Prince and the Pauper

Chapter Seventeen

My mouth dropped open as we entered the main room where people were mingling. Woman in elegant dresses and dazzling jewellery flirted with men in smart suits, and couples gracefully floated across the dance floor. I instantly felt out of place, like I was dressed in all black at the beach on a hot summers day. Harry reassuringly kissed  my cheek, and carried us across the white marble floor. People stopped their conversation or waltzing on the dancing floor to stare at us as we passed, and I fastened my gaze to the floor. Whispers were exchanged and I made a sound that embarrassingly resembled a puppy locked outside. Harry ignored the rude stares and wrapped his strong arms around me, pulling me into him, a gesture I had grown to love. The sense of security that came with his contact was something magical.
"They're only staring because you look so beautiful." Harry smiled, and my lips thinned into a straight line.
"No, they're staring because they recognize me as the mud-rud girl who tried to tarnish the Styles name." I corrected sharply. Harry stared at me intensely for a moment before running his hands down my face and down to my neck, using his thumbs to tilt my head upwards to meet his gaze.
"Then let's give them something to really stare at." Harry whispered with a glint of fire in his eyes. Then his lips were tangling themselves with mine, and I smiled into the kiss, and I felt Harry's  lips tilt upwards too. From my peripheral version I could see people gasp, but a few even smiled at the scandalous sight. I closed my eyes to the on-going commentary, and focussed myself into the beautiful man in front of me. My lips parted as he pulled my waist in so tightly I felt every inch of him, and he used the shock to snake his tongue into my mouth. We finally drew back, and the looks on everybody's faces were priceless. Harry licked his lips slowly, and then he was leading me through the awe-struck crowd, who parted like the red sea as we passed by. I had to bite my lip to contain my giggle at how Harry had handled the situation. A waiter held out a tray of champagne to us, and Harry thanked him as he took two glasses, and handed one to me.
"Might help steady your nerves." Harry grinned as I took a sip.
"If I'm weak at the knees now it has nothing to do with nerves." I flashed a coy smile and Harry made a deep sound that had my body tingling. Or perhaps that was the alcohol, but I knew Harry had a stronger effect on me than what a glass of expensive champagne could ever do. Hell, one charming smile and I had a rush of blood to the head.
"Harry, darling." We spun to see Monica Styles sashay her way through couples who had returned to dancing. Monica looked like a model despite her having had two kids, and I slightly envied her for it. She wore a long red dress that clung tightly to her slender body, with red painted nails as well as lips. Her smile widened as we looked at me, and I smiled politely back.
"Devonne, you look so beautiful, honey." She complimented me genuinely, and I mumbled a shy thanks. "I told Harry you'd look sinful in white." She winked, and Harry rolled his eyes playfully, before pressing a light kiss to his mothers cheek.
"I already had a good idea on the dress before your input." Harry grumbled, and I laughed at his slightly flustered state.
"Oh I bet. He's talked non-stop about you from the moment he met you."
"Mother." Harry groaned, his voice deepening slightly, and Monica and I shared a conspirators smile.
"Oh don't be embarrassed, darling," she waved her perfectly manicured hand, "I can see the way Devonne looks back at you. An instant attraction between two people is rare, you know." Her smile softened. "I should know, given how messed up my own marriage is." She shrugged lightly, and Harry placed a hand on his mothers shoulder.
"Hey, father has his own faults too." He defended, and she smiled painfully.
"Devonne, I want you to know despite what my adulterous actions may imply of me, there is a lot you don't understand. And Harry is certainly nothing like me. He takes care of his girl." I nodded in understanding and she sighed in relief.
"I didn't think poorly of you at all." I replied honesty, and Harry beamed up at my comment. 
"That's very sweet." Monica laughed, the sound bubbly like the sparkling champagne in my hand.  "Well I shall leave you two lovers alone." She sweetly fare welled, before departing off into the crowd once more. I faced my body towards Harry and smirked up at him.
"Oh Lordy." Harry moaned as he saw what was coming.
"You've talked about me non-stop?" I flattened a hand to my chest. "Harry, I'm touched." Harry let out a deep laugh, and his dazzling eyes met mine.
"I haven't touched you yet, Angel." His suggestive comment had me choking on a mouthful of champagne, and Harry regained his confident demeanour.
"I'm no Angel." I tried to compose myself, but now the dangerous thought was in my head, and I couldn't think straight. Rather, I could, but not on the right thing.
"I think you are." Harry stepped in closer. "Innocent, and in all white." His hand curled around my hip.
"But sooner or later I'm going to claim those wings, Angel." He winked, and my stomach fluttered just like a pair of real wings would.
"And then what will I be?" I questioned. "If you took away my innocent wings," we both knew what we were implying, and Harry's face grew serious, "if you took them away what would that make me to you? Just another fallen lover?" Harry raised his spare hand from my waist, and ran it up my spine, igniting a fiery trail with his touch, until he pulled the tie from my ponytail carefully, my long, straightened hair cascading down my lower back. He smiled, and his hand tilted my head up to stare into his eyes.
"It would leave you stuck with me for eternity." He spoke with such sincerity, and his words made my heart swell, and I instantly rose on my toes, pressing a short and sweet kiss to his lips.
"May I have this dance, Angel?" Harry inquired, and I nodded. Harry took our emptied glasses and placed them on a tray of a passing waitress, before taking my hand and leading us to the dance floor. His left hand took hold of mine, and his right landed on my waist, whilst my spare hand rested on his right shoulder. Slowly, we floated around, and I smiled into his warm chest, enjoying the intimate yet innocent embrace. We moved in time to the music, and his hand stretched our arms out and I spun, before he drew me back in, his hand moving to my lower back, and I dipped, Harry slowly bringing my body back up in a slow arc. Our bodies connected again, and we slowly swayed back and forth until the song was finished. Even when the music had stopped we remained in each others arms, and our eyes stared into one another blazing with passion.
"Devonne." Harry whispered my name like it was a long kept secret. "I l-"
"Harry." Harry was cut off mid-sentence, and our gazes broke. We looked over his shoulder, only to see a man I recognized and instantly all light and bubbliness drifted from my body, and was replaced with cold, hard, hatred.
"Father." Harry forced a polite tone, but it was nothing like when he was speaking with his mother.
"Can we talk for a moment? You've been avoiding me for days now." Drake Styles was a handsome man, but his green eyes were cold, hard. Void of any emotion. His hair was short, light brown, and he was well built. Intimidating.
"I'm busy." Harry's voice was curt. Struggling to remain civil. Drake's eyes met mine, and I swallowed, fear lacing with anger.
"I'm sure your lady friend can wait." He flashed a smile, but it wasn't friendly. I internally scoffed at the term 'lady friend.' We all knew he was perfectly aware who I was.
"I'm sure you can wait." Harry retaliated.
"Harry." I spoke up, but my eyes never left Drake. The man had helped Dante get away with attacking my brother, he was just as evil as Dante was, and I wanted the monster to know he couldn't bend me like he could with anybody else. "I'll be fine. I could do with some fresh air." I gestured towards the balcony over-looking the night sky.
"You see?" Drake smirked at his son. "I won't keep you long." Harry turned to face me, his hands landing on my shoulders.
"I'll meet you out on the balcony." Harry smiled, and I nodded. "I won't be long. I promise." I smiled before Harry stalked off with his father. I balled my fists as I watched them disappear out into the foyer where we had entered, finding it hard to  keep my anger in control. Taking a deep breath I strolled off to the balcony. The cool night air greeted me as I leaned against the rail. My now free hair fluttered out behind me, and I closed my eyes, trying to force off my murderous thoughts of Drake Styles. My mind wandered  back to Harry before we were interrupted. 
"Devonne. I l-"  Harry had started to say. What was he going to say? 'love you'? Could that possibly be what he was about to confess? The thought terrified me and thrilled me at the same time. How on earth would I have responded. Was I in love with Harry? The idea seemed laughable. We were too different, too emotionally compromised by our brothers. Loving Harry would be like trying to walk through quick sand. The harder we tried the faster we would sink, and yet we would still sink if we tried nothing at all. Harry had taken all hostility I had held for him and turned it into the other extreme. It seemed impossible. We had only known each other for five days. Five short, passionate, action-packed, and twists-filled days. Whatever we were feeling it was out of our control, and gaining more and more momentum with every passing second.
"It's beautiful out here, isn't  it?" A friendly voice asked. Startled, I spun to see a tall, beyond muscular man. His hair was as black as the night sky, and he had dark stubble all around his mouth, but his brown eyes were kind.
"Sorry, do I know you?" I asked, the dark stranger smiled.
"No, but I know of you." He walked up to me and leaned against the rail beside me.
"And you are?"
"Zaiden." The stranger shook my hand. "Best friend of the man I assume your thinking of." My mouth made an 'O' shape, and he laughed deeply.
"I gotta say, I was worried when my mate first told me about you. He has pretty strong feelings for you, ya know, love. I was concerned it would be a case of unrequited love. But then I saw the way you looked at him when we two were dancing together." He smiled, and it instantly flooded out any doubt.  
"How do I look at him?" I asked curiously.
"I can't explain it." Zaiden shrugged. "Like you've finally found the missing piece to the puzzle you've been stuck on for far too long. Like you're complete."
"Harry's a great guy." I murmured softly.
"He is." Zaiden agreed. "I don't suppose he told you how we first met?" I shook my head, and he boomed with laughter.
"Selfish SOB." He joked, and I smiled back. "I used to be broke. And when I say broke I mean I lived in a quaint little corner on Grover Place." He spoke with enthusiasm which was odd given the story he was telling, but he performed it well, and I couldn't help but eagerly listen on. "I gambled away my inheritance, not that my parents had much to pass on, bless their cheap-arsed souls." He made a cross symbol, and we laughed loudly, not caring what attention we drew from inside. I had only just met him, but the way he held himself was so much like myself, I felt like I wasn't in the company of just another trust-fundy.
"Harry passed me every day, and would put five pounds in my bucket every day. Of course the first time I saw him I thought he was a cheap-skate given the suit, but graciously accepted it,  and flipped the birdy once he passed." I giggled into my hands, enjoying the story, and Zaiden grinned like he enjoyed he was entertaining a crowd.
"Then he did the same the next day, and the next. Five months he did that. A brisk smile, not a single word, and five pounds cash. Then one day, he stopped in front of me. I looked up at him with my yeti beard and mud-caked face and he laughed. Laughed." Zaiden shook his head with laughter remembering the day with fondness. I on the other hand, was confused.
"Harry finally composed himself, and looked at my bucket and said, 'five months I have given you five pounds every day. That's thirty-five pounds each week.' I had shrugged and thanked him but he held up a hand and continued." Zaiden mimicked Harry's voice well, and I found it hard to take the situation seriously.
"Harry further explained 'That's thirty-five pounds, each week, with four weeks every month give or  take. That's one-hundred and forty pounds every month. For five months. That totals to seven-hundred pounds.' Harry had spoken in a humorous tone." Zaiden was smiling out at the night sky, the memory dear to him.
"I again thanked him, but Harry simply shook his head.  'What have you invested it in?' He had asked. I smugly patted my stomach and said 'the nourishment of my body.' Harry shook his head again and said, 'seven-hundred pounds. Plenty of people have board arrangements for seventy pounds a week in Wentworth, some even cheaper. With that seven-hundred pounds you could have paid months of board in advance, gotten some clothes, and gotten a job. Then you'd be able to rely on yourself.' I was a little speechless by then." Zaiden teased, and I smiled, awaiting for him to continue.
"'There's a lesson in this.' Harry said. 'That I'm bad at math?' I retorted, to which he rolled his eyes. 'No. That no matter how much a person helps you, it won't matter if you're not willing to make an effort to help yourself too.' The philosophical bugger had a point." I nodded in agreement, and I felt my respect towards Harry grow even stronger. Something I didn't think was even possible.
"So again Harry gave me five pounds, and walked off. And you know, what? I saved it. I had enough money given by other strangers to buy food, so I saved his five pounds. And the next five pounds, and then next. After two months I had saved two-hundred and eighty pounds, and proudly told Harry, and that some old man was willing to allow me, the scrungy street man to board in his complex. I paid in advance and Harry smiled. 'How about a job?' He had asked." Zaiden talked with his hands, and it made it hard not to laugh, but I barely contained it.
"'I thought I'd clean up a bit first.' I had said. 'No I mean for me. I have a job opening you might like. The Styles Hotel needs security. You have the build for that.' I was shocked, but accepted. We walked downtown, he got me a uniform, and the next day after I had shaved, showered and dressed, I started my job. That was three years ago. And now I'm the boss of my own security company." My mouth dropped open, and Zaiden grinned.
"That's incredible." I gasped.
"It is. And I owe it all to your lover." I smiled down at my feet shyly, and Zaiden laughed.
"You said you thought it was a case of unrequited love." I mused, looking up again. "Do you mean Harry..." I trailed off.
"Loves you?" He finished off for me. "Yeah, I do. He's twenty-three, ready to settle down, and crazy about you." The thought made my heart swell, and I didn't know how to handle myself. "I also think you love him back, and that frightens you. Not because you only met him five days ago, but because of Geordie." My heart faltered at the mention of my brother, and I let out a heavy sigh. Zaiden sympathetically patted my hand that gripped the rail tightly.
"I know you feel like you're life will be meaningless until Geordie wakes up, but-"
"I know what you're going to say." I grumbled, shaking my head. "But we don't know if he will wake up, and not to throw my life away on a small possibility."
"You already have thrown it away, Devonne." Zaiden said. "By running from the love you feel for Harry, you're throwing away the best thing that will ever happen to you. Now if Geordie is half the fighter you are, he'll wake up. And when he does, he'll go from having no parents and one sister, to one sister, and one brother. And dare I say, one kick-arse uncle Zaiden." I threw my head back and laughed, the thought brought me so much happiness my heart ached.
"But I don't know what Geordie will think of me being with the brother of his attacker." I tried reasoning, making Zaiden shake his head.
"In court, the major hole in your case was the bat used in the attack." I glanced and him and he nodded answering the question in my head. "Yeah, I was there. Supporting Harry, who let's not forget was secretly supporting you. They searched Dante's house, and his hooligan friends who helped, but found no bat. So apparently there was no evidence."
"Yeah, where are you going with this?" I sighed, beyond confused.
"Patience young grasshopper." Zaiden scolded playfully. "They needed the bat that was used. That baseball bat, and only that baseball bat. No other random bat would matter, even if it was the brand. You know why? Because they weren't responsible for it." His argument clicked into place in my head. "Other baseball bats may be connected by the company that made them, but not the same actions. I don't see kids playing baseball in the park and think 'We have our evidence! Hand over the bat little boy!'" I crinkled nose in amusement, and Zaiden patted me on the back.
"I get your point." I admitted softly.
"Geordie will understand." Zaiden assured me. "Don't hit your chance of love out of the ball park. There are very few men out there like Harry."
"You're one of a kind yourself." A voice spoke up from behind us. We turned, and there stood a smiling, handsome Harry.
"I try not to brag." Zaiden smirked, and Harry waltzed over to me, wrapping an arm around my waist.
"I see you've met my best friend." Harry spoke, and I smiled, nodding.
"She's as beautiful as you described." Zaiden complimented, making Harry smirk. "I'll see you around man, you too, Dev." Zaiden excused himself. "I see the sparkle in Harry's eyes, and I don't  want to be around when he commences the trouble it's promising." I blushed and buried my head in the crook of Harry's neck, and he bellowed out a laugh before clapping Zaiden on the back as he entered the ballroom again. Harry secured me against him, and kissed the top of my head gently.
"C'mon then, baby." Harry whispered. "I think the dancing floor is calling."