I arrived at school and, when I realised that Ella still hadn't arrived, I settled in my usual place, leaning against the small wall, one of my feet on the first step that brought to the main door. I sighed when I spotted a couple curious glances sent my way, taking out my phone to distract myself and make sure I wouldn't have accidentally made an awkward eye contact with anyone.
I was that caught up by scrolling up my mostly irrelevant chat with Ella that I didn't even notice that someone had leant on the wall next to me until they cleared their throat.
I looked up quickly, being more surprised than I probably should've been when I met Harry's mint green eyes. "You came" I said, astonishment that didn't quite belong held in my voice.
He gave me an eloquent glance, but didn't reply. "Let's go inside" he said instead, his hand somehow finding its way to my lower back, his touch light against the fabric of my coat.
I nodded, eager to escape the cold, detaching my body from the freezing wall and allowing myself to walk towards the front door of the building by his side. His feather-like touch stayed on my back as he pushed the door open, not even leaving me as we walked down the hallway in the direction of our first class.
I watched as he sent a sharp glare to the people that glanced our way, pursing my lips not to smile at his reaction, that made me realise he didn't particularly enjoy being in the spotlight as well.
"What's up with everyone?" He said lowly to himself, glancing at the people in the corridor one last time with the corner of his eye as we entered the classroom.
I gave him a little shrug. "It might be because they think you got stabbed at the party."
He sent me a confused glance, making me realise that his question was indeed closer to a personal reflection that I wasn't supposed to hear. He opened his mouth to say something, but he decided against it as soon as some people started to come into the room.
"Will you tell them?" I asked curiously, looking towards the door to see who was coming in.
"Let them think whatever they want to think, I don't care" he said, and I turned around to look at him.
He was leaning against the back of the chair, tapping a pen on the desk to a beat I didn't know, an enigmatic look into his eyes.
I nodded slightly at his words. "I guess that works too" I replied, sighing and taking out my notebook as the teacher came into the room.
Maths went by in silence, as usual, not a word having been heard from Harry since he'd been reprimanded some days before. With all that had happened over the weekend, it really did feel as if it'd been ages since then.
For our free period we went in the cafeteria, sitting together at a table as we'd already done before. I took out my notepad and started sketching, trying to pretend that I wasn't minimally affected by Harry's presence. It was hard to concentrate on what I was doing, to the point that I ended up changing page and starting anew after a while, since the mistakes on my first try had started to become a bit too many for my liking.
After a while I looked up, discovering that Harry was on his phone, doing nobody knows what.
"Harry?" I asked, a question on the tip of my tongue, and he locked the screen, putting the device on the table and looking up.
I debated whether I should've asked or not for a couple of seconds. Harry hardly told me anything about himself, and I didn't want to piss him off, but I knew I was too curious not to ask.
"I met Liam" I said, carefully observing his reaction. He raised an eyebrow, but didn't give me any kind of hint that it would've been better to drop the topic, so I decided to continue. "How do you know him?" It was something that I'd inadvertently been wondering for a couple of days. Liam had seemed really worried on Saturday, which told me they were pretty close, that contradicted everything I knew about Harry. He didn't seem the kind of person to let people get too close to him, so I wondered how he had ended up in a similar friendship.
He shrugged, relaxing on his chair. "We were drunk, we fucked, the day after we decided we would've worked better as just friends" he said nonchalantly.
"It was that bad?" I asked before I could stop myself, widening my eyes and covering my mouth as soon as I realise what I had just said.
Harry let out a chuckle, taken aback by my question. "On the contrary, actually" he said, slightly raising the corners of his lips in a little smile. "But I'd rather not talk about how it was to fuck someone that is now one of my friends."
"Understandable" I said fast, taking a sip of the water I'd bought earlier, almost choking on it when I took in the conversation I was having with Harry, out of all people, the awkwardness of it only striking me in that moment. For some reason, I didn't want to know about him having sex with other people.
I put the bottle back on the table, looking up just to spot Aiden glaring at us from the other side of the room. I moved my gaze to something else, not wanting to feed into his bad mood by making eye contact, and sighed, realising just then that he wouldn't have let go that easily.
I let out a deep sigh. I had always hated drama - especially being a part of it. I just hoped he would've left us alone, because the simple idea of him trying to argue with me or Harry made me incredibly anxious. Trying to distract myself, I looked at Harry, discovering that he was back to using his phone.
Keeping a stressed groan from coming out of my lips, I went back to my sketch.
• • •
I knelt next to the bathtub, putting my hand under the water coming out from the tap to make sure that the temperature was right. "I think it's good" I said, closing the tap. I froze in my spot when I heard the sudden sound of fabric hit the ground, widening my eyes and staring down at the white polish of the bathtub. I heard the faint sound of naked feet against the tiles of my bathroom floor, and soon after Harry's long legs came into view.
I looked at my lap, feeling a sudden warmth creep up my cheeks as Harry lowered himself into the water. I slowly looked up, focusing my eyes on his face, not wanting my gaze to linger down his chest. I took an uneasy breath, not understanding why I even was that embarrassed. There wasn't anything on display that I hadn't already seen, more or less. "Try to lean back a bit, so that the water reaches your shoulders" I instructed, turning on the camera.
He did as I asked him, looking down at the water, not wanting to accidentally wet his hair.
I smiled to myself as I realised that he'd inadvertently made a stiff position become more natural, almost casual. I sat better, trying to find the best angle to take the picture from, not wanting the black boxers he was wearing to be in it.
After what felt like hours I managed to find it, taking a picture quickly and standing up, taking a towel and putting it next to the sink. "I'm done" I said, "you can dry yourself up." I took the silence that followed as my chance to disappear out of the room, wanting to leave the somewhat embarrassing situation.
I walked towards the studio fast, opening the door and making my way towards the computer, turning it on and starting to do what I had to do to print the picture I'd just taken. I sat on the chair and crossed my legs on it, nervously tapping my finger on the wood of my desk.
I looked up from what I was doing all of sudden when I saw a movement to my right, turning my head just to see that Harry was leaning against the side of the door, his arms crossed over his chest.
I almost jumped when I heard the sudden sound of the picture being printed, looking down to take the new paper sheet and giving it a long look before standing up and walking towards Harry, that was still in the same position of before.
I looked down as I walked past him, barely paying attention to the sound of his steps behind me as I went into my bedroom. I silently took a pencil, a paper sheet and my usual book before going to sit on my bed, with my back against the wall. I froze when Harry sat next to me, mimicking my position, not having expected him to stay.
I started sketching the basic lines, peeking at him from the corner of my eye every once in a while. He leant his head against the wall, looking at what I was doing.
I started drawing the outline of his chest, feeling my nervousness rise under his stare. After a while I put down the pencil, not being able to continue. I looked to the side, meeting Harry's gaze.
"I can't seem to be able to stay away from you" he said all of sudden, surprising me with his bluntness.
I widened my eyes and looked down at his words, but stayed quiet, not knowing what to reply.
"Whenever I'm around you I lose control of myself." He continued, putting his index under my chin, lifting my head slightly and making me look up at him. "Tell me I'm not the only one" he whispered.
I looked down again. I knew what he was talking about, because I felt it too. That sudden pull that made me want to get closer and closer to him whenever we were next to each other, that always need for more and more, that seemed to become more and more insisting the more it was satisfied. But I couldn't have ever told him that, I wasn't the kind of person that liked to bare herself in front of other people, and Harry would've made no exception.
But no words were needed, because Harry found the answer he wanted in the way my eyes shied away from his.
"I know you know I'm not" he said, absentmindedly twirling a strand of my hair between his fingers. He looked up, freezing me in place with his stare. "I want to kiss you" he stated, the sentence shameless, but a hint of complicity in his voice. He moved his head closer to me. "And I know you want it too" he whispered, his breath hitting my lips.
A warm shiver ran down my spine as he put his hand over mine, leaning forward and gently nuzzling my neck. I felt as if my breath could've died in my throat there and then when I felt his lips graze my neck. My heart started beating faster, thoughts of what was about to happen flooding my mind until all that was left was a blank.
"Ask me" he murmured against my ear, a deep vibration to the end of his throat.
I sighed at the soft touch. "Please..." I mumbled, my eyes closed because of the vicinity, my lips parting in expectation, but he didn't fulfil my wish.
He brushed my arm with his fingers. "You can do better than that" he said lowly, seeming to revel in the reactions he managed to get from me.
"I..." I started, stopping right away. I opened my eyes, meeting his green ones. "Kiss me" I whispered after having gathered the courage to do so, my breath stopping in my throat when his lips touched mine a matter of seconds after.
His lips were soft but determined against mine, as if he was trying to hold back but at the same time could not resist the urge to ask for more, his cold fingers travelling up and down my side, barely felt through the thin texture of the shirt I was wearing. After a few seconds of blissful hesitation they rested against my hip, sending a shiver down my spine. Despite the somewhat cold air in my room, I felt hot, his body pressing against mine and warming me up almost instantly. He gently bit my lower lip temptingly, as to elicit some kind of reaction from me, as if he didn't know I was ready to give him anything he would've asked for in that moment.
His nose brushed against my cheek and his lips were on mine again, sparks of electricity washing through my body and making me see white for a second.
I didn't care about my drawing. She could have asked it the day after for all it mattered, I didn't care about anything that wasn't Harry's touch on my skin, his lips on mine, his scent that drove me crazy but grounded me at the same time, the sweet taste of his tongue as it delved into my mouth, demanding but alluring at the same time. He gripped my waist and I leant my body on his, causing him to fall back against my pillow. He rolled us around, easily fitting between my legs without breaking the kiss. His hand somehow found its way up my shirt, my skin tingling where it came in contact with his. He was everywhere, in the air I breathed in intermitted puffs between kisses, in the sudden warmth enveloping my body, etched into my mind as sharply as the butterfly on his torso, that was pressed against mine, heavy enough to make me wonder how I was still breathing.
As fast as it had started it ended, our lips parting and allowing us to breathe properly for the first time in what felt like endless minutes, my unfocused mind wondering what truly took my breath away, if the lack of air or the intensity of the kiss.
As I caught my breath I found myself staring into his eyes, the pale green a strong contrast to the black of his enlarged pupils. I hesitantly reached up and brushed my fingers against his cheek, taking my lower lip between my teeth when he closed his eyes, leaning against my hand. I let my stare fall to his lips, of a darker shade than usual, that looked as kissable as ever, but I refrained the instinct to kiss him again, the urgency of my duties having come back to me somewhen between the end of the kiss and then.
Harry detached his body from mine, kneeling between my legs and brushing his dark curls back. "Shouldn't you draw?" He said lowly, the words dripping from his lips like melted honey.
"I..." I stuttered, trying to regain my composure, that had been swept away in the second his lips had touched mine. I bent my knees, pushing myself backwards until I was sitting against the headboard, taking the paper sheet, that had fallen to the ground along with my pencil. I returned to my previous position, slowly retracting my legs and crossing them, putting the book and paper back on them. I took the pencil, bringing it to the paper sheet under Harry's attentive stare, not even noticing the tip was broken until I felt the wood scratch against the sheet.
The pencil fell from my hand, rolling a few times before stopping in the middle of the sheet. I slowly looked up, meeting Harry's glance from under my eyelashes.
Before I knew it, his lips were on mine again, my fingers tangled in the collar of his shirt.
Sooo... it's super late and I haven't reread it, so I really hope it's fine. Sorry for any eventual mistakes x
Miki