White Horse

Chapter 36: "Oh Harry"

~Caden's pov~I woke up to the smell of bacon and waffles and then the sound of glass breaking and a loud yelp. Tossing the covers off of my legs, I grabbed my phone and glasses and ran down stairs to see what happened.I entered the only place the sound could come from: the kitchen. Entering the kitchen was like entering a war zone. There was a mess everywhere; waffle mix on the walls and ceiling, broken glass scattered on the floor in little shards, bits and pieces of egg and clumpy flour clung onto the counter tops, milk was dripping off the table, and water was over flowing the sink and spilling onto the floor. The boys were no better conditions. Harry was mopping up the water with egg yolk nestled in his hair and waffle batter splattered on his nose and cheek. Niall was setting the table and was drenched in milk and sugar. Zayn was kneeling on the counter top trying to get the waffle mix off of the ceiling with flour all over his shirt and face. Liam was picking the glass off the floor with his face covered in sugar and bacon bits sticking to his shirt. Louis, my dear Louis, who was pouring the waffle mix into the waffle pan, was the worst. There was eggs and waffle bits in his hair, his shirt was soaked through with milk and water, his face was covered with flour and egg shells and sugar, and his arms were caked with flour. Devon was miraculously the only one clean, save for the little spot of water on his shirt. "What is going on in here?" I asked trying to take in the whole scene. They all looked up at me at once, sheepish grins etched into each face. "We were trying to make breakfast," Louis shrugged, flipping his egg matted hair out of his sugary face. He shot me a smile before returning to the waffle batter. "You let them do this?" I set my glare on Liam, who hung his head shamefully. "I'm sorry Caden. It was my idea," Harry pitched, dragging my attention away from Liam. At first I was shocked that he directly addressed me, and then I was even more shocked when he kept talking. "And most of this is my fault. I dropped the cup of milk, which was what shattered, and it hit the batter which went flying. That's how it got on the ceiling. The batter hit me in the face and I fell back onto the flour and it went up in a cloud. Niall couldn't see and hit the gallon of milk which spilt all over him and made him fall onto the floor and that's how it got into his hair. As I tried to help him up some of the eggs dropped and got every where. Somehow Louis got in the middle of this and that's why he's all dirty. And the water is over flowing because Devon was washing the dishes before this all happened." "You have the worst luck don't you Harry," I sighed rubbing my forehead and screwing my eyes closed. He hummed in agreement before returning to the mop and water. "Wait. Bear, are you wearing glasses?" Zayn asked, looking at me thoughtfully. In my haste to get down here, I hadn't had time to put in my contacts and the closest thing was my glasses. "Yea. This a rare thing so enjoying making fun of me while it lasts," i mumbled, walking towards Harry who was next to the coffee machine so I could make myself a cup. As I was pouring the black liquid into a mug, I heard Harry whisper: "I think you look beautiful." My cheeks flushed and I quickly turned my face so he couldn't see. "Do we have any milk left?" I asked no one in particular. "There's another gallon left in the fridge," Niall answered."Thanks Ni."After putting some milk and sugar into the cup so it was exactly how I liked it, I took my coffee upstairs so I could get dressed. I quickly got my clothes on in about twenty minutes then headed back downstairs. When I walked back into the kitchen it was already half way cleaned. Impressive. "Okay. One of you go shower and I'll help clean," I announced, placing my empty mug into the now water free sink. "I'm going to wash up first. I'll be back to help as soon as I get all of this egg out of my hair," Louis said. No one argued as he walked away, since he somehow ended up the dirtiest. The rest of the mess was cleaned in about ten minutes now that the house goof was gone. When Louis came back, squeaky clean in new clothes, Harry took off to take the next shower.I went over to the pan that held the bacon and munched on the ones that weren't burn to ashes. After filling my belly with waffles and burned bacon, I grabbed my riding boots and headed outside. The greeting I got from Rebel when I entered his stable all but made up for the terrible mood I had been in lately. "Hey baby. I've missed you," I cooed running my fingers through his mane. Even though I had gotten my boot off not to long ago the doctor had ordered me to not ride. She said that I could easily re-damage my ankle so I shouldn't use it other than for walking. But I got the go ahead from her yesterday morning so I was free to ride. "Ready for a ride?" I asked as I walked into the next stall to grab his riding gear. Once he was all loaded up, I swung my leg over his back and settled into the saddle. I applied light pressure to his sides with my heels and he took off, trotting out of the stables. ~Louis pov~"Where's Ashtyn?" I asked, looking out the window and watching Caden as she rode around. "She's still sleeping. I think. If not she's watching tv in our room," Devon replied, dealing out the cards. Everyone but me, was sitting around the coffee table so Devon could teach them a new game. I wasn't sure what they were playing but it seemed complicated. "You wanna play Louis?""No thanks. I'll watch."Once he was done dealing, he place four cards from the deck face up on the caffe table. "Okay this game is called Games. Each player starts and ends with four cards. No more no less. The goal is for you to make a book, kidda like in go fish. Once you make Games you have to single to you partner that you've made a book, but you have to do it discretely. If another team sees that you've made Games they can shout Cut Game and win a point. But if you manage to signal you partner and then they shout Games you win a point. Which ever team has the most point win.""So what are these four cards for?" Niall asked pointing at the cards on the coffee table. "To be able to make a book you have to trade out cards. If you pick one up you have to put one down. Once no one is picking up cards I'll put those away and pull out four more," Devon explained. "We'll play a dummy round for yall to understand. Lou, you wanna be the card dealer?""Sure," I shrugged sitting at the end of the table. "what are the teams?""Me and Harry. Liam and Niall. Zayn doesn't have a team so he has to sit this out." "Well in that case. Z you wanna be my partner?" "Sure," he replied, reaching for the cards that Devon passed over to him face down. I grabbed my own set of cards and looked them over. Two tens, a queen, and a six. "You guys might want to make a signal for when you make a book. Try to think up something that others wouldn't think of but is easy enough for only your partner to recognize," Devon added. I got up from my spot and headed over to Zayn so we could make up a signal. "When you have a book tap your cards two times," Zayn whispered into my ear. Seemed easy enough. When the game began, it was a little confusing but I quickly caught on. After a bunch of rounds, we were all playing like we had been doing this for years. Devon and Harry were winning by three points at 16, then there was Zayn and I at 13, and Liam and Niall at 11. Just as Zayn and I were about to win the next round, Caden walked into the living room. "Ooo. You guys are playing Games! When yall are finished I want in!" She turned around and headed upstairs, most likely to change into some sweats. "First one to twenty wins?" Devon suggested. Then he looked at me, "cut game!""Dammit Zayn, I've hade games for the last two rounds! Why don't you look at me?!" I shouted tossing my book of fives across the table. "Whoops," he shrugged, handing Devon his cards. He had three fours and a king. "One more point for us!" Harry shouted, slamming his cards down on the table. "This is too easy."Devon chuckled as he collected the cards and then shuffled them up. "That's cause you have me."~Caden's pov~ After changing into sweats, I started to make my way downstairs to play Games with the boys. As I made my way out of my room, I accidentally bumped into Ash. "Hi," I said, shifting awkwardly on the balls of my feet. "Hey," she replied, looking just as awkward as I felt. "I'm sorry," we blurted in unison. Her lips cracked into a small smile. I'm pretty sure my face mirrored hers "I really am sorry for starting this tension between us. I shouldn't have brought anything up," she mumbled, picking at the skin around her fingers. "It's okay Ash. I'm sorry for making you feel left out and neglected. I never meant for you to feel like that," I replied, tackling her in a hug. She was stiff for a few seconds before wrapping her arms around me. "I love you Caddie Waddie.""I love you to Ashy Washy," I giggled. "Now come on, they're playing Games downstairs.""If only your dad were here, then I could be on his team while you were on Devon's." She chuckled, looping her arm through mine as we made our way downstairs. "I'm still going to be on Devon's team. I hope you know that," I said pointedly, nudging her shoulder with mine. "Yea. Of course I know. I guess I'll just steal his partner," she replied with a shrug. "I think it's Harry.""Oh joy. We're going to lose miserably."~Louis pov~ After Caden went up stairs, we played the next round. Of course Harry and Devon won again. Devon was a pro at kicking our asses. They were the first to reach twenty. As Devon was shuffling the cards for the next round, Caden and Ashtyn came downstairs giggling at some inside joke. "Who won?" Caden asked, sitting next to my left. Smack dab in the middle of Harry and I. "We did," Harry grinned, giving Devon a high five. "Sweet. You guy ready for the next game?" She giggled, rubbing her hands together as if she was an evil witch from one of those old movies. "Devon, you're on my team right?""Always Caddie," he replied, handing out the cards. "What about me?" Harry protested. "Sorry man, but Caddie and I are always a team for this game," he shrugged. "So who am I going to be with?""That would be me!" Ash interrupted. I looked over at Devon's left to see her seated with her elbows on the table. "Are you any good?" Harry asked, looking kinda pouty. "The best," she grinned. "Now come over here so we can come up with a signal."~1 hour later~ "I think they won every round but one," Harry groaned, hitting his head on the coffee table. "It's not our fault we're good," Caden grinned, nudging his shoulder. He stiffened and ignored her, getting up from the table and walking into the kitchen. Caden stood up, her face a furious red color that couldn't be healthy, and followed after him. "Shit's about to hit the fan," Niall mumbled as we all shot up and crowded the entrance to the kitchen, trying to be careful to not be seen. "Guys no. They need to work this out by themselves without prying ears. We're going to the backyard," Ash scolded herding us away from the kitchen. "But-" I began to protest. I was cut off by her evil glare. "Don't start Tomlinson," she growled, as we began to walk away. ~Caden's pov~"Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" I hissed, putting my hands on my hips. Harry was at the cupboard grabbing a cup. "Nothing wrong," he said coolly, walking over to the fridge to grab his drink. "If there's a problem Harry you need to talk to me so we can solve it. Ignoring me is only going to make it worse.""There's no problem Caden.""Oh really? Then why are you so hot and cold. Ignoring me one minute then talking to me the next. Out of everyone here Harry, you're the one I'm closest to."He chuckled darkly, "What about Louis? Your boyfriend?"I shook my head, "Not even him. You should know Harry. You should know how much you mean to me. I can't stand how you're acting.""It's to painful to be around you," he growled, keeping his voice down. We both knew that there was a possibility the others were listening in just outside the entrance. I put my finger up to tell him to be quiet as I peaked my head outside the kitchen. To my relief everyone was outside. "Why? What so wrong with me that it hurts to just be near me?""The way your eyes crinkle when you smile and your right dimple is deeper than your left. The way your laugh sounds like music and it makes me want to do anything to hear it again. The way your eyes change color depending on your mood, like right after you cry they look almost green and when your happy they're the lightest shade of hazel with green flecks. How your so passionate about everything you do, even if it's cleaning the house and especially when you're taking care of five idiots on a daily basis. It's the small things about you Caden Gabriella Jones that make me go crazy and it's painful because I can't call you mine. You break me with every stolen kiss you share with Louis. You tear me apart with the blushes when he whispers in your ear. You shatter the frail stability of my mind when you look at me like I'm the one thing you've always wanted but could never have and then when you turn around and look at Louis like he's all you've got. I'm falling deeper in love with you each day but you're completely oblivious."I was stunned into silence. My mouth was numb, and my brain was a scrambled mess. He loves me. He loves me. Harry loves me. Harry's in love with me... And... I'm in love with him too. "I can't... I don't..." I stuttered, dropping my arms from their defensive state. He looked at me expectantly, like he expected me to say it back. And I wanted to, I really wanted to, but I couldn't do to Louis what Matt did to me. "Oh Harry.""I know. I know I was a fool and I am so sorry. I came too late and I realize that. But I can't help who I love Caden. You've made me, me again. You've made me whole and you make me happy. I love who I am with you, I love that you bring out the better in me. But most importantly I love being with you. I love the way you shiver when I get close. I love how your cheeks light up when I say something to you. I love the effect I have on you whenever I'm around. And don't think that it's just you, cause I get that way to. Every time you touch me it feels like my skin is on fire and my heart is going to beat out of my chest. When ever you talk, I desperately want to keep the conversation going just to hear you. I'm a love sick fool, but I know I'm too late."Tears streamed down my face, but I made no move to wipe them away. Instead, Harry stepped as close as he could get, cupping my face in his hands, and brushing the tears from my cheeks. I leaned into his hands, sighing in absolute content. "Oh Harry.""Say it again," he whispered, closing his eyes. "Say my name like I'm the only person you could ever love."I stood on my tip-toes to reach his ear, covered by his chocolate curls. In the softest of whispers I said his name, "Harry."