A/N: DOUBLE UPDATE. WOOT! And this one is longer. xD Please, comment as you read, yeah?
CAMI:
Waiting for Harry made my stomach churn. I couldn’t quite explain it, but I still felt like it was all a dream. Harry and I had only been back in touch for two days, and part of me was just waiting for him to disappear again.
And as the time slowly snaked by, I kept glancing at my watch to make sure he wasn’t late.
Why had I walked out here so early anyway?
I’d been surprised when he texted me, and it wasn’t until I’d had quite the lecture from Annie that I’d decided to invite him along. He did write that he wanted to see me. That was a good sign, right?
The camera bag on my shoulder was starting to feel heavy. Tapping my foot impatiently, I crossed my arms just in time to see a dark blue car turn into the parking lot. I didn’t recognize the brand, but when it stopped in front of me, I saw Harry behind the wheel. He rolled down the window.
“Hey foxy,” he said. “Want a ride?”
I snorted rather unladylike. Opening the door, I sat down on the passenger seat and looked at Harry.
“You seem to be in a good mood,” I noted.
“It’s hard not to be,” he said. “You’re with me after all. Now, where are we going to meet up with your friends?”
I told him the address, and he entered it into his GPS.
“So, who are we meeting exactly?” he asked as he turned out on the road. “Friends from school?”
It wasn’t fair of me that I hadn’t told him, but to be honest, I didn’t exactly know how to explain where I was going or who we were meeting. It wasn’t that it was a secret, but it opened up for so many questions that I wasn’t prepared to answer yet.
I also wasn’t sure where exactly I stood with Harry. Sure, he’d asked me out, but it could have been because of the contract. He had kissed me, but there was the paparazzi too. The only thing that didn’t fit the already established pattern of messing with my head was his earlier texts.
Then again, he could just have been bored.
“Itis difficult to explain,” I answered finally.
“Well, just to be clear, I’m not drinking tonight.” He patted the steering wheel. “I’m the designated driver.”
“It’s barely past three in the afternoon,” I said.
“Aha, so it’s not a pub or a bar we’re going to.” Harry smiled. “That’s good to know.”
“Actually, we’re going to visit an orphanage,” I said.
“Yeah?” He glanced at me. “How come?”
“There’s a couple of kids there, I’m sort of like their…” I struggled to find the right word. “Big sister, in a way. But not related.”
“That’s nice. How old are they?”
“They’re both nine. Very adorable.”
“How do you know them?”
That was the start of the questions I didn’t want to answer. It would lead over to a bunch of follow-up questions. And finally, it would make me need to tell him about not only my own experience at the orphanage—albeit briefly—but also about the nightmares. I’d barely grazed the surface with Dr. Hertz, so I was far from ready to explore it on my own.
“The place is located near a lake, and I needed to take some photographs for a project a few months back.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, but it would keep my intimacy intact a bit longer.
“Cool,” he said and focused back on the road.
In reality, I’d received an assignment to portray something personal. After thinking long and hard, I came up with the orphanage because it was the most personal I could get. Of course, the orphanage wasn’t the one that Ludmilla and I had been at when we were younger. However, after checking out the place, I was reminded of the same feeling of dread, sorrow and lost hopes and dreams.
It had been a challenge, but my project had scored me top marks.
While I spent time there, I got to know some of the kids. They weren’t related, but they clung to each other like peas in a pod. They’d been playing outside one day, and the boy had accidentally stumbled over my equipment in the grass.
And that was the start of a beautiful friendship. Ever since then, I’d been going out there as often as possible.
Harry parked close to the orphanage, and I was the first out of the car. Grabbing my camera bag, I hooked it over my shoulder and waited while Harry locked the car.
“Do you think it’s okay if I’m with you?” he asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t see why not. They don’t get that many visitors, and they’ve always loved it when I brought Danny here. I’m sure they won’t mind.” I smiled.
We walked on the pathway and up the massive set of stairs. It was an old building, where the children and their caretakers lived year around. It used to be more crowded they’d said, but with the advance in foster care, these places were becoming rarer.
I saw some older kids play ball on the grass outside, and I pointed the lake out for Harry to see.
“It’s beautiful here,” he said.
“I think so too.” I opened the door, walking into the main hall. I smiled at the woman who was reading to a couple of younger kids in the corner and pointed upstairs.
She nodded in return while never stopping her tale.
I’d been such a regular visitor that most of the staff were used to me by now. I didn’t know most of their names, since different age-groups had different caretakers, but they all knew who I was here for now.
We walked towards the stairs when I heard the loud sound of someone cheering. Looking up, I noticed a blonde girl running downstairs to us.
“Cami. You came!” she exclaimed and threw herself into my arms, almost knocking me over.
“Hey, Hannah.” Laughing, I squeezed her back. “I told you I would.”
“Who’s that?” the boy asked from the staircase, he was eying Harry suspiciously.
“That’s my friend, Harry,” I said. Gesturing, I presented them to each other. “Harry meet Amir and Hannah. The two worst troublemakers I’ve ever met.”
Hannah giggled slightly. “That’s not true.”
Harry extended his hand to her. “Pleasure to meet you, Hannah.”
She took it, shaking it carefully. “I know you.”
“You do?” He raised his eyebrows. “Where from?”
“You’re on the TV a lot,” Amir said as he walked down and took his usual place beside Hannah. “You’re popular, right?”
Harry met my eyes, and then ran a hand through his hair. Laughing nervously, he shrugged. “I guess you can say that, yeah.”
I poked Amir’s shoulder. “How about we go into Asgard?”
He nodded and turned on his heels, not long after; Hannah ran up and took his hand.
“Every room here is named after a place in Norse mythology,” I explained to a clueless Harry. “I was talking to one of the caretakers, and they explained how it made the whole reality seem less gloomy.”
“Ah.” He nodded. “I can see why that’d work.”
Amir had found a spot on a couch inside the room, and we walked over and sat down.
“How’s reading going, Amir?” I asked. “Did you ever finish Percy Jackson?”
He scoffed. “I’ve finished three of them already, Cami. Just waiting for the other books now, but Sandy can’t buy more yet.”
“Sandy is one of the caretakers,” I said to Harry.
“Why don’t you go to the library?” he asked Amir.
“We’re not old enough yet,” Amir answered.
Hannah was watching me and Harry, I smiled at her.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Are you two boyfriend and girlfriend?” she asked.
The question took me by surprise. “Why do you ask?”
“Amir and me are boyfriend and girlfriend now,” she said as if that explained everything.
I looked at the small girl with her strawberry blonde hair and big eyes, and then I looked over at Amir, who was looking proud of himself.
It was Harry who saved me by changing the subject. “Does that mean we’ll be invited to the wedding?”
Hannah shook her head. “No, silly.”
“Why not?” I asked.
“Because we’ve already had a wedding.” Hannah rolled her eyes. “So you can’t come.”
“Really? When?”
“Yesterday,” she said. “Mr. Fluffles was the priest, and Dipsy was the bridesmaid.”
I nodded thoughtfully. “I understand.”
“Who’s Fluffles and Dipsy?” Harry asked.
“Wait here, I’ll show you,” Hannah said and jumped to her feet.
I looked at her. “Want me to go with you?”
She nodded and took my hand. I turned to Harry. “I’ll be right back.”
Hannah led me to her room, where she grabbed her teddy-bear. “Amir said I could borrow Mr. Fluffles when I’m scared at night.” Then she walked over to grab a small Barbie doll. Smiling at me, she held them up for me to see.
“They look like a decent priest and bridesmaid,” I said. “Was it a good wedding then?”
Hannah nodded. “Sandy even got us a piece of cake after we finished. There’s always cakes at weddings when I see them on the TV.”
“That sounds perfect, Hannah.” I smiled.
She gave me Dipsy and took my hand again. Together, we walked downstairs to show Harry the teddy and doll.
This was why I loved coming here. Hannah and Amir had practically grown up right next to each other, and over time, they’d become such good friends. They were so cute, and I loved watching them play together. It was so different from my own brief experience at an orphanage. Where my memories were tainted with sorrow, tears, and sleepless nights, this was the exact opposite. They’d literally worked together and found a way to make their lives a little less miserable. It was inspiring, really.
When we enter Asgard again, Harry had moved over beside Amir. He was leaning down, listening intently to something the boy said. I gestured to Hannah to be silent as we walked up behind them.
“And she likes strawberry candy a lot,” Amir said. “Cami always bring them, but I wish I could buy them for her too.”
“I don’t think she likes you because you give her things,” Harry said.
“I know that,” Amir said. “But when you like someone you want them to be happy. And I want her to never be sad ever again.”
My heart almost melted. Feeling a little teary-eyed, I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Who wants some strawberry candy?” I asked.
Harry looked up to meet my eyes, and I smiled at him.
“Look,” Hannah said and walked around to show off her toys. “This is Dipsy and Mr. Fluffles.”
I watched as Harry played along, greeting them politely. All while I found it hard to keep myself together. Amir had been right. When you like someone, you want him or her to be happy.
It’s crazy how much kids understand.
A/N: A few things I have to admit;
I don't know how much writing time I'll get over christmas. I'm going to try and do short uploads every day like mentioned before, but on days where I can't I'll make it up to you with multiple uploads another day.
Also, shoutout to Amir_Agha and AlienOfJupiter. As you might have noticed, they inspired the two orphan kids. It was an idea that came to me while writing Cut! and they kept cheering me on, commenting like crazy, making fan-art etc. They're both really cool people, and you should check them out.
Another thing: Right now, I'm part of the iTunes project, and Wattpad is actively promoting Cut! It's why a lot of you are here now. This has of course cheered me on so much, that I've been writing this story at every moment I got. (Did you know, that since I started this story a few days ago, we're not already at 21.000 words?) So your support means a lot. I have instagram, twitter and ask.fm if you want to talk to me (You're also welcome to PM me. I answer all messages) And if you want to make some edits, or share your favorite quote with me. Then be sure to tag them with #PlayFanfic or #CutFanfic so I'll see. Also, if you're on twitter, I often send out teasers and share fanart over there. So come say hi. Just send me a message at @MajaDiana it would be so cool!
I'm also thinking of going back to re-read and change some of the typos of Cut! in the near future. Does anyone want to join me? We could make it into a game/contest. lol.
Finally, I don't know how long Wattpad will keep promoting me for, but it's your votes, comments and support that has made me go this far. I love you all!
Give this a vote, maybe? For the sake of double updates! lmfao. <3