Harry's POV
"Dude," Mitch called out to me from a few feet behind. "You've gotta tell her."
"Mitch, shut the hell up." I quietly scold. "I got it figured out. Plus we aren't even dating, so I don't have to tell her." I snap back.
Sarah gives me a concerning look, but doesn't say anything. They both meet up with me as we almost make it up the driveway. Oakland invited us over, and I am glad to hear from her after a few days of silence. I don't know where she has been, but I reached out to let her know that I was here for her. She seemed upset after being together that morning when I took her to the lookout to watch the sunrise, and I could sense that something was wrong, but I couldn't figure out what. Maybe I did something to upset her, or maybe I crossed an unknown boundary.
Mitch put his hand on my shoulder to signal me to stop as we were almost at the stairs that reached her front door. "You may not be dating, but there is something between you two, so it would be best to tell her before it gets out in a way that could hurt the both of you." He advises.
I look down at our feet, contemplating his opinion, wondering if it was smart to keep this from her, or to just come out with it today. I nodded slowly, still thinking of what to do.
I fucked up. I know I did, but it already happened so there isn't much I can do now. This could go one of two ways. Either she gets angry, and leaves me in the dust, or she doesn't care and brushes it off. I'm hoping for the ladder, but I completely deserve the first one.
"I'm hoping you'll make the right choice, Harry." Sarah warns, as she begins to march up the steps.
We reach the front door, and I reach out to hit the doorbell. I could hear the chime from out here, and footsteps quickly following. The door swung open, revealing her sister, grinning ear to ear. Sarah walks in, as if she owns the place, cheering out.
"The party's here!" she yelled, walking in to go straight in for a hug with Byerly. Mitch followed in behind her, leaving me standing there until my eyes fell on the beauty. She was holding the door open, watching the two of them with a soft smile sprawled across her face. Just seeing her made me smile myself, and all the stress from the conversation I had on the way up here washed away.
Her eyes met mine, catching me staring at her. Her smile grew a bit as she opened her arm and I walked in, going straight towards her. I instantly wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her into a much needed hug, kissing the top of her head, the smell of her coconut shampoo filling my senses.
"Hello beautiful." I whispered so that only she could hear. She melted into my hug, gripping my shirt a bit tighter than I expected, as if she didn't want me to go. I didn't want to let go either. It felt safe with her in my arms. It just felt right, and I think she felt the same way.
She quickly pulled back, a look as if she was pushing away the feeling we just shared. She averted her eyes away from mine as I looked down at her. We both dropped our arms down, and she looked around to see where the rest of our friends went. They moved into the kitchen, chatting it up, and Oakland made her way over there, still acting a bit off.
I want to dive into her head just to see what she is thinking.
I stand there for a second, racking my brain for any idea of what is up with her, but I follow behind her slowly as we meet the rest of them at the kitchen island. I lean my elbows on the counter, trying to insert myself into the conversation. They're talking about nonsense, so I couldn't quite pick up on the discussion, also because I was subconsciously keeping my attention on the girl next to me. She was also listening in on the conversation, but simultaneously picking at her nails. She seems anxious.
I put my hand on her shoulder, rubbing my thumb back and forth while keeping my eyes on Byerly, who was going on about something. I wanted to sooth her without drawing attention. She looked up at me so I looked down, sending her an innocent smirk.
"So... who wants to take shots?" Byerly questioned, raising her eyebrows.
Oakland sucked in a sharp breath before responding, "Uh- sure." straightening up her posture.
Five glasses were passed out around the island, each of us grabbing one before reaching for our preferred liquid. Oakland and I's hands both landed on a bottle of Patron, fingers brushing before she pulled back. I opened the bottle, filling up both of our shot glasses, before passing it to Sarah.
"Okay, lets get lowkey fucked up because I don't know about y'all, but I am tired of being sober." Byerly cheered.
We all raised our glasses up before tapping them on the counter and throwing back the shot. Oakland squeezed her face up after slamming the shot back down, I let out a little laugh, rubbing her back. She let out a sigh, sticking her tongue out with a disgusted look on her face.
"That never gets easier I swear." she says. I giggled at her words, smiling down at her.
"Another!" Sarah said once we all recovered from the burn in the back of our throats.
Mitch, Oakland, and I let out a vocal sigh, but followed anyways. Once the glasses were filled again, we quickly threw back another shot.
Oakland's face screwed together once again said "Okay I can't do another." she gave up. We all laughed at her reaction.
"We have some claws in the fridge I think." her sister said, walking towards the refrigerator.
"Claws?" I questioned.
Oakland whipped her head towards me in shock, "white claws?" she said as if I was supposed to know what she was talking about. I knit my eyebrows together, shaking my head in confusion.
"Oh please, whiteclaws are a staple at any college in America. Easy to drink, and quick to have fun." her sister said, enticing me to try one.
''Yeah, they are supposed to be more healthy, so I used to steal my mom's when I went to parties." Oakland told us. She went over to where her sister was, grabbing two of the drinks from the fridge and sliding one to me. I picked it up, inspecting the label, since I'd never even heard of these. She opened the can, so I followed along, trying the drink, which was much more tame than the two shots we just took.
"Y'all wanna go swim?" Byerly offered, my friends nodding and walking towards the back door.
"I'll grab some towels." Oakland offered up. "Harry, want to help?"
I smiled at her question, nodding and walking towards where she was going. The rest of them out by the pool, we were alone in the house. She led us down a hallway, stopping at a closet, and opening it to reveal shelves filled with a random assortment of things. She was focused on whatever she was looking for, not paying much attention to me.
Oakland let out a hard sigh, abruptly turning around to instantly meet my gaze on her.
"I'm sorry," she said with concerning eyes. She broke our stare, looking down at her hands in front of her. "I- I..." she stumbled before taking in a deep breath. "I just completely left you in the dark, and it was really shitty of me." she spoke, her hands fiddling together, showing that she was either anxious or nervous.
I placed my hands on top of hers, her head snapping up to look at me. I gave her a warming smile to show that I wasn't mad at her. I still didn't understand what happened or went on with her, but I couldn't blame her for something that I could have caused. If I did cross a line with her, then I couldn't blame her for reacting the way she did.
"Don't be sorry, angel." I said softly. "Don't ever feel sorry for having emotions. I may not know what is wrong, but I'm here for when or if you want to talk." I let her know.
I would always be there for her, I know how toxic one's mind can be, so I know how nice it is to know that at least one person is there for you. She nodded, looking back down to her feet, but holding onto my hands a little tighter, as if I was going to disappear in thin air.
Guilt began to build in my chest, thinking back to how Mitch said that I needed to tell her. I just didn't know how to, though. I could see the deep pain she was feeling behind her eyes, and even imagining me being the cause of it, or feeding into it by telling her my little secret, is an unbearable feeling. Mitch is right though, and I could feel Sarah's guilty eyes looking at me in my subconscious, so I knew I needed to make this right before it could get out of hand.
"Oakland," I said even softer than we were just talking. She looked up at me with puppy dog eyes. Her blue gaze burning into me, and I could only feel the nerves rising as I took my time before figuring out what to say.
"Yeah?" she said with her sweet voice. Every Time she spoke I swear that was what heaven sounded like.
I squeezed her hands, looking down to them.
"I actually have something to tell you." I said timidly, not looking back to her eyes. "So, the night after we saw each other the last time-" I began to speak, but was interrupted.
"Oakland!" her sister yelled from the back door. "Grab your speaker so we can play some music out here!"
"Okay B!" Oakland yelled back, looking towards where the voice was coming from. She looked back up to me. "What were you saying?"
"Oh.. um.." I stuttered, contemplating whether this was a good time to even have this conversation. " I was just saying that-" I began again, but was interrupted once more.
"Wait, Harry," she cut me off. "Is this going to hurt me?" she creased her eyebrows together, looking at me with confused and sad eyes.
I pulled my lips into a tight line, looking at her for a second before responding.
"There's a possibility." I whispered.
"Then I don't want to know," she said still with a soft voice. "At least not right now... I don't want the possibility of ruining this day. I just need one good day." she confessed.
I nodded, slightly thankful for being given a little more time to think over what I should fully say to her. She slipped her hands out from my grasp, turning around to grab what we came back here for, towels. They seemed to be on too tall of a shelf, so she was having trouble getting them down, so I reached over her petite body, getting five beach towels with ease. She turned back around to face me once more, giving me a tight lipped smile, taking two of them out of my hands, and walking towards what seemed to be her bedroom.
"Mind the mess." she warned before opening the door. I stifled down a chuckle as we walked in, my eyes instantly landing on her suitcase that looked like it exploded. She snapped her head towards me with wide eyes but a grin on her lips. "Hey! It's not that bad!" she scolded me for my laugh. She walked towards her nightstand after setting the towels down on her bed to grab her speaker, stepping over the clothes everywhere.
Her energy shifted after our conversation in the hallway. She seemed more calm, or at least she was quite good at hiding what she was feeling. I could tell that she wanted to just ignore the tension that built between us, so I followed along with how she acted.
I walked up behind her, grabbing her by her waist to turn her to face me. The light from the peaked sun shone through her giant windows casted a beautiful glow across her face, bringing out gold specks that twinkled in her eyes. The blue of her shirt made her eyes pop even more, and the combination of the sun and her shirt made her beauty shine even more.
"Where's that camera of yours, love?" I asked, the distance between us small as I kept her close to me. She furrowed her brows at my question, so I began to elaborate. "You look so beautiful right now, and I feel like you only take pictures of other people. You deserve to see how beautiful you are."
She smiled up at me, and I could tell that it was genuine. She pointed to the dresser under the TV, which had her old camera sitting right on top. I grasped it, turning back towards her and pulling her towards the window. She stood right in front of it, the sun shining brightly behind her. I held the viewfinder up to my eye, and she gave me a smile as if she knew she was going to be photographed. I lowered the camera down, looking at her.
"Oh c'mon. A genuine smile, love." I said, poking at what I could tell was a fake smile.
"Harry, I hate having my picture taken." she groaned.
I shook my head, my lips curving up at an idea that sprung into my mind. She tilted her head, confused at my conniving smirk. I snapped a picture of her lost face, knowing that it would come out cute. I began making funny faces, sticking my tongue out. Easily, she erupted in laughter, an authentic smile broke out from ear to ear across her face. I got that picture too, feeling quite proud at my photographer skills, even though I couldn't see the product.
"When can we see these?" I asked, confused by how older technology worked.
"Oh, I'll have to get them developed later." she told me, walking up to take the camera out of my grasp.
She quickly turned it around, mindlessly aiming to get us both in frame. I bent down, resting my chin on her shoulder, having a soft smile on my lips. She took that picture, and I turned to kiss her cheek; she snapped that picture too.
She turned her head, swiftly pecking my lips before pulling back. I reached up, lacing my hands through her hair to pull her back, laying another kiss, this one being more passionate. Everytime I kiss her, it feels like the first time. Fireworks exploding in my mind. There is just something different about Oakland. She isn't like normal girls.
Once we pulled back, she smiled up at me, before making her way to finally getting everything we came back here for. I grabbed the towels while she got the speaker, making our way out to the kitchen to get our drinks before going out to the back pool. She connected her phone to the speaker, playing some fun music. I knew the song, but it was a different version than I had heard.
"Omg finally!" Byerly said from the water."yesssss! I love this song!" she cheered.
"What song is this?" Sarah asked, swimming up to the edge of the pool where we stood.
"Mine by Bazzi, but it is a remix." she told Sarah.
Play Mine Bazzi Vs. Jengi remix
I followed her around the pool to set everything down on one of the chairs. She quickly took off her clothes, as I reached behind my back to grab the collar of my shirt to pull it off. She was standing in a pink bathing suit, which made her tan skin glow even more than it already was. I caught myself gazing at her beauty, so I quickly snapped my eyes away so that she wouldn't catch me.
We went over to the edge of the pool, slowly moving down the steps, entering the cool water which felt good since it was hot today. Once standing on the bottom, I felt Oakland jump on my back instantly. I caught her, flipping her around so that her legs were wrapped around my waist. She has a bright smile, one that I barely got to see since I'd seen her today. The type of smile that made one grow on your face, because you could see how genuine it was.
"You're breathtaking." I softly said, trying to keep our little bubble intact. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders, leaning in to lightly kiss me. She pulled away as I could feel another smile creeping up on her cheeks.
Diverting the complement, she unlatched from me, and splashed me with water. Since my hair and upper body was still dry, it sent a chill down my body from how cold it was. Laughter erupted from her as she saw my reaction, not being able to contain herself. I tried to make an angry face, but hearing her joy made it impossible.
"Oh, you are going to wish you didn't do that, love." I warned, quickly picking her up and tossing her like a ragdoll, so that she was fully submerged underwater. She let out a small squeal while midair, causing everyone to look in our direction. They all burst out laughing once seeing her come back up with her hair sprawled across her face.
"Harry!" she scolded, jumping on me, only to realise that I am probably three times her size, so I caught her before she could bring me down with her. "Ugh!" she groaned, but still has a smile on her face, so I knew that she wasn't really mad at me. I pushed her hair out of her face, grabbing her cheeks to pull her in, kissing her forehead before her nose and finally her lips.
Sarah, Byerly, and Mitch all made joking disgusted sounds, shouting that PDA wasn't cool, but we stayed liplocked, only to simultaneously lift our middle fingers up to them. We laughed, finally pulling back, looking into each other's eyes, until the gaze broke by Sarah yelling out to us.
"Who wants to play a game?" she asked, us all cheering in response. Oakland swam to the edge of the pool to grab her drink, throwing back the rest of the thing easily. I raised my eyebrows, shocked that such a small person could chug a can almost completely.
"Yea! Who wants to chicken fight?" Oakland yelled, holding up her muscles to flex, even though she had no muscle.
"Here," I said, going over to her. "Get on my shoulders."
I got down, and she got on top easily. Sarah and Mitch eyed each other before doing the same.
"I'll be the referee." Byerly offered, sitting on the edge of the pool, sipping her drink. "Okay, three, two, one, GO!" she counted down.
We played the childish game, having the alcohol buzzing through our systems which made everything ten times more fun. Obviously, we won, and I realized that Oakland is a tough fighter. Sarah went falling down within the first few seconds, reigning us a victory. Oakland jumped off my shoulders, instantly cheering and hugging me with a huge smile that always lights up everything around her. Mitch and Sarah couldn't even be mad after hearing how joyful Oakland was.
"Maybe next time guys!" my partner mocked, shrugging her shoulders in a cocky manner. I high fived her, having a smirk drawn on my face from her snarky comment. They all chuckled, Sarah getting on Mitch's back as he spun her around.
Oakland came up behind me, hugging my waist. "I'm going to go back inside to get another drink." she told me. I nodded, staying where I was at as she went inside.
Mitch met my eyes before shooting a look towards Byerly, who was laying on her back with her feet dangled in the water, her eyes shut. He came over to me, getting close so that her sister couldn't hear.
"Did you tell her?" he asked, furrowing his brows with a more serious look. Sarah shoot behind him off to the side of him, looking at me with the same concerning eyes as always.
"Not yet," I responded, receiving a swat on the arm. "Hey! She told me that she didn't want me to tell her anything that might ruin the day, so I got myself some more time to sort out how exactly to break it to her. I really don't want to hurt her, Mitch." I told him in all seriousness.
"You just have to do it soon, the longer you wait, the worse it could get." he tells me. "I told you not to break her heart damn it." he scolded.
"I wasn't trying to Mitch." I rolled my eyes, tired of this conversation already. "Hopefully she is the understanding type?" I said as more of a question.
"What are you guys talking about?" Byerly sat up, pushing her sunglasses on top of her head.
Shit.
"Oh, nothing. Oakland went inside to get another drink." I told her quickly, changing the subject smoothly.
She furrowed her brows, narrowing her eyes towards us before shrugging it off and going inside.
Oakland's POV
"Oak." my sister whispered, walking in from outside.
"What's up?" I asked, still looking in the fridge.
"I think Harry is hiding something from you." she told me, her face straight even though I knew she was drunk. I laughed, not believing her. "Oakland, I'm serious."
I shut the fridge, turning to face her completely, confused on what had to happen in the short amount of time I wasn't outside for her to come to that conclusion.
"Okay, what are you talking about?" I questioned.
"Mitch and Harry were talking about how Harry needed to tell you something, and Harry said that he didn't want to hurt you." she said, spitting new information at me that was throwing me for a loop. I shook my head as a signal for her to keep going.
"Then Mitch told him that he said not to break your heart." she said, quieter than the last sentence.
I pulled my bottom lip in between my teeth, thinking back to when Harry and I were in the hallway, and him telling me that he had something to tell me. My heart panged at the thought of Harry having something that could wreck me. I wasn't strong enough to handle that yet, only knowing him for such a small amount of time, yet having such a strong connection to him so quickly. I opened my mouth, but shut it after not knowing what to say. I just shook my head, trying to rid my mind of the memory from earlier. I told him not to tell me, thinking it was something miniscule that might make me a little sad, like him having to leave earlier than expected, but breaking my heart? I can't imagine what it is now, and I don't intend on finding out. I can't allow any form of pain to ruin what is left of this vacation, since I already wallowed in self-pity for the past three days.
"I just think you should talk to him later." she offered.
"I-... I don't think I can, B." I said in a soft tone, showing how defeated I was. "I don't want anything to mess up what is going on right now, so... I'll just brush it off."
"Don't burrow down your feelings, Oak." she said, resting a hand on my shoulder. The alcohol flowing through my veins is making me more emotional, so tears began to well in my eyes. "Hey, hey... none of that. Not until you actually know what he was talking about. If anything, it could be something random and unimportant. Don't let this ruin today, O." she comforted me, brushing her thumbs under my eyes to catch the rogue tears slipping down my cheeks.
"You're right, not allowing this to ruin my day." I said with a pointed tone. I have nothing to worry about, not until I actually can hear about what he wanted to tell me. "Should we make a late lunch?" I changed the subject, looking over to the clock on the oven that read that it was 3pm. She nodded, walking towards the back to holler out to our friends.
"Hey! We're making lunch if Y'all want some!" she yelled. I heard the water splash, and soon came in Harry, Sarah, and Mitch, moving to sit at the island of the kitchen. Harry went around it, coming up behind me to hug my waist, leaning down to rest his head on my shoulder while I turned on the stove.
"Okay, if I'm being honest, all I know how to make is a grilled cheese, so I hope y'all are okay with that." I confessed. I felt Harry giggle from behind me, causing my lips to curve up at the corners.
I don't care what he has to tell me. Just being in his presence warms my soul and makes my heart skip a beat, so whatever he needs to confess, I can put it behind me, because he makes me happy.
"Here," he said, stepping to my side. "Let me help you."
He grabbed some slices of bread, laying them down on the pan after buttering the sides of them. I laid down some cheese on top, creating the perfect sandwich.
We really make a great team.
Once everyone was served, we ate every crumb, since the sun really was draining us from our energy. We moved back out to lay by the poolside. We were all still in our bathing suits,soaking up the last of the sun's rays before they set for the night. I laid, sharing a chair with Harry, his arm draped around my shoulder while twisting a strand of my hair between his fingers. Mitch and Sarah looked just like us, while Byerly was by herself, looking at something on her phone.
I'm glad that she didn't care to be somewhat fifth wheeling, because she always just lived in the moment, never fully dwelling on anything. She was definitely the cooler sister, never caring what anyone else thought of her. She lived her life for herself and only herself. I strived to be like her, but could never relate to her care-free attitude.
"Love," Harry caught my attention, bringing me out of my thoughts. I looked up at him, raising my eyebrows for him to continue. "Would you like to come over tonight for dinner? I think we should spend some alone time together."
He gave him a soft smile, liking that he wanted to be away from everyone. "Of course." I said softly. I placed my hand on his bare chest, tracing his swallows tattoos right under his collar bone.
We laid there, basking in one another's presence, not wanting to get up ever. The smooth sound of the waves from the sea not too far away and the, now calmer, music played in the background for however long we were out there. We stayed, all in silence, for a long while, before Harry reached over to check the time on his phone.
"Hey guys," he called out to his friends. "We should probably head back." he raised his eyebrows at Mitch, signaling something that I couldn't pick up on. Mitch tapped Sarah's leg, telling her to get ready to leave, while Harry sat up to toss on his shirt. I got up also, throwing on my jean shorts and blue shirt.
"I'll walk y'all out." I said before walking over to Byerly who was knocked out with her forearm over her eyes, swatting her head to wake her up. "They are leaving, B." I told her, getting her up from her slumber.
We all went inside, them grabbing their things before heading towards the door. Sarah hugged B, everyone saying their goodbyes, and Harry's two friends heading down to the car, leaving him still in the doorway with his shoulder resting on the frame. Byerly went back into her room after calling out a quick bye to Harry from halfway down the hallway. He snickered, calling back out to her as well.
"See you soon?" he asked, resting his hands in his pockets.
"Soon." I said, going back to the word that began to hold more meaning everytime it was spoken. He nodded his head, leaning down to kiss me.
Everytime. I swear every time I am going to blow up just by feeling his lips on mine. His left hand cupped my cheek, deepening the kiss, but pulling back after hearing his car horn go off. He sighed, keeping his eyes closed, and our faces still millimeters apart.
"Okay, I guess that is my que to leave." he spoke. He looked me over, stopping on my chest, which made me feel sort of weird, until he spoke once more. "Your shirt." he stated.
I furrowed my brows, "what about it?" I questioned, with a somewhat sassy tone.
"I love it." was all he said. I looked down, not even remembering what I was wearing until I saw the small cursive embroidered words across the pocket.
'You bring me home.'
He met my eyes once more, smirking, and placing one more soft and dainty kiss on my cheek before moving to my lips. I smiled within the kiss, trying to soak up every ounce of him that I could.
"Soon, Angel." he whispered into my lips, backing away after saying it, and heading down the driveway to his car.
Anxiety began to run through my whole body once I closed the door. What does he need to tell me? Why does he think he is going to break my heart?
My mind began to race, intrusive thoughts plaguing my head. It all started to build stronger as I realised why.
I have feelings for him, and he is about to rip my heart to shreds.
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Okay! Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Pls leave your theories here!!!
Also if you have any ideas for senior quotes for my yearbook, preferably Harry related, pls lmk bc I can't choose one and they are due soon!!
Sending all my love<3<3<3