Flicker 》Harry Styles x Kennedy Walsh {COMPLETED}

21: Sealfish

"So you don't feel the same . . ." he trails off.

I struggle for a response, mentally going through the consequences of each action. If I tell him the truth, what would that make us? Would whatever we had progress to something bigger? Would I be able to take all that comes with it? And if I lie, would the rejection hurt me more than it would hurt him?

One look in his eyes pushed the bravery into me.

"I do."

Harry lights up that instant, his dimple making an appearance as he tried to suppress his grin. Light pink colors his cheeks and ears, and when a beat passes, he loses the battle, smiling fully now. His excitement rubs off on me, taking a bit of the nervousness away.

"Good—great," he watches me, and after seeing the sad smile on my face, he turns serious. "Talk to me, Kennedy."

"This is so weird," I laugh nervously, "I never thought I'd have this conversation with anyone—much less, you."

"Me neither," he chuckles, and when he sees my brows raised, he catches himself, "I didn't mean it that way. I meant—"

"I know what you meant," I cut him off, a smile playing on my lips.

We share a minute of silence, both speechless, and the time helps me discern about my choices. I chuckle at myself. One would think having Harry Styles admit his feelings towards me would bring me to cloud nine—heck, I'd even read tons of y/n fanfiction that gave me fantasies of this exact same thing. But now that it was actually happening, it's quite quickly become my nightmare.

Other than that, despite having my experience in relationships solely via fanfictions and novels, I am not as clueless as people assume I am. If my overthinking is right, this budding thing between Harry and I would, with no hesitation, end in pain and heartbreak. He lives in a completely different world than I do. It just . . . wouldn't work.

"Tell me." I'm startled by Harry's voice. When I look up at him, he's frowning, seeming to have read what had just been inside my head. "Please tell me what you're thinking," he says again.

"Animal Crossing."

He chuckles. "Funny—but you don't have to do that, Kennedy."

"I use sarcasm to cope, okay?!" My voice rises as I break into a laugh. He joins me, and for a moment, that sad line of thought was forgotten. It doesn't last long though, as Harry turns serious yet again. "No escape, huh?"

"Unfortunately, no."

A loud sigh escapes me as I prepare to air out my thought process. It wouldn't do anyone good if I go in circles about it or beat around the bush. So I decided to just say it as it is. "We won't work."

He seems surprised for a second. "You're sure."

What struck me most was that he didn't phrase it as a question, and just like that, I had an unwelcome feeling that it wasn't Harry's first time to hear that.

"I'm sure."

"Why?"

I ignore his question. "Why do you like me?"

"How couldn't I?" He answers without missing a beat and something about that made my heart flutter and my stomach drop at the same time.

"That's not an answer," I shoot back.

"Neither was yours."

"Don't do that!"

We both laugh, amused by the rapid exchange. But then the reality of the situation hits me and I let out another loud sigh, this time frustrated with myself. I shouldn't be enjoying this. He shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be falling for him. This is all a big mistake.