Late Night Show

Ever the gentleman, Harry opens the door for her and in a slightly daring gesture, rests his had on the small of her back as they exit the theatre. The parking lot is dark, and the street lights are few and dim. They pause on the steps and Natalie looks for her car, not remembering where she parked it. She spots it a the far end of the lot, a journey which will require a trek through the dark. She nudges Harry, saying, “See the red Beetle all the way over there? That’s mine.” He smiles at her and says, “Why’d you park it all the way over there....?” She blushes (again) and shrugs, “I thought is was a nice night to walk a little.”

They begin the walk along the parking lot. In the distance, something makes a load noise and Natalie jumps. Harry looks at her with concern in his green gaze, and she straightens up.

“I’m afraid of the dark.” she says confidently. Now Harry is a very intelligent and very kind boy, so he knows not to laugh at her. Instead, he takes her hand and they continue walking. She immediately notices that his hand is very warm and very large and she enjoys is very much. Remembering how lovely their short handshake was all those hours ago, she intwines their fingers.

They finally reach her car, and she pulls out her keys. They climb into the red bug, and she starts it up. Handing him her phone, she points out a cable and says, “You can plug mine in and choose a song or you can use yours if you like.” Harry happily searches through her library.

She pulls out of the deserted parking lot and asks him, “Uhh Harry?”

“Mhhm?” He’s busy checking out her music.

“Do you mind if I take you to my home town? It’s not far from here. I...could show you around if you like.” She’s afraid he’ll say no. After all, they only met a few hours ago.

“I think that sounds lovely, Natalie.” He smiles at her and she marvels at his dimples. She didn’t think that boys could be beautiful, but it seems that he’s flawless.

He sets her phone down, satisfied with his music choice, and turn the volume down low so that he can talk to her. She can’t hear the song but she doesn’t really care because his voice is all she really wants to hear.

“Tell me about you, Natalie. I want to know you.” She can feel his intense gaze and at the stoplight she turns to look at him. If she’s not mistaken, he looks a little shocked at the demanding tone of his own comment and his cheeks turn pink. She thinks that it is the most adorable thing she’s ever seen.

Turning back to the road and pressing the gas, she says, “Well I’m home from school. My parents don’t live here anymore but I wanted to come back for old time’s sake.” She glances at him and is happy to see he’s intently listening. “Why are you here?” she asks kindly. He sighs,” Well I’m vacationing to be honest. I think I’ve managed to stay under the radar, as I got in on a late flight and I haven’t really gone out during the day.” Natalie has so many questions she wants to ask, but she doesn’t want to be rude. He sees her apprehension, and laughs. Resting a gentle hand on her shoulder so not to distract her from driving, he says, “If you want to ask me about being Harry Styles that’s ok. I won’t run away from you Natalie.”

She smiles a wide smile at him, and he swears he can feel heat radiating from her pretty face. They fall into a comfortable silence and a song comes on that they both know very well. Natalie blushes and reaches to turn it off, but Harry stops her and turns the volume dial up louder.

“This is my favorite song of yours.” she says very quietly. He’s very glad that she likes this song because it’s always held a special place in his heart as well. He hums along and she works up the nerve, “I’d like to hear about you from you Harry, if that’s alright.”

He knows she’s shy and doesn’t want to talk about herself, that much is clear. He does not mind, as that means they can talk about her next time (he doesn’t know that they’ll see each other again but he’s hoping). He relays growing up and the rise to fame, as well as favorite things. Those are her favorite; she already knows all of these things he tells her, and he knows that as well, but it’s different and intimate when he tells her about his favorite movie and his love for cats. The song plays softly in the background.

The last line comes and she can’t help but sing along, “And all your little things...” Harry smiles. She’s really cute, he deicides, and his horrible evening is now much better. He tries not to think about what could happen to her if they get photographed or stopped, because he likes her a lot and does not want her to hate him.

At the same time, Natalie is thinking about how she wouldn’t mind being caught with him. Getting to know him is worth it, and she knows that she’s very lucky to have this opportunity. She is worried that she’ll just be another girl to him, because she knows that he’s met hundreds, thousands or girls. Noticing that they’re nearing her home town, she nudges him with her elbow.

“Now I know it’s dark, but humor me and I’ll tell you about what we’re passing.” She looks over at him and he’s fascinated with everything she’s saying (he’s actually fascinated with her but he won’t tell her that just yet). He runs his hand through his tousled hair and smiles.

“Sounds perfect.” he says. She notices the tattoos on his hands, which are very very large. They’re beautiful, actually. She’s always wanted beautiful hands, but maybe holding his will be enough. She snaps her head around to look at the road. She can’t believe she just thought that...but she guesses that he turns every girl he meets to romantic mush.

It’s dark, but her hometown is lit by the gas street lamps that is has always had. She taps his shoulder and says like she’s a tour guide, “On your right you have my middle school where I spend four lousy years.” Harry laughs at her voice, but quickly turns serious.

“I’m sorry you didn’t like it.” He flashes her a quick smile, “It’s much bigger than my primary school.” She laughs, “I’m sure it is. It was much bigger than my high school.”
He’s intrigued, “Oh, can we see that too? Is it around here?”

“Yeah, we’ll get there eventually. “ She loves that he’s so excited about seeing her past; after all, they barely know each other. She’s suddenly very sad because she knows that tomorrow they will have gone their separate ways and will never see each other again (that’s not true but she doesn’t know that yet).

They drive along, and she points out different things along the way. “There’s the pharmacy, and my barber shop, and that’s where I had my braces put on and off and such. And that’s-” He interrupts her. “I think you have a beautiful smile.” She blushes (he laughs at that) and thanks him, “I really hated braces you know. But I think they did alright.” He nods and flashes a smile of his own.

They keep driving, slowing down occasionally so he can see the buildings she points out. “That’s the library...it was quite horrible. I love books but they weren’t very nice and I always forgot to return my book.” He laughed, “I’m sure I still have some overdue books from home.” She points out the train station, her favorite coffee shop, and the best place to eat in town. He loves seeing this side of her (though he hasn’t seen many sides yet, but that will change); she’s so happy to be talking about where she came from and he can tell she misses it.

“Do you miss it?” he asks. She considers the question. Turning to him (because his eyes really are incredible to look at), she say, “Yeah, I think I do. I miss growing up, but now that I’ve left, I have so many more opportunities. And I get to meet lots of amazing people.” He flushes, and they sit in silence as she drives down a long row of houses. They turn a few times, stop at a light, and then pull into a long driveway.

“This is my high school.” she says nervously, because for some reason she think that if he finds it uninteresting then he’ll leave right away (he won’t). It’s dark and the driveway seems to go on forever. “I used to walk to school, and this driveway was always the worst part.” They pull up to the school and she puts it in park. The chapel looms over them and Natalie suddenly feels nostalgic. She turns to Harry, “Now this place, I really miss.” He thinks it’s very nice and wonders what she was like in high school. It doesn’t seem like the right time to ask, so he doesn’t and instead hopes he will find out someday (he will).

“What was your school like?” he asks. Her eyes light up and she puts the car in park. “Well,” she says, “It’s really quite small, only 40-50 students a class. And its was all girls.” He’s surprised. She notices and laughs, “I liked it a lot. I didn’t have to worry about impressing anyone. And we had uniforms that were quite...unattractive so it was good there were no boys around to see us.”

“I’d have loved to come visit.” he winks. She laughs and soon he joins in. They laugh at nothing for a while and then she puts the car back in drive. She taps her fingers on the wheel and says, “If it’s alright, I have one more place to show you.” A pang goes through his chest; their evening is almost over (not really, but they don’t know that). Nevertheless, he’s happy to see whatever she wants to show him. “Of course it’s alright!” She smiles. “I love seeing things that tell me more about you.” Goodness, he really is a charmer, she thinks.

They drive back down the long driveway and turn left. The road is full of curves but he can tell she’s done this hundreds of times. Soon they’re in a poorly lit neighborhood. She sighs, “They still haven’t changed these street lamps! They’ve always been useless.” The pieces come together and Harry says, “Are we going to your old house?” She nods at him and he’s honored that she’s taking him there.

“Obviously we can’t go it, as I don’t know who lives there now, but we can drive by.” The turn a corner and she points to a relatively large tan house with green shutters.

“It’s beautiful. You grew up here?” he asks her.

“Yeah. I’m an only child but I made friends with the other kids in the neighborhood. We all grew up on these streets.” This is the moment that Harry decides he wants to know everything about Natalie. He is gripped with the sudden urge to talk to her forever and he is determined to make that possible. He doesn’t want to let her go (and he won’t).