I stop dead in my tracks. The cheering crowds and bright lights melt into a blurry backdrop behind Harry and Kitty. With his hands tucked into his coat pockets, I suppose it's more that she clings to him rather than anything else, but that alone is enough to make my blood boil.
"Hey Harry!" I hear Louis shout. "Guess who I found?" Harry looks up from Kitty and our eyes meet immediately. His pleasant smile grows into a sheepish, adorable, and completely stupid grin that makes me want to smack him and then kiss him wildly.
No, not kiss, my brain corrects itself, smack.
I keep my feet glued to the ground, completely uncertain of what to do in my sudden fire of jealousy. My head is filled with a calamity of scenarios that pretty much all end with me decking Kitty in her perfectly pointed nose.
"Hey," Harry says gently, shaking his arm slightly as he approaches me. Kitty only seems to grip harder.
Hey yourself, you big fat phoney, I shout internally. "Hi," I manage to somehow say. My throat feels dry and tight like I might as well have swallowed sand. His smile shifts nervously as his eyes narrow inquisitively, probably as he registers my undoubtedly upset face.
Harry looks over at Kitty with the same peculiar face and jerks his shoulder a little more intently causing her to finally let's go. She looks up at him, a sultry question mark resting on her crimson lips, and presumably finding an answer, looks back at me with a calculated glare.
"How are ya, Chapman?" Louis asks as if I shouldn't have a concern in the world. I blink a couple of times, unsure of how to respond, leaving Kitty the opportunity to speak first.
"Didn't expect to see you here," she says sweetly. Too sweetly. "You look lovely tonight. I do ever so love your bow," she adds, her long lashes batting daintily as her eyes flicker up to my hair.
That's it, I'm gonna kill her.
"So," Louis immediately says, stepping ever so slightly in front of Kitty as if he can read my brain. "Is Niall with you?"
"No," I hear myself say. I blink hard again, looking around at the mass of people who swarm around us. My ears ring as the cheering and excited squeals of the happy crowd has been turned up like a radio dial. I can hear the hard wheels of the coaster pound against the rails and the banging of bumper cars driving into one another all while people hoot and holler like they're diving off of a cliff.
"Did he leave you alone?"
"What?" I stammer, trying to press the loud noises out of me head. I shake my head slightly to see Harry staring at me with deep concern.
"Did he leave you?" Harry asks again, his deep voice edged with worry. Frustration floods my veins. How dare he act like he's worried about me when he's off flirting with some other girl?
I tear my gaze away from Harry, too annoyed to look at him and reply to Louis instead. "They, um," I sputter, "They went on the Ferris wheel."
"You knew she was coming?" I hear Kitty softly ask Harry. Guess she knows about this night as much as I do.
"Yeah," Harry says, clearing his throat. "Niall mentioned it." My eyes fly up from the ground to Louis. He turns to Harry, looking at him with such bewilderment that it nearly matches how baffled I feel.
Harry jerks his shoulders in a defensive shrug, now avoiding my eyesight. "Right," Louis says slowly, "well, now that we're all here, might as well make a night of it, hm?" Harry nods like this is some great new plan. Jerk.
"Sure thing," he says to Louis. Kitty looks at me with a wince. I shoot her an equally phony smile back.
"So Chapman, see anything interesting? I noticed you found some friends," Louis says, extending his chin towards Ida and Mary. "You know if you wanted to introduce me, I wouldn't be opposed," he says cheekily.
"They're, um, they're just looking for volunteers," I say. "For air raids and things." I'm painfully aware of how inarticulate I sound, but I can't seem to settle the buzzing rage that prickles my hollow body.
"Why were you-" Harry starts to ask when one of the girls next to Louis interrupts.
"Geez-Louise!" she moans emphatically, "who on earth invited them?" She and Kitty break out into a horrid giggling sound that reminds me of the geese back home.
I suppose it's better to be some sort of ditzy ding-dong, is it now? I want to yell at her. I open my mouth to speak, but Louis cuts me short again, saving me from making a dramatic fool of myself.
"Hey," he says, clasping his hands together, "why don't we go check out one of the rides and see if we can find Niall and Liam on the way there?"
"Liam's coming too?" the other girl asks gently. Much quieter than her friends, I've barely noticed her standing there staring at me. I smile uncomfortably, ashamed to have my feelings on display in front of such a stranger.
"Yep," Louis answers her. "Shall we try to find them, yeah?" I hear Louis say as I focus on the tiny specks of mud drying around the edges of my shoes. I swallow hard, feeling the heat of embarrassment rise in my cheeks. I can feel the group start to pull away, but I stay in my spot motionless, feeling incredibly stupid to tag along with them.
Cautiously and carefully, I look up to find Harry staring curiously at me. Kitty's hands are occupied with her hair, but her body is still practically glued to his side as she gabs about some nonsense. I can barely hear her over the ocean of jealousy and hurt crashing against one another in my head.
"Hey, Kitty! Come here a second!" Louis suddenly calls from up front.
"What?" she whines.
"Would you just get over here?" Louis yells even louder this time.
"Fine!" she huffs. She strides forward, but not before saying to Harry, "Save me a seat on the ferris wheel, would ya?"
Whore! My brain screams.
Harry says nothing, and instead just offers up a polite smile. Kitty catches up to the others, and suddenly the moment that I had been waiting for all week is finally mine and yet, completely not what I had wanted. I breathe out heavy, my cheeks puffing out as I try to calm myself.
"Hey," I hear Harry say soothingly. I stare out at the lively scene circling us, focusing on a man tossing a baseball into a milk jug to try and get ahold of myself. The ball misses each time, clanging terrible against the thin metal. Harry takes a step forward and I can feel the intensity his stare.
Clang.
"Roses," he calls softly.
Clang.
"Listen to me, nothing's going on."
I look up at him incredulously, my mouth just about to twist off my face. "Oh don't you "Roses" me," I threaten with my finger pointed before stalking off in any direction just to get away from him.
"Hey, hey, hey," he coos, easily catching up to me with his long strides. He reaches out and gently takes a hold of my arm, forcing me to stop. I pause, allowing him to face me, but instead of looking me in the eyes, Harry's gaze nervously travels behind me, clearly searching to see if Kitty can see us.
I let out a loud scoff. "Just leave me be, Harry. Go spend time with the people you really want to be with."
"Hazel, stop it, You're being silly." he commands.
"Look," he says, quickly gathering his composure, "I didn't know they were all coming. I swear it. I got caught up at work and Louis said he'd drive me. I had no idea he'd already promised to take the girls."
"I don't care who you sit in a car with Harry," I seethe. "I care that you've got some bug-eyed Betty climbing all over you!"
I expect Harry to profusely apologize, to offer up some sort of explanation, to even grovel for pete's sake. But instead, all I get is a cheeky, dimpled grin.
"Bug-eyed Betty?" he laughs softly. "Hazel Chapman, you are jealous little thing,"
My eyes threaten to pop out of my head. My lips screw tightly together as I struggle to find the right insult to hurl at him. "You! You good for nothing-"
Before I can finish, Harry grabs me by the hand and whisks me out of the center of the aisle. "You let me be, Harry!" I shout in protest. He tightens his grip around my hand and drags me through the crowd until we make our way into a little alleyway created by some sort of fun house and a makeshift arcade.
He whirls me around, pushing my back up against the wall of the fun house, making sure that I have no way to avoid him.
"Hazel," he says breathlessly. I stare down at my feet in protest, not wanting to hear whatever excuse he has to offer. "Hazel, look at me."
I make him wait for a second, keeping my eyes glued to the ground just to annoy him, when I finally cave and look up into his face. His intense gaze sends a shock through my body. I gulp a little nervously and I pray he doesn't notice. I want to stay angry, but with his hand pressed firmly against the building behind me, and his lean body hovering just over mine, the war drums of my angry heart settle into fluttering butterflies wings.
"Listen," he says softly, no longer needing to yell over the crowd. The makeshift alley way is dark and quiet, illuminated just enough by the soft glow of carnival lights just a few feet away. "I swear to you, I didn't know they were coming. I only came to see you, I promise."
His words are sweet like the sugar smell that lingers in the air, but they're not enough. "Then why does it feel like I'm on your date with Kitty?" I ask angrily. "She's all over you and you don't seem to mind one bit, you wolf," I add with a scowl.
His eyes relax a little as he frowns at me like I'm being ridiculous. "I barely talked to her the whole ride here. She sat in the back with the gals and I sat and chatted with Louis. She started talking to me maybe a few seconds before I spotted you."
"You were holding her," I say quietly.
"No, I wasn't," he says slowly, his eyes carefully regarding mine. "She tripped and grabbed on to me. If you were looking you would have seen me laughing at what an idiot she looked like."
I twist my mouth to the side as I ponder his explanation.
"You mean it?" I asks quietly.
"Hazel, why would I ask to spend time with you and then bring another girl. That just doesn't even make sense."
"I dunno," I say weakly, shrugging my shoulders slightly as I begin to think it over.
With a single finger, Harry lifts my chin up to force my gaze to meet his. It sends a shiver down my spine. "Are you calling me stupid, Roses?" he asks coyly.
"Maybe," I smile sheepishly, folding my arms in front of me. I need a buffer in between us or else I'll lose any chance of resisting him.
Harry lets out a little laugh before dipping his head a little lower. "Well, I'm stupid crazy in love with you," he whispers against my lips. His voice is like sweet chocolate, but it doesn't excuse how horrible a felt just moments ago.
"Are you making a fool of me?" I ask, my thick voice catching in my throat as my worries come to the surface.
"What do you mean?" he asks pulling away just enough to look me in the eyes.
His free hand tenderly tucks a lock of my hair behind ear and then cups my face.
"I dunno," I mutter.
"I'm not up to any games, Hazel. I swear it." I intensely study the pleading face in front me. The chiseled angle of his jaw and cheek bones seem sharper, hardened by the shadows of the alleyway, but his gentle eyes pour into mine with such sincerity that my storm inside of my mind finally begins to settle. "I'm sorry, really I am."
My anger dissipates like sugar in water at his words. Spoken so plainly, so matter of fact, Harry makes his love seem as natural as gravity. I can feel a smile slowly peel across my face as I let go of my jealousy. The corner of Harry's mouth lifts his lips into his own most perfect of smiles.
"Can I kiss you?" he asks.
I nod quietly.
In an instant, his lips come crashing down onto mine, washing away my doubt and worry. Slowly and steadily, he kisses me, taking me away from the carnival lights and into a dreamlike world that's meant for just he and I.
Caught up in the swell of yearning, I throw my arms around his neck. He kisses me deeper as his mouth catches mine, moving like soft waves on the ocean as the push and pull against mine. Each kiss drags us further and further into one another until finally I feel as if my racing heart can never get enough. Harry must feel the same way as his desperate hands find my waist and yank me up. My legs wrap around him instinctively as he steps even closer to pin me up against the wall.
"Please don't ever think I want someone else," he pants wildly in between our frantic kissing.
"Please don't ever want anyone else," I beg, savoring the sweet taste of his lips on mine. He pulls away, his cheeks flushed from our fervor.
"Never," he breathes. "I want you, Roses. Only you."
Harry's dimpled smile shines down on me and I feel like a million bucks. He kisses me firmly once more before slowly letting me down. I whimper at the loss of his touch, not wanting him to ever stop, but as I come down from my high, the sounds of the carnival come back into focus. I'm suddenly reminded that even if it's just two of us here, anyone could walk by and see if they stared hard enough.
My hands slide down the front of his wool coat as my feet hit the ground, but Harry doesn't distance himself too much. Taking a hold of my hand, he presses a kiss into my palm.
"You're my girl, Hazel."
I stare up lovingly into his eyes, but reality has sunk back in. "Am I though? I mean for tonight? With all these people around?"
Harry's lowers his gaze slightly as reality sinks in for him too. He looks down the small alley way out towards the glowing yellow and red lights of the carnival. With a little sigh, he replies hesitantly, "You're always my girl."
"But?"
"I don't want them saying something before I can talk to your Granddad." I roll my eyes as I let out a huff. Back to this again.
"Hazel, I will tell him. Or ask him. Or I don't know.." Harry rambles, his brows pinched together.
"Will you? Because I don't like these secrets, Harry," I warn. "It's only trouble."
"I will, I promise," he says urgently, his eyes locking on to mine. His pupils blown out, his hair wild from our kissing, I can still see the worry and stress etched into the lines by his eyes. Harry lets out a deep breath as I study him, lowering his head to his chest in frustration.
I bite the inside of my cheek as I study the fretful man in front of me. I do trust that he cares for me and I can kind of see his point that it wouldn't be best for Grandfather to hear from someone else. I hate this secrecy, but if it means giving him a chance to breathe, I can concede.
"Okay." I say softly.
Harry looks up again, his eyes still wide with concern as they examine mine. "Okay?"
"Okay!" I yell and half laugh. "But that doesn't give you license to be frolicking around with that tart," I add bitterly.
A loud laugh bursts from his lungs.
"Tart?"
"I could think of worse things to say, Harry, don't push me," I warn seriously, despite the small chuckle that dances on my lips. I fold my arms, frustration returning now that I know I can't be with Harry the way I wanted to tonight. I suppose it's better than not seeing him at all, though.
"Listen," Harry says softly, "Kitty and the gals are only here for tonight. I'm staying with Niall at his cousins here in town so if you'll have me, I promise you a proper date night then."
I look up at him with the little pout I can't seem to shake. "Yeah?"
The dimple in his cheek deepens as his mouth tugs into a handsome smile. "Yeah."
We stare at each other, smiling like a bunch of fools until I can't take it anymore. Tugging at the collar of his coat, I pull him to me and plant a few, quick pecks on his lips. "We should go," I tell him.
Drawing me tight against him, he captures my last tiny peck with a deep, long kiss. It's dizzying and exhilarating, but right before I fall into another deep trance, he pulls away with a devilish glint in his eyes.
"Now we can go."
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Author's Note:
Above is close to what I picture Kitty to look like!