Hearts Like Ours

Harry wasn’t sure at which point he fell asleep. The rest of the ride had been steady, soothing even, and he wasn’t surprised when he awoke after a short slumber. It was the sudden ceasing of movement that caused him to wake. He rubbed the numbness from his face as he sat up, glancing out the window. They were parked outside an upscale resort of some sort. Harry, not surprised, grabbed the journal from where it had fallen beside him on the floor, tucked it back into its rightful place in his jacket, and stood to make his way toward the exit.

The boys were waiting in the front cabin area when Harry poked his head out from the back. Liam was missing, having gone inside to check in, but the rest were there, laughing and throwing glances out the window every few seconds. Harry sat down beside Niall, who stared longingly out the window. Following suit to see what the fuss was about, his eyes found a crevice beside the resort and the hotel beside it, through which a beach could be seen.

“Harry, are you… smiling?” Louis gasped dramatically. “Can’t stand for that, mate. So unlike you.”

Without bothering to turn around, Harry grabbed the nearest pillow and chucked it in Louis’ general direction. Only after he heard it thud against Louis’ frame did he turn and grin at his best friend. Zayn watched amusedly from beside him.

“Things are looking up, boys,” Harry stated softly, returning his gaze to the beach. Only a few more hours of sunlight were left in the evening and his body ached for the white sand.

“A nap fixed you up right quick,” Zayn mused. Harry nodded absentmindedly, suddenly anxious to get off the bus and into the salty air.

“I don’t know about you lads, but I’m feeling a bonfire coming on tonight,” Niall said, smiling toward the beach. The rest of the group nodded in agreement.

The boys were silent, all shifting anxiously in their seats. A small group of girls had already begun to gather in the parking lot. There was restlessness in the air, and Harry found himself wanting out there among them, something he hadn’t felt in a while.

The journal was lightly weighing against his side and he felt glad to have found it. With a few pages, he’d found a world of distraction to slip into. It was surprising how much lighter his heart felt, and he wasn’t sure if it was mostly due to the book, the nap, the night off to look forward to, or a combination of the three.

Unable to take it any longer, Harry stood. The rest of the boys looked up at him, startled by this sudden movement.

“What are you doing?” Niall asked, puzzled.

Harry shrugged, crossing the small space to the doors of the bus where he could see a group of girls. Their eyes widened, his appearance eliciting excited screams.

“I want fresh air. Might as well make some days while I’m at it,” he responded before pushing open the door. Louis, Niall, and Zayn stared after him, bewildered. Through the tinted windows, they watched with a slight awe as Harry posed for photos with the girls, smiling wider than they’d seen him do in weeks.

“What the hell just happened?” Louis questioned, turning to his bandmates for an answer. He was met with an empty couch, Niall already half-stepping off the bus and Zayn following behind him. Louis sighed, setting down the pillow he’d had in his lap and standing up.

Outside, the air was humid, hitting Harry’s face like a wave of salt water. He responded to the girls questions for him, taking photos with those asking and signing as much as he could in between. He glanced behind him, hearing more excited gasps and screams as his bandmates stepped off the bus, following Harry’s example. He smiled, genuinely happy for the first time in a long time. It had been a while since he and the boys had simply interacted with a small group of fans, no barricades or security warding away fans. It felt different without these obstacles around, inarguably better without the stern faces of police officers and the cold metal standing as a barrier between them. Fans always reacted so much better when it was just the two of them; the band and the fans.

“What’s going on out here?” Liam called from the entryway of the resort. He held up five key cards, fanned out in his hands. Almost unconsciously, the group of fans began to migrate in that direction, those who had met everyone else eager to see the fifth member of their favorite boy band. Harry finished signing a phone case before walking toward Liam, who was now distracted by the hoard of girls surrounding him. He took one of the cards in his hand, Liam distracted by taking a photo with a group of girls. Immediately following the camera flash, he looked over to Harry, surprised to see him in such a good mood.

“They’ve already got our luggage,” he told him. Harry nodded to signal he’d heard him, leaving Liam to the girls who anxiously thrust items in his face to sign.

“Careful, love. That’s my face,” Harry could hear Liam laugh in the last moments before the glass doors shut behind him. He glanced over his shoulder, watching as his four best friends interacted with fans. Zayn was having a conversation with a few of the girls while Louis stood beside him, his arm around Zayn’s neck as if he was simply too exhausted to stand on his own. Niall was signing tee shirts as Liam posed for a few more photos. Harry took out his phone, seizing this opportunity to snap a picture of his own. He knew this would be something he’d want to remember later.

Harry glanced at the number written on the key card. The room was on the seventh floor and he strode through the lobby toward the elevator, pleased with what he’d just initiated. Softly he stepped into the lift, hitting the button for the 7th floor before opening the Instagram app on his phone.

‘Warm greeting in Florida’ he captioned the photo before uploading it to his stream. He locked his phone again, shoving it in his pocket just as he arrived at the right floor. Glancing at the number on the card again, he made his way down the hall to his room, sliding in the key and pushing through the door. He flicked on the lights and hesitantly stepped into the room. It was rather large, decorated modernly. His bags waited for him on the queen-sized bed in the center. Beyond the bed lay a balcony, curtains closed to keep the summer sun from doing battle with the air conditioner which was humming quietly somewhere nearby. He threw open the curtains, taking in the view of the endless ocean ahead. Directly below lay a white sand beach, and a small sigh escaped his parted lips as he took in the scene before him.

The sun was already beginning to set and he felt restless and eager to get out on the beach before it dropped into the depths of the ocean, over the horizon. He turned to his bag, locating his swim trunks. Pulling the journal from its home in his jacket, he lay it on the bed, his phone set gently atop it. He had no longer let his fingers loosen their grip on the iPhone when it lit up, a text from Niall instructing him to be on the beach in roughly ten minutes. That he could do.

-

The white sand felt cool between Harry’s toes as he stepped onto the beach, a towel thrown over his right shoulder. The breeze rolled off the ocean, a pleasant briny smell filling the air. Further out on the private beach, wood was set up for a small bonfire. Harry smiled, thinking of the days when he and the boys barely knew each other and would hold similar bonfires to rehearse their music.

Chairs were already set up in a circular pattern around the wood. He began walking that way, throwing his towel on one of the chairs before heading toward the water. There he stood, his feet massaged by the rolling waves as he watched the sun dip lower in the sky. The moon was visible already, and he held a hand to shield the sunlight to get a glimpse of it.

“Styles!”

Harry turned, his eyes scanning the beach to find the source of the call. It was Louis, carrying one end of a cooler. Zayn was on the other end, guiding him as Louis walked backward. Lighter fluid and a box of matches were precariously balancing on the lid beside ingredients to make s’mores. Niall and Liam both held guitars and were chatting amongst themselves. Harry took this as his cue to join them.

He met them half-way up the beach, grabbing the fire starters and s’more stuff from the lid of the cooler before it fell. Zayn muttered as he continued to lug the thing to the chairs.

“What’s in there?” Harry asked, curious as to why the cooler appeared so heavy in their arms.

“The basics,” Louis responded. “Hot dogs, buns, chips, soda, ketchup, mustard, pickles, barbeque sauce, cheese, et cetera.”

“Oh, right. Just the basics then.” Harry rolled his eyes as the boys finally reached the set up, dropping the coooler on a flat bank of sand. Louis stood and smiled at him.

“Good to have you back, mate.”

“Good to be back,” Harry laughed, raising a hand to run through his hair.

“Just kiss already,” Niall called from where he was fumbling to light a match. Liam laughed from where he stood beside him.

“It’s okay to be jealous, Niall. You can admit it,” Louis shot back, sliding into one of the five empty chairs with a joking grin on his face.

“It’s just those green eyes, Tommo. Deadly combination with those curls,” Niall sighed dramatically as he finally managed to light the match. Zayn had no longer gotten a spritz of lighter fluid on the wood that Niall had chucked flame in. It immediately caught and they all stood back, watching with slight awe.

Harry slid easily into his seat between Liam and Louis, realizing how hungry he was. Liam was already pulling out the roasting sticks the hotel had apparently supplied them with, passing them around. Niall and Louis were tag-teaming the cooler, unloading the hot dogs and tossing out sodas.

“This is nice. I quite like this,” said Zayn from across the fire as he held his cooker into the flames, a hot dog on each of the two tongs.

“Let’s make a pact to make a bonfire at least twice a year for old time’s sake,” Liam said, distractedly wrangling cold dogs onto his own stick.

“Aren’t we nostalgic tonight?” Louis teased. He tossed the bag of hot dogs at Harry, who caught them before they hit his face. Niall laughed and opened the Pepsi on his lap.

The boys fell into a comfortable silence as they fixed their dinner and began to eat. It was nice to actually be alone for a change, especially on a private beach in Florida around a bonfire. In the distance, the sun had set, casting a pink-orange glow out over the sea. Harry leaned back, feeling more relaxed than he had since the tour had started six months earlier. He dug his feet into the sand and watched the horizon as he enjoyed the heat radiating from the fire.

He felt safe, warm even, sitting there beside his best friends and band mates. The group had a strong bond and he watched their faces as they ate, completely relaxed and at ease. He realized he hadn’t seen them this way in a while. He hadn’t noticed how much his ill humor had affected the rest of the group but he took note of how his good mood now lifted the others. Feeling guilty, he took a final bite of his food before digging his plate in the sand, protecting it from the wind.

“You okay?” Liam asked as he stood. The other three were looking up at him with equally quizzical stares, as if they were afraid he’d sunk back into his anti-tour slump.

“I’m fine. Just going to admire the view,” he responded, smiling at them to let them know it was true. They all relaxed simultaneously into their seats.

He continued on his way down to the water’s edge, letting the waves consume his feet, splashing up against his legs. The night was getting colder, but he didn’t mind. He looked up into the stars, wondering where the sun was now. He thought about Seattle and knew if there was a girl there who took walks in the drizzle at night, who imagined their planet as a gravitational ball of energy and electricity, the sun would still be shining on her at that moment, thousands of miles away on a coast opposite. The thought of it was enough to bring another smile to his face as he sighed into the night, sending a silent thanks to the stars for sending the journal his way. The distraction of another life, a different coast, other worries. It might just be enough to sustain him until he finally reached his freedom.