"What are you doing?"
I was sitting on the floor with my suitcase open, my belongings strewn all over the floor.
"Packing," I replied simply, shoving two more shirts into my suitcase.
"What? But I thought you were staying until we left for California."
I shrugged. "Nope. They only paid for a couple of days so I could be on The View and you guys could have your concerts. My dad doesn't want me here and won't pay any longer, so I have to leave."
"I can pay for you to stay," Harry replied quietly, sitting down next to me.
"No. I won't let you spend any more money on me," I said firmly, taking a pair of skinny jeans out of Harry's hands and throwing them on top of my messy pile.
"Can I at least help you pack?"
I smiled. "You better help me pack."
He laid his fingers against my chin and lightly pushed me to face him. "On second thought, I don't want to pack."
In the next second his lips entwined with mine. I pressed harder into him, loving the taste of his mouth. His hands crept under my hoodie and to my bare sides, pinching them affectionately. I threw my hands under my hoodie too and yanked it off over my head, a low 'ooh' coming from Harry's throat. I grinned and planted sloppy kisses on his cheek as he pulled of his blazer, my fingers then ripping apart the buttons on his white shirt. Eventually we took off everything, our bare skin pressed up against each other keeping us warm.
"Are you nervous?" Harry asked breathlessly, looking up at me with round eyes.
I shook my head. "Not when I'm with you," I whispered, brushing one of his curls out of his face.
"Excellent," he replied, muffled because of his mouth on my neck.
----
It was 5:00. We were out of breath and sweaty, laying on the floor, Harry hovering over me.
"Am I good at this?" he asked smugly, looking down at me.
"Very." I grabbed one of his necklaces and pulled him down on top of me, his hands getting tangled up in my hair. I tugged at his curls, a small moan coming from his mouth as my tongue ran across his. I pulled away and glanced at the clock. 5:00 still. I could have sworn more time had passed. Harry's mouth ran down my body and to my hip, his huge hands wrapped around my thighs and squeezing them gently.
"Good lord, Harry," I muttered helplessly, pressing my eyes shut.
"Say it again, Claire." He squeezed them harder, causing me to gasp.
"Say what?"
"My name. Say it again." He gaze my thighs another hard squeeze, his teeth against my hipbone.
"Harry!" I yelped. I squirmed under his grip and he let go, a flicker of concern across his face. I backed up then collapsed into him again, deciding to fight back and give him a hickey. He groaned, his hands on my breasts and pushing me back before I could do anything else. Once again I was on the floor, under his control. The clock in the background read 5:00 still.
"My name sounds so perfect coming from your mouth."
"Harry," I murmured, trying to raise his hands off of my breasts. "The clock is wrong."
He didn't move. "Uh huh." His lips grazed my ear.
"You have the laser tag at six-thirty," I said reluctantly.
"I'd much rather do this."
I groaned and used my feet to push him away. "I paid good money for those tickets. You're going."
He grunted in distaste but let off, allowing me to scramble to my feet. I walked over to his dresser and yanked open a drawer. "What do you want to wear?"
I glanced over at him. He was looking at me but not at my face, still sitting on the floor.
I shot him a look. "Harry."
He blinked and grinned. "Sorry. You pick."
I decided he need to element of surprise if he was going to win. I picked out a plain black shirt along with tight dark jeans and tossed them to him. He got up and caught them, walking over to me. "Now let me pick out your clothes."
"We don't have time-"
"Shh." He grabbed my waist and lifted me off of the ground, dropping me off at my dresser. I wiped a bead of sweat off of my forehead, watching him rummage through the drawers. He picked out a tight black shirt and blue sweatpants, much like the colour of what I picked out for him.
"That doesn't match," I told him with a laugh.
"It matches my outfit, so yes, it does," he persisted. "Now, let's put each others' clothes on."
My eyes widened, but we did. In the end we were both red faced, but it worked.
"Dammit," Harry muttered, checking himself in the mirror.
"What? I asked pulling on a pair of socks.
"You can see the hickey."
I jumped off of the bed and met him at his side. "You think they'll notice?"
He blinked, not taking his eyes off his his reflection. "So what if they do? It doesn't matter."
I shrugged. "Yeah. Who cares?"
Harry closed his eyes with a small huff of laughter. "Meet me outside afterwards." He kissed me on the cheek and headed for the door.
"Have fun!"
"I will!" He glanced back at me one final time before he was out the door.
I sighed and plopped down onto the bed, running a hand through my sweaty hair. I needed another shower.
I tried calling Jonah again to take my mind off everything we just did.
"Clairedy?"
"Congrats, Jonah!"
"Huh?"
"On your marriage."
"Oh." He laughed. "Thanks. I wish you were here."
"I wish I knew about Tiffani."
"Shit, I'm sorry. I was going to tell you, I promise! I didn't know how."
"It's okay, I was kidding. You can tell me anything, remember?"
"I know, but you've just been through so much-"
"Nobody blames you. I'm just happy that you're actually getting married!"
"Exciting, isn't it?" I could practically see him jumping up and down.
"So how did you propose?"
"Well, I took her out to where we had our first date-"
"Awe!"
"And I bought her dinner. Then, when we were done, I took her outside and the city lights were shining down on us and I told her how much I loved her.
"Awe!"
"I can't finish if you're going to 'awe' after every sentence."
"Sorry."
"Anyway, I thought she was going to have a heart attack when I got down on my knee, she was so shocked. But, like, a happy sort of shocked. And she said yes and cried into my shoulder. It was the best night of my entire life, Claire."
"That's fantastic." My eyes started to water. I was so happy for him. For them. I've never even met her.
"I'm so sorry for not being able to tell you. I was just... Scared. Of how you would react."
So that's how it's going to be, now? First Harry, then Nicole's mom on the plane and now Jonah. I scare people. Wow.
"You don't have to be scared of me," I said quietly.
"No, no! I'm not scared of you. I love you, stupid, you know that. I didn't want to hurt you.. Especially after.."
"Jared died, God Dammit! Why does no one want to say it? I'm over it. You don't have to pull the delicate pity card anymore."
The other end was silent and finally I realized. I'm out of hand. I scare people. After what happened the night Talon was shot, therapy, dream that I was convinced was real.. No wonder people were scared of me.
I was insane. Really, truly insane.