The Reinvention of Harry Styles

“Harry Styles’ hair style.” Molly smirked. “That’s a tongue twister.”

“Thanks, I’ve never heard that one before,” Harry answered sarcastically, and looked back at his reflection the mirror. “What’s wrong with this?”

Molly shrugged. “Nothing, but you should still think about it. Some people liked it longer, I know I did. I always wanted to play with it, maybe braid it. It just looked so luscious, and… what?” Molly realized Harry was staring at her, slightly amused.

“Nothing, please, continue gushing about my hair,” he joked, and Molly was about to give him a snarky reply when Jeff arrived. Harry slipped his arm around her waist for appearances, and she leaned into him. After spending her formative teen years of conditioning herself into loving him through fan-worship, she couldn't help the butterflies that flitted through her stomach each time he did that.

“You guys ready?” Jeff asked, and they both nodded. “Alright, we have to get to the airport.”

Harry and Molly grabbed their bags and headed out to Jeff’s car, and while Harry passed Jeff as he held the door open, Jeff leaned in and whispered, “You aren’t going to carry your girl’s bag for her?”

“She’s an independent woman, she can carry her own bag,” Harry whispered back, not hiding the acid in his tone. Jeff backed off, but this put Harry in a bad mood the rest of the night.

Molly didn’t notice his mood change, and worked on the book she was ghost writing on their flight to New York. Harry was busy working on something with his publicist, so Jeff took the opportunity to talk to Molly.

“How’s your book coming?” He asked conversationally as he sat himself down across from her.

“Well, it’s not actually my book, they just tell me what to write. But I think it’s going well,” Molly answered, and got back to work.

“So, how does that work? I’ve never worked with a ghost writer before,” Jeff asked, and he seemed genuinely interested, so Molly actually took the time to explain it nicely. After all, she had no reason to be mean to Jeff, considering she and Harry were the ones conning him.

“Basically, the writer of the book sends me their notes, outlines, etc, and I put it into novel form. Then the author goes through that and puts their touch on it.” Molly concluded.

“So it just saves some time for the author,” Jeff nodded. “Kind of like how Harry wrote his album, right?”

‘Was he joking?!?!' Molly stared at him for a moment. “What?”

“You know, that’s what they’re saying. People who don’t like Harry’s album think he had someone write it for him, and he took the credit for it. It’s not true, but whatever.” Jeff shrugged, and looked like he was trying way too hard to sound casual.

“I hadn’t heard that,” Molly answered. She’d heard plenty of things about Harry’s album, and that was not one of them. Was Jeff trying to start something? Was he trying to plant an idea in her head, hoping this theory would show up on one of those ‘former Harrie’ blogs?

“So, that article you wrote about Harry a few weeks ago,” Jeff started.

“Actually, it was about ‘Dunkirk’, I interviewed several members of the cast, including Harry,” Molly corrected.

“So, how does that work? Can you write whatever you want? If you wrote, say, another piece on Harry, would they publish it?”

“Umm, no, that’s not how it works. Are you trying to get me to write something about Harry? Are you that desperate to get his name out there that you want his own girlfriend to risk her job just to get some propaganda on the small website she occasionally freelances for?”

Across the plane, Harry heard the change in Molly’s tone and thought perhaps it was time he stepped in.

“Love, why don’t you take a break from that for a while.” He placed his hand on the back of her laptop before slowly closing it. She looked up at him, and they exchanged a barely perceptible look. There was a glint in his eye she recognized, so she went along with it.

“You’re right, Harbear, I could use a distraction.” She raised her eyebrow slightly, indicating she was up for whatever he suggested.

He spoke quietly, like he didn’t want to be heard, but it was clear to Molly that he did in fact want Jeff to hear this. “I don’t think you’ve been inducted into the mile high club, yet.”

Molly drew in a short breath when Harry’s words hit her. “You’re right, I have not,” she replied with a coy smile, and the flush in her cheeks was 100% real.

“Then why don’t we fix that.” He smirked, and took her hand as he helped her up. She had her hands all over him as he led her to the plane’s tiny bathroom, and he locked the door after the two squeezed into the small space. To make things easier, Harry lifted Molly so she was on the sink, then leaned back against the door and sighed. “It worked,” he whispered.

Molly stared at him. “Soooo, are we going to actually have sex, or just pretend?”

“Oh, um, I hadn’t…” Harry scratched his head. “I didn’t think we’d actually do it.”

“Harry,” Molly sighed frustrated. “You can’t look at me like that, and say those kinds of things, if you don’t actually plan on going through with it. I mean, obviously you can, that's your prerogative," she quickly added.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize I’d have that much of an effect on you.” He was starting to change his mind.

“Really? After last time? You thought, what, I’d had one taste of Harry Styles’ dick, and that was enough for me?” Molly shook her head. “The opposite, honey.”

“You didn’t actually taste it though…” Harry interjected with a smirk.

“I meant metaphorically!” Molly snapped. “Sorry, I’m just super horny, now.”

Harry laughed quietly. “Sorry, I don’t even have a condom with me,” he checked his pockets, though he was sure of it.

“That’s okay,” Molly reached into her bra and pulled out a condom. “What? It’s good to be prepared, a girl’s gotta look out for herself.”

Harry could not stop giggling. “Sorry, I’m just not...you know...ready.” Harry made some vague hand motions to go along with that statement.

Undeterred, Molly pushed on. “I can fix that easily. I just assumed you were, since you suggested this.”

“No, I just wanted to get you away from Jeff. You seemed like you were about to kill him.”

“Oh, don’t mention Jeff, not while we’re trying to have sex,” Molly groaned.

“We’re not having sex, we’re both fully clothe." Harry smirked. “Except you, I don’t really know why you took your shirt off.”

“For authenticity!” She hissed. “Listen, if you don’t want to do it, that’s fine, but you’re the one that mentioned joining the mile high club. Obviously you meant me, joining, since you’re like the president of that club.”

Harry snickered. “Why am I the president of the mile high club? You know it’s not an actual club, right?”


“Ugh, Harry,” Molly moaned. “Just fuck me already before I find someone else to do it. Remember what happened with Tom?”

Harry felt his cheeks turn red at the mention of his ginger-haired friend, and that inexplicable jealousy he had felt last time coursed through his veins. “Well, he’s not around, is he.”

“No, but we’re going to New York, I have plenty of friends from college who wouldn’t mind meeting up for a booty call.” Molly cocked her head and eyed Harry, as if to say ‘your move’ and watched as he bit his lip. Something had clearly changed in his demeanor; his eyes were darker, his cheeks were flushed, and he seemed inexplicably out of breath.

“Oh, Molly Winthrope, you got me.” He shook his head and leaned forward to kiss her. “You’re right, we’re supposed to be ‘friends with benefits’, and what kind of a friend would I be if I left you in this state?”

“Need this?” She took the condom out of her bra again.

“Absolutely.” Harry grabbed it, ripping the foil package open with his teeth.


***


When they emerged from the bathroom, adjusting their clothes and flattening their messed up hair, it was clear to not only Jeff, but Harry’s publicist and everyone else on the plane, what had just happened. Anyone who had any doubts about the legitimacy of their relationship were now otherwise convinced. Harry and Molly spent the rest of the flight curled up sleeping at the back of the plane, and nobody really wanted to bother them.

When they arrived at the hotel in New York, his assistant gave Harry and Molly their room keys, which they soon realized went to the same room, of course. This room had only one bed, of course, because they were dating.

“I’m not really sure what I was expecting,” Molly said and fell onto the bed.

“There’s not even a couch.” Harry looked around the room. “What kind of hotel room doesn’t have a couch?”

“You could sleep in the bathtub?” Molly suggested.

“What? Why do I have to sleep in the tub? I mean, we just had sex in an airplane loo, we can’t share a bed?” Harry laughed, but didn’t quite find the situation that funny.

“This is different. That was passionate, in the heat of the moment. This,” she gestured at the bed, “would be too intimate.”

Harry sighed. “Right, and sex is not intimate,” he said, more to himself.

“Not the way we do it,” Molly laughed and sat up. “Okay, my parents are only about an hour out of the city, I think it would be logical, even to Jeff, if I stayed with them.”

“I guess so.” Harry shrugged.

Molly stood up and grabbed her bag. “Just tell Jeff I got homesick or something, and wanted to visit my parents.”

As the door clicked shut behind her, Harry slumped on the bed and sighed. ‘Alone in a hotel room…’ Suddenly the lyrics to his own song, ‘From the Dining Table’ snuck into his head, and he laughed to himself.

“Now that’s ironic, right?” He said out loud, to no one in particular.

Notes

I hope it doesn't look like Molly is trying to pressure Harry into sex, and I hope she sounds kind of teasing? If not, let me know and I don’t mind changing it.

So, in the last chapter, Molly joked that maybe Jeff Azoff had it out for Harry because Harry’d slept with his mom. Well, Harry recently did some show at the Grammy museum with his producer Jeff Bhasker, and they joked that he’d slept with Jeff’s (I think Bhasker?) mother (I don’t know the context, but ?!!?). My little fanfiction writer brain freaked out for a moment when I read that. I’ll try to find the article, again, if anyone wants to see it, but surely it’s just a coincidence. (right?)

Thank you for reading, voting, and commenting!! : )