Meet Me in the Hallway (HS AU)

thirty eight.

The clock said around 3:25am when Harry, Clem and I stumbled back into the house. I walked Clem to her room and she fell stomach first onto her bed, light snores soon filled the room. The hallway seemed longer as I tiptoed towards the kitchen, giggling every time I brushed the wall.

Harry was leaning against the kitchen table with a bag of chips in his hand, chewing rather loudly. I hadn't been hungry, but the smell of the salt and vinegar in the air was enough to make my stomach rumble.

"Gimme some." I begged, reaching my hand into the bag as he tilted it in my direction.

We both stood there in silence, besides the rustling of the bag and chewing of the chips, for quite some time. I remembered I still had my shoes on so I kicked them off and slid down the cabinet to sit on the ground. Without hesitating, Harry slid down next to me and stretched his legs out across the kitchen floor.

"Did you have fun?" His whisper broke the silence in the gentlest way.

"I actually had heaps of fun, thank you for inviting me. I haven't had a night out like that since my second or third year of university. It was exciting and refreshing almost. So again, thank you for bringing me along." My temple rested against his shoulder and I closed my eyes.

"I'm glad you had fun. I can't wait for the next time we all go out together like that. I know Clem would love that too. She really likes you, well I guess one of us has to."

I slapped his chest with the back of my hand in mock offence but he just laughed. I would never get sick of that sound. His whole hearted laugh where he doesn't worry about the volume or surroundings. It was my favourite.

"Shut up." I groaned, letting out an airy laugh.

I don't know how long we sat on the floor for, just basking in each other's presence. My mind hadn't stopped replaying that moment in the club over and over, all I could picture was the way he was looking at me.

He looked at me like I wasn't this charity case he had taken in and that was everything I could ask for and more. His stare never stopped at the surface, he always looked into someone. Those eyes didn't seem to even notice the stretch marks, cellulite and rolls covering my body. They looked into my eyes and into my soul.

A lump formed in my throat and I swallowed it down. Just because I wanted so badly to kiss him did not mean I would give in and cry in front of him. Slowly and unsure of my movements, I slid my hand across the top of his thigh. I ran my fingers down his wrist, making his hand open palm up in his lap. His hands were so warm and I had to interlock our fingers to stop mine from shaking. My breathing was shallow, nerves pumping through my veins again.

Breathe, Josephine.

"I'm sorry if I upset your friends tonight. I tried so hard to keep my mouth shut but I simply can't stand there and take the unnecessary criticism."

He looked down at me with one eyebrow raised, "what do you mean? What did they say?"

"It doesn't matter, I'm not going to put you in the middle of some stupid highschool drama. I would never want to put you in a position where you have to pick sides. Especially since I know where your loyalties should lie." I sighed, tightening my grip on his hand.

"You have no idea where my loyalties would lie." He leant his head back against the cabinet and closed his eyes.

"Hang on, now what does that mean?" Suddenly, all the alcohol I had consumed had disappeared from my body and I was stone cold sober. I sat up quicker than I had moved all night.

His chest fell with a heavy exhale before he looked at me and sat up straight. I prepared myself for whatever he was going to say. He was probably going to tell me to shut up and go to bed, then in the morning he would kick me out.

"I would choose you. If you didn't know that, then you're not watching close enough." His bluntness smacked me in the face and my eyes widened.

"But they're your friends. It's only right that you side with them, they've been there for you since you came to Australia. I've been here a whopping two weeks." My hand was pulled from his and my arms were crossed over my chest.

He was lucky enough to have friends who had stuck by him. I would not let him throw them away because they didn't get along with a new person in his life. I had experienced it myself and I wouldn't wish that feeling of isolation upon anyone.

"Ask me how many staff members I've helped paint their classroom." He spoke suddenly. "Ask me how many people's coffee orders I remember. Ask me how many people have ever spent the night in the guest bedroom. Ask me how many people's hair, other than Clem's, I've helped brush and tie. Ask me."

My brain couldn't form a sentence. My mouth was moving but no sound was coming out. Why was he saying these things? His hands came to rest on both of my cheeks, his thumbs rubbing gently against my cheekbones.

"I don't paint, Josephine. I didn't even paint my own house, I paid someone else to do it. I struggle to remember Clem's coffee order at the best of times. Adrian has spent one night in that guest room, otherwise I don't like people being in my space. But when it comes to you, I do all those things with ease.

I still don't really know where it came from but I just knew one day that I had to get to know you. It frightens me so much, the power you have over me. I said the other day that you were the boss, without even realising it, you are the driving force behind most of my decisions now.

And I know that right now I could be making a fool of myself but I think deep down, you feel the same. I'm not going to force you to feel or say anything, it's only been 12 days, but I don't think I could go on without you knowing that you are so important to me and it scares the fuck out of me that I care about you as much as I do."

The green in his eyes was almost completely gone, his pupils were blown and his cheeks were flushed. The little crease between his eyebrows was there as his eyes jumped between mine.

"Kiss me." My tone was shaky but demanding.

He licked his lips before they parted, "are you su-"

"You have to kiss me because my brain will convince me again that I shouldn't."

He hesitated, I could almost hear the thoughts filling his brain.

"Kiss me, please." My voice cracked as I pleaded desperately.

After he realised that I was literally begging him to do this, his body seemed to jump start. One of his hands slid around to the back of my head as the other stayed put on my cheek. The insecurities bubbled to the surface again and instead of pushing him away or turning my head, I closed my eyes this time.

With my vision gone, I wasn't able to see his movements but all my other senses were heightened. The rustling of material as his pants brushed against itself when he moved, the deep yet shaky breath he took. I could feel the heat coming from his left hand that pressed to my cheek and the slight moisture forming between our flushed skin, the brush of his curls against my forehead as the space between us shortened. His intoxicating cologne swam around and got me drunk on him, he always smelt amazing.

His lips were gentle and pressed against mine with the lightest of pressures. Still testing the waters of my certainty. Seemingly unconvinced I was being serious, he began to remove himself from the close proximity we were sitting in.

Fuck it.

My hands flew to clasp the collar of his shirt. It was as if I suddenly gained superhuman strength as I pulled him towards me with such a force that our lips slammed together.

The air was knocked out of me, but at the same time, I was finally able to breathe.