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writingsfromhome · 1 year

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Rules to Break

A/N: not much to say about this, just a super fluff first-impression one shot.

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He noticed her the first time she came in, but only because she was holding a copy of his favourite book. She’d lain it on the countertop as she squinted up at the menu and asked him if they did an iced Americano.

“We do,” he wanted to ask her about the book but when she meets his eye he’s suddenly nervous. He could tell she was in a rush, after working as a barista for nearly two years Harry could tell that when a customer looked past you even when they looked directly at you…it was not time to engage in small talk. “Is that all?”

“Uhm yes,” she bites her lip and glances at her phone. “Will that be long?”

He was right, “I’ll get started on it now for you.” Harry’s coworker shoots him a look as she moves aside from the espresso machine. He was supposed to be on cash strictly. But Americanos were easy and there were only two people in line.

“Pretty privilege,” she mutters. She was always going on about how life was easier for pretty people. Harry didn’t disagree, but also thought she benefitted from the same thing. He thought it was smarter not to say anything lest she bite his head off though.

“Here you are,” Harry pushes the drink at the pickup counter. She looks up from her phone, book tucked under her arm.

“Oh! That was quick. Thank you,” she smiles at him and this time she looks at him. Why did she make him so damn nervous?

Harry saw her a few times a week since then, usually with a friend but there were some times by herself in the far corner of the cafe. Her headphones on and typing away furiously at a laptop.

He never denied he was a romanticist, he fell in love easily and always. It never stuck of course, he was in love with the idea in his head, and it was easy when you worked in a cafe that was a revolving door for interesting people carrying small pieces of their lives on show while he made their drinks or took their orders.

The danger came from regulars; he had a rule not to romanticize regulars. But it was a rule he had to break when it came to her.

Today, she orders her usual and finds the only available seat near the sink. It was exam season so the cafe was mostly filled with students. Which meant it was too busy for Harry to keep an eye on her, him and his two colleagues work around each other as they pump out drink after drink.

3 hours later, Harry takes his 15 minute break. She’s still at her table, a friend had joined her. They talk animatedly over whatever’s on screen.

While her friend scans the screen, she sits silently. Then her eyes flit up and find Harry’s staring. Shit. He looks down at the water in his hand, turns awkwardly, and shuffles to the break room. It felt like she’d broken the fourth wall…it was uncomfortable as Harry remembers everything he knew about her was her coffee order, a shared book interest, and fantasy. He had to stop doing this.

Harry avoids her general area as he finishes his shift. He takes lunch in the break room, and focuses on the customer in front of him. One after the other.

Close to the end of his shift he risks a glance that way, and he’s surprised to still see her there. She must have ordered something when he was on his break because a second drink and half-eaten sandwich sits on her table.

The woman herself is staring into space, Harry thinks she’s day dreaming but she could be deep in thought. Maybe there was no difference. She snaps out of her thoughts and glances back at her screen. She must have noticed Harry though because she looks back up to him. This time she smiles. Harry nods and turns back to pouring the espresso in front of him.

Why did he nod? Was that supposed to be cool? What the fuck?

This was getting ridiculous. It’s been over a month of romanticizing someone just because she came in with a book. For all he knew she was holding it for a friend. He had to get over this—this was why he had that rule. He could obsess over someone he’d made up in his head for too long if he saw them too often. He had to stop.

“Can I uhm, get you a refill?” Harry decides to approach her table. “Seems like you could use one?”

“Oh,” her voice is soft, surprised when he appears at her table. “As much as I’d love that, I think I’ve had enough coffee for today.”

“Oh,” well that didn’t go how he expected. This was the other part about Harry’s fantasies—the reality always let him down. “Okay.”

“Okay,” she laughs. “Sorry have I been here too long? Are you subtly kicking me out?”

“No!” Harry realizes she’s smiling about it a beat too late. God he was normally not this awkward. He forced a laugh. “You have been here for some time, I thought you could use a refill. What are you working on?”

“Oh this,” she tilts her screen down lower. Government secrets.”

Harry waits a moment, unsure if her deadpan was really good or she was joking. She cracks a smile though and he laughs.

“You’re quite a serious one then,” she opens her screen back up.

“I’m…I’m really not. I’m mostly an idiot, ask my colleagues.” Harry glances back at the other side of the countertop and risks sitting in the seat opposite this woman. “To be honest I think I’m just a bit nervous.”

“Nervous?!”

“You’re intimidating!”

“Me!? Oh my god nobody has ever called me intimidating!”

“Nobody’s ever called me serious!” Harry laughs.

“I guess we don’t know each other at all,” she shakes her head with a laugh. “Intimidating.”

“You come in here regularly and just type away at your laptop all seriously. Your government secrets intrigue me.”

“My government secrets huh?” She smirks and Harry blushes.

“Yeah,” Harry pushes on. “Obviously. What else.”

“So is it true about regulars, do baristas actually remember our drinks?”

“Yeah,” Harry’s relieved at the switch in subject. “Iced Americano, sometimes with an almond croissant.”

“Hey that’s me,” she grins. “I’m actually writing a…well it’s supposed to be a novel. Right now it’s a fucking mess.”

“That’s what my mum calls me,” Harry jokes. “But I’m sure your work is great.”

“Nah not yet,” she leans forward on the table. “Does your mum actually?”

“She’s said it once, last Christmas.” Harry wasn’t sure if this was oversharing but she nods for him to continue. “I graduated with all these distinctions and now I’m just working at a coffee shop. I think she’s worried I’m not going to do anything with my life.”

“It’s not all cracked up to be,” she rests her head on her hand. “I had a job right out of uni, hated my life for over a year before I just said fuck it and quit. I live at home again, like I’m a bloody teenager. But…I think I’m happier.”

“I’ll put you on a call with my mum, say that exact same thing to her. Please?”

The pair laugh out loud, any awkwardness from before completely gone.

“It’s like I’m so burnt out from studying and never getting a break. I don’t want one part of my life to just rollover into the next.”

“Yeah!” she agrees.

“And, she doesn’t think it’s a real job, but I model on the side. I actually like doing it with this job so-“

“Of course you do!”

“What?” Harry watches her lean back in her chair and cross her arms.

“I should’ve know you model.”

“You should’ve?” He can’t help but grin.

“Yeah,” she looks like she’s putting the pieces together about Harry. “Your government secrets no long intrigues me, I know what you use them for.”

The unexpected joke makes Harry laugh, a bit too loud. His team lead calls out his name and reminds him his break is about done.

“Sorry,” she whispers to him. “Didn’t mean to get you into trouble.”

“It’s alright.” Harry chuckles. “I’m off in a half hour anyway, I haven’t got much work to go back to.”

“Oh,” she nods stiffly. “Alright.”

“Okay,” Harry gets up. “I’ll see you around Iced Americano.”

“That’s an awful nickname.”

Harry just shrugs and gets back to work, which is mostly cleaning up at this point. He realizes he should have asked if she had plans, they could grab a bite to eat since he knows she’s been here most of the day. Maybe he should ask now.

Harry peeks over the sink but her seat is empty and everything is gone from the table. He glances around the room but she had left. Disappointed. He felt a bit let down.

On the other hand, he realizes that this was the first time someone in his head didn’t let him down. She was bright, and funny, and really nice to him even though he cringed at how creepy he’d been. The disappointment stabs at him again. Oh well. There was always next time.

Once his shift finishes, and he changes out of the T-shirt that smelled like burnt coffee beans, Harry says his goodbyes and leaves. He turns to the right where the bus stop is but pauses when he spots a familiar figure on the bench.

“I was going to go home. But then I decided I would wait out your shift. And then it felt weird to go back inside so…”

“Aren’t you cold?” It was a brisk December evening.

“Fuck yes,” she hops up and walks over to Harry. “D’you want to grab a bite?”

“I was going to ask you the same thing,” he couldn’t hide the relief in his voice. She had stayed.

“I know a good spot but it’s about 20 minutes walk?”

“I’m alright, I thought you were cold?”

“Not with company,” she threads her arm through his and they laugh at her cheesy response.

“It’s the company you make along the way,” Harry joins in.

“Exactly!”

They head in her direction and it occurs to Harry. “I don’t even know my company’s name.”

“Oh my god,” she laughs and sticks her free hand out to Harry as they continue walking. “I’m Y/N!”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Harry.” he shakes her hand and they laugh again at how weird they’re being.

“I know,” she smiles up at him. “Your name tag.”

“So I’m the only one who’s been in the dark.”

“‘Fraid so. Remember when you thought I was intimidating?”

“And you thought I was serious,” Harry laughs. She was an open book and he was always cracking jokes. How quickly they went from strangers to something else.

“We were naive then..but I’m still interested in this modelling you do. What’s it for?”

Harry explains his other job to her, the kinds of shoots he landed. What he was aiming for gig-wise. By the time they reach their destination Harry had asked Y/N about her novel and she was happily explaining to him what she wanted to write. He was happily listening.

Harry was glad he’d broken his rule because the mysterious girl in the corner of the cafe was splitting the mystery wide open. And turns out she was actually really cool.

#harry styles fic #harry styles #harry styles fanfic #writingsfromhome #harry styles x reader #fic #harry styles imagine #harry styles fluff #this is pure fluff #one shot #harry styles one shot #harry stylesxreader #barista!harry #i was listening to valley and this sort of #just came forth #lol

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itslottiehere · 1 year

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the pineapple coincidence (h.s) — part one

hello beautiful people 🤍 welcome back! it’s been a while, huh? i’m so sorry to have made you wait for so long, but among all things that happened, i wasn’t in the mood to post my writing. but i’m back now! so, this is a new story about barista!harry x college student!reader, and i hope you’ll like it! (also, if you get the reference in the title, you get a big forehead kiss). please, let me know what you think !! your feedback means the world to me. you can do so in the tags or in my asks if you wish to! without further ado, happy reading! <3

masterlist | leave your feedback or requests here

tw: none really for this part, perhaps for the next ones but they will be signalled.

word count: 4.1k

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“hello, hi, can i please get a non-alcoholic cocktail? a mocktail? is that what they’re called? i don’t know, just uh- can i have one of those, please?”

“yeah yeah, slow down. coming right up.”

harry had kept an eye on her the whole evening, because she clearly didn’t want to be there. at first, he was afraid she was on a date with someone who was doing something to make her uncomfortable, so he kept looking at their table to see if he had to step up and kick them out.

but when he saw other people join her and her friend at the table, he understood that it was a group of friends, so he let down his guard.

still, he couldn’t understand why she was such in a poor mood.

“everything alright?” he inquired, glancing at her briefly.

“uh? yeah, yeah, everything’s fine.” she said, tapping her fingers nervously on the counter. harry looked down at her hands, and smirked.

“doesn’t seem like it.”

“i just- i just didn’t want to come out tonight.” she murmured.

he nodded lightly. “ah, i see. because you’re the designated driver?” he started grabbing the things to make her drink.

“no, it’s not - uh, i have to get up early and study tomorrow and i have to pretend to get drunk or at least pretend to be a bit tipsy or else i will never hear the end of it from my friends. they keep saying that “i can’t ever let go” she scoffed, and then looked up to him, eyes opening wide in surprise. “i’m sorry, i didn’t want to overshare and bother you with my problems, i tend to do that when i’m nervous and that’s why-“

“hey, slow down. it’s fine, i’m a bartender, more used to it than you think.” he answers, giving her a crooked smile. “here’s your drink, it has grapefruit and pineapple in it.” he extended his arm with the glass in his hand. “hope you’ll like it.”

“how did you know i love pineapple?” she smiled at him.

he shrugged: he didn’t know about the pineapple, but he did know she had a pretty smile.

he watched her walking back to the table, the drink clutched into her hands. she sat down and brought the straw to her lips, drinking a bit of the concoction harry prepared for her. when he saw the look of delight on her face, a grin made his way on his.

“hey dude, i’ll have a beer.” a guy interrupted his staring.

“wha- oh sure, coming right up.”

—

she really didn’t want to go out. finals were coming up and she had to get the best scores, or else she already could see the disappointed look on her parents’ faces. it’s not their fault, really, she was always good in school and everyone just kind of expected that from her.

so really it’s kind of her own fault, right?

it sure felt like it. she couldn’t blame her parents for expecting her to succeed in college: she was the best student at her high school, without a crazy effort; she was also the valedictorian at her graduation. so now at college, they expected her to do the same, and how could she let them down?

that kind of pressure, added to the stress of moving for college, turned her into an overwhelmed, burnt out mess, that just wanted to stay home and go to sleep early so that she could’ve woken up the following day and get back to studying.

but she wasn’t that lucky.

“we never see you anymore! the only time i can see you is in the library and you spend half of the time shushing me.” niall cracked a smile. “please come out with us.” he whined, giving her his best attempt at puppy eyes.

“no, i really can’t. i’m way too busy, i need to study.” she shook her head in disagreement.

but that didn’t stop niall and his whining. “c’mon now, it’s at a bar nearby. you need to let loose once in a while, you really need a night out.”

she shook her head once again, dropping the gaze back to her books. “i said no, you should-“

niall interrupted her, standing up from the library chair. “i’m picking you up at 9pm, and i’ll drag you out the door or carry you bridal style to the car, but i won’t take no for an answer.” with that and a smile, he left her in the library.

and now, there she was.

she loved her friends, she really did, and she was glad that sometimes they dragged her out of her room to talk to some other human beings, but not tonight. she could feel the anxiety creep up, the sense of guilt of wasting a night that she could’ve spent studying eating her from the inside.

she was becoming fidgety, her right leg bouncing so much she was afraid it was going to come off, her breath getting shallower by the minute, the grip of her anxiety getting stronger around her throat. so she excused herself and left the table with the excuse of “getting a drink”, just to get a break and maybe calm down.

she didn’t want to get a water as always because her friends teased her all the time.

“a water? really? can’t you get a cocktail for once? maybe a fruity one, where you don’t even feel the alcohol?”

and she knew that maybe people who suggested that you had to drink in order to have fun weren’t exactly the best people, but she also knew where her friends were coming from: they just wanted to see if it may help her out with her nerves.

but it never did. the thought of letting go of control, especially control over herself? no, thank you.

so she walked up to the counter, thinking about the name of a drink that her friends mentioned, that was supposed to be something with pineapple in it, if she wasn’t mistaken. at least, that was one thing she’d enjoy.

after getting the attention of the curly headed bartender, she started nervously looking around and tapping her fingers on the kind of sticky counter, thinking about how much sleep she was going to lose and how tired she was going to be the following morning and how that was going to mess up all her schedule and-

“everything alright?” the bartender interrupted her rambling thoughts.

“uh?” she hadn’t expected him to talk. “yeah, yeah, everything’s fine.” she shrugged and kept looking around, never letting her gaze land on something or someone for more than four seconds.

“doesn’t seem like it.” the deep voice of the bartender nudged her on, and that’s all that she needed to decide to dump all her thoughts on him.

way to go, you idiot. this poor guy is just doing his job, just shut up already.

after apologizing to him for what she did, he was still nice — wow, he didn’t get annoyed at me, and even gave me a small smile, she noticed — and he handed her drink, telling her it had grapefruit and pineapple in it.

at the mention of her favourite fruit, she lit up.

“how did you know i love pineapple?”

the thought of someone guessing something about her without even knowing her made her smile, a real smile.

the fact that she needed to realize that it was a real one made her think about how long it had been since she did smile for real.

mumbling a small thank you, she reached for the glass and held it close to her. she turned around and headed back to her table.

he has such a cute smile, she thought.

—

the rest of the night didn’t go any better. her friends were laughing loudly, way too loud for her taste; her anxiety made her even more quiet that she usually was, but no one seemed to notice that she didn’t speak more than four phrases during the whole evening.

they didn’t really realize she left the table and went out of the bar, either.

she decided to go in the back alley, so she wouldn’t be seen by any of her friends if they were going to come out for a smoke.

“fuck.” she murmured once she felt the cold air hitting her. she could hear her mother’s voice in her head:

“you should’ve worn more layers.”

“you should’ve brought a warmer jacket.”

“don’t even think about getting sick this close to finals.”

that voice made her feel even colder.

she rummaged in her bag, looking for the one guilty pleasure she permitted herself to have. she took out her pack of cigarettes, opened it and realizing it was the last one, she made a mental note to buy a new pack the following day.

she knew she shouldn’t smoke, but it was the one thing that made her feel a little relaxed. she sighed, picking up the stick and putting it between her slightly cracked lips. once again, she started looking for her lighter, first patting her pockets, and once she didn’t find it there, she started looking in her bag.

“i was sure it was here, c’mon.” she mumbled with the cigarette hanging from her lips. “you must be in here somewhere.”

she kept patting every inch of her purse until finally, in some remote corner, she found the object of her desires. taking it out, victorious, she lit up her cig and took a long drag, letting the smoke fill her lungs; after a little, she opened her lips to let it out.

she could already feel her mind relax, the most relaxed she had been the whole evening. closing her eyes, she rested her back against the wall, and tilted her head back, feeling herself getting calmer by every drag of smoke she inhaled.

“and what is a good girl like you doing in a dark back alley smoking a cigarette?”

“AH!” the deep voice startled her, making her quickly turn around, clutching her chest, afraid her heart was going to fall out.

harry, on the other hand, just giggled at her reaction.

“you scared the crap out of me.” she murmured, glancing at her cigarette and quickly putting it out on the wall, keeping the end in her hand so that she could throw it away later.

“sorry, didn’t want to startle you.” he said, still quite smiling. “so, what are you doing out here?”

she waited a second before answering, pondering whether to lie or tell him the real reason she was out there. she decided on telling a half truth. “i just needed to take a breather, it was too stuffy in there.”

he nodded slowly, still looking at her. “ah, i see.” he nodded his head towards her figure, his eyes shifting to the hand holding the cigarette butt. “you smoke?”

“just, uh- just on occasion. please don’t tell anyone.” she fretted.

harry couldn’t help but chuckle at her reaction. “relax, who am i gonna tell? your parents?” while he didn’t think any of it, he didn’t see the look on her face. he then added: “you’re a grown up, you can very well do whatever you want.”

she had no reason to be scared of her parents finding out from harry, at the end of the day, how could he even get in contact with them? she realized her foolishness, and nodded before speaking up again, clearing her throat. “and what are you doing out here?”

he shrugged. “just taking my break, needed a breather as well.” plus, i didn’t see you inside and thought i might find you out here. hopefully not with the bloke who kept checking you out all night. he wanted to add, but refrained.

“ah, i see.” she nodded, looking around.

an uncomfortable silence surrounded them, were they supposed to fill it? what were they supposed to talk about?

before harry could open his mouth, she spoke up. “i-uh, i think i’m going to head inside. i’ve been out here for a while, don’t want to alarm my friends.” she gave him a tight lipped smile, getting closer to the door.

“oh alright. i’m coming back in too, break almost over anyways.” he smiled, a dimple making its appearance on his cheek. he headed towards the door, opened it and gestured her with his hand to go in. “ladies first.”

she murmured a small thank you, and passed right by him. in the fresh air of the night — instead of the humid stale air of the bar — he could smell her perfume: something flowery, sweet but not nauseatingly so. just the perfect balance.

he was too caught up in his own head that he didn’t notice he was running straight into her back. frowning, he looked down at her, and he had only a question: why did she stop?

“fuck me.” she murmured. “i can’t believe this! no! not again!” her voice grew louder as she spoke.

harry was confused, what happened? they were outside for a total of 7 minutes at best. following her line of sight, he took in the table where she was sat at. now void of people.

oh, c’mon now.

“i swear to god i’m going to kill niall as soon as i see him, he better run away from me. and miranda too, if she thinks i’m going to let this slide again...” she spoke under her breath, searching for her phone in her purse. once she retrieved it, she sighed. “i’m sorry, my friends left without me for what feels like the millionth time and i’m sure they had a reason-“

harry was quick to interject. “hey, none of that. they could’ve at least told you. no reason is good enough for leaving you here alone.” he said in a firm voice. how could she blame herself for her shitty friends?

“no but look, they left me a message!” she showed him her phone.

from: niall <3

sorry babes, had to take miranda home. she got sick in the bathroom and it was not a pretty sight. text me when you’re home!

harry was unamused. “so?”

“so-” she gulped. “i know it’s not the best situation-“

“it was a jerk move.” he said sternly.

“and that they should’ve told me-“

“you could’ve been in danger.” he couldn’t believe she was trying to defend such a poor behavior.

she looked up at him, somehow pleading him to believe her. “but they had a good reason, she got sick-”

“there wasn’t a good enough reason to leave you in a bar by yourself.” harry looked at her in disbelief. this was a shitty thing to do and apparently it wasn’t the first time it happened.

“i can just call my boyfriend and ask him to pick me-”

“i can take you-” they spoke at the same time. “oh?”

of fucking course there was a boyfriend.

how didn’t he see that coming?

“yeah, i can call my boyfriend.” she nodded, mostly to herself. “i mean, he probably won’t be too happy and i’ll have to endure a long scolding on how my friends are the worst, but it’s the only way, isn’t it?” she looked at him briefly, before turning her attention back to her phone to dial her boyfriend’s number.

harry didn’t like the tone she had one bit, it was riddled with anxiety.

she brought the device to her ear, giving harry a tight lipped smile, before shifting her eyes to look anywhere in the room, but him.

he didn’t know whether to feel flattered or sad.

“that’s weird.” she muttered lowly, glancing at her phone, which still showed her boyfriend’s name. “he always picks up.” she looked up at harry.

“mmh, maybe try to call him again?” he suggested. an obvious suggestion, clearly.

“yeah, i- alright.” she redialled, and tried again. with no luck.

she frowned, both sad and disappointed. harry had to stop himself from cradling her face in his hands and just tell her to drop both her friends and her boyfriend.

he was about to speak when she opened her eyes in realization.

“ah shit, of course.” she smacked her forehead with her left hand. “he has his phone on silent, he has a match tomorrow. how could i forget, he told me a million times.” she chuckled under her breath. “i’m so dumb.” she added, under her breath.

so, you know your girlfriend is going out with her friends, probably also knowing how much she didn’t want to, knowing the kind of people her “friends” are, and you decide to turn off your phone? right on, dude, harry thought.

harry shifted on his feet. “my offer still stands, you know.”

“huh?” she looked at him.

“uhm, i mean, we’d have to walk home because i live nearby so i don’t have my car, but if you want i can go get the car and come and get-” harry rambled.

“oh! no, no, please, don’t bother!” she quickly waved him off. “i can get home by myself, i’ll walk. i live near campus, so it’s a 20 minute walk, tops.” she was about to bid her goodbyes when harry shook his head.

“no way, i’m not letting you go home alone.” he took off his apron, and threw it on the counter. “max?” he called after his colleague. “i’m off for the night. let me know if it gets too crowded and i’ll come in again.”

“no worries, H, it’s okay! have a goodnight.” he winked at him, giving her a little glance.

oh good god, max. that was smooth.

“ready to go?” he gave her a small smile.

she nodded, smiling back timidly. “yeah. yeah i am.”

—

“so,” she kicked a pebble with her foot, making it land off the sidewalk “have you always wanted to be a bartender?”

harry chuckled lowly. “uhm no, not really.” he smiled towards her. “i actually went to college for a little while, trying to get a degree in “something useful”, as my parents would say. but school was never really for me, i guess.” he shrugged. “so i dropped out, found a nice job as a bartender and been there ever since.”

“oh wow.” she said. “and what did your parents think of that?” she questioned, curious.

“i mean, i am an adult and i can make my own choices. they weren’t too happy but they understood, and with time they appreciated that i was taking responsibility for my decisions and whatever came from them.” he answered simply.

it all sounded so simple coming from him.

if only it was that simple.

“so you don’t have like a secret wish? something you’ve always wanted to do?” she inquired, hoping not to sound rude.

“uhm.” he thought about it for a second. “i guess no, goal wise. i just wanted to live my life the way i wanted to live it. i didn’t set any goals i must achieve, like having to do something before a certain age or anything, if that’s what you were asking.” he ended, looking over to her.

she nodded and stayed quiet, mulling over his words.

“but what about you, huh? do you have something planned?” he nudged her shoulder with his own.

“oh yeah, i do.” she nodded. “get in a good college — which i luckily did —, get my degree with the best grades possible, get a job, husband, nice house, kids, grow old.” she said, smiling timidly towards harry.

he nodded, but didn’t seem really impressed with her plans. she didn’t like the feeling of having disappointed him somehow, she never liked feeling that way with anyone.

“something on your mind? sounds too ordinary for a cool guy like you?” she asked him, smiling but actually meaning it.

he laughed, shaking his head. “no, no, that’s not it.” he got a bit more serious when he said the next sentence. “just... isn’t it a bit much? like, don’t you feel a little too forced into these plans?”

“what do you mean forced into? it’s something i want, no one is forcing me.” that was a half truth, but he didn’t need to know that. she would never admit it out loud.

“it just seems, uh-” he scratched his neck. “i don’t want to sound like an ass, but it seems like you forgot to include the time to... actually live your life.” he glanced at the sky, and then looked at her.

as if his brain registered how his words could’ve been misinterpreted, he started apologizing. “i’m really, really sorry if i overstepped, i didn’t mean anything hurtful. i’m just some guy, my words don’t have to mean anything.”

he didn’t want her to feel bad, he knew he could be a bit blunt at times and from the very little informations he had about her, he thought that she probably didn’t react to well at that.

if only he knew how deep those words hit her.

not in a negative way, or in a hurtful one. they were just the plain truth: she scheduled her whole life, forgetting that plans and goals and deadlines didn’t mean anything if she didn’t enjoy the ride. she set these goals for herself without really thinking that they didn’t matter at all to anyone else but her.

but, in reality, she did think about it, she couldn’t stop thinking about how nothing mattered if she didn’t enjoy what she was doing. she tried so hard to pretend that everything was going according to plan, but she was also tired of pretending.

however, she couldn’t let herself think like that. no, everything had to follow the course that she chose, that her parents taught her was the right one.

that was what her life was gonna be, and that was fine. she had to be at peace with her choice.

she had to.

—

when she slowed down her pace, he understood they were finally at her door. he wasn’t too happy about having arrived just yet, and definitely not at all excited about not seeing her for god knows how long, if ever.

so he mustered all the courage he had to ask the following question.

“so uh- am i gonna see you again soon?”

she didn’t wait a beat before answering. “i don’t think so, i sure hope not.” she stopped and saw the confused look on his face.

she realized what she had just said and tried to make it right. “oh no, that’s not- that came out wrong.” she sighed, and a small smile spread on harry’s face.

“it’s just that my friends forced me to go out tonight and i really didn’t want to. i’m getting ready for finals and i’m just hoping i’ll go out once those are over, and not during.” she took a deep breath after her little rant.

harry just looked at her fondly, and chuckled. “for a second there i thought you didn’t want to see me anymore, hurt me deeply.” he put a hand on his chest theatrically, acting as if she stabbed him in the heart.

she wanted to say that he was the best thing out of this whole mess of an evening, but she kept it to herself, and just smiled at him.

“goodnight, harry.” she murmured, raising on her tippy toes to give him a kiss on the cheek. “thank you for getting me home safe.”

“no problem, bunny. goodnight.” he smiled.

she tilted her head on the side, a smirk gracing her face. “bunny? and where did that come from?”

“oh uh- just from how you reacted in the alley, you jumped like a bunny. so i thought it was fitting.” he put his hands in his jacket pockets, shrugging.

when he saw the amused look she had on her face, he mimicked it.

“alright then, goodnight harry.” she said while taking out her keys.

“goodnight. see you after finals.” he flashed her a smile, taking three steps back still facing her. she got into her home, and waved at him before closing the door for good. not before getting a last glance of the bright eyed bartender.

–

after he turned around, harry made his way home. with a pep in his step, he felt like a proper teenage boy, getting back home all giddy because he got to walk home a pretty girl and she kissed his cheek.

his cheek was still tingling, the feeling of her lips on his skin not to be forgotten any time soon.

–

so, here it is!! please let me know if you want to be tagged in part two <3

taglist: @that-daydream-look

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tuliprry · 2 years

Text

sunbeam

prompt: ballerina!yn x barista!harry, y/n is a ballerina and harry works at the café in the same building, both have a little crush on each other

warnings: fluff, mentions of ed, christmas

word count: 1.7k

part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5

the pointe shoes clicked and clacked around her, she was sitting down still wearing her leather split soles with ribbons. most of the girls in this class were more advanced than y/n, this was her fourth month in this ballet class for adults, truth be told the first time y/n walked into the ballet class she was looking for the yoga room, right next door, but the teacher was nice and convinced her to try at least just one class.

so here she is in a pink maillot, pink tights, beige wrap skirt and the beige coloured sole shoe with matching ribbons, her hair is up in a bun with her curtain bangs falling out, the brown warm-up shrug sat on top of her dance bag. outside, london was covered in rain, y/n could shiver just thinking about walking to the tube in this weather, she quickly smiled to herself thinking about getting a latte downstairs from the cute barista.

harry. harry is his name, he has messy curly brown hair, usually partly up with a black clip, he is tall, like way too tall compared to y/n that says she’s 153cm but she’s actually 3cm shorter than that, he is always singing while making orders, y/n thinks he sounds like an angel, she also thinks it’s the most cliché thought she’s ever had.

he has the schedule of the classes on his phone, he likes to know when y/n is coming, his heart fluttered when she came in the other day to work, he peeked a little and asked her what she was doing, he learned that y/n was a photographer and her latest project was women from various ages and their portraits, from a 6 year old to a 81 year old. he was so intrigued, he wanted to be a writer, a poet even but would find himself without a single thought in his mind and a blank page in front of him. so he envied y/n for a hot minute, for being a photographer and a ballerina and for keeping his mind racing thinking of her… most of the time.

the class ended and y/n put her skirt and sole shoes in the dance bag, dressed a pair of white sweatpants, white sneakers and the brown warm-up shrug, holding a big brown coat on her arm, to be only worn once she left the building. the other ballerinas ran outside to smoke, y/n hasn’t been able to befriend none of them, mostly by lack of trying, she liked her own little cosy space and getting out of her shell wasn’t easy. also she doesn’t smoke. or has even tried. the feeling of being out of place is always there, the pointe shoes, the smoking and her maillot being a size extra large.

“if i have to make another special christmas baby jesus toasted white mocha i’m quite literally going to commit a crime so big” harry sighed to his co-worker, charlie, “y’might want to calm down harry, your ballerina is coming downstairs right now”, harry immediately turned around, trying to fluff his hair and accidentally hitting the black clip, “fucking christ”, he whimpered hoping she hadn’t seen his stupid moment. “hello harry” she smiled at him still gripping onto the dance bag. “y/n! i didn’t know you were coming today” liar. “d’ya want your usual? please don’t ask me for a santa inspired drink i’m so tired of those”, y/n just smiled at the man in front of her, he was usually expressive and that was something that got her hooked. “actually, can you make me an oat milk hot cocoa? it looks freezing out and i need a boost before i go on the tube” harry looked to the glass doors to make sure the weather was still shit and then mouthed a small okay.

“y/n i was wondering, would it be okay if we exchanged numbers? i mean, i want to ask you out and fuck i mean-“ harry’s words are slurring in front of her, she’s still drinking her hot cocoa in a heart shaped mug and so is harry, taking his 10 minute break to just make a fool out of himself in front of y/n. “when do you wanna go out?” she says placing the mug back on the table trying to look calm and collected. “are you free tonight?”

harry had never seen y/n out of her ballet clothes, he had tried looking for her on instagram but it seemed impossible having only her first name and knowing she lives in london, he was so eager to see her coming out of the convent garden station, “not nervous shits, not now” he thought to himself, he was leaning on a lamp post, to y/n this was a scene out of a 00s brit rom-com, indulged them so much as a child she now craved a story like that for herself.

speeding up the stairs from the tube, she was wearing a silk pink dress with a square neck and long sleeves, flowing to her wrists, sheer tights and cognac platform mary janes, the same long brown coat from earlier today, on top a light brown shoulder bag, matching her shoes. harry was wearing dark brown pants with lighter brown stripes and a rosy beige shirt with the same light brown stripes, y/n could see him from inside the station, he was adjusting his almost to the feet long black coat and rubbing his hands to try and warm them up a bit.

then he saw her, loose hair with long curls that fell on her shoulders like pieces of a puzzle, walking up to him with a smile on her face, he took close attention to all details about her, the lipstick that matched the dress, her eyeliner that he would swear it has to have taken her forever to do and the pink leg warmers he knew so hell peeking out of her shoulder bag. “hey! can we please walk to the place? it’s freezing and i didn’t have where to sit on the tube to put my leg warmers on”, he was still mind fucked about her presence, she was like a sunbeam on the london dark rainy evening, “hello…. yeah, do you want my help? ..for the leg warmers? i can hold your stuff”, harry felt little, even thought he was 30 centimetres taller than the girl in front him.

harry was on cloud nine learning about this girl, she was also a vegetarian, making his little heart do flutters at a shared love for animals, she has a cat named oli, she thought oli was a boy and named it oliver so y/n changed the name to oli, harry also has a cat, a little patched tabby cat named poppy. “what is speaking to you?” harry asks pointing at the menu, “ummm the fiori di zucca repieni di ricotta sounds too good to pass on, do you wanna share?” his mouth opened, speechless, “you speak italian?” he asked, “yeah i did erasmus in rome!” she said enthusiastically, “i trust you, let’s share then”

the dinner was filled with laugher, lots of sharing their food and drinking really good wine, they even shared a pistachio gelato afterwards, even though it was freezing out and the news had mentioned a possible storm. “do you ever think.. of what you want to do outside of being a barista?” y/n asked, her hand was intertwined with harry’s as they walked outside convent garden market, “oh all the time, i really want to be a writer, a poet. my muse just has been asleep lately, every time i try to write it’s like my mind gets blank” he’s honest, writing has been the last thing on his mind, working part time at the café as well as doing a little freelancer for some newspapers and magazines harry has little to no time to fully write, “it’s a curse being creative harry, i get it. i really do.” they’re walking past the royal opera house and y/n stops, lets go of harry's hand and just stares, as a child it was a dream to be part of the royal ballet and perform right there, instead she takes an adult class with other people that couldn’t attain that dream. she doesn’t resent herself or the dreams she used to have, she loves her life right now, it’s just that little tingly feeling of tiny y/n wanting this so badly.

“what are you thinking about y/n?” harry asked, placing the now lonely hand on her back, gently caressing it, "sorry, i just haven't walked past the royal opera in a bit", y/n turned to harry with an it's okay look on her face and grabbed his hand again, "dance for me", harry blurred out, he didn't really filter his thoughts at this point of the night, he wanted to see her dance so badly his heart was finally speaking over his brain, "right here? in the middle of the street?" y/n is a little perplexed but the idea grows inside of her.

they're now at harry's house, y/n opened spotify on her phone and pressed play on better version by sabrina claudio, this isn't what she usually dances to but she feels free with harry, taking her shoes off, standing barefoot in harry's cedar coloured carpet.

i made the perfect you in my head, cause physically you are the blue print

her hips moved to the rhythm and she found herself repeating what she had been rehearsing fot the last four months in class, harry was mesmerised, not that she was the greatest ballerina in the world but she was to him, he could not get his eyes off of her, following the movement attentively, almost like burning this moment on his brain so he would never forget, the core memory of actually falling in love with this girl

when the song ends, harry pulls y/n to his lap and just whispers sweet nothings in her ear, brushing his fingers through her arms and hair, just enjoying her late night company, he's a hopeless romantic and has been finding the right moment to kiss her and tell, tell everyone possible in the world that he has kissed such a pretty girl it has the pasta on his stomach doing flips.

"can i kiss you?"

"fuck yes please"

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