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[ Harry ]

Walking into Nicole's apartment complex, I notice a frantic man fumbling around. He has a Wal-Mart bag filled with movies and some daffodils. His blonde hair cover his eyes, causing him to shoulder a young woman in the chest. Without even a look, he heads towards the elevators and disappears.

I grip onto my small bag of various candies and flowers before heading towards the lady who was gripping her arm.

"Are you okay?" I ask politely.

Her angry expression fades when our eyes meet. She nods with her mouth slightly agape and slowly stops rubbing her shoulder.

"Just making sure," I smile and walk away to an open elevator.

Once I'm on the right floor, I walk down the empty hallway and double check my bag.

-Roses, check.
-Reece's, check.
-Scary movie to make her cuddle in my lap, check. 

Just as I begin to walk around the corner right by Nicole's apartment, I hear the door open. Quickly, I turn back around the corner and try to calm my breathing.

"You're not Harry," Nicole says bluntly.

I wasn't expecting to hear that man say, "who's Harry? Never mind that. Look, I want you back."

"It's only been two months, Thomas." I can tell she's uncomfortable, but I don't move.

Who the fuck is Thomas? And what does she mean by two months?

"Exactly, I need you baby." 'Thomas' says urgently.

"Go home, I'm expecting someone here any minute and you're going to cause trouble." Nicole replies.

"I drove three days to be here, babe. Why don't I stay awhile? We can talk this through, come on."

I cringe every time he uses those pet names, but technically she isn't even mine to get jealous over. I should just stop this before getting too emotionally involved. Turning away, I begin to start walking to the elevators when she says,

"I said to leave, Thomas."

I can change that though. She's the first person in years who has made my heart race so much. I don't want to give up.

"Nicole, give me a second chance."

I won't give up. 

"She said to leave, I think you better go." I say as I tower over the scrawny guy from the lobby.

He scoffs, jabbing a thumb in the air towards me. "You're gonna pick this guy over me?"

Gripping him by the shirt and with my face inches from his I grumble, "she told you to leave, so do it."

Once I release his shirt, he stretches the collar and takes a few steps back. "We had years man, I may have messed up but she loves me. I'm not going to lose her," he threatens.

Thomas tosses the daffodils to Nicole, who in turn looks at them in disgust.

"I'm allergic to these types of flowers." She murmurs, shoving them in his chest. "Goodbye, Thomas."

Nicole grabs my hand and pulls me beside her, trying to ignore Thomas's yells of protest. I notice how her fingers shake as they grip onto mine, so I intertwine them and grasp her hand tightly.

"This isn't over! I love you, Nicole!" He shouts before Nicole slams the door closed.

I'm silent, and so is she. We don't say a single word to one another. Nicole lets out a breath when we hear Thomas's heavy footsteps fade down the hall.

"I can explain," she says in a small voice.

Crossing my arms, I nod. She locks the door and carefully walks over to her teal couch; somehow I'd never noticed it's vibrant color. 

Actually, I never really looked at her apartment in full detail. I glance over to the open kitchen the was behind the couch; the counters have gray and black granite covered tops, and the cabinets are painted the same gray to match the counter. She has a skinny black fridge that's about as tall as me, which stands between the wall and the counter space.

I look over to the living room space, with her long teal couch and across from it, a decently sized flat screen TV. The wall where the TV sits, on top of a tall and wooden table, has pictures scattered across it and it leads into a hallway.

"Harry?"

I snap my head in the direction of her voice and smile apologetically. She returns the gesture and lightly pats an empty spot beside her on the couch.

After sitting next to her, I place the plastic bag on her lap and wait for her to open it. She raises her eyebrows and smiles, her little dimples showing in her cheeks.

"What's this?"

I shrug, "just a little something. I hope you're not allergic to those too," I say, pointing to the red roses that she holds gently.

Nicole shakes her head, strands of black hair fall from the loosely tied bun on her head. "I wasn't actually allergic to those flowers he gave me, I just really hate daffodils." She makes a disgusted face before shuddering for emphasis. "But I adore roses, thank you Harold."

She kisses my cheek before getting up and placing the flowers in a vase full of water. "I think it'll brighten up the place, what about you?"

"I think this couch does that," I chuckle as she places the vase on the coffee table in front of us.

She sticks her tongue out at me and rolls her eyes before saying, "it was my grandma's, and I happen to love it."

I smile as she sits back down beside me. "Anyways, it's a long story with Thomas."

"I have time," I assure her.

After an hour or so of Nicole explaining the situation, I let out a heavy sigh. I didn't know how to feel.

"So, what are we then?" I question.

Nicole avoids eye contact. "I'm not sure, I just know I really like you."

"But you were ready to marry this guy, how can I come into your life just two months after you were so sure of-"

"I don't know, Harry! I was a mess when I got here, I didn't know how to feel about anything. Of course I still care for him, and then I saw you that day. I haven't been able to stop thinking about you," she says quickly.

I want to kiss her; I want hold her face in my hands and smash my lips against hers. I can't though, I don't know what we are. She has so much history, I couldn't ever be sure of her feelings being purely for me.

"Harry, I really like you. I want to see where we can go, if we can end up being something special."

"Okay," I reply awkwardly.

Her shoulders slump before she rests her head on my bicep. Her fingers trail down my forearm and intertwine with my own, squeezing tightly.

"Please, give us a chance."

I nod, because I really like her as well. I don't know how we'll end up, or if this is even a wise decision, but the feeling of her skin, breath, heat on me and the scent of her hair and perfume just make me agree.

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