Luck

On Monday morning, the buzz of my phone served as my alarm clock. Warily, I rolled over to see what time it was - it seemed too dark for it to be time to get up. I tapped the screen to find that it wasn’t my alarm clock, but it was early, and instead it was Lou ringing me.

“What?” I was too groggy to mind my manners.

“Oh, Savvy, did I wake you?” Lou's kind voice filled my ears. She sounded wide awake and cheerful.

"Uh, yeah," I said, "but it's fine."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Lou continued, "I know I told you that you didn't have to come till one today, but I need to know if you can come earlier. You don't have class, do you?"

"No, I don't," I was slowly beginning to wake up, "I have Mondays off. What time do you want me to come?"

"As soon as possible," Lou hesitated for a second, "Harry, her godfather, was supposed to come, but I think he's still sleeping."

"Oh, I'm sorry," the words fell off my lips before I even thought about, "I'll be over as soon as possible. Probably in like thirty or forty-five minutes."

"That's fine!" Lou chirped, "I'll see you then!"

"See you then!" I echoed.

The dial tone filled my ear and I laid back down for half a second. My eyes began to flutter closed; I was almost back to sleep. Something in me forced myself to sit straight up and flick my light on. I groaned before glancing back down at my phone. 6:14 am flashed across the screen.

After climbing out of bed, I grabbed some clothes - jeans, a cardigan and a tank top - and threw them on. The small bathroom down the hall was empty, and I brushed my teeth and put just a touch of makeup on. I thought about fixing my hair, but instead I just ran a brush through it and called it good.

The kitchen lights were already on when I went out. They were still dim, and hadn't fully turned on yet.

"You're up early," Eva commented. Still in her robe, she had a big mug that was pressed up against her lip, and she sounded as tired as I felt.

"I know, Lou called me and needs me to babysit," I told her, "Lux's godfather was supposed to do it, but he didn't show up."

"Harry Styles?"

I nodded, "Yep."

"Wow. I always took him as the responsible type," Eva said.

"I don't really know him," I shrugged.

"I don't either, so I don't really know why I'm saying that," Eva admitted, "Anyways, have fun. Eat something on your way there."

She tossed me a granola bar which I managed to catch. I grabbed my bag from its hook and headed out. To get to Lou's house, I had to take the Tube to the station near Lou and then transfer to the bus.

The Tube was crowded with commuters, and I felt hurried and rushed and underdressed while traveling. My class schedule and babysitting Lux allowed me to generally avoid rush hour, something I was learning to be grateful for. As much as I liked London, I did not like the crowded train car that I was forced onto, nor the adult male who probably hadn’t showered in far too long, at least based on the stench coming off of him. It was just my luck that he rode the entire way right next to me, the car too crowded to try to move, even when people boarded and deboarded.

I finally reached Lou’s station, only to find myself hurrying to catch the bus for the rest of the journey. I managed to make the bus, and got to Lou’s house about an hour after she first called me.

“Savannah!” Lou said when she opened the door, “That was fast! Sorry for waking you, I know you probably really needed your sleep. Thank you so much for coming!”

“Oh, it’s not a problem,” I smiled.

“Great,” Lou hummed, “Well, listen. I’m late as it is - I really do need to get going. I’m sure Harry just overslept, he’ll probably wake up soon and realize what he’s done and head on over. If he does, you’re free to leave, just come back at one so Harry can take off. But be sure to give him hell for me. Oh, and Lux is still sleeping, and she’s expecting Hazza to be here. She’ll probably be quite disappointed, but just play with her and take her to the park or something. She’ll get over it eventually. Besides, she adores you.”

I nodded reassuringly, “Alright. It’ll be alright.”

“Wonderful, well, I’m off,” Lou kissed me on the cheek, “Thanks so much, again. You’re really such a doll. Tom should be back around six tonight or so.”

“Great,” I said, “Have a good day!”

“You too, Savannah!” Lou cried after me as she left. I closed the door behind her, and climbed the stairs to go check on Lux. Like Lou said, she was fast asleep.

I headed back downstairs and straight to the kitchen, where I began preparing breakfast for Lux. Like most kids, she was generally starving when she woke up and I didn't want to risk more of a meltdown than I was sure to have when she realized that Harry wasn't there.

I made blueberry pancakes, and arranged the blueberries to be in the shape of smiley faces, which I knew Lux would find amusing. I was still hungry, despite the granola bar I had eaten earlier, and made a couple for myself, as well. Just as I was finishing up, I heard the little pitter patter of feet from the stairs.

“Lux?” I called.

“Savvy?” A little voice returned. She wandered into the kitchen, her blanket in her arms. Lux was still tired, and she yawned.

“Hi, Luxy,” I greeted her, “Are you hungry? Do you want some pancakes?”

“Yes,” she nodded.

I took out one of her plastic plates, and placed two pancakes on it, before sitting it at her seat at the table. “Here you are.”

Wordlessly, she waited for me to lift her up to her booster seat, her blanket still in her arms.

“Why don’t you give me your blankie?” I suggested gently, “That way you don’t spill syrup on it.”

“Okay,” Lux relented, handing me her blanket. I took it from her and put it on the counter, away from the food. I lifted her up to the booster seat and gave her a fork.

“Do you want syrup?” I asked, as I pulled it out of the fridge.

“Yes!” Lux cried with more energy than I had a yet to see her have today.

I poured an appropriate amount of syrup on her plate, before adding just a touch to mine. I sat down in the chair next to her and started eating. Despite Lux’s outburst earlier, she didn’t seem to have much energy. It wasn’t too surprising - she rarely had much energy right after waking up. It took her a little while.

“Savvy, where Hazza?” Lux asked after several moments. I was surprised that it had taken her this long to remember that her beloved Hazza wasn’t there.

“Hazza couldn’t come,” I told her, “So you get to play with me today, instead.”

Lux made a face, and I couldn’t quite tell if she was going to cry or not. Her face then suddenly changed, and relaxed a bit.

“We go park?” she asked, looking hopefully at me.

Relieved that a fit didn’t appear to be on the way, I couldn’t do anything but agree. “Of course! We’ll go later today, okay? Finish your breakfast for now.”

After eating, I sent Lux to play with her dolls in the living room while I cleaned up and did the dishes. It was still early, too early to go to the park. I knew I had to distract her for a while. I pulled out my phone and performed a quick Google search, and found a project that we could do with popsicle sticks.

We spent the morning building our families out of popsicles and gluing them onto paper. Lux included her Auntie Sam, her parents and her grandparents, where as mine was just my mom, my dad and Michael. I left them to dry by the window, and cleaned up our supplies while Lux played with her dolls. When we were done with that, Lux reminded me about the park.

I agreed to take her, and we packed two sandwiches, some grapes and some crackers before walking to the park. We were the only occupants, since it was a Monday during the school year.

With my eyes trained on Lux, she swung and went down the slide, over and over again. It was a nice playground, and a good one for her. For the most part, she just liked exploring and having fun, and I thought the sun was good for her.

After a while, Lux grew bored. She made a show of yawning and stretching before she jumped off the little platform and ran to me.

“Eat,” she told me.

“You’re hungry?” I asked, and realized my own stomach was gnawing at itself.

Lux nodded, before taking off towards the picnic table, having decided it was lunch time. I followed her, and opened up the tote bag - the same one I had loaned Lou when her’s broke - that I had packed our lunch in.

As we ate, Lux made a show of feeding Josie the Elephant, who she had insisted upon bringing. I had initially been resistant, but I realized that this was not a battle worth fighting.

My phone lit up and buzzed beside me. Lux looked at me expectantly, and I smiled at her before glancing down at it myself. It wasn’t a number I recognized, but I let out a sigh of relief when I realized the number wasn’t from the states.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Uh, hi, Savannah?” a faintly familiar voice responded. Although I had most certainly heard it before, it took me a second to place it.

“Hi, who is this?” I asked.

“Uh, Harry, Harry Styles.” I felt like an idiot for not recognizing it instantly. “Lou gave me your number, I hope you don’t mind. Uh, listen. I was supposed to have Lux this morning but like an idiot I messed up the days and overslept. I have to go to rehearsals in like an hour and a half, but I really feel bad. I’m on my way to Lou’s house right now, can I at least take Lux out for ice cream or something? You know, spend some time with her? I feel right awful.”

I paused for a second, not one hundred percent sure how to respond, “I mean, you can, but we’re not at Lou’s house at the moment.”

“You’re not?” Harry asked.

“No, we’re at the park,” I informed him.

“Oh.” The disappointment in Harry’s voice was clear, “What park? I could swing by and pick you up. I’ll take her to get ice cream.”

“Uh, sure,” I agreed.

“Great! What park?” Harry’s voice picked up.

“I’m not sure,” I admitted, “Uh, it has a playground. And it’s by Lou’s house - we walk to it. Well, I walk, and Lux rides along in the stroller.”

"Is it the one we always go to?" He asked.

"It's the one I always bring her to," I told him, "it's the one closest to Lou's house, I think."

"I'm pretty sure I know which one you're talking about. Hang tight, give me five minutes."

Before I could respond, the dial tone rang in my ear.

"Who?" Lux asked. She stared up with me.

"It's Hazza," I told her, "he's coming to get you."

Lux's eyes grew wide and she giggled and clapped her little hands.

"Hazza, Hazza, Hazza!" She sang.

"Yes, Hazza," I agreed, “But he’s not here yet! Do you want to swing while we wait for him?”

Lux nodded carefully, and together we headed over to the swings. I pushed her in the kiddie swing while she clapped and played around joyfully.

“Hazza, Hazza!” She waved fiercely.

I looked up, and sure enough, Harry Styles was walking towards us, looking flustered.

“Hazza!” Lux cried as he got within earshot. His face lit up when he heard her say those words.

“Hi, Luxy,” he greeted her, before turning to me, “Hey, Savvy.”

“Hey,” I returned, “So you’re going to take her to get some ice cream?”

He shrugged, “That’s the plan. There’s a great place down the way a little ways. They have the best banana ice cream in the world.”

“Banana ice cream?” I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

“Yeah, banana ice cream,” Harry affirmed, “No better type of ice cream, especially from this place.”

Harry had taken over pushing Lux in the swing for me, but she seemed to have had enough of it. She kicked and pushed and wailed.

“Up, up!” she cried.

“Lux,” I scolded, “Don’t kick.”

Regardless, Harry picked her up anyway. I scowled at Harry when he did that, and watched as he narrowly avoided Lux’s kicks.

“Ready for some ice cream, Luxy?” he asked.

Lux nodded enthusiastically. With Lux safely in Harry’s arms, the three of us headed to the parking lot (or, excuse me, the car park). When we reached the parking lot, there were only two cars parked, but it was clear which one was Harry’s. One was old and beat up, while the other was shining new Range Rover. It beeped as Harry pulled out his keys and walked over to it.

“You have a car seat for her, right?” I asked.

Harry shot me a look, “Of course. I’m actually rather responsible.”

He opened the car door and made a show of pointing out the car seat, which was already strapped in. Lux was placed in her car seat by Harry, and he began to buckle her up.

“Hey, don’t get mad at me. You’re the one who didn’t show up today. I was supposed to have the morning off,” I reminded him.

Harry paused for a second in mid motion while buckling Lux in. He looked at me like he couldn’t believe what I had just said, before sighing and allowing it.

“You have me there,” he admitted after a second. He finished strapping Lux in and shut the door.

I knew he was expecting a response, but I didn’t have one for him. I just shrugged, and he seemed to accept that. Harry climbed into the driver’s seat of his Range Rover. I just stood there awkwardly. I hadn’t exactly been invited on Harry and Lux’s date, but I was her nanny. However, I wasn’t one to intrude.

“Are you getting in the car?” Harry asked.

“Am I invited?” I bit my lip, “I don’t want to intrude on your date with Lux.”

“I don’t think she cares,” Harry shrugged, “Besides, you’re her nanny. You can make sure I’m being responsible and shit.”

“Well, you’re sure not being responsible cursing in front of a two-year-old,” I muttered.

Harry heard and shot me a look. “Just get in the car.”

I crossed over and climbed into his Range Rover.

“Buckle up!” He chided.

“I am,” I whined, as I clicked the buckle together, “See?”

Harry didn’t respond, but he did begin driving. In my time in London, I hadn’t spent too much of it in a car. My grandparents had picked me up to the airport in their car, and dropped me off at the flat in it, but other than that, my experience in London had been chiefly on the Tube, a bus or walking. It was somewhat nice to be able to see everything once again.

In the backseat, Lux clapped along to the radio that Harry had put on. It was a children’s station, which I couldn’t help but smirk at. I wasn’t quite sure how bad London traffic was, but it seemed worse than normal to me today. The clapping slowly stopped, and when I looked back, I realized Lux had fallen asleep.

Harry had evidently come to the same conclusion. “Lux is sleeping.”

“I know,” I told him, “She’s still little. Needs her sleep.”

“We can skip the ice cream,” Harry suggested, “I don’t want to wake her up. She’ll be cranky, and then you’ll have to deal with that. I mean, unless you were really in the mood for ice cream.”

“No, I can do without,” I said.

For a while, silence filled the air. Harry still hadn’t changed from the children’s station that was playing, but it did switch over to so-called, “tween” music at noon. The first song to be played was a One Direction song, and the second the first notes of Kiss You filled the air, Harry was quick to turn it off.

“So, what’s the deal? Do you guys have a bunch of time off right now or something?” I blurted shortly after he did that.

“Kinda. We’re in between legs of the tour,” Harry explained, “We finished the North American leg in August, and then we had a movie premiere. I won’t ask you whether or not you saw it. But we leave for Australia for a couple of weeks in a week. We’re on break until we leave for Australia. I take it you’re not coming with us?”

“Uh, no,” I said quickly, “I go to school. I have class.”

Lou hadn’t mentioned anything about them leaving soon, but I assumed Harry’s question meant that she was going with them. I wondered if Lux would be traveling with them, as well. If she was, I would have to find an alternative source of income while they were gone.

“That’s right,” Harry remembered, “I just assumed, you know, since you’re Lux’s nanny and everything…”

“Yeah, I don’t think so,” I reaffirmed, “Lou hasn’t spoken to me about it, so I would say no.”

“You could probably go, if you wanted to,” Harry told me, “I mean, you’re Lux’s nanny, we could probably add you to the payroll. I guess maybe the visas would be tight. I don’t really know. I could ask Paul for you - he’s our tour manager.”

Wilson’s voice rang in my ears at the mere suggestion of me going to Australia. I could see him shaking his head at me, his eyes accusatory. He made it clear that he didn’t trust me from the first day I met him, and his mind didn’t change.

“You can go see your grandparents in England - you’re a citizen there,” his voice had been as gruff and as cold as ever, “But don’t leave England or America. Those are your only two options. If you go somewhere else and get flagged by customs, I can’t help you. I’m only a lawyer here, I can only protect you here. Got it?”

Marred by the memory of Wilson, I was quick to speak. “No, that’s okay. I want to stay here.”

“I understand,” Harry’s voice was sincere.

“So what are you guys doing for your break then?” I asked.

“Uh, mostly just whatever,” Harry told me, “Liam’s with his family in Disney for the week.”

“The one in Florida!?” I cut Harry off and he just nodded, “I love that one! I used to go every single spring break, with my family.”

“I’ve never been,” Harry admitted, “Liam and Louis love it.”

“You should go sometime, it’s a lot of fun.”

“I’m sure,” Harry strummed his fingers against the steering wheel, “I’ve just never really been the biggest fan of amusement parks. Seems like a long flight for an amusement park.”

“Oh, but it’s so much more than that,” I raved, “It’s a lot of amusement parks, and then you can go to the beach, too!”

“We have beaches on this side of the Atlantic,” Harry shrugged, “Maybe I’ll go sometime. I’ve been to the one in Paris and in LA and those are cool and all, but slightly overrated.”

“I can’t believe you think that,” I disagreed, “Disney is the best.”

“To each their own.”

I let a moment of silence pass before speaking again, “What are the rest of you doing on your break?”

“Well, I’m just hanging out in London. I might go see my mum and stepfather this weekend, but I haven’t decided yet,” Harry informed me, “Louis is spending time with his own family, same with Zayn, and Niall’s still in London. Honestly, on these breaks, I just like sleeping in. ”

“It must be hard, when you’re away for so long,” I mused, “I can’t imagine that.”

“It is,” Harry allowed, “But we make do. What we’re doing is pretty cool, you know? I’m thankful, at least. And I do get to see my family, not as often as I’d like, but I do get to see them.”

“That’s nice,” I responded.

“It must be hard, living across the ocean from your parents. It’s hard not seeing mine that often, but at least we still live in the same country,” Harry considered.

“Uh, yeah,” I mumbled, “Hey, listen, we should probably start heading back. I don’t know where you need to be, but I know that you needed to leave by one, and it’s nearly twelve forty-five now…”

Harry glanced down at the clock, and a look of alarm shot across his face, “Shit. I didn’t realize that. I’ll turn around.”

We had managed to get quite a distance from Lou’s in the time we had spent on the road, and I knew Harry was speeding to get back on time. I wanted to tell him not to, but figured I didn’t know him well enough to do so. Instead we passed the rest of the trip in an awkward silence.

Lux was still sleeping when Harry pulled up on to Lou’s driveway.

“Thanks for the ride.” I said quietly, turning to him before unbuckling.

“Yeah, no problem,” Harry turned to face me as I got out of the car, “I’m sorry ice cream didn’t work out.”

“It’s fine,” I shrugged, “Better for myself anyway.”

“Yeah… Do you need help carrying Lux in?” Harry asked.

“No, I should be fine.” I unlocked the back door and carefully unbuckled her. She stirred but didn’t wake, and I was able to pick her up easily, “Bye, Harry.”

“Bye, Savannah.” His voice was distant, but I did notice that he watched us as I struggled to unlock the door and get Lux in before driving off.

Once inside, I was happy to put Lux down in her room, before retreating to the living room, content to take a break myself. I let myself doze off, and wasn’t awoken till several hours later.