The Armor (Prince Harry fanfic #1)

Chapter Thirty

His lips touched hers, no more than two days after they first kissed, and he didn't want to leave her. He didn't want to break her spell. Whatever was cast upon him, it worked through his veins, pumping furiously, marching across his skin in redness. His cheeks were filled with it. His heart worked hard. His lungs burned. He was desperate for more air, but he wished to have more of her.

Harry laughed as he breathed her in, and Lucy rolled her eyes at him. As much as going further seemed like an option and a wanting, neither of them cared to do it, not now or ever. They wished to kiss a little bit longer, to be together a little bit longer, but there was no point to rush. Neither of them wanted to be another name on a list, all the people ever screwed. One of their lists was presumably longer than the other.

The sun had gone far down, to slowly come up again, which they slept briefly, with their beds pushed together now. They both looked for human connection, to never answer to authority again. They could live without gazes and gawks. They could be free. Human connection, to touch and to feel, was what life was meant to be, what we all lived for. Harry and Lucy were no different.

With a sigh, Lucy escaped him, pressing her feet to the rotting wood of the floor. "What will humanity hold for us today?" she asked into the air.

Harry asked if she ever received an answer, which she didn't. He tried to answer the question and was wrong. The question hung in the air. Since the shooting, Lucy asked herself this question every morning. However, two mornings ago, Harry woke up and found Lucy thinking hard, which made him ask what she thought about. The question was "What will humanity hold for us today?" He still couldn't answer the question, no one could until they lived it.

Harry's fingers curled into Lucy's hair until she looked back and winked at him, telling him to get up. Rolling over, he exited from the bed and Lucy forced herself up too. Her knees cracked, and she rolled her shoulders back. Lucy did miss her bed back home, one of the few things to miss. Harry caught Lucy's body slightly, as tight fabric pulled over her curves, exposing the scars on her back.

She didn't hesitate as she pulled her clothes on and off, and neither did Harry, like it didn't matter whatever someone saw. The heat already began to rise within the room, and outside was no better. Her eyes traveled along the outside, through a crack within the wall, and then she stopped. A feeling got stuck in her heart. There was a heavy weight in the pit of her stomach. Her head almost started to hurt with focus. In the bright light, she unfocused, breathing again deeply. Lucy turned to him.

Lucy was good, he would give her that, but Harry was better, reading people with ease. Something bothered her. "What is it?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

A tight-lipped smile crossed her face, forced and painful to see. "Nothing."

"You're lying."

"Yes."

Harry paused, standing straight in front of her. "Please tell me what's wrong."

Chewing on her bottom lip, she chose her words carefully. "I have a bad feeling about today."

"Like what?"

"I'm not sure." Lucy swallowed. "Watch your back."

"I'll watch your back too."

She smiled but shook her head. "You should always save yourself first." Lucy knew she would, which could've been a lie.

Harry gulped, not fully knowing what she meant, but her words struck him heavily. "Everything will be okay."

Stepping forward, she kissed him on the lips. "I know. It always is." She pecked him on both cheeks before walking away. Her feet slid into her shoes and she pulled on a better t-shirt. "We should go. Students want to learn." She left without another word.

Now with eyes watching but not caring, they didn't interlock fingers, not when there were so many people out. However, coming back from the schoolhouse every day, they did. No one was out there, and it was like a form of protection. Now, their arms touched in the warm morning heat, one foot in front of the other together, marching, and they were the only things left sane.

Upon entering the schoolhouse, Lucy's eyes followed outside, desert only insight. She couldn't fully wrap her mind around the desert, the vastness and the emptiness, how it seemed to go on forever. When she stood in the ocean, her feet wrapped up in the sand, she knew the ocean ended. She knew that other people wadded in the water too. But with the desert, it was abundant and scary, lonely in the worst ways with the wailing wind. Lucy missed the snow and the cold, how she got the goosebumps from the chill, and how the snow reflected the sun to burn eyes. Here, the sun was everywhere, not a secret and surprise.

The students entered and she turned to Harry, nodding for him to start. He addressed the class and wrote on the board, officially starting to teach. When he stumbled, which he was expected to do, the students didn't notice because Lucy spoke with such ease. She never missed a beat. Everyone felt the tension in room, or maybe it was just Lucy. It was overbearing. She barely could breathe. However, she didn't blink an eye to the lesson or to any mistakes made.

The students broke up into groups as Lucy bounced around as her normal self, meaning to help all. Harry watched her, her easy playfulness about the task. The students didn't notice. Fear crept into his veins. Did she know something? He doubted it, but he trusted her instincts. If she felt something coming, it probably wasn't good.

The students were released for a break and she watched from afar. "Come," Harry said, taking her hand. "Come play."

"What?"

He led her into the crowd of students that gathered around. "You're on the other team." He cutesy pushed her away, barely touching her skin, and she arched a brow at him. "You're on," he challenged.

Lucy was led away before the ball, whether you called the sport soccer or football, with the black spots on the white ball. Harry was the one to stand in front of her while other students gathered around, taking up positions. She knew each of the students by name, and she knew whose team they were on. Her toes pressed to the ball, and her eyes peeled outward. Harry was willing to take her on, and he stepped up, only to be passed.

The ball flashed out with skill from Lucy, going past him and to one of her teammates, as he dove for the ball, taking Lucy down with him, not that it bothered her. They landed side-by-side, calling home to the ground, both laughing. However, Harry was a little more competitive. He helped her up but ran back to the game. Lucy waited in her position, until the ball came back to her again, along with Harry running to her.