As I walked into prom, I saw many people give me surprised looks. I know that it's because I haven't been to school in weeks, but also because I've lost all my hair. I look drastically different from the last time they saw me. I put fake eyelashes on and drew on eyebrows, but nothing could hide my bald head.
I had run into Carson and Luke, and surprisingly, they both apologised for what they did. They were incredibly uncomfortable as they did this but I could tell that they were being mostly genuine. Emilia was at the dance as well, having been invited by someone on the football team. I was glad to know that she had been expelled, but deep down, I know that it wasn't enough. I should have pressed charges but I couldn't handle that mentally.
There is always going to be a part of me that regrets not doing anything, but I know it was the right thing to do for me. The only solace I have in all of this is that Emilia has become a social pariah. No one dares approach her, or her prom date. They actually look miserable.
"Let's go, Meg," Harry says into my ear before pulling me away to a corner of the room. We dance together slowly despite the fast pop music playing over the speakers. I feel completely at ease. Francis had wandered over to the table that had trays of food almost as soon as we arrived and was busy stuffing his face.
"You're having fun, right?" Harry murmurs quietly as I rest my head on his chest.
"Of course," I say, loud enough for him to hear. "I love being here with you." I feel his lips lightly press against my forehead and I feel a sudden rush of emotions at this simple gesture.
"And you're feeling okay?" he asks.
"I feel amazing," I reply. "I haven't felt this beautiful in a long time, and I have you to thank for that." I feel him smile against my skin and soon, the music changes from a fast pop song to the first slow one of the night.
"I'm glad that you're enjoying yourself," Harry says, moving his head so he's looking down at me. His eyes are flashing with emotion and his lips are curved up in a loving smile.
As we slowly dance to the music, I feel the rush of emotions coming back to me. My pulse quickens and I realise what I'm currently feeling. It's exactly what I felt when I was with Reed and all of this means that I really have moved on. I slowly open my mouth to speak, but the nerves hit me and I decide to just kiss the edge of his jaw. I see his cheeks turn a light shade of pink.
"Harry, I..." I begin slowly, my voice trailing away as I try to figure out the right words to say.
"How would you feel about leaving early?" he asks quietly, his lips barely an inch away from my ear. I shiver slightly at the feeling of his breath on my neck and I pull away to see that he's smirking at me. There's a mischievous glint in his eyes and I have a feeling that I know what's on his mind.
"If you're suggesting that we sneak away..." I whisper quietly as I slowly twirl one of his curls around my finger. "Then let's go." I see his eyes flash with surprise at me being so willing to go but he quickly recovers and moves so his arm is wrapped around my waist.
"We should probably tell Francis first," he mumbles as he looks around for him. He's still by the table of food, but he's with someone. I recognise the other person as Zayn, a guy I've had in several of my art classes. When we approach the two, I see Francis narrow his eyes at Harry and I.
"You two are sneaking away to fuck, aren't you?" he asks, causing Zayn to choke on his food. He starts coughing and Harry lightly hits his back.
"Why is that your first thought?" I ask with a slight blush. "We could be leaving to get food."
"It's prom night, Margaret. Besides, it's obvious that you want to jump his bones," he says, rolling his eyes at me. "I just can't believe that you two are being so cliché."
"I don't think there's anything wrong with that," Zayn interjects.
"My man," Harry says, grinning appreciatively at him. I let out a quiet groan, covering my face so neither of them can see the look on my face.
"Oh, go on you two," Francis says as he waves his hand at Harry and I. "Remember to use protection, have fun, do whatever kinky shit that you want to do..." he continues, smirking as he watches me grow more and more embarrassed.
"We'll see you later," Harry says as he hastily pulls me away. He lets out a quiet chuckle when we're outside. "Francis is something else."
"He's embarrassing," I huff. "But can we please get some food? I'm actually a little hungry," I admit as we start walking.
"I've got some leftover pizza at home, and no one's there at the moment," Harry muses quietly. "Is--is that okay with you?" he asks shyly.
"Yes, of course it is," I say with a small smile. We walk silently back to his place and halfway through the walk, he abruptly scoops me into his arms. I keep telling him to put me down, but he refuses and claims that he doesn't want to 'put his princess down'. He manages to open the front door and carries me through the threshold before setting me down.
"Alright, princess, lets get you some food," Harry says in a posh accent. I roll my eyes at him before taking his outstretched hand and walk with him into the kitchen. After the two of us eat, we find ourselves in his bedroom, and I sit on his bed and he goes to lean against the headboard. The two of us are staring at each other, unsure of what to do.
"So..." I say hesitantly as I take my heels off.
"I um...I have something to confess," Harry says shyly as he looks away from me. His cheeks are slowly turning a deep red colour and I press my lips together as I carefully move so I'm sitting in front of him.
"What is it?" I ask as I grab his hands. He looks up at me and I can tell that he's having an internal battle with himself. "Harry, are you oka--"
"I'm a virgin," he blurts out. My eyes widen in surprise and he looks even more embarrassed. "I know it's pathetic but--" I cut him off by pressing my lips to his and and gently cup his face with my hands.
"It's not pathetic, my love," I say softly. "It's okay that you haven't had sex. There's nothing wrong with that."
"But--"
"Absolutely no buts, mister," I say with a small smile as I slowly straddle his lap. "Now, we don't have to do anything tonight. We can kiss and cuddle if that's all you're comfortable with."
"No wait," Harry says with a hint of desperation, his hands going to rest on my hips. "I...I want to," he mumbles.
"Are you sure?" I ask, watching his reaction carefully. "I don't want you to pressure you into doing anything you don't want. You don't have to do this."
"I know, but I want to..." he says with a shy smile. "I um...do you want to--w-with me?" he asks hesitantly.
"Yes, Harry," I say patiently. I slowly lean forward, catching his lips with mine. I immediately feel him relax and I feel his hands reach up to the zipper on my dress. He pulls is down and a few moments, it's off of me and he stares at me with wide eyes. I couldn't wear a bra with the dress so he's seeing me completely topless.
"You're so beautiful," Harry murmurs as he lays me back, his fingers gently grabbing the hem of my tights. His lips leaves a small trail of kisses along my skin as he pulls them down. He moves away for a moment to stare at me and he looks at me with admiration.
"Harry--"
"I love you, Margaret," he says as he slowly positions himself so he's lying between my legs. "I love you so much, and I can't believe that I am lucky enough to call you my girlfriend."
"I love you too," I say as I feel myself starting to be overcome with emotion. My hands carefully unbuckle his belt and he carefully pushes his pants down. "I love you so much."
🌼 🌼 🌼 🌼
"How is she doing?" I hear Harry ask quietly. A few days after prom, I had to start the second round of chemo and I'm taking it much worse than before. I've barely been able to eat; my body is rejecting most foods and it honestly just sucks to be awake most days.
"I'm not really sure, but she's been resting for most of the day so far," Francis says quietly. "I think that she's awake right now, but very groggy," he adds. I hear both of them sigh and I let out a quiet groan as I force myself to open my eyes. My vision is a little blurry but I see Harry and Francis standing at the edge of the hospital bed.
"Meg," Harry says as he hastily rushes to my side. "Oh baby," he says softly.
"Hi," I say groggily.
"I'll stop by later tomorrow, okay?" Francis says as he walks up to me as well. "We can finally start the new season of Drag Race," he adds.
"Okay," I say, smiling up at him. He gives me one last look before turning and walking away. "How was the game?" I manage to ask. He had just come from a match and I tried to watch via FaceTime but I feel asleep, no matter how hard I fought to stay awake.
"We won," he says softly as he gently holds my hand. I give him a tired smile and we continue talking. I don't really know for how long, but enough time has passed for one of the nurses to come in and bring me my dinner. Harry tries his best to help feed me but I throw up what I ate and the nurses have to take over.
I can see the worry in Harry's eyes as he's ushered out of my room and a few days pass before he's able to come around. I'm just getting through some of the Spanish homework that was sent to me when he comes walking in with a large bouquet of roses in one hand and a teddy bear in the other. He tells me about the assembly that the school had with the seniors to talk about graduation, which is coming up soon.
Everyone thinks that I'll be able to walk but I know that I won't. I feel too weak and honestly, I'd much rather just stay at the hospital. It'll be quiet here and honestly, I could just watch movies instead of sitting through the boring ceremony.
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a/n: I could've easily written smut for Meg and Harry, but it felt wrong to do it with these two (and yes, they used a condom). There isn't going to be any mature content like that in this book, because it just doesn't fit or feel right.