Start From Scratch (Sequel To Why Me???)

Another Proposal

After a whole night spent in Harry's room, Harry and I decide to go downstairs. The boys kept coming up to check on us, and we kept assuring them from behind the door that we're okay and alive.
"Ah, the off again, on again couple is finally here!" Louis announces, the minute we step foot in the lounge.
"Ah, your annoying streak hasn't come to an end yet." Harry says, sitting down on a couch and pulling me onto his lap. Louis rolls his eyes and chucks a pillow at Harry.
"So what's the status?" Niall asks, entering the lounge with a plate of tacos. I look at him, confused. "The status of your relationship, duh."
"We're a couple, duh." Harry's in a sarcastic and teasing mood today.
"Oh, of course. The famous couple made up with makeup-"
"Niall, learn to shut up for once in life." Harry says, cutting him off. We all know what he was going to say and the words that Niall was about to say make me blush. "Bell, you look like a tomato." I swat Harry's arm and get off his lap.
"You're plain mean!" I say, stomping toward the kitchen.
"You're beautiful!" Harry calls out, but I ignore him. When I enter the kitchen, Liam is mixing some sort of a batter.
"Thank God, you're alive!" Liam says, when he hears me enter the kitchen. I smile at him, as I open the fridge to grab a carton of milk.
"Yeah, I'm alive and breathing for the hundredth time." I say, as I take out a glass from the upper cabinet. "Next time Liam, when Harry and I are alone in the room, please stop checking up on us."
"Sorry," Liam smiles at me sheepishly. "I just...was checking up on your well-being."
"You didn't have to do that, but thanks anyway. Harry will never harm me, Liam." I take a sip of milk, and look him straight in the eye. "He takes care of me more than anyone in this world."
"Yeah, I know, but I wasn't worried about you. In fact, I was worried about Harry's well-being. We all know you can become a wild cat when you're mad." Liam jokes and then he laughs at his own joke.
"Wild cat," I scoff. "I'm the nicest person next to you." Liam makes a small curtsy.
"Bella, be ready by seven. I'll be picking you up." Harry says, entering the kitchen and taking the glass from my hand. He gulps down the milk before I can even protest and snatch it from him.
"Not after you did that," I say. Harry pouts and leans in for a kiss, but I take a step back, making him stumble.
"You know how mean women are, Liam?" Harry turns to face Liam. "They use you, torture you with their bodies and then discard you like a filthy rag."
"Harry, I'm pretty sure you incurred Bella's rage with your own stupidity." Liam says, biting his lip to suppress a smile. I shake my head and laugh, as Harry leans into me again. This time, I let him join our lips and grab my waist.
*********
"Whoa..." Harry says, as I step out of my apartment. I bite my lip and look down at my navy blue, strapless dress. Honestly, I think it's a little too short for my liking. However, today I want to look as sexy as I can.
"You look...seductive!" Harry blurts out. His eyes widen and he shakes his head. "Shirt, sorry." I giggle and flick my wrist, dismissing Harry's apology.
"You spoke the truth and that's what I appreciate." I say, taking Harry's hand in mine and heading down the hall with him.
"Bell, if you dress like that then how will I be able to focus on anything else?" I punch Harry's arm.
"That's the idea, isn't it?" I wink at Harry, as we enter the elevator. The rest of the way to wherever Harry's taking me is spent in silence, until he parks his car near a lamp post.
"So, where are we?" I ask Harry, glancing around the dark. This is an empty, broad road, with not one car in sight. Harry grins at me.
"Somewhere you'll love," Harry says. He unbuckles his seat belt and gets out. "Stay in the car." Harry shuts the door and jogs into the darkness. He's even turned off the headlights, so I can't see a thing. Suddenly, a bright light hits my eyes and I cover my eyes with my hand before I go blind. My door opens and Harry's face appears beside me. He offers me his hand and I take it, as I step out of the car.
"Okay, Bella, this is it." Harry says, sighing. In front of the car the bright, white light dims. We're at a dock. A small boat - enough for two - is tied to the dock. The boat itself is decorated with flowers of all colors. Harry offers me his arm and I loop mine through his. We both head down the dock, hand in hand.
"Bell, if you're hungry, then control it because we won't be having dinner till late," Harry says.
"Okay," I say, laughing.
"Get into the boat and I'll make sure you don't tip it over." I nod my head, and with the help of Harry's strong, muscular arm, I get into the boat. Hastily, I sit down, before due to my clumsiness, I stumble and fall into the dark water. Harry follows suit, and unties the rope from around the dock. Instead of sitting down, Harry crouches toward the back of the boat, and begins the motor.
"A motor? In this boat?" I ask Harry, eyebrows raised. This looks like such an old, wooden boat that I didn't expect it to be a motorboat.
"Louis and I modified it a bit," Harry says. Finally, he turns and sits down in front of me. Harry takes my hands in his and looks down at his shoes. "I don't know what you feel about me, Bell." I open my mouth to say something, but Harry shakes his head. "Don't. Let me speak, please." I nod my head. "Bella, we've had our ups and downs. More downs than ups, but...there's something special about us. Every time I think of moving on and finding another girl, I can't. Because guess what? I find you in another girl and the truth of the matter is that there's no one else like you." Harry lets out a small laugh. "So, every time I break up with you, my heart yearns to head back and I do. And you know, I'm one luck bastard because you take me back. We've only started dating again for a day, but I need to do this now, before it's too late." Harry gets up and sits down on the floor of the boat...on one knee. "I don't know how I did this before, or when. However, I know this much, now's the right time to do this and I'll make sure to never forget tonight." I laugh, even though my heart's beating pretty fast. I might get a heart attack. Harry's done this before, but today feels special. Just as special as before because Harry doesn't remember when he proposed to me before, and that seems to be affecting my memory. "Bell, I love you more than myself, as hard as it is to believe," Harry continues. "I want you to know this, before I ever hurt you - ever - I'll make sure to cut off my hands. I will make a thousand promises to you the day we get married, but today I want to do that, too." Harry inhales a deep breath. "I promise to always love you, and come back to apologize even if we fight. I promise that I'll never cheat on you, or even so much as look at another woman. Never again am I making that mistake. I promise to always kiss you in the mornings, when I head off to build tall buildings, when I get back in the evenings and before bed." A smirk lights up Harry's face. "I'll do a lot more to you before bed, but a kiss is the opening scene." My cheeks burn up and I bite my lip. "I promise to always call you beautiful, even when we're both holding sticks and look like the Hunchback of Notre-Dame." I cup Harry's face in my hands and connect our lips.
"That's enough, Harry. No more promises, just a simple 'I love you' will do." I murmur against his lips. "I love you," Harry whispers. "I still have to ask the million dollar question, Bell."
"Well, then the answer's yes. Yes, yes, yes." Harry chuckles and gets back down on his knee. He reaches into the brown jacket that he's wearing and pulls out a black velvet box. He pops open the lid and a perfectly cut diamond stares me in the face. Harry keeps his affectionate eyes on me, as he takes my left hand in his and slides the ring onto my ring finger. A perfect fit. Just like Harry and I. Standing here, I realize so many things. No matter how much we fight, Harry and I meant for each other. No amount of time spent with each other will be enough. No one can compare our love to another's. We're unique and perfect in every way. Whatever faults that I have, Harry fixes them. Same for him. Sure, we're not a picture perfect couple, but who is? Everyone fights and breaks up. The only difference between other couples and us is that we make up and our love for each other grows with each fight and each time we make up.
"We'll be okay, Harry. We'll make it through," I say. The look in his eyes tells me that he agrees with me.
The End.
A/N: The end, huh? I feel that this is the right chapter to end this book on, even though it's short, so I did. Harry and Bella's relationship is wonderful and I don't want to end their adventures. However, I need to leave the rest to my beautiful readers imagination. I'll let you guys picture their wedding, and their babies. ;) Please feel free to read my other books and I hope you enjoy them as much as this one. I'm forever appreciative of all of you guys, even the ghost readers. Stay safe and take care, M.