TW: Mention of physical assault.
A/N: This is the longest chapter I've written for this story yet... Oops!! I don't care. Enjoy! And get ready for the next two chapters hehehehehe.
HARRY'S POV:
I walk into the bar that I was forced to rent out.. Well not forced.. Coerced. I don't mind celebrating their move. I don't ever mind celebrating Scarlett, and I never would mind it. But she doesn't know about this, and neither does Sierra. This was all Birdie's idea, and she's here right now, pulling me straight into a hug.
"Hi, hi, hi." She hugs me, and I hug her tight.
"How are you?" I ask despite having seen her all week, in and out of the office. Meaning in my apartment constantly, hanging out with Scarlett because she never wants to be alone anymore. By alone I mean alone with me.
"I'm good. I'm really good, and what about you? Scarlett?" She asks, and I shrug.
"There's nothing to say about me and Scarlett considering I never get the chance to see her because of you and Sierra." I tell her, and she shrugs.
"Sorry about that... But technically it's your own fault.. You made us friends.. And then you kissed her... Which sent her into a crisis." She explains, and I nod.
"Yes I'm aware. Everything is my fault." I wave my hand. The bartender comes forward to me, and I order a shot of tequila. "When will they be here?" I ask Birdie.
"Soon, actually they should be-"
"What the hell is going on?" I turn to see Scarlett as I lean onto the bar. I drink her in, looking her up and down, and dear god she looks... There's no words.. She's wearing a tight skirt, and a green fitted shirt with a mock neck, and cuffed shoulders.. The pattern on her shirt is unique, and so flattering.. Her hair is bright, and reaches her shoulders, and her makeup is fresh. God I want to kiss her again... So damn bad, and I know that's what she wants too.
"Earth to Harry, hello?" Birdie snaps in front of my face, and I look at her.
"What? Sorry." I ask, and she shakes her head.
"Yes she looks good, no you can't have her." She tells me.
"But I heard her tell Sierra-"
"No, you heard a very small part of that conversation. You heard her say the kiss was magical. That could mean physical, not mental or emotional.. We know nothing... Why were you eavesdropping anyway?" She asks me, and I sigh.
"Because I was hearing the two of them yell, and I was going to go check on them, and then I heard them quiet down so I stepped before I knocked, and then I heard Scarlett say the kiss was magical, and then she said my lips were perfect." I tell her, and she rolls her eyes.
"Well she's approaching you, so get ready." Birdie tells me, and I look again to see Scarlett walking forward. I throw the shot back, keeping my eyes on her, and she makes eye contact with me right when I do. She approaches, and I open my arm to her, still shaking my head.
"Don't say it." I hug her to me with one arm, and she hugs me back with both.
"That was hot." She looks up at me, and I roll my eyes.
"You look hot." I tell her, playing off of her own words.
"Don't I?" she asks, moving back posing for me.I laugh, and Sierra walks up, looking beautiful too.
"You look beautiful." I compliment her, and pull her into a hug. She hugs me back, and looks me up and down.
"You look good yourself." She compliments me back, and I wave my hand at her.
"Oh stop." I joke.
"Now I want a drink." Sierra moves past me, and Scarlett tugs on her arm.
"Be careful please." She speaks in a low whisper, and I watch the interaction, seeing how odd it feels. Scarlett is protective of her sister always, but never the mom type.. Sierra leans against the bar, and I watch as Scarlett takes a water from the bar. Birdie is now off with Sierra, and I assume some of her friends. I wouldn't know I didn't organize any of this, my wallet did. I look at Scarlett and nod my head towards one of the booths. She nods back to me, and the two of us walk together.
"How has your first week at home been?" I ask her, knowing I haven't seen her at all today.
"Boring, but also so exciting because I've been really planning the line, what I want with it, what I need to do with it.. But health wise I don't think it's smart to keep working the entire time... So I take breaks, watch TV, cook... Well I tried to cook." She tells me, and I look at her quickly.
"Did you catch my apartment on fire?" I ask, and she shakes her head. "No smoke damage?" I ask, and she shakes her head. I sigh in relief, and she shoves me.
"I wouldn't do that... That's also my home now, I need a place to live." She argues, and I nod with a smile.
"You said home." I taunt her.
"Yes, home. You are there, Sierra is there.. Home isn't and will never be a place." She tells me.
"It's people." I finish, and she nods.
"Exactly." She smiles up at me, and ever since we kissed it's felt warmer between the two of us. But not in a friendly way which is the worst part for me... but I keep ignoring it. Definitely for her sake, not mine.. I can't have her running away from me, I know I couldn't handle that.
"You've been avoiding me." I mention, and she looks at me from the side.
"Have not." She argues.
"Have so.. You've never had people over this often before, and I know that because you even had Birdie here on Wednesday, and that's supposed to be our day." I argue.
"I've been... um... busy." She tells me.
"You don't have to avoid me Scarlett. I told you it wouldn't happen again. I told you I wouldn't bring it up, but you're making me bring it up." I explain.
"You don't need to bring it up.. Stop bringing it up." She angles her body towards me, and I look down at her.
"We kissed... So what. Sometimes friends kiss friends.. It happens..It's not a big deal, especially since it won't happen again, right?" I ask her, and I watch her slowly nod as she looks up at me. I do notice it... When her eyes look between my eyes and my lips. I don't think she realizes how noticeable everything she does is.. I noticed the other day when we were on the couch, and I was talking to her... She does it so often when we're close like this, and it makes it so hard to keep my word. "Do you want a drink? It's an open bar." I tell her, and she shakes her head.
"I shouldn't.." She looks forward, and I thin my eyes.
"Never have you ever been someone to turn down drinks.. What's wrong? Why are you being the designated sober person?" I ask her, and she shrugs, and turns away. "Scarlett Cole, look at me right now." I turn her shoulders to me so she's looking at me. "Why aren't you drinking?" I ask her.
"Because things haven't been completely normal, and when I drink alcohol things have a tendency to get messy... No more mess." She tells me.
"Scarlett, we've already come to the conclusion you're a mess.. Stop fighting it. Embrace the messy, and have fun tonight... I rented out an entire restaurant, and paid off the bar so we could have whatever we wanted... I did that so we could have fun, not so you could be the mom of the group... Go, get a drink." I nod my head, and she sighs.
"Alright you've won me over." She shrugs, moving out of the booth.
"Wow, it only took me a few years." I joke.
"On drinks! You won me over on drinks jackass!" She yells back, and I laugh to myself. She's so fun to poke fun at, especially because even when she knows I'm joking it gets a rise out of her.. I watch her go up to the bar, and lean over, talking to the bartender. He nods, and she throws her hand over her shoulder, motioning to me. The bartender makes eye contact with me, and I give him a nod, him doing the same. She continues to talk, and I continue to watch, letting my eyes travel over her, giving her a look over a few times.
I've said it before. I'm not the person who's going to care about looks because looks fade with time.. And that's all I want with Scarlett is her time.. But sometimes I do look, I do watch the way she moves, the way her body curves, and walks.. The way her hips billow, and her waist flows into the curve of her body. Her hair hits her back perfectly, hanging right at her shoulders. Scarlett Cole has always been perfect, and I've known it since the first time I met her.. I think anyone would notice that... Someone already is, right now actually.
I watch him approach her, and start to chat. He's got dimples, mine are better of course, but he's got them. He seems charming, kind.. Probably funny. He's probably going to offer to buy her a drink without knowing that there's an open bar.. He'll looks stupid, and she'll make an excuse.. She'll come back to me, and his self esteem will be ruined the moment she sits down next to me and he sees it... He won't know we're just friends.. He won't think we are though. He'll think he just flirted with a taken woman. He'll walk away, and not bother her again because after seeing me he's going to ignore any thought he had of taking her home with him.
"Someone is flirting with your girl." I look over my shoulder to see Birdie leaning over the top of the booth.
"She's not my girl yet." I tell her, and Birdie rolls her eyes as I look back and watch the two of them at the bar.
"Whatever... Aren't you going to go say something? Doesn't it bother you?" She asks, and I shrug.
"Of course I don't like it.. But, Scarlett is beautiful so I can't be ignorant enough to think that she won't get hit on or flirted with.. If it wasn't an open bar I'd even be fine with her flirting back. Free drinks are free drinks. I'll step in if she gives me a sign too, or she looks at me like she needs me.. Until then, I'll find amusement over him making a fool of himself." I nod to the guy, and Birdie nods.
"You know, some girls think jealousy is attractive sometimes." She tells me, and I nod. "I think what you just said is far more attractive." She tells me, and I furrow my brows.
"I'm still your boss Birdie." I tell her.
"Boss or not, you're still hot." She tells me, and I start to turn around but she starts to walk away. I turn my attention back to Scarlett with a smirk on my lips, and I see her place her hand on the guys shoulder, smile, and then nod. She picks up her drinks from the bar, and turns away from him with a grin on her lips. I look at her in full, letting my eyes scan her from the front, and once I make it back to her face I notice her jaw is dropped.
"Were you just checking me out?" She asks.
"Darling I've been doing it since you walked up to the bar." I admit, and take the drink from her hands. I notice her cheeks flare up to a pink shade and I try my hardest to hide my smirk as I bring the drink to my lips. I look back to the bar to see the gentleman that was just speaking with Scarlett. He's looking over here so I place my arm around the back of the booth, lightly over her shoulders without making it too obvious. I'm not the jealous type... I promise. "What's his name?" I ask, drinking my drink.
"Huh?" She asks, drinking hers.
"I asked what his name was.." I look at her.
"Are you jealous?" She asks with a smirk, toying with the straw in her fingers.
"No. Tell me his name." I nod my head. "I'll ask him myself if you decide on not telling me." I offer, and her jaw drops.
"His name was Avery." She tells me, and I nod.
"So you learned his name.. Interesting." I notice her shake her head.
"Oh my god is this a pop quiz? You asked me for his name, did you want me to lie?" She asks.
"No I hate it when you lie to me... I just didn't think you actually had long enough of a conversation with him to know his name. That's all.." I shrug.
"You're jealous." She smirks.
"Not jealous." I shake my head.
"Okay.. Well he's an intern.. At the hospital right now. He wants to be a surgeon which is incredibly hot.. And he has nice dimples too, didn't you notice that?" She asks, and I clench my jaw.
"Interesting.. All of that from such an insignificant conversation." I nod.
"I don't know if I'd call it insignificant, I mean-"
"Scarlett, I know you're saying all of this to piss me off, or get a rise out of me, and it's working, and I would try to get one out of you just the same so I will. If you don't stop talking about the guy with shitty dimples then I'll have to shut you up in another way." I warn her, and she clenches her own jaw.
"You said you wouldn't unless I asked." She warns me, and I laugh to myself.
"The way you're talking you are asking for it.. You're practically begging for it." I tell her, and she stands up. "Where are you going?" I ask her.
"Getting myself another drink because if I'm going to have to suffer through this I'd rather be drunk." She tells me, and I don't know if she's joking or not... I guess we're going to find out.
It's been a few hours, and Scarlett has been talking non stop, and I've entertained the entirety of it. I love hearing her talk, and I love hearing her talk about things she likes and things she doesn't like.. I just like her.. Actually I love her.. She's drunk, or close to it I think. I'm fine. I wasn't earlier but I am now.. I wanted to remember the entire night. I look to my side at Scarlett, and she looks at me, and hums with a warm smile on her face.
"You're looking at me weird." She speaks quietly, only loud enough for me to hear.
"I'm looking at you like I always look at you." I tell her. She rests her head on her hand as she looks at me, and I shake my head.
"What are you thinking?" I ask.
"Do you want the truth.." She slurs her words, raising her eyebrows.
"Always.. What's on your mind?" I ask her. I lift my drink, bringing it to my lips.
"I want to kiss you." She tells me, and I choke on my drink. I bring it away from my lips, and wipe my mouth, coughing. "You asked for the truth." She shrugs, drinking her drink, and I take the alcohol from her hands. "Boo! I tell you what you want to hear, and you take my fun juice?" She asks me.
"No, it's not what I want to hear, I want to hear it when you're sober, not right now.. And I took your fun juice because sober you is going to hate drunk you for saying that, and she'd probably be mad at me for hearing it even though it wasn't my fault.. So hopefully sober you doesn't remember that you just said that." I speak my thoughts, and she shrugs, crossing her arms.
"I'm never telling you the truth again." She tells me, and I scoff.
"Wrong. You will always tell me the truth... Why do you want to kiss me Scarlett?" I ask her, continuing the conversation she started.
"Ugh, what are you? My therapist?" She asks me.
"I can be... Tell me." I nod at her, and she sighs.
"I don't know why I want to kiss you.. Because you're a really good kisser. Very attentive. Sure that's what I'll go with." She makes something up, and I laugh.
"You're being a dick.. That's what this is? You're making something up because you don't know the real reason?" I ask her, and she sighs. "Or is it because that's actually true, and you don't want to admit it because you know it will lead to you admitting something else?" I ask, and she smirks, shaking her head.
"You're... You're... In so much trouble!" She looks past me, and raises her voice, causing me to furrow my brows.
"I assume you're not talking to me?" I ask, and she pushes herself up from the booth. "Scarlett, sit down." I move up with her, and stand in front of her, stopping her from walking any more.
"Move out of the way, she's going home." Scarlett seems to completely sober up now as she turns to look at me seriously. I look past me to see Sierra taking shots, both hands full.
"She's not going anywhere, we're celebrating the two of you tonight so what's the problem Scarlett?" I ask her, trying to understand this.
"She's not allowed to do this.. This isn't okay." She motions to Sierra, and I hold her steady once more, looking at her.
"What the hell are you talking about Scar? You're her sister not her mom.. Let her have fun, let this night be a good night for her... She's allowed to have fun isn't she?" I ask, knowing Sierra wont want to be babysat right now.
"Yes she can have fun but she's... The drinks, She can't have-"
"Yes she can? Am I missing something here Scarlett? I'm lost, why are you-"
"Sierra is sick. She's sick, and she's not allowed to drink this much. It's incredibly bad for her, and probably progressing her condition if she's going at it like this all the time.. Get out of my way." She motions to me, and I just stand there, trying to process what she just told me.
"What do you mean Sierra is sick? How sick? What kind of sick?" I ask her, trying to understand this.
"I mean she's sick. She has cancer, she's sick." She waves her hands, and walks away from me, and I stand there, watching. I don't move from my place as Scarlett walks over to Sierra, and pulls her to the side. The two of them talk, and Sierra seems annoyed but she does agree to whatever Scarlett is saying, and then she hugs her sister. Sierra walks back to her friends, and Scarlett shakes her head walking back to me.
"How could... I don't even have words right now.." I shake my head, not comprehending any of this.
"Ask me questions then. What do you want to know?" She asks me.
"I want to know how either of you could keep something like this from me for over a month and a half..." I call her out, and she clenches her jaw.
"It's complicated Harry, all of this is a lot more complicated than you know... I'm sorry." She apologizes, and I shake my head.
"I'm not doing this here." I shake my head, and turn around to her, and grab my keys from the table.
"Wait, where are you.. Harry, where are you going?" She asks.
"I'm going home. I don't want to be here anymore, and I...You're.." I shake my head, and walk away from her. I approach Sierra who's now standing with Birdie. I pull Sierra in, and hug her, and kiss her head. I hug Birdie too, and turn. "I'll see both of you later, have a good night." I tell both of them, and walk out onto the street, and down the street towards my car. I click the keys, unlocking it, and climbing in, feeling more anger than I can even comprehend myself. I sit in the car, leaning back, and it builds and builds the thought of being in the dark about this, the thought of not knowing. I punch my steering wheel, and the door opens right as I do. Scarlett climbs in my car, and I wish she wouldn't right now.
"Harry, I'm sorry I-"
"Yeah I know you're sorry, and I'm trying to understand this, and trying to be lenient because it's your sister, and it's your life, and I interrupted it. I get that, but I can't fully comprehend any of this right now, and I'm just.. I'm so fucking mad at you right now Scarlett, I'm so mad." I admit, and turn my car on.
"Do you want me to get out?" She asks, and I laugh, pulling away.
"No. Absolutely not, no. I don't want you in there by yourself right now, I don't want you anywhere without me, ever at all." I tell her, driving toward the apartment.
"So you want to be around me, but you're mad at me?" She asks.
"I don't want to be around you Scarlett, I just don't want you to be anywhere I'm not. I... It's complicated." I shake my head, driving. Scarlett doesn't talk back, and we sit in silence as I drive. We sit quietly as I pull into the parking garage, and after I park we walk quietly to the elevator, and into my apartment.
"Harry I-"
"Scarlett, I don't want to talk to you right now." I tell her.
"Well too bad. I didn't want to talk to you the other day, and you made me talk, so that's what we're going to do." I start walking up the stairs, and she follows behind me. "You can't ignore me forever, you don't ignore me. You don't get mad at me. You forgive me, and we work together, and do better." She tells me.
"Yes I always forgive you Scarlett because most of the time the things in question are petty, and dumb, and they don't matter. This matters. You, and Sierra matter, and this isn't small, this is huge.. You kept cancer from me, you kept something so fucking important from me, and-"
"And you haven't heard my side of any of this. You haven't let me catch a fucking breath, and tell you what the hell is going on so shut the hell up!" She breaks, and I stop talking, and look at her. She's mad now, and I don't know if it's justified yet.
"Talk then... Tell me why you kept it from me." I wave my hand.
"I kept it from you because Sierra got sick six months before you showed back up, and when you got here I figured that was six months of hell that you weren't here for, that was six months of tears, and pain, and doctors visits, and watching Sierra cry consistently because of pain and... You weren't here. You chose to leave, and not be here. So I didn't think you deserved to be here for any of the rest of it... Then we moved in, and I was going to.. I was going to tell you, I knew we needed to tell you..." She stops talking and I shake my head.
"So what is it then? Was it money? You didn't want me to help you?" I ask.
"Yes actually. That's a huge part of this... Because I'm crushed right now with medical bills from Sierra. Quite literally cannot breathe under the debt. The reason I couldn't pay my rent was because of the bills piling up, that's why. And I know you, and I know you would pay all of it. You would pay the future bills too, I know you would and neither of us wanted you to." I tell him truthfully.
"Why? Scarlett why would you-"
"Because! Because if you do then I will feel like I owe you something.. And even if you convince me I don't owe you anything then it's just going to hurt worse when you leave again to go back to England, or go somewhere else okay? I can't handle that, because if you pay for this, if you help then you become a part of this. Then you're part of the team to help save my sister, and if you save her and you leave I.. If you don't save her.. If she dies, and then you.." Scarlett stops, and she turns away, and I give her a second. She takes a deep breath, and turns back around as she wipes under her eyes. "You and Sierra are all I've got left right now... and I don't want your money to affect the outcome of that." She admits, and I walk forward, and pull her into a hug, holding her head right to my chest, letting my hands thread through her hair.
"I'm sorry I wasn't here..." I apologize, grasping onto some of this.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you... I did want to, I promise I wanted to I-"
"Forgiven.. It's forgiven, just calm down please.." I run my thumb up and down, holding her quietly, and she takes a deep breath. I back up, but keep hold of her, holding the sides of her face.
"Don't.. Don't offer me-"
"Scarlett, listen to me. I understand this.. I know it's not pride, and I know it's fear...I know you're scared and you have every right to be scared.. I just.. Scarlett if I can help in any way I want to be able to help.. I want to be able to get her the best medical care she can have I want.. I want to help... Because I can't just sit by.." I shake my head, and I feel tears coming to my eyes.
"Harry... It's not your responsibility.. It's not.." She shakes her head, and I let go of her, running my hands through my hair.
"It is.. You are, she is.. Because I do have a mum, and I do have a sister, but right now.. Right now it feels like you and Sierra are my only family.. I feel like.. I feel like I have you right here. I have her right here. I don't have my mum. I don't have my sister here. I don't but I have you I have my family.. You are my family, you are my home. I came back here and I hoped I would find you, and see you, and Sierra again I... Scarlett you are both my responsibility because you are both the most important thing I have.. I understand she's not my real sister. I understand that she's not my blood family, and she's yours I get that, but she's the closest thing I've got here... I love her just the same as I love Gemma. I love you just as much..." I explain, and she nods.
"None of this is fair.." Scarlett shakes her head.
"You're right none of this is fair. You shouldn't have to rely on others. You shouldn't have to deal with this at all but you are dealing with it so please let me deal with it with you. Please." I beg her, knowing how stubborn she is.
"Fine..." She nods.
"Alright, good. We're done with that now please tell me what's going on.. Tell me why your parents aren't helping. Tell me what she's got.. Tell me everything I need to know please." I beg her.
"She's got a brain tumor.. It's big, and.. And It makes her impulsive, and wild and crazy all the time because it's pushing on her brain. It's big, and it's aggressive, and it hurts her constantly, and all I want is for them to just take it out, but if they do.. If they take it out it could alter her speech, it could take her speech away completely.. So they're trying to kill it, and shrink it so it's easier to access right now. There was a mass in her lung, but it wasn't cancerous so they removed it but they have to keep watch over her to make sure it doesn't spread.. She wears wigs, she doesn't have any hair left, and she has a scar down the middle of her chest, and on her head, and she's doing the best she can.."
"And so are you.." I tell her, and she looks up at my words like she hasn't heard them in a long time. She shakes her head, and pauses for a second more.
"I um... My parents don't know either... Because they kicked us out. They told us that we were disappointing, they said that we weren't worth their time or anything else with them so they kicked us out.. They said that we were too much.. So I didn't tell them because they didn't want the good so they don't get to know the bad either.. Even if they would help they don't get to... Sierra made that choice.." She tells me, and she seems like she's scared to talk about it.
"Scarlett what happened with your parents..." I ask her again, knowing she's holding something back.
"My dad and I had a disagreement first." She tells me, and I nod.
"What kind of disagreement, Scar?" I ask her, and I sit down on my bed.
"He was stealing money from Sierra..." She tells me, looking away from me.
"Come sit down." I nod my head to her, and she does, jumping up to sit on my bed with me. "He was stealing money, and then what?" I ask softly.
"And then I caught him, and called him out, and then.. He and I got into a physical disagreement." She tells me, and I clench my jaw. I had met them both and they always seemed off to me, but they were their parents so I never mentioned that. I won't say it now either.
"Scarlett you don't have to elaborate but I'm going to ask." I tell her.
"He elbowed me in my face, and then pushed me down to the ground." She tells me.
"And when was that?" I ask.
"Two months after you left.. I told my mom about it, and she refused to believe it.. Or maybe she did but she was too scared to side with us I don't know but things got tense. It was Sierra and I against them, and then they had that conversation with us, and we packed our stuff, and we moved around a lot... Like a lot, and we had only been in the place above the Korean restaurant for about seven months and that's when you got here." She tells me.
"I... I should have been here." I speak the truth.
"Yes but you weren't.. And there's nothing we can do about that." She tells me honestly.
"I'm sorry Scarlett.. About everything that's happening.. I'm really sorry." I tell her, and she nods.
"Forgiven." She smirks, and I do too.
"So what's the plan then?" I ask her, and she shrugs.
"Neither of us know.. She's been fighting this for a long time, and trying her best to make this work for me, for both of us... She doesn't want to die, and I don't want her to die.. You obviously don't either.. We just.. We just do the best we can I guess." She nods.
"How have you been holding up Scar? With all of this?" I ask her.
"Fine." She nods, and I turn her face to mine. "Not fine." She shakes her head. "But I pretend to be.. How do you look at someone who's dying and make it about you?" She asks, and then her face breaks, and I see the tears come back.. And then I realize she hasn't had this chance yet.. The chance to cry about it, at least not to someone yet.
"Come here..." I hold my arms out to her.
"I'm fine, I'm really-"
"You're not.. And I'm not sick. I'm not dying. I'm here, and I wish you would use me like your best friend instead of anything else... I'm here.. And I can't get the thoughts of you going through this alone out of my head. I can't get the thoughts of you crying alone with no one there out of my head so.. So we're going to stop with this.. You're going to stop pretending, and you're going to use me." I tell her, and she gives me a look, and I don't let her give it to me anymore. I just pull her into a hug, and she cries..
Our friendship was never superficial. Everything about Scarlett and I was real. Everything we went through was real, every emotion was real but it was never this. When we were friends all those years ago we were practically kids.. We didn't know what this type of pain was. We didn't know what this type of hurt was...Scarlett, and I were always real.. We were but we were never this real. I never held her when she cried like this... Never have I had to hold her while her world falls apart, and that's exactly what this feels like... This might scare some people, and I am scared.. I'm terrified right now but I'm also aware that every time her body shakes and everytime I can audibly hear her cry out I just want to hold her tighter..
I hold her tight for a long time, and she cries for a long time, and she talks through her tears.. She tells me how it isn't fair, and she slips in some angered words.. That I should have been there and I know that. I agree with that.. I always will, and I hate myself for not being able to stay with her.. I hold her until her crying slows down, and then I get up, and tell her to take a second. She nods, and I take a second too, and change, and I get her something to wear.
"Can I take you back downstairs or-" She shakes her head, and I nod. "Alright that's fine.. I can take the couch tonight and-" She shakes her head, and I crack into a smile, and shake my head. "I told you once before and I will again.. Scarlett if you want something, anything at all.. Just ask me, but I need you to ask so I can know.." I tell her.
"Can I stay here with you.." She asks, and I nod.
"Of course you can.. Do you want your own clothes, do you want to wear mine, what did you want?" I ask, and she shrugs.
"I don't care.. I just want to go to bed." She admits, and I nod, and toss her one of my shirts, and a pair of sweatpants too. She stands up, and starts stripping in front of me which makes me roll my eyes and turns my head. "Oh my god.. You're too respectful." She jokes, and I laugh. "What?" She asks, and I shake my head.
"I can't say what I was thinking.. You wont like it at all." I tell her.
"Tell me.. And you can turn around." She speaks out, and I turn, picking up her clothes off of the floor, throwing them into my hamper.
"It's inappropriate." I admit.
"My favorite.. Tell me." She pushes, and I sigh.
"Alright, fine. You said I was too respectful. I wanted to tell you that I would disrespect you in any way you asked.. but ... We're friends.. And friends don't do that." I nod.
"Normally friends don't have those thoughts either." She tells me, and I nod.
"You're right, normally they don't... But none of our friendship is normal.. So how are we doing this?" I ask her as I climb into my bed as she does the same. She's on my side, but I won't make her switch.. Not tonight at least.
"What do you mean?" She asks.
"Are we on opposite sides, back turned. Are we normal, are we cuddling. How are we doing this?" I ask her, and she shrugs.
"As long as there's no spooning." She tells me, and I nod.
"Come here." I pull her into the side of me. Her head rests higher up on my shoulder, nuzzling into my neck. We used to sleep like this almost every night.. It feels so familiar, and right now it feels comforting, and right. It feels so right holding her like this when it seems like the world is shifting around us... I've got her.. She knows I've got her, but... "I've got you Scarlett. I always have and I always will have you in any way you need." I remind her.
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A/N: that was.... A lot..... but like..... needed??
Also, I love Harry I think this might be my fav Harry I've written honestly...
I know y'all panicked when she apologized and he didn't forgive her right away. But it's okay it's okay.
More chapters coming soon! ILYSM!!
*virtual hugs*