DEVOTION

chapter twelve -

A/N: I can't believe I'm saying this... No more foundation chapters after this one. That means hopefully faster updates... And a whole lot of crying. 

I wanna say thank you to Lina for helping me enormously on this chapter and the next several chapters, you're one of my favorite humans ever. And to Rashika, Audrey and Riana (hehe) for proof reading, and helping me plan. I love you, you're all pretty much cowriters at this point, put that on your resumes. 

I've said it every chapter but you're actually gonna hate me for the end of this chapter, and next chapter, and the chapter after that, and then the following chapter. Buckle the fuck up. Please. I'm actually so excited and nervous my hands are shaking as I'm typing so I'm sorry to Lina for taking five minutes on the authors note.

Here we go. Gonna cry. You can also listen to "Put On A Smile" by Silk Sonic, Meet Me In the Hallway by some dude named Harry Styles (?), and "Stay" by Gracie Abrams for equal pain. Enjoy... Please comment, I love you guys so bad.

Also this is so long I'm sorry.

HARRY'S POV  -

"Thanks man, I'll let you know what she says." I nod to Mitch, thanking him for holding the door open for me. "Yeah, I'll ask Sarah too." I step past him, carrying a tray into my bedroom where I left Eden.

Of course Jeff told me to take the day off. He's been encouraging me to enjoy it a little more but it's just difficult when I know he's as busy as he is, and I could be helping. But I didn't pass on his offer today, I just wanna spend it with Eden.

I know it's only gonna get harder to be around her the more time I spend... But I can't stay away, especially after waking up with her this morning. I wish it could've stayed the way it was when I woke her up, but I know she would've found it weird.

Mitch closes the door behind me, leaving Eden and I alone but I notice her shuffle in the bed and I smile to myself.

I made her pancakes. I considered waking her up and asking her if she'd like to help after Jeff gave me the all clear, but she looked too peaceful. I came back up to see if she'd woken up but she hadn't... And I just sat for a minute in awe of her. Maybe that's creepy, but she's just too fucking beautiful for me to not admire her. A large part of that has to do with her heart, and what I've learned of it. I've been given the opportunity to adore her, and even if it has to be from a far, I'll take what I can get.

So sure, I'd love to make pancakes with her, but I decided I'd like to let her sleep in as much as she wants. I imagine she doesn't do it often, and she didn't look upset or sad... She didn't go to sleep upset or sad.

I place the tray on the bedside table carefully, so as not to be loud, and watch her roll over in between the sheets, her hair wild around her. Her arms stop mid stretch as soon as her eyes land on me, and she lets out a breathy laugh, already making my heart flip.

"Good morning, darling." I purse my lips a little after speaking. I call her darling as if it's her name, at this point. "Bonjour, chéri" Her words spark the butterflies in my stomach, fluttering around as if it's a dance.

It's far too early to already feel this way. She's been awake for thirty seconds and she's already messing with my heart. She has to know how she's making me feel.

"Ooh, a new nickname, hm?" I tease, sitting myself against the headboard, my legs under the sheets. It's starting to get a bit cold in California despite it only being October... It's usually warm until November here, which feels wrong. But it's a bit chilly out today, making my feet cold from the tile.