𝖂hen Harry got the call two hours ago, he'd been sitting in the local studio stringing out some tunes on his guitar.

At first, seeing the name on the caller id made him excited, excited to finally inform his friend that he was now almost done with the album and that, as soon as they returned to London, he could start recording.

But that is not what Jeffrey Azoff had in store for him.

Instead, he proposed they work on the album in Malibu and that they do it as soon as possible because management was weighing down on them.

They needed something soon and fast.

There is no time to waste anymore, this year will be the year Harry's second album rolls out and there is nothing Harry can say or do to make them change their minds.

It was good that Harry had good news waiting for his manager but the fact that Jeff had already sought out an appointment for February 13th with the entire team at Shangri-La in Malibu, California was a deal breaker.

He just could not do this.

He told Jeff that and his friend had the audacity of laughing?

Why can't you do it, Harry? You're only gonna be here for two weeks, he'd said.

But that didn't do shit to ease the growing anxiety inside of him because being in Malibu a day before Valentine's meant that he couldn't spend it in London with Darlene as originally planned.

She'd definitely freak out.

But maybe she'd agree to tagging along with him to Malibu? She's always going on about how much she loves sunny days and beaches so it's worth a shot.

Hence, here he is, casually leaning against the doorframe of their bedroom at the cottage watching Darlene play with a stray cat on the floor.

She glances up, raising her brows in an attempt to get him to speak.

And he nervously obliges.

"So . . . . Jeff called".

"Yeah?", she remains distracted with the brown cat purring in her lap as it folds in itself finding comfort in her warmth.

"Yeah, uhm, he . . . . kind of set up a meeting with our team on . . . . 13th".

"That's good?", she frowns not quite understanding why he's so nervous about it.

Harry inhales a shaky breath.

"In Malibu".

That gets her complete attention.

"What?".

He rubs the back of his neck, rocking back and forth on his feet.

"I tried to get out of it but . . . . it's kind of a big deal. Everyone's gonna be there but you could . . . . come along? There's lots to do in Malibu, we'll have a lot of fun. We'll go to the beach, go shopping, you could make a vlog for your channel".

As he says it, he realises spending some time in Malibu will actually be pretty fun. Darlene will love it too.

But the look on her face says otherwise.

"Harry . . . .", she sighs rubbing her forehead.

"Really. There's a lot of animal shelters there. Kid will help us find a good coffee place", a smile slowly takes over his face.

But Darlene doesn't smile.

"Harry, no".

"What?", he furrows his brows in confusion.

"I . . . . can't just leave everything and follow you around the world. I have a life, Harry. My family's in London. My friends are in London. And Mia . . . . it's her birthday on 15th, I need to be there for her".

A sharp pain takes shape at the back of his heart.

"But we'll be back in two weeks. If you want you can bring Mia too, I'm sure she'll love celebrating her nineteenth in Malibu".

His words are desperate, a strong and desperate attempt to get her to say yes.

It's not that he doesn't agree with her, it's just that she's been alone on Valentine's since quite some time now and this time, he's there so he wants to be there with her.

He doesn't want her alone even this year.

It's their first Valentine's together.

She bites her lip averting her eyes from his, it hurts too much to even look at him because she knows for certain that if she does then she'll cry.

She'll cry out because he has a different life than hers; his life is travelling and hers is . . . . her apartment in London, her sister, the people on the internet who make her feel deserving of love.

A big part of her life is Harry.

But she cannot physically bring herself to keep him from doing what he wants, she can't ask him to stay and she also cannot leave with him.

They have separate lives and it's high time they both accepted that.

"I can't. I'm sorry", she gulps down the tears focusing on the cat quietly napping in her lap.

***
angst > literally everything else

alsoo happy new year darlings !!!!