The way that this story is playing out it's as if someone is telling their story years later. I don't know if it's coming off like that because I am not very good at writing in the third person, but I know how I want it to be like?? I hope that makes sense. Thought I'd say something now lmaoo.
Also this is a very short chapter but that's because things will be moving quickly from now on!
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September 24th, 2016
Emilia awoke from her deep slumber with a raging headache and the feeling of possibly vomiting. She did not open her eyes for the first few minutes that she was conscious, she had a feeling that the room would be too bright and make her feel even worse.
She didn't quite remember the night before. She only remembered dancing with Markus and drinking a little too much. She also remembered seeing Harry, but maybe it was only a dream. He surely was not there, she thought. It felt so vivid though, so it would be a shame to not be real. Or a shame that it was real.
Emilia took a deep breath and forced her eyes open. At first it was too bright for her to make out where she was, but as her eyes adjusted to the sunlight she could see that she was in her own bed with her bedding thrown over her body.
She slowly sat up and looked around her apartment to make sure that she hadn't brought anyone home. Thankfully the apartment was empty. The only mystery now was how she got home.
She got up and made her way to her bathroom but had to stop when she heard the water running behind the closed door. Her heart sped up in her chest and her hand instantly formed into a fist. Although it has been years, she still remembered the defensive moves Justin taught her before she started high school. He was protective of her, and wanted her to be safe if any asshole boys tried to hurt her. She never had to act out the moves, plus she was kind of a paranoid person in these situations, so she had no idea how affective they would be.
The water was soon turned off leaving the apartment completely silent. The only downside to her small apartment is that the bathroom is the only separate room, so it was easy for her to not tell that anyone was in there from first glance.
Who had she brought home? Was it an intruder who needed to piss before they stole anything? Or was it some weird person she didn't remember hooking up with? Whoever it was, she wasn't prepared to confront them.
For a brief second she thought about calling the police. But, she had no idea where her phone would be after the night before. And she wouldn't have time before the person exited the bathroom.
As the bathroom door opened and revealed the individual that just used the facilities, a wave of relief washed over Emilia.
"I thought you were an intruder." she heavily sighed and ran her hand through her very messy hair.
"Sorry. I just passed out on your couch last night. I was way too drunk to go home." Fiona shrugged and smiled at Emilia. "You were so fun last night."
"I don't remember much." she bit her lip. "I don't even know how I got home."
"That Harry dude drove us. You were kind of slurring the whole way here and we didn't exactly know what you were saying. You fell asleep in the backseat and he carried you up here and put you in your bed. I changed you out of your clothes and just passed out."
"Why didn't he just take you home?" Emilia frowned.
"He had to go to work. An emergency or something, I dunno. I was just gonna call a Lyft or something but I figured I was too drunk to trust a random driver. You know Harry so I guess I trusted him."
"It's fine. I was just confused." Emilia awkwardly smiled and excused herself and snuck in behind Fiona and closed the bathroom door. She realized that she had in fact saw Harry and that the small memory of kissing him may have been real.
She regretted being so drunk, but she was glad that her feelings got across to Harry.
She took her shorts and shirt off and got into the shower. Her headache was not as bad as it had been when she first woke up. The feeling of having to vomit still lingered but didn't threaten her enjoyment of the warmth of the water.
"Hey, Em?" Fiona called from outside the door.
"Yes?"
"I'm heading home now. I'll text you later. Maybe we can get dinner or something with Jess."
"Okay, that sounds good. Can you please lock the door on your way out?"
"Yep!"
Emilia washed her hair and remained under the pressure of the water to ensure that Fiona had in fact left so she wouldn't have to walk out in only a towel. Emilia wasn't quite sure that they were at that level of friendship.
After she had wrapped a towel around her body and hair, Emilia made her way out of the bathroom and sat on the edge of her bed. She looked for her cell phone and eventually found it under her pillow with the device on silent. She had a few texts from her parents, just asking about Thanksgiving and if she wanted turkey or ham (she preferred ham) and informing her that Danielle, Justin's new girlfriend, will be joining them. She also saw a message from an unknown number. She messaged her parents back and thought about replying back to the mystery number. She decided to ask who it was.
Unknown number: Hello
Emilia: Sorry, who is this?
When the message was sent Emilia changed into a pair of cotton shorts and a large hoodie. She put her hair into a bun after she combed through the wet strands and sat down on the couch to begin her school work. She had a few things to finish up for her Sociology class on Monday and didn't want to leave it until the last day. She had slacked off on her work the first week of school and soon learned that she had to keep up much more than what she had to do in high school. It didn't help that she had a year off and had to get back into the swing of things.
Emilia didn't like slacking off. She had always kept school as her main priority and she maintained excellent grades since she worked almost too hard to do her work. It paid off, but it left her with a wall in between her and the few friends she did have. And as she moved on to college and almost all contact with most of them was lost, she grew to resent the hard work she did. Which is why it was difficult for her to get into the swing of school again.
Unknown number: It's Harry Styles. Fiona gave me your number.
Emilia's face grew hot as memories flashed back in her mind of the kiss they shared. She shook her head to try and clear her thoughts before she replied back.
Emilia: Oh. Thank you for taking me home. I was pretty intoxicated.
Harry: Yes you were. And it's no problem, I was worried about your safety so I just took you home myself. With Fiona, too.
Harry: How are you feeling today?
Emilia: I woke up with a massive headache and felt like I was going to vomit but I feel a little better now that I showered.
Harry: That's good to hear. Being hungover is not very fun. I'm sorry you have to deal with that.
Emilia: No need to apologize. It was my own fault.
Harry: Can I possibly come over so we can discuss what was said and done last night?
Emilia knew they had talked about how she felt about him. She wasn't quite sure what she said, she just knew something was said and they kissed. She wished she was sober so she could remember what his lips felt like.
Emilia: Yes, I think that is a good idea. Maybe you can help me remember some details I don't remember from last night.
Harry: Excellent. I will be there in an hour, I just have to finish up some work here at the office. See you then.
Emilia put her phone down and tried to focus on her school work, but she couldn't has she began to feel anxious about seeing Harry.
Harry placed his phone down on his desk and took a deep breath. He spent the night in his office after the emergency call her received the night before. The woman that he was defending later than week in court had fled the country and was missing. Her passport had been taken away months before so how she left was a huge mystery and left everyone having to investigate.
He didn't necessarily have to stay at the office the whole night, but he figured that if something were to happen and he had to be called to come in, it would be easier if he was already in the building. The couch in his office was not comfortable and he got very little sleep but he didn't really mind. The defendant was found on surveillance video in a neighbouring city's airport. The short investigation led them to Los Angeles, a place that the woman talked about visiting often.
He was pleased that Emilia agreed to having him stop by to talk. After they had kissed, Emilia dragged Harry up and started to dance with him. He was glad that he was finally able to know how she really felt about him, but he didn't like that she was so fucking drunk. He knew that if it wasn't for the alcohol, she most likely would not have kissed him. But each time she did kiss him, he didn't push her away because he didn't know if it would be the last time.
Harry didn't believe in true love. He didn't really believe in love at first sight. He did, however, believe in lust at first sight. No one could fall in love just by looking at a stranger. It just wasn't possible. When he had first saw Emilia, it was definitely just lust at the first glance. But that was before he got to actually have a conversation with her and realized that it wasn't just lust. He wanted a sexual relationship with her, of course, but he also wanted more. She was just something else, as cheesy as it is to say. He just really fucking liked her.
Harry organized the papers on his desk and put them away into the correct manila folders and filed them away in the file cabinet next to his desk. He put another more important folder in his bag and quickly answered some emails he received from the people investigating the missing woman he was defending. All emails were things he already was aware of so he just asked them all for updates.
Once he was complete with all of his work for the day, since technically he wasn't supposed to go in until the next Monday for court, he packed up his things and headed out to go to Emilia's apartment.
Emilia changed out of her shorts and into a pair of jeans and took her hair down. She finished most of her school work by the time Harry sent her a text telling her he was downstairs. She reminded him what apartment number she was in, since he forgot from the night before, and she braced herself to see him again.
"Hey," Harry smiled warmly when the door was opened. Emilia invited him in and closed the door. "It's good to see you conscious again."
"Yeah. Although, I don't really remember seeing you much last night. Only one vivid memory." her face reddened.
"By how quickly you started to blush, I can easily guess what you remember." Harry winked at Emilia, making her blush even more.
"Is that so?"
"Hmm," he nodded. "When I pulled your hair back when you threw up."
Her face twisted in confusion. "I threw up?"
He deeply chuckled. "Yeah, that's why I took you two home. But, I am guessing that is not why you are blushing."
"It is definitely not." she awkwardly laughed.
Harry grinned at her. He found her so incredibly adorable when she became shy. "It's a shame that memory has to be a hazy drunk memory."
Emilia nodded and sat down on her couch. Harry sat on the other end and crossed his arms over his chest. "I know that Nick texted me at the party because he wanted us to talk. I have been quite annoying since I talk about you a lot. I guess he just wanted us to discuss... our feelings?"
"I wish you didn't see me like that."
"Why? I liked seeing you opening up and having fun."
"That may be true, but I was also incredibly drunk. I don't really know anything that I said to you or Markus."
Harry shrugged. "I didn't mind. It wasn't the best conversation, but things became clear. I have a feeling I would still be sulking around without knowing how you feel about me if you weren't so drunk. It was kind of a good thing, in my opinion."
Emilia ran her fingers through her hair and looked down. "Is that all you wanted to talk about?"
"No. I want to talk about the kiss. Well, multiple kisses."
"Oh."
"That is the only thing I really didn't want to happen at that time. Not because I didn't want to kiss you – I really wanted to – but because I figured you would forget, or soon regret it. And if that's the case, I completely respect that. I just couldn't stop myself, I didn't know if it would ever happen again. I would never try and make you feel uncomfortable with anything. I respect your boundaries. And that means being just friends if that's what you want. I don't want-"
"I don't think I just want to be friends."
"What?" Harry slowly blinked. He didn't expect Emilia to just pipe up like that.
"I'm not looking for a relationship right now. But I know that the way I feel towards you is more than just platonic."
Harry took in her words and nodded. "Maybe we can just see what happens. A few dates, maybe. I don't want to lose contact again."
"I think that's a good idea. We can just take it slow, right?"
Harry smiled and moved closer to her on the couch. He pressed his palm to her cheek and admired how it almost instantly tinged a shade of pink. His heart uncontrollably thumped in his chest as their lips met again. If he thought their first kiss was perfect, then this one was far beyond perfection. No words hold the power to describe how it felt.
He was already in so fucking deep.