a/n: i've been keeping something from you all, and i feel like it's finally time to tell you. i'm not sure how to put this, since it's something i've kept to myself for quite some time now. but i feel a very strong connection to you all, so i cant keep this from you guys any longer. so here goes: i am actually in a secret relationship with GRAMMY AWARD WINNING SINGER harry styles. it's been so hard to keep this from you all, and i hope you can forgive me for not telling you the truthðð
anyways green boa supremacy, enjoy the chapter!
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Harry
My leg bounces up and down anxiously as I sit on the couch, my eyes glued to the television. I honestly couldn't even tell you what show was playing, my mind was far too occupied. I had turned it on in an attempt to distract myself, but it didn't seem to help like I thought it would. My mind was in a totally different place.
Mum left to go talk with her a little over a half an hour ago and hasn't returned since. It made me happy to know their conversation was going so well, but it made me nervous that I wasn't there to know what they were talking about. I just don't want to say the wrong thing to her and upset her even more. If I knew how she was feeling, or what she's thinking, then I would know how to help her.
I was planning to be the one to go in and check on her, but Mum insisted that she go. I'm fairly certain she wanted to be the one to go because she was scared that I'd say the wrong thing. Reluctantly, I agreed, even though I wanted to see for myself if she was okay. I was tempted to just go to the room and press my ear to the door, eavesdropping on their conversation. But I knew that would be the wrong thing to do. So here I sat, waiting for Mum to come back.
It takes her quite a while, but I eventually hear the sound of footsteps descending down the hallway. I jump to my feet, seeing Mum turn the corner. She flashes me a small smile. My face drops all expression, unable to read her smile. I felt like she was about to say something, but I couldn't tell if it was going to be good or bad news.
But before either of us could say another word, I see the fragile blonde slowly peeking out from the hallway as well. A smile spreads over my lips as she tilts her head up, her glossy, bloodshot blue eyes looking up to meet mine.
I hadn't expected her to come out this soon. I figured she would stay in our room for the remainder of the night because, as I came to the conclusion while overthinking on the couch, I would do the same thing if I were in her shoes.
Thank god I'm not.
I quickly rush over to her, wrapping my arms tightly over her shoulders, engulfing her much smaller body in my arms. One of my hands moves up to hold the base of her head against my chest, feeling the familiar softness of her hair underneath my fingers. My other hand slowly places itself on the middle of her back.
I feel her hands slowly raise to rest against my back, gently returning my hug. I give her back a soft, comforting rub, tightening the embrace. I wanted to feel her closer.
"How are you feeling?" I ask her quietly. The sounds of footsteps indicates that Mum was stepping away, allowing us to be alone for a moment.
"Better," she says softly, her voice smooth but muffled by the fact that her cheek was pressed to my clothed chest.
"I'm glad." I wasn't sure what else to say, I hadn't really thought that far ahead yet. I knew I wanted to know how she was doing, but I guess that's really all my mind had been focused on.
I slowly pull away from our embrace. Her head turns and tilts to look up at me, my eyes immediately locking with hers. I stare down into her ocean irises, and all I could see was sadness. I could tell she was trying to hide it, and it broke my heart that she felt like she had to.
I just wanted to help. I just wanted to make all her pain go away. But I have a feeling it's only going to get worse, and I feel like I'm needing to prepare myself to have a very deep and serious conversation with her.
I continue to stare down at her until she smiles. It was fake, I could just tell by the look in her eyes. They didn't move up at an angle like they normally do. The apples of her rosy pink cheeks were only barely noticeable when they normally are so prominent that she was nearly blind.
"Are you sure you're doing alright?" I ask with concern, noticing how she looked like she was confused. It was like she was looking for something.
Her eyes were looking nowhere near me, scanning the room for something obviously very important to her. I wasn't sure what it was she was looking around for, and I was tempted to ask, but right as I opened my mouth to speak, her eyes quickly snapped to make contact with mine.
"Where's my phone?" She suddenly asks, shocking me a bit. It felt like a bit of a kick to the gut to hear her ask for her phone when I haven't seen nor really talked to her in almost two hours.
"I-I don't know." I shake my head, mostly in disbelief, but also because I didn't know where her phone was. "Is it not in our room?"
"No, I checked right before I came out here." She shakes her head, looking around. She looked incredibly confused like she didn't know where she was.
"Here you go, darling," I hear Mum say from behind me, and out of impulse and politeness, I quickly step out of her way. I watch as she hands Lili her phone, giving her a small smile.
Lili gave her the same smile she gave me not too long ago, the fake one. She mumbles a quiet "thank you" as she takes it from Mum's grip. Mum steps away and I follow her with my eyes and she makes her way into the kitchen, leaving the two of us alone once again.
I returned my attention to Lili, seeing how she was staring down intently at her screen, reading something. Now that she had her phone in her hands, she was acting as if I wasn't even here, and that made me slightly angry.
Seeing as she was now mentally gone, consumed in the contents of her phone, I stepped away.
I'll talk to her when she feels like talking to me.
***
Lili
"Where's my phone?" I ask him just after we've pulled away from our hug, immediately regretting doing so. It came off as a little more avid than I meant for it to, but I couldn't take it back now.
Harry looks slightly taken aback like I just asked an invasive question. I mentally debated rephrasing the question or giving him some sort of further explanation, but I think I got the point across. And by the time I opened my mouth to speak, he was already shaking his head in response.
"I-I don't know," he stammers, still shaking his head. He was shaking his head slowly for a prolonged amount of time, and I started to feel nervous. "Is it not in our room?"
I shake my head. "No, I checked right before I came out here."
I glance around, seeing if I could spot it anywhere from here. I was very doubtful I would find it without actually looking around, but it was worth a shot while I was standing here anyway.
As my eyes are scanning the room in search of my phone, they land on Anne, who was walking Harry and I's way from the kitchen.
"Here you go, darling," she says in her ever so soft and kind voice. Harry steps out of her way as she approaches me further, extending out her hand, which held my phone. She flashes me a small smile, which I return despite the feeling of inability to do so genuinely.
"Thank you," I murmur softly as I take it from her. As Anne steps away, returning to the kitchen where she previously was, I waste no time opening my phone. When first glancing at my phone, I didn't have many notifications, but none of which were from George. But there were a few from Jess since she and I were engaging in a conversation just before we started looking through photo albums.
As I'm just barely opening my messages app to finally read the messages from Jess, I notice Harry stepping away. I quickly tilt my head up, flashing him a hurt look as his back was now facing me as he walked away. It was like I looked down for two seconds, and he immediately got angry with me.
Still furrowing my eyebrows, I turn my attention back to my phone after he disappears into the living room without saying another word. With my messages app already open and displayed on my screen, I scroll down, my eyes scanning the screen for Jess' name.
As I'm just barely about to tap on Jess's name, I noticed another unopened text just under hers. It was from my boss.
My nerves spike and my heart rate picks up as I tap on the message to open it. My eyes quickly skim over the slightly long message, my brows furrowing in concentration. I then decided to finally read it thoroughly after seeing how long the message was.
Chris: Hey Lili! You've been gone for quite some time now, much longer than I think either of us anticipated. Unfortunately, because staff in our store is so low, we're in desperate need of employees who are available to clock in regularly. That being said, I regret to inform you that I'm going to have to let you go. It's been a pleasure to get to know you, Lili, it really has. But as the owner of a business, I need to focus on the business side of things. I wish you all the luck in your future!
Best of wishes, Chris.
My heart sinks as soon as I read the words "I'm going to have to let you go." This isn't happening. Maybe I never woke up this morning and this whole day has been a dream and I'll be waking up at any second, just as I always do whenever my dreams reach their climaxes. But unlike practically every other dream I've ever had, I don't wanna go back. I'd be perfectly fine not knowing what happens next in this nightmare.
But the longer I stared at the message, the realer everything felt, and I could feel my toes making physical contact with the hardwood flooring beneath me. The longer I focused on everything around me - feeling the cool, but comfortable, temperature of the room blanketing my arms, noticing the heavy raising and lowering of my chest cavity, and becoming very aware of my intestines twisting with anxiety - the more I realized that this was indeed reality.
And I just got fired from my job.
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a/n: my boss' name is chris irlð