we wanna dedicate chapter nineteen to gemmaastyless who is the author of a really good fic called pretty please don't pinch me. i stayed up really late reading it last night bc i just had to figure out what was going to happen, hopefully that's how Collision is for some of you ;) love yall xo
I sat in the second row of my Art 101 class chewing on my finger nail as my teacher droned on about the importance of shading. We always went over something in a lot of detail before actually doing it, which was usually fine for me but today I was too antsy to focus on anything my professor was saying. Today was the day Professor Ling was going to announce the winner of the Children's Hospital contest we'd all entered. It seemed that the whole class was just as antsy as me as we awaited the last ten minutes of class for the announcement. The winner got their piece hung in the hospital, and also got to donate a $5,000 to any pediatric foundation they wanted. If I won, mine would be going to down syndrome awareness.
After what seemed like hours, Professor Ling dropped her clip board onto her desk and sighed. "Not that any of you are paying attention anymore, anyways, but I'm done. It's time for the announcement of our winners. Now, first place is the only one being hung and the only one that gets a prize, but second and third place get 100% for the actual grades in my class, which, if you ask me is pretty damn great."
She walked from her desk to her large office that she used as a supply closet and pulled out a cart followed by two others that were tied together by rope, reminding me of a train toy that George loved to play with. The carts had patterned cloth draped over each one. She parked them in the front of the class and turned to us.
"Beneath these God-awful drapes that my mother-in-law bought me for Christmas is our top three. Are you all ready?" she smirked at all our apprehensive faces. "Third place goes to.." she pulled off the ugly drape to a painting of a cow jumping over the moon. "Thomas Wilson and his impressive painting of the cow jumping over the moon!" Thomas stood and walked to the front of the room to take his red ribbon from Professor Ling.
"Now, second place goes to.." she paused, positioning her hand above the cloth before yanking it up. "Eliza Rhodes and her beautiful painting of Rapunzel!" Eliza stood, squealing. She was a peppy blonde with more talent in her pinky finger than in my whole body. I knew that if she'd gotten second place, I didn't stand a chance. So, I sighed and started to pack my things into my bag, not even really bothering to watch her unveil first place.
"And first prize goes out to one of the best painters I've had in this class in almost ten years," Professor Ling said, her hand pulling up the third and final drape. I'd been double-checking that I had everything in my backpack when I heard it. "Jenson Arlington and her phenomenal painting of Wilbur from Charlotte's Web!" I dropped my back pack and turned back around to see my painting sitting on the middle cart.
"Oh my god," I said in disbelief, covering my mouth with my hand. "I won?"
"You did, Ms. Arlington." Professor Ling beamed at me, and I grinned right back at her. I stepped up to the front to take my blue ribbon and certificate. I was given a lot of hugs from people I'd only been aqcuainted with during the first week when we did all those "get to know your classmates" activites and a lot of pats on the back. I was on cloud nine when I walked out of the Art building.
The first thing I did was call Harry. "Hello?" he answered, but he sounded a bit distracted. It had been a week since dinner with his father and we'd only grown closer.
"I won!" I squealed like a ten year old girl into the phone. "I got first place for my Wilbur painting, can you believe it?"
"You won? That's amazing, Jen! I'm so happy for you." His voice brightened, "I'm working on an English paper right now, but come on over. Violet and Niall are here and we can all go out for some celebratory ice cream or something," Harry said, and I could hear his smile through the phone.
"I'll be there soon. Don't work too hard, Mr. Law Degree." I teased, and I heard him scoff.
"Be careful on the bus, bye babe."
"Bye." I said, hanging up, my grin still ever-present. I climbed onto Margaret's bus ten minutes later and told her the news. We spent the whole bus ride discussing the hanging ceremony that would commence the next day and how excited I was. When I got off at Harry's flat, I gave her a big hug before climbing down onto the sidewalk. I was up at his door in no time, and when Niall swung open the door in his boxers with the biggest grin I've ever seen on his face, I knew Harry told them my news. I made a mental note to smack him later for telling them before I could.
"Congrats, Jenny!" Niall engulfed me in a hug. "Couldn't be more proud of ya!" I hugged him back and thanked him, looking around his body for Harry.
"Hey, Niall. Get off my girl like that, you half-naked bastard," Harry laughed, rounding the corner. I pulled out of Niall's hug and pushed past him to Harry. He wrapped his arms around my mid-section and mine went around his neck. He lifted me off the ground and squeezed me so hard, I couldn't breathe. "Congratulations, Jenson. I just knew you'd win," Harry mumbled into my hair. My smile grew so wide, and I wondered if I looked pained instead of joyfully happy.
Harry set me down and planted a kiss right on my lips. "I'm so proud of you," he said, looking me straight in the eye.
I blushed. "I was so surprised, Harry. It was crazy. She called out second and third places and they were so so good and I thought it was absolutely hopeless for me to win." I rambled. "I almost cried when she called my name, and she even said I was one of the best painters she'd taught in ten years. How insane is that?" I gushed, shaking my head because I still couldn't believe it.
"Well I could have told you that!" he said.
I heard the click of heels on the hardwood floor and Violet scurried into the room! "Jenson!" she exclaimed. "Oh my god, congratulations!" she gushed and pulled me from Harry to give me a bone crushing hug. "You worked on that painting for weeks, I would have killed someone if you didn't win." She held me at arm's length and resembled a proud mom sending her child off to kindergarten.
We took Niall's car to an ice cream shop called Scoops, and blared top 40's the whole way. I couldn't stop beaming. I texted Collin on the way there and he replied with an emoji-filled congrats. As I sat close to Harry in the back seat while singing along to the lyrics of a bubblegum pop song, I noticed how happy my friends looked in the front seat and I glanced over at Harry and he looked quite content as well. I loved this. I loved when people I cared about were happy and I loved having people who cared about me. It was hard to believe that only three months ago I didn't know any of them, and now I couldn't imagine Uni without them. Harry looked down at me and we smiled at eachother for a moment, our eyes locked on one another's until he sighed a happy sigh, and pressed a kiss to my hair line.
We got to Scoops around lunch time, so there were bunches of people there. I could feel Harry hovering behind me to make sure I didn't get bumped by all of the energized children and stressed parents bustling around the small ice cream parlor.
Violet and Niall were ordering while Harry and I stood behind when I saw a hand tug at Harry's. We both looked down at a little girl with big blue eyes filled with tears as she held a big ice-cream cone.
"Have you seen my mummy?" she whimpered. I looked up to Harry, who looked at me, then back down to the little girl.
"Um, no, love. Did ya wander off?" Harry asked in a soft voice I had never heard. He dropped one of my hands and squatted down to look the little girl in the eye. She nodded as her bottom lip trembled.
"Don't cry, sweets. We'll help ya find your mum." he said, trying to get the girl to smile. "My name's Harry. I'll have you know that me and Jenson," he gestured up to me with his hand, "we're the best at finding mums. We could start a business if we wanted."
She laughed, and Harry seemed to be relieved that he didn't have a crying toddler on his hands.
"What's your name?" I asked her.
"Gracie." she said, like it was the first thing she'd been sure of.
"Do you know where you last saw your mum?" Harry asked her softly.
"I think we were out under the elephant umbrella," she said, pausing to point out the window to the deck out front where a table sat with an elephant umbrella shading it. "And Tommy was crying so she took him away and I was following them but then I got lost." Gracie shrugged her little shoulders in defeat.
"Well, kiddo, let's go stand by the bathrooms and see if she went in there." Harry suggested. He stood as I offered my hand down to the little girl who frowned and looked a bit unsure. I nodded reassuringly and she gripped onto my hand.
We followed Harry towards the bathrooms where we saw a woman exiting while bouncing an infant on her hip as she looked around her frantically. Gracie let go of my hand when she saw her and squealed, "Mummy!!"
Harry sighed behind me as the mother sighed in front of me, her worried eyes softening as the little girl hugged her leg.
"Gracie Lou, oh my lord! I thought you were right behind me!" she said, looking down at the little blonde girl. Gracie bit onto her lip and looked up at Harry and I.
"I-I got lost, bu-but Jenson and 'Arry brought me back!" she beamed, reaching her hands up at us. Her mother looked up at us with a look my mother often gave me when I did things for George.
"Thank you so much for making sure she didn't get picked up or something. The baby needed to be changed and she was supposed to be holding onto my shirt." she said gratefully. I smiled at her.
"No problem, she was golden." I replied. "Helped us find you easily."
"I'm so glad. Thank you again." she said, looking down at her daughter. "Tell your friends thank you, Gracie!"
"Thank ya!" she grinned up at us, and Harry squatted back down at her level.
"Anytime," he smiled. "Just try and keep up with your mum, yeah?"
He tapped her nose with his pointer finger and she giggled as he stood back up.
"Let's go, baby." Gracie's mum said, tugging on her daughter's free hand. "Thank you, again."
We waved them off as they left and I turned to Harry. "So, you're good with kids." I stated as we walked back from the bathroom.
"Eh, I guess. I have a niece. I like kids." he shrugged.
"Your sister has a baby?" I asked.
"A three year old, named Poppy." he nodded. I smiled at the thought of Harry playing with a little three year old girl and using that sweet voice like he had with Gracie.
I nodded. "You close with her?"
"Yeah, we're best mates," he said and I noticed how he smiled thinking of her. I felt my heart swell.
We got back in line and met Violet and Niall on the patio. "To Jenson and her fucking awesome paintings," Niall said, sticking up his ice cream cone.
"Here, here!" Violet and Harry said as we raised our cones. I grinned. We sat down at one of the outdoor tables so we could enjoy the nice weather while it was here.
"So, Harry, have you thought about the Halloween Party?" Niall asked nonchalantly, not looking up from his ice cream cone.
"What Halloween party?" I asked Harry confusedly.
"Yeah, what Halloween party?" Harry said innocently through a mouthful of ice cream.
I rolled my eyes. "Harry, are you a child? It's rude to talk with your mouth full,"
"Sorry babe," he said while biting off part of his cone and shooting me a wink. I playfully hit his arm and we all laughed.
Niall cleared his throat. "Seriously though, mate. Have you thought about it?" He leaned forward with his elbows in the wooden table.
"I don't know, man. Doesn't seem all that fun," Harry said with a scrunched nose. I gave him a confused look and he sighed. "Niall here wants to host a costume party on Halloween night at our flat. He's totally keen on it, whereas I don't think it's that great of an idea."
"A costume party? Are you joking? That sounds like loads of fun!" I grinned at Niall excitedly and he and Violet laughed at the disbelieving look Harry gave me. "What?" I questioned him. "Halloween is one of my favorite holidays!"
"Even your girlfriend is against you!" Niall said through hs chuckles. "So it's settled. Costume party at casa de Harry and Niall!"
Harry groaned and rubbed his forehead with his fingers. "Whatever." Harry said, almost sounding annoyed. I ignored his grumpy mood and continued to talk about the plans for the party with Niall and Violet as we finished our ice cream and drove back to their flat.
///
At Harry and Niall's apartment, Niall and Violet snuck off somewhere, leaving me alone in the living room with a sulking Harry. We sat on the couch, Harry finishing up his paper and me scrolling through my phone. Every so often I'd hear Harry sigh, or mumble some incoherent comment. He didn't speak much after we got home and I was curious about his sudden mood change. I didn't like the silence between us, it wasn't a common occurrence.
"Is there something wrong?" I asked him after he shied away from my touch.
He didn't look up. "Nope," Harry said quietly.
"Are you sure? You haven't said anything in like --"
"Jenson, nothing is wrong," he spoke coldly.
I furrowed my eyebrows at his harsh interruption. "Why are you being so icy? If I did something, I didn't mean to," I said quietly. What was his problem?
Harry's eyes finally met mine. "Just drop it, okay? Everything's fine." I couldn't help but notice the slight sarcasm that leaked in his voice. I was not going to 'just drop it.'
I crossed my arms in front of my chest and said sassily, "Harry, seriously. Obviously something's on your nerves." I thought hard of what he could actually be mad about. He was cheery today until Niall brought up the Halloween party. "It's the party isn't it?" I questioned.
Harry slammed his laptop screen. "Jenson, please. I don't want to talk about this with you."
"Why not?" I egged him on.
"Because you and Niall and Violet ganged up on me. And you'll do it again if I complain. Just do whatever the hell you lot want."
"We didn't gang up on you!" I exclaimed.
"It doesn't matter now, because Niall got his way. Drop it."
"Stop being like this! I think the party is a great idea and I only agreed because it seemed like a fun thing to do together. You know, have matching costumes or something?"
Harry laughed, but didn't exactly smile. "That is so juvenile, Jenson. I'm not doing that." Ouch, I thought.
I frowned at the word juvenile. "You think it's juvenile?" I asked. "Could you just go along with something for once?"
"No, it's not like you care how I feel about it anyways, you'll just do it without asking me about it first," Harry stood up and turned away from me.
"Are you joking right now? Talk about juvenile," I said with a laugh. "I don't get why you're getting all flustered about a damn party."
He turned around and pointed a finger at me. "Yeah, a damn party, that will be held in my damn apartment, filled with people I don't give a damn about that will leave the place in a damn mess." His voice rose.
"Oh yeah, what, filled with people like me?" I said with a hurt look. I knew he hadn't directed it towards me, but he could have had a more careful choice of words.
Harry's face softened. "Oh no, that's not what I meant. No --"
I put my hand up to stop him from taking a step closer. "Save it." I grabbed my purse off the floor along with my jacket. "I'm going home, let me know when you aren't in such a pissy mood."
I turned and began walking away from him. "Jenson --" He started, but I slammed the door before I could hear another word.
///
I didn't call Harry, and I ignored him everytime he called me. I hated fighting, but I was just really frustrated with him. If he had a problem, he should've told me. If I'd been quiet and held it in until I had a mini outburst in the way he did, he wouldn't have stood for it, and I wasn't going to let him walk over me either. We were supposed to go to the hanging of my painting after his English class but I was still angry for the way he was acting the day before, so I took the bus and went alone.
Although it was supposed to be one of the happiest days of my career as an artist (one's first hanging is very important), the thought of the argument Harry and I had kept plaguing my mind and kept me from fully enjoying everything. I gave a short speech on down syndrome awareness and then one on how grateful I was to be chosen for the award. Professor Ling talked highly of me and made my cheeks turn pink, and then it was time to hang Wilbur on the wall.
A small crowd circled around me, including hospital art organizers and my classmates. A few doctors also littered the crowd and a girl in a wheel chair sat front row with a Wilbur stuffed animal in her lap. Despite her tiny figure and paled skin, she looked eager to see the painting being hung.
"Miss Arlington, if you'll do the honors." Miss Broadwell, the hospital's director grinned at me.
I very gently placed the painting on its hook and turned back around for pictures. I smiled next to my painting as a few flashes went off. Afterwards there was a tiny, little reception with cake in the cafeteria. When the crowd started to file out, one person standing still in the people caught my eye. Harry wore tight jeans and a flannel (as usual) as he stood holding a balloon that said 'Congrats!!' on it. I bit my lip as I approached him slowly, craning my neck up to look at the tall boy.
"I didn't think you'd come." I said quietly.
"I didn't think you'd just leave without me." he replied bitterly, but then stopped himself and took a deep breath. "I didn't mean -- I just, I don't want to keep fighting or ignoring each other or whatever the hell we're doing."
"I don't either." I shook my head.
"I'm sorry I said all of that bullshit. Before you, I only threw parties for the girls," he said, and I felt a sting. "But now, I don't have to. I just... I give a damn about you Jen. Lots of damns."
I took the step between us and wrapped my arms around his middle, the side of my face pressed against his chest firmly as he hugged me back. How could I not hug the life out of the man who just claimed to not only give a damn about me, but give lots of damns?
"I'm sorry you felt like we ganged up on you. I don't want you to ever feel like I'm not on your side. We're a team now, Jenson and Harry, remember?" I smiled, pulling away at arms length.
"I thought it was Harry and Jenson?" he frowned playfully. I shoved his shoulder, and Harry took that time to pull me onto him and plant a sweet kiss on my lips. He pulled away and rested his forehead on mine. "You're late to your own reception, ya dork."
I giggled and laced my fingers with his at our side before pulling away and then tugging him towards the cafeteria with me.
///
a/n:
first and foremost I want to say THANK YOU for 2k reads. no, it's not that big of a feat but Annabel and I were honestly so excited. We spend so much time writing Collision and we've both fallen in love with all the characters and it makes us so unbelievably HAPPY when we get so much positive feedback. KISSES FOR YOU ALL
ps who has heard 5sos's new album?? my favorite is lost boy or end up here, what about yall?
xoxo, Skylar and Annabel
another ps can you imagine harry with a kid........ lets take a moment. so dont forget to vote for daddy harry ;)