Prove It (H.S)

Chapter Nine

Harry wraps his arms around me and pulls me closer to deepen our kiss. I drape my arms around his shoulders and lift myself onto his lap once again, making me forget about the disaster that took place only moments ago. He pulls his mouth from mine, his face still only centimeters away. "You are something special, Claire Hoffman." The way his accent seems to fill the whole room alone makes me smile.

"You are something special, too," the words fall awkwardly from my lips and Harry chuckles. "What do you say we go for a stroll, clear your head?" He suggests, resting his hands on my thighs. I pop my lower lip out into a childish pout and he laughs harder. "Oh come on, there will be plenty of time for this," he says as he plants a small kiss on the corner of my mouth. "I think what you really need right now is some fresh air."

I reluctantly agree and throw on a pair of flip-flops and my pink sweatshirt before following Harry out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry's POV~

As we walk down the narrow hallway towards the door, Claire subtly slips her small hand into mine. I smile at the gesture and lightly squeeze her dainty fingers. When I open the door, a cool breeze brushes my face and the sky is turning grayer by the minute. "It looks like it might rain," I say. She nods and swings my arm over her shoulder.

This feels so perfect. Her small body under my arm as we walk together. Pieces of her blonde hair peeking out of the pink hood over her head. She looks up at me suddenly, caution clear on her face. I crinkle my eyebrows in confusion and she tilts her head in the direction of two guys walking toward us. Niall and Louis. Great.

"Hey Mate," Louis pats my shoulder. "Nice to see you, Claire," he nods. "Hi Louis," the girl next to me says and I tighten my grip on her shoulder. Niall waves at me and I return it. "What are you two up to?" Louis asks and I want to slap the grin off his face. "Just taking a stroll, what are you two doing?" I ask as the rain starts to fall.

"We're getting out of here, come on Niall," he says, covering his head with his jacket and the two of them run off. "What do we do?" Claire looks up at me, the droplets clinging to her lashes only enhance the bright blue color of her eyes. "We sit under that tree," I point to a large evergreen across the path. "We'll just get more wet," she protests.

I grab her hand and lead her under the branches. She huffs. "It's no fun to sit in the rain." We sit down and I intertwine my fingers with hers. "Prove it," I say. "I can't," she responds, she's staring at me. I smile at her. "Then you don't know if it's true." She looks away from me out into the distance. "I guess not," she whispers, laying her head on my shoulder.

After a few moments of silence besides the quiet patter of the rain, she turns her head to look at me. "You were right," she says. "About what?" I ask her, stroking her palm. "It's nice to watch the rain. It's relaxing." I smile at her and she returns it. "I still want to go back inside though." I laugh and help her to her feet.

The rain begins to let up a bit and the lads return to the lawns to play frisbee and the bicyclers resume their rides. "Come to my dorm tonight." She tugs the hood from her head and runs her fingers through her hair. "Really? Won't Louis be there?" I shake my head. "I'll find someway to get rid of him for the night. I'll ask him to make plans with Christine or something."

She tries to hide a smile but it breaks through anyway. "Okay," she replies, swaying our hands back and forth between us. We reach the entrance to her dormitory and she pulls her hand from mine and turns to face me. "It's a date." I nod and kiss her cheek. "It's a date."