Impact (H.S. AU) (COMPLETED)

17 * SNAP OUT OF IT * 17

JESS

I wake up to see the sky already dark outside his window. He's snoring softly above me and I turn in his arms to look up at him. The usual crease between his eyebrows is nowhere to be seen and the constant smirk that adorns his lips has been replaced with a parted pout. He stirs in his sleep as my phone buzzes on the nightstand and I curse under my breath as I untangle myself from him and turn it on silent.

Despite my efforts to keep him asleep, he rolls over into my lap and peels his eyes open with a groan. I mindlessly run my fingers through his bedhead as I scroll through countless posts I'm tagged in from the party last night. Most of them are just drunken sing-alongs and the beer pong game but a significant few are pictures of me and Harry kissing.

"What are you looking at?" He asks quizzically, straining to look at my phone while leaning on my shoulder.

"It's nothing." I sigh, turning my phone off and setting it back on the side table.

"It's not," He says, looking up to meet my eyes, "What's wrong? You went from being fine to being pissed in like two seconds."

"It's just," I huff, wondering why I'm even mad about this, "There's so many people posting about us kissing last night and rumors are everywhere about me dating two guys."

"So what? Who cares?" He laughs, standing from the bed and walking over to the mirror above his dresser.

"I do, Harry," I sigh, following him to the other side of the room, "I don't want to be known as some school slut."

He turns around suddenly, grabbing me by the shoulders, "Hey, you aren't, it's just a bunch of people with nothing better to do than talk shit."

I sigh, letting my eyes drift from his to the floor but he's not having that. He grabs my chin in his hand and tilts my face up to meet his again.

"If it's bothering you than let's do something about it." He assures me.

"What are we going to do? Never speak to each other again?" I huff.

"No, obviously not, who the hell would I play beer pong with?" He laughs, "No, we're gonna go somewhere."

"How is that going to help?" I groan, watching as he paces over to his closet, deep in thought.

"I've got it, The Stroke." He says simply.

"The what?"

"The Stroke, it's a bar on the rougher side of things but-"

"Wait, a bar? That's how we're going to fix this?" I huff, folding my arms across my chest.

"Listen dollface, think about it, I'm intoxicated in a room full of easy women, it won't take long for the student body to find another rumor to spread." He winks smugly, a smirk spreading on his face.

I roll my eyes, shoving him out of my way to get to the bathroom but of course he follows me all the way there defending his idea.

"My god Harry, you're so-"

"Charming? Charismatic?" He suggests, leaning against the closed door of the bathroom, "Oh wait I've got it, ruggedly handsome?"

"How about not nearly as badass as you think you are." I smirk, opening the door and shoving him back through it.

I close it again and hear him protesting on the other side, his fist banging against the wood.

"Jess! Oh come on, I'm joking you-"

I open the door abruptly to see him with his arm still raised in the air, the end of his sentence dangling on the end of his tongue.

"What was that you were going to say? You...fantastic person who is also my best friend in the whole world?" I grin and the worried look in his eye vanishes as he throws his arm around my shoulders and walks me back to his bedroom.