To say that I was nervous would be an understatement. I had gone to my second class where we learned about the different painting techniques and I didn't listen at all. Thankfully the teacher simply presented the semester's schedule, because my head was all over the place, but mainly, all I could think about was Harry. I couldn't wait to spend some time with him.
The fact that throughout the whole lesson, Harry kept texting me, didn't help either. Every ten minutes I would recieve a text along the lines of "are you done yet?", "where's your class?" or "is it over?". I tried to answer him without getting noticed. Although most of my answers were "I don't know", I couldn't bring myself to ignore his texts.
When the teacher finally dismissed the class, I gathered my things as fast as I could and almost ran out of the class.
I had told Harry in which building I was and he had said that he was going to wait for me outside. As I came out of the building, my eyes searched around for him and I almost immediately lock eyes with him. He was leaning against a street light and even if it was still summer, he wore a black and white long-sleeve. His hair weren't styled in the usual quiff, instead he was wearing a snapback. My heart skipped a beat, he looked amazing.
The second he saw me, he smiled widely and I did the same. I took in a deep breath before walking his way.
"Hey," he said from a distance as he started walking towards me.
"Hi," I shyly replied.
As I reached him he quickly pulled me into a hug, surprising me. I hugged him back at the waist before we both released each other.
"Here," he said as he reached for my bag.
"Oh no, it's okay. I can carry it." I refused with a smile.
"Alright, then. Hungry?" he asked.
I nodded and he smiled. Without saying a word, he reached for my hand and started walking. I followed him silently, unable to think about anything else but his hand in mine. He had took it so naturally, without hesitation, just like his kiss yesterday. It had the same effect on me, it burned my hand in the sweetest way and I wished he would never let go.
Harry looked down at me, clearly observing my reaction. I gave him a small smile and he looked down at our intertwined hands before looking back at me. He mirrored my smile before looking back ahead.
After walking for at least 10 minutes in silence, he suddenly stopped at a corner near a food truck.
"Have you ever had street food before?"
"Well, once I ate Nuts4Nuts, does that count?"
"I guess it does," he said as he lightly laughed, " I love grabbing kebabs here," he motioned to the food truck in front of us, "they make the best ones."
"Really?"
"Mhm. Would that be okay for lunch?" he asked.
"Perfect." I stated and looked at him.
He gave my hand a light squeeze before releasing it. "I'll grab us something then."
I watched him as he ordered our food, unable to wipe of the smile off my face.
In that moment, I liked to think that everything was going to be okay. All of my problems seemed to have disappeared and I felt... happy. I was excited to spend time with Harry, to have him grab my hand and most surprisingly, I was excited to show him my painting.
Since our conversation yesterday, it seemed like my whole world had shifted around him. In a way, he was my motivation to get better. I saw him as a prize at the end of my journey to 'recovery'. I kept thinking that if I could just fix my problems, Harry and I could work.
But at the same time, the thought terrified me, he was like a drug that I was getting addicted to and I knew that things could end badly.
Before I could slip into darker thoughts, Harry came back with two kebabs and the biggest smile plastered on his face. It seemed that, just like me, Harry was happy to spend time with me.
He handed me one and took a bit off of his. I carefully took a bite while he looked at me.
"So?" he asked, his mouth full.
I rolled my eyes and swallowed my food. "Don't talk with food in your mouth."
"Sorry," he said with food still in his mouth.
He gave me a cheeky smile and I contained my laugh.
"You're so weird," I mumbled before taking another bite.
"Well, at least it makes you laugh." He bumped his shoulder into mine.
We sat on the stairs of a building and finished our kebabs in silence, savouring it. It really was a good kebab and I made a mental note to remember this food truck for future meals.
"How much do I owe you?" I asked Harry, pulling out my wallet.
"What?!" His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "No, no. You don't owe me anything. It's super cheap, don't worry about it."
"Well here is 10 bucks," I said as I handed him the money.
"It didn't even cost 10 bucks for the both of us."
He rolled his eyes before getting up, completely ignoring the money I handed him. He started walking and I quickly followed him.
"Harry, please. I insist," I said once I reached him.
He rolled his eyes at me and took the money. "Fine."
He didn't put the money in his pocket, instead he stopped dead in his tracks and looked around us. Confused I looked around too, trying to figure out what he was searching for. He suddenly grabbed my hand again and started walking. My brows knitted in confusion and he kept silent. I looked as his face and tried to follow his gaze.
He slowed our walk as we reached a man sitting on the ground. He pleaded everyone walking for money but everyone kept ignoring him. He was clearly homeless, his clothes were dirty and full of holes. He had a small sign were you could read "money for food, please." Harry released my hand and leaned towards the man. He then put the 10 dollars I had just gave him and put it in his cup.
"There's a good kebab food truck over there," he said as he pointed to the food truck.
The man nodded, "Thank you so much."
"No problem," Harry said as he softly patted the man's shoulder.
Harry then turned to me and reached for my hand. I was completely dumbfounded by his action. I looked at him and he gave me the sweetest smile before taking my hand in his. He started walking again, making sure that I was following him.
"That was nice of you," I admired.
"Yeah, I keep reminding myself that not everyone is as lucky as me."
I nodded and softly squeezed his hand. Harry had such a big heart and every time it surprised me. He was so caring and nice, I started to wonder if there was anything wrong with him.
"Do you want to go to your place now or do you want to hang around the city for a bit?" Harry asked me.
"To my place?" I asked, distracted by my thoughts.
"To show me your painting?"
"Oh yeah." I softly laughed. "Can we hang around a little?"
"Of course," he said while looking down at me.
We walked, hand in hand around the city, we didn't do anything specific. We just aimlessly walked around and talk. From time to time, Harry would show me some important buildings and explain to me some history of the city. I would nod and pretend like I understood what he was saying, but really, I couldn't concentrate on what he was saying. All I could focus on was his hand in mine.
Although I hated to admit it, I really liked Harry. At first I thought it was a simple attraction, because let's be honest, Harry was very handsome, but I didn't consider it to be more than that. I thought that we could just be friends. But the more I spent time with him, the more I wanted to be with him. But at the same time, I didn't. Because I knew that I still had to work on myself, that I would eventually hurt him or that he would eventually hurt me. That last thought scared me, because I wasn't sure that I could handle it.
"Are you even listening to me?" Harry asked with a humorous tone.
"Uh? Oh, yeah. I was." I avoided his gaze.
"Really? What was I saying?" He challenged me.
I looked around, trying to find what he could be explaining to me, but I couldn't come up with anything.
"Okay, you got me. I wasn't listening, sorry."
"Am I boring you?" he asked, suddenly nervous.
"No! Of course not," I shook my head, "I just got distracted."
"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked as he stop walking and turn towards me.
"No, it's fine."
He pulled his lips into a thin line, clearly unhappy with me refusing to tell him. He stared at me, waiting to see if I would tell him, but as I looked down, he sighed.
"Alright, I won't push it. I know you're making an effort, and that is enough for now." He winked.
I gave him a small smile, "thanks."
He released my hand, but before I could protest, he took me by the shoulders and pulled me close to him. He looked at me nervously to see if I was okay with it. When I didn't say anything he started to walk again, his arm still around my shoulder.
"So, tell me about yourself," he asked.
"What do you want to know?"
"Everything," he said with a big smile on his face.
I playfully rolled my eyes, "Ask me specific things."
"Fine," he dramatically sighed and I laughed. "I already know that your favorite color is dark blue,"
I looked at him with wide eyes. He remembered that? It was the second time that Harry had surprised me with something like this but I still wasn't used to it.
"So I guess the next logical question is, what is your favorite animal?"
He pretended that it was a serious question and I couldn't help but laugh. He kept looking at me with a straight face, his lips slightly in a smile, giving away is amusement.
"Go on," he pressed, "answer the question."
"Well," I dragged on the word, "that is a very hard question." This time he didn't hold his smile. "Cats, I'd say."
"Very good choice." He paused, looking both ways of the street before crossing. "What is your favorite song?"
"Creep by Radiohead," I answered without hesitation. This song had been playing on repeat on my phone for the past month.
He gave me an approving nod and we reached a small bench. He released me and sat. I did the same, putting my bag down on the floor. He rested his arms behind him on the seat and crossed one leg. His hand barely touched my shoulder but I was very aware that it was only millimeters away.
"Coffee or tea?"
"Coffee."
"Winter or summer?"
"Spring," I looked at him with an amused grin. He rolled his eyes.
"That wasn't in the choices."
"Well, winter and summer aren't the only seasons," I countered.
"Fine, fine." He raised his hands as if to say that he was innocent. "Do you have any siblings."
I took in a sharp breath. Since Daisy passed away, no one had asked me that question and I kept fearing it. What are you supposed to answer to that question? Because technically I didn't have a sister anymore.
I didn't really want to talk about that topic with Harry, so as I answered him, I looked away.
"Yes."
I could feel him looking at me, questioning my reaction.
"You?" I asked before he could say anything, diverting the conversation to him.
"Yeah, one annoying older sister." he laughed.
I forced out a laugh.
"What's her name?"
"Gemma," he replied, "she studied literature and graduated at the top of her class."
From the way Harry talked about his sister, you could tell that he was proud of her.
"Are you two close?"
"Close enough. She went to live with my mom for the summer, but we talked almost every week."
"That's nice." I said, feeling a little jealous.
"Yeah."
He smiled at me with such warmth, that whatever jealousy I felt, melted away.
He kept asking me questions about what I liked and didn't like, which I answered freely. But when he asked me questions about my past, I tried to be as evasive as possible. He didn't seem to notice, or if he did, he didn't comment on it.
Before we knew it, the sun was low in the sky. We had spent nearly all afternoon talking on that park bench and it seemed like merely ten minutes.
"We should probably go," he said as he got up, "Are you hungry?"
"A little, yeah."
"Would you rather grab something to eat or do we eat something at your place?"
"My place?" I suggested
"Alright. Your place it is."
He extended his hand with a smile. I shyly returned his smile and took his hand. He intertwined our fingers and we slowly headed to the apartment.
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A/N :
Hurray for cute chapter ! :D #16 is my lucky number and I wanted to make a happy chapter for it haha. I hope you liked it :)
Please vote and comment !
Mucho Love,
Karry xx.