Substance over Styles | H.S.

XII. New Look

This is sort of part two from last chapter and a key chapter so make sure you read it. It's quite long, hope you don't mind hihi.

And there's a little close up for you right there. My pleasure.

Enjoy this one.

~*~

The silence was deafening. You could cut the tension with a knife. That's how bad it was and it was exactly the way I imagined how this would go. It was only a matter of time before the real me would come through my new look. The freak. I hadn't looked up from my plate after what I had said. I wasn't courageous or sadistic enough to do it. Either way, the fun of our lunch together was over and it was all my fault.

After we finished our course in silence, Antonella came and picked up the dishes without saying a word. It made me cringe and hate myself even more. This was all one big disaster. Never had I imagined that my first day of finally having some self confidence was going to end up like this. Never in a million years.

"What did you just say?"

Harry took me by surprise because I honestly didn't expect him to speak anymore. I thought the conversation had died. I didn't want to repeat myself though. I didn't want to embarrass myself even more by crying like a baby in front of my boss because I didn't have any friends at school.

Bitch please, I had more pride than that.

"Forgive me but I think you heard me the first time." I didn't know where my cold tone came from, but my instincts took over and I started to act in protection mode. It was something I developed throughout the years of torture.

"Yes. I just can't believe you." Did he think I was lying? Why would I lie about something like that? To get attention? Who wanted to get attention with such a stupid and frankly embarrassing excuse? Who in in their right minds?

"Why?" I almost snapped.

"You're so smart and beautiful. Why wouldn't anyone want to be your friend?"

I blushed at the not so subtle compliments. It felt so foreign to hear them, especially coming from him. It was sweet how he didn't blame me for not having friends, accusing the others for not looking carefully in the crowd and spotting the rough diamond in it, me being that rough diamond. Then again, not over a week ago, he was acting the exact same way as all those people at school did. He didn't look beyond my looks, on the contrary, he judged. This made the anger come up again, clearly a sign that I still wasn't over what happened. A sign that I couldn't fully forgive him yet, he still needed to prove himself.

"Because I didn't look the part." The bitterness in my voice cracked through the covering layers.

"I really hurt you, didn't I?" I gulped and nodded. Suddenly he reached for my hand, which was placed on the table next to my plate. He took it and brushed his thump lightly over my knuckles.

"I promise you, Amelia, I will make it up to you."

His voice was low, but so sweet. Not sugarcoated, but genuinely nice and caring. He spoke the same way as how he talked to his mother on the phone when she called. The same tone he used when his sister passed him his little niece, Lilly, and he had to tell her a little bedtime story during his late hours at work. It made my heart hammer against my chest in the best way possible.

The way he gently caressed my knuckles, the way he was looking me deeply in the eyes, the thought of him telling crazy bedtime stories to his little niece and so much more, made me realise that I didn't just fancy him anymore. Oh no. I was falling head over heals for this beautiful, beautiful man.