ARLO P.O.V
Harry, and I are sitting in his car, driving through the town heading to eat.
His hand is resting on my thigh, stroking soothing patterns. We are silent for most of the drive, letting a shuffle of Arctic Monkey songs fill the silence.
We decided on going to Betty's for, I guess, brunch. It's technically lunch time, but both Harry and I are wanting breakfast food.
I was hesitant about going there when he brought it up, because Betty's is one of the most popular spots in town for people our age. Usually on the weekends it's packed in the morning because every high schooler is trying to get good hangover food after a night of partying. Last night was homecoming, and I know for a fact that there were after parties, so going to the diner means running the risk of being spotted.
Harry said that we didn't have to go there if I didn't want to, but that if anyone spots us they can fuck off because it's no one business on why the two of us are there together.
I kind of want to keep Harry and I on the down low. I hate attention on me, and Harry attracts a lot of it. I'm not ready to have people coming up to me, asking questions that I probably don't have the answer to. Also, I do not want my name being thrown around in the rumor mill.
It's the fact that Harry and I literally just started being cordial with each other. I don't want people spoiling it for us before we really get to experience for ourselves what it's like to not be angry at each other 24/7.
I kinda want Harry and I to be like a secret. I just don't want to share him with the world yet. I want to be able to enjoy him in peace.
I still ended up agreeing because a breakfast platter from Betty's sounded really appetizing, and I'm really hungry. Also, I didn't feel like driving to the next town over like Harry suggested, as a different option of food.
"Hey Arlo." Harry calls for me. I turn my head to face him even though he isn't looking at me, but rather the road which is to be expected when driving.
"Yeah?" I replied as I studied the side of his face. I mean, come on, his jawline is unreal. I still can't wrap my head around how fucking pretty he is.
"What do you want to do after we eat?" He asks me, glancing over to meet my eyes, but only for a split second before turning his attention back to the road. "I want to be out all day if that's chill with you of course." He further explains.
"Oh, yeah, that's fine." I'm still flabbergasted that he wants to spend the whole day with me, but not only that, but possibly have me spend the night at his place for an entire week. "Honestly, I don't know. I don't get out of my house much unless it's school or a party."
"You don't?" Harry sounds shocked by the revelation I just made. "Actually, I'm not that shocked. You definitely don't seem like the type of person to want to get out of the house for fun."
"I'm not." I confirm his theory. "Alli and Nini always have to push me really hard to leave, and hang out with them."
"Huh, and it only took me a simple request for you to agree." Harry points out making my cheeks flush in embarrassment. He's right though it took him very little convincing for me to accept his offer.
"Fuck off." I mumble out in fake irritation. "Do you have any ideas where we can go after?" I ask, trying to change the topic of conversation.
"Well, hmm." His face scrunches up as he tries to think of places. "We could go to the little town near the beach. They have pretty cool shops, and shit out there, plus I don't think we'll run into anyone."
"That sounds nice." I comment, and genuinely mean it. I really like the beach, it's one of the few places where I feel calm. So exploring the little town actually peaks my interest.
I don't realize that we are pulling into the parking lot because of all my attention being focused on Harry. He parks the car, and we both get out.
We walk close to each other, brushing our shoulders together with every step we take. It's weird that this time around coming back here, we aren't necessarily fighting all the time anymore. This time, instead of it being forced, we are coming here mutually.
Harry holds the door open for me, triggering the bell. I walk in whispering a faint thanks as he follows behind me. We walk up to the hostess stand where a girl around our age with fiery red hair stands with a smile.
"Hi! Welcome to Betty's." She greets us with the classic customer service smile. "Will it just be the two of you today?"
"Yes ma'am." Harry responds in a polite manner.
"Awesome. If you follow me, I will get you seated." She turns around and starts walking, with Harry and I following close behind her.
I'm relieved that she isn't giving Harry sex eyes. The way girls always do that makes my fucking blood boil. It ticks me off how much attraction he gets from really pretty girls.
Most of the girls that he's slept with are way prettier than me. They have perfect bodies, a perfect smile, perfect hair, and let's not forget about the tits. I literally have no boobs whatsoever, and all the girls he's slept with that I'm aware of have big boobs.
I still don't understand why he is putting his energy into me when he can have them. I'm nothing special whatsoever. In my eyes, I'm not pretty. I feel like I'm really ugly both inside and out.
I'm pleased when I notice that the hostess leads us to a booth that is in the corner of the diner, a little bit hidden away from the main part where all the cluster of booths and tables are at.
"Here you guys are." The hostess sets the top menus down, stepping out of the way so that Harry and I can take our seats. "Your server will be with you shortly. Enjoy your meal."
I pick up the menu, and look over all the food options even though I already know what I want. When I go out to eat, I tend not to switch up my usual meal that often. When I find something I one hundred percent enjoy, I stick with it. I mean, why risk getting something else and not liking it, when I can just order something I know I'll get my money's worth out of?
"Make sure when the server comes to get our drink order that you actually pay attention and tell them." I make a sly comment referring back to the first time we came here when he was high.
Harry dramatically gasps, placing his hand over his chest. "Arlo, I was high, gotta cut me some slack."
"I don't know if I can, Harry. You really were a mess that day." I poke fun at him. Harry lightly kicks my leg under the table, before capturing it between both of his own, and holding it hostage.
"Hello, my name's Fran what can I-" Fran cuts herself off as she looks up at us for the first time. I recognized her from the first time we were here. "Well, if it isn't the two generous tippers."
Harry, and I both glance at each other with surprise by the fact that she remembers us. "You recognize us?" Harry asks the question that is on my mind as well.
"How could I not recognize you two. You tipped me a hundred dollars. I nearly broke down crying in the back." She chuckles. "Plus, I'm pretty sure you sir," she points to Harry, "if I remember correctly, was not sober."
Harry's entire face flush red as a tomato. I let out a smileless chuckle at her discovery. I knew for a fact that he was not hiding it well. It's funny to know that other people saw it too.
"Oh, uh, yeah." Harry scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. "I was indeed not sober."
"Oh don't stress about it kid." Fran waves him off. "Kids come in here all the time drunk, high, hungover, it's none of my business. I'm just here to get you food. My job isn't to chastise you."
"Right, thanks." Harry sends her a weak smile, still embarrassed by the fact. I would be embarrassed too if a server remembered me because I was high.
"Any who, what can I get you two beautiful people to drink today?" Fran changes the subject for Harry's sake.
I decided to order first. "Can I have a hot chocolate, and a glass of water please."
"Of course!" Fran writes down my order. "And for you sir?"
"I'll have a coffee with whipped cream on the side, and water as well." Harry says his order. Fran nods her head, before telling us she'll be right back with our drink, and walks off.
"Wow." I lean back into the booth, crossing my arms over my chest. "You really suck at hiding the fact that you were high. I mean, dear Fran remembers us because you were."
"Fuck off." Harry narrows his eyes at me, squeezing my leg under the table. "It was my first time going out in public high, and to be fair, I rarely ever do get high. I only do it when I'm with you."
"Oh so you're saying I'm a bad influence?" I cock a brow at him with a tilt of my head.
"Yes, the worst influence." Harry rolls his eyes sarcastically. "I should definitely stop hanging around you. I might turn into a pothead."
"Oh yeah, that's the worst." I play along with him, rolling my eyes. "Smoking weed all the time, I mean who the fuck does that?"
Both mine and Harry's attention are pulled to a bunch of loud voices. A group of guys who look to be around our age, that I don't recognize, walk into the diner, being sat somewhat close to us.
One of the guys in the group who has dark brown, straight, short hair makes direct eye contact with me. His eyes widen, and a smile ghosts over his face as if he knows me, but that's impossible because I have no clue who he is. His eyes land on Harry, and his smile falters.
Harry's hold on leg tightens. I glance over at him to see him glaring daggers at the guy as if he wants to beat the living shit out of him.
"Who the fuck is he?" He grumbles with disgust as he turns to look at me. I shrug my shoulders having no clue who that guy is.
Before I can say anything, Fran returns with our drinks, setting them down in front of us, and taking our food order. We hand her the menus as she leaves to put our order in.
Harry removes his hold around my legs, and instead stretches them out, and props them on either side of my hips. I forget he's tall and can do that. If I were to try, they would probably barely reach the edge.
My phone chimes from beside me, and I chose to pick it up. I notice a text message, and my heart sinks to my feet. It's from an unknown number. My hands shake in nerves as anxiety swirls inside of me.
What if this is another one of my fathers men?
I bite my bottom lip contemplating if I should respond or not. I usually don't when the number is unknown, but I also don't want another Miller situation where the person catches me off guard showing up to my house. I sigh, and decide to text whoever it is back.
Unknown
hi!!!!
Me
who is this?
I watch closely as the three dots quickly appear on my screen. I tap my foot on the floor waiting for the next text to come through
Unknown
oh! sorry it's mckenna :)
The furrow in my brows deepened as I reread the text over, and over again. I'm confused on how she got my number so I decided to ask her.
Me
how did you get my number
Unknown
Your friend nini gave it to me
when i asked
Me
why did you ask for my number
Unknown
i wanted to see if you maybe
are down to hang out one of
these days
"Are you alright Arlo?" Harry's voice snaps me out of my daze, and brings me back to reality. "You look agitated."
"Yeah, I'm fine." I answer honestly. If anything I'm just confused on why McKenna wants to hangout with me. "McKenna Ross just texted me."
"McKenna Ross?" He furrows his brows. "Since when did you two become friends? She doesn't seem like the type of person you would hang out with."
"She's not." I answered without hesitation. It's not that I dislike her, it's just I'm not particularly fond of her. She irritates me, and her pushing her agenda of trying to be my friend is pissing me off. "We aren't friends. She came up to me when I was out one day, and hasn't stopped bothering me since. She is trying really hard to get acquainted."
"Why? No offense but you aren't many people's first choice when it comes to desiring to get to know someone." Harry points out trying not to offend me.
"I know." I exclaimed. "Like who in their right mind wants to get to know me." Harry laughs, probably thinking I'm joking. "No, Harry, I'm being serious. I'm well aware that people don't like me. I purposely make it that way. I don't want people to know me, or talk to me. I don't understand why she wants to."
Harry opens his mouth to respond, but another deep, and unfamiliar voice cuts him off before he has the chance.
"Hi." I look to my left to see that same guy I made eye contact with earlier looking directly at me.
"Uh, hi?" I hesitantly respond to him. I have no clue who this guy is or why he is trying to talk to me.
"You're Arlo right?" The guy says my name, freaking me out because I swear I've never seen this guy before.
"Yeah, I am." I scan him up and down cautiously, trying to remember if I know him or not, but nothing comes to mind. "Do I know you?"
The cocky smile that he's wearing on his face falters. He seems disappointed with the question I asked him. He quickly recovers his disappointment with the same smile. "I mean, after what we did, I would hope you know me."
The confusion on my face becomes more intense. I have no clue what he means, and honestly the guy is making me mad with his fake macho persona he is trying to pull off right now.
I look over at Harry for a sense of comfort to ease how uncomfortable I'm feeling being in this guy's presence right now.
His jaw is clenched tightly. His chest is heaving up and down. If looks could kill, this guy would be dead on the floor.
I turn back to the guy to address him again. I place my hand on Harry's ankle, and start to massage it to help soothe my anger. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh come on, sure you do." He places a hand on my shoulder. My entire body stiffens up. My shoulder is the place I hate being touched the most. I feel my hands start to shake as the familiar burn starts to ignite. The pin and needles I once experienced on the daily years ago flames up. My throat feels tight as if it is closing on me slowly ripping the air from my lungs.
Harry quickly notices this because he taps his foot on my hip, gaining my attention. He gives me a silent but reassuring look, mouthing that I'm okay. I take a deep breath to calm myself down. I'm not going to break down, I refuse to. Today is supposed to be a good day.
I aggressively shrug the nameless guy's hand off my shoulder, and glare at him. "First off, don't touch me. Second off, I have no fucking clue what in the actual fuck you're talking about."
The guy seems taken aback by my coldness. He steps away from the table giving me a dirty look. "Jesus chill out, my bad okay. How do you not remember me? We met at that party back in summer. You and I had a lot of fun upstairs."
I roll my eyes aggressively at his insinuation. I still don't remember him, but clearly he does, and apparently by what he is suggesting, we fucked. I didn't do it all the time, but sometimes I found myself sleeping with guys I never met until the day of. I only would if I knew that they would give me the control. I usually turned down most guys, but there were a few that I could tolerate for thirty minutes. Most of the time it was at parties where I knew no one because the party was thrown by another school. I would either go by myself because I needed a distraction, or go with Willy because he was going to deal to some people.
Clearly the guy wasn't that good if I can't remember it. I'm honestly pissed off that this guy came up to me, disturbing Harry, and I, just to tell me that we hooked up. Fucking pathetic.
I'm about to tell him to fuck off for wasting my time, but Harry beats me to it. "Hey, how about you go back to you friends, and fuck off."
The guy turns to Harry, and sizes him up, scoffing. "Who are you, her boyfriend? Play thing of the day? Don't be jealous that I fucked her first?"
What the actual fuck
"Excuse you." I spit at him coldly. "Listen up real closely. I don't know who you are, and clearly you weren't any good if I can't recall you. But, you need to leave us the fuck alone. I don't know who you think you are by coming up to us. I don't know what you're trying to gain from this conversation, but you can fuck off with that disrespectful shit. Don't you dare talk to him like that ever again, or so help me God, I will punch you in your pathetic ass face."
He doesn't say another word, probably too embarrassed by my threat, and the blow to his ego, that he walks away leaving Harry and I be.
I let out a sigh of relief now that he is gone from my vicinity. I bring my attention to Harry who is looking at me with a smirk.
"What?" I question his look.
"You just totally threatened to hit a person for me." He says in awe. "That was hot. I could totally imagine you just popping that fucker in the face."
"Shut up." I roll my eyes, giving him a little pinch on the ankle. Harry just laughs at me, hitting my hips one again with both feet again.
Harry and I fall into pointless conversation about nothing special. He just tells me about where he got the hoodie I was wearing, and the one he let me wear last night because I thought they were cool looking, and I wanted to know.
Fran eventually brings us our food, and we absolutely devour it. We were both really hungry, and didn't realize it until the food was in front of us in all its glory.
No one else bothered us, thank the lord, because I was not in the mood to be interrupted anymore. I just wanted peace, and I wanted that with Harry alone.
I'm not going to lie, it's freaking me out how we're acting. It's seriously been less than a day where we kind of mutually decided to not 'hate' each other, but no way in hell did I think we would be like this.
I don't get how I feel so comfortable around him, but I do. On second thought, I always have. Even when we were fighting, he still brought me a sense of comfort. There's just something about him that I can't put my finger on that makes everything go away.
When we finished our food, Fran brought over the bill, which Harry decided to cover for today since I paid the last time we were here. This time we both left seventy five dollars each for her as a tip. She once again tried to give it back, but like last time we refused, and said she deserves it.
Harry and I left the diner, and got into his car to head to the beach which was a good thirty minute drive. The whole way there we just listened to music. Harry gave his opinion on each song, telling me if he liked it or not.
Harry had his hand resting on my thigh the whole time. I played with the spread of rings on his fingers. I traced the fucking fat ass gold H S rings that he had on. Of course he would have rings that are his fucking initials, he is a self centered ego manic after all. Okay, maybe not that intense, but his ego is definitely big enough to wear them.
When we arrive at the little beach town, Harry parks his car in one of the lots near the beach, and we both get out. Harry instantly grabs my hand, and starts pulling me in the direction he wants to go.
"Harry." I try to catch his attention. He is walking really fast, and I'm nearly tripping over myself. "Harry, slow down, I'm close to busting my face on the concrete."
"Sorry." He slows down his walking. "I'm excited, it's just, you don't get out much, and I'm about to show you all the cool places."
I can't help but notice that our fingers are interlaced with one another. We are holding hands while walking side by side. This is strange, but a good strange, I think.
"Yeah, I can see that you're excited." I deadpanned. "But, I really don't want a bloody face, so walking at the pace of a normal human being would be very much appreciated."
"Roger that cap." Harry salutes me. His eyes catch a store, and suddenly my body is being jerked. "Oh! Let's go in here."
We enter a small boutique sized store that seems to be filled with the most random shit I've ever seen. I think it might be a gift shop because there are shot glasses, umbrellas, t-shirts, magnets, jewelry, snacks, and a bunch of other shit.
"What is this place?" I ask Harry as he weaves us around the store still holding my hand.
"This place, Arlo, is called Random Collections." He answers my question. "It's a dumb name I know, but the idea of the store is that they carry the most random selection of things, hoping someone will find something they like."
How ironic
"Have you been here before?" I can't see Harry willingly going into a place like this. If a headache was a store, this would be it.
Harry nods his head. "Yeah, I come here all the time, they have some pretty cool shit if you take the time to look."
Harry leans down suddenly, and kisses my nose, taking me by surprise. I was not expecting any public display of affection from him. I tilt my head down, and chew on my bottom lip, feeling my cheeks heat up from his actions.
Harry guides us through the store stopping every so often to look at a rack of items. He'll pick up something he thinks is cool, and show it to me asking what I think of it.
There is nothing that he gravitates towards enough to want to buy, but seeing him get excited over looking at everything makes my insides flutter.
Harry isn't what I initially expected. He's actually a lot more childish, and chill than I originally thought. I used to think he was some air head jock that thought the world revolved around him, but I don't feel that way anymore. Sure I still think he's a bit of an air head, and definitely is a jock, but he's not conceited like I originally thought.
"Holy fuck, Lo look at this." Harry pulls me to a rack of a bunch of hats.
Did he just give me a nickname?
Maybe he didn't mean it, but the way Harry let's a shortened version of my nickname slip past his lips has my heart speeding up fast. I kind of like it.
Harry drops my hands to grab something off the rack. He turns around with a yellow, and green bucket hat shaped like frogs.
"We have to get these. They're amazing." He beams, putting the yellow one on his head, and then placing the green one on mine. "Oh fuck, there is no way I'm walking out the store without these."
I look at him like he's crazy for how excited he is over the hats, but I find it endearing that he's so obsessed with them. I don't have to say he looks really adorable in it.
"Yeah, there's no way we are, you just look so cute." I cooed at him, pinching his cheeks, and shaking his head.
Harry retaliates by pinching my own. "You do too, oh, just the cutest." He then leans forward and places another kiss on my nose.
I slap his hands away, and playfully glare at him. He takes my hand again, and drags me to the cash register where a lady, who seems to be in her fifties, stands.
"Hello." The lady smiles at the two of us with a look of adoration. "Are the two of you ready to check out?"
Harry slings his arm over my shoulder, and pulls me slightly into his body, plucking the hat off my head. "Yes we are madam, we will be taking these two hats right here."
He placed the frog hats on the counter, sliding them towards the lady. She nods her head and smiles. Looking down at the tag, she punches numbers into the register. "Okay, your total today will be twenty five dollars."
Harry shoves his hand into his pocket, pulling out his wallet. He does his best to pull out his money with his arms still slinged around my neck.
Harry hands her a twenty and a five dollar bill. The lady takes it from his hand, and pops the register open, placing the money inside. "Would you like a bag?"
"No thank you, we will be wearing these all day. Basically gonna be glued to our heads." He teases, grabbing the hats off the counter and putting them back onto our heads.
"Well, alright you two have a wonderful day." The lady waves us off as we leave.
"You too ma'am." Harry yells back as we walk out the door, and back into the fresh sunlight. He removes his arm from around my neck, and grabs my hand once again.
"You're so weird." I stare at his face trying to process what just happened. Is he on a sugar high from the pancakes he had earlier?
"You're weird." He scoffs childishly. He starts to lead us to the next place he wants to go, but stops for a split second to lean down, and peck me on the lips. "Mmmm, let's go to the next place. I have so much more to show you."
"Oh yippy." I sarcastically sigh, but secretly I'm eager for the next place, because even though that store was weird, I had fun inside with him.
﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀
It's dark out, the time being about 10 pm. Harry has taken us to our last and final location of the day, which is a park.
I'm exhausted from everything we've done. Harry made sure to take me to every shop on the street. We more or less just looked around, but Harry made it his mission to buy one thing from each place. Coincidentally everything he bought us coordinated in some way.
We got pins from one place, reusable tote bags from another which are now full with everything he purchased, shirts, socks, crewneck, and for some reason magnates. We also went and had ice cream, and ate lunch at a little pizzeria.
We even stumbled across a movie theater that was showing all the Jaws movies. Harry decided to buy us tickets for only the first two since they were the best.
We sat next to each other sharing a large bag of popcorn, and a fucking ginormous red and blue slushy. Harry made sure to sit very close to me so that our arms were touching. We surprisingly were both very engrossed in each movie, not straying our eyes away from the screen once.
When we walked into the theater it was bright out, and when we walked out it was pitch black.
We were planning on leaving after that, but Harry remembered there was one place left he wanted to take me which is where we are at now.
Still in our frog bucket hats, which we did not take off once today, Harry guides the two of us to the top of a giant slide.
Once we reach the top, Harry spins me around to face him, and leans in to kiss me. He breaks away after maybe a second, leaning his forehead on mine, letting me get a close look at his sage green eyes.
"You know what we should do Arlo?" He twirls a piece of my hair between his fingers. I hum waiting for him to say what's on his mind. "We should just make out right here like middle schoolers."
I roll my eyes, and shove him away from me. "Nope, you brought me to a park because you wanted to play like children. I'm pretty sure children don't make out at the top of slides, so we aren't going to be doing that."
"Oh come on Lo, don't be like that. I'm sure there are plenty of children who make out on top of slides." He complains. He lets that same nickname he used earlier today slip out of his mouth, and I can't help, but question him about it.
"Lo? Is that your nickname for me?" I ask him curious as to why he is calling me that.
"I mean, yeah. I don't know, I kinda like it." He bites the inside of his cheek nervously. "Do you not like it, because if you don't I'll stop saying it."
"No, no, I like it." I tell him honestly. "No one has ever called me anything other than Arlo since that is technically already my nickname. But, if you have one for me, then I want one for you."
"Oh yeah? Want to give me a nickname?" I nod my head. "What are you thinking of?"
"I don't know, let me think." I tap my finger on my chin, racking in my brain of a nickname I can use. What the fuck do I call someone named Harry? Hair? "Do you have any suggestions?"
Harry pulls his forehead away from my face, wrapping his arms around my lower back, and leaning back. "I mean, sometimes people call me H, but not that often."
"H?" I test out how the name feels on my tongue. "Okay, I like that, it's better than the one I had in my head." I reciprocate Harry, looping my arms around his back.
He raises a brow at me with intrigue. "What nickname were you thinking of?"
"Hair."
"Hair? Like the hair on my head?" He seems amused with my answer. I meekly nod my head as I chew on my bottom lip. "Wow Arlo, good one."
"Yeah, yeah, let's go down the slide already." I nod my head towards the long, tan colored slide.
"Hair? You were thinking Hair?" Harry starts to laugh at me. I glared daggers at him crossing my arms over my chest. "Dang Arlo, that is really something."
"You better shut up or I'm going to start calling you that." I poke a finger into his chest to show him I mean business.
"Okay, okay, I'll stop." Harry throws his hands up in surrender as he tries to catch his breath from laughing. "At least it's not Ree, there was one person who called me that all the time."
Harry spins me around so that my back is facing his chest. He motions for me to sit down, which I do. Harry sits behind me, with each of his legs along the outside of my body. He pulls me back so I'm snug against his chest.
He slowly inches forward on the slide. I feel my stability weaken, and with one final push, Harry and I are flying down the slide. Harry is screaming at the top of his lungs with a bright laughter. I'm clutching onto his wrist for dear life not expecting to be sliding down this fast.
Our feet hit the bottom, scuffing the turf. I nearly fall to the ground from the impact, but Harry keeps me secured in his arms to ensure that I don't.
My chest is heaving up and down from the rush of dopamine flooding my system. "Holy shit, that was a lot crazier than I expected." I breathe out, standing up from the slide, and pulling Harry up to stand as well.
"I know, fuck, that was better than I rembered." He chuckled, taking my hand to lead us towards a green merry-go-round.
Once in front of the object he urges me to get on. Looking at it makes me nervous, the thought of spinning around extremely fast, and possibly falling off is sort of scary. I've never been on one before too, so that's also a contributing factor to my anxiety, but I'm getting on it nonetheless.
"Okay, so what you're going to do is get on towards the middle-ish, and hold on tight." Harry instructs.
"Okay." I step onto it, taking slow, calculated steps so I don't accidentally move it, and end up falling. I do as he says, standing near the middle, and death gripping a bar on each side of me.
Harry jogs to the opposite side, directly in front of me. He places each of his hands on a bar, causing it to shift slightly. He angles his body to the side of it in a running position.
"When I get on let's yell something out, I promise it makes it more fun." He suggests.
"Like what?" I ask him, trying my best not to move.
"Hmmm, how about," he pauses to think of something to say. "I don't know...watermelon."
"Watermelon?" I echo his words back to him.
"Yeah, watermelon, it's the first word that came to mind so we are going to use it." He says with confidence. I just nod my head slowly, not bothering to question him on it any further. "I'll tell you when to say it. Hold on tight, because I'm about to start spinning it."
My already deadly grip on the metal bars becomes even tighter. Harry does a little weird hop, before pumping his legs, starting to run. The merry-go-round starts to shift at a slow pace. It quickly speeds up the faster he runs. The intense wind slaps my face, hair flies into my eyes, my head swirls from the fast circular movements, and my body stiffens to prevent any possible injury.
We are now spinning at an extremely fast speed. I hear a thump, indicating that Harry has hopped on. "Start screaming the word now." Harry yells at me.
I take a deep breath, pinching my eyes closed, before screaming out the word with Harry at the top of my lungs.
"Watermelonnnnnnn."
"Watermelonnnnnnn."
We both shout, our words sound choppy from how fucking fast we are going. We scream the word over and over again the entire time while spinning until our throats are without a doubt raw. The merry-go-round eventually slows, until coming to a full stop.
My eyes are still pinched shut. I feel like I am still spinning even though I know I'm not. I feel a pair of arms wrap around my torso, lifting me up, and taking me off the structure.
I open my eyes very slowly once my feet are placed on the ground. My body is spinning around, and I see a smiling Harry looking down at me. Our height difference causes me to crane my neck up intensely just to look at him.
"Have fun?" Harry asks me, pulling me close to his body.
I nod my head, wrapping my arms around his neck, standing on my tip-toes. I lean forward, and place a soft kiss on his cheek. "Yeah, that was scary as shit, but still fun."
Harry leans down to capture our lips in a kiss. He hums out a sigh as our lips meet in the middle. "I'm glad you did Lo." Harry mumbles against my mouth. He pulls apart from the kiss, and glances over his shoulder. "Let's go on the swings."
I turn my head to stare at the swing set. I've never been on them before, and have no clue how to even swing. I turn, and bite my bottom lip looking at him nervously. "Okay, but I just want to let you know that I don't know how to swing."
Harry's face scrunches up in confusion, and the embarrassment I already am feeling grows. I tilt my head down, as I gnaw harshly on my lips. "Hey." Harry grasps my chin to make me look up at him. "That's alright, I'll teach you."
He leans down to kiss my nose before leading us to the swings. I feel stupid for not knowing how to, but my parents sheltered me my entire life. They never took me to parks, they never watched me go down a slide, they never watched me go across the monkey bars, and they never once pushed me on a swing. At school, I always made sure to avoid them, because I was embarrassed that I didn't know how. Plus, in a way, it hurts to think about going on something I always wanted to experience with my parents.
It's sad to know that it took me seventeen years to experience something I used to daydream about when I was younger. It hurts to know that, five year old me, who wanted nothing more than her parents' affection, would have to wait another twelve years to do the one thing she desired.
Harry doesn't know what he is doing for me right now. He doesn't know that he is making a lifelong dream come true. I've never felt so warm in my life until today. There is the foreign burn around my heart that I have been feeling all day.
I may hate that I never got to experience this with my mother or father, but the fact that Harry is the first person I get to do this with makes all the pain and suffering worth it, because I know that he genuinely wants to hang with me, or at least I think he does.
We both settle on a swing right next to each other. My hands grip the cold chain, and a shiver shoots down my spine. I turn to look at Harry. "Thank you." I say quietly.
Harry turns to face me, locking his eyes with mine. "For what?"
"For today. No one has ever put effort into trying to make me have a good day, so thank you." I feel tears pool in the back of my eyes, but I blink them away before they get the chance to fall down my cheek.
"Of course Lo. I really had fun doing it." He says in a soft tone. "I like being around, and spending time with you. You're actually really amazing company."
"Thanks. I like spending time with you too." I timidly confess . "You're someone I didn't realize I like having around. You're like the only person I desire to spend time with, so yeah." I whisper the last part, diverting my eyes from the embarrassment I'm feeling.
"Yeah?" He leans over to connect our forehead again as he softly strokes my cheek, tucking a piece of hair behind my ears. I whisper out a yes. "You know Lo, you are someone I want around too. Like all the time, I've never had more fun or been happier than today. You're pretty cool when you're not all grumpy."
"Whatever." I push him back. "Teach me how to swing, dimples, I wanna feel like I'm flying. That's what everyone says it feels like right?"
"Yeah, I'm a way it feels like flying." He agrees with my statement. "Okay so stand back like this." He demonstrates what to do, and I reciprocate his actions. "Then you're going to release your feet, and start pumping your legs like this.
I watch as he swings forwards with his legs straight, and body leaned back. As he comes back, he pushes his legs back, almost tucked under him, and leans his body forward. He repeats the actions a few times showing me that's all that goes into swinging.
He stops swinging, and puts himself back into his starting position. "Okay it's your turn to try with me."
I grip the chain tighter, nervous about messing up, but I know that Harry isn't judging me. If he was, he would've said something about it already, and not gone through the process of trying to teach me.
I get in the starting position, and look over at Harry waiting for his signal. "Okay, 3...2...1 go!"
At the same time Harry and I fly forward. A gust of wind flings all my hair backwards. I lean my back as I come forwards keeping my legs straight. Once I feel myself going back down, do what Harry showed me, pumping my legs backwards, and leaning my body forward.
All my hair rushes to the front blinding my vision. The minute I start to feel myself going forward again, I lean back, and straighten my legs. I focus on repeating the steps until I get a good rhythm, and then it hits me.
I'm fucking swinging
I learned how to swing
"Holy fuck Harry I'm doing it." I shout in disbelief as I swing higher and higher. I feel like I'm flying through the sky. I feel powerful like I can conquer anything.
"You're doing it Lo, you're really doing it." Harry yells back at me in a proud voice. "That my girl."
Is this what butterflies feel like when they fly?
Do they feel like they are on top of the world?
I remember as a kid, sitting in my backyard watching butterflies fly through the sky. I always watched them in awe because of how pretty, and free they looked.
It amazed me how they could just fly away and leave everything behind. I would sit in the grass staring at them, praying to the universe that one day I would wake up with my own set of butterfly wings, so that I can escape the horror that was my life.
I was always so sad when I woke up to see nothing. I felt like all of my hopes and wishes were being ignored, but I was wrong.
I was so wrong because I did get my butterfly wings. I did get the escape I craved for all these years, and that's because of Harry. Today, he helped my wings grow, and right now, swinging, I'm finally flying like I always wished for as a kid.
Thank you Harry
"Holy fuck, this feels amazing." I shout out at the top of my lungs.
"I know right." Harry laughs. I looked over at him to see his eyes closed, and head tilted back. He looks so beautiful, it's insane. Harry's eyes snap open and land on mine. A mischievous grin crawls onto his face. "Let's jump."
My eyes widened. "What, jump, Harry, we're going to hurt ourselves."
"Come on Lo, live a little, jump with me, let's fly into the air." He pleads. "Trust me."
I do trust you Harry, I don't know why but I do
"Okay, fine. Let's jump." I agree
"Ready." I take a deep breath preparing. "3...2...1...jump!"
And I do. I release my grip around the chain, and throw my body forward once I reach the peak of my swing. My eyes are opened as I look up at the sky.
I feel light, I feel airy, I feel free.
Felling the fresh air enter my lungs is refreshing. Hearing the soft swoosh of the wind is music to my ears. Staring at the little balls of flame in the sky is a work of art I want to experience time and time again.
My body starts to fall but I don't care, I continue to look up at the sky as I plummet to the ground.
My entire body burns in pain, as I make harsh contact with the turf. I can feel bruises already starting to form from how hard I fell. I should probably scream, I should probably yell, I should probably curse, but I don't.
Instead, I break into hysterical laughter as I lay flat on my back clutching my chest.
I can barely breathe from how hard I'm laughing. Tears pull at my eyes as I let out years worth of laughter. My body buzzes with the brightest warmth to ever flood through me. My cheeks burn from using muscles I haven't used in a long time.
This feeling is so strange, it hurts but in the best way possible. It's as if all the colors in the world become brighter, all the sounds become clearer, and everything feels stronger.
This feeling is foreign, it's unknown, but it's addictive. I want to feel like this all the time. It feels as if there is nothing to worry about in the world. All that there is, is now, and now is all that matters.
My laughter starts to die down into weak chuckles. I turn my head to look at Harry who is looking at me with the strangest look. His eyes are almost sparkling as he stares at me.
I settle down completely, and look at him with the biggest, most genuine smile I have ever let show on my face.
Holy fuck I'm smiling
I'm smiling, I'm fucking smiling. I stare into Harry's eyes, my heart speeds up, my blood pumps fast as the realization hits me like a train.
I smiled for the first time in five years. For five years I have refused to lift the corner of my mouth up, refused to let my cheeks lift, refused to show anything remotely related to happiness
Now, that refusal has lost the battle, the long chain has broken, and that all thanks to a certain boy with sage green eyes, and curly chestnut brown hair.
Harry Styles made me fucking smile.
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A/N: Arlo smiled?!?
I want to let you guys know that updates are going to be coming out slower
I got back from my winter break to college, so I'm a lot busier
The goal is to get at least one out a week :)
See you in the next one
-iz