The sound of a phone ringing pulled me from sleep, face tightening when the persistent vibration of it on my desk continued. Groaning quietly, I moved my arm to reach for it only for a heavy weight holding it in place. Confused and still half asleep, I tried to move my arm again only to come out with the same result. Opening my eyes, I saw dark brown hair that was currently tickling my lips. It took me a moment to process who the hell was laying on top of me when I remembered Harry had spent the night.
My cheeks warmed when I saw how he slept on top of me. Somehow during the night, He seemed to have ended up lying between my thighs, his arms circled around my waist in a tight grip while his cheek was pressing into my chest. My mouth twitched when I saw how his mouth was open just slightly, puffs of breath so warm a thin layer of sweat had broken out on my collarbone from it. My whole body was hot from all of our body heat but regardless, I didn't move to push him away. I didn't know if I'd ever get another experience like this with him so I was going to enjoy it while I still could.
I watched him for a while, unable to go back to sleep now that I was aware of our position. I began to drift off when the sound of my phone vibrating again made my eyes peel open, and made Harry stir as well.
He groaned, the action causing a vibration over my chest. His arms around me tightened before he turned his head, eyes still closed as he rested his chin in the middle of my chest. It was painful, and my breasts were being squashed but I couldn't find it in me to push him away. "Turn your damn phone off."
I carefully tugged my arm out from under him with great effort and reached for my phone on the nightstand, picking it up to glance at the caller ID. My mom's picture lit up my phone and I forwarded her call, deciding I'd call her back later once I was fully awake.
I dropped my hand beside me after putting my phone down, gaze turning back to Harry to see he still had his eyes closed. His mouth was in a pout and he looked so cute with his bed head and sleepy face that I instinctively ran my fingers through his hair, pushing the strands that flopped over his forehead back. He hummed, and it sounded dangerously close to a moan. My belly stirred and I pressed my lips together to keep myself from smiling. I dropped my hand after a few moments, only for Harry to grab it and place it back on top of his head. I laughed.
"Feels good," he mumbled, voice coming out deeper and raspy. "Keep doing it."
His morning voice was terribly hot that I listened immediately, running my fingers through his hair and letting my nails lightly scratch his scalp. He kept making sounds in the back of his throat, that it reminded me of a cat purring.
After a few minutes, Harry finally opened his sleepy eyes to find me staring at him. His mouth twitched slightly and his hand lifted to push my tangled hair out of my face. "You look adorable in the morning."
I blushed, not use to him complementing me like this. "Shush." I mumbled, playfully pushing his shoulder but he raised his eyebrows at me.
"I'm serious."
"I look gross."
"No, you don't." He paused as if he was going to rethink what he wanted to say next but said it anyways. "I could get used to seeing you like this."
I froze at his words, unsure if I should take him seriously or not. Was he implying he wanted us to have sleepovers more often? That he liked waking up to me? Before I could read much into it, he abruptly looked away as if just realizing what he said to me. I watched his cheeks tinge a light pink and then he pushed himself up and rolled off of me. A gust of cold air immediately hit me the moment he got off me, flopping onto his back beside me instead. I turned my head to look at him, watching him glance up at the ceiling before biting his lip.
"Thank you, by the way. For letting me stay and for being there for me last night."
"No problem." I said, then quietly told him the truth. "I'll always be here if you need me."
He smiled and glanced at me, eyes briefly meeting mine before looking away again. "I'm going to hold you to that." He declared then tucked his arm behind his head. "What are you doing today?"
"Well it's Sunday," I pointed out. "So probably homework and watching movies." I shrugged. "I usually spend my Sunday's being lazy."
"Well, today you won't be." He stated and nodded to himself before sitting up. "Get up, we're going out today."
"What?" I asked in surprise and he turned to look at me over his shoulder as he sat at the side of my bed.
"I'm going to take you out today. I owe you for last night and this is me thanking you."
"You're taking me out?" I asked in surprise, sitting up slightly until my head rested against the wall. "What, like a...?" I stopped abruptly, shutting my mouth before the word date could come out of me. Harry caught my eye, arms slipping through the holes of his shirt before he tugged it on over his head.
"A date?" He finished for me, hand brushing out his hair. "If that's what two friends hanging out is, then yes I guess you can call it that." Something inside me dropped at the friend word, a frown tugging at my lips as Harry pulled his pants on, following his shoes while I stayed where I was. Silence overtook me, and he must of noticed my discomfort when he stopped and looked at me with a softened expression.
"Hey," I forced myself to meet his eyes and he gave me a small smile before leaning over me, hands on the bed on either side of me. "Stop overthinking. Just get up and get dressed, okay?"
I pressed my lips together, opening my mouth to argue that maybe it wasn't a good idea for us to go out like this. It was confusing and blurred the lines between friendship and a relationship. But before I could get a word out, he bent his head and pecked my forehead. Surprised by the action, my mouth hung open and he pulled back quickly, turning abruptly and heading towards my bedroom door. "I'm going to go home and shower really quick. I'll be back for you in an hour, alright?"
Somewhere in my frozen state I managed to reply back to him before he was out my door and the apartment and I slumped against the wall. My heart was beating too fast and I groaned, flopping over on my stomach that was currently fluttering with what suspiciously felt like butterflies. Man, I was in a huge trouble.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Exactly an hour later, there was a knock on the apartment door and I ran my fingers through my curled hair. Adjusting my beanie on my head as I glanced in the mirror one last time, I left my room with the strap of my bag slung across my body. I walked through the empty apartment, thankful it was empty for now so I wouldn't have to deal with Zen's knowing looks. Her and the girls had gone to another party last night and they still hadn't been back home.
I pulled open the front door to find Harry standing there, hands shoved into his front jean pockets. He rocked back on his heels as he grinned at me, his curls peeking out from the dark blue beanie he wore. My gaze quickly assessed the rest of him, finding that I liked him in his gray sweatshirt and tan jacket. He looked cuddly and I found myself wanting to curl up against him on the couch instead of going out.
"You look cute." He complemented, tugging on the end of my curled hair gently while his eyes gazed over my face. I bit my lip, the blush on my neck spreading up to my cheeks and his mouth twitched into a knowing smile. He dropped his hand, gently pulling on my sleeve before letting go of me completely. "Come on, we've got a long day ahead of us."
I took a deep breath, needing to with the affects he was having on me before stepping out into the hall and closing the door behind me. I walked beside him closely until we entered the elevator that would take us down to the lobby. Casting him a sideways glance, I raised my eyebrows where I found him already looking at me. "So, where are we going?"
The elevator reached the lobby before he could answer and he guided me out, placing his palm on my lower back. He held the door open for me as we walked out of the complex and I immediately tightened my white coat around me, the cold air biting the exposed skin of my neck. Harry buttoned his tan jacket up and stuffed his hands into his pocket, his breath showing in the air as he sighed. "Shit, its colder than I expected." He laughed, jerking his chin for me to follow him as we walked. "I thought we could have a tourists day." At the look I gave him he explained. "Think about it. How long have you lived in New York and actually done all the sight seeing tourists do?" I opened my mouth to respond, then frowned.
"Never."
He grinned. "Exactly. Most people take the places they live in for granted. I bet you've never been to the top of the rock, right?"
"No, I haven't." I responded in realization and he nodded.
"Thought so. What about the Statue of Liberty?" He asked as we walked down the stairs of subway entrance. I remained silent and he chuckled. "Damn, what haven't you seen?"
I nudged him playfully, a small smile appearing on my lips when he slung an arm around my shoulder. "Shut up. I guess I just assumed I'd always get the chance to see it when I wanted since I live here and all."
He spoke louder when he responded, the subway passing us and echoing off the walls. "As true as that is, what if the world ended tomorrow? You would have missed that chance you thought you'd have your whole life."
I grew silent, thinking about the meaning of his words and how they applied to all aspects of life. How many times people took their daily routine and lives for granted. How everyone took the people they had for granted, thinking they had their entire life with them that they don't appreciate what they have until its too late. I looked at Harry as I thought this, suddenly understanding that his words had a deeper meaning to him as well. He thought his sister would be in his life forever, which was why he treated her the way he had. He didn't think there was ever going to come a day where she'd be gone.
A heaviness settled in my chest as I stared at him, watching him curiously glance at the people around us before he met my gaze and tilted his head with a sheepish smile. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Because I get you and I want nothing more than to hug you and not let go. "No reason." I shrugged and looked away, the emotions building inside me too overwhelming. The subway we were taking rushed by us then, slowing before the doors slid open and a rush of people came pouring out. Harry grabbed my hand, pulling me quickly behind him so we could get on quickly. We plopped down into two empty seats and Harry let go of my hand to run It through his hair. He caught me staring at him for the tenth time and a cleared my throat, the blush on my cheeks probably very noticeable. "So, where we going to first?"
"Well we can't go to the Statue of Liberty, its too cold for that. And I'm saving for the top of the rock for tonight. The view is amazing then." He sounded excited and I couldn't help but grin at his expression full of awe. "But I was thinking we could go to Times Square for a bit, maybe walk around Central Park and go to the zoo." He shrugged. "Whatever you want to do, I'm up for."
"All of that sounds great to me." I admitted and he smiled down at me in satisfaction and nodded.
The stop to Times Square would take awhile so we both settled into our seats, the conversation on topics of music we both liked. Harry pulled out his phone at one time, showing me a music video to one of his favorite songs at the moment. I slid closer to him when he handed me an ear bud, leaning into his shoulder to get a better look at the screen. His scent filled my nostrils and there was something comforting about the smell of soap and his cologne that I instinctively rested my chin on his shoulder. He glanced down momentarily but didn't say anything as he played the video. He let me show him one of my favorites afterward, but somewhere along the line we stopped paying attention to the video playing and conversing instead.
"What are you doing for Thanksgiving?"
I scrunched my nose at the mention of the holiday. "Probably going home."
"And why do you not seem happy about that?"
"Because Thanksgiving is a whole family event at home, therefore that means my cousins Karley is probably going to be there." I scowled. "And I really don't want to have anything to do with her."
He hummed in understanding and nodded. "Yeah, I wouldn't want that either. Then again, at least it's not dinner with my parents."
"What are your Thanksgivings like?" I asked cautiously and he frowned.
"It's usually just me, my mum, and dad. Sometimes my dad has business partners that join us if he's trying to make a deal. The cooks will make dinner and I'm required to be there." He shrugs. "Not sure why. My mum's usually drunk and dad doesn't talk to me unless it's lecturing me about wasting my time at school." He sighs in frustration, hand tugging his hair. "It sucks."
I stare at him a moment longer, gauging how the topic of his parents had brought his mood significantly down. I nudge him to get his attention and smile up at him reassuringly. "Hey, forget them okay? Let's just have fun today."
He nodded at my suggestion and forced a smile when I reached up and poked the crease of his dimple. His smile widened, turning genuine when he chuckled and shook his head. "Yeah, alright."
Our stop came a few minutes later and we exited the subway, heading up the stairs and into the city. The business of it instantly lightening both our moods. Harry met my gaze and gave me a wide smile before tugging me along the busy sidewalk. We headed through Times Square, stopping in shops occasionally, where Harry insisted we both buy an 'I <3 NY' t-shirt. I rolled my eyes at the idea, tugging him out the store before he could and eventually leading him into the M&M World store. We spent over an hour in there, playing with a majority of the things we found on the shelves and bought a giant bag of M&M's that we shared through out the day as we walked around. Mid afternoon we stopped at a local Italian restaurant for a late lunch where I got a fettuccine alfredo and Harry got a spinach pasta and ate the rest of my food I couldn't finish as well. I teased him for his food baby that he kept rubbing, giggling when he asked if I thought he'd look good pregnant.
Eventually, we dragged our full asses back out to the street and walked off the calories in Central Park. I kept stopping to take pictures on my phone and Harry surprised me when he pulled a miniature cannon camera out of his jacket pocket. He aimed it out me when I leant my elbows on the ledge of a bridge that overlooked an ice skating rink. I heard the click of the camera and turned to look at him just as the shutter went off again. "Why are you taking pictures of me?"
"I like taking pictures of beautiful things." He shrugged nonchalantly and my face reddened, teeth biting into my lip when he smirked and took another picture. I rolled my eyes and turned back around, where he joined me soon after, leaning his elbows on the ledge beside me. We stayed there for a while, watching people skate and laughing when people fell on their butts. Time had gone by quickly and the sun was beginning to set so we didn't have time to go to the zoo. We made the trip back to the city, taking our time walking as we talked about the most unimportant things that I didn't think I would ever care to know. Like the fact he likes musicals but would never admit that if I told anyone. Or how he likes eating tortilla chips with strawberry jelly but hates white chocolate covered strawberries. I grinned when he told me that and realized the more I learned about Harry, the more I was beginning to like him.
By the time we reached the observatory, it was dark out. We bought our tickets before waiting our turn to go up, looking at the pictures set up against the walls on the inside. We were taken into an elevator with a small group once it was our turn, the doors opening once we reached the top floor. I stepped out of the way to let the group around us out first, then walked out onto the observation. It was so much colder up here and I wrapped my arms around my waist. Harry walked beside me as I walked up to one of the protective glass windows that didn't have a ton of people. Resting my hands against the window, I stepped as close as possible to look out at the amazing view. I could see all of New York City from here, the lights in the distance looking like stars. I stared In awe, completely transfixed with the view that I understood now Harry's excitement when he talked about this earlier.
"This is amazing." I breathed and turned to find Harry standing beside me, looking out at the city as well. He grinned and nodded before meeting my gaze and waving his camera at me. "Picture?"
I groaned and covered my face as Harry took a few steps back. "No more pictures."
"Come on, you can't not take a picture while standing at the top of the rock. Imagine the view behind you." I dropped my hands, looking over my shoulder to look at the view again. He was write. It was too amazing not to capture.
"Fine." I turned back around and posed with my hands tucked in my coat pockets, one leg crossed in front of the other before smiling big. Harry took a few pictures, changing angles and even squatting down on the floor once. I laughed at the effort he was putting into it then covered my face. "Okay! Enough!" I heard the camera snap once more before I dropped my hands and stepped towards Harry, reaching for his camera. "Why don't I take one of you? You're always the one behind the camera."
He grumbled but let me take the camera from it. He awkwardly moved to where I had been previously standing, nervously tugging on his hair before dropping his arms beside him and raising his eyebrows at me with a tight-lipped grin. "Smile!"
"I am smiling."
"A real one." I grinned at him and he returned it before I held the camera up and snapped a picture. I took several, moving in different angles and even mimicking him by squatting. He rolled his eyes and chuckled, his curls moving slightly from the breeze.
"Okay, I get it. No more," He groaned and I laughed, standing up and moving towards him to hand him his camera. He took it, then suddenly grabbed me by the waist and pulled me against him. My chest met his and I gasped quietly at our close proximity. He smirked down at me then held the camera up in front of us. "One more? Of us?"
I nodded and turned my head to look at the camera, leaning in and smiling big. He took another, but for this one Harry turned his head towards me and I squealed when the tip of his tongue touched my cheek. I shoved his face away with the palm of my hand, his laugh ringing loudly around us as he grabbed my wrist. "Gross!" I yelled, despite the fact I was laughing too. I turned to look at him, my chest constricting when I saw the happiness on his face. He looked down at me with the biggest grin, hands cupping my head as he wiped my cheek with the sleeve of his jacket.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself." He chuckled once more and I rolled my eyes, his fingers adjusting my gray beanie on my head. I stared up at him as he did, the air suddenly charging with tension that hadn't been there a minute ago. He met my eye, gaze holding mine as the smile on his face softened into something that could only be described as affection.
"God, I love your eyes." He mumbled and my heart sped up when he leant into me, his forehead touching mine as he sighed. "What the fuck is happening?"
"You tell me, Harry." I responded quietly and his hand on the side of my head slid down to cup my cheek, thumb brushing my lip as his gaze zeroed in on it.
He didn't respond, at least not with words. He bent his head and pressed his lips against mine gently, lips softly moving against mine. It was a kiss that sent shivers down my back and made my ears hot. I wanted to melt into him, wrap my arms around his neck and pull him closer. But the fear of breaking whatever was happening between us kept my arms glued to my side. All I could do was breathe him in and let him take a little more of my soul.
He pulled away a moment later, forehead resting against mine before he pulled back and looked me in the eye. There was an emotion there that I'd never seen on him before but I couldn't decipher it. All I knew was, that he was pulling away from me again, dropping his hands as whatever spell had gone on was broken. He awkwardly shifted, moving back until there was at least a foot beside us and looking everywhere else but me.
I mentally begged him not to pull away, not to run from whatever was blossoming between us. And maybe he heard me, or maybe he changed his mind but he gave me a little bit of him too when he grabbed my hand suddenly and threaded our fingers together.
"Come on. Let's go home."
* * * * * * * * * * *
Hello!!!
Feels good to be back and I really enjoyed writing this chapter :)
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Also, edit up top made by me hehe (;
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