PART 14... fanficparker
Somethings happen 👀👕
Laughing like this was easy, maybe because he made it easy for you. Harrison never once tried to come up with anything said or heard last night. No questions asked, no answers required. It was considerate of him to not pick up the topic again or pressure you to hastily make a serious decision. Neither he acted like one of those boys who would distance themselves and end all ties, just because the other person needed time to think or didn't feel the same way.
Harrison rather gave you space to breathe and to think. He unknowingly prevented your confusing feelings to swirl into a vortex of stupidity, ending up eating its own tail. He kept on talking and talking about almost everything except that, but it was amazing to hear him speak, opening up to you. You sat there, legs crossed on the cool marble floor of your balcony, back comfortably rested against the wall, a warm cup of tea in your hands while Harrison was sitting exactly opposite to you, back pressed against the other wall. His tea was long forgotten, kept on the floor beside him, cooling down abandoned. He was sitting almost six feet apart from you and a lot of things he was speaking were stupid and didn't make much sense. Yet his accent was such a playful tune, you could have sat there all day simply to listen to the music it carried and smile. But as the tea in your cup finished, the music stopped along with it.
"Why don't you tell something? I am the only one speaking," He chuckled, finally pausing his rambling. He picked up the abandoned cup and sipped the tea only to hiss at the distaste and eventually discarded it again.
"...What should I talk about?" You spoke as your hands struggled to push away the little strands of hair that were tickling at your skin.
"Anything..." He trailed off, thinking for a topic himself. You tilted your head to the side, looking at the indigo coloured sky turning darker with each passing moment, finger resting below your chin.
Harrison's eyes settled over your side profile. He couldn't help but admire the way the dark sky complimented the fairy lights beside your head, your skin glowing from the shine. Your hairs were flowing freely in the wind, the rim of your glasses falling on your nose, lips slightly parted, a finger placed over your lower lip. He wanted to capture the moment. He searched for his phone only to find it kept beside the discarded tea cup. His thumb swiped up to open the camera and he looked at you through the digital screen.
In case you didn't want to see him after tomorrow he could at least have a memorandum of all the time you were his girlfriend. Fake girlfriend. The thought wasn't a pleasant one yet he was smiling brightly. The soft sound of the camera shutter snapped you out of your head and look at him confused.
"Did you just... click my picture?" You asked blinking in confusion. He hesitantly bounced his Samsung in his hand as heat rushed to his cheeks and heart almost exploded. He struggled to put it in his pocket, only to realise that his shorts were devoid of any.
"Show me!" There was nothing but playfulness in your voice as you got up and rushed towards him. Still, he couldn't stop feeling like a thief caught red-handed. You dropped to your knees in front of him and snatched off his phone, looking at the picture yourself. He just couldn't stop blushing.
"You are saved Osterfield. If it was bad, I would have kicked you out," You laughed grabbing his hand and placing the phone on his palm. As your hand left his, he curled his fingers around the device. You were about to stand up when a thought crawled inside your brain.
"We should have a picture together," The words just fell out of your tongue.
"Yes! We should definitely have a picture together. Why didn't I think of this earlier?" You reinforced your own idea, eyes wide and excited. He gulped slowly, licking his lips.
"Right," He exhaled. You sat beside him, your side pressed against his as he flipped the camera and stretched out his hand. He looked up at the screen along with you and produced a smile but the camera couldn't capture your face properly due to the lights on the corner, the spot where you were currently sitting below.
"Wait." You mumbled, getting up. He almost shivered in the loss of warmth he had no idea he was enjoying. But then right there he lost his breath somewhere in his throat as you sat over his thigh, snaking an arm around his neck.
"This will be good," You grinned looking at him and at the camera. Your hand travelled to his face and you pulled off his glasses keeping it aside on the floor, along with yours.
Good? Are you kidding me? He realised he lost his words do.
"Click the picture Haz!" You squealed and pressed your face to the side of his like everything wasn't enough already. He breathed in and almost dropped his phone but then successfully captured three or four pictures. As he kept his camera down, you threw both your arms around his neck, looking at his face.
His hands awkwardly circled your waist, too delicately for your liking as his eyes looked at yours. Your smile vanished away when you dared to look down at those pink lips. He was breathing with his mouth; his lips were hanging open.
You lost it right there. You dipped your head in, capturing his lips in your own. You broke the kiss even before Harrison could comprehend the contact to glance at his face. His unconsciously closed eyes fluttered open. The air was too thick to even breathe properly, his chest was almost constricted. He stared back at you in shock and surprise. You spoke nothing, instead pressed your forehead and nose against his, looking at his eyes.
"Couldn't resist. Sorry," A breathless chuckle escaped your lips, the warm breath hitting right onto Harrison's lips.
"Mind if I kiss you again... more properly?" You whispered against him, lips almost touching, desperate for any contact.
"I... never stopped you," His eyes flickered down and the next moment your lips were over his again. You gripped the back of his neck, one of his hands on your waist tightened while the other travelled to hold your face.
Before you knew he had turned the tables and suddenly he was dominating the kiss. He lightly pushed your head back as his tongue entered your mouth. Your nose was bumping every time he tilted his head and moved his chin up and down. You tasted of tea and of crisps and he surely did too, yet your breath tasted new to him and he couldn't help but devour.
Your hands rested on his chest; you pushed him back breaking the kiss. You were panting, almost breathless. He looked at you with his flushed face, chest heaving. He wanted to kiss you again and again till his lips went sore. God, how much had he waited for this moment! But he knew it wasn't the right time for this, so he instead pulled you closer, pressing your forehead against his.
"We---"
You interrupted him with your finger resting on his lips.
"Don't talk... Not yet." You whispered, breathless, against his mouth.
***
Sitting with your parents on the dining table was just them talking about how you have spent all the time with Harrison. It would have been one great embarrassing discussion if your mind wasn't busy thinking of a method to come into all types of conclusions in just one day. Harrison's flight to London was early morning, specifically at 09:00 am the day after tomorrow whereas your flight was after a week.
If thirteen days were enough to fall in love with Harrison Osterfield, you were afraid- a week's time was enough for him to change his mind. The thought scared you. A reason why you couldn't make yourself talk about the kiss or your feelings for him in general.
Love is scary. You had known that. Everything about falling in love was scary, yet you had thrown yourself in that tunnel. No wonder they said falling in love and not rising in love. They also said love makes you a philosopher... And makes you laugh at your own helplessness.
You chuckled and choked on your food. Tears pricked on the corner of your eyes. Your relentless coughing shifted everyone's attention from the food and the banter to you. Your dad was quick to hand you a glass of water that you were chugging for life while Harrison was rubbing your back. Your mum was busy scolding you for being careless in her concern and frustration mixed tone. But the coughing surely made your parents forget about the 'lost times'. You were anyway going to spend a week in Harrison's absence with them, they had nothing to be grumpy about. Right now, you were only thinking about how to... not overthink.
Little did you know, everything was more conflicting and difficult for him. That boy just had a days' time left with you. He had no intention of quitting when he was literally one foot away from the finish line. Slipping and losing at this point would be nothing less than a tragedy especially when the price of winning was you.
***
You came back early from the evening walk. You slammed the door behind you as you entered your room, sitting on the edge of the bed. It was almost a week, you and Harrison had started going for a walk after dinner, the day after he realised how lazy he was getting and how fast he was losing his abs. And since today your mum and dad decided to join both of you, you all ended up playing badminton in the lawn instead. It was even scarier to consider how much your parents had accepted Harrison as a part of their family. You almost couldn't breathe and excused yourself of getting tired and rushed inside.
The cool air of the AC was unable to dry off the sweat or kill off the discomfort in your gut. Your eyes landed on the crumbled piece of fabric lying on the chair in the corner of the room. It was Harrison's t-shirt. He hadn't learned to fold and keep his clothes neatly yet. You were sure the chair would have been a pile of all his clothes if you hadn't slapped his clothes on his face regularly. Yet, one of his t-shirts was still lying. You walked up to it almost immediately and picked it up. You looked over to the mirror on your dressing table, your eyes travelled up and down at your own figure and then the t-shirt in your hand. The thought of seeing yourself in his clothes settled in your consciousness. Biting at your lower lip, you lifted your own top off your head and placed it on the chair, inserting your head and limbs on the holes of his Bad Monday t-shirt.
The door opened with a thud and your heart skipped a beat. Harrison had entered the room and saw you half-naked, the fabric had barely reached your neck.
"Shit!" He cursed and instantly turned his front to the other side but a squeal had already left your throat.
You shoved the material down your belly, covering your chest with your hands even when the soft fabric had already covered you. The thing was... you weren't even wearing a bra. The tips of your ears were pink and hot with embarrassment complimenting with the skin of your face. You were almost panting; your heart was beating like you just ran a fucking marathon. Harrison was still standing with his back facing you, his body was stiff just like the tips of his ears. The room had gone into radio silence, the air was thick and uncomfortable. You exhaled loudly in an attempt to cut through the tension but it only made him flinch lightly.
"H-h-h-" You stammered, then bit the inside of your cheek. Calm. Down. You tried again, this time taking in a deep breath. You released your hands but then couldn't figure out what to do with them, so you instead clasped and unclasped your fists in constant reassurance.
"H-Harrison."
"I... I will just use the bathroom," He uttered in a single breath, words almost over-lapping. He hurriedly rushed inside the bathroom looking to the side but not you. You were actually grateful for that. The sound of the bathroom door slamming made your heart lurch and all the air to rush back into your lungs. You closed your eyes momentarily and plopped on the bed. You laid on your side and shoved the covers till your chin, slowly closing your eyes again.
Guess, you'll just pretend to sleep...
OPINIONS ON THIS CHAPTER???
Word count: 2.2k words
Published on: 28 Apr '2020