London Calling [H.S.]

All of Me (John Legend)

Harry

Nate and I went in to the lounge and sat down. I put on some music because I had a sense he was going to need to talk and television might be distracting. He was typing away on his phone and I saw his eyebrows scrunch together. It must be something serious. I'll sit here patiently waiting for him to acknowledge that we are in the room together or maybe Annie will come in here and save me.

"Sorry, my assistant. The firm has a few big cases going on right now and me deciding to leave for an undetermined amount of time is causing some problems."

"How do you manage to just sneak away like that?" I asked.

"Partner in the firm, well and my Dad wanted me back badly enough to help now that my oldest brother has moved up north, his wife's mother is sick and they needed to move closer to her home. My youngest brother just started at the firm this fall. We recently went digital so we can all access files on iPads. So theoretically I can work from here unless I'm needed in the office. So I told my Dad I was coming to fight for Kim and he offered to pack my bag for me."

"Seriously?" I asked shocked. If they had been so intent on him moving home I didn't imagine they'd want him falling in love with a woman in London and potentially moving back.

"Yeah, Dad's a hopeless romantic. Mum loves Kim. Was pissed at me that I didn't convince her to come home for Christmas. They know that I'd rather live in London than Cambridge. My friends are all here. I'm fine taking the train to Cambridge every day but I thought moving home would be good. Separate myself from my band so that I didn't get jealous watching them succeed and move on without me."

"I get that. If I was in your situation I'd have to remove myself completely from my band."

"You'll never be in my situation though mate. You're band is the most successful band around. A bit irritating," he said laughing. "Only joking. It was only irritating listening to Belle ramble on and on about how wonderful your hair looked every day."

"I didn't ramble about his hair every day. Sometimes he wore a hat and I didn't get to admire the curls," Annie said as she set a tray down on the table and handed each of us a cup of tea. She sat in the oversized chair with me, maneuvering herself in to the space between me and the arm, her legs draping over mine. Without a moment's hesitation she began to run her fingers through my hair which I'd left in the wacky curls she loved instead of putting on a hat or trying to pull it in to a tiny ponytail.

"So why do you call her Belle?" I asked.

"Annabelle is what everyone tends to call her. When she came out of the loo having dyed her hair dark brown one day I decided to shorten it to Belle. She's like a twisted version of that Disney Princess. Love of books. And there are times I'm sure I catch her talking to inanimate objects."

"I was talking to Siri. She's there to be my assistant. She responds. The espresso machine, however, does not."

"Well the nickname worked well for her when she was with Cameron. He was her bearded Beast. Though I imagine she likes the castle she's living in these days a lot better," he said laughing. Annie flipped him off.

"Not living here," she said.

"When is the last time you were home?"

"Wednesday. I stopped to get clothes. Last time I slept at home was Sunday. Kim has had the place to herself. I'm sure she's enjoying it."

"Wouldn't know. I haven't talked to her. I'm too nervous."

"Do you know what you're gonna say to her?" I asked.

"Not completely. I just know that I want her to understand how deeply I feel for her. That I know I fucked up before. But that I'm serious about it. I want to look for a house here in London and I want her input. I want her to move in with me when she feels ready. I want a life together. I want her to know that from the get go. I don't want her to have any sort of doubt to the way I feel. I want her to know that when I say I'm ready for forever with her that I'm 100% jumping in head first ready for this. I may or may not have wandered in to a jewelry store before I came to the shop."