Dance with Me [h.s] (Completed)

Chapter 82

Third Person POV

Harry has pulled up out front of CiCi's grandparents house and he sits in his car for a second trying to shake out his nerves. He knows that earning her family's forgiveness goes hand in hand with earning CiCi's. He takes a deep breath and figures here goes nothing.

He walks up the front steps and CiCi's cousins that are out front on the porch beeline after him inside, waiting for the fireworks to go off when the rest of the family sees Harry. He walks in the front door and the room goes deathly silent, all eyes on him. Out from the dining room comes CiCi's Uncle Dom, and her three brothers, and as soon as they catch sight of Harry, the four of them are charging towards him, yelling obscenities in Italian.

"Arresto!" the word rings out in the small house. She may be little but Nonna has a powerful voice. "Lascialo." She tells everyone to leave him. Watching four grown men listen to this tiny eighty year old woman is a sight to behold.

She points her finger at him, and then gestures for Harry to follow her into the kitchen.

Everyone expects to hear shouting or maybe the sound of a dish breaking but instead it's utter silence coming from the kitchen. Anytime someone goes to speak in the living room, at least five people shush the person, as they all attempt to eavesdrop on the conversation. Fifteen minutes goes by and the crowd starts to get restless, and hungry because they can smell the food.

Another five minutes goes by and in the front door comes Zayn.

"Why is it so quiet in here?" Zayn asks, and is immediately shushed by the entire room.

"Why are you walking? I thought your leg was broken!" CiCi's aunt asks him, but that, too, is met by shushes.

"Someone please tell me what is going on?!" Zayn demands in a whisper.

"It's Harry," a little cousin says. "He's in there with Nonna," the girl gestures to the kitchen.

Zayn decides he better go check on him to make sure CiCi's tiny grandmother didn't kill Harry. He pushes open the swinging door to the kitchen, and finds Nonna and Harry, shoulder to shoulder at the stove cooking together.

"Is everything alright?" he asks tentatively, too scared to fully come into the room so he stands at the doorway.

"Perfetto. Why wouldn't it be?" Nonna responds without turning around. "Zayn get the plates."

Zayn does as he's told and listens as Nonna tells the rest of the family that dinner is ready but when everyone comes in Nonna stops all the men from getting food, allowing the women and children through to get a plate. When CiCi's brother Frankie complains, Nonna who is still standing next to Harry, stops him with just a raised eyebrow. She gestures to Harry to stick his hand out. Harry does, and as his hand goes out he says, "I'm sorry. It won't happen again." Frankie reluctantly takes his hand and shakes it. But then Nonna motions for him to stop.

"After dinner you're going to find your sister and apologize to her."

"What for?" he whines, getting another stern look from Nonna that makes him straighten his back and clear his throat, his eyes fill with fear.

"For always sticking your nose in her business, and for not letting her make her own choices."

Frankie's eyes widen as realization sinks in that he is guilty for doing that more times than he can count. He hadn't been aware that his sister didn't like it. He had never even thought about it. He felt he was just doing his job as her big brother but now he sees how he may have played a little too hard into a sexist stereotype of women needing protecting by the men in their life. He sees his sister with new eyes and all that she has accomplished on her own, without any male assistance and he couldn't help feeling a swelling of pride for her.