15 Years // harry styles

chapter twenty seven

B

I welcome his hand when I feel it on my shaking shoulder. I can hear voices filling the hallway, but it's muffled by the sound of my rapid breathing in my ear.

"Shhhhh, you're alright baby" is the only thing I can decipher before he scoops me up and makes his way into another room. It's dark, so he flicks on a switch, turning on a few dim lights towards the middle of the vast space. He pulls a chair out from one of the tables and sits in it, sitting me on his lap and cradling me close as the sobs begin to rattle my ribs.

I can tell through my tears it's a ballroom, much like the one we were just in minus the decorations. I stare out the window into the now-black sky, trying to breathe.

I don't know how long I cry, but my brain doesn't seem to have the capacity to stop the tears from falling. It's too full of terrifying images of me alone in the apartment, with Trevor lurking around.

When I can finally breathe, I feel a new rush of guilt wash over me.

"I'm sorry I ruined tonight," I say, the words familiar on my tongue. Harry laughs a little, kissing my hair.

"You didn't ruin anything. Besides-" he checks his phone-" it's only 9:48. The night is still here."

His strong arms scoop me up again off his lap, standing me on my feet. I still cling to him, his shirt soft against my cheek as he does something on his phone.

"Wouldn't want to waste a beautiful dress, a beautiful night and a stupid boy who wants to take you on a date, right?" He smirks, leading me out to the center of the dance floor.

A few moments later, quiet music begins to travel through the air and Harry takes my hips in his large hands and begins to sway us.

"Do you want to talk about it?" His voice is gentle as I lean against his chest, eyes closed.

"It's stupid. And really petty." I feel my cheeks getting hotter as I realize with a clearer mind why I was so upset, and how selfish it is.

"Okay. Do you want to talk about it?" He repeats, making me smile a little.

"Lydia talked about getting a restaurant once, but she said she couldn't because she would have to move closer to it. So I know she's going to move now, and I just don't know if I'm ready to live alone. Not with Trevor getting out so soon, and you leaving for tour, " I murmur. His arms tighten around me protectively and I let myself relax in them.

"That's a completely legitimate reason to be upset B." He's quiet for a while, and we sway along to the music that echoes around the empty space. It's just me and him, and for once I'm not checking the corners for spies, I'm simply there, in his arms, and it's the most freeing feeling I've ever experienced.

"We've never really talked about me leaving for tour you know," he says quietly. I instinctively pull him closer to me, like I do every time I think of him on a plane headed across the world. Away from me. I take a deep breath, settling myself. You've been selfish enough for one night.

"There isn't much to talk about, is there? Your music is your life, and your job. I never expected you to put that aside for me." The words try to cling to the sides of my throat on the way out.

Harry stops swaying us, and I look up at him. His eyes have that look again, the same one from our date in the arena during the fireworks.

"Trying to get rid of me?" He teases, but there's something more behind it, and I can tell he needs me to tell him more.

"Of course not. There's nothing I would love more than to have you stay here with me, but I know you can't do that, and it would be ridiculous for me to expect you to. So you go on your world tour, and we'll figure it out."

He doesn't answer; he simply cups my face in his hands and brings his lips to mine. He's warm and familiar, a faint taste of spearmint from the gum he chewed earlier lingering on his tongue.

"Come with me."

He kisses me again before I can ask what he means. When he pulls back, his eyes are wide and he looks nervous.

"Come on tour with me. I know it's crazy and I know it's fast, but I can't imagine being away from you. I know it might not be that fun, and you'll have to leave Kelsey and Lydia, but you'll have Rose and Lou and the boys, and Freddie and me and we can explore the world together. I'll take you to the Eiffel Tower, the Lourve, all the bookstores we can find, I'll show you the prettiest places I've ever been and you'll be a world away from Trevor, and safe, with me. You'll be with me."

I stare at him, my mind buzzing. Flashes of hotel rooms with his inked arms around me and the Eiffel Tower at night, our hands intertwined and his smile on the big screen in a stadium flash through my mind.

"I'll fly Lydia out to see you whenever you want, and we can come back to the apartment whenever we can and-"

I cut him off with a kiss. He's taken by surprise at first, but he melts into it immediately, a familiar hand pressing on my lower back, pushing me flush against him. I kiss him hard, arms coming up around his neck, fingers in his hair.

"Is this a yes," he murmurs, leaning back and quirking an eyebrow.

I simply grab his shirt collar and pull his lips to mine again, nodding through our kiss.

His arms lock around my waist then, picking me up and spinning us around, my dress billowing out in the air as our laughter echoes. And I'm the happiest I can remember being in a long, long time.