Don't Stand So Close (completed)

Chapter 19*

The next two days of class are good. For the first time in many weeks I'm attentive and participate. I feel happy and I find myself with a little more confidence. Carter hasn't bothered me since he heard Harry tell him that I'm his girlfriend. I haven't seen Starla but she did text me back the night after we spoke. A simple text, I love you. That's more than I could dream of given our situation.

And now that Harry and I are talking again and have plans to see one another I'm absolutely elated. I'm shaking I'm so excited to see him and listen to his voice and look into his eyes but, it's all tampered by the truth of the situation. Because now Harry and I have the task of figuring out how to tell my parents. As I'm on my way to Harry's I'm going over ways for us to confront them about it. Of course my mind goes through all the scenarios of good and bad outcomes, but I know that no matter what, Harry and I are it. We've come this far.

Once at Harry's we're listening to music and eating pizza he ordered. He's telling me about how Angela called him last week and absolutely reamed him out. To my surprise, her words didn't seem to bother Harry as much as what she'd told him bothered me. She told him he was a pervert, possible pedophile (because he's known me since I was 17), mentally handicapped, and a lowlife.

"It's okay. She's never thought highly of me. There's little I could do to make her think I'm some great person so this comes as no surprise. She's always wanted a reason to justify her feelings of disdain toward me and now she has it." He shrugs. I am sitting as close to him as I can be at the kitchen table.

We discuss our hurt and make promises of how we'll behave from now on. That no matter what we are here for one another. No more cowardly running away from the problem, no more silent treatment, no more lies to anyone about us.

We've made a plan to visit my parents next Saturday morning before they both need to be at the restaurant. It's the only time that will work. We'd do it sooner but we need a little bit of peace before creating a new storm. We talk for hours and get out everything. Harry cries for a bit and I hold him. He was devastated by what I did and it kills me. I've caused so much hurt to people I love and it has me crying and then Harry's holding me. Everything is so emotional and so acute that we exhaust ourselves.

All of our soft touches and kisses are healing and it feels good just to be with him and he tells me the same. We wind up falling asleep together on his couch, wrapped up in one another, clinging on for dear life.

When I wake up it's dark outside. The music has stopped, the sun is down but there are still some lights on inside. I push myself up to look around and find the clock to read the time, 4:57AM. Harry stirs when he feels me moving in his arms and moans. His groggy morning moan is like music to my ears. I lay back down with my head over his chest and hum. I don't know what time we fell asleep but all of our tears and our grievances have been laid bare and it was tiring. But I don't want to be anywhere but here, in Harry's arms. He squeezes me tightly and I feel his body stretching long and he shakes the whole couch with the strong extension of his tired limbs.

"Let's get into the bed, okay? Think we passed out." He chuckles a little as we undo our tangled legs and I push myself off of him. We sit tiredly on the couch for a moment before I feel Harry's hand on my cheek, his fingers caressing my face. I close my eyes and lean into him and he draws me closer. I wrap my arms around him and he kisses the top of my head, "So glad you're here with me, baby. I love you."

I squeeze him hard as my heart pounds in my chest. I feel so lucky to be in his arms, "I love you so much, Harry."

We both get up as I'm still clutching onto Harry's middle. "Gonna turn off these lights. Get into bed, I'll be there in a sec." He removes my arms from him as he grins down at me. His hair is all over the place, a complete mess but a sexy mess. His clothes are crumpled and he's got lines on the side of his face from where he had his cheek pressed into the couch.