Say You'll Be There | Harry (Marcel) Styles [ON HOLD]

Chapter 16 - Morning After

       *Marcel's POV*

I awoke the next morning with a slight weight on my shoulder. Literally. When I let my eyes slowly flutter open and adjust to the bright light of the sun peeking through her large window and cotton candy pink colored curtains, a waterfall of dark brown hair, smelling faintly of strawberries, is in my face. My favorite scent. And here she is, her head resting gently on my right shoulder as she sleeps peacefully, unknowing of the rest of the world around her as she is lost in the world of her dreams.

When I suddenly feel very creepy for watching her sleep, I lift my left arm and turn my gaze to my watch on my wrist. 8:37 AM. Hm, usually I am out taking my weekend morning run. I should probably be going home anyways. Mother might need the car this morning.

Careful not to wake the sleeping beauty, I gently ease myself from underneath her petite body sprawled across mine in her sleeping state. She's quite the fussy sleeper. I faintly remember a knee in my lower back last night, but I couldn't complain. It actually gave me a bit of a chuckle at 3:30 in the morning.

I run my hands over my face, taking a deep breath and then set my glasses back on my face to see properly.

If I leave now while she sleeps, I can explain to her when she wakes up why I left. While I am at home. It was a long night for her anyways.

Goodness, I feel like one of those guys that take advantage of girls and then skip out the following morning. Like Jake. That is not who I am, and I am not for objectifying women. It's everything I believe in, being respectful towards women, and that's how every real man should live.

Just when I am in a sitting position on the edge of the bed, I hear her stir and then grumble and moan. Not a morning person I suppose? I turn my head to look at her and she is slowly opening her eyes, squinting from the light. Her face is all scrunched up as she looks at me and she props herself up on one elbow. She is half-asleep, half-awake.

“Mmm... M-Marcel?” She asks for me, closing her eyes again and plopping back to the pillow. To say it was cute would be an understatement.

Look at me, I'm calling her cute and adorable every five seconds! Those words weren't even in my vocabulary until I met her!

“Uh... yeah...” I mumble.

“Where you goin'?” She has a tired smile as she wrestles with the covers to sit up fully. Her voice is laced with sleep, mine is too.

“I, uh...” What do I say? I was going to leave while you were asleep and then explain it to you later? That would surely make me come off as a jerk, even though I'm sure she knows I am not.

I give her the most confused expression when she starts to lightly giggle. Did I say or do something funny? Do I have dried drool on my chin? When I move to wipe away at my chin, she speaks through a laugh.

“I'm joking, Marce. You can go if you really need to.” She kindly says.

“It's just my mother...”

“It's fine, really! I understand. I shouldn't have made you stay anyway.” She is fighting to keep up a believable smile, I can tell. Her last statement gave her away.

“I wanted to.” I shrug, and her smile is genuine this time around. It's the one I have loved since she helped me in the hall a month ago. The one that brightens my day more and more as each day passes.

Without another word spoken by either of us, I stand up, stretch my limbs a bit and grab my clothes that are still neatly set on her swivel chair, as well as my shoes.