Collectively Unconsciously Composed

I pressed my face against the car window, my breath fogging up the glass as I watched two raindrops race each other. It had begun to rain about an hour into the trip, slowly at first but eventually falling harder. The radio was playing softly in the background, Harry singing along quietly as we drove down a winding country road.

We were currently on the way to Harry’s mum’s house for dinner, but the rain had delayed us an hour or so, Harry making up most of the time with his lunatic driving. Harry drove surprisingly fast in the rain for someone who treasured their car so much. He only slowed when I either screamed at him or we began to skid across the wet asphalt.

I was a nervous wreck the entire ride; scratch that, the entire day. Harry didn’t understand why I was so nervous, he always told me how chill his mum was and how she would love me. Meeting a significant other’s parents was new to me; my old relationships were usually too short to actually get to that point.

I tugged nervously at my jumper and bit my lip. The rain was falling ever harder now, the road blurring in with the raindrops. I looked over to Harry who was biting his lip in concentration, probably trying to avoid killing us in the rain. We turned onto a small road and eventually came to a stop. Harry killed the ignition and looked over at me, taking my hand in his. I saw crescent shaped marks on my palm, my nervousness evident.

“Don’t worry, love,” Harry murmured as he pressed his lips to my knuckles. “It’ll be fine.”

“Hmmm,” I mumbled in response, my voice rising slightly in the end.

He gave me a look before releasing my hand and opening the door. The rain was falling in a steady downpour; we would probably be soaked by the time we reached the front door. I sucked in a breath before also opening my door. I stuck my feet out of the door and jumped down onto the soggy pavement. I quickly shut the door and ran to the front door.

The rain was frigid, a trail of goose bumps were rising on my arms. Harry joined me moments later, his breath coming out in short puffs. His hair was dripping as he pushed his curls out of his face. A small giggle escaped my lips as he rapped his knuckles on the door. He pushed a wet lock of hair behind my ear and bent down to press his lips to my forehead.

“Harry!”

I turned to see a woman standing at the door, a smile on her face. I blushed a deep shade of red but Harry laughed off the incident. He walked through the door and enveloped the woman in a hug. He kissed her cheek before releasing her and grabbing me hand. I stumbled into the foyer and was wrapped in a pair of arms.

“It’s so good to meet you. I’m Anne,” the woman introduced herself after she finished hugging me. “Wow Harry, she’s even more gorgeous than you described her,” Anne grinned as she held me out at arm’s length.

“Jesus, mum,” Harry, muttered as I laughed.

“Thank you so much for having us,” I said quietly, slipping my shoes off. “It smells lovely.”

“Oh it’s no problem at all dear! I’ve just finished making dinner so let’s all go have a seat, yeah?” Anne said warmly. “Oh and Harry, your sister should be here soon.”

Harry mumbled something under his breath before grabbing my hand and tugging me to the kitchen. A warm glow was cast over the table; the smell of food was intoxicating. Harry handed me a glass of red wine and pointed at a seat. I obliged and sat, taking a sip of my wine. Harry and Anne joined me shortly, taking their designated seats.

********

“That was wonderful, Anne,” I gushed to Anne as she passed me another plate to dry.

“Oh hush dear, it was delightful to have you and Harry for dinner. It’s a shame Gemma couldn’t come, something about the weather,” Anne trailed off as she cast a glance at the window above the sink.

The rain was coming down in sheets, a flash of lightning occasionally lighting up the sky. The hum of the television and the sound of rain pelting on the window were the only sounds emitting throughout the house. It was sort of peaceful, just washing the dishes and chatting with Anne. We kept the conversation light, talking about families and our lives. Anne truly was a wonderful woman, she greatly reminded me of my own mother; the way her eyes lit up when she talked about her children.

We were in the middle of discussing Harry’s first birthday when the lights flickered and eventually went out. The rain began to pound on the windows, a strong wind picking up and shaking the house.

“Oh bloody hell,” Anne said, rushing to search through several drawers. “Nothing to worry about, just the storm,” she reassured me.

I gave her a quick nod before going to find Harry. It was hard to maneuver n the dark so I basically felt my way around the house. I had no idea where I was going; I didn’t know where anything was in this house and the dark made everything that much more challenging. I was feeling along a wall when I slammed into a body, a scream escaping my lips.

“Jesus Scout,” Harry breathed, his nerves shaken as well, “Nearly gave me a bloody heart attack.”

“Shit I’m sorry,” I said quickly, my heart practically beating out of my chest.

There was a crash outside followed by someone shouting a string of curses. Harry ran his fingers through his hair and groaned.

“I’ll be back in a second,” he said before pressing his lips to my forehead and making his way to the front door.

“Bloody fucking hell!” A voice shouted from the door. I jumped at the sudden noise and clutched my chest. “That storm is fucking crazy right now.”

I cautiously made my way to the foyer, not exactly sure who was here. Harry was talking quietly to another figure. When a flash of lightning illuminated the room I saw it was a girl, a girl that looked exactly like Harry.

“Harry you tosser! She’s way prettier than you described her,” the girl scolded, smacking Harry in the stomach. “I’m Gemma,” the girl smiled as she stuck her hand out. I sketchily stepped out of the darkness and joined the Styles family in the foyer.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I chuckled as I shook her hand. “Do you need any help with your bags?” I offered, motioning to her luggage on the floor.

“Oh that’s alright, Harold here has got it under control,” she said with a smirk.

“Fuck off Gem,” he retorted, only to receive a ring covered middle finger from Gemma.

“Oh come off it Harry. Not happy to see your big sis?” she teased, a smile spreading on her face.

“Actually-“

“Gemma! I need your help!” Anne called from the kitchen, cutting Harry off from his previous statement.

“Nice meeting you,” she grinned before walking to Anne.

I stifled a laugh into my palm, finding the whole situation amusing. Harry shot me a look as I continued to laugh. He rolled his eyes and picked up Gemma’s bag. He hoisted it up over his shoulders, a strip of tan skin shown between the bottom of his t-shirt and boxers. I bit my lip and tore my gaze away from Harry, afraid that if I continued to stare, the Styles family would not enjoy my presence anymore.

“Well come on,” he chuckled, extending his free hand to mine. I grasped his hand in mine, tangling our fingers together as he pulled me up the stairs.

The walls were lined with pictures of young Gemma and Harry. My heart fluttered at a picture of Harry and Gemma together, both dressed as tigers for Halloween one year. We arrived at a hallway, the walls a pale blue and the floor carpeted. Harry dropped Gemma’s bag in front of a door and tugged me to another room.

“I know it’s not that great,” he said sheepishly, placing a hand on the back of his neck.

This was Harry’s room; I could tell by the tons of poster and pictures from various concerts smattered on the wall. What wall space that wasn’t covered in pictures was navy, something I found very fitting for Harry. There was a large case of vinyl on one wall, just like the one back at the house in London. The bed was clean, clearly showing that no one had slept in it for a while. Overall, it looked like a teenage boy’s room.

I untangled our fingers and walked over to the window, looking out to see the thundering storm. The rain was still pelting the window, but small bits of hail were also falling now. A flash of lightning illuminated the road for a moment, and it looked completely flooded. I frowned slightly, wondering how we would get home or if we could get home. I glanced behind me to see Harry staring at the various pictures on his bedside table. He was particularly interested a picture of him and another boy; they were both playing football in the picture, Harry and his friend smiling and having fun.

“Who’s that?” I asked, walking over to wrap my arms around Harry’s waist.

“Hm? Oh that’s Will, my best mate.”

I hummed in response as Harry continued to look at the picture. I peppered his back and shoulder blades with kisses, enjoying the feeling of his muscles tense and contract at the action. I stood on my tiptoes and pressed my lips to a spot behind his ear. He shivered in response and quickly spun me around, his warms wrapping around my waist. I pressed a sneaky kiss to his lips before pulling back and smiling. He raised his eyebrows as I shrugged in response. He picked me up and placed me on his feet, his lips quickly finding mine. I wound my fingers in the familiar soft curls at the nape of his neck and tugged on them. I heard him moan into my mouth as I smiled slightly, my lips still attached to his.

“Oi! Stop shagging up there!” Gemma shouted from downstairs, her fist pounding on the wall. I pulled away quickly and laughed, Harry groaned in response.

“Has to ruin everything,” he mumbled, shaking his head.

“We have plenty of time for that Harold, but now let’s go talk to your lovely family yeah?” I giggled, leaving him standing in the room.

*******

“Thank you so much again. Dinner was wonderful,” I thanked Anne again.

“Stop by anytime, love. We’d be happy to have you,” she said with a smile. “Just be careful driving home.”

“Course mum,” Harry said, tugging his shoes on.

“Actually I don’t think you’ll be going home tonight,” Gemma said with a sigh. She was holding up her phone to show us the weather report: flooding, rain, hail, and more flooding.

“We’ll be fine,” Harry said quickly, cutting me off from saying anything.

“It would make me feel so much better if you two just stayed the night,” Anne said, her motherly authority taking over. “If the weather clears up by tomorrow, Gem and I can take Scout into town and you can go see your friends,” Anne added.

“Um okay,” Harry responded, bending down to pull his shoes off.

“This is going to be so much fun! Like a little holiday!” Gemma clapped in excitement.

“Oh goody,” Harry said with fake enthusiasm. I slapped his arm and turned to Anne.

“You can sleep in Harry’s room?” Anne asked. I blushed slightly and nodded, my reaction amusing Gemma.

“Please don’t shag her brains out, we need her tomorrow,” Gemma smirked. This time it was Harry’s turn to flash her the middle finger as Anne rolled her eyes.

“Let’s go Scout,” Harry said quietly, his hip bumping mine. I suddenly felt my eyes droop slightly and realized just how tired I really was.

I followed Harry up the stairs and into his room. I began to take my layers off, too tired to really care what I wore to bed.

“I didn’t know it was going to be that kind of night,” Harry chuckled as his eyes looked over my body.

“Give me a shirt, you idiot,” I said rolling my eyes. He chuckled in response and dug through his drawers, throwing a random shirt at me once he found one. I tugged it over my head and crawled under the covers.

I cracked my eyes open to see Harry pull his shirt off and slip on a pair of plaid bottoms. I felt the bed shift and I immediately crawled into Harry’s arms and tangled my legs with his.

“I like your family,” I whispered into his chest.

“They like you too. Go to bed Scout.”

“G’night, Harry,” I yawned.

“Goodnight, love,” Harry responded before placing a kiss on top of my head.