Poppy/H.S

Chapter 20

I honestly don't even want to imagine what would have happened if Harry and Poppy hadn't helped me with finishing the birthday cake for my friend two weeks ago, when my anxiety was the worst it had ever been. The two popped out of nowhere in front of my house, wanting to surprise me with the cookies they had baked together, and to be frank, I don't think I've ever witnessed anything cuter than that. I've added this day to the list of my favourite memories, and I wish everything could be just as easy as it seems whenever Harry is around, the sweet scent of his musky vanilla perfume stuck in the air. I've come to realise his presence affects me more than I'd like to admit.

When I called him later that day to thank him for helping me frost and decorate the cake, I was happy for not purchasing an iPhone, because if we had been on facetime, he would have definitely seen how flushed my face was. All I wanted to do was thank him and end the call, but I clearly didn't expect our phonecall to turn into a nice, enjoyable conversation that lasted for longer than ten minutes. This has left me wondering if Harry was just being kind enough, trying to keep the conversation going or if he actually enjoyed talking to me just as much as I enjoyed talking to him.

A smile gets painted on my face as I try to remember the phonecall in detail, every word he said stuck in my head.

"Hello?" he answers the phone on the sixth ring, and I can't believe I was counting. Instead of fumbling nervously around my room, I decide to sit on my bed instead.

"Hey, Harry. It's, um, Valentine," I let the awkward words fly out of my mouth.

"Val, hello. Knew it was you, I've got your number saved, remember?" he teases me and I swear I can hear the smirk in his voice.

"Right," I reply, blood painting my cheeks red, "Listen, I was wondering if you got home safe?"

"The traffic in London was terrible as always, but we made it safe," he chuckles, "Poppy fell asleep in the car."

"She must have been knackered, huh?"

"Yeah, you bet. Decorating that cake really tired her down."

"That's why I'm calling, actually," I takes a lot of courage for me to get straight to the point.

"Oh, so you're not calling just to check in if we made it home safely?" the tone of his voice changes.

"Um, I, oh, of course I am," I reply awkwardly.

"Chill out, I'm just teasing you. Why is it that you're calling, Val?" he chuckles.

"You like teasing me, don't you?" I ask him cheekily.

"Oh, crap, am I in trouble?" he fakes being shocked.

"You're lucky I'm calling because of something else."

"And what's that?" he wonders.

"I wanted to thank you for helping me with the cake today. It meant a lot to me. I would have been so lost otherwise," I say honestly.

"You have nothing to thank me for, love. If so, I should be the one thanking you for not telling us to get the fuck out of your house when we showed up unannounced," he laughs, making me bite on my lower lip.

"You know, I would never do that."

"I know, you're too kind," he says, and I swear and I could hear the smile in his voice. "Can I be honest with you?"

"Sure," I clear my throat.

"Sometimes I wonder what you're like in court. You're one of the kindest people I've ever met, you're almost too pure to be arguing with some douchebags in court," he says.