Change|H.S|

Eight

Song- Hide away: Daya

Harry's POV:

Parker was even more amazing than I had fathomed. I'd liked her since the start of school, but no moment felt right until the bus broke down. In the past two weeks, I'd become more attached to her and couldn't believe I got the privilege that every other boy should've wanted. I knew more about her than she could've imagined. Maybe not factual things about her life, but I picked up pretty quickly on her anxiety and the myriad of insecurities that I wanted to help her with.  We had classes together, and I made sure to move my seat next to hers. Even though we were getting weird looks, I couldn't help but smile.

We didn't talk that much in class, other than the times I would mess with her and she'd give me a look that would make me melt. Her hand moved across the page gracefully and I fought with myself not to read whatever she was writing. Even though she thought her handwriting was terrible, it was just as beautiful as she was. Once it was finally time to go to lunch, I picked up my jacket and put it on, waiting on her to pack her stuff.

"Harry, you coming man?" Luke asked, sticking his head around the door frame.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a second." Putting her jacket across her shoulders, she picked up her backpack and began to walk toward the door. Her legs were long, lean and the kind of tan even tan people wanted. I watched as she walked a little ahead of me, turning around in the hallway and looking at me with a wide smile. 

"You're going to lunch, right?" she asked, taking a sip from her water bottle.

"Yeah," I nodded, grabbing her hand in mine. Luke shot me a confused look as the three of us walked down the hallway and outside, cutting through the library to get to the dining hall. Parks was shivering and picked up her pace a little bit before the warm air enveloped us. 

"What are you getting?" Luke asked, the line beginning to build. She'd let go of my hand, bending over to grab a bowl and walking toward the salad bar. 

"Dude," Luke whispered, "What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" The line slightly moved and I took a step forward. 

"With Parker, man. What is that all about? I mean, we all saw your snapchat story over the break but assumed it was just a hit it and quit it thing." I took a deep breath, trying not to lash out at him.

"Why is it any of your business who I date or don't date?" I snapped. 

"I mean it's just-"

"What, Luke? I can't actually be happy for a change?" 

"No, I mean, it's just, Scarlett likes you and I figured you'd tap that," he shrugged quietly. 

"You are absurd," I scoffed, walking away in a huff and making a sandwich. Walking to find a place to sit, I peered over the crowd, looking for Parker's face at a table. She was sitting by the window, head down, looking at her plate.

"Hey," I smiled, sitting down next to her. "Why are you sitting all the way in the corner?" She shrugged, her jaw flexing as she chewed. 

"Are you okay?" She was being more quiet than usual and she just nodded. I kept my eyes on her, her face red and she stayed silent. I knew she wasn't okay and I knew what was wrong, I just wasn't sure how to fix it. When we were both done, I followed behind her toward the gym in the cold breeze. It was pitch dark and the scent of hardwood with a hint of sweat filled my nostrils. I heard a few sniffles as she sat down on the far bench and cleared her throat. 

"I saw the way people were looking at us, even before we came back to school." Her voice was weak, shoulders slumped, and she wasn't looking directly at me. 

"It doesn't ma-"

"It does matter, Harry," she interrupted.

"Other people don't matter. I'm not dating them, I'm dating you," I said quietly. 

"It's always gonna matter." 

"Parker."

"Don't Parker me, you know I'm right." Trying to grab her hand, she yanked it away like my touch was an open flame. 

"Hey." 

"Just stop, Harry." Her sniffles were closer together and she hiccuped. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close to me and put her hand in my jacket over my heart. 

"Do you feel that?" I asked.

"What are you doing?" she questioned, wiping at her eyes with her free hand. 

"This, right here, is yours just as much as it is mine. You've had it for a while now." My heart was pounding hard and fast against my chest as if it were begging to be let out. Of course I was nervous, but it was better to take the leap than stay in the same place out of fear. This was my leap and I wasn't sure if anyone or anything was going to catch me. 

"I'm scared," she whispered almost like a child playing hide and seek. 

"Of what?" 

"Everything."

"What do you mean by everything?" 

She chuckled, "You look at me like I'm the eighth wonder of the world, and you make me feel like I'm a kid, and every moment of the day is recess or my birthday. In almost three weeks, you've managed to make me feel like the world is lucky to have me. You make me feel wanted and important and that scares the hell out of me."

"Why?" I asked, my eyes glued to her. 

"Because every other person that has done that has always left." Her words cut into me like pants that were too tight and it felt like the breath had been knocked out of me. 

"I would tell you I'm not going to leave you, but I'm sure that's what they said too." I wasn't going to, but I'd put my foot in my mouth enough already, I was thankful she couldn't see my blush.

"Yeah." I wanted to tell her that I understood everything she felt, but I knew she would disagree with me.

"If it makes you feel any better, I think you are absolutely amazing and I kind of sorta totally like your stupid beautiful face." She let out a laugh, rolling her eyes as I leaned forward to kiss her. 

"You're absurd."

"I know." 

"What time is it?"

"12:32." 

"We have until 2:15 free. What will we do with all this time?" There were a lot of things I would've liked to do with her, but we were at school. I held back my urge to tell her how much my eyes liked her right along with my heart. 

"Do you wanna shoot? I can rebound for you," I suggested, my mind getting out of the gutter. 

"We can play around the world and I'll beat you. That'll be great." She had a wicked smile on her face and I watched as she walked to turn the lights on.

"Challenge accepted." She finally began to laugh as I missed shots along and along until we were in the same spot. 

"Okay you can literally make it from half court consistently. This isn't fair," she groaned as my shot went in.

"Is someone's confidence wavering a little bit?" I teased.

"Harry." 

"Just shoot babe." She sighed, rolling her eyes and took a few dribbles. The ball banged off the backboard and through the net. 

"What do I get if I win?" 

"Nothing because I'm gonna win." I shook my head at her, taking my final shot. 

"I think that means I win," I smiled as the ball swished through the net. 

"It's just a game. Nobody wins or loses." I burst into laughter, letting my ball roll off and hunched over. 

"You are adorable." 

"Shut up and rebound for me," she sighed, rolling her eyes and finally smiling.