Whispers

“Mmm,” Harry said, shutting the trunk to Rae’s car. He walked around to the driver side where she sipped her warm thermos of coffee. Rae was bundled in a white sweater and red scarf. The sweater was two sizes to big for her, stolen from Harry’s dresser. “You look cozy in my sweater, babe.”

It was extremely cold outside, Rae’s breath coming out between her wind-chapped lips in small puffs. Her eyes were watery from the biting wind cutting in them, so she had pulled out black raybans to shield them from the weather. She let Harry pull her in for a hug.

“I am cozy,” she murmured, squeezing him around the middle. She was careful not to spill her coffee. Harry would not be a happy camper if she poured scalding liquid down his backside. “Thanks for letting me borrow it, sunshine.”

“Borrow? You stole it from me.”

She let go and gave him a large, cheesy grin. “Finders keepers. Now get in the car. We have a weekend get away to get to.”

“Sure thing, thief.”

“It smells like you.”

“Mhmm. Get in.”

Rae grinned at him and got in the car. She was driving the long drive to her house, though Harry had insisted on driving. Rae had coxed him into sitting in her passenger seat, keeping the music happy and cheerful as they linked hands over the center console of her car.

Driving down the highway, Rae listened to Harry sing along to every song that came on. Harry had a deep raspy voice that Rae was shocked to hear every time he sang. For a long time, she had never known that he was any good at singing. So she liked to listen to him. Especially when he only did it for her.

Throughout the drive, Harry sang to her, often being obnoxious and letting go of her hand to brush her face while attempting to serenade her. It made her roll her eyes. But eventually Harry quieted, the tired getting to him. Somehow he managed to fit his frame to bend his head on the center console. Rae absently ran her fingers through his hair.

A weekend get away seemed nice. Harry was about to spend time with her family, something that made her very nervous. But if they saw what she saw in him, they would like him. He was a smart boy with deep views on anything and everything.

An hour later, Harry was grumbling away, sitting up in the seat. Rae glanced at him as he sat up, yawning and rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. He looked adorable, like all of a sudden he was very young, waking up and groaning. It made Rae snicker.

Harry looked at her up and down. “What are you giggling at?”

“You.”

“What did I do?”

“You just look so innocent when you just wake up. Did you know?”

He frowned playfully at her. “No, I didn’t. I’m not innocent.”

“Oh I know. Aisle thirteen, remember?”

Covering his face, Harry laughed into his hands. His laughter filled the car and filled her heart. It was hard to believe that months ago, Rae saw Harry as the boy worth nothing, who picked fights and who had a history with drugs. Now she saw Harry as the smart boy who had a bad history because his parents didn’t give him attention.

Never in a million years would she see the two of them driving to her family home in Derbyshire. But thinking on it, she was extremely happy. Despite Harry’s past hanging over them like some sort of bad omen, she was still happy. And the best people found happiness in misery. Or at least that’s what she was learning.

When they neared the country home, Harry phoned his mother to tell her they were safely there- a new and eerie thing for him to do- while Rae called Trys. Trsytan was sitting at the house watching movies with Finn. Rae was glad she wasn’t alone and that Finn was keeping her company.

“So.” Harry let out a long breath as he hung up the phone. “Am I about to find out that you and your family are all serial killers and that you like to prey on good looking lads and bring them to your creepy farm house to murder them?”

Rae laughed loudly. “You’re missing a crucial detail, my pretty.”

“Oh? And what’s that.”

“We like to eat little boys.”

He raised his brows in mock horror, going along with the joke. “Baby, as long as it’s your mouth on me, you can rip me to pieces.”

“Oh god, is that your attempt at being romantic? That was disgusting.”

“No, but you do have a hot mouth.”

She looked at him, baffled. “Are you nuts?”

“So, what? I can have hot shoulder blades but you can’t have a hot mouth?”

The giggles rising up in her exploded outwards. They both found themselves laughing hysterically, Rae having to wipe at the tears coming form her eyes from the force of laughter. “I’ve never been told that before.”

Harry leaned over the console, pressed a sloppy kiss to the corner of her mouth. She swerved a little bit before punching him in the shoulder and giving him a glare. He held up his hands in defeat, not wanting her to get in an accident. “Well you have the kind of mouth that deserves to be talked about and painted.”

Rae was stunned to silence. She couldn't think of nothing witty or equally nice to say, so she settled in her seat, leaning back and looking at the area they were passing. Fields of fading green surrounded them. Icy layered the fields, wrapping it in a slick glaze.

As much as she wanted to roll down the windows like they did in the summer time, Rae knew that is was far too cold to roll down the windows and smell the air. For some reason, the air in Derbyshire was always far more fresh and crisp than that of London. It was the kind of air that cleared your head.

Pulling off onto a long road, Rae sighed in content. They were finally there, and she would see all her family. They would be a working unit. And they would be adding Harry, someone who she hoped to god that they would accept. Glancing at him, she watched him looking out the window. Harry’s expression was the kind that deserved to be talked about, as he looked at the area around them.

Yes, her family would love Harry Styles. It was hard not to.