Hearts Like Ours

Harry was beginning to feel anxious. He stood on the balcony of his hotel room, his hand massaging his forehead in an attempt to subdue his headache. He found the sound of the rain soothing, the patterned plip-plopping calming his frantic mind.

It had been two days since his encounter with Charlie at the coffee shop. She had yet to attempt to get in touch and he was beginning to feel worried. Should he try again? Should he pack up his bags and head back home?

His phone lit up in his jacket pocket, but he didn’t bother to glance at it, positive Gemma was calling again. He’d returned his mother’s call the night before, explained it all to her. She hadn’t been thrilled with his decision, always on the lookout to protect her son from heartache. She accused him of being too easy to place trust in others, too optimistic in human nature. More than once this quality had burned him and she always found a way to blame herself. Naturally, she tattled to Gemma, whom he refused to talk to due to his complete failure with the girl he’d come here for. He blamed her partially for talking him into this stupid trip in the first place when he knew it was a bad idea. She’d pressured him into going and he gave in for reasons unbeknownst to him. Now it had fallen to shit and he was eager to place the blame on his sister.

Still, he knew that wasn’t quite right. Maybe if he hadn’t been so forward with Charlie, she wouldn’t have reacted as she did. He should have taken his time explaining it, been more selective with his words. No, there was no viable reason to blame his sister for it. This fuck-up was all his own.

He allowed his body to slide down to the concrete, his back resting against the glass partition placed below the railing. Behind him, the city of Seattle sprawled out for miles until hitting the Puget Sound. The rain created a haze, blurring the buildings and mountains in the distance. He was beneath an awning, yet the drizzle still blew in, settling in his hair and wetting his clothes. The air was chilly, but not yet freezing like it had been the evening before. The sun, though indistinguishable through the heavy cloud cover, seemed to be the only source of heat for the city in the fall. When it set, the warmth left with it.

Harry clenched his eyes shut. The headache wasn’t easing, a soft buzzing feeling near the back of his skull making it difficult to relax for even a moment. Thus far, he’d laid low in Seattle, no one really sure where he was. Earlier in the day he’d watched one of the interviews the boys were doing in London without him. They excused Harry’s absence, apologizing for the emergency that cropped up at the last moment. He wondered vaguely if he was letting the fans down and the headache intensified.

It took him a few moments to realize the hotel phone was ringing. The shrill sound mingled with the buzzing already in his head and he opened his eyes in surprise when he finally took notice that this noise was physical. Slowly, he pushed himself from the ground and made his way into the room, picking up the reciever and muttering a tired greeting.

“Sorry to bother you, sir. There’s Ms. Dupont in the lobby asking for you. We’d like to confirm you’re familiar with her before we send her up,” came a man’s voice from the other end of the line.

Harry’s breathing hitched. She’d showed up after all. The relief he felt was immense as he told the hotel manager to send her up. He quickly took inventory of the room. It had become messy in his short three day stay there. Since he had no where to be for at least a few more days, he’d actually unpacked. More than that, he hadn’t been out of the room since his encounter with Charlie. Embarrassed of the state of things, he rushed through the room as quickly as possible, doing his best to straighten up. He’d just finished stuffing his dirty clothes in an empty drawer when he heard the knock at his door.

Taking a breath, he answered, peeking his head around the door as it swung open. She wore a pair of jeans and a Univeristy of Washington Huskies hoodie with a gray beanie over her naturally wavy hair. Her arms were crossed over her chest as she looked up at him. She didn’t smile, but rather pushed her lips together as if to say, “Well. Here I am.”

Wordlessly, he moved aside to allow her access. She cautiously stepped past him, pausing just within the doorway as if unsure of what to do. Harry pushed the door shut before leading her further into the large room. He took a seat on one end of the couch placed before the television set in the living area of the suite. She sat herself down on the other end, crossing her legs uncomfortably.

“I don’t know what I’m doing here,” she finally admitted after a few moments of silence.

She sounded tired, defeated. Harry didn’t take offense to what she said, sure she was in an uncomfortable situation. He felt guilty for being the one to place her there.

“Cam talked me into coming. He went private investigator on your ass and is convinced this will be good for me. He thinks I’m too uptight.”

“Are you?”

The question passed Harry’s lips before he could recant them. A feeling of dread seeped through his being as he realized what he said could be taken offensively. He glanced over at her, hoping she wouldn’t simply stand and leave the room. Instead he was met with a reluctant smile, poorly supressed on her lips.

“Probably,” she allowed, uncrossing her legs as she adjusted her position on the couch. “The thing is, I wasn’t going to come,” she continued. Harry leaned back in his seat, resting his hand on the back of the couch as he listened.

“It’s just weird. I’m still freaked out about the journal thing. I never intended for anyone to read it and I can’t quite come to terms with it. And on top of that, you of all people were the one to find it. That’s such a freak accident.”

“Do you think it was an accident?” he interjected. She turned to look at him, previously staring at her hands as she rushed into her explanation.

“Excuse me?”

“You just seemed like the kind of person to believe that everything happens for a reason and now you’re calling it a freak accident.”

She pursed her lips as she considered this, tilting her head to the side. A sigh escaped her and she began brushing her hand nervously through her hair.

“I used to think like that. Not so much anymore.”

“Because of Emmett?”

“Because of Emmett,” she conceded.

“Do you want to know what I think?”

Charlie raised her eyebrows, allowing him to go on. Harry moved forward on the couch cushions, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

“I think everything connects. My life is too ridiculous to believe otherwise. I show up to an audition at sixteen years old at exactly the same time four other kids decide to audition. We all get eliminated as solo artists, but a producer decides to take a chance on us. We lose the competition, but are signed on to a label and become more successful the actual winner. I stumble upon a book in New Orleans and I end up in Seattle six months later. People don’t just become extraoridinarily lucky. Those things on their own don’t make sense, but when you connect them they do. It’s not a freak accident, it was perfect timing on a cosmic schedule. Call it God, call it the universe at work, whatever, but don’t call it an accident because we both know that’s not true.”

There was silence when he fiished. Charlie watched him thoughtfully, her eyes scanning his face as she considered what he’d just said. Her lips began to part, as if she were about to make a comment, but she closed them after thinking otherwise.

“Who taught you to think like that?” she asked instead, half-jokingly.

“Some girl in a book,” came his immediate response. She began to laugh and Harry smiled at the sound.

Harry’s eyes glanced at the clock on the bedside table. The time read 12:15 and he knew he’d be getting hungry soon. Returning his eyes to the girl sitting beside him, he asked what her plans were for the day.

“I have a bit of homework, but nothing I couldn’t do later,” she told him as she absently combed her fingers through her hair. Her eyes were darting around the room, amusedly taking in the subtle luxury of it. He felt almost embarrassed of his five-star hotel suite as she did so.

“I want to see the Space Needle,” he announced. The words felt stupid, the infliction he’d put behind them an obvious attempt to return her attention to him. She raised an eyebrow at him and he felt his face flush with sheepishness, though he was determined to hold her gaze.

“You want to see the Space Needle?” she repeated skeptically.

“I know it’s probably not the best time because it’s so cold out and rainy...”

“It’s always cold and raining here.”

“Let’s go, then,” he said, standing up and grabbing his jacket. Charlie bit her lip as she stood, unsure of her every movement. It was obvious to Harry as he held the door open for her that she was beginning to second-guess herself. As he made his way into the hallway beside her, he playfully bumped her in the side with his hip. Her eyes flashed over to him, surprised, yet amused.

“Relax. I’m the one in unfamiliar territory, here,” he told her, pressing the down button on the elevator.

“Right. Yes. I spend all my Wednesday afternoons sightseeing with complete strangers-slash-pop stars,” she answered him sarcastically. He frowned.

“I don’t think of myself that way,” he told her as the doors to the elevator shut. Charlie leaned her back against the mirrored wall, crossing her arms.

“How do you think of yourself, then?”

He considered this as they rode down to the lobby. “I’m not sure,” he admitted as they stepped out. He held the door open for her as they made their way out into the street. She pulled her hood up over her hair, though it was already partially covered by her beanie. Harry pulled a retractable umbrella from his jacket pocket and opened it, holding it over the two of them. She moved closer to get out of the rain and smiled a thanks up at him.

“I feel like people stop thinking of me as a person. I’m ‘that kid in the boy band’. That’s what people see. They don’t see me, they don’t take into account that I’m just as human as they are. That’s definitely the biggest drawback,” he said after a few moments, continuing the conversation they’d begun in the elevator.

“Biggest perk?” she asked.

“Doing what I love. Learning from all the talented people I’m lucky enough to surround myself with.”

“I thought you didn’t believe in luck?”

“Blessed,” he corrected with a crooked smile. She laughed.

“The traveling must be nice. I’ve always wanted to travel,” she said as they continued down the street.

“It’s interesting to experience so many different cultures and see all the sights, but I hate being away from my family for so long.”

Charlie nodded her head in response, steering them around a corner. Harry followed blindly, half a step behind her. They were in the heart of downtown, passing tall corporate buildings and a large convention center. His eyes flickered up to a sign for a movie theater he never would have noticed was even there had it not been for the bright neon lights advertising movie times. They stopped at a crosswalk to wait for a light to change.

“Two sides to everything,” he heard her mutter from beside him. When he looked over to her, she was staring determinedly ahead. The light changed and they began walking again.

“What about your family?” she asked after a few more moments of silence.

“What about them?”

“You have a sister, right? I think I read that somewhere...” She drifted off, glancing over to him for confirmation. He nodded his head and she continued. “What does she think about what you do? Or your parents?”

Charlie stopped abruptly in front of a building. Harry noticed this a heartbeat too late and had to turn around to backtrack. She was pulling open the door and he walked in, realizing they were at a public transit station. She began leading the way up a couple flights of stairs, Harry easily keeping up with her pace. On the top floor, a ticket booth waited. He looked outside to realize they’d arrived at a monorail. She was pulling out cash from her pocket, but he easily slid between her and the cashier, passing his credit card through the window. Behind him, she huffed in protest. He smirked over his shoulder at her, clearly entertained. The cashier handed him the tickets and he thanked her, handing Charlie one as they stepped toward the platform. She opened her mouth, no doubt to say something snarky, but he cut her off before she could speak.

“My sister and I have always been close, so it’s hard to be away from her, but she’s extremely supportive. My parents have similar feelings, though I think it was more difficult for them when I left because Gemma and I both went at around the same time. No one was expecting things to move as quickly as they did when I went off to audition...”

His words trailed off as the monorail arrived, screeching to a halt before them. There were only a few other tourists waiting on the platform, paying no mind to the two as they stepped through the double doors. They took a seat beside each other in the very back. Charlie crossed her legs Indian style, tucking them beneath herself. Harry watched her do so, wondering how she could find sitting that way comfortable. She smiled at his gaze, giving a shrug to answer his unasked question and letting her hood down. A few moments later, they began to move, the city rushing by below them.

His heart felt lighter as they soared through the city, above the streets and pedestrians. She was giving him the chance he’d asked for and he vowed not to screw it up this time as he looked forward to the day ahead. He glanced up through one of the windows, surprised to see a small parting in the clouds where the sun peeked through. The rain was slowing to a drizzle and he felt positive it would soon vanish. Things were looking up.