Masked Insanity (Harry Styles)

Chapter 8: 'Morning Sunshine

Scarlett's POV

I awoke to the soft sound of birds chirping outside. When I cracked my eyes open, the sunlight streaming through the window blinded me momentarily. I groaned and snapped my eyes shut again. My head was pounding like crazy, and I felt extremely drowsy. I had a faint memory of getting drunk last night somewhere really dark. I guess I was hungover? I don't know, I've never actually been drunk.

Why did I feel so warm this morning? I felt a weight across my body; a mass next to me was radiating warmth. I sighed and snuggled my head into it, its heat somewhat relieving my pounding headache. It actually felt really nice, I decided.

Suddenly the mass shifted, and I drew in a sharp breath. Forgetting my headache for a second, I pushed the weight off of me and jumped away from it in terror. The bright light from the window made my now open eyes throb and ache. My hand flew to my head in attempt to ease the pain.

I peered at the thing in my bed through squinted eyes. It was a... guy? His distinguishing feature was the tousled, dark curly hair sprawled out in a disarray over the pillow. He yawned widely and stretched out his arms. My gaze flew to the tattoos decorating his chest and arms. He rubbed his eyes sleepily, and when his gaze focused on me, it suddenly clicked. Vivid memories from last night flooded to my brain. The heat rose to my cheeks at the remembrance of the beer spilling, the stumbling around, the carrying... I mentally slapped myself. Could I have acted any stupider?

I snapped out of my daydreaming to find him staring at me with his emerald green eyes, an amused half-smirk playing on his lips. Even though he had had just woken up, he still managed to look perfect. I zeroed in on his lips as his tongue darted out to wet them. It was like my brain had stopped working because I couldn't even manage a proper hello.

"Uhhh... hi," I croaked, my throat suddenly feeling incredibly dry.

"Hey," he rasped, his voice deep and gravelly from sleep. He rose to a sitting position, using his arms to support himself. I couldn't help but stare at the muscles rippling beneath his skin. I gulped and forced my gaze back up to his face.

Suddenly, a shrill ringtone sounded, causing me to wince. It was coming from his phone. He picked it up from the nightstand and looked at the screen. A pained expression crossed his face, and he quickly hit the ignore button. He tiredly pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Um, I probably should...go...now," I said awkwardly. My drunk bravery from the previous night had completely left me, and I was back to my bumbling, awkward self. I needed to get out of here before I made an even bigger fool of myself. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood up. A wave of vertigo hit me, causing me to lose my balance and fall to my knees.

"Shit, Scarlett, are you okay?" Harry asked, his voice filled with concern. He popped his head over the side of the bed.

"Mmmmm," I groaned, "I'm fine..." My eyes widened at his previous statement. I sat up abruptly.

"How do you know my name's Scarlett?" I asked him, trying to keep the alarm out of my voice.

He looked down at me in bewilderment. "Because you told me it was... Why?"

I laughed nervously. "Well you see... haha... errrrr," I stuttered, "Scarlett is my first name, but everyone just calls me by middle name! Hazel!" I anxiously sat there, waiting to see if he bought it. He had his arms crossed over his chest, one eyebrow raised. "Okay, I like Scarlett. Let's go get you some painkillers for that hangover."

"That's probably best," I mumbled and just let him call me Scarlett. I used the side of the bed to haul myself off the ground. When I pulled myself up to my full height, I heard a gasp escape his lips. I looked up to see him gaping at me, his lips parted slightly, and his eyes a darkened shade of green. One glance at my body told me why. My black dress had hiked all the way up legs, exposing the lace of my panties. The dress' straps had slid down my shoulders, and my breasts were spilling out of the neckline.