Mini Mart » Harry Styles

twelve

twelve

It had been approximately four months since Harry and Fire started talking. They had fallen into a routine: everyday, she would come in during his shift and they would hang out. Occasionally, they would go on dates outside of Mini Mart, but Harry would always reason, why would they need dates to feel together? Why couldn't they just be with each other and have that be enough?

"Um...what would you do if someone ran up to you and said that you had to either give up Arizona tea or they would cut your hair off?"

Harry sat on the bagging counter cross-legged, giving Fire a smug smile. He knew how much she loved her tea - and her hair, which was now dyed the color of lavender. "You have got to be kidding me." She stared at Harry in shock. "You asshole!" she laughed, slapping Harry's arm.

"You have to choose one," he told her and she huffed.

"Fine." She sighed in exasperation. "I choose to give up Arizona tea."

"I thought you would choose to cut your hair," Harry admitted.

"Why would you think that?"

"Because I never said how much of your hair would be cut. I never said all of it would be cut, only a little bit."

Her mouth dropped open and she slapped his arm again. "You cheater! You made me give up tea!"

She made a move to hit him again but he wrapped his fingers around her arm, drawing her to him. He slid to the edge of the counter so that his legs hung off the side, almost touching the floor. She stood between his legs as he held her hands so that they were by his waist.

"What are you doing?" she asked, a small smile on her face. He didn't answer, simply stared at her with the piercing eyes that she noticed were a mix of blue and green today. "Stop," she whined, looking down, breaking his stare.

He smiled, as he always did when he saw her more sensitive and nice side, which wasn't often (he just smiled a lot around her in general). "What?" he asked, still smiling. "I'm just looking at you."

"It makes me uncomfortable," she said and made a move to withdraw from him, but it was no use. He held her arms tighter, keeping her body against his.

"Well that's too bad, then. I enjoy looking at you. I like your hair. It looks like lavender. Does that mean it smells like lavender? If it does, then I won't smell it because I don't actually like the smell of lavender."

Fire laughed softly. "Harry, you're rambling. What are you nervous about?" Fire had come to recognize Harry's habit of talking on and on when he was filled with anxiety and nervousness.

"Nothing," he said quickly and Fire gave him a skeptic look. He sighed, knowing he couldn't get anything past her. Briefly, he reflected on how amazing it was that she knew him so well, and vice versa, even though they had only known each other for four months. "I was just thinking."

"And that made you nervous?" Fire raised an eyebrow at him and he rolled his eyes.

"Felecia..." he warned jokingly and her eyes widened.

"Ew! Don't call me that! You know how much I hate that name. I sound like a damn pansy." Harry let go of her arms, only to slip his own around her waist.

"You were being annoying," he mumbled, resting his head in the crook of her neck.

"I'm always annoying," she reminded him, bringing her fingers up to run through the hair on the back of his head.

He didn't answer, simply hummed in content at the way they were wrapped around each other. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Harry pressed his lips to her neck quickly and said, "Be my girlfriend."

Fire froze, her fingers unmoving in Harry's hair. "Uh - what?"

Harry pulled away, looking at her. "Be my girlfriend," he repeated and she felt his arms tighten around her as she looked to the side. "I'm serious."

He grabbed her chin and turned her face so she was looking at him. "Why are you scared of this? We're practically a couple already, just without the labels."

"Then why do we need the labels?" she countered, not meeting his gaze.

"Because," he said softly, "I like things being certain. And with you, without the labels, I can't be and that drives me crazy."

"I don't know, Harry. The last time I had a boyfriend..." she trailed off and Harry lifted her chin up, searching her eyes.

"I know. I know that you're scared of relationships because of him, but I also know that you curl up like a kitten when you sleep and you hate the way people always judge you because of your hair color and you sometimes like the instrumentals of a song more than the lyrics because they sound beautiful to you. Did he know all these things?"

"No," Fire said softly, timidly.

"No," Harry repeated. "He didn't know all these things because all he knew was sports and sex and wanting to feel superior. All he knew was how to hurt you. But I'm not him. You have to trust me on this. Don't you trust me?"

Fire felt tears in her eyes but she tried her best not to let them fall. "I do."

"Then be my girlfriend. I won't hurt you, not intentionally and not the way he did. I would never. Okay?"

She exhaled slowly, closing her eyes. Flashes of her ex-boyfriend throwing insults at her, laughing at her in front of his friends, pushing her up against a wall against her will played through her mind. She knew Harry wouldn't do any of the things he did to her, but she was still uncertain. But when she opened her eyes, Harry was there, steady, staring at her, letting her know that he was there.

He was letting her know that he cared about her without saying anything. She felt it in the way he hugged her, talked with her, spent days and nights with her talking about nothing and everything. He took her hand in his, interlocking their fingers. He squeezed once gently and placed a kiss on her forehead.

Finally, she breathed, "Okay," and felt him smile into her hair.