Finals week was spent entirely with test taking and "studying" with Aubry after school was released. Two tests per day, each two hours long, school was let out by noon and that left more than enough time to sneak around with Aubry for a few hours before real life resumed. They never returned back to her bed after Monday afternoon when Aubry's father unexpectedly turned up at home mid-coitus and had her sneaking him out of the house to avoid being seen. He didn't keep his hands to himself when they snuck behind the privacy of the tree line days later, and the pages in Aubry's journal were left blank that day. Instead, she walked home with grass stains on her knees.
No shifts at the record shop for the week, because mom insisted he use his free time for study and rest, and that left no obligations for anything other than morning testing, afternoon stress relief, and late night texts. The headaches from too much thinking always vanished before one o'clock, after he and Aubry would bust through the doors outside the gymnasium the moment testing was completed and they'd head off in the direction of home together. The sun was always bright and warm, his smile seemed unstoppable, and his bed was never more comfortable at the end of the night when exhaustion would take him captive before the clock struck eleven.
Thursday was the day of the test Harry dreaded the most, and that was the day he spent the entirety of the testing period glancing at the clock and sweating under pressure with each passing minute. English. That was the day he was ten questions away from the end with only two minutes left until the bell rang, and that was the day he filled in random bubbles to the remaining questions just to say he finished. That was also the day he was almost positive he could've failed, no matter how hard he studied. The level of defeat he felt passing his test booklet in could only be matched by every other year he'd ever completed an English final, but, thank God, he completed his very last one.
He came face to face with Aubry in the hall when she exited the art room directly across the way, and the frown on his face lessened slightly. "How'd it go?"
"Would rather not know," he mumbled. "How was yours?"
"Good," she grinned, but her shoulder was bumped and it was then they realized they were standing in the dead center of the hall in everyone's way. They began moving with the crowd, dodging students as they rushed to their next test, down the staircase, and off into the less full corridors where voices ricocheted off the walls. The next testing period was for Harry's regular lunch time, which meant he didn't have a second test that day, and neither did Aubry. "Wanna get food?"
"Yeah," Harry agreed, feet pattering across the linoleum flooring, straight past the lunch room where they were supposed to be gathering to sit through until school was released. That obligation was utterly ignored. "What do you want?"
"Mexican... or Subway."
"Subway is gross."
Her nose crinkled up when she glanced over at him, "It's a sandwich place, how can it be gross?"
He chose to reword himself. "Alright, it's not totally gross. It's subpar to all the other options for food."
"Fine, Mexican it is."
Aubry lead the way through the halls, to the back of the school where hardly any bodies lingered. The gym was secluded, far off from other classrooms, which meant no one ever stuck around unless they had a reason to. That made it the perfect spot to sneak out. Footsteps echoed through the atrium just outside the gymnasium doors, the sun shined brightly through the windows, and they headed straight for their escape through the doors.
"Hey!"
Harry startled, and the door Aubry had started to push open fell shut once again. Mr. Davis stood in the doorway to the gym, and Harry's cheeks flushed a shade of red when he stepped closer. His thumb pointed toward the staircase, "Back to class, no ditching."
"We don't have class, it's our free period," Aubry mumbled, and she still held some animosity toward the man after being kicked off the lacrosse team. He knew of her stubbornness well.
"Then get to the cafeteria, you can't leave until school is out."
"That's dumb and a waste of time."
"I've watched you two sneak out together every day this week," he spoke, and his eyes locked directly on Harry because he knew he was the only one with some level of shame. "I know what you're doing, get to the cafeteria."
"We're getting Mexican food," Harry muttered, though he dropped the uncomfortable eye contact.
"Sure you are." He sounded condescending. Harry's shoulder was grabbed and he was guided to turn around, away from the door, away from Aubry, and away from her bad influence. "Told you, no horny boys allowed. Cafeteria."
Harry sighed, his eyes locked onto Aubry's, and he was slightly disappointed when he saw her give in. Mostly because it was more in her character to put up a fight to get her way than it was to back down, and Harry was too timid to ever argue the way she did. He hoped for her to have the bravery he lacked, but she wordlessly turned on her heel and headed off in the direction they'd come from. She lead several feet ahead of Harry before he decided to follow and leave Mr. Davis behind, Aubry's footsteps loud down the hall when the man disappeared out of sight. She kept walking, the gymnasium drew further away, empty classrooms no one ever used were hidden behind closed doors, and the end of the hallway grew farther.
It was sudden when she stopped in the dead center of the hall, her voice quiet when she uttered, "Wait."
Harry stopped. He watched her face while her eyes flitted from side to side, pausing to listen for the lack of noise. Her shoes scuffled when she took steps back, creeping closer and closer toward the opening of the hall. Past Harry, past unused lockers, and she sneakily glanced back in the direction of the gym. He watched and waited from his spot, Aubry slowly inching across the linoleum, and she stopped. She waited and stared in silence, and it seemed like minutes passed before she turned around with her index finger held over her lips and she waved her hand to beacon him to follow.
He walked as softly as he could, and he followed her stealthy lead back through the atrium and to the doors that swung open loudly no matter how gentle her hands tried to be. The metal clambered, and Harry's blood rushed with adrenaline as he stepped into the summer sun and followed Aubry's running legs down the steps and as far away from the scene as they possibly could. Feet pounding on the pavement, bubbling laughter loud in the open air, they ran alongside one another out to the parking lot and left school in the dust.
Exuberant smiles didn't fall even after climbing into the stuffy hot confines of Aubry's car, and they continued to giggle about it over a shared plate of loaded nachos that Aubry doused with way, way too much sriracha sauce and Harry struggled to eat more than a few bites before his mouth was burning. He gulped down his water, and his cheeks held onto a tinge of pink from the heat.
"Weakling," Aubry muttered.
"Listen, I like spicy things too, but relax."
Her shoulders raised carelessly, and he didn't miss the way she danced in her seat when she took another bite. "I love it. The more it hurts, the better."
"You're a masochist." He picked at a tortilla chip from the bottom of the plate, where the spiciness hadn't yet managed to singe yet. He ate the bland chip with hardly any toppings, because the rest of the plate was soiled, and watched her dance as she chewed. Perhaps it was the unnecessary heat wriggling out of her body. "You are going to have the fieriest shits later."
"You're disgusting," she giggled, but shook her head in amusement anyway. "I can take it."
Harry chuckled, and he continued to pick at the less ruined chips while she picked at the ones right off the top. She danced when she ate, something that caused him to smirk with every bite she took because he knew exactly the little wiggle of happiness that would follow. Harry didn't eat much after she destroyed their plate with her excessiveness, but he also didn't find himself to mind all that much when he got to watch the smile on her face grow as her belly got fuller and the nachos dwindled away.
However, he did treat himself to a blueberry banana smoothie... because he lied when he said kiwi strawberry was his favorite. His treat was, once again, shared, and it was long gone before they ever made it back to their neighborhood and into Harry's home. The air was several degrees cooler than the outside when they stepped in, and Winnie's nose was an unexpected surprise when she greeted Aubry by shoving it up the back of her skirt and she flopped on the floor for belly rubs. She stooped down to pet the dog while Harry disappeared to throw the empty smoothie cup away.
As soon as he stepped out, Winnie hastily stood and followed, bolting to the door to be let out and Aubry stood in the threshold watching while he opened the back door for the dog. The door clicked shut when Harry's eyes met hers. A soft smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "You still like my dog more than you like me," he muttered, and she let out a breathy laugh.
"Of course."
His feet were silent on the floor as he stepped to her, and his hands were gentle when they wrapped around her waist. A ghost of a kiss was felt on her cheek, and the tiniest smile was worn on his face. "Luckily I'm not the one with the jealousy problem."
She laughed, her hands pushing on his chest. "Shut up, stop holding that against me."
He laughed too. "No, it's funny." Their eyes locked, both with a glint of amusement in their irises. "Pretty sure she's mad at me again." Pretty positive, judging by the glares he'd been receiving.
"Good," she grinned, and her arms looped around the back of his neck to pull him in. "Let her stay mad."
A kiss was shared, and Harry pulled out of her hold. "Jealous," he teased, using his hands to guide her to turn around.
She laughed more, and she allowed him to lead her through the house with a hand on her lower back. They trailed back through the kitchen, past the dining room, and up the stairs while his hands never once left her body. Not until they stood at the top of the steps and Harry's hold on her tightened, his arms looping around her middle while his lips sponged a kiss to the top of her shoulder, did he let go.
He detached himself, muttering, "Wait here," to her ear, and he stepped off down the hall without her. He pushed a door open and stepped into a room lit only by the sunshine through the window, and she heard the sound of him shuffling around before he emerged once again and pulled the door shut behind him.
She didn't miss the sight of the short row of condoms in his hand. She smirked. "You steal condoms from your dad?"
"I ran out."
"Buy more."
"No," he refused. "Why buy more when I can steal them?" He held the row of three up to look at them, "These ones are ribbed for her pleasure."
She chuckled, but soon his hands were back on her body. "That's honestly a bit disturbing if you think about it."
"I try not to think about what they're originally intended for. They're mine now."
Harry lead her down the hall to his bedroom, leaving the thoughts behind, and the door was shut behind them to seal them alone inside the room. His arms closed around her middle again, delicate kisses placed to her neck, and it was almost immediate that both of their school jackets were shed to the floor. Harry's fingers were nimble as they reached to pop the buttons on her shirt, lips fumbling along her skin more and more with each new inch that was exposed as the sleeves fell down her shoulders and to his feet. Gentle fingers pushed her bra strap to the side, and his lips touched to the skin beneath.
He was slow, hands exploring what was exposed of her body with no want or need to stop, no obligation to rush through. Hours were readily available, hours with nothing else to do other than touch and feel her body all over. Her neck rolled to the side when his kisses were spread to every inch of her skin he could reach. Every part of her, no matter what, where, or when, he would willingly take his time to marvel over. She was his, she was beautiful, and she had no idea how much he truly loved her body and soul.
Slowly she turned around in his hold, chest flush to his, and soft fingertips on his chin were used to guide his mouth to hers. Tongues met with attentiveness, gentle, soft, in no rush, and Harry's hands grazed over her skin delicately. Goosebumps were left in his path. From her ribcage, to her hips and to her lower back, down even further to her bottom hidden beneath the ugly blue skirt the school forced all girls to wear. It was used to hoist her up off her feet, her arms instinctively looping around his shoulders while she was lifted, and Harry's weight crashed down on top of her as they fell to the surface of the mattress at once.
Her fingers fiddled with the buttons at the collar of his shirt, popping them open, and her hands were soft when they smoothed over the skin hidden beneath. From his chest, to his collarbones, around to the back of his neck to hold him while their lips locked together and Harry's sneaky fingers grazed up the side of her leg. He was teasing, only fingertips touching against her skin, dragging up the outer side of her thigh, and back down again. His touch was delicate, and the higher he went the more her skirt rode up until his fingers came in contact with the hem of her panties.
Pecks were shared, Harry's attention falling to between her thighs when his hand cupped her through her underwear. A kiss was sponged to her jaw, and the panties were pushed to the side. The pads of his fingertips rubbed circles, face falling to the crook of her neck, and he paid special attention to her collarbones. Sucking, kissing, the heat of his tongue combined with the feel of his fingers inching their way inside of her hole. He didn't miss the sound of her shuddering breath, and he especially didn't miss the way her chest rose into his touch in a desperate plead for more.
His sucking and nibbling ventured downward, the bra she wore being pushed aside haphazardly, the metallic taste of her piercings washing over his tongue. The sound of his own name rang in his ears, and his talented fingers didn't stop working their magic until Aubry was shedding him of his shirt entirely. His eyes fluttered closed when her mouth latched onto his neck, and Harry's hips involuntarily ground into hers. She whimpered, lips venturing across supple skin, and his movements continued when he quickly realized it did wonders to relieve the aching in his groin.
His hands on her body, traveling anywhere he could reach, bodies pushed together while Harry fell to his side and Aubry's leg hooked over his hip. Large hand clasped to her thigh, fingertips sinking into the flesh, and feverish kisses were shared when suddenly the slow pace grew needy. His hand slipped to cup her ass, and fingertips hastily pulled the band of her underwear. He only got them far enough to expose her cheeks, and wriggling around in bed turned to a pursuit of stripping her entirely. Her skirt and panties were discarded at once, and the unkept way her bra was clinging to her body was solved by tossing it to the floor.
Mouths bumped together, Harry's hand on her throat to angle her chin up while his tongue dipped in to meet hers, and he wiggled out of his own pants, They were kicked off his ankles, Aubry's hands willingly grasping onto his length, and eager hands pumped him in the space between their bodies. Harry's attention only disappeared for seconds when he turned away for the condom, but he was back almost as quickly as he was gone. His lips caught hers, her leg was hoisted up, and he wasted no time in pushing inside of her until their hips met and he felt the same high he always got when he looked into her eyes and felt their bodies connect.
His touch was delicate when his thumb caressed the skin of her cheekbone, but his hips were not when he withdrew and pushed back in. Aubry's breath shook, just as her body did with each coming thrust he gave, and her hands latched onto his shoulders. Hearts hammering, heavy breathing, and increasingly sweaty skin that tasted salty on her tongue. Her legs stiffened with each sharp connection of skin on skin, and the look in Harry's eyes when she caught sight of him looking down on her was one that made even her blocked off heart feel heavy. The look was cut of by his mouth crashing into hers, a kiss so passionate being given, just before his breathlessness uttered words to her ear. "I fucking love you like this."
It wasn't quite an I love you, more of an I love making love to you, and that was just far off enough to keep Aubry's mind from going haywire. Fingers clenched in the hair at the back of his head, and heels pressed to the back of his thighs when she locked him in place and a convictionless moan fell from her mouth. "Fuck," she breathed, almost gasped, and her body began to work in sync with his.
Hips grinding, bodies rubbing in just the right way, hitting all of the best spots, her head pushed further back into the pillow. Harry's hands hooked to the back of her thighs to really hold her steady, and the groan that was pulled from deep in his chest accompanied her hand slapping to the headboard just to hold herself down from his repeated impact. He watched her chew on her lip, caught so tightly between pearly whites not even the whimper she released was enough for her to let go.
The only thing that could stop her continuous stream of whines was when Harry abruptly stopped, and the only thing that could cause Harry to stop was when the bedroom door opened up and his heart felt as though it quite literally could've jumped out of his throat. His movements were frantic when he shuffled away, but it seemed like in a blink of an eye he was being ripped out of bed entirely and Aubry had never seen anyone so angry when she looked up and saw his mother raging and screaming.
She couldn't process the words in her haste to cover herself under the sheets, and Harry's terror was shown in the way he cowered away from her yelling, "What the hell are you doing?" but he was continuously being whacked with every word.
He just continued to plead, "Mom, mom, ouch, mom," all while trying to cover himself for some last hope on maintaining his dignity and to get away from her assault. A pillow was ripped from beneath Aubry's head, causing her to skull to connect with the headboard, and it was used to hide his nakedness.
"Harry Edward," another whack to the side of his head. "What is wrong with you?" Then her eyes locked onto Aubry, rubbing at the sore spot at the back of her head, and her blood seemed to boil even more. She shoved at her son's chest, "You know better!" she shouted, so loudly it made him cringe. "What the hell is wrong with you!"
"I'm sorry!"
"You idiot!" She slapped him again, but her anger was so overflowing she couldn't direct her attention on just one idiot teenager at a time. She stepped forward to point fingers in Aubry's face, "You slut, don't you ever touch my son!"
She was still so shocked she couldn't find it in her to speak, but Harry's body was quickly wedged between the two and he took the brunt of another slap that was likely to be directed toward Aubry instead. "Mom, stop," he breathed, took another slap, and it was then he pushed her hands away and tried his absolute hardest to reason with her. "Stop, please," he tried, but she continued to yell incomprehensively. As if she were so angry she didn't have words and she stuttered over the jumbled mess in a way that sounded nothing more than a broken record. No words came, just intelligible sounds until her hands splayed across her own cheeks and she growled out in complete frustration.
Harry's bravery was nothing but false when he reached out to her, trying his very hardest to soothe her the best he could when he laid a hand on her shoulder. He was harshly shrugged off, and daggers were shot his way. "Aubry, of all people," she spat, and her eyes looked to the girl as though she were a rodent. "I..." her fingers touched to her suddenly pounding head, "This is not how I raised you. This isn't my son, you complete idiot. You moron."
"I'm sorry," he insisted, and her hand fell from her head to backhand him in the shoulder.
"Don't you apologize to me, apologize to yourself!" She seemed truly disgusted. "You degraded yourself, you let yourself be defiled, you should be ashamed of yourself!"
"Alright," his voice was just as gentle as his hand when he delicately urged her to step away from the edge of the bed, feeling a bit protective and not at all liking that Aubry was within arms reach of his enraged mother. "Don't... don't do that," he worded carefully, and she rid her body of his touch.
"No, get that dirty whore out of my house!"
Harry tried his absolute hardest to not snap at her words, having to physically bite his tongue to keep from making everything so much worse. "Okay, don't talk about her like that. Name calling doesn't help."
His words went utterly unheard, because she continued to yell to the point she shook with rage and it took minutes of constant pleading with her to finally fall silent with a hateful stare at the silent girl hidden under bed sheets. She took a deep breath, one that shook as she let it back out. "Get dressed. I'll be waiting in the kitchen," she spoke to Harry and Harry only, though her fingers pointed to Aubry immediately afterward. "I want you out of my house and as far away from my son as you can get. You better hope to God I don't see your face again."
The walls shook when the door slammed shut after she left.
Neither moved for several moments, staring at the closed door in shock almost as if the world had paused. What pressed play was Harry disbelieving laughter that rumbled in his chest, complete and utter shock written all over his face. Aubry looked at him with surprise. "You're laughing?" she gaped.
"I'm dead," he breathed, his voice shaking through a chuckle. "I'm actually dead." A hand ran down the expanse of his face, "Oh my God, that really just happened."
"She hit you." A lot.
"I just..." the pillow he held to hide himself fell to the floor, and Harry looked like a lunatic with the way he grinned. "I just got caught having sex by my mother."
"Harry."
"Aubry," he turned, and his eyes locked with hers. "I'm dead and I'm free."
Her brows pinched together, completely confused. "What?"
"I'm in so much trouble, but I'm free."
"Are you okay?"
He shook his head, but his smile didn't fall. "No, not at all, but I don't have to lie anymore."
Watching the way he smiled, completely naked, like a maniac was more than just a little bit off putting, but he sauntered to his dresser for clothes and he made sure to pick something he'd be proud to die in. Aubry didn't move from her spot until Harry pulled a pair of pants on and the unsettling way he carried himself dissipated slightly. That was when she slid out from under the covers and stooped to retrieve her clothes, and they dressed in silence.
Harry's touch was unexpected when he pulled the ends of her hair from beneath the collar of her shirt, gathering it all to one side before his lips touched to her cheek. He held her from behind, "Listen," his voice was soft. "Whatever she says about you doesn't change anything. No matter what," he promised, and another kiss was given to seal the truth in his next words. "No matter how grounded I am, I'll make it work."
Her only response was the way her fingers tightened around his, and her nod was subtle.
His next words were muffled into her shoulder, but they were sincere. "And I know you don't want me to say it, but I love you."
Note to self: Play Flowers in the Window at my funeral.
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I'm updating today because I'm really bored. Also this is a chapter that I kinda don't want to make you wait a full week to see what happens next lol
I swear it's like 20° in my room right now. This some bullshit I'll tell you what