H A R R Y

"Beautiful," Poppy breathes, admiring the very large, sparkling diamond earrings. We are in Tiffany & Co, Poppy's favorite shop. She holds a box of the glimmering earrings with bright, lovestruck eyes.

I watch her with a small smile as she stares at the earrings. I notice she has very similar earrings on right now, but they're much smaller.

"I want them," she decides, staring up at the smiling blonde behind the counter. Her lips are painted red, and her slicked hair is pulled up in a tight bun.

"Brilliant! That'll be thirteen-thousand," she smiles, probably ecstatic that yet another bright eyed rich kid is buying such a big purchase. But I just shrug.

Poppy quickly hands the lady her card and squeals in happiness. "Done and done!" She smiles. I smile down at her.

"Big budget, hm?" I smirk. Poppy just nods.

"I guess these earrings make up for my parents being gone for two months," Poppy huffs, thanking the lady behind the counter and grabbing the bag.

"Poppy, you can't buy love."

She rolls her eyes. "Whoever said that hasn't seen these earrings."

"Poppy, listen to me," I say, but it comes out more as a demand. She turns around slowly and we stop in the middle of the mall to look at each other. "Your parents.. They love you. They work a lot, but that doesn't mean they don't love you. Trust me, they work hard so you can have everything you want. You wouldn't be buying those earrings right now if it weren't for their hard work."

Poppy just looks down and crosses her arms. "I suppose you're right, but I'm just really tired of them leaving all the time and assuming money will make up for it," she tells me sadly. She looks up at me with glossy eyes. "Sure, these earrings are gorgeous, but you're right, it's nothing compared to their love.."

Her speech gives me a slight pain in my chest and I bend down to stroke her cheek. "Poppy, they do love you. Trust me. I know it's tough, but I grew up like you too, without a mum even, and a dad who blamed me for all of his failures. Trust me, they really do want what's best for you."

Poppy looks at me with tear filled eyes and suddenly hugs my waist. "I'm sorry, Harry. I'm sure your mom is so proud of you and your accomplishments." I smile at her words, hugging her small body back.

"I hope so," I whisper.

--

After two more hours, we are at the last shop, Anerican Apparel, and that's when the last thing I'd expect, happens.

"Harry!" A very familiar voice squeals, making both Poppy and I turn around. My heart drops. Oh god.

"Meredith?" I breathe out, taking in her appearance. She is much thinner than before, which surprises me since she was already thin enough back then. Her blonde hair is now cut to the top of her shoulders, and her eyes have the same sparkle I fell in love with many years ago.

"It's so good to see you," she smiles, giving me a side hug. I awkwardly accept it and look at the very annoyed Poppy in the corner of my eye. She has her arms across her chest with an unamused expression.

"Oh who's this?" Meredith says, her voice dropping.

"I'm Poppy Winsley. You've probably heard of me. Daughter of Jeffrey and Angela Winsley," Poppy speaks for herself, smirking.

I hide my growing smile and watch as Meredith's smile fades.

"No.. I haven't heard of you, it's a pleasure to meet you though," Meredith says, genuinely sounding pleased.

Poppy's eyes grow cold, a sight I've seen many times. "And you are?"

Meredith looks at me with uneasiness, her eyes pleading for me to stop this awkwardness. I just bite my tongue.

"Meredith.. Meredith Adams, Harry's.. Ex."

Poppy folds her arms across her chest and smiles. "Great, thanks for the introduction, but I'm in dire need of new summer skirts and Harry here needs to give me opinions. Ciao!"

And with that, Poppy grabs my hand and we're off. Not like I care, anyway. Meredith is someone from my past who I wish not to remember.

"What was that all about?" I chuckle, watching her pick out several clothing items.

She just shrugs. "I knew it was probably an ex, and you looked very unamused so I decided to step in."

I shake my head. "She's just some girl I dated in college."

Poppy doesn't look up. "What happened?"

I sigh, not really wanting to remember. "She just used me basically to make her ex jealous. I got over it though, and we were on good terms a while after it happened so I'm okay now."

Poppy raises her eyebrows. "You forgave her for using you like that?"

"Well, we aren't all stubborn like you. She was a good friend before we dated."

Poppy rolls her eyes. "Okay, I don't like her anyway. She's too.. Nice."

I chuckle, "you don't like nice people?"

"I do," Poppy defends, "but not that nice. I personally like people who keep it real."

"Keep it real?" I laugh, and she nods with a smile.

--

After a long day of shopping, Poppy and I get into my car and drive back to her house.

"Geez, I'm worn out," Poppy groans, taking off her shoes. "Can we paint now?"

I nod, and she jogs up the stairs and into her bedroom, probably changing.

Once she comes back down, she's dressed in a black tank top and grey athletic shorts. Wow, I've never seen her in anything but girly clothes. This is new.

"I'm digging the look," I smirk. She rolls her eyes and scoffs.

"Only because I don't want to ruin anything cute." I just nod and follow her downstairs.

Once we reach the art room she's been talking about, my jaw drops in awe. It really is beautiful. The walls are painted with The Starry Night by Van Gogh covering them. There's multiple paintings hung up on them, and beautiful painting sets/stands set up all over the large room.

Time to paint.

--