Written by: loveinslowmotion on archive of our own

Posted on: August 8, 2015

Description: When Harry asked Taylor on a spontaneous camping trip, he'd been sure she was going to say no. An hour later, they were heading out of the city together and making a tragic attempt at setting up a tent. With marshmallow roasting, awkward dancing, hair braiding, Polaroid taking, song sharing, hiking adventures, friend phone calls, playing doctor, copious amounts of chocolate, and hands that won't keep to themselves, feelings run high when they realise just how fast the night changes.

Official Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4540902/chapters/10334820

Warning: The following chapters may contain mature content ahead. Please read at your own risk! :)

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To: Taylor ❤️

Do you want to get out of here for a while?

From: Taylor ❤️

I don't know if that's a good idea...
What if someone finds out?

So we take a drive out of the city
If you don't want to that's okay. I just found a tent I didn't know I had and was wondering if you wanted to come test it out with me?
Camping by yourself sounds kind of sad

Stop guilting me into it :P

Is it working?

I don't know how I'll get out of my apartment without anyone noticing
From all of the cameras

Wear a disguise and pretend to be one of your neighbors
I'll wear a fake mustache so no one will know it's me either

Or because you can't grow your own :P
You could pick me up at Karlie's? I don't think she'll mind

I could if I wanted to!
You sure that'll work?

You keep telling yourself that :P
Not really

You'll see ;)
Just take a small bag with clothes and whatever else you want to bring. I've got everything else

Harry you hardly get any stubble let alone a full on mustache :P
How long have you been planning this?

You cruel reminder!
So I'll pick you up in an hour then? :)

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If it seemed awfully suspicious that Harry had just found a tent in his cupboard and conveniently had all the supplies they needed for camping, it's probably because it was. He'd found it about a week ago when he was having a bit of a clean-up during a break from touring, and with a (sort of) bright idea he had spent the following days gathering everything necessary for a few days away. Plus it had taken him that long to man up and actually ask Taylor — the first person who had sprung to mind when he considered who he wanted to get away with. He was convinced she was going to say no, that he was being ridiculous. Really, it was ridiculous. The chances of them getting caught were crazy high and he knew they would get a lot of backlash for it, but the idea of spending some time away from everything with her just sounded like too perfect an offer not to suggest. He figured if he sprung it on her without giving her too much time to think about it, he might actually get the answer he wanted.

"This is insane," was the first thing Taylor said when she climbed into the car an hour and a half after the first text message. If it weren't for the eager smile on her face and her tossing her bag onto the back seat, Harry was sure she was about to back out.

"Welcome to the craziest trip of your life," he grinned back at her as she laughed, and they turned back onto the road before anyone noticed them lingering. They'd tried to time it as well as they could, Harry circling the streets with no headlights until he'd gotten the all clear from Taylor. They still couldn't be sure they hadn't been seen, though.

Twisting in her seat, Taylor clapped her hands on her thighs. "So where are we off to?"

"There's a camp ground just over an hour out of the city, and there's a couple more further along, too," he explained. "We could just stay at the first one, or we could venture a little further if you want. I'm open to suggestions."

"I knew you had a proper plan!" she beamed. "You wouldn't have asked me — someone who needs plans to function — to come if you didn't."

"Is that why you said yes?"

"Kind of," she shrugged. "You're spontaneous, but you're not stupid. You've thought this through."

She wasn't wrong there. Harry had spent every day since discovering he owned a tent sorting out the details that would, hopefully, mean they could have an enjoyable, carefree time. He'd Googled the camp grounds around the area and plotted how to get to each, collected things from around the house that they could take, made a list of things he would have to buy, and came up with some ideas of what they could do once they got there. Really, it would've been beyond disappointing if Taylor had said no and he was left with all this food and packed blankets with no one to share them with. The one thing he couldn't remember was why on earth he'd bought a tent in the first place, which he supposed didn't really matter since it was now giving him an excuse to spend time with the girl he'd been dying to see in person again. Pats on the back for past Harry.

Present Harry, however, was momentarily distracted by Taylor reaching into the back for her bag. It was only nine o'clock and it was quiet out, but, y'know, attention is always important.

"Karlie gave us some cookies she made yesterday. And she said to be careful," she told him, rummaging through her things for the container. In her rush she'd thrown in anything she thought she might need, and it wasn't exactly the most organised. She thought she'd sort it out better later.

"Well that was nice of her," he smiled as he took the cookie she offered, happily biting into the almond biscuit.

"She also told me to tell you to keep your eyes on the road," Taylor said, the sound of her laughter filling the car as Harry nodded and obediently looked forward. Some things never change. "And to keep your hands to yourself," she added, watching him carefully for his reaction.

Harry licked his lips slowly, picking up specks of cookie crumbs on his tongue as he did. He'd worried that maybe she would see his invitation as seeking something more than friends and that that would deter her. They were going to be huddled up in a small tent for a few days, just the two of them, after all. It wouldn't be entirely impossible. In that part of him he kept hidden away, he hoped something would happen between them. He hoped that maybe spending time together would make her see how he'd changed and their old flame would be rekindled. He hoped their friendship getaway would turn into something more, but what were the chances of that, huh?

"Do you think that's why I asked you to come?" he asked hesitantly, wanting to take the question back even more when she took a while to answer.

"As romantic as running away together is, I didn't think of that when I said yes. I'm happy with not putting too much thought into all this, to be honest. It would kind of take away the point, y'know? This is meant to be, like, impulsive fun."

Um, okay? Add that to the list of things she said that Harry didn't really know what she meant — was that a I don't mind whatever that may happen if we get cold in the middle of the night and we only have each other to keep us warm because hey we're just friends having fun? He was pretty sure it wasn't, but he couldn't help the part of his, uh, brain, that got excited at the thought.

If he was honest, Harry had never really gotten over Taylor. (Meaning, he hadn't gotten over her in the slightest.) It had been over a year since they'd broken up, but he still thought about her too often to count. That was the thing about restoring their friendship — Harry struggled to get her off his mind when they were regularly texting and occasionally video chatting whenever their schedules lined up and they had the chance. He was constantly reminded of why he had fallen for her, so it was hardly surprising he still imagined walking around holding her hand and cooking her dinner and falling asleep with her in his arms, amongst other things.

Things between them were friendly, and arguably they were closer than ever. They really knew each other now — not that they didn't before, but now they were sharing things with each other like best friends, not like two people learning each other while trying to navigate a romance in the public eye. They joked and teased and, perhaps most confusingly, flirted with each other. Well, Harry thought it was flirting. He sure was whenever the opportunity seemed fit, but he wasn't entirely sure Taylor was doing it back. It was hard to tell expression over text, but winky faces seemed like a universally suggestive indicator.

That was another reason why he had invited her on this trip — Harry didn't realise he was doing it, but he was sort of testing her. All this time spent over-analysing something she'd said was going to be no more. In person, he had more of a chance of understanding what she really meant. (So far this wasn't proving true, but you can only hold onto hope.) Maybe, maybe, by the end of this he might know Taylor's feelings for him, because for months he hadn't had the slightest idea what the truth was.

Harry's wistful idea of the truth was that Taylor actually still wanted him. Desperately he wanted to show her that he could do it properly if they ever gave it another shot. But if he was completely honest with himself, he knew, really, he still wasn't ready. It hadn't been all that long in the grand scheme of things, and as much as he'd grown he knew he just wasn't old enough yet to handle the kind of commitment he longed to have with her. One day, though. For now, being friends with her was one of the best things he had.

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By half past ten, they were parked in the furthest space in the car park and off near the edge of the camp ground — not that it was exactly full, anyway. With school still in, they didn't have to worry about a whole bunch of families bustling about. Most people around would be keeping to their tents at this time of night, too.

While it had been an advantage arriving at night when they weren't likely to bump into anyone, the flaw in Harry's plan was now pretty obvious — they had to set up the tent in the dark.

"Do you even know what you're doing?"

"Course."

But as the pole he'd just attached to another came loose and started slipping out the slot in the fabric, poking his foot and making the tent look like a deflated blob, it was very clear Harry had no clue.

"Where's the instruction manual?" Taylor asked, jumping up from the cooler she'd been sitting on and going in search of the bag the tent came in.

"We don't need it," Harry insisted with stubborn manly pride as he tried to get the two poles to stay in place. Reaching for the hammer, he managed to secure them and peg down the side by himself, miraculously. But Taylor really wasn't going to let it go now.

"It says you needed to do this pole before that one," she informed him, skipping over with a diagram and a torch in her hands. "See."

Harry glanced it over and shrugged it off. "Doesn't matter. It's not falling down, so we're fine."

"If it falls down while we're inside, don't doubt that I'll wave this manual in your face and say I told you so," Taylor smiled, waving the booklet at him now for emphasis.

Chuckling, he shook his head, "It won't. Trust me."

"Only 'cause you're going to let me help."

Taylor playfully poked him in the stomach and took the hammer from him without waiting for his response. Really, he should've let her help from the start since she was so pro let's-read-the-instructions-for-the-thing-we're-gonna-be-sleeping-in, but everyone knows silly men like to show off with things outdoorsy.

Together they managed to figure out the tent situation without too much struggle, and once they'd bundled all their stuff inside there wasn't a whole lot of room left for the two of them. With their belongings stacked up on one side, the rest of the space was covered in a layer of blankets so they weren't sleeping on the cold hard ground — pun completely intended. It was... cosy?

"Where did you find these?" Taylor asked once they were sat on their makeshift bed — their bed, fuck yes.

Harry shrugged a bit as he unnecessarily moved one of the little lanterns he'd brought for light a bit further over. "Saw them in a shop in London a while ago. Haven't really used them much, though."

"They're cute," she smiled, crossing her legs and picking at the blanket underneath them. They'd spent the drive over talking and singing along to the radio, acting exactly as they always did with each other, and now that they were settled in the calm of the camp it seemed too quiet between them. Harry had worried about that — that they'd run out of things to talk about and it would get awkward too quickly and this whole thing would be a disaster.

But he should've known their friendship better than that. With Taylor asking the important question — "So what food did you bring?" — their momentary silence evaporated.

Harry swivelled around and grabbed one of the bigger bags from the stack and dropped it between them. Harry, the gentleman, had offered to take the spot by the pile in case anything toppled over in the night so it would land on him instead of her, not that that was likely anyway. It was the thought that counted.

"Are we gonna roast marshmallows?!" Taylor gasped as they descended on the collection of treats. "And you got cookies too; we could make s'mores!"

Harry grinned as he watched her pick out what he'd brought. "And I got heaps of chocolate too, so we could melt some for the marshmallows," he suggested. "And I got some strawberries too."

Her eyes lit up, wide with brows raised in surprise. "You even got strawberries?"

"What? I thought if we're going to be camped out in the middle of nowhere we may as well have something nice."

She looked relieved not to be roughing it and like an eager child on Christmas morning as she continued rifling through the bag. "What's the whipped cream for?" she asked when she stumbled upon his cheekier addition to the grocery list.

"'s for later," Harry winked at her as he pulled out the can and sprayed some of the cream straight into his mouth.

"Harry!" Taylor laughed, shaking her head. "You're not the only one who wants to use that, y'know."

One of the things Harry was really thankful for was that they could still joke around with each other. It had taken them a bit to get to that point again, but now they teased each other just as much as they used to, maybe even more so when they really got going.

Spraying a careful dot on his finger, Harry leaned across to wipe it on the tip of her nose. Taylor was quick to figure him out though, and she tilted her head up and licked it off his finger before he had the chance to smear it on her face. "We're not starting this," she smiled, leaning back on her hands as he retreated. "You know what happened last time."

Uh, how could he forget? That had been one of the best — and messiest — nights of his life, whipped cream all through his apartment and cleaning each other with their tongues fuck. Why else did she think he'd bought it, honestly.

"What drinks did you bring?" Taylor asked, and she crawled across the bed when Harry just nodded towards to cooler. As he ripped open a packet of Doritos, she opened the lid and looked through the various bottles of water, iced tea and Diet Coke. "Um?" she raised her eyebrow as she pulled out one of the bottles from further down. "Do you always take vodka when you're camping?"

"I didn't intend on us getting wasted," Harry shrugged a bit, the liar. "Just thought it might be fun."

"These cruisers scream fun," she rolled her eyes, returning the straight bottle and inspecting a bottle of orange liquid instead. "You know there's hardly anything in these, right?"

"I know," he replied through a mouthful of cheese supreme.

"Did you get them 'cause of me?"

"Why'd you say that?"

Taylor gave him a look; she didn't need to explain herself. She wasn't typically a hard party girl and he'd played it safe with some light stuff. No big deal.

"'s what the first bottle is for," he said, nodding his head towards the cooler. "Mixing."

Harry held the Dorito packet out to her when she returned to her spot opposite him with a Coke and a straw — he remembered she liked them so she didn't smudge her lipstick, not that he expected her to wear any here anyway. "Have you got more surprises up your sleeve?" she wondered, picking a chip and taking a bite.

"I don't know. Do I?" Harry lifted up the hem of his t-shirt sleeve and peered under, smile creeping up on his face as Taylor started to laugh.

"Maybe I've got some up mine," she giggled, looking under her own sleeve. That was one thing Harry had always loved about Taylor — she didn't shoot down his jokes. She laughed and went along with them, maybe only so he wouldn't feel bad, but even then that's a good thing, isn't it? He wished some people appreciated them like she did. (Ahem, his band mates who had long since given up on his knock knock jokes.)

"I might have a surprise planned," he said mysteriously, leaning forward to add to the intrigue.

It worked — Taylor leaned in too so their heads were only inches apart. "Tell me," she whispered, like they were two kids sharing their top secrets.

Harry opened his mouth as if he was about to reveal something important and exciting, only his surprise turned out to be not that at all. It was a Dorito to the chest, leaving orange crumbs on both her crop top and skirt when it bounced off and landed on her lap. She gave him a friendly slap on the arm, eating the chip before he had a chance to take it back.

"Jerk," she said, though she was smiling widely as she brushed herself off.

"I might have some actual surprises," he relented.

"I would certainly hope so!" Taylor laughed. "You didn't bring me all the way out here so we could just sit in here, did you?"

"Definitely. Just wanted to sit with you for a while."

"Will you keep smiling for me?"

"How could I not smile at you?"

Maybe it was the low light, or maybe Taylor's cheeks were actually turning a little pink. She was certainly fighting back a grin as she looked down and busied herself with opening her drink and sliding in her straw.

"Thank you for choosing me," she said softly. "It's been ages since we've done anything together."

"Here's to hoping we won't have anything to worry about."

Harry pulled out another Dorito and they confirmed their child-like friendship as they bumped their chip and drink together like a toast.

Harry couldn't explain how much he had missed this.

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It had taken a bit of effort to actually get in bed once they decided it wasn't a good idea stay up until sunrise eating everything on the first night. The toilet block wasn't anywhere near their tent and it wasn't really safe to be walking off alone into the darkness while the other guarded their stuff, so with a silent agreement of no peeking, they changed with their backs to each other. Not that Harry really cared what she saw, but he respected that she wasn't as open as him. He held up a mirror for Taylor that she had brought while she removed her make up and took out her contacts, too. He didn't mind that either; he had always liked just watching her sometimes. He found her fascinating; he had trouble taking his eyes off her most of the time.

After switching off the lanterns and saying goodnight, Harry found himself lying in this new bed unable to sleep. Tired from rushing around making sure he had everything in the morning and from the drive over here — not to mention the anxiety of actually asking Taylor in the first place — he had been sure he was going to crash way before they had decided to get some sleep. But staying up talking about nothing much important and going through too many Doritos, plus the excitement of the days ahead, had him wide awake.

"Harry?"

Taylor's sudden whisper startled him.

"Yeah?"

"I can't sleep."

"Me neither."

They both turned in to face each other at the same time, and even though they struggled to see each other clearly in the dark they could tell by the rustle of the blankets and it made the pair of them laugh.

"I can't see you."

"I can't see you either."

"Ow!"

"Sorry."

"You could've poked my eye out."

"I was just trying to find your face."

"Congratulations, you found your way up my nose."

"This feels like Christmas Eve."

"If your idea of Christmas Eve is sticking your finger up people's noses, I'm not sure I want to spend it with you."

"Fuck you," Harry said with no sincerity, laughing as he fell back and crossed his arms over his chest unnecessarily.

"Haaaaaaarryyyyyyyy." Taylor giggled as she poked him in the arm — at least one of them had better aim in the dark. "I'll try and poke you in the dimple."

"'m not smiling."

"Liar."

"Stop poking me."

"Not until you look at me."

In a quick movement, Harry grabbed her hand and turned back to face her, this time moving in close until they bumped noses — more accurate aim this time. "Is this better?"

"Please stop looking at me."

"Cheeky."

If it had been before he would've given her a playful tap on the bum and kissed her by now. Instead he shuffled back from her, making it less tempting to try anything that probably wouldn't end well anyway.

"Me and Gem used to stay up whispering about what we thought Santa was gonna get us when we were little," he explained instead. That was safe.

"Austin and I used to do that. We were always wrong."

"Except if you guessed chocolate. Then you're never wrong."

"And gift cards."

"Bet now it's cat toys for you, huh?"

"Fuck you."

"Watch your language."

"Okay, dad."

"I can barely see you and I know you rolled your eyes."

"You know me too well."

As if that was a bad thing.

"So what do you want to do tomorrow?"

"You're the one who planned this; don't you have an itinerary or something?"

"Do I look like a man who writes itineraries?"

"You look like a—"

"A what?"

She stayed quiet for a moment.

"I think we should go bird watching."

"Did you bring any binoculars?"

"No."

"Then how are we meant to go bird watching?"

"You open your eyes."

"Ha ha. I think we should go exploring."

"Is that not what I just said?"

"You said we should look at birds."

"We don't have to look at them the entire time. I'm sure there are plenty of other things to look at."

"We should climb a tree."

"Why?"

"So we could swing across vines like Tarzan and Jane."

"Oh my god, you did not just call us Tarzan and Jane."

"I think I'd look quite good in a loin cloth."

"Oh god, that was a mental image I really didn't need."

"I'm going to make one out of one of your shirts just because you said that."

"I'd say I'll wear one of yours, but you'd probably like that wouldn't you?"

"You know me too well."

Their eyes were adjusted enough by now to see each other's smiles.

"We should put on a concert for the birds. Or a concert of birds. We can get a group of them and start conducting."

"Like a bird musical. A birdsical."

"Oh my god."

"Yeah?"

"I don't think so."

"Please?"

"Fine. Only because you're doing one of your pouty faces."

"It's awfully dark in here."

"It is."

"I thought it would be brighter."

"Maybe the trees are blocking the moon."

"Maybe."

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"Move your hand."

"What?"

"Just because I can't see your hand doesn't mean I can't feel it."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you—" Taylor cut herself off with a scream as she felt something move up her thigh, and as she wriggled around frantically Harry burst into laughter at her reaction. "I hate you!" she gasped, giving him a punch in the arm for the joke and turning away from him in a huff.

"I'm sorry," Harry said as he calmed down. It hadn't been very nice, considering he knew how much she really didn't like bugs, but he couldn't help himself. The opportunity was there and his fingers had just gone ahead and taken it.

"No you're not," she mumbled as he moved over and gave her an apology hug.

"I'm really sorry."

"You're mean. Goodnight."

"I'm sorry, Tay."

"Done talking to you. Please wake up a nicer person."

"Forgive me?"

"Goodnight Harry."

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Later, when Harry had lain awake for a while longer and was on the brink of sleep, he was sure Taylor had already drifted off yet he heard her turn over and shuffle closer to him, whispering what he realised she hadn't intended on him actually hearing.

"You look like love."