Loved You First

“Do you think Cynthia would let you go to LA with me for One D day?” Harry asked me as we watched Lux play in her backyard.

“Do you plan on asking all serious questions in this backyard?” I laughed.

“What?” Harry asked, picking Lux up as she ran by and spinning her around, making the little girl squeal with delight.

“You asked me to go on the red carpet for This Is Us with you in this backyard. I think you even told me about the Take Me Home tour in this backyard,” I explained.

“Maybe I will just ask all my serious questions in this backyard,” Harry said. “It’s a very nice backyard!” He waved his hand around and grinned lopsidedly at me. “So, do you want to go to LA with me?”

“Are you kidding? I would love to go to LA with you. But if you think I can go without Cynthia tagging along, you’re crazy,” I told him.

“Well I was kind of hoping to have you to myself, but I guess it wouldn’t kill me for your sister to tag along,” he teased.

“Well, I’m gonna have to deal with all four of your brothers so the least you could do is put up with my sister,” I grinned at him.

“I love it when you call them my brothers,” he smiled widely, dimples showing. He wrapped his arms around me and Lux ran in between our legs, making grabby hands up at us and chanting, “Me too, me too, me too!”

Harry laughed and scooped his goddaughter up in one of his arms, pulling her up between us.

****

“Ari has school,” was all Cynthia said when Harry asked her if we could go to LA with him. “And I’ve got a photo-shoot. So, no.”

“Oh, c’mon, Cynth, look how sad they look,” Gemma pleaded, gesturing to my best friend’s and my exaggerated pouty faces.

“How can you say no to these sweet faces?” Lou cooed, standing between us and pinching our cheeks.

“You’re flying out tomorrow, Harry; you didn’t really give me much notice!” Cynthia protested. “And, Ari, you’ve got school tomorrow and you already missed one day this week thanks to Harry. These are your A-Levels; you need to take this shit seriously.”

“I do! I’ve already made up the work from Tuesday and I swear I’ll make up the work from tomorrow and I won’t fall behind. Por favor, Nallely, necesito esto!” I begged. Please, Nallely, I need this.

“Harry,” his gaze snapped to meet my sister’s. “I need to talk to you outside.” She didn’t wait for him to respond before she was opening the back door and stepping onto the deck.

He raised his eyebrows at me and shrugged before he followed her and closed the door behind him.

They came back a few minutes later and Harry was blushing while Cynthia was grinning.

“Alright, sis, you can go. I’ve got to stay here for the photo shoot,” she announced.

“Are you serious?” I asked, my eyes wide. She nodded. I smiled widely, my dimples cratering in my cheeks, her expression matching mine. I ran over and pulled her into my arms. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Then I turned to Harry, whose wide smile and dimples mirrored mine. “We’re going to LA!”

“We’re going to LA,” he drawled, chuckling at me as I clapped my hands in excitement.

****

“I can’t believe I’m letting you do this,” Cynthia said as we walked into London Heathrow Airport the next day. She was watching the hordes of fans warily as they were being held behind black Stanchion ropes.

“There used to be like 20 and now there’s like 200 every time the boys are here,” she muttered.
I just grinned at her and clutched my duffel bag. She walked me all the way to security but held me back before I could walk through.

“I wanna take a picture of you in case I need to give one to the police,” she joked, pulling me in front of a floor to ceiling mirror outside of the bathroom. I rolled my eyes but posed for the photo.

cynthiagarcia: @arielagarcia can’t believe I’m letting this little go across an ocean without me!! If anything happens to her, I’ll fucking kill you @harrystyles

@CynthiaNallely: @Arielalala @Harry_Styles instagram.com/awjef203jf02

I was scrolling through twitter on my phone, lounging in the waiting area in front of the gate with the boys, the tour band and some of their crew as we waited for our flight to begin boarding. I was wearing a t-shirt that was riddled with holes over plain black leggings, and I hadn’t even been aware that the shirt used to belong to Zayn, but sure enough, there were old pictures of Zayn wearing it circulating twitter alongside the photos of me in it today.

“Shit, Zayn, have you seen twitter yet?” I said, glancing at the boy a few seats down from me.

“No, why?” He eyed me warily.

“Apparently the shirt I’m wearing used to be yours,” I said. “So they’ve all got old pictures of you in it and pictures of me today and there’re all sorts of crazy rumors and shit going around.”

“I should call Perrie,” was all he said.

“I’m sorry,” I said sheepishly. “I really didn’t remember that it was yours or I wouldn’t have worn it.”

“It’s fine, Ari, I don’t even remember owning that shirt,” he smiled at me, patting my head, before he walked away, phone pressed to his ear as he dialed his fiancée.

“You’re just causing all sorts of trouble lately, little bird,” Louis teased from beside me.

“I don’t even know how I ended up with Zayn’s shirt anyway,” I shook my head. “I mean, I’ve got a collection going of Harry’s jumpers and even some of yours from when you two lived together but, like…Zayn? How would I get Zayn’s clothes? I’ve never stayed at his and he’s never stayed at mine so…I mean…how?”

@Arielalala: real talk I had no idea this shirt was Zayn’s and idek how it ended up with me??

@Arielalala: I’m so confused like how even did this happen

I clicked out of twitter as a new message flashed across the top of my screen.

New Message from: Waliyha Malik

I left that shirt at yours!! Remember, me and Lottie slept over the last weekend of summer?? I had stolen that shirt from Zayn to wear for pjs!

New Message to: Waliyha Malik

Omg I totally forgot about that!

“Zayn, Waliyha says she stole the shirt and left it at mine so it’s all her fault!” I called, not looking up from my phone. I heard Zayn laugh and mutter something under his breath about his sisters being a nuisance.

I took a screenshot of my conversation with Waliyha and posted it on twitter.

@Arielalala: solved the mystery of the shirt pic.twitter.com/awio23fw

Flying first class was a very different experience than what I was used to. When Cynthia and I had flown to England when I was twelve, we flew coach. When Harry had us flown out to New York for the Madison Square Garden show on the Take Me Home tour, we flew business class. Now, we were all seated in large, plush chairs with so much leg room I didn’t even know what to do with it. I was seated next to the window, Harry in the seat next to me. Lou and Lux were seated in the row behind us, Zayn and Louis across from her, Liam and Niall across the aisle from us. The rest of the crew and the tour band were seated in the rows in front of us. It was like One Direction had completely taken over first class, there were only a handful of businessmen that weren’t with the band.

All of the boys and I turned to pose for a selfie that Lou was taking. She managed to fit herself, Lux, the five boys and I all in frame. This then prompted all of us to take a slew of photos ourselves, which led to a lot of blurry pictures and yelling before Paul hushed us.

louteasdale: 1D has taken over first class #imwiththeboyband

I was giggling as I went through my camera roll, settling on a selfie of myself and Liam across the aisle, Niall sticking out his tongue in the background. I set the picture as my home screen, causing Harry to whine in annoyance next to me.

“What, Haz?” I turned to him.

“I’m always your home screen,” he pouted, widening his eyes at me pitifully.

“You’re so needy,” I chuckled. “You’re already my lock screen; do you really need to be both?” I pressed the lock button, turning the screen toward him to prove it. The photo was from the day of Gemma’s graduation. Harry was sitting in his One D sleeping bag, jade eyes bright, and mouth open in a grin as he talked.

“You’re both on my phone!” He protested.

He pressed his lock button and angled the phone toward me, showing me one of the paparazzi photos of him picking me up from school. I was holding onto him as he leans against the Audi, my knees resting on the hood of the car on either side of his hips. My hands were curled around his biceps and his hands were gripping my waist. Both of us were smiling, and my mouth was open in conversation.
Harry unlocked his phone, showing me his home screen, which was the photo of me asleep on his first night home. It was different from the one he’d posted, though. In the one he’d posted, my face was covered by my hair, but in this one, my profile was visible, with my long curls splayed out behind me. My eyelashes looked unreasonably long and my lips were pink and just barely parted. I looked peaceful.

“I’ve never seen that picture before,” I looked up at him. He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Erm…yeah. Do you wanna watch a movie or something?” I shook my head.

“Nah, I think I’m just gonna listen to music and try to sleep,” I reached into my carryon, pulling out the pink Beats headphones Harry had bought for me a few years back. I plugged them in and slipped them over my head, leaning back in my seat. Harry was pulling his laptop out of his bag when I closed my eyes, drifting off to the sounds of an acoustic version of an All Time Low song that I was too tired to remember the name of.

****

I didn’t know how I hadn’t realized that my going on this trip would mean sharing a bed with Harry. It was when we’d dragged ourselves into our hotel room at half two in the morning, jetlagged from the twelve hour flight, that I realized I’d never shared a bed with Harry. In our four years of friendship, we’d fallen asleep together loads of times, on loads of random surfaces. Once, when we were in secondary school, a few weeks before Harry was set to take his GCSE’s, a librarian even found us asleep with our faces resting on open books, lying between NON FIC A-D and NON FIC E-H.

But sharing a bed was different. This wasn’t us unintentionally passing out on Anne’s couch after a day spent exploring the woods behind his house. This wasn’t us falling asleep on the floor of Lux’s nursery, exhausted from hours spent trying to get the fussy baby to sleep.
This was a conscious decision to climb into a bed together. And maybe that shouldn’t have felt so daunting to me, because we spent most of our time together cuddling or touching in some way regardless. But it did, and despite how much I desperately wanted to climb under that duvet and find out exactly what a bed in a five-star hotel felt like, I was frozen to my spot as Harry moved about the room.

I could hear Harry digging through his bag, presumably finding something to sleep in, but I was too busy having a stare-down with the bed to pay attention to him. That is, until he called my name.

“Ela?” My gaze snapped to his, taking in the sight of his bare torso as he pulled his shirt over his head. I was fascinated by the way the inked skin moved over his sinewy muscle.

“Are you alright?” He walked over to me, placing his hands on my shoulders and then waving one in front of my face.

“Ela,” he sang, dragging out the vowels. I tore my eyes away from the words ‘Might as well’ tattooed just above where his jeans were hanging low on his hips and forced myself to meet his gaze.

“Hi,” he said, looking at me with concern. “You alright?”

“Yeah,” I swallowed, trying to avoid glancing down at the birds inked on his chest. “Just tired, is all.”

“Go get changed.” He nudged me toward the bathroom door and I shut it carefully behind me, flipping the lock and turning toward the mirror. I gripped the counter and stared at myself with wide eyes.

I’d seen Harry shirtless plenty of times. This was nothing for me to get worked up about. And yet, I couldn’t stop myself from picturing him, the way the black ink contrasted his skin, the way he was surprisingly tan for November, and, most of all, the way the muscles in his abdomen were cut into a v line, pointing right into his too tight skinny jeans.

Had Harry always been so…hot?

I let out a nervous laugh, raking my hands through my curls, as I tried to remember the last time I’d see Harry shirtless. It had to be when they were rehearsing for the 02 Arena in London, right at the beginning of this last tour. He’d been shirtless and dancing around the room with the other lads, causing a ruckus and probably giving their poor choreographer an ulcer.

If I thought about it, he had probably looked the same that day as he did now. Maybe there were a few new tattoos, and he was a bit slimmer from having worked out throughout the tour, but he was pretty much the same.

So why hadn’t I been freaking out over him at the arena?

Maybe I was tired, and a bit lonely after Abe, and we’d just had a long flight and my brain was fried. Maybe I was PMSing and my hormones were out of whack or something.

Because, really, how could I think that Harry was hot? I mean, I wasn’t blind, I knew he was an attractive bloke, and I knew every girl at our secondary school had thought he was the fittest lad they’d ever seen. Hell, every girl in Cheshire had wanted him. Now, I supposed, most every girl in the world wanted him.

But he’d always been just Harry to me.

It was like I’d blinked and he’d gone from that scrappy kid from down the block who picked fights with my exes, to this broad-shouldered and gorgeous 19 year old who was looking less like a boy and more like a man every day.

One thought was running through my head as I stared myself down in the mirror.

I am so fucked.

****

I hadn’t been too stoked on 1D day when Harry told me it was going to fall on 23rd November, because that was the day of the 50th anniversary special of Doctor Who that I had been anticipating for months.

Harry assured me that I could miss that bit of the live stream to watch the episode, setting me up with a laptop in the back that would stream BBC America for me when the episode aired, so I was sated.

@Arielalala: it’s about to start!!! #1Dday

@Arielalala: this is so great omg #1Dday

@Arielalala: they removed me from the studio bc I was laughing too loud. Now I’m watching on a screen in the back lol

@Arielalala: DOCTOR WHO IN T-MINUS 2 MINUTES AHHH

@Arielalala: I’m bailing on #1Dday for the next 75 minutes to watch #TheDayofTheDoctor

@Arielalala: #TheDayOfTheDoctor that ending made me so happy oh my god. Back to #1Dday

“Want to go get some frozen yogurt with me?” Harry asked me while I was sitting on the couch, trying to gather myself after the tsunami of feels I was left with from the Day of The Doctor.

Niall and Louis were shown on the flat screen hanging from the wall, introducing the video for Talk Dirty to Me that the boys had made on tour. I’d already seen it, so I stood, accepting Harry’s outstretched hand.

“Are you allowed to leave?” I asked him as we talked.

He shrugged. “I don’t have to be on again for another half hour.”

We walked over to the massive black SUV that they’d picked us up from the hotel in earlier that morning. I almost climbed into the driver’s side, causing Harry to laugh at me.

“And you’re the American,” he teased. I scowled at him.

“Can you even drive in the states? What happens if we get pulled over and you show them your UK license?” I wondered aloud.

“Of course I can,” Harry rolled his eyes. “California accepts UK driver’s licenses. Besides, I have got a US license.”

“What? Why?” I asked, incredulously.

“Well, I,” he grinned sheepishly at me, rubbing the back of his neck and licking his lips. “I haven’t got a car license. I’ve got one for the motorbike I bought. You’ve got to have a special license to drive one if you’re under 21.”

“You bought a motorcycle?” I shook my head and smiled. “Why am I not surprised?”

“I’ve got two helmets,” he told me as he pulled up to a Froyo. “I can take you ‘round after dinner. Unless you’re scared.” He grinned wickedly at me.

“Bring it, pretty boy.”

@Arielalala: Harry just randomly took me to get frozen yogurt during Nouis hour #1Dday

****

Later, all five of the boys were on camera, being interviewed by Piers Morgan. Like most interviewers, he was asking about girlfriends.

“Define girlfriends,” was Louis’ cheeky reply when asked how many he’d had.

“And what about you, Harry?” Piers turned his attention to the curly haired boy. “Have you got a girlfriend? You’re all over the papers lately with that school girl.”

“No, I haven’t got a girlfriend,” Harry laughed, looking at his hands. “She’s just a friend of mine. My best friend, actually.”

“Oi! What about me?” Louis looked positively offended at Harry’s answer.

“You know what I mean,” Harry rolled his eyes at him. When Louis continued to stare at him in mock hurt, Harry sighed. “You’re my best mate, too, Lou.” Louis grinned, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek.

I rolled my eyes at them. They’d probably just caused a ton of girls to spontaneously combust.

@Arielalala: how are the larry girls after that last bit? You lot still breathing?? #1Dday

****

We had dinner at the studio, ordering an absurd amount of Chinese takeaway to feed the band and the huge crew that had made the 7 hour live stream possible.

After we ate, Harry had someone bring his motorbike to us.

“Where do you even keep this when you’re not here?” I asked, securing the strap for the helmet under my chin.

“One of the lads from the record company here keeps it at his for me, bless him,” Harry put his on and pulled the clear visor down over my eyes.

“You don’t have a visor on yours. Seems unsafe,” I demonstrated this by trying to poke at his eyes. He swatted my hand away before I could.

Harry got on the bike and patted the seat behind him, smirking back at me. I glared at him as I hitched a leg over the side, wrapping my arms tight around his middle and hooking my chin over his shoulder.

Harry took the freeway to get us all the way out to Long Beach, with me laughing manically as he sped down the road. He slowed down when he pulled off onto a road overlooking the ocean. We could hear the water crashing against the rocks at the base of a cliff. In the dark, the ocean looked almost black. It was beautiful.

“Having fun?” He asked, shouting over the roar of the waves.

I nodded against his shoulder. “It’s beautiful here!” I yelled back at him. “But I’m cold!”

Harry laughed, pulling over so he could take off the flannel he was wearing and drape it over my shoulders. I smiled as I pushed my arms through the sleeves.

It wasn’t long before he got back on the freeway and drove us back in the direction we’d come. Over an hour had passed since we left the studio by the time we got to the hotel.

When we pulled off our helmets, we were wearing matching grins and all the dimples were out in full force.

“I can’t believe you weren’t the least bit scared,” Harry admitted as we stepped into the lift.

“It wasn’t my first ride on a motorcycle,” I shrugged. “My cousin, Junior, had a sports bike when we were little. One time, he picked Cynthia and me up from elementary school in it. She was eleven and I was five. He put me behind him and Cynthia behind me. Mom was so mad when we got home. She was cursing at him in Spanish for at least an hour.” My smile faltered, and Harry’s face filled with sympathy. He wrapped an arm around me.

“Do you miss them?” He asked quietly.

“My mom or my cousins?”

He shrugged. “Both?”

I blew out a long breath just as the door to the lift opened. I didn’t answer him until we’d walked down the hall and he’d opened our door.

“I do miss them.” I sat on the bed and he took a seat next to me. “I mean, my mom was always working and maybe she drank too much and maybe she was kind of harsh, but she was still my mom, y’know?

“And I do miss my cousins. But that was all so long ago. I don’t even remember that much of it anymore. Cynthia and I built new lives for ourselves. We’ve got new family now,” I said, forcing the lump in my throat down. “I know it’s not the same, but maybe that’s okay. Maybe it doesn’t have to be.”

****

I woke as a chill raked through me, and I reached out subconsciously for Harry and his warmth. When my hands found nothing but cold sheets, I popped an eye open. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, only wearing a pair of sweatpants, phone pressed to his ear.

I poked one of the dimples in his back with my foot. He turned toward me and I raised my hand to my ear in the universal sign for phone. He mouthed, ‘publicist,’ and turned away from me again. I sighed, plucking my own phone off the nightstand and doing a quick google search of ‘Harry Styles.’ There were a ton of news hits within the last couple of hours.

HARRY’S NEW GIRL?

STYLES LEAVES STUDIO WITH MYSTERY BRUNETTE

HARRY STYLES TAKES ROMANTIC DRIVE DOWN OCEAN BLVRD

STYLES SPOTTED WITH BRUNETTE JUST HOURS AFTER DECLARING HIMSELF SINGLE

10 ADORBS PICS OF HARRY STYLES AND HIS ‘NOT GIRLFRIEND’

I clicked on the last article, finding a whole collection of photos of Harry and me.

Despite having been seen numerous times in the last few days with a certain curly-haired brunette, the boy-bander denied being in a relationship yesterday during the band’s 7 hour live stream: “No, I haven’t got a girlfriend. She’s just a friend of mine. My best friend, actually.”
Sources tell us Harry’s mystery BFF is Ariela Garcia, who apparently grew up in Holmes Chapel alongside both Styles siblings. You might recognize her as the little sister of the illustrious model Cynthia Garcia, who recently became the new face of Rimmel London. It’s no surprise that Cynthia’s BFF is none other than Gemma Styles, Harry’s big sis!

1. Shop ‘til you drop! Harry and Ariela joined Harry’s bandmate Louis Tomlinson and Tomlinson’s longtime girlfriend, Eleanor Calder, for a shopping trip in London earlier this week. (Source: Daily Mirror)

2. Who needs a white horse when you’ve got an Audi? Harry picked up Ariela from school in his flashy sports car. (Source: E! Online)

3. Yummy! Ariela bought Harry a pretzel during their mall trip. (Source: twitter)

4. What a gentleman! Harry carried Ariela’s shopping bags along with his own as the pair exited the shopping center. (Source: TMZ)

5. Sleeping beauties! Ariela posted this shot of Harry sleeping (left) and he posted a photo of her asleep (right) the next morning. (Source: instagram)

6. Sister act! Ariela joined her sister, Cynthia, and Harry’s sister, Gemma, on the red carpet at the London premiere of This Is Us, alongside the other 1D boys’ sisters and girlfriends. (Source: MTV)

7. Throwback! The pair hugged it out at the airport as Harry prepared to leave for the Up All Night tour in 2011. (source: twitter)

8. Sing it! [video] Harry and Ariela jammed out to the bands’ new single, Best Song Ever. (source: instagram)

9. Sibling rivalry x 2! Cynthia and Ariela Garcia go head to head in a game of chicken, Ariela sitting on Harry’s shoulders and Cynthia sitting on Gemma’s. (source: tumblr)

10. Hold on tight! The pair was seen cruising down Ocean Boulevard yesterday night on Harry’s motorcycle. We’re pleased to see that Styles had an extra helmet for his friend. And is that Harry’s shirt she’s wearing? (source: Star)

Whether they’re a couple or not, this pair is too cute not to love! Here’s hoping we see more of them as Harry and the rest of One Direction return to the UK to enjoy some time off before their next tour.
-Amanda Calloway for Seventeen