leather journal / h.s

31

M A R Y

in the morning when i woke again, we were in the same position as we were in the middle of the night.

a strange feeling surged through my body when i realized that harry was only in his boxers, and our legs were tangled together like braided hair. his broad arms covered my chest, and he whispered soft words in my ear.

"im waiting for you to wake up." he whispered. "i hope you don't think this is creepy. i just didn't want you to sleep on the floor. you could catch a cold, you know?"

"i know." i whispered back, my heart pounding. i cowered at my nasty morning breath and even though harry's grip on me was strong, i reached under the pillow and grabbed myself a breathmint. they were always there in case of emergencies like this.

"im sorry." he whispered in my ear, sending chills down my spine. "i just couldn't resist it."

my mind spun in circles. we had gone from playing an innocent game of asking questions to waking up with our bodies intertwined. "resist what?"

"you." he said sweetly, and that was all it took for all my walls to come down. i turned to face him, our eyes meeting and the overwhelming desire to press his plump lips to mine was driving me insane. i didn't even attempt to untangle my legs.

"you're so cute." i admired, pressing my finger to his nose. "boop."

he sniffed and then sneezed. that would've been cute if it wasn't all over me. "don't do that again." he said playfully, his voice croaky and tired. his morning voice had to top the list of completely hot things about him. "it tickles."

"i could tell." i said lowly, my eyes constantly trailing down to his lips.

"are they chapped?" he asked. "my lips."

"no." i said quickly. how embarrassing it was that he knew i was staring at his lips. even though he had just said he couldn't resist me, i found it hard to admit these kinds of things to him. after all, he was a celebrity. right now it just felt like he was a normal person.

no paparazzi had been following us around, ready to report our friendship in the papers and make it seem like more. all these assets weren't out to destroy us because harry and his friends had been playing this whole half year on the down low. it was strange.

"you're lying." he pouted. "i need chapstick."

i giggled, staring into his sparkling green eyes. why were they sparkling, and why was he glowing in general? actually, he seemed more light and bubbly than when we went to sleep. and his pupils were dilated.

"mm..." i hummed, pressing the tip of my finger to his bottom lip. "maybe just a little... right there."

he shuddered, his eyes crossing at the contact. "uh huh..."

suddenly, the doorbell rang. whoever it was had been pressing it so often that it could be heard up the stairs and through my locked door.

harry frowned. "you might want to get that." he said silently, his lip brushing against my finger with every syllable. "ill come with you."

"okay." i smiled. nothing had felt better than waking up like this. and the amount of confidence and romantic things harry had said to me, i wasn't sure if i could take it any longer.

we both tried to hop from under the covers at the same time, forgetting that our legs were a tangled mess. we both chuckled.

"okay, here.." he hummed softly, pulling his legs from mine. the feeling of his skin brushing against mine put my mind on a trip. i was having all sorts of unholy thoughts.

when we were separated and standing on my purple carpet, harry scratched his hand and stretched. "are your parents home?" he asked, and i shook my head. as far as i knew, they were at a
local festival with jett. not the same one we were going to, but one about appreciating the "art of sports".

so we walked downstairs, where the doorbell ringing had turned into a low knock. without even looking in the peephole, i opened the door with my free hand. harry stood behind me, and when his eyes met with penny's he was immediately uncomfortable.

this did not look good.

imagine coming to your best friend's house, only to see her hair a mess and she's only in shorts and a tee that makes it look like she isn't wearing shorts, right beside the love of your life that's only wearing boxers. imagine the betrayal. the hurt. because i certainly couldn't.

tears formed in her eyes and we both stood there awkwardly. she was holding a basket, and when i looked closer it was filled with my favorite chocolates and foods.

"this isn't what it looks like." i explained, and i was right to a certain degree. harry and i weren't dating. we hadn't done anything like she was thinking yet. it was just an innocent cuddle.

"really?" she cried, setting the basket by my feet. "because i think it looks like my best friend just had sex with harry styles, the love of my life, after i wrote her a puny apology letter and brought her everything she's ever loved to eat!"

i was silent.

thankfully, harry spoke up. "me and mary didn't have sex." he said, as innocently and calmly as he could. i could see him fidgeting, and his cheeks were a rosy red. his pupils were still dilated and his eyes were puffy. but he wasn't about to cry.

"oh." penny said suddenly. "i believe you. it just looks very odd."

i giggled. "i know, penny. but i would never do that to you."

harry winced.

i pulled her in for a tight hug, and through the contact i could tell that all was forgiven. our friendship was mended again.

"ill come by later." she said, wiping the tears from her face and giving me a happy smile. "we have a lot to talk about."

"we do!" i exclaimed, giving her one last hug. she definitely needed it. harry gave her a hug as well.

"see you guys." she said cheerfully, before shutting the door and walking down the driveway, only to hop into her car and drive off down the street.

harry picked up the basket and examined it. "haribo bears." he cheesily grinned. "my favorite."

"we share a lot of favorites." i pointed out. "so we can just split the basket in half."

"you sure?" he asked.

i nodded. "and harry."

he was still smiling when he gave me his full attention. "yeah?"

the way he looked at me always sent my mind on a trip. thinking about the position i woke up in, touching his lips and his reaction to it, him saying he couldn't resist me. it made my stomach churn.

"next time we cuddle and someone knocks on the door, but some damn pants on and fix your hair."

he chuckled. "yes mommy." he jeered, making me slap him in the arm playfully.

when i turned back around he was already fiddling for the basket, trying to get his filling of all my favorite foods.

dork.