{I'm in pain ^}

Now with the sun shining full through the blinds of the windows, it was impossible to keep my eyes closed for more than a few seconds. The truth is, I'm not sleepy nor I want to sleep. I want to enjoy the last few moments I have here, using his shoulder as a pillow for my head, having his hand in mine, feeling his thumb caress my skin. 

Everything starts to change instantly. The people around us are fully awake, submerged in their own conversations or tiny screens. There's noise in the cabin, that's a first. Our little bubble of privacy seems to be vanishing away, and it scares me.

For some reason I sit up, Harry's hand is still in mine but... It was too overwhelming to be that close to him now and knowing he will be gone when we land. 

Or... Is he?

"This... This was nice." I say fighting the knot in my throat, looking down at our tied hands. 

"What was?" He asks, making me turn my eyes to look at him. I can't help but smile shyly, his eyes are truly beautiful. 

"This... This whole thing." I move our hands up a little. "Your company. The good talks and shared moments." 

"You're talking like it will never happen again." Harry chuckles, moving his hand up to run his thumb and index finger in my chin. "This is not the end."

"Oh... Is not?" I ask letting my lips form a shy smile. 

"Not if you want." He chuckles again, moving his eyes away for a moment. "I mean, when we land..."

"What's going to happen when we land?" I ask finally, its been haunting me for the past hour. 

"I don't know." A slight frown consumes his face. He takes a moment to fully reply. "I do have to go back to work, like right when we land. I really wish I didn't." 

"You don't sound happy." I remark, leaving his hand to take my pony tail off. "Don't you like what you do?" 

He stays pensive, holding his lips between his fingers. I can see his arm muscle tense at the movement, his boot tapping on the floor. Somehow I know that deep down he doesn't, but I'm sure he will never admit that. 

" I do." He says, but his words don't sound truthfully. "I mean, I love being on stage and composing songs and losing myself performing." 

"But...?" That makes him turn to look at me. "You know you can be honest with me."

"I know." He sighs, his green eyes turning to a lighter shade. "Is it okay if I don't want to talk about it?" 

I just nod my head, giving him a smile. Its not the first time I hear that from him but I can't force him to speak, maybe he has his weak spots and I have to respect it, I have mine too. Without noticing he takes my hand in his again, making my smile grow wider. 

"What about you?" He asks me slowly, resting on his seat while he looks at me. "What are you going to do when we land in London?" 

I rest my back on my seat as well, looking to the seat in front of me. I have been so distracted the whole flight that I almost forgot what was my plan in the first place. I should check on Michael as soon as I land, he must be waiting for me in Oxford. 

"Uh, well..." I move a flick of my hair behind my ear. "I'll have to go to the train station and take a train to Oxford. A friend is waiting for me there." 

"You're not staying in London?" He asks in a gasp, more surprised than I imagined. 

"Not at the moment. Why?" I look at him, finding him pursing his lips slightly. 

"Because..." He leaves his mouth open to say something but he closes it, pressing his lips together. "Because its a shame, London is a beautiful city."

"I'm sure it is. Maybe I'll come back some time." I say, moving my eyes front and resting my head on the seat. I have a weird feeling, and its not good. 

I don't know how to explain it. I feel sad but at the same time, upset. During the whole flight he has been completely open with me, not until this moment there's something making him change his words, closing himself to me. It shouldn't bother me, but it is bothering me. I shouldn't let my mind control me but maybe its better this way. 

This was just a flight, only the beginning of my wonderful trip of finding myself. 

I'm glad he was the first person I came across with, the first stranger I connected with. The memories of this moment will stay with me forever, but everything comes to an end. Sadly. 

I can't help but feel emotional, a part - a big part - of me doesn't want to let go but I have to. I have to remain focus on my goal. I'm going to see amazing places and meet even more amazing people, I'm going to keep creating memories to last my whole life and... 

"Frances... Are you crying?" Harry asks lowly, he moves his hand to clean a tear I didn't notice running down my face. 

Quickly I move my hand to clean my face. What is happening? I didn't even notice I was crying! Why am I feeling so emotional? 

"Is everything okay?" He asks with his irresistible voice. Why does he have to be so irresistible? 

I simply nod my head, forcing a smile on my face. "Yeah, yeah, just..." I swallow the rest of my tears away. "Feeling a little nostalgic. Its just sinking in how far I am from home." I lie, well, a little. 

"Come here." He says, moving me in a hug. 

This hug doesn't help with my feelings. I really don't want to just put these moments behind and keep going with my life, but I have to. I close my eyes hugging him tighter, trying to contain every bit of him with me. The softness of his shirt, the feel of his hair, his warmness and his amazing cologne. I want to keep the memory of Harry alive forever in my mind. 

After some seconds we move away, remaining close to each other but our bodies are not touching. 

For a few minutes we mind our own business, or at least we try. He's focused on his phone typing something on it so I decide to do the same. I find my sister's messages, the ones he read and some new ones. She seems more calm now but she is still pushy, I don't blame her, she's a teenager full of hormones. 

*Frances Evans, if you don't take a picture with him I'm disowning you!!!* She sends. 

I can't help but let a laugh out, moving my phone for him to read. 

"She's funny." He chuckles shaking his head. "Are you taking the risk of being disowned?" 

"I'm older than her, she can't disown me." I remark, typing a reply to her but he takes my phone from my hands. 

"Come on, its just a picture." He opens my frontal camera, pulling me closer to him. "Go on, smile for the photo." 

"You really don't have to if you d-" I start saying but he cuts me off, his hand over my mouth when he snaps the first pic. That makes him laugh, the shot turned out to be very comical. 

"Its just a photo Frances, loosen up." He places a kiss on my cheek, snapping a second picture. 

After two more pictures I decide to send her a normal one, the one we are both smiling and holding our laughs. She's going to flip out when she sees it. I also tell her that I'm about to land and that I will call her as soon as I arrive. It really is sinking in. I'm away from her and my parents. I'm away from home on my own. I guess I'll have to get used to it. 

"Uh, now that we have our phones out... Shouldn't we, um..." He scratches the back of his neck, making me look at him. "Trade numbers or something?" 

I move my eyes up, for some reason it never crossed my mind before. I never thought I was going to need it. I never thought we would come to this point. But now that I do... I don't think I can. 

"No." I say, frankly. "I mean, don't get me wrong. Its just a lot of pressure." 

"What?" He fights a laugh, looking utterly confused and surprised. "What do you mean?" 

"I... I just don't want the pressure of having your number and thinking: 'Should I call him or text him?' 'What if he's busy?' That's just not me." I explain, I have been there before and I don't like it. "I guess I'm old fashioned in that way." 

"You really are a character, babe." He laughs, for some unknown reason. "So, If you're old fashioned... Should I chivalrously ask for your number?" 

"You can try." I hold a laugh, I can see he is hiding something behind that smirk. 

"Well, picture this." He moves closer to me, looking to the seats in front of us and moving his hand up painting the picture. "We are back in the fifties, in an old burgers place, those with the waitresses in roller skates. You're sitting alone at the bar and I invite you a milkshake." 

"We talk for some time and right before your curfew you are rushing your way out of the diner, but I stop you and say..." He clears his throat, moving his eyes to look at me. "Wait, don't leave. Can I have your number at least?" 

For some reason I imagine him as Danny and me as Sandy, his hair a little shorter with a black leather jacket to make the perfect match. But even when I'm a sucker for Grease, I don't think Sandy would give him her number after just a few hours of talking with Danny. 

"No. But nice try." I bite my bottom lip, looking him straight in the eye. "What else do you have in mind?" 

"Mmm, let's see." He gives me a smile, licking his lips before continuing. "We are in a cruise, rounded by glaciers, sadly we hit one and the ship starts to sink." 

"No, Jack, I'm not giving my number to a man that is going to die of cold in the middle of the pacific." I stop him, laughing freely while shaking my head. 

"You should have hold on tight to me, Rose. You selfish girl." He chuckles out as well, composing himself and returning to his pensive face. "Okay, what about this..." 

"You're a simple girl on a plane to start a trip looking for new adventures, then you suddenly meet your asshole companion whom which you're going to spend the rest of the flight with." He speaks lowly, his green eyes connected with mine. "You're skeptical at first, but then you get to know him and find out he's not an asshole..." 

"He's actually amazing." I respond, just as low as him. 

"You totally captivated him, making him smile even when you're not watching." He says, moving his hand to my face, running his thumb down my cheek. "Even when you were sleeping, as creepy as it sounds." 

That makes me smile, my cheeks filling with color. The rest of the cabin seems to vanish away from my mind, the only thing that matters is us. 

"But now you are at the end of the journey and... Its hard for him to believe that he's not going to see you or speak to you again, so, he says..." Harry moves his face a little closer to mine, my lips drying by his proximity. "Can I have your number, Frances?" 

Instead of letting me respond he closes the gap and pecks my lips, for a brief moment before I move away, remaining close to his face. I move my eyes down, feeling the butterflies consume my stomach. This is really hard for me. 

When I was about to respond, the light of the seat belts lights on, letting us know we should buckle up. Right after the voice of the pilot comes out from the speakers, saying: 

"Dear passengers, the landing should begin in fifteen minutes. Please turn off your phones and devices until the moment of landing." 

I open my eyes, biting my bottom lip taking the decision. I move away from him and grab his phone, for my luck he had it unlocked so I just type in my number, saving my contact as 'Frances :)'. I give him his phone with a shaky hand and turn to put my things inside of my bag, buckling my seat belt with some difficult. 

Its not a secret I'm afraid of landings. 

"You can hold my hand, remember?" He says, taking my hand and resting it between the two of us. 

"I know." I give him a smile, knowing he's here with me. 

As a way to distract myself I decide to open the blinds, for my luck the sky was just part cloudy, in between the clouds you could see a bit of the city. Even when I feel the plane descending, I'm not that scared. As we keep going I start to see more of the city, this is so cool. 

"Harry, look!" I say, pointing to the window.

"Home sweet home." He says, glancing at the view. He points in the middle, the hand with his rings distracting for where he is trying to show me. "There's the London eye, and right there..." He moves his finger down. "Is the Big Ben."

"I see it." I say, moving my eyes away from his hands and into the city.

Everything looks pretty from up here, the grey-brownish buildings, the green land fields, the canal dividing the city. I start to feel butterflies in my stomach, this is really exciting. A new city.  

A new beginning.

"I'm really bad with farewells." Harry says, I glare at him moving my body away from the window. "So... I will take this moment to say goodbye."

"Why now? We haven't even landed yet." I say, coming closer to him.

"But I will not have time when we do. There's a bodyguard waiting for me at the airport." He says, holding my face. "I will not have time."

"Oh." Its the only thing I say, there's a knot in my throat that keeps me from talking. 

"I'm going to miss you." He says with difficulty, moving his eyes down to my lips. 

"Harry." I move my hand to his face, I try to keep myself from breaking apart, I never thought it would be this hard. "Will you... Call me?"

"Of course I will." He half smiles, a deep expression in his eyes. "I promise."

I respond with a smile, coming closer to his lips and kissing him. I'm not usually the type of person that shows affection in public but I couldn't care less right now. I feel the kiss deepening, I feel the pit of vertigo in my stomach that indicates we are about to hit land. Sooner than I expected we feel the wheels of the plane hitting the ground, we are in London. Officially.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the city of London, local time 9:25 am. The weather is 10ºC, so remember to keep a coat in hand. Until the next time and thank you for flying with us."

"That's around 50ºF." Harry says,  breaking the kiss.

I open my eyes with a giggle, he moves and pecks me again, caressing the skin of my neck.

"Thank you." I say, smiling at him. I'm going to miss him too, like crazy. 

 He then moves away, clearing his throat and brushing his hair with his fingers.

The light of the seat belts goes off and as soon as the plane stops, everyone starts moving getting their bags but we stay paralyzed. I'm not sure if I should hold his hand one last time, or kiss him one last time, but whatever I should have done, I just stay in my spot. The seconds just pass by but we are the only ones that are not moving.

"I... I should get going. If I'm not the first to leave I..." He coughs, a frown consuming his face. "I could get recognized."

"I understand." I say, a knot in my throat.

We stand up together, getting our things and waiting for the gates to be open. We both stay in the booth with the bags on our hands. You can sense a wave of mixed feelings between us, he tries not to look at me but fails miserably. I try my best to keep my shit together but this is really hard. 

And I don't understand why!

"Mr. Styles, there's a guard waiting for you outside." The stewardess comes to our booth pointing her arm to the door of the plane.

"Uh, okay." He says to the stewardess, he then glances at me, taking a deep breath. "I..." 

And maybe for the last time, I look at him, at his deep green eyes. There's a hard expression on his face, it seems that this is hard for him, too. But after a moment of just staring at each other, I know its time. It hurts me inside, but I know its time. 

"Go, it's okay." I place a hand on his arm, forcing a smile on my lips even though my stomach is killing me. "I'll see you around, okay?"

He nods his head, a sad smile on his lips. He moves forward to place a kiss on my cheek, and right before he moves away he whispers to my ear:

"Goodbye, Frances."

-

A/N: WHO'S CRYING??!? I AM CRYING. GOODBYE.

There's going to be an extra hour and stay tuned for the link and the name of the sequel (It's going to be a different book).

Damn, I'm in pain.