Harry Who?
Anne of Green Gables is Actually a Vampire
We stayed on the roof until I had to go to work at 11. We talked and watched the sun set, slowly finishing up that bottle of wine. When I got cold, he dashed down to his hotel room to grab me a “jumper,” as he called it. When he returned with a comfy looking sweater, I realized he did not mean jumper cables.
“So, am I going to get any surprise visits at work tonight?” I asked as I settled into his sweater, which felt like I was constantly getting a hug.
“Maybe, I can’t make any promises,” he gave a sly smile. “We have a show tomorrow night, so I probably shouldn’t stay up all night again.” His mouth curved back into a mischievous smile as he got an idea. “What are you doing tomorrow night?”
“Nothing. Saturday night is my day off.”
“Would you like to visit me at work?” He grinned.
I raised my eyebrows. “You want me to go to a One Direction concert?”
He shrugged. “You might like it.”
“You’re a bit optimistic, eh?” I teased.
“Hey, many of those girls would kill for a free backstage pass,” he pointed toward the front of the hotel where their fans were camped out.
“Then I guess I’d better be careful.”
His eyes lit up. “So you’ll come?”
“Why not? What’s the worst thing that could happen?” I shrugged, and he leapt forward to hug me.
“Don’t worry, we’ll make it worth your while,” Harry winked as he pulled out of the hug.
(And damn, they certainly did)
At work that night, after our dinner, I resisted the urge to listen to their music, just so I’d know what I was getting into. I preferred to be completely surprised. Besides, I hate it when live music doesn’t live up to my expectations after listening to the studio version, so I didn’t want to ruin it for myself. I also didn’t want Harry to catch me listening to it when he visited, though it would be hard for him to sneak into the store without going past all the Directioners out front.
He showed up around midnight, claiming he already missed my witty comebacks and snarky sense of humor. “Thanks, I missed you too,” I replied sarcastically, though I actually had missed him.
“I can’t stay long tonight, unfortunately, but I needed to drop this off.” He placed the back stage pass into my hand. “Bring some ID so they know it’s really you. You know, in case one of them sneaks in and steals it from you,” he teased, and that adorable dimple came out with his smirk.
“Wow, this is official looking.” I turned it over to inspect. It even had my name on it, right next to ‘Guest of Harry Styles.’ This made my heart flutter again, for some reason.
“That’s because it is,” he laughed. “Okay, before they realize I’m gone, what book do you think I should bring with me for the trip?”
‘Oh, right. He’s leaving. Thanks for reminding me, Harry,’ I thought.
“Twilight” I offered with a smirk, and he scrunched his nose.
“No thanks, maybe something without vampires?”
“No vampires? Then I’m out of ideas, hun, sorry.” I raised my eyebrow.
“All the books in this bookstore are about vampires?” He jokingly asked. “What about this one?” He grabbed a book off the new book display, and it was clearly a biography.
“Yeah, she’s actually a vampire. She was bitten in her mid-30s, that’s her secret to looking young.”
“Oh really?” Harry and I laughed, and he found another book. “What about this one?”
“It looks like your typical dog training book, but it’s actually a manual for vampire’s who own dogs.” We laughed, and worked our way through the store picking random books to work vampires into. (Who knew Anne of Green Gables was actually a vampire?).
We were interrupted by a knock on the back door, and Harry checked his phone. “Oh shit, my phone died. I bet they’re looking for me.”
I opened the back door, and as expected, two of his security guards stood waiting with their arms crossed. “He’s here, isn’t he?”
I nodded. “Sorry, we lost track of time.”
“Can we just have a moment?” Harry asked them.
“Harry, you said you’d be gone 20 minutes, it’s been an hour and 20 minutes.”
He gave them a sad look, and even those two tough looking body guards couldn’t resist his puppy-dog eyes. “Okay, five minutes.”
“Thanks,” he smiled. “I’ll be right out!”
“I forgot to get a book,” he said as he turned back to me. “And, also-” he placed his hands on my shoulders and quickly leaned in to kiss me. It was short, and very sudden, but I swear there were fireworks going off somewhere in my brain. He pulled away and looked me in the eyes. “I should have done that after our date, or earlier tonight, but I didn’t, I was nervous, and now it was rushed, sorry-”
“So it was a date!” I interrupted his nervous rambling. “I wasn’t sure if dinner was meant to be a date or not.”
“Really?” He joked. “We had dinner, alone, on top of a building, with wine, and watched a sunset; how is that not a date?”
I shrugged. “Well, I wasn’t sure going into it what you expected.”
“Sorry, next time I’ll be more obvious,” he smiled as he continued to tease me. “I’ll have candles and roses, and maybe I’ll get the guys to sing a love song for you.”
“Would they do that?”
“For me? No, probably not,” he laughed.
“Then you’ll have to do it yourself,” I joked, but he started to look a little more serious.
“Really? Ellie, if that’s what you want…” he cleared his throat, and I tried to stop him, but he broke into the most off-key and horrible version of ‘Lady’ by Styx I have ever heard. A banging on the back door cut his serenade short after just a few lines, and we both nearly fell over giggling.
“Harry! Stop singing, let’s go!”
“I still need a book. If I come back empty handed I’ll never hear the end of it.” He turned around and grabbed the first book he could find. “Anne of Green Gables?”
“But it’s the one with vampires,” I reminded him with a smirk.
“I know that’s not true, but alright I’ll take it,” he said and threw some cash in my hand. He pecked my cheek, and with a quick goodbye, he was off out the back door with his bodyguards.
Alone in the store once again, I remained stationary for a few moments, his money still in my hand, letting it all sink in. ‘He sang to me’ my heart fluttered. It had only been about 20 seconds, and he was clearly trying to sound bad… right? I was again tempted to listen to some One D, just to be sure, but I’d find out soon enough. I double checked to make sure the backstage pass was still in my pocket and rung up Harry’s book in the register, which he had again left me way too much money for.
‘Is this boy trying to pay me off?’ I jokingly thought, and settled in for a long, lonely night behind the cash register. My only customers were a couple of girls crying because it was One Direction’s last night in town. ‘Same, teen-aged girl’ I thought, ‘same.’
“So, am I going to get any surprise visits at work tonight?” I asked as I settled into his sweater, which felt like I was constantly getting a hug.
“Maybe, I can’t make any promises,” he gave a sly smile. “We have a show tomorrow night, so I probably shouldn’t stay up all night again.” His mouth curved back into a mischievous smile as he got an idea. “What are you doing tomorrow night?”
“Nothing. Saturday night is my day off.”
“Would you like to visit me at work?” He grinned.
I raised my eyebrows. “You want me to go to a One Direction concert?”
He shrugged. “You might like it.”
“You’re a bit optimistic, eh?” I teased.
“Hey, many of those girls would kill for a free backstage pass,” he pointed toward the front of the hotel where their fans were camped out.
“Then I guess I’d better be careful.”
His eyes lit up. “So you’ll come?”
“Why not? What’s the worst thing that could happen?” I shrugged, and he leapt forward to hug me.
“Don’t worry, we’ll make it worth your while,” Harry winked as he pulled out of the hug.
(And damn, they certainly did)
At work that night, after our dinner, I resisted the urge to listen to their music, just so I’d know what I was getting into. I preferred to be completely surprised. Besides, I hate it when live music doesn’t live up to my expectations after listening to the studio version, so I didn’t want to ruin it for myself. I also didn’t want Harry to catch me listening to it when he visited, though it would be hard for him to sneak into the store without going past all the Directioners out front.
He showed up around midnight, claiming he already missed my witty comebacks and snarky sense of humor. “Thanks, I missed you too,” I replied sarcastically, though I actually had missed him.
“I can’t stay long tonight, unfortunately, but I needed to drop this off.” He placed the back stage pass into my hand. “Bring some ID so they know it’s really you. You know, in case one of them sneaks in and steals it from you,” he teased, and that adorable dimple came out with his smirk.
“Wow, this is official looking.” I turned it over to inspect. It even had my name on it, right next to ‘Guest of Harry Styles.’ This made my heart flutter again, for some reason.
“That’s because it is,” he laughed. “Okay, before they realize I’m gone, what book do you think I should bring with me for the trip?”
‘Oh, right. He’s leaving. Thanks for reminding me, Harry,’ I thought.
“Twilight” I offered with a smirk, and he scrunched his nose.
“No thanks, maybe something without vampires?”
“No vampires? Then I’m out of ideas, hun, sorry.” I raised my eyebrow.
“All the books in this bookstore are about vampires?” He jokingly asked. “What about this one?” He grabbed a book off the new book display, and it was clearly a biography.
“Yeah, she’s actually a vampire. She was bitten in her mid-30s, that’s her secret to looking young.”
“Oh really?” Harry and I laughed, and he found another book. “What about this one?”
“It looks like your typical dog training book, but it’s actually a manual for vampire’s who own dogs.” We laughed, and worked our way through the store picking random books to work vampires into. (Who knew Anne of Green Gables was actually a vampire?).
We were interrupted by a knock on the back door, and Harry checked his phone. “Oh shit, my phone died. I bet they’re looking for me.”
I opened the back door, and as expected, two of his security guards stood waiting with their arms crossed. “He’s here, isn’t he?”
I nodded. “Sorry, we lost track of time.”
“Can we just have a moment?” Harry asked them.
“Harry, you said you’d be gone 20 minutes, it’s been an hour and 20 minutes.”
He gave them a sad look, and even those two tough looking body guards couldn’t resist his puppy-dog eyes. “Okay, five minutes.”
“Thanks,” he smiled. “I’ll be right out!”
“I forgot to get a book,” he said as he turned back to me. “And, also-” he placed his hands on my shoulders and quickly leaned in to kiss me. It was short, and very sudden, but I swear there were fireworks going off somewhere in my brain. He pulled away and looked me in the eyes. “I should have done that after our date, or earlier tonight, but I didn’t, I was nervous, and now it was rushed, sorry-”
“So it was a date!” I interrupted his nervous rambling. “I wasn’t sure if dinner was meant to be a date or not.”
“Really?” He joked. “We had dinner, alone, on top of a building, with wine, and watched a sunset; how is that not a date?”
I shrugged. “Well, I wasn’t sure going into it what you expected.”
“Sorry, next time I’ll be more obvious,” he smiled as he continued to tease me. “I’ll have candles and roses, and maybe I’ll get the guys to sing a love song for you.”
“Would they do that?”
“For me? No, probably not,” he laughed.
“Then you’ll have to do it yourself,” I joked, but he started to look a little more serious.
“Really? Ellie, if that’s what you want…” he cleared his throat, and I tried to stop him, but he broke into the most off-key and horrible version of ‘Lady’ by Styx I have ever heard. A banging on the back door cut his serenade short after just a few lines, and we both nearly fell over giggling.
“Harry! Stop singing, let’s go!”
“I still need a book. If I come back empty handed I’ll never hear the end of it.” He turned around and grabbed the first book he could find. “Anne of Green Gables?”
“But it’s the one with vampires,” I reminded him with a smirk.
“I know that’s not true, but alright I’ll take it,” he said and threw some cash in my hand. He pecked my cheek, and with a quick goodbye, he was off out the back door with his bodyguards.
Alone in the store once again, I remained stationary for a few moments, his money still in my hand, letting it all sink in. ‘He sang to me’ my heart fluttered. It had only been about 20 seconds, and he was clearly trying to sound bad… right? I was again tempted to listen to some One D, just to be sure, but I’d find out soon enough. I double checked to make sure the backstage pass was still in my pocket and rung up Harry’s book in the register, which he had again left me way too much money for.
‘Is this boy trying to pay me off?’ I jokingly thought, and settled in for a long, lonely night behind the cash register. My only customers were a couple of girls crying because it was One Direction’s last night in town. ‘Same, teen-aged girl’ I thought, ‘same.’
♠ ♠ ♠
This is what I was referencing when Harry sings to Ellie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6NVfepiw9UIt's from the show 'Freaks and Geeks' , and if you haven't seen it, it's hilarious!