Once (Harry Styles)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

I get that some people probably thought I liked Harry for the wrong reasons. Just for the sex or because I was falling back on something comfortable or solely because we were stuck together for weeks on end and I couldn't stay away from him. Maybe you even think I just hated being single and he was the closest thing, but it was more than that. I liked him. I liked his personality and spending time with him, much as I hated to admit it. 

Despite the fact that he was mad as a hatter and we usually ended up getting into a spat about something pointless, I enjoyed being his friend, too. Together we always ended up getting in some stupid trouble that we'd have a laugh about later with our friends. We made no sense whatsoever, but he understood me. No one else could quite match all that I had to offer, except for him. It was almost like we were so wrong that we made a right.

*****

 "Harry," I whispered, hanging my hands on the edge of his bunk and resting my chin on his mattress. He didn't stir. "Harry," I said again softly.

He grunted before perking up his head and opening one eye, irritated at being awoken from a peaceful slumber. I giggled slightly.

There was something childlike and sweet about Harry when he first woke up, before he remembered all the stress from his life. He wasn't entirely coherent, just lazily moving around until his muscles awoke, too. "Hi," I said, blinking up at him. "Wanna come somewhere with me?"

He put a hand over his face and started rubbing his eyes groggily, finding it too early to answer any questions. "What time is it?" he asked with a yawn. 

I held a finger to his lips so he would know to be quiet. "Shh! It's about 7:30. Am," I added at the last second. "Everyone else is still asleep." The boys didn't have anything scheduled until late afternoon and they were taking full advantage of it, which included snoozing until the end of time. And Lizzie, well, waking up before 10 was a good day for Liz. 

He pulled his sheet back over his shoulder. "I don't think we can be friends anymore. No decent human being would wake me up at such an ungodly hour," he murmured, closing his eyes once more.

I punched his shoulder lightly, thinking of how that was exactly something Liz would say. "Come on, please?"

He sighed, knowing he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep now. "What did you have in mind?" 

"It's a surprise." 

"I'm just supposed to give up on the rest of my sweet slumber and trust you like that?" 

"Come on!" I said, almost stamping my foot. I knew he would do it, Harry rarely said no to anything. He just liked giving me a hard time. "Think of it like Harry and Ally, up to their old shenanigans again." 

Harry smiled slightly, stretching his limbs. His chest tattoos peaked out from under the sheet. "Fine, munchkin, you win. I'll get dressed and meet you in five." He reached beside him to grab his phone. "Don't we have to tell someone or something?"

My hands fumbled to my pocket where I held up a note: Gone sightseeing. Love, Harry and Ally,  it read. "Already taken care of." I grinned at him. I had written it before waking him up, knowing he would give in. 

Okay, I know sneaking off to be with Harry alone probably seemed like I was making it into a date, or at least being a little obvious about how I felt about him. But, I don't know, something made me feel brave. Maybe I was just excited about the opportunity to spend the day with him, but something told me to just go for it while I still had the chance. He would be swallowed into another continent in a few weeks.