Him.

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

“Hi beautiful” he spoke. I blushed as I bowed my head. I had never been compliment as often as Harry did so I wasn’t used to it, to say the least. He took me by the hand before nodding at my mum in approval. She smiled and closed the door to leave us to it. He opened the gate for me and guided me out with his hand. I quickly strode past him, feeling his gaze watching me as I walked by. A slight hum fell from his lips which made me think that he was happy with what he saw.

We stood for a second whilst Harry looked me up and down. He shyly smiled and said “come on then” whilst making a gesture over towards his car. He opened the door for me and led me up as it was harder in my heels. Making sure I was in the car safely, Harry then closed the door behind me and made his way round to the driver’s side of the car. Once both of us were securely fastened into the car, we pulled away from our street and headed for the party.

***

We pulled up in a dark alleyway which made me anxious, as I’d never been here before, but Harry being Harry was there to keep me safe. He took my hand and squeezed it tightly. I smiled at him. He winked and gracefully got out of the car and helped me out of my side. I still had no idea where we were and I couldn’t see the resemblance of a party for miles around us. I was confused and apprehensive. Was there really a party, or did Harry just want to take me to a dark alley to scare me? Whatever it was, I knew I had to trust Harry until he made me not trust him, so I clung onto his large hand which made him smile.

“It’s this way” he gestured and gently pulled me up onto the kerb in the street and led me in the direction to this so called party. However, when we turned the corner, there was still no sign of a party or any one in sight, which did make me feel a little on edge as it dawned on me that I had only met Harry two days ago and I saw last night just what he was capable of.

“Not far now” he uttered as we continued to walk down the ever increasing dark alley. My hand gripped tighter around Harry’s when a gust of wind blew my dress slightly up. He smirked and rubbed over my knuckles with his thumb which almost instantly soothed me.

“Here we are!” he said. Still in the middle of nowhere, there was no party to be seen. “What?” I questioned, looking around uncertainly. He pointed to steps that lead upwards and carefully guided me up them to the top. At the top of the steps was a small restaurant that was dimly lit by candles and lamps. Still looking puzzled, Harry just laughed at me. “Don’t worry, you’re safe.” He reassured. Still not knowing where we were going, Harry pulled me into the restaurant which was practically deserted. A waitress came to the front of the restaurant and smiled greatly at Harry. “Table for Styles” he uttered. “Right this way!” she spoke as she lead us to a table in the corner.

We sat down at the table, still stunned at where we were, my gaze focussed on Harry. “Okay, I lied.” He admitted. I said nothing, still looking at him. “I wanted to take you out, but didn’t really want to ask you.” He blushed slightly. My heart melted at his romantic gesture and I leant forward and touched his hand. He looked down, his dark brown curls falling over his eyes again. I smiled at him, even though he wasn’t looking. I couldn’t believe he had been this cute. “So, what shall we have? All on me” he said. I shook my head and smiled, I really didn’t expect this at all.

We ordered our food and had just a short time to wait until it was brought to us. Harry had a burger and I had spaghetti. You could tell by looking around the restaurant that it wasn’t cheap, so Harry clearly had a job in order to pay for this. I couldn’t help but catch his eyesight every time we looked up and we clearly both felt the same. However, something was really troubling me about Harry, something that I really didn’t want to ask him. Maybe if I plucked up the courage it would be fine, but what if I knew the answer and instantly got turned off him. I decided to wait, instead of ruining the meal.

Once we had eaten, Harry had no trouble in paying for the meal. He then picked up my jacket from the back of my chair and helpfully assisted me in putting it back over my shoulders. He then reached his hand out for mine but I remained still. He laughed and grabbed it himself before dragging me out of the restaurant and back out into the cold.

As we were walking back down the dark alleyway, the conversation had pretty much stopped and therefore we just walked silently. My hands were growing sweaty from clinging to Harry since the restaurant but I really didn’t want to let go, especially as we were in the dark and he made me feel so safe.

“Harry?” I uttered. He turned his head to look at me. His gorgeous green eyes focussing on mine. “Yeah?” he almost whispered. I then felt a massive lump in my throat as I began to feel nervous about the question I was about to ask. “erm, well, erm” I stuttered. He stopped and turned towards me so we were facing each other. He cupped his large hand under my chin so our eye line was equal. “Yes baby?” my stomach did a somersault as the words were forced from my mouth. “How old are you?”

There was a silence and I began to grow more impatient awaiting his reply. He bowed his head, curls flopping over his forehead. “How old do you think I am?” he replied. “I don’t know, erm 20?” I guessed. He laughed. “And how old do you want me to be?” he asked. Shit. I couldn’t really say any different in case he actually was 20 but if he was 20, that made me feel slightly uncomfortable. I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t find the words to reply so I just shrugged. He smiled, but not quite revealing his dimples. There was silence. I shook his hand in an attempt to persuade him to reply. He laughed again. “Don’t be silly, I’ll be 19 in February” a sudden gush of relief was sent through my body. “Why? How old are you?” he questioned. “I was 16 in July” I replied. I was slightly embarrassed as I was clearly a lot younger than him, but it didn’t bother me as much as I thought.

“I thought you seemed cute” he smiled. I blushed and bowed my head. “Come on missy, it’s getting cold!” he guided me back down the alleyway and to his car where he again helped me up and closed the door over. He securely buckled his seatbelt and turned on the ignition before we were driving in the direction of our homes.

***

As we pulled up outside my house, Harry turned and looked to me. “I’ll come in with you, to make sure there’s no dickheads in your house again” he winked. I shoved him on the arm in a playful fight before he grabbed my wrists and kissed the back of my hands. Even in a fight with me, he always came out cute.

He released me from the car and guided me up to the house. I let him in and he did a quick check of the whole house before reassuring me that there was no one else there. I smiled and thanked him for helping and we walked back to the front door.

Harry stepped down from the front door and turned so we were face to face. Even though he was on a step lower than me, he was still slightly taller than me. “Thank you for a lovely evening” I said. He cupped underneath my chin and smiled. “My pleasure” he whispered. He rubbed over my bottom lip with his thumb and then stared straight into my eyes. No matter how many times he did this, each time, it always gave me a funny feeling in my stomach. “Goodnight beautiful” he whispered and kissed me on the corner of my mouth. “Goodnight” I quietly replied. He smiled and turned away to walk to the end of the path. He let himself through the gate where he was stood in the street light again. He winked and bowed his head before turning to walk back to his apartment block. “Good night” I whispered to myself. I smiled and quietly closed the door, making sure that I had definitely locked it.