Harry's Angel (A One Direction Fanfic)

Chapter 28 - Dark Brown

Tuesday, June 19

I gritted my teeth as Harry and I walked hand in hand through the corridor with the other guys. I could not exactly explain what the source of my anxiety was. I was holding the hand of Harry Styles -- my celebrity crush for the past few months -- yet something about the entire situation put an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. Maybe it was the way Niall kept glaring at us, or simply the fact that Harry and I weren't actually dating. We were pretending, faking a relationship that has been tenuous from the beginning.

When we arrived in the auditorium for rehearsals, Harry slid his arms around my waist and leaned in so that he was merely inches from my face. "See you later, babe," he murmured sweetly, filling the gap between our lips.

Our first kiss.  In front of the rest of One Direction.  Our first kiss . . ..

My first instinct would have been to pull away. The inconceivable guilt flooding my heart overwhelmed me as he intensified our kiss. Wrong, I thought. This is all so wrong. Still, contrary to my disliking, I kissed him back as if I still felt for him as I did the day I first gazed into his eyes on the day we met.

Too much time had passed before we pulled away. When my eyes began surveying my surroundings, they found Niall who stared unblinkingly at me with such deprecation that I glanced away hastily.

"All right boys. Let's go!" exclaimed Liam excitedly, leading the boys toward the stage.

All but Zayn followed Liam, who only looked to me with an arched brow as he stood with his hands stuffed in his pockets. I zoned blankly at him and waited for him to speak.

"You're kidding, right?"

"What?" I shrugged.

"You and Harry? Come on." He stepped forward, peering at me with his golden brown eyes that displayed his knowledgeable insight.

"What about us?" The words stumbling from my lips sounded so fake, that Zayn was obviously not deceived.

"You can tell me the truth," he replied softly.

I blinked. In case Zayn was referring to something other than Harry's and my imaginary relationship, I did not want to utter another word.

Zayn glanced left and right when a few men from management rushed past us. He returned his eyes to me and spoke when he inferred that I would give him no response. "Are you and Harry really dating?"

I frowned, sighing. Somewhat of a relief was lifted off my back, now knowing someone else knew about our little secret. "How did you know?"

He threw me a weary look, his shoulders slumping. "Because you're not an idiot." His voice had returned to a normal volume.

I was about to contradict him -- say that I truly was not as wise as I appeared -- but a management guy popped out of nowhere and swept Zayn toward the stage.

Please don't tell anyone, I mouthed.

**********

Rehearsal flew by. Before I knew it, they were limping exhausted off stage, wiping with towels the huge globs of sweat dripping from their faces. Sitting in a stadium chair, I had been busy studying the dark roots growing from the top of my head. It was time for a touch up.

"You want this?" I jotled my head back repulsively when Harry jutted his sweat-saturated towel in from of my face.

"Ew, no, what are you doing? That's disgusting!"