'And all the night's magic seems to whisper and hush. And all the soft moonlight seems to shine in your blush. Can I just have one more moondance with you, my love.'
Moondance - Van Morrison
A big, desperate, helpless sigh erupted from his lips. His head fell down onto his kitchen counter and the loud bang resounded through his flat. Even though he loved going to university and felt extremely fortunate being in the situation he was in, when it came down to exams, Harry seriously wanted the university to go fuck itself. He had been spending three hours of his valuable time, trying to comprehend the differences between the Roman Basilica and the early modern one, apart from the obvious difference in century, he was doing a shit job at remembering the other vital differences.
Conclusion? He loved taking the damn pictures and painting the damn art rather than to study its history. At this moment, he couldn't care less. Especially since all he did seem to care about were Nina's lips. He couldn't get them out of his head. He dreamt off it night and day. In the shower, out of the shower, whilst making coffee or whilst drinking his usual cup of tea. So instead of studying, he pondered his mind, trying to come up with a good enough reason to call her, maybe even see her.
During the past weeks after the party at Lagoon, kissing Nina hadn't happened again. He had however thankfully felt a switch in Nina's behaviour towards him. Even though Harry was very well aware of the fact they had been shitfaced on the dance floor, somehow Nina seemed much more at ease around him, more relaxed. He remembered the whole bubble idea of his, thought back of it during the last three weeks.
He was surprised she had taken it so seriously, which ultimately made him wonder why she had this desperate urge to escape her life. What was going that wrong in order to make her want to hide away? The thought stabbed him gently in the heart, but he could still feel the slow pain of it spreading more vehemently whenever he thought about the unhappiness of this beautiful girl.
However, he desperately wanted to kiss her again, so so much. He didn't want Nina to be just another fling, he had figured this much. The stupid peculiar feeling hadn't left him, he was slowly unwrapping the mystery. The feeling was this burning desire and care which could only grow. He wasn't scared anymore of the unknown, if the feeling was what he thought it could be. If this peculiar feeling was love, then he was going to embrace it for the first time ever. He wasn't going to think about the possibility of being hurt as all the songs and books so passionately talked about. He wanted to find out everything there was to know about love on his own.
So for now, he had contented himself with seeing her two to three times a week. Nina was still tutoring him - for which by the way he was making fantastic progress - but he would also simply hang out with her at his flat or invite her to hang out with his friends and Niall. He loved seeing her opening up and becoming more social. Yet what he loved to see the most was her moving around in his home, making it seem so effortless, so common, as if she had been hanging out there for years, as if she had barged into the rooms more than he could count. What Nina didn't know and probably never would, was that no other girl had ever set one foot in these spaces.
It was his sanctuary only she could enter.
The only slight disadvantage about Harry's sudden decision of taking it slow with Nina was...well...He hadn't had sex in ages. And him being a very sexual creature - it was sometimes really hard to resist. Yet his desire for Nina was stronger, making him ultimately as proud as he ever could be. He had obviously relieved himself in certain ways countless times, but that was the absolute minimum. He was a man after all.
After deciding he had had enough of history for the day, he took it upon himself to actually act on his cravings. He craved to hear her, to see her. So he picked up his phone, but before even being able to open a new message, his heart started pounding heavily in his chest, almost cutting of his vision and hearing.
A message had come through. The first in several days and Harry temporarily hated himself for not noticing it any sooner. He closed his eyes and gulped down his sudden nerves. Finally he opened the message and a smile instantly appeared on his handsome face.
From: Nina StPierre
To: Harry Styles
6.38 pm:
Why do we even have to learn this shit anyway?
Harry wondered what he should do. Should he answer her and apologise for not answering sooner? Should he converse with her, slowly leading the conversation to a meet up? Or should he just plainly ask her right away? Wouldn't that seem a little desperate? Because even though he cared about her, he didn't want to admit it just yet, he still had his reputation to uphold. Not that it necessarily mattered to Nina, but he was afraid his sudden emotional confession might scare her away, which was the last thing he wanted.
Confusion was still taking in a large portion of his brain.
To: Nina StPierre
From: Harry Styles
7.53 pm:
How about a distraction? Meet me at the entrance of Hyde Park in half an hour. x H.
Harry doubted if he should send the little kiss at the end, however before he could really consider what he was doing, his thump pressed send out of habit, making him curse lightly. He put his phone down and rubbed his hands over his face. He really was doing it. He really was going to see her.
From: Nina StPierre
To: Harry Styles
7.54 pm:
See you there.
With that, Harry jumped off his high chair in excitement and skipped to his bathroom to get ready, since he hadn't taken the time to do anything about his appearance - That's what exams do to you. After a quick wash, dressing up in his jeans, a thick jumper and a warm coat - without forgetting a fancy scarf to match his outfit of course - he was off to the tube station.
After a twenty minute voyage, he stepped off the public transport shuttle and walked up to the entrance of the humongous park. He stopped in his tracks, another fit of panic attacking him, making him even more nervous than he already was. He totally forgot about how many entrances this bloody park actually had. Nina could be bloody everywhere.
"Thank God, you're here." He heard a familiar voice shout from behind him, he turned around and smiled once he saw the cute petite woman walk up to him, "I forgot to ask which entrance."
"Yeah, same. Just realised it." Harry replied, the relief making his body ten times lighter. Nina stepped closer to him, stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek swiftly, clearly surprising the both of them.
"So, why are we here?" Harry looked down at her and smiled once he saw her cute little nose becoming redder by the minute from the cold. Her breath appeared in little clouds in front of her, making him regret his decision of not taking his camera with him.
"Well, I thought since its almost Christmas, it might be fun to go to the winter wonderland thing that's going on." He was making stuff up on the spot, but that was a secret he wasn't going to share. Nina looked up at him with a smile and nodded.
"I actually could use a nice hot cup of melted chocolate. History of art has been killing me for the last hour."
"Tell me about it. Three hours in and I still don't know the differences between those two damn Basilicas." Harry grunted while leading the way through the park.
"Anyway," Nina suddenly uttered while taking Harry's arm and snuggling up closer to him. She looked around at the beautiful snowy scenery and smiled once she saw the big colourful lights of the winter wonderland, "Let's forget it for a second. And please, do keep me warm. It's much colder than I anticipated."
"You're cold? Do you want my coat? Or maybe we can do something else if you want? We can have a drink somewhere warm if that-" Harry got interrupted by an excited Nina.
"No, are you kidding? We're not leaving this place. I haven't been here since I was about sixteen. Just keep me warm and I'll be fine." Once again, she snuggled her small body in Harry's side. He chuckled softly at her cuteness and lifted his arm to allow her as much contact as she wanted. Nina's eye fell on his burgundy looking silk scarf and played with it.
"That's pretty. It suits you." She said while looking up at the gentleman holding her close, warming both her body and her heart.
"Thanks." He said in a cheery voice.
"Even though it still looks very girlie." She giggled at his shocked expression, but quickly set her eyes on the little wooden cabin where hot beverages were sold. She pointed at it, hoping Harry would get the hint of walking towards it.
"You're mean." He mumbled with a childish pout, knowing full well she was only taking the Mickey. Well sort of.
"Oh come on, it was a joke. Let's get that drink. My treat." Nina walked out of their small embrace and almost ran towards the cabin, making Harry laugh. She turned around and frowned when she saw Harry still standing on their previous spot.
"Come along. I'm fucking freezing." She screamed, but instantly widened her eyes when she saw a little boy gasp at her foul language. She mumbled a quiet sorry and made Harry double over in laughter, squeezing his eyes shut in two little cute lines. His hand kept on gripping his stomach which was slowly starting to ache, its muscles tightening relentlessly. Eventually he jogged towards Nina and gripped her shoulder for support after calming down a bit.
"Not funny." She mumbled, making Harry's laughter start all over again. His hand gripped her shoulder tighter and her head spun in his direction. She admired how careless he seemed, how at ease with himself and life he looked. His loud laughter was so contagious, she couldn't resist the urge to laugh along. It took the students more or less ten minutes to come back to their senses and finally order a hot cocoa.
They set off to a little bench in a more secluded area of the park with their drinks in hand, yet the holiday atmosphere which was so wonderfully provided by the lovely christmas lights wasn't far away. Nina sat down first, turning her body so she could face Harry who sat down next to her. They stayed quiet for a little while, simply enjoying the moment. Van Morrison's Moondance played in the back which ultimately made Nina close her eyes and enjoy the sounds of her favourite jazz tune coming through.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked when he noticed.
"That's one of my favourite songs." She whispered softly to not interrupt the singer.
Harry took this opportunity to study her face. Her beautiful, symmetrical, alluring, mysterious, perfect face. So much beauty to be described and so little words to put it in. He felt speechless and the more he saw, the more he knew. The night's magic seemed to do its job perfectly well. Once again he regretted his previous decision of not bringing a camera with him.
"Are you going back to Cheshire for Christmas?" Nina asked out of the blue.
"Yes, I am." Harry answered, "You? Are you going back?" She shook her head.
"No." Nina said with her eyes still closed, "Haven't been back ever since we left."
"Why not?" Harry straightened his back out of interest.
"It's not home. Don't know if it's ever been." Nina opened her eyes and saw a very attentive Harry sitting next to her. He was looking at her with that same knee-buckling-look in his eyes. The one where nothing seemed more important than you.
"Why do you say that? You've grown up there, haven't you?" Nina nodded to his statement, "Then why wouldn't it feel like home?"
"Because childhood memories are oftentimes combined with school memories and those haven't been great." Nina sighed. "Don't get me wrong. If people ask me where I'm from, I'll tell them Cheshire of course. But it's not the same as you. Everyone knows you there, loves you. But for me that's never been the case." Their eyes met and locked.
"My childhood there was great because of my parents. But that's it. School was absolutely horrendous." Nina continued.
"I know you weren't friends with many people-" Harry tried to argue.
"Correction. I was friends with no one." Nina laughed a bitter one.
"Fine. No one. But it was your choice. I mean, don't get me wrong, but I've always thought you just preferred to be on your own." Harry's voice slowed even more by the end when he saw the look on Nina's face.
"Not exactly." She cleared her throat and continued to make her point. "Remember that time you brought this big cake for your birthday?" Harry nodded.
"The one we talked about the other day, yeah of course I remember." He smiled at the lovely memory but let Nina continue.
"Well, I didn't taste any of your cake. My piece fell on the ground because Miranda pushed me whilst trying to get to you." She sipped from her drink, "Probably to worship you at your feet or something. Anyway, by the time I had enough courage to go ask for a new one, she came back and told me fat girls didn't need any cake." Harry's mouth popped open, shocked once again by this new information.
"You-you were bullied?" Harry had to ask. He couldn't believe his ears.
"Occasionally, yes. It's a stupid example, but that's what school was like for me." Nina saw the sadness, the pity on Harry's face, but wanted to wipe it away instantly. It was all in the past.
"I-I just. Wow." Harry uttered, lost for words. "I'm so sorry." He decided to go for the easy road.
"Sorry for what?" Nina asked with a curiosity burning inside.
"For not doing anything about it." Harry shook his head in disbelief.
Those people who bullied Nina were his friends. How could they do it? Then again, since he was friends with all of them and regularly ignored Nina, that didn't make him any better, did it? He never thought him ignoring her would cause so much pain. Even though it was a messed up situation, Harry thought ignoring people was Nina's thing.
"Don't let it get to you, H. It's in the past. We've got to move forward." Nina tried to change the subject and lighten the mood after quite an awkward and rather uncomfortable moment of silence.
"If only-" However, Harry didn't want to let it go.
"If only what? If only you'd known? It wouldn't have changed a thing. It was mainly Miranda. If something had to be changed it was her rotten character." Nina cringed at her sudden bitter words and tone. She knew the girl was Harry's friend, it wasn't her place to offend her in front of him. "Sorry. That was a bit harsh."
"It's okay." Harry said, understanding the girl's bitterness.
"No it's not. She's your friend, I shouldn't say that. But being told you're fat and unattractive once a week by the prettiest girl in school makes it quite difficult, even now after five years." Harry looked up, feeling once again a miniature bomb explode in his face. "I don't know why I'm telling you all of this. Not many people actually know that." Nina continued to mumble.
"I've always thought you were pretty." Harry admitted, daring to sneak a glance at Nina who in turn was shocked as well.
"What?" She whispered all too softly without daring to look up. Her cheeks were fiery red.
"Yeah," Harry shrugged his shoulders, deciding there was nothing to be embarrassed about. "Even at school, I always thought you were pretty, but a little bit of a, you know, a-"
"Loner?" Nina finally looked up. She chuckled when Harry nodded his head, cheeks red and lip sucked into his mouth.
"What's so funny?" He then asked with a little crooked smile as well.
"Nothing. Let's just stop talking and do something before I freeze to death here on this bench."
Harry nodded and stood up, extending his hand to Nina and inviting her to follow him. He didn't say a words, just took her hand and pulled her along. He glanced back and laughed when he saw Nina's confused stare.
"Harry?" She asked in an alarmed voice. He glanced back once more and let out a cheeky laugh.
"Where going to skate." He stated, before laughing at the constant complains and warnings of Nina. He suddenly pulled her close to him and whispered eagerly in her ear.
"I won't let you get hurt, I promise."
And he meant it in every way.
____________
Hello everyone,
I'm so sorry for the extremely long wait. I know I've been apologising for this quite often, but I swear, these last few weeks have been quite though ones and my mind just went bleak.
I'm finally finding my rhythm back and it's fair to say that I'll finally be able to update once a week again. It will probably be every Friday, but don't shoot me if it isn't.
Anyway I hope you at least enjoyed this one. It was quite the change from last time. I wanted a little bit of romance in this one since apparently that's the only thing I can write.
Please comment and vote! Don't be shy to let me know what you thought of it, honestly! And I'll see you next week! By the way, I haven't edited the chapter, I still need to do that, but I wanted you to read it already. So if there are mistakes in them, I know, I'm working on it.
Lots of love
Laetitia