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Gif to the side is Jenson :)
Harry's POV:
When I was in ninth year, right before my mum moved us to Ireland to live with my grandparents, some guy took all of my sister's money out of her purse when she wasn't watching in the cafeteria at school on our first day. I had just been looking around the place when I saw it happen. Her head was turned, and he scooped up some of the money she'd worked all summer for. I stood from my seat, and walked up to the guy, grabbing him right by the collar. Luckily for him, a teacher stopped the scene before I could beat the living shit out of him.
I felt an odd sense of déjà vu as I held the lad in the pub by the collar.
"Get the fuck out of here, you piece of shit." I spat at him, releasing my hold and pushing him. He stumbled before scurrying out of the place. I turned my attention to the familiar blue and floral bag I'd seen, and then looked up at Jenson. She seemed stunned by the whole confrontation, but it honestly didn't faze me. I'd been in a couple brawls before. Her pink lips were separated, but her jaw not completely ajar, and her blue eyes wide. I took the few strides over to Jenson, handed the speechless girl her bag with a nod, and then walked back to the bar.
I sat down, and sipped on the drink I had left to go deal with the stupid prick that'd tried to steal Jenson's purse. A half a minute later, Jenson approached me, pulling out the stool next to me, and climbing up. I took notice to how short her legs were, and how she had to hike herself up onto the stool. We sat in silence before she coughed and spoke.
"So, uh... what was that?" Her eyes met mine for less than a second before she looked back down at her lap.
"Dunno what you mean. I just saved your bag from being stolen," I muttered, swallowing the words down with the last of my drink.
"I mean, why?"
"Would you have liked me to watch as he ran off with your purse full of things?" Why is she making such a big deal, I thought.
"Well of course not, but..." Jenson didn't complete her sentence.
"Just say thank you, Jenson. I would have done it for anyone."
She sighed. "Okay. Well thanks." I just nodded in response.
Joe, my favorite bartender approached us. "Need a refill, Harry?"
"Get me a shot. Vodka, will ya?" I said, emotionlessly.
Joe pointed at Jenson. "What about you, pretty lady? I'll getcha anything you need."
I spoke before Jenson opened her mouth. "Make it two shots," I smirked at her when her mouth opened slightly in shock.
"Uh, Harry? I don't drink." She crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"That's right, you don't drink... yet."
She rolled her eyes to which I answered, "C'mon, Jenson. Loosen up. One shot won't kill you, will it?"
"I've never had alcohol before."
Joe placed the shots in front of us both and I picked mine up. "I guess it's a good thing I'm an excellent teacher then." I said with a wink.
Jenson's POV:
"The trick is to not let it sit in your mouth too long, or it'll burn. Tilt your head back and let it go straight down to your throat." Harry gave me a live demonstration, putting the glass to his plump lips then tossed his head and swallowed the vodka. I watched with curiosity. It must have been strong because it caused his eyes to screw shut. "Easy. Now you try." he pushed the small glass to me.
It can't be that bad, can it? It must be good if so many people drink it. But I was going to stand firm in my belief. I simply shook my head in response. I, Jenson Arlington, would not drink.
"I think you're afraid," Harry said quietly. "No one wishes to taint their pure soul; especially you, isn't that right, Jenson? I bet you couldn't even handle more than one drink. You'd be such a lightweight." He smiled lightly as my eyebrows furrowed with each demeaning sentence he spoke.
I wasn't going to let him talk to me like that. Sobriety means a lot to me, but my pride means more. Besides, wasn't this part of my life supposed to be dedicated to trying new things and stepping outside my comfort zone? With new found confidence I said, "I think you underestimate me, Harry," I surprised him by grabbing the shot and swallowing it in expert fashion. I placed it roughly back on the bar and grinned. It didn't taste all that great, but I wasn't going to let the burn of the alcohol show on my face. That would allow Harry to win, in a sense.
"Are you sure that was your first shot?" He laughed at me. I covered my mouth to keep my giggles from escaping and shrugged lightly. The expression on his face was priceless, so worth it.
"My friends back home used to drink a lot," I said while pushing my light brown hair behind my ears, a smile still on my face.
Harry laughed again and shook his head in what seemed like disbelief. "Maybe I won't have that much to teach you."
I smirked at this, and shrugged one shoulder.
"Well, you can take one shot well, let's see how you handle a little more liquor." Harry mused, calling for another round.
///
I was laughing, hard. I couldn't quite remember what I said that was so damn funny, but Harry was also beside himself laughing with me. I'd downed four more shots and started on some mystery drink Harry introduced me too. My skin was burning, I felt light as a feather, and my words weren't coming out articulated. This was fun.
"Jenson!" Violet approached Harry and I, and we sobered up to look at my red headed friend approaching us. Niall was gathering their things and paying the tab behind her.
"Heyyyy, Vi." I hiccuped, a grin covering my face. Violet's eyes went wide, scanning my face and then she smelled me. She smelled me?
"Holy shit." Violet cursed, her eyes darting to Harry. "You got her bloody drunk, are you mad? She's never drank before, you nim-wit!"
"I know that, Violet." Harry rolled his eyes.
"Well, I was planning on going home with Niall, but now I have to take her home." she frowned at Harry.
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk about me like I'm not sitting right here." I frowned.
"I figured you'd get pissed about that." Harry said to Violet, glancing at me and turning the side of his lip up a bit to show me that he'd heard me, even though Violet dismissed my comment. "I stopped drinking and started on water after her third shot. Calm down, I'll walk her home."
I looked to Harry's glass. It was filled with crystal clear water, in contrast to the deep red one in my hands. Hm, how didn't I notice that? Drinking was throwing off my observing skills, and I wasn't sure how I felt about that.
"Yeah, Vi. Harry's quarter Irish, he's got the tolerance of a viking anyways." Niall appeared behind Violet. She thought it over, eyeing me closely before nodding slowly and looking to Niall for reassurance.
"All right. Text me when you get in, okay?" Violet asked.
"Yes, mum." I rolled my eyes playfully. Violet laughed, and Niall tugged her away, both throwing goodbye's our way.
When they were out the door, I turned to Harry. "You started drinking water?"
"Yep." Harry nodded, picking up the ice water in front of him and rattling the glass.
Harry was kind of unpredictable. He made it seem like he could be less than concerned with my existence when I walked into the pub, but then he stopped drinking so he'd be in the right state of mind to make sure I got home.
"I don't get you." I blurted. Apparently my filter was also inactive due to the alcohol coursing through my veins.
Harry chuckled, cocking an eyebrow. "Huh?"
"I mean, earlier, you were really short with me and then you saved my purse-"
"I told you I would've done that for anyone-"
"Then, you got me to drink and then you stopped drinking so that I would be able to get home all right." I frowned, leaning on the bar.
"Well, I was just in a shitty mood earlier, and wasn't really feeling the small talk or listening to Louis try to flirt with you." Harry shrugged.
"Why were you in a shitty mood?" I inquired, propping my head in my hand.
"Why do you ask so many bloody questions?" he said as his hands rubbed the stubble growing around his chin.
"I'm nosey. Now answer my question." I persisted. I assumed my ballsiness was yet another side affect of the alcohol. I pressed the glass of some type of drink Harry had ordered me to my lips while he watched me. He seemed to be having an internal battle of whether or not to tell me.
"My professor gave me a D on a paper that I worked really hard on, and now I'm going to have to work even harder to pull up my grade." he answered. I frowned.
"I'm sorry about that."
"Yeah, well, it is what it is." Harry shrugged.
"What are you majoring in?" I asked.
"Law. Going to be an attorney in my father's law firm." Harry sighed, rolling his eyes in an awfully bitter way. I almost questioned him about his father and why he wanted to be a lawyer like him, or if he even wanted to be one at all, but I didn't. I kept my mouth shut.
"Art, and I think I'm gonna minor in French."
"I didn't ask." Harry smirked, his playful side back.
"Oh, shut it." I laughed, holding up my cup and asking the bar tender for a refill.
///
As we walked back to the dorms, the wind got a bit chilly and I found myself wrapping my arms around my chest to keep the goose bumps from rising up. I drank two full glasses of water before we left, but my vision still seemed off and everything about my movements felt slow. The sky was beautiful tonight -- all the stars were in clear sight, the almost-full moon shining brightly down on us. I was thankful no clouds were out to shadow the night sky from us. I imagined what this scenery would look like on paper and set it in my mind so I could paint it as soon as I could.
I stopped my feet from motion and stared in awe. Harry's boots made slow clunking noises as he kept walking. When he realized I wasn't right behind him, he stopped as well. "What are you doing?" He spoke in my direction.
"Isn't the sky wonderful at night?" I questioned and ignored his voice, my eyes never leaving the galaxy that was unfolded above our heads.
Harry muttered, "It's alright. Now, come on. We gotta get you back."
"I used to have this really awesome telescope when I was a little girl, and on nights like this my dad and I would spend hours pointing out constellations and talking about the world out there." I smiled at the memory. Moments as perfect as those don't come along often.
"That's great, Jenson. Why don't you tell me about it on the way?" Harry began his walking, but I didn't follow him. Instead, I found a spot next to the university side walk and lay back on the grass with my arms stretched out at my sides. The grass made my arms tingle just like the alcohol made my insides tingle. I giggled at the feeling.
"I think I'm just gonna stay here," I said, mostly to myself considering Harry was already 10 meters away.
"Jenson, we don't have time for this." Harry shouted.
"Who doesn't have time to enjoy the beauty of the world?" I demanded.
"Me! I need to get you back before it gets too late. I have work tomorrow!"
"Don't be such a Debby Downer, Harry. Come look at the stars."
Now he stood over me and reached for my arms. "I don't care about the stars."
Before he could lift me off the ground I wrenched my arms loose and grabbed his forearms, surprising him for the second time that night. I pulled him down in the grass beside me and his back hit with an oof! I guess those self defense classes I had taken over the summer actually did some good.
"What the bloody hell?" Harry said angrily.
I smirked and looked back at the sky. "Just look at the stars, Harry. Haven't you ever just looked at the stars? They can be quite amazing."
"This is ridiculous," he muttered, but didn't attempt to move or object.
All was silent for a minute or two, except for the occasional grunt of irritation that Harry let fall out of his mouth. I broke the quiet with my whispers. "Don't you like it?"
"I don't see why you're getting so worked up about stars. They're just little lights."
"Some people just don't understand," I told him. "You're one of them." He scoffed in response.
"What? You don't. Stars are way more than just 'little lights'," I explained. "They are huge fireballs, some one thousand times as large as our sun and as many as a billion light years away. Do you know what that means?" I glanced at him and saw that his head was turned to face me. "That means that it took a billion years for the light of that star to make it all the way to earth. Do you realize how far away that is? It's incredible."
"That doesn't even make sense. How do they know it's a billion light years away? There's no way someone could calculate that all the way from here. The earth hasn't even been around a billion years."
"How would you know? Were you here when the earth came to be?" I inquired.
"No, but I bet you an ass load of money whoever was wouldn't be a billion years old today." he laughed.
"You have no imagination." I muttered.
"It's called being realistic. Haven't we gone over this before?" He was being a jerk. Here I was just wanting to talk about the constellations but he had to ruin my good mood with all his negativity.
"Whatever." I said, pushing myself from the grass. I stumbled on my feet before gaining complete balance and walking down the side walk once again. "You don't have to walk me anymore. I can take it from here," I was ready to be rid of Harry, as I'm sure he was of me.
"I told Violet I would, so I am." He stated.
I rolled my eyes. I didn't need Mr. Too High And Mighty For The Stars to follow me back to my dorm -- I was practically sober.
The rest of the walk was short and filled with nothing but the sound of our shoes on the pavement. That is, until I completely lost my footing on an uneven ledge, screamed like a 14 year old girl, and tumbled straight to my hands and knees. Maybe I should have been focusing more on the ground in front of me rather than on thoughts of the man trailing behind me.
I had to admit, it was pretty funny; one second I was walking like a normal human being and the next I was sprawled out on the sidewalk with bloody palms. And while it was funny, the reaction I got from Harry was by far a thousand times more hilarious.
His laugh was so loud and pure, it filled the street and echoed off of all the buildings. Harry's head fell backwards with his eyes crinkled so much they were shut tight. His smile was so huge I could see all of his white, shiny teeth. He pointed and laughed and couldn't catch his breath long enough to actually voice the mocking words in his head. Before long, I was laughing right along with him. God, I was such a klutz. My arms wrapped around my stomach as the laughing fit became all too much. I wiped a tear from my eye and finally found air. I hadn't laughed like that in a while.
"That was the funniest thing I've seen all week," Harry breathed. "Next time why don't you try to stay on you two feet instead of two knees?" he joked as he grabbed my hand and helped lift me off the ground.
"I'll keep that in mind," I answered with an eye roll. Harry made sure I was steady before letting go of my arms, earning another eye roll on my part.
"My hands are bloody." I grunted, and reached into my purse for some napkins. Harry chuckled as I tried to walk and dig in my purse at the same time. When I found the napkins, I wiped the blood off of my hands and tossed the dirty paper in a sidewalk trash can as we passed it.
"You all good now?" Harry asked in a patronizing matter, and I stuck my tongue out at him. He chuckled, "Very mature."
"Life isn't all about being mature, ya knoowww." I drew out my words, and tapped Harry's nose. He was surprised by my contact, but said nothing. "Or maybe you don't, Mr. Law Degree who hates the stars."
"I knew telling you that I was a law major would come back to bite me in the ass."
I just giggled, and kept on walking.
When we finally reached my dorm, I swiped my card and the doors opened. I turned to a waiting Harry and saluted him. He rolled his eyes in a playful manner.
"Thanks for walking me home." I said.
"You're welcome." Harry quirked the sides of his lips up in a way that I'd never be able to, continuing. "Don't forget to take lots of pain killers in the morning."
"Sounds like a plan." I grinned, and before I knew what I was doing, I took a step towards him and threw my arms around his neck. His body sort of jumped with surprise at my gesture at first, but after a moment he reacted by gently hugging me back; his hands were placed on the middle of my back and our chests touched one another's. Harry smelled of smoke from the bar, mint, and a delightful cologne. He was really warm and for such an uninviting personality, he gave very secure hugs.
We pulled away, and I grinned at him, giving him a small wave before I headed inside. I took the elevator upstairs, and quickly got into my room. I was in bed within three minutes of stepping inside my dorm, my clothes being replaced with pajamas. My tired eyes drooped shut as my head laid on my fluffy pillow, and I quickly fell asleep.
AN: PLEASE READ! Hi! Thank you for reading this chapter of Collision! We really hoped you enjoyed it. As you can see, the plot for Harry and Jenson is setting up, and we really appreciate you taking time to read our little story. We do have one small request, though. If you guys could please comment your thoughts to better our writing and help us out, that would be awesome. Also, votes make our day! Again, thank you so much for reading. WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!
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