty series of rooms into a livable flat, but I was excited. This was my first place since my parent's house, and I was all on my own, free as a bird.
I could do whatever I wanted with my place (within reason, of course), without my Mother yammering in my ear to clean my room, not to put that stupid poster up, and whatever else she always went on with. Back in Bath, where I used to live, I had a manager position at a supermarket. Now, I was working at a popular club in London as a bar tender. Life was going along so smoothly, I was ecstatic. Nothing could make the moment, the realization that everything was going well for me, any better.
Then someone knocked at my door.
I stood up, and headed towards it, more than a little puzzled. I'd been in a hotel until I moved in about an hour ago, and I hadn't told anyone my address. I thought maybe it was the landlord, but I'd talked to him only a little while ago.
I opened the door, and instead of my landlord, I saw a young man. Tall, with a mop of perfectly unruly curls on the top of his head. Moss colored eyes gazed at me in amusement as I stared, confused, and stricken.
"Er, hello. I'm Harry... Your, uh, neighbor," he said with a smile, his eyes scanning my body.
"I'm Penny," I said slowly, looking him over right back. It didn't take very long for me to figure out who he was- I mean, One Direction was already huge even though they'd only had a few songs out. It was Harry Styles, the "cheeky one", as the tabloids referred to him.
"I live just down the hall with my mate Louis. We saw someone was moving in, and I thought I'd come say hello...." He said, all of a sudden looking a bit sheepish... and frankly, it was adorable.
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Harry." I said, smiling up at him. He towered over me, making me look absolutely tiny. He was at least eight inches taller than me, if not more. I had always been a little on the short side, but he absolutely dwarfed me.
"Yeah, er, you too..." His eyes were no longer on me, but my empty flat, with a tower of boxes in one corner. "Hey, do you need help with any of those?" He asked, gesturing to my piles and piles of unpacking that needed to be done.
"That? Oh, uh... no, no, it's fine. I can do it. I'm capable." I said firmly, taking a step further into my flat. God forbid he find all my random knick-knacks, and ugly clothes while we unpacked. Not that I wanted to impress him. Not at all.
"Don't you have any other furniture besides that couch? A TV? Anything?"
"Well... yes, but they're still waiting to be assembled. Except for the TV. Because... that... can't be..." I trailed off, my cheeks burning red. He probably thought I was such a dunce. I sure as hell sounded like one. Instead of making a quick excuse to get away, he chuckled.
"Look, I'll go get Lou, and we'll help you out, okay? No offense, but you are absolutely tiny, and I don't think you could put together a shelf or a bed. So, I'll be right back," he said, taking a step back into the hallway, with the most adorable grin on his face. "And don't try to stop me."
"Louis! Louis, we're helping the new neighbor girl!" I yelled, busting into the flat. I heard the sound of running water from the shower stop.
"For fuck sakes, Harry, what?!" Louis yelled from the bathroom. I guess he was taking a shower.
Oops.
"Our new neighbor. We're gonna help her unpack and deal with furniture and stuff, okay?"
I heard the shower door open, and close as Lou toweled himself off. "Ah, 'she'. So I'm helping you impress a girl, now?"
"No, Lou, it's not like that... I'm being a good neighbor." I said, chuckling.
"Yeah, right. Just don't break up with her in such a horrible way we have to move, alright?"
"Shut the fuck up."
"I'll be out in a minute. I'll meet you there, alright?"
"Alright, thanks mate," I said, and quickly walked back to Penny's flat. She'd left the door open for me, and I peaked in, seeing her rummaging through some boxes. "Knock, knock..." I said quietly, before entering.
"Oh, hey. Where's your friend?" She asked, closing the box she'd been playing around in.
"He's on his way," I walked further into her flat, looking around. It really was empty. One hundred percent, except for the boxes, and the couch. I don't know how she expected to sleep if she hadn't had somebody come in and help her, but she seemed pretty confident in her ability. "What do we have to build?" I asked, looking around.
"Well, I guess if you really want to, the parts for my bed are in the bedroom..." she trailed off, looking up at me with big brown eyes. Her auburn curls hung loosely over one shoulder, and she ran her fingers through them as she looked at me. "I feel bad asking a stranger to do this for me... You really don't have to, you know."
"I'll think of a way for you to repay me," I teased, grinning cheekily. She blushed a light shade of pink, and I don't think I'd seen anyone look more gorgeous.
"Harry, is this the place?" I heard Louis yell from a few feet outside the door. I rolled my eyes, and smiled apologetically at Penny, before walking over.
"Yes, Lou. Right here."
"Oh! Yeah. Knew it." He smirked, walking over to Penny, who stared at him dumbfounded. I felt my stomach churn in jealousy, but tried to push it away. I couldn't be jealous of Louis for talking to a girl who was practically a stranger. "I'm Louis, and you?"
"I'm Penny." She said softly. Her voice was so slow, smooth... melodic. I liked simply hearing it.
"Nice to meet you Penny, how can the dream team help you?" He asked, glancing over at me, and grinning at her. I gave a half-hearted smile, and answered him before she got the chance to.
"We're gonna put together her bed."
"Sounds like a good time," Louis said, grinning from me to Penny, then looking around the plain flat. "Where abouts is it?"
"Here," she said, walking towards the room she'd shown me earlier. She entered it, standing in the middle of the room, beside the box I presumed her unassembled bed was in.
"Well," I started, wandering towards the box, staring down at it, already putting it together in my head. "Let's get started, shall we?"
--
"See, Penny? That was so simple. You didn't need our help at all."
"You kidding me, Styles? It took you two three hours, and I even helped." Penny scoffed, looking at me with a teasing sparkle in her gorgeous brown eyes. Louis had just gone to get us all some coffee from a small cafe down the street from our building, so finally we were alone again.
It was true, it had taken us that long. It wasn't my fault though, those bloody instructions were made for rocket scientists. However, we did put the bed together, quite well if I might add. We also put the mattress on that she had stashed in the bathroom for reasons I couldn't figure out.
"Whatever, you can thank me for giving you a place to sleep tonight," I said teasingly, grinning at her as I sank into the mattress. We'd done a good job, I could already tell.
"Speaking of which, have you thought about how I can pay you back for helping me out yet?" She asked, leaning against the wall.
"Actually... yes." I said, and she raised an eyebrow, a curious expression striking her beautiful features.
"What would that be?"
"Let me take you to dinner?"
I could do whatever I wanted with my place (within reason, of course), without my Mother yammering in my ear to clean my room, not to put that stupid poster up, and whatever else she always went on with. Back in Bath, where I used to live, I had a manager position at a supermarket. Now, I was working at a popular club in London as a bar tender. Life was going along so smoothly, I was ecstatic. Nothing could make the moment, the realization that everything was going well for me, any better.
Then someone knocked at my door.
I stood up, and headed towards it, more than a little puzzled. I'd been in a hotel until I moved in about an hour ago, and I hadn't told anyone my address. I thought maybe it was the landlord, but I'd talked to him only a little while ago.
I opened the door, and instead of my landlord, I saw a young man. Tall, with a mop of perfectly unruly curls on the top of his head. Moss colored eyes gazed at me in amusement as I stared, confused, and stricken.
"Er, hello. I'm Harry... Your, uh, neighbor," he said with a smile, his eyes scanning my body.
"I'm Penny," I said slowly, looking him over right back. It didn't take very long for me to figure out who he was- I mean, One Direction was already huge even though they'd only had a few songs out. It was Harry Styles, the "cheeky one", as the tabloids referred to him.
"I live just down the hall with my mate Louis. We saw someone was moving in, and I thought I'd come say hello...." He said, all of a sudden looking a bit sheepish... and frankly, it was adorable.
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Harry." I said, smiling up at him. He towered over me, making me look absolutely tiny. He was at least eight inches taller than me, if not more. I had always been a little on the short side, but he absolutely dwarfed me.
"Yeah, er, you too..." His eyes were no longer on me, but my empty flat, with a tower of boxes in one corner. "Hey, do you need help with any of those?" He asked, gesturing to my piles and piles of unpacking that needed to be done.
"That? Oh, uh... no, no, it's fine. I can do it. I'm capable." I said firmly, taking a step further into my flat. God forbid he find all my random knick-knacks, and ugly clothes while we unpacked. Not that I wanted to impress him. Not at all.
"Don't you have any other furniture besides that couch? A TV? Anything?"
"Well... yes, but they're still waiting to be assembled. Except for the TV. Because... that... can't be..." I trailed off, my cheeks burning red. He probably thought I was such a dunce. I sure as hell sounded like one. Instead of making a quick excuse to get away, he chuckled.
"Look, I'll go get Lou, and we'll help you out, okay? No offense, but you are absolutely tiny, and I don't think you could put together a shelf or a bed. So, I'll be right back," he said, taking a step back into the hallway, with the most adorable grin on his face. "And don't try to stop me."
"Louis! Louis, we're helping the new neighbor girl!" I yelled, busting into the flat. I heard the sound of running water from the shower stop.
"For fuck sakes, Harry, what?!" Louis yelled from the bathroom. I guess he was taking a shower.
Oops.
"Our new neighbor. We're gonna help her unpack and deal with furniture and stuff, okay?"
I heard the shower door open, and close as Lou toweled himself off. "Ah, 'she'. So I'm helping you impress a girl, now?"
"No, Lou, it's not like that... I'm being a good neighbor." I said, chuckling.
"Yeah, right. Just don't break up with her in such a horrible way we have to move, alright?"
"Shut the fuck up."
"I'll be out in a minute. I'll meet you there, alright?"
"Alright, thanks mate," I said, and quickly walked back to Penny's flat. She'd left the door open for me, and I peaked in, seeing her rummaging through some boxes. "Knock, knock..." I said quietly, before entering.
"Oh, hey. Where's your friend?" She asked, closing the box she'd been playing around in.
"He's on his way," I walked further into her flat, looking around. It really was empty. One hundred percent, except for the boxes, and the couch. I don't know how she expected to sleep if she hadn't had somebody come in and help her, but she seemed pretty confident in her ability. "What do we have to build?" I asked, looking around.
"Well, I guess if you really want to, the parts for my bed are in the bedroom..." she trailed off, looking up at me with big brown eyes. Her auburn curls hung loosely over one shoulder, and she ran her fingers through them as she looked at me. "I feel bad asking a stranger to do this for me... You really don't have to, you know."
"I'll think of a way for you to repay me," I teased, grinning cheekily. She blushed a light shade of pink, and I don't think I'd seen anyone look more gorgeous.
"Harry, is this the place?" I heard Louis yell from a few feet outside the door. I rolled my eyes, and smiled apologetically at Penny, before walking over.
"Yes, Lou. Right here."
"Oh! Yeah. Knew it." He smirked, walking over to Penny, who stared at him dumbfounded. I felt my stomach churn in jealousy, but tried to push it away. I couldn't be jealous of Louis for talking to a girl who was practically a stranger. "I'm Louis, and you?"
"I'm Penny." She said softly. Her voice was so slow, smooth... melodic. I liked simply hearing it.
"Nice to meet you Penny, how can the dream team help you?" He asked, glancing over at me, and grinning at her. I gave a half-hearted smile, and answered him before she got the chance to.
"We're gonna put together her bed."
"Sounds like a good time," Louis said, grinning from me to Penny, then looking around the plain flat. "Where abouts is it?"
"Here," she said, walking towards the room she'd shown me earlier. She entered it, standing in the middle of the room, beside the box I presumed her unassembled bed was in.
"Well," I started, wandering towards the box, staring down at it, already putting it together in my head. "Let's get started, shall we?"
--
"See, Penny? That was so simple. You didn't need our help at all."
"You kidding me, Styles? It took you two three hours, and I even helped." Penny scoffed, looking at me with a teasing sparkle in her gorgeous brown eyes. Louis had just gone to get us all some coffee from a small cafe down the street from our building, so finally we were alone again.
It was true, it had taken us that long. It wasn't my fault though, those bloody instructions were made for rocket scientists. However, we did put the bed together, quite well if I might add. We also put the mattress on that she had stashed in the bathroom for reasons I couldn't figure out.
"Whatever, you can thank me for giving you a place to sleep tonight," I said teasingly, grinning at her as I sank into the mattress. We'd done a good job, I could already tell.
"Speaking of which, have you thought about how I can pay you back for helping me out yet?" She asked, leaning against the wall.
"Actually... yes." I said, and she raised an eyebrow, a curious expression striking her beautiful features.
"What would that be?"
"Let me take you to dinner?"
♠ ♠ ♠
Weeee. Thanks everyone who commented and rec'd, and subbed :D Means a lot.Every second chapter will be a flashback, so I hope thats not too confusing.
Let me know what you think!