Harry’s eyelids fluttered open, expecting to recognize his location. He gasped.

The curly-headed boy was hovering a few inches off the roof. He was fairly sure he had never been on this particular roof, as the only ones he remembered sitting on were his mum’s back in Holmes Chapel and a couple of the hotels One Direction had visited on tour.

Giving himself a quick stretch, Harry pulled himself to his knees, noticing that he couldn’t feel the surface of the roof and finding it quite odd. He slowly got to his feet, still unsure why he appeared to be floating. When he peered over the edge of the roof, his eyes widened.

The boy was on top of the building he and Louis had used to share a flat in. There were only a few cars in the street, parked along the curb on either side. A small car zipped past as Harry watched, before he turned his gaze to his own feet.

Harry hadn’t realized it, but he was still floating. He felt as if he should be touching the ground, but no matter how hard he kicked, his feet never quite reached. Deciding he wanted to test his newly discovered skill, he took a small breath in before hopping off the side of the building.

No, Harry was not suicidal. His body floated there, about a meter out from the building, in midair. The boy smiled, realizing that this skill could be useful if he ever wanted to get somewhere quickly. He wouldn’t have to worry about the hustle of a crowd when he didn’t have to travel on foot.

His Cheshire Cat-like grin was turned toward a window on the first story of the complex just across the road. It was the only one which still had a light on at whatever late time it must have been, and Harry wondered who was in there and why they were up at that hour. He gently floated over to the window, still experimenting with his newfound power.

The curtain shifted slightly, and Harry could see a girl sitting on a bed. The room was fairly simple, with plain white walls and a tall wooden dressing table with a few pictures framed and standing on top.

The girl appeared to be reading, or possibly studying. She was bent over something on the bed in front of her, and the light was coming from a bright bulb in the center of the ceiling. Every once in a while the girl would shift her position, and Harry would instantly jump away from the window frame, praying he wouldn’t be seen.

He didn’t know what was drawing him to this girl at a random hour of the night, but he decided that since he had nothing else to do, he might as well see what she was doing. He continued to convince himself that he was only watching out for a girl at a dangerous time of darkness, but even he knew she was in no real danger. He just hovered there, above the street, outside the window of a girl he’d never seen or met before.

Harry became so absorbed in his thoughts that he missed the girl snapping the book shut and placing it on a lower table that wasn’t immediately visible. She sighed, going to turn off the light. The switch happened to be beside the window, and she decided she would close the curtain before she went to rest because she didn’t want to be woken by cars early in the morning.

Before Harry had time to recognize that the mystery girl was looking toward him, she froze and let out a high-pitched scream.

He felt an odd sensation in his body, almost as if he was losing his footing, and before he could process the feeling he was falling. His body had lost its ability to float as soon as the girl had made a noise, and he had no way to control his fall. He was just barely able to make out a mixed look of shock, confusion, and horror on the face of the girl in the window before there was a crash as he struck the hard pavement.

The girl was curious as to why the boy had been watching her. She had never seen a boy who could float before. She thought she might have recognized him from somewhere, but she couldn’t get a close enough look in the dark to make out his specific features. When she saw the figure crashing down, she darted to her door, rushing to the side of the road. Even if he was a stalker, she was too nice to not help him after he fell like that.

Harry rolled over a bit, groaning. He wasn’t in pain, strangely enough, but he felt winded. As he moved he saw the girl from the window at his side, looking down at him cautiously.

“Erm, hello,” he coughed nervously. He knew that he most likely appeared to be a shady figure to her; after all, he had been watching her through her bedroom window. “I’m sorry for intruding.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” the girl said, a hint of a smile showing. “I’m sorry for startling you. I’m assuming my shout is what made you fall, right?”

Harry looked away, embarrassed. “Yeah, about that. Can we just pretend that never happened?”

The girl frowned. “Sure, but only if you tell me who you are, why you were watching me, and how in the world you managed to float.”

He considered it. He was here to find someone to anchor him to life, right? This girl was most definitely alive, and she was someone different. What person he knew would have run down to see if someone was okay after they had just found the same person hovering outside their window? He knew nobody who was so kind, and he found himself wanting to get to know this mysterious girl.

“It’s a long story, love. Would you mind letting me in so we can sit down for this? I promise, I’m not just saying that to get in your pants,” Harry grinned cheekily. The girl’s anxiety faded, and she returned the gesture.

“Sure. But if you make a move, I swear I’m kicking you right back out here, and if a car comes you’re done for.” Harry already liked her; she matched his sense of humor well.

Once the two were neatly settled, each holding a fresh cup of tea, Harry thought about what he was going to tell her. Where should he begin? He decided that since the girl knew nothing, he should probably start from the beginning.

“Do you know who I am?” he wondered.

“I think you look familiar,” the girl replied truthfully, “but I can’t figure out form where.”

His grin only grew. “Oh, if you’ve seen my face somewhere before, I’d be willing to bet it was in a newspaper or magazine, or on your iTunes or television,” he chuckled, shaking his head.

The girl studied him closely. Brown curly hair, bright emerald eyes, lanky build with a gorgeous cheeky smile- she had to know him from somewhere. Suddenly, his appearance clicked together in her mind and she couldn’t believe she hadn’t noticed sooner.

“You’re Harry Styles!” she gasped.

He nodded. “That’s my name.”

She felt as if she might have trouble breathing. “The one and only Harry Edward Styles is sitting here, right in front of me, and he was just floating and staring at me. Oh my God.” A look of realization came over her face, and she raised a curious eyebrow at him. “Hold up a minute, aren’t you supposed to be dead?”

That comment put Harry on the edge of his seat. “Yeah, about that,” he said, once again nervous.

Now it was the girl’s turn to chuckle. “I think I might’ve heard that somewhere before,” she teased, causing him to crack a smile. “So, what happened? How can you float, how did you get here, and where are the other boys?”

Harry explained to her that their plane had crashed, and the girl seemed to already know this part of the story. It was when he went into greater detail of his experience with Fate and his inhuman status that the girl began to look bewildered.

“Let me set this straight. You’re trying to tell me that you, the famous Harry Styles, died in a plane crash and were saved by some great Master of Fate? And you and the other boys are split up around the world, trying to figure out what you can do because you’re not human anymore?”

Harry had omitted the part about how they were supposed to find someone to anchor them to life, thinking it would be an inappropriate time to bring that up. He could tell her later, if she believed him on the first part that is. He nodded.

The girl’s face twisted as she thought about it. “I can’t say I exactly believe you,” she started, making Harry nervous, “but I guess I’ll have to. It’s kind of the only choice I’ve got right now, huh? Now let’s get you cleaned up and get some food in you.”

He couldn’t believe how nice the girl was being. She was giving him a change of clothes, since he still had the ones from the day of his drowning on his body, and was offering him a meal and a place to stay, at least for the time being. He had only met this girl a few hours ago, and it wasn’t even in the most pleasant of ways, yet she still trusted him not to hurt her.

His eyes watched her movements as the girl swept across the small kitchen, baking an unknown item. The room began to smell of food, and Harry couldn’t help but let his eyes fall shut and a smile cross his mouth. He felt so peaceful, not worrying about a performance or signing or interview or working out a family visit, but for once just resting and having something done for him. It was the most truly relaxed he’d been in a while, including when he and Louis had snuggled up on the airplane.

It was only when the food had been served and the girl was watching him eat amusedly that he remembered she had never introduced herself. Here he was, sitting at her table, eating her food, and telling her his life story and he didn’t even know a thing about her. Where were his manners? He felt obliged to get to know her a little, so he finished chewing and placed his fork on the edge of his plate.

“Hey, I never got you name,” he commented. The girl grinned as she realized that she had indeed not introduced herself. How could she have met Harry Styles and not even told him her name?

“Anyone home?” he asked, chuckling a bit at her expression as she refocused on the boy sitting across from her.

She couldn’t believe her luck, and she was extremely nervous to be in the presence of such a boy, but she didn’t want to show him that. She wanted to appear cool so he would stay with her, even just a little longer.

“It’s Celeste,” the girl smirked.