Show Me (A Harry Styles Fanfiction)

Chapter Thirteen - Little Things

Your hand fits in mine, like it's made just for me,

But bear this in mind, it was meant to be.

And I'm joining up the dots with the freckles on your cheeks,

And it all makes sense to me.

- "Little Things", One Direction

....

For the first ten minutes of the ride as we cruised down the highway, Harry was humming along to my copy of the "+" album. I'd gotten him into Ed Sheeran, and his favorite song - not surprisingly - was "You Need Me, I Don't Need You".

"Ali," he said suddenly, turning down "Grade 8".

I looked up from the window. "Yeah?"

"Why are you so quiet?" He placed his hand on my thigh again, turning to give me a small smile. The sight of those dimples made me blush, and I look down at my lap.

I shrugged one shoulder.

"It's not like you're usually the world's biggest damn chatterbox, but you're quiet as shit right now. Did I do something?"

I glanced at him. He'd taken off his sunglasses, and his sleepy, kelly green eyes were dancing with concern. My heart lurched, and I bit my lower lip. "No, sweetie. I'm just a little - "

He blinked, a grin tugging at the edge of his full lips. "I can tell. You're easy to read. You're nervous about spending a week with me, aren't you?"

I nodded, unable to trust my voice.

He laughed, squeezing my thigh reassuringly. "Oh, come on, baby. Don't be. You don't have to worry about anything around me. I'll take care of you, yeah? Just trust me."

Oh, Harry. My heart swelled in my chest, and I couldn't fight the spreading smile across my mouth. He was so...sweet. I was starting to think that his whole famous, badass demeanor was a persona. Some kind of wall. I was able to see more of him past his rebel shell because I was so close to him. A fleeting thought played at the edge of my mind - what Louis knew about him. Louis who was closer to Harry than anyone on the planet.

"Hand me my cigarettes, will you?"

Then again, this might be who he really was. I dug around in the glove compartment and handed them to him. He hadn't once offered me one, and that made me happy. He didn't want to pressure me, another sweet thing I noted about him. I slipped the cigarette in his mouth with a grin.

He smirked, still facing the road. "Light it?" he asked, squeezing my thigh again. "Lighter's in the center console."

I swallowed - I'd never used a lighter before. When I pulled it out, I paused. I stared curiously at this Zippo for some kind of button or tab, and he laughed loudly. "Jesus, girl. You're so innocent. You might want to open it, first. See the little wheel? Just flick it in a downward motion with your thumb. Nice and fast."

I tried to flick it a couple of times - nothing but lousy sparks flashed. Harry was laughing so hard, he seemed to run out of air and only let out a few pathetic gasps. I attempted to look angry at him, but ended up giggling myself. On the fifth try, a flame erupted. It shocked me - I almost dropped the lighter.

"Careful, Ali!" he cried at my clumsy fumbling. Once I safely had the lighter in my grip, I gently moved the flame to the end of the cigarette dangling out of Harry's mouth. With his free hand, he pulled it out and exhaled, the smoke dancing quite gracefully out the window.

"Thanks, baby," he replied. "And congratulations. You've just learned to light your first cigarette. Someone else's, though, of course." He started chuckling again.