All Is Well

I wish I could say that the sun was setting over the busy city horizon. I wish I could say that the sight was so beautiful it brought a tear to my eye or in that moment I felt so at peace with life and myself. I wish that my story and my life had been simple. I wish that things could turn out just like they do in the movies.

Unfortunately, my life has a way of turning out exactly the opposite of what I wanted.

It was raining in London. Not a big surprise considering the metropolis is almost always under a constant cloud coverage. That is where my story begins. Not technically, of course. I’m a small town girl from America, but the first eighteen years of my life were so incredibly insignificant compared to the moment this story started.

I was as used to the rain as I was any other type of weather. Where I’m from, you never really know what to expect when it comes to Mother Nature. After eighteen years, I just learned to roll with the punches. Because of my life back home, I’d learned to almost always be prepared. Of course, because I’m me and because my life is far from perfect, I’d chosen that day to forget an umbrella when I’d made the walk five blocks from my apartment to work.

So there I was; sad, small little American girl helplessly walking five blocks back to her apartment in the rain. This is the part in the story when the handsome stranger would approach me and offer to walk with me under his umbrella. After that we’d fall madly in love and live happily ever after. If you’ve learned anything by now, it’s that that is probably exactly the opposite from what happened.

Instead, I was rudely bumped into by a giant with floppy hair whose only reaction was to glare harshly at me and then continue on his journey.

I guess it’s not really fair of me to call anyone a giant, but when you’re 5’2, you have to look up to practically everyone. It’s a miserable life, but I’ve come to accept it.

I really couldn’t fathom the rudeness that I had encountered in the three months I’d been living in a foreign country. Again, it’s not really fair to call England foreign, but I’m from Georgia. In my hometown, if you bumped into someone on the sidewalk you’d first apologize profusely and then ask said person about every single living relative that you knew. You’d also know all of said relatives’ names and you’d offer to buy the person a cup of coffee as an apology. In London, you were lucky if you got a quick muttered apology or a second glance.

When I got back to the apartment my clothes were soaked and I was officially regretting my decision to move to London. As soon as I pushed the door of my flat open, though, all of those feelings were swept away with the familiar smell of my grandmother’s chocolate chip cookies.

“It’s like you have a sixth sense or something.” I muttered as I stepped into the kitchen and dropped my purse and coat onto the back of one of the matching stools standing in front of the counter.

Sophia, my roommate and first cousin, only spared a brief glance towards me before she turned back to her cooking.

Sophia’s mother and my father are brother and sister. She and I have always been more like sisters than cousins. I blame it on the close proximity of our houses and the fact that neither of our parents could ever really live their lives without constant support from their mother. My parents built a house on one side of the original house my grandparents lived in. Sophia’s parents bought one across the street.

She was born in the summer, two years and a few spare months in the winter, I came into the world. My older brother was two years older than her and her younger brother was a few months younger than me. Making Sophia and I not only the two girls, but the two middle children as well.

When she graduated from high school I was only a freshman. I was forced to spend three more years without her while she studied at a state college. When I graduated we packed up and moved away from everything we’ve ever known to pursue our dreams. Sophia’s always forced me to believe in myself and to take every opportunity offered to me. When I’d gotten the offer to intern at Vogue UK she practically forced my hand in accepting. The decision was my made easier when Sophia, an athletic trainer, was offered a job for Arsenal, a football (soccer) team in Holloway.

Sophia finally managed to take a break from the cookies and looked back towards me, “Why are you wet and just sitting there?” she asked, glancing between my wet clothes and the chair I was sitting in.

“It’s raining.” I replied dumbly with a shrug. Sophia rolled her eyes at me as if to say that was obvious and waited for a better answer. “I had to walk from Vogue back to the apartment and I forgot an umbrella this morning.”

She sighed and dished two cookies onto a plate; she walked over to the table and put the plate down in front of me. I looked up at her with a smile and she only rolled her eyes again.

“I hope your eyes get stuck the next time you do that.” I told her as I happily took a bite out of one of the warm cookies in front of me.

“I hope you choke.” She replied as she finished removing cookies from the baking sheet in front of her.

I snorted and shook my head. After I finished my cookies I took the plate and rinsed it in the sink. I opened the dishwasher and stared in disdain at the mostly full bottom row. I cocked my head a bit and then managed to squeeze the small plate into a space between two much larger ones. Sophia nudged me out of the way and filled the washer with soap and then closed it. She pressed a few buttons and a moment later the dishwasher began making terrifying noises.

I stepped away from it quickly and turned back to the bag I’d discarded when I came in.

I sifted through it for my white iPhone and smiled triumphantly when I found it, “I ran into someone again today.” I told Sophia while scrolling through a few texts from my mother.

“You should probably learn to watch where you’re going.” I glanced up to see her smirking at me. “You’re eighteen now, Care, a proper adult.” I rolled my eyes and went back to my phone.

“It just surprises me every time when they don’t apologize.” I pressed the lock button on the top of my phone. “I mean it was entirely my fault, but still.”

Sophia shrugged, “We’re not in Georgia anymore.”

That was for sure. I’d never actually imagined myself missing our tiny hometown, but there were definitely times when I wanted nothing more than to hop onto a plane and go straight home. I wasn’t naïve, I had known the entire time that the move would be harsh, that’s why I was so happy when my best friend and sister could come with me, but it still hurt sometimes. I missed my mom. I missed my annoying brother. I missed the sun.

“So one of the guys from the team invited me to a pub tonight.” Sophia told me. I raised an eyebrow at her suggestively. “Not like that, he has a girlfriend anyway.” She denied, shaking her head as she wiped down the counter.

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. Sophia is undeniably beautiful. She and I had most of the same features, but somehow they just looked better on her. She’s taller than I am by a few good inches, standing at about 5’7. We were both cursed with the same round green eyes and dark hair. She has a darker complexion, more like her father, while I am deathly pale, like my mother. My hair is a bit straighter and longer than hers, while Sophia’s usually falls in near perfect curls without much effort.

“I’m serious.” She told me, leaning against the counter. “His girlfriend is a sweetheart and she and I get along so he thought they could introduce me to some more people.” I sighed and nodded my head. “They invited you too.”

I was surprised at that. I mean I’d already accepted that Sophia was going to be more social than me. It wasn’t like I was some recluse who refused to go outside. I’d had the same friends for practically my entire life and I’d never had to make new ones. If I was being quite honest, I really didn’t know how to make new friends. It was easy in kindergarten when you shared a crayon and became best friends on the spot, but I’m an adult now. I actually have to make conversation with people. I have to try.

“I know that look,” I glanced up to see Sophia analyzing me. “You look terrified, but I refuse to let you spend another night in the apartment with Tumblr and Netflix.” I sighed sadly. “No, you are going out and you are going to make people like you. You’re charming, it’ll be fine.”

“Clearly you don’t know me very well if ones of the words you’d use to describe me is charming.” I replied as I was ushered out of the kitchen and into my bedroom.

“Please, I know you better than anyone.” Sophia replied as she closed the door behind me and walked over to her own room.
I sighed and picked up the dress that was waiting on my bed.

Clearly Sophia had been planning on forcing me to go out all along. I stripped down and changed into new, drier undergarments. I put the on the dark blue dress and the boots leaning against the bed. The door connecting mine and Sophia’s rooms opened and she pulled me into the bathroom we shared.
She sat me down and soon my slightly damp waves were tamed into a neat updo. I pulled the long chain of the necklace I never took off so that the pendant was no longer hanging under my dress as Sophia forced foundation onto my cheeks.

“Do your own eye make-up, you’re way to particular for me to even try ever again.” She complained as she sat down and began blow-drying her recently washed hair.

I brushed on simple eye make-up as well as liquid liner with a small little wing. I was applying mascara when Sophia finished with her hair and turned towards me expectantly.

“Fishtail or regular?” I asked as she turned in her seat so that her back was facing me.

“Surprise me.” she replied, which easily meant fishtail braid.

I’d been doing Sophia’s hair for her for years. I brushed through it with my fingers and then began twisting and braiding until I reached the end of her hair. I knotted an elastic around the end and then left her alone in the bathroom to finish getting ready.
Soon we were walking down the busy London streets with our arms looped together. We were huddled together mostly for warmth in the not so surprisingly chilled October air. Sure, it was cold in Georgia in October, but never really this cold.

Sophia began telling me all about the player we were meeting. His name was Louis and he was a year older than Sophia. She’d gotten to know him really well since she’d started her job at Arsenal. He was a fantastic player and had been traded from his hometown team to play in Holloway. His girlfriend, Eleanor, was apparently a photographer often used by Vogue. Sophia was sure I’d meet her eventually while on the job. The couple was introducing us to some of their closest friends in hopes that we’d mesh well and be able to join in on the group.

“They’re trying to set us up with their friends, aren’t they?” I asked as we turned the corner. I could see the bright welcoming lights from the pub a few yards ahead.

Sophia rolled her eyes at me for the umpteenth time today and practically dragged me towards an attractive guy with a pretty brunette hanging from his arm.

“Sophie!” the girl greeted my cousin warmly. I was surprised at first, considering no one’s called her Sophie since we were younger and she used to absolutely hate the nickname.

I could tell by how she reacted that that wasn’t the case with this girl as they hugged. I raised an eyebrow, but shrugged it off as Sophia kissed cheeks with the guy.

“Eleanor, Louis, I’d like you to meet my cousin, this is Caroline.” She brought me forward with a strong grip on my wrist.

I smiled and waved awkwardly at the two incredibly attractive people in front of me. Apparently it was a thing in England to be disgustingly beautiful. Louis reached forward and shook my hand while Eleanor chose to lean in and kiss both of my cheeks. I let her, reciprocating the kiss in a way only a career in the fashion industry could show me.

Eleanor gripped my hand and happily dragged me into the pub. I heard Sophia and Louis share a laugh before following the two of us. I couldn’t help but admire the older girl as she pulled me behind her. Not only was she incredibly beautiful, but clearly she had a very bubbly and friendly personality. I could see myself getting along with her really well.

Eleanor stopped in front of booth already crowded with a group of rather loud people. She cleared her throat and immediately grabbed the attention of the one other girl sitting at the table. The blonde smiled brightly at me as the rest of the table continued their loud conversation.

“Excuse me,” Eleanor spoke, but got no response from the group. She sighed and rolled her eyes at me. “Boys!” she shouted over the noise, causing not only the boys at the booth to look over at her in surprise, but just about every other patron in the bar.

I blushed immediately at the attention that was gravitated towards the group I was standing with, but soon enough the other people in the building became more interested in their drinks than in us.

“Now that I’ve got your attention,” Eleanor smiled sweetly. “This is Caroline and Sophia.” I hadn’t realized that my cousin and Louis had finally caught up to us. “They’re our new friends, so be nice.” She started pointedly at a blonde who had the good sense to blush and look away from her.

“Soph, Caroline, this is Niall,” Louis pointed to the blonde who perked up and smiled brightly at the two of us. “Zayn and Perrie,” he pointed to a dark haired boy and the pretty blonde clutched closely to his side. She smiled at me again and waved while Zayn only nodded. “And Liam.” Louis ended the introductions by pointing to a tanned boy sitting in the furthest corner of the booth.

His hair was a light brown color cut short and gelled up into a mohawk. He had a strong jawline and mesmerizing dark eyes. He smiled happily at the two of us, ridding himself of the mysterious bad boy look and replacing it with a kind, happy bloke. His eyes crinkled at the sides, causing them to get smaller until eventually all that was left of them were little crescents.

I couldn’t help myself, but to smile brightly back at him. It was nearly impossible to watch him smile and not feel immediately happy.

“Nice to meet you all.” Sophia told them before I could manage to speak. I nodded in agreement with my cousin as she slid into the booth after Eleanor.

I slid in after her and smiled across the table at Perrie, who was waiting anxiously for us to get situated before she went off into a random spiel about how much she adored our necklaces.

I glanced down to see that not only was I wearing my trusty necklace with a crescent moon pendant, but Sophia was wearing her matching sun pendant necklace. It had been a running joke in our family that Sophia and I were like night and day. When I was in fifth grade our grandmother bought us matching necklaces as a joke. The joke turned on everyone, however, when we embraced it and began to wear the necklaces every day.

I laughed slightly and nodded, “It’s kind of a joke with our family.” I told her. “Different as night and day, sort of thing.” I explained, glancing over to see Sophia talking with Eleanor, Louis, and Liam.

Perrie nodded with an even bigger smile, “I like it!” I smiled happily back at her and began discussing other random things about ourselves.

It was then that I found myself actually getting along and molding well with a group of people that I’d only known for a short while. Conversation flowed easily and I found myself liking everyone more and more as the night went on.

We’d been sitting in the booth for about an hour and a half when Louis stopped talking and smiled brightly over my shoulder. I frowned in confusion, but my question was answered when he happily shouted out a name.

“Harry!” he greeted and stood to embrace the person behind me.
I’ve said this before and I’ll probably say it a million more times; my life is not a movie. It’s not perfect. It’s not scripted. I will probably never find Prince Charming. My life likes to pull cruel jokes on me and watch as I squirm in uncomfortable situations, which is why I wasn’t surprised at all when I turned around and saw the giant with the floppy hair from that afternoon embracing my new friend.

Sophia nudged me from my other side and leaned in close to whisper in my ear, “He’s gorgeous.” I’ll admit that surprised me a bit. My cousin had been making eyes at Liam all night. With one look at her and Eleanor, however, I was pretty positive she was saying that for my benefit.

As if I hadn’t noticed that the giant was perfect in every way. I’m an eighteen year old girl; the first thing I notice about a person is how attractive they are. Maybe that’s why it strung just a little bit more when he’d brushed me off that afternoon?

I couldn’t help but notice how incredibly ironic my life was. Just a few hours ago the floppy haired giant had been glaring at me, now he was standing with my new friends all smiles and apparently his name was Harry.

“Haz, I’d like you to meet some of my new friends,” Louis gestured back towards the two of us.

I’d hoped that maybe if I sunk low enough he wouldn’t be able to see me around Niall. The blonde Irishman stared curiously at me as I sunk lower and lower in the booth, but only shrugged it off and continued with the conversation he’d been having with Zayn before Harry’s arrival.

“This is Sophia, she’s the new trainer at Arsenal.” My cousin smiled and waved at the floppy haired giant, but quickly averted her eyes down to me with a glare. “And her cousin, Caroline, who for unknown reasons is currently trying to hide behind Niall.”
A blush whipped its way across my cheeks immediately and I let out a gentle sigh before sitting up in the booth and turning to meet the incredibly beautiful eyes of the floppy haired giant, er, um, Harry.

He smiled at first, but soon enough realization came through those beautiful eyes and he frowned.

“Hi.” I murmured quietly as I turned my gaze down to the table and willed myself to disappear.

“Oh, em, hi.” He replied and I was struck with just how incredible his voice was.

Of course. He had to be beautiful with great taste in friends and with a voice that probably would have knocked me over had I not already been sitting down. My life is awesome.

Everyone squished closer together in the booth to make room for the new arrival and I continued to stare down at the table top, memorizing the pattern of the bottle caps under the piece of glass. I felt someone nudge my side and looked up to see Perrie looking at me expectantly. I raised an eyebrow and smiled bashfully.
“Come with me to the loo, Care?” she asked with a kind smile.
I nodded and immediately slid out of the booth, managing to only just barely brush Niall’s crotch with my bum. I blushed as the blonde let out a large cackle and gripped onto Perrie’s hand tightly to make a quick getaway.

I sighed in relief when we reached the bathroom and the swinging door closed behind us. I leaned against the wall and shook my head as Perrie only stared at me. After I had calmed down a bit I stepped away from the wall and leaned against the sink.

“You okay, babe?” she asked concerned as she stepped closer to me. I shook my head. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

I took a deep breath and began explaining how I’d met Harry earlier in the day, or actually how we hadn’t really met and how I was just socially awkward enough not to know how to handle the situation.

Perrie let out a small laugh and shook her head, “Harry’s one of the most easygoing guys I’ve ever met, Caroline.” She told me. “He was probably just having a bad day and you met at the wrong place at the wrong time.” She stepped closer and rubbed my arm soothingly. “Just give him the benefit of the doubt, yeah? I’m sure you’d make a lovely pair.”

I blushed profusely and shook my head. I absolutely could not admit that I had thought about him in that way. I’d always been rather quiet about my romantic feelings towards boys. I’d been burned in elementary school once when my best friend told everyone about the crush I had on the cutest boy in our class.

“Oh come on, Caroline, he’s right fit.” She told me with a smile. “He’s single and he’s right about your age.” She explained as she looped her arm with mine and we began the walk back to the booth. “And he can’t stop staring at you.” She whispered in my ear as we reached the booth.

I stared at her with wide eyes as she giggled and scooted into the other side of the booth. I reached forward quickly to grab her, but was stopped by a laughing Zayn. I stared at the blonde girl across the booth from my spot in between Niall and a rather stiff Harry. Perrie only smirked back at me whilst talking with Eleanor and Sophia.

“D’you wanna drink, Care?” Niall asked me as he gestured towards the empty pint in front of him. I shook my head quickly. “Why not?” he asked curiously.

“I’m not old enough back home,” I began. “Not to mention, I’d probably just end up making an even bigger fool of myself if I did.” I smiled.

Niall nodded, “That’s half the fun, love.”

“Trust me, you don’t want to know what I have to say when I’ve had a few drinks.” I replied with a shake of my head.

Harry turned his head curiously to me. I glanced up to him and smiled bashfully, but quickly turned my eyes back down to the table top.

Sophia laughed from across the booth and leaned forward, “She sings when she’s drunk.”

I looked up quickly and glared across at my sister. I’d never had much confidence in myself singing without alcohol in my system. I sang a lot, but only if I was really comfortable with the people around me.

Harry seemed even more interested now, but he didn’t say anything, he only continued to stare down at me.

“Haz is a singer!” Louis offered from the other side of the silent giant. I raised an eyebrow at the floppy haired mute, but he only shrugged and stared back at me.

“I request a duet!” Eleanor spoke up from next to Sophia. I glanced up at her with wide eyes. I shook my head as my sister smirked back at me and nodded, agreeing with the dark haired girl next to her.

Everyone around the booth agreed and began throwing down bills to pay for their tabs. They forced the two of us out of the booth and led us out into the cool London air. A shiver ran down through my back as the air hit my barely clothed arms. A jacket was thrown over my shoulders; I stared at the unfamiliar pattern for a second before glancing up to see Harry staring forward without a jacket. I smiled and looked ahead as well, refusing to allow him to see the blush that was spread on my cheeks. I’m sure he could see it though; I saw a smirk spread as I watched him from the corner of my eye.

Apparently in their haste, somehow everyone agreed to move the night to Liam and Niall’s shared bachelor pad where they had instruments that they could play for mine and Harry’s duet.
“Funny, I don’t remember agreeing to do this.” I mumbled mostly to myself, but loud enough that the giant walking next to me could hear.

He chuckled, “That’s how this group works.” I glanced up at him curiously. “Someone gets an idea and everyone else just goes with it.” I nodded. “Don’t be surprised when you find yourself traveling across the country because Perrie wanted a cupcake from a bakery in her hometown.”

He shrugged as if it were no big deal, but I was struck by just how much these people were willing to do for each other. If in fact what Harry said was true, then they would literally travel together so that one person could have one cupcake. I smiled at that, I was glad that we’d been sort of initiated into the group. If singing every once in a while meant I got incredible friends like that, I think I could handle it.

We arrived at Liam and Niall’s flat with only little conversation between the two of us. I’d like to say that chemistry flowed and that we connected on a higher level. I’d like to say that I charmed him into falling madly in love with me. However, none of that happened. Instead, I was an awkward blubbering mess and he was polite enough not to laugh in my face. Although, he was pretty awkward himself. I was beginning to see why everyone in the group insisted Harry and I would be “lovely together”.

“Home sweet home.” Liam smiled widely as he unlocked the door and threw it open. Niall reached forward and clicked on the lights to show a very spacious loft styled apartment.

I smiled as I glanced around the open area. Everyone seemed to make themselves at home and I could see them living their everyday lives here. I could see Liam walking around in just his sweatpants eating a bowl of cereal. I could see Niall lazily strumming a guitar on the couch while a day time talk show played in the background. I could even see Liam staring awkwardly as a pretty girl snuck out of his best friend’s room and into the empty hallway outside of the door. The place just screamed Liam and Niall and I absolutely loved it.

“Alright, cuties.” I looked up to see Eleanor smirking devilishly at myself and a scared looking Harry. I was forced down onto the couch next to him by Louis, who only shrugged innocently at the glare I sent his way. “What shall we make you sing?” she pondered as she tapped her finger onto her chin.

“She looks like an evil mastermind,” I muttered almost silently to Harry.

He nodded and threaded his fingers together so that his hands were being clutched in front of him. “She’s quite scary when she wants to be.” he replied.

“The Civil Wars.” Sophia mentioned from her spot in an armchair. I turned to glare at her, but stopped and replaced the glare with a smirk when I noticed that Liam was perched on the arm of the chair, rather close to her.

Niall nodded and began strumming the familiar chords to “Poison and Wine” I knew the words by heart. I’d been obsessed with the song since I’d first heard it. I glanced over to see Harry frowning in confusion. I quickly reached into my pocket for my phone and typed in a search for the lyrics. I found them easily enough and held the phone out to him. He smiled appreciatively and studied the lyrics as Niall just continued to play the song.

“Ready, Haz?” Niall asked after a moment. Harry nodded and Niall began playing the song from the beginning again.

“You only know what I want you to.” Harry began singing, glancing down at the phone to make sure he got the words right.

I took a deep breath and sang, “I know everything you don’t want me to.”

“Your mouth is poison.” Harry sang, glancing up to meet my gaze. “Your mouth is wine.”

“You think your dreams are the same as mine.” I sang, not breaking the eye contact we’d managed to sustain so far.

I didn’t think about how it was the first time we’d really looked at each other without one of us looking away. I didn’t think about how weird my life was in that moment. I didn’t think about my cousin and our new friends staring at us as we sing. I only thought about his voice and mine and how well they sounded as we began singing together.

“Oh, I don’t love you, but I always will.” We sang, harmonizing easily enough due to our wide range difference.

I was a petite teenage girl who was about half his size. Clearly, my voice would be a little higher than his.

“I wish you’d hold me when I turn my back.” I sang after we repeated the last line a few times.

Harry quickly glanced down at the phone and then immediately looked back up at me, “The less I give, the more I get back.”

“Oh, your hands can heal. Your hands can bruise.” I sang and then tore my gaze from his. I chewed on my bottom lip and looked down at my shaky hands that were tightly clasped together in my lap.

“I don’t have a choice, but I still choose you.” I glanced back up and saw him staring at me curiously.

“Oh, I don’t love you, but I always will.” We repeated that line a few times.

We finished singing and the guitar stopped. The room was silent as everyone took in what had just happened. In the entire ten second span of silence, my gaze didn’t drop from Harry’s. I only looked away when I heard someone clapping. I blushed a bit when I saw that it was Louis clapping happily. Soon enough everyone joined him in cheering Harry and I on.

“That was so perfect!” Perrie gushed as she moved away from Zayn’s side to sit down on my other side.

I smiled shyly and thanked her quietly.

Eleanor smiled widely and sat down in front of us on the coffee table, “You two have crazy chemistry when you sing.” She grinned.

My blushed intensified tenfold and I stared down at my boots. I scuffed them a bit on the floor as everyone began chatting excitedly about what had just happened.

Apparently, Harry and I were super intense when we sang together. The others were convinced that we needed to perform in front of more people as a duo. They began throwing ideas at each other about how we could travel around and sing at different pubs and how we could write music.

I stared at them and then turned to see Harry still staring at me. I smiled shyly, but didn’t look away and for once didn’t blush. He smiled back.

“I’m sorry.” I raised an eyebrow in confusion. “For bumping into you.” I nodded slowly with a small smile. “Can I get you a coffee?” I nodded slowly. “How’s your mum? It’s Charlotte, right?” he smirked.

I stared at him in confusion for a moment before I realized what he was doing. I glanced over to see Sophia smirking at us. She winked at me and then went back to the discussion of mine and Harry’s future musical career.

“She’s wonderful,” I replied. “Do you wanna get out of here?” I asked, leaning my head towards the door that was just on the other side of our friends.

“I thought you’d never ask.” He replied as he stood and gripped my hand in his own, much larger one.

No one noticed as we snuck by and out of the flat. I laughed happily as Harry pulled me down the sidewalk by the hand and towards his favorite coffee shop.

So maybe it’s not the epic romance you find in the movies. Maybe we are just two awkward teenagers who met under peculiar situations. To be honest, I’ve always kind of thought Prince Charming was overrated. I’d rather have an awkward floppy haired giant any day.