The Armor (Prince Harry fanfic #1)

Chapter Thirty-Two

Once back in the schoolhouse, Lucy kissed Harry. Her eyes were only closed for a second before she saw the sun slowly slip behind the horizon. She kissed him more deeply, wanting to take all of him in. He kissed back, running his fingers through her hair. When they broke apart, back to reality, her features were soft in the light. Something about her was different and kinder. She didn't frown but there was no smile. She had no more secrets.

There were things both of them still needed to speak, but with a little more than three weeks left on their lives together, both of them felt as if they had time. If the words were meant to be said, they would come in the sneakiest moment, like midnight confessionals and early-morning relaxations. Those words would come out in time, spoken in between kisses. Their secrets were out, but they still had lives, whatever they were before.

Harry kissed her on the forehead and then pulled her into a hug. It was weird how they fit together, snuggled like puzzle pieces. Her chin rested upon his shoulder blade, as he did the same to her. His warmth crossed over her skin, and she loved it. Their heads rested against each other, holding the world up together. Their hearts pounded softer and softer, calming down for the first time. The quietness appeared for a comfortable reason, falling back into a pattern. Adrenaline dissipated in their bodies, as if they were going back to normal.

Normalcy wasn't a real thing to them. They could and would never be normal. Even the nicest secrets and desires weren't made for them, built up for content. Neither of them lived in a world of content, but the striving and thriving through violence and love.

For the longest time, the sun dropped and it got darker in the schoolhouse. Shadows covered them. The schoolhouse could be scary if you didn't realize where things hid. And they stayed standing there, comforted by the human touch they both rarely received. Harry didn't want her to leave, and he didn't want to go back. He wanted to believe that wasn't his life anymore. He knew he never would be touched like this again. All he wanted was to be human and normal, to be real, and he was with her. He was the dream of many people around the world, but he was real, not a doll or toy, but a person speaking and breathing. He couldn't have told you what she felt, but he hoped it was something.

Tears brimmed in her eyes, and she forced them down. Hating how she ruined the day for them with worry, Lucy kissed him on the cheek and pulled back. She hoped to stay longer, and maybe she should've. But she pulled back. The connection was broken.

His skin tingled from her lips there, burning with a secret passion that no one talked about. She was the woman no one talked about. If only, she was forever spoken and forever known. He wanted to show her the world.

Eyes meeting, he understood. Now wasn't the time. Never was the time.

Hand-in-hand, they stopped out of the schoolhouse together, Lucy using the keys to lock it up and he waited patiently. Their fingers were interlocked, slipped through and through, as the nighttime had taken over. Stars shined above them, illuminating their way. It was a straight shot back to their slum. The heat calmed down with the lack of sun, and a breeze blew her hair back. He got a good memory of her there, her face peering out, all the beauty that she truly held. Though desperation crawled through Harry's veins, wanting to get her back to the slum, wanting to kiss her again, he walked at her pace, like a stroll, without a care in the world.

This was what it was like to normal, he thought, strolls at night, without the blinding flashing lights from cameras. One foot in front of the other to their destination, when he wished just to walk around with her. Their slum was up ahead, always up ahead, nowhere else to go.

"Lucy," Harry paused, pulling her back, "what if we walk around a little more?"

Lucy glanced around. "Where?"

Suddenly, Harry's confidence was gone, with nowhere else to hide. "Well, I just meant--"

"We can walk around more." She pulled on him gently, and they began to walk. She led, and he was free to think about other beautiful qualities of her. He wouldn't have minded kissing her there, and he almost did. He wanted to pull her in and kiss her, just to touch her for a little longer.

One foot in front of another, but they didn't make it too far.

A man bounded out of the alley, a small one between the slums that curved around in circles, knocking their hands apart, and Lucy's wrist cracked with the impact. It sent the man falling forward, where he caught himself, positioning himself upright. Harry stumbled into the alley for only a second. He caught himself on a slum and went straight. The first man looked back, too close to Harry, and he jumped back as a yell came.

There was a scream somewhere, off in the distance and too close. Something swung through the air, a whooshing sound, and a thud. There was a slicing sound, skin torn open, and it was a sound Lucy recognized. Skin always sounded the same when being sliced open, whatever weapon it was. There was just no pop now. The sound was haunting, a deep wound that bled. She imagined it before she saw it.

Lucy didn't freeze. She never froze. Though adrenaline left her body long ago, it pumped through her veins again, returning to her system in a crazy hello. Her mind took a second to realize what happened in front of her, seeing red in the nighttime haze first. She assessed the situation. She was alive, step one complete. She looked for the next victim, whoever got the deep red blood bubbling. Her eyes found him.

The two men jumped back, realizing they didn't hit each other. Harry stood in between them. The knife was stuck into his abdomen. Red blood seeped out.

"Oh, Harry...."