Meet Me in the Hallway (HS AU)

fifty four.

On this day a year ago, I put out chapter 1. That's wild! Thank you each and everyone of you that have stuck with me ❤️
*****

"You look so pretty, baby." Harry whispered in my ear and wrapped his arms around my waist.

We had gotten back to the house and all decided that we'd call it a night, we were all exhausted after working and travelling. I had opted to leave our curtain open while I got ready for bed, the way the moon reflected off the beach wasn't something I wanted to hide away.

"I'm literally in my pajamas with cleanser on my face but I appreciate it. How tired are you?" I met his gaze through the mirror in front of me, a cheeky smile on his lips as he tightened his arms around my stomach.

"You're still cute. I'm a little tired, but I don't think I can fall asleep yet. Why's that?"

My head tilted back to rest on his shoulder and my eyes closed contently. He was so warm and inviting, his hold brought me a great deal of comfort and safety. I had been thinking alot this week about him, about me, about us. Obviously I wanted to be with him in a committed relationship because in such a short time he has shown me so much care and if I wasn't so afraid of the emotion, I would think it was love.

"Wanna go sit on the beach with me, handsome?" His lips twitched up into a shy smile at my question.

"Hmm, sit on the beach with a pretty girl? Sounds like quite a night."

Two towels were sat on the sand to save our skin from irritation and we shared a blanket thrown around our shoulders. He didn't think I noticed that he picked a spot far from the water to place the towels, but I noticed. He was so thoughtful about things like that. My temple was resting on his shoulder and his cheek on my head as we admired the way the moon reflected off the water.

This truly was the best weekend to do a trip like this. It was beautiful during the day but not too hot and a little chilly at night but not too cold. Being a bigger girl, I didn't handle the heat well. As much as I loved cute sundresses and pretty hats, the way sweat would create painful friction on my thighs was enough to deter me from leaving the house sometimes.

"Talk to me, pretty girl." Harry's shoulder gently nudged me back to the present.

"You know for someone who used to try and make my day painful, you sure do call me pretty a lot."

He let out a chuckle, "well it was obvious you had a crush on me but I just didn't know how to tell you we were only colleagues and now I'm in too deep." I smacked his chest as he promised he was only kidding before we quietened down again.

"What's the most reckless thing you've ever done?" The question felt right at the time but as soon as they passed my lips, I felt like a 13 year old playing 20 questions.

Harry seemed to pause for a moment, uncertain of his answer. It looked like his mind was running at a million miles a minute. A childlike giggle fell from him before he was sitting up a bit straighter, ready to answer the question.

"To set the scene, I was 16. It was at a party, the party was in like a shed thing in the middle of nowhere. Everyone was legless at this point and we decided to go bodyboarding. Now keep in mind that this was in the middle of nowhere, England. We didn't have a beach nearby so we thought fuck it, you know, we'll make our own waves. I was very impressionable when I was 16, okay? So I volunteered to go bodyboarding first.

Bodyboarding pretty much entailed one person laying on the roof of a car with the windows up, you had to find something to hold on to. The driver who was equally as intoxicated, sped as fast as they could down this dirt road and tried to flick you off the roof.

I was so sure I would hold on until the finish line but with how much I had drank and how boney I was when I was 16, I stood no chance so I flew off the roof and into a ditch. Ripped the skin all up my arms and back, broke my wrist, punctured a lung and broke a few ribs. The doctors said I was lucky to be alive but all I can ever seem to remember is how free those few seconds in the air felt. What about you, huh?"

I thought about it, there were many reckless things I had done in my life. I had gotten in a car with 10 other people while drunk and driven home, I had stood on the thin railing of a bridge, I had tried to pierce my own nipples while in high school. One of the most reckless things I had ever done though was stay with Will, but it came second to the most reckless thing I had ever done.

"Surrendering whole heartedly to you." My voice was hardly above a whisper. I sort of wished he didn't hear my revelation, but the way his head snapped in my direction indicated otherwise.

His eyes were wide, any sense of tiredness had disappeared from his face. The hand that had been resting on my thigh came up to grip the collar of my shirt and I was roughly pulled towards him, lips crashing together in a needy mess. Just as quick as it started, it ended, leaving me flustered.

"What was that?" I asked in disbelief, my lips were hot and puffy and my skin was tingling.

"Affection."

"Disgusting," my lips held the biggest smile as he raised his eyebrow in question, "do it again."

We sat on the beach for a while. I didn't really check the time when we made it back to the house, we just fell asleep together. Now that I know how well I sleep when Harry holds me at night, I don't think I'd be able to sleep well without him.

Regardless of the late night we had, both Harry and I jumped out of bed as soon as light shone through the window. No one else was awake yet so we basked in the silence while we ate some breakfast and overlooked the beach. It was very peaceful, the moments we shared just enjoying each others company. That was until a sick feeling settled in my stomach.

Harry must have noticed my face change because he was quick to ask me if I was ok and what was wrong.

"Something bad is going to happen today, I can just tell."