Crush Culture {{Harry Lewis - W2S}}

✮ TWENTY THREE ✮

Mila's pov

She didn't have time to process what was happening before the cold Spanish sea enclosed around her, her body sinking deep underwater before she kicked her legs, finally breaking the surface.

"Harry!" She shouted, swimming as fast as she could towards the ladder that came down from the dock, hugging it as she breathed heavily, the holidaymakers around her looking on with confused glances.

"Mila?" Harry shouted over the top, not being able to see her, "Mel, are you okay?" She stayed quiet trying her best to concentrate on her breathing.

Deep endless water had always been a fear of hers, brought along by her father who would continuously throw her into the water to teach her to swim, hoping she'd just pick it up instead of actually showing her how to. It was that or the fear of what was far underneath, waiting to swim up and take her. Childish really, but her biggest fear.

"Mel?" She heard again, but this time it was a lot closer. Her eyes travelled the short distance from where she was staring into the green water towards Harry's beautiful blue eyes, shining like the very sea they sat in. Harry was hanging onto the ladder in front of her, treading water so that other people could go up next to her.

His feet just touched the edge of the beach before the drop, not that she spent too much time looking.

"Mel, what's wrong?" The girl he had come to know as free-spirited and enthusiastic had changed in seconds her full demeanour flipping to the shell of the girl she usually was.

"I-um, I-I" she stuttered at first, having to close her eyes and take a breath before starting again, "I'm scared of...of"

"Scared of deep water, shit Mila I'm so sorry I didn't kno-"

"No, no Harry" she cut him off, "it's fine you didn't know so everything's fine, let's just sit here and-and"

"We can get out when you're ready, just catch your breath" She had never seen the blond boy like this, his eyes full of concern and brows creased.

"No, we can stay just wait"

What's a fear if you can't overcome it, or at least be within the vicinity of it?

"Are you sure?" She nodded, feeling his other hand that wasn't holding the ladder take hold of her waist as she edged closer off the step she was sat on. Her thighs slowly went further and further into the water as he held her up, his hand gripping her tighter, immediately pulling her body into his keeping her body firmly against him. Her arms wrapped around his neck, too focused on her breathing to notice the closeness of them.

"You're okay...I've got you" he whispered, his voice uncharacteristically low, his thumb rubbing circles on her lower back.

Mila hadn't realised how close they had gotten as she was getting in the water, his hot breath giving her goosebumps.

His eyes kept flickering between her eyes, trying to see if she had calmed down, then subconsciously down to look at her lips before quickly going back to her eyes, hers doing the same.

She pulled herself closer, their foreheads touching as he leaned down, she used his shoulder to pull herself up lightly.

Eventually, their lips touched, and she could think of nothing more. No, she wouldn't say that there were fireworks, she wasn't in a movie, but she could say that there were butterflies in her stomach and a rush in her blood.

Kissing him felt perfect, it felt right and she had never been happier.

She knew how this would hurt Lucy, but at that moment all she could think about was Harry's lips on her. Not ever the deep drop next to them could pull her mind from the boy whose arms she was in, and how his hand was holding the back of her neck in a way that didn't feel forced but natural.

Eventually, they pulled away, leaning their foreheads against each other. His hand left her neck and going back to the ladder, the small waves still enough to wobble him as he was on his tiptoes.

"Well then..." she whispered, clearing her throat.

"That was something I wanted to do with a bit less drink in me but....oh well," Harry told her, avoiding her eyes as much as he could, his awkwardness showing through tenfold.

The tension only lasted seconds as she too held onto the ladder, unravelling herself from the warm boy, and kicking her legs, making sure that her hold was tight.

"Come on, I've got you" Harry laughed, holding onto her as he swam out a little bit, children in armbands out further than them, but it was enough. Rainbowfish swam beneath them, jumping up to nip at people's toes.

Never in Mila's mind could she think that something that scared her so much become something so amazing.

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Written: 24th December 2020
Published: 25th December 2020
Edited: 17th June 2023
Chapter 23 and they finally kissed! Yay, promise it'll actually be good now lol less filler chapters maybe idk yet haven't really got a plan