Mirrors (A Harry Styles Fanfic)

"Remember at the This Is Us after party, when I said that I liked you?" I open my eyes and look up at him; I didn't think he'd remember that because he was drunk.

"Yes" I whisper.

"I meant it, Piper" he smiles the same way he did minutes before and I really don't know what to say.Do I like Harry? He's my best friend. We've known each other for months now, I love everything about him; his silly little jokes, his smile, his laugh, how he looks at life, his niceness, he's so down to earth, he's a gentleman, the way he always knows when there's something wrong. He's an incredible friend, this friendship is so important to me. He's handsome, goodness is he beautiful, and I'd be lying if I said I'd never thought about him and I happening before, but now?

"Erm"

"Shh" he shakes his head and kisses my forehead again, "You don't have to say anything baby" my stomach turns, my head is pressed against his chest, he kisses my hair and continues to rub my back.

Baby? He's never referred to me as that... This is so confusing, I really don't know what to say, I want to say something but I don't know what.

"I know I shouldn't have said that" I feel his chest rumble as he speaks; my fingers are pressed against it, "but I needed to get it out of my chest. Cara was driving me crazy, and then I realized that, slowly, I was less interested in being with her how I used to" my forearms are pressed against his chest and I look up at him; his tamed curls because of the little pony tail, his parted lips, eyebrows pressed together. I find his eyes and don't let go of them

"Why?" I whisper

"I realized that it was you" his left hand leaves my waist, (I didn't realize that's where he was holding me) and presses his palm against my cheek, his thumb brushing it as he smiles. "You're my best friend Piper, and I know I shouldn't feel like this but I just had to tell you, maybe if I did it would slowly go away. I don't want to ruin this, not like with her, you're too important" I smile, his words calm me; the fact that he doesn't want to ruin our friendship gives me some peace.

"Harry?" he smiles lightly, his thumb still caressing my cheek, "I don't know what to say" his touch disappears, only to take my hand in his after a second or two. He pulls me towards my bed and gestures for me to get in. He turns of the lamps, the bed shifts as he joins me, his hands find me he pulls me in close; he's sort of sitting, resting his back on the headboard.

"You don't have to say anything Pipes," he kisses my forehead, it's so comforting and calming; it doesn't feel wrong at all, "I just needed to get it off my chest. I will try to keep my distance until-"

"Don't" I interrupt, I look up at him, his eyebrows raised in surprise, I can't see his eyes in the dark and it bothers me, "don't become distant I mean, you're all I've truly got right now and if you start pushing me away what will I have"

"That's not what I meant" I can see his smile, "I mean I will try very hard not to kiss you and want you close to me so much" my stomach does something weird and it bothers me.

"It’s not really working is it" I ask, he cheekily smiles. He slides us both down so we can rest properly. He pulls me in closer, both of us on our sides; my head buried in his neck. He starts humming a song; one of their songs, I can't put my finger on which song it is but it soothes me into sleep.

Harry left an hour ago to get ready for the fashion show, I didn't really want to go but he said he didn't want to be bored there all by himself. The morning went by really normal, as if the conversation from the previous night hadn't really happened, I didn't really know how to take it. Maybe he was sparing me.

When I asked Harry what people wear to those shows he told me to just wear skinny jeans and t shirt. That's what he always does so I didn't know if to trust him, but I end up wearing my nice, purposely ripped (unlike my friend's) black jeans, and a t shirt that says "baddies"across the chest. I put on my black pumps and grab some of the rings on my makeup table. As I grab an elastic band, the door rings, I put my hair in a ponytail and head out of my room to open the door. As I swing the door open, Harry is towering over me (less than before because of my shoes) wearing black skinny jeans and a white shirt with hands on it, I've never really seen it before but it's kind of cool. His curls have been pushed to the side; his fringe is pulled back with no sign of it being curly. It looks...sexy.

"Hello beautiful" he steps inside and wraps his arms around me, I hug him back but mentally slap myself; I'm not helping the situation at all. "I have something for you" he says as he steps back, he digs into his front pocket, "stretch out your hand please" I do as he says, he drops something on my hand. I look at it and realize it's a pair of earrings, a pair of blue swallow earrings. I feel butterflies that I shouldn't.

"Like your tattoos?" he smiles, dimples and teeth and all that. I really don't know what to say, "They're beautiful"

"I thought you'd like them" he takes them from me and proceeds to putting them on me, I stand quietly. I don't know what to take from it, it's quite a beautiful gesture but I'm just so confused. "Are you ready?"

"No, I need some makeup" I start walking towards my room, I hear him whisper"You don't need it per say" and smile. I put on some foundation, eyeliner and mascara, apply some blush so I don't look dead and put on some red lipstick. I look at the earrings on the reflection and conclude that showing them could be bad for us, I take of my ponytail and let my hair fall, I part it in the middle and walk back out.

The show wasn't that interesting to me, but Nick and Harry's comments kept me amused. As we try to make it out of the stupid after party, from afar, I see Cara calling out for Harry. I turn to look at him beside me; he makes eye contact and smile. I point over to Cara, he looks at her and then at me, he intertwined our hands and we walk over to her, him leading the way. He's wearing that black coat I've seen one too many times but I don't mind it at all, his hair is intact, and his mood has been lively. I just hope she doesn't ruin it.

"Hey Harry" Cara wraps her arms around him; he only hugs her with one as the other occupies mine.

"Hey Cara, great show" she makes eye contact with me and smiles; she sees our hands and her eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"Thanks," she smiles at Harry, "are you guys leaving already?"

"Yeah, it's been a long day" he looks at me and smiles, "it was nice to see you Ca-"

"Can we talk?" She whispers, she got close to his face as if not wanting me to hear, but I'm standing right next to them.

"Now?"

"Yes, alone" she looks at me, "You don't mind if a steal him do you Piper?" I don't know how she knows my name but I smile at her.

"Of course not, I'll wait by the door Harry" he smiles and let go of my hand.

I don't know what she might want to talk to him about but it doesn't make me happy at all. She can't possibly want to talk aboutthem,all she ever did was taunt him and I don't want him to walk back into the web. Not that Cara is a spider or anything, but my respect has gradually lowered; how long she had Harry in that little threat and now his feelings have changed, but he can't have those feelings. He's my best friend and now he has these feelings that he shouldn't, but it soothes me to know that he won't go back to her... I don't want to keep him in a leash; I don't want to be his new Cara, that isn't fair for him.

"Piper" I turn, he has an angered expression, "Its cold outside" he starts taking off his coat

"No, it's fine"

"No," he says and makes me put on his coat, he grabs my hand and leads me outside. As soon as the doors open I let go of his hand, the lights start flashing and he looks at me in confusion, I eye the cameras and he allows me to walk in front of him. We make it to the car and I'm afraid to say something, I know me not wanting to hold his hand seemed rude but I just didn't want people to get the wrong idea. Since when do I care what anyone cares?

"Harry I-"

"She asked if we were together and I said no" he looks at me, I turn and find his green eyes; dark because of the lack of light, sad because of the lack of happiness. "Then she said she would give me a chance and I said no, she got mad and said that if it was because of you that I was wasting my time" he looks down, I don't know what to say. I care about him, he's handsome and attractive but the thoughts of him and I happening can't be. This friendship can't be jeopardized just for a little attraction.

"Harry I- maybe you should give her a chance" he looks up at me, confusion in his face

"I don't want her anymore. I haven't for a while. I'm not asking anything from you Piper" he cups my face in his hands, "it just made me angry that she said that and I wanted to tell you. I care about you, I care about our friendship. Yes I'm attracted to you like hell," I blush and look down at his shirt, "you're so fucking beautiful, but I need you around; you're friendship keeps me sane" I look up at him, he brushes my cheek with his thumb; I she'd a tear, why?

"Can we talk about something else?" I whisper

"Of course" he smiles, his prominent dimples forming, "Do you want to come with me to Los Angeles the twenty first" I'm taken back by the subject change, us in L.A.

"Los Angeles? Why?" he lets go of my face and we buckle our seatbelts

"We're having an event the 23rd" he turns on the ignition, that's the day of my birthday, "the new album comes out the 25th and we're having an eight hour live stream show kind of thing for the fans, thought you might want to come" I haven't taken my eyes from him, his dimples still showing.

I think about it for a second... I'd love to spend some time with him while he works, I'd always wondered what they do, and I didn't know anything about this live stream; I've been living under a rock recently. "My birthday is the 23rd" I look back at the road, he stops abruptly in the middle of the empty-almost-dark street

"What!" he says rather loud, I look at him surprised, "Why didn't you tell me your birthday was this month Piper! It's in a week and I haven't gotten you anything"

"It's fine" I smile at him, I fight the urge to laugh at his horrified expression, "you don't need to get me anything"

"But I want to!" he protests, I reach for his face and take it in between my hands

"Stop" I smile, "You can take me out to dinner in L.A." his eyes wide and bright, "in a totally platonic way" I laugh. He smiles, takes one of my hands and kisses the back of it.

---------

My heart nearly jumps out of my chest! It's nearing the end of this incredibly amusing 1DDay and Paul has just catch Harry before he fell to the ground head first. I think I let out a little scream. The fans sitting in the corner have the same horrified look I'm sure I have. Paul takes him across, once his placed safely on the ground; he searches for me and gives me slight thumbs up. He did the same thing this afternoon after he almost was hit by a football, I remind myself to get my black sunglasses from him. This kid is making me fear for his life; I don't like being around when he works, it scares me. I tell Lou that I'll be outside and borrow her sunglasses. It's warm out in L.A., the hills in the back of the studio are beautiful; you can see the green growing back. The sky blue and clear, polar opposite to London's... I miss it though; I've grown fond of the weather after years and years of rain and snow. My mother thought I was a weird child for liking the rainy days of London growing up, saying that it didn't make sense that I found positivity in such "dark" days... she always loved the sun. Her memory saddens me but I try to smile.

"Hey Pipes!" I turn around to find Harry jogging over to me, he's smiling; I can tell it was fun for them, tiring and there were some technical problems, but nonetheless fun.

"Hey" I smile, he wraps his arms around me, I can see people coming out of the building; tired expressions on their faces. Louis and Zayn walk over to a car and get on. I don't see Liam or Niall but I guess they're still inside. Harry's neck smells of sweat and metal like material, I'm guessing it's from his necklace. I look up at him, his arms still holding me by the waist; I've learned to like these little things he does, hold my hand, waist, back... I don't know why, I just do.

"Dress up nice tonight Piper Harris" he grins, making me smile because of his smile.

"Why is that Styles?"

"Because it's your birthday silly" he kisses both of my cheeks making me giggle and then presses his lips to my forehead for a long while. I don't push him away, I just play with the collar of his black shirt, I bring my hands up to his head and pull his face away by grabbing the material of the plaid red shirt on his head. I like when he wears that shirt. He makes eye contact with me, a blank expression across his handsome face.

"Where are you taking me?" I whisper, he leans in and I think he's about to do something I'm not sure he should, his lips pucker but instead of kissing my lips he kisses my nose, I giggle again and he grins.

"Secret" he whispers.

Three hours later I'm wearing a burgundy top with my flower print skirt. I smile at the memory of drunk me making a full of herself in front of Harry as we walk inside a small little restaurant; sushi restaurant by the tables and decoration. He's wearing a tux and looks handsome as ever, his hair up to the back and curls to the side the way I like. Harry intertwines our hands once the lady leads us to a table in the back, I know I shouldn't be allowing Harry to things like hold my hand and kiss my face but I can't bring myself to tell him to stop. Not anymore. I'm grateful that the booths are separated from each other, allowing more privacy. I can't fathom why I would be grateful for that but I just am. We order drinks and he grins at me, making me smile.

"What?" I furrow my brows

"I've never actually tried this sushi" he smiles. He's sitting across from me, not being satisfied with arrangement I move to the center of the booth, he mirrors my action and now we sit close together

"I've never had sushi" I confess. Our drinks are brought and we order our rolls. I'm terrified that it'll upset my tummy so he only orders one so we can try. Once our food is brought he looks at me and gestures for me to grab a roll, he does the same and we both put in our mouths. As soon as the algae touches my tongue I want to spit it out, once I take a bite it's worse; too much lemon or no lemon but it tastes sour, the rise is just soggy and not at all appealing. I look at Harry who's expression is priceless, he already has a napkin in hand spitting it out.

"I'm not trusting restaurant recommendations anymore" I laugh and kiss his cheek, they become pinkish after seconds and he grabs his cup and drinks too much. I drink some of my drink to try and rid of the taste; it does little this tea. "I'm sorry" he scowls, "I'm the worst present giver" he touches my cheek with his left hand and rubs my bottom lip with his thumb.

"It's fine" I whisper, "we can always go to McDonald's" I grin. He grabs my hand and pulls me out of the booth, he pays at the front and we get into his car. I know exactly the idea I just planted on his head. Ten minutes later we're in front of a McDonald's, be gets out of the car with a smile on his face.

I take a bite from my burger and want to fucking cry; it's so good! Don't even get me started on the fries, it's not like I've never had McDonald's but it's just life. "Best present ever" I say in between bites, Harry smiles beside me. We're in my hotel room bed and I couldn't be more satisfied with the way my 19th birthday went. Once our food has been devoured Harry disappears to his room down the hall, I change into my grey sweatpants and sleeping jumper; not matching pajamas but hell are they comfortable. I turn off the lights and jump into bed, hotel beds are cold even though the duvet is thick. I stare up at the sealing and replay today's events, I can't help but smile at Harry walking into a fast food restaurant with that attire. He's been absolutely sweet the past couple of days. Our first day here he stayed in and watched movies with me

*
He pulls me towards him, his back resting on the backboard as he places my back to his chest. His left arm wraps around me as the other grabs the remote. I tried to stop him earlier from holding my hand while we watched the Hunger Games but I failed, at this point I don't think I want him to take his hands off me. I stare at his hand on my stomach, without acknowledging it I bring my hand to his and start rubbing circles

"What do you want to watch?" he whispers in my ear, the hairs in the back of my neck stand up and salute.

"I don't care" I turn my face and he kisses my temple. A movie starts playing and I don't pay attention anymore, my other hand grabs his empty one and brings up to inspect and trace his little birthmark. I trace his tattoos on his other hand, absolutely fascinated by the meaning behind them; good luck, a lock by Ed who thought it would be rad because he's like an iPhone; only those who know the password can know what's inside. I thought it was silly and Harry laughed with me at Ed's philosophy. The small key was my favorite, I had a little fascination with vintage keys when I was little, I always went through granddaddy's collection.

*
There's a knock on my door and I jump up to answer it; Harry in pajama pants and shirtless walks into my room and gets into the bed. Once I join him he pulls me closer to him, both of us our sides I'm forced to look at him. Not that I mind at all. My hands rest on his chest as his wrap around my waist. He touches the tip of my nose with his and I giggle.

"What are you doing to me beautiful?" he whispers, my heart aches at his words. I bring my hands up to his face and look into his eyes, saddens that I can't see the light green in the because of the dark.

"What are you doing to me?" his eyebrows furrow in confusion. "This can't happen" his eyes close and I grow desperate for them, "I don't want to ruin our friendship"

"Me either," his eyes still close, "but does that mean you feel the same way too" he opens his eyes, I reach for the lamp beside him and turn it on; I can see his beautiful eyes now.
I hold his gaze for a while and think about the effect my words can have between us. I've tried to push it but I've obviously been cracking slowly. I don't know where this will end up and I'd rather it stay like before, but there's no point in denying it any longer.

"Piper?" he cups my face, I trace his bottom lip with my thumb; I never noticed how prominent the outline of his lips were.

"Yes Harry" he smiles weakly because he knows what's next, "but please let's not try anything stupid unless it's absolutely necessary"

"I understand" he kisses my forehead; he lays back down on the bed and brings me to rest my head on his chest.

Notes

Sorry if there is any typos, thanks for reading :)