[ Perfect --- One Direction ]

It's almost six in the evening in Nottingham and the air has already changed: it's colder, but pleasant. The sky is clear, and few clouds break its harmony.

I'm not sure where we're going, but I want to be able to feel comfortable, so I don't choose something too demanding to wear.
In fact, I only know Stefan, so I don't even know what to expect from Tara. I think of the boy from the latter and I wonder if he too goes to Selston, if I have perhaps met him in class without knowing it.

I run my fingers through my hair and I think that if my mother had been here she would surely have told me something that would have accompanied me all evening as a reminder. A melancholy smile curves my lips as I hear the cell phone ringing for a few seconds. So I wake up and turn around, going to the bed so I can get my cell phone.

I just got here, I'm waiting for you outside.

The message is from Stephan. I drop the cell phone in the bag without answering it and take the jacket. I am alone at home, my father told me that he will probably end up late in the hospital.

When I close the door of the apartment behind me I sigh and take a few moments to breathe, to repeat myself like a mantra that will be all right.

I catch up with Stephan who notices me as soon as I go out on the stairs. He comes to greet me with a quick hug that I didn't expect. He catches me on the counterattack, and probably realizes it because I only return his grip when he starts to move away.

"I thought I'd make you take a tour of the city first, then we'll reach Tara in a small restaurant in the center." he informs me as we go down the stairs together.

"Sure, okay." I answer with a shrug, ready for anything this evening will reserve

🌹

Stephan speaks to me as we walk, he smiles a lot and I often do it too listening to him. We can't see much of the city, but I like the center.
Nottingham is big and beautiful, I have to admit it to myself.

We also talk about Tara, and I realize for the second time that something changes in him when he says something about her, when he whispers his name. They have a relationship that reminds me of what I've always had with Liam. We decide to reach out to others with the promise that we will devote more time to the city and what it has to offer.

The place we go to is quite crowded, but I try to look around looking for Tara, finding that it is welcoming, pleasant. It is bright and at the same time intimate, there is a peaceful atmosphere.

It's Stephan who finds Tara. "Here they are."

I follow his gaze and the direction he then points to me with his fingers; we approach and Tara gets up with a smile on her face to greet both Stephan and I with a quick hug.

It's the second time that happens tonight, but now I don't have time to retire, and maybe I wouldn't have done it if I had the chance. I feel good. "Tara, where's Styles?"
he then asks Stephan to Tara. Styles. I think he's referring to her boyfriend.

"He received an important call and had to leave, but I think he's going to ..." he explains, but stops and then smiles, looking behind us. "There he is."

I also turn to be able to see him, only that when it happens he suddenly cancels everything else around, because he is the last person I expected to meet tonight. Harry advances towards our table with his cell phone still in his hands and looking down.

No, it can't be.

He adjusts the sleeves of the gray sweater he wears and then looks up; it is now that he sees me. He opens his lips and stops, then leans her head slightly to the right and hints at a smile. H.S. was for Harry Styles.

"Ariel?" he asks rhetorically, and the fact that he remembered my name for the second time destabilizes me more than he should.

"Harry?"

"Do you know each other?" Tara and Stephan ask at the same time, as surprised by this coincidence as we are.

"Actually, yes. ”Harry murmurs, shaking his head and smiling as he goes around the table to sit next to Tara. "It's an interesting story."

I smile too, still sitting next to
Stephan; Harry is in front of me. "Now we want to know it." says Stephan.

And Harry to tell it in broad terms, going to touch only the essential moments and looking at me most of the time when he does. "Destiny seems to push us to meet."

There were few comments and few questions about our meeting, but I am relieved. A waiter comes to meet us to mark our orders, which are already on the table in front of us not long after. Tara and Stephan are the ones who feed the evening, the ones who speak without getting tired always finding a meeting place to continue the conversation.

Harry is silent, often I can't keep my eyes on him quickly. "Ariel, how are you at Selston?" Tara then asks me.

I look up at her. "I've been here recently, but that's okay for now."
I decide not to reveal much, because it is difficult for me and because, after all, I have just started to settle down. I smile at Tara and then I notice Harry's eyes on me. There is something about him that pushes me not to let them go, to want to know more.

"Are you also from the last year? Are you already eighteen?" Tara continues, causing me to draw attention back to her.

I nod. "Yes, I turned in August."

"Tara will turn eighteen next month, but I've already been through them," replies Stephan shrugging.

"What about you, Harry?" I'm the one to ask this time.

"Twenty-one in February." I had imagined that he was older, but the awareness and confirmation that it is true inexplicably pushes me even further towards him.
I wonder how he met Tara, and how she feels about having him next.

"What would you like to do after your studies, Ariel?" Tara continues and her questions start to get tight; I feel at the center of attention that I never wanted.

"I haven't thought about it yet," I just say, even if it's not the truth. Before I knew what I wanted to do, who I wanted to become, only then everything changed by dragging everything else behind.

"Harry studies History of the Arts," says Tara.

"Seriously?" I exclaim surprised, interested in him more than I should be.

"Don't rush things too much, love." he says as he smiles and looks at her, and I feel my heart tighten, hurting for something I thought I had and that I no longer have.

"You're my artist." she whispers, resting her head on his shoulder. Harry surrounds her body with one arm and I can't look at them anymore.

🌹

The evening goes on quietly, we finish eating but we keep talking in this place until Tara starts to yawn on Harry's shoulder. He leaves a kiss in her hair, Stephan gets up instead.

"I think it's better to go." he says, and Tara nods.
We leave the club together, Harry and Tara are in front of us. She looks for his hand and he squeezes it, then we all stop in front of the entrance.

"Stephan, are you coming with us?" Tara asks, clutching Harry's arm.

He shakes his head. "I have to go leave
Ariel at home."

"Where do you live?" Tara asks me again.

"A few meters after the station, it's the tallest building," I try to explain, as I'm not yet familiar with the area.

"I'll do it," says Harry. "I live nearby too."

I shake my head. "I can go back alone, it's not a problem."

"Don't worry, I'll be back with Stephan.
We are close too" Tara reassures me.

"Harry will see him tomorrow."

So we say goodbye; Harry leaves a kiss on his girlfriend's lips before turning to me.

"Shall we go?"

🌹🌹🌹

FROM THE AUTHOR:

I really hope that the story is starting to please you, and I am referring above all to those who are here for the first time. Let me know what you think and if you like it!

Kisses🦋