Turdy Seven (A Heleanor Fanfiction)

Chapter 9

Harry was left dumbfounded, staring at the distractingly beautiful girl in front of him. Could he trust anything she told him? Everything in his heart told him he could. His mind, on the other hand, had other ideas.

The light rain was still sprinkling down on them. Eleanor took Harry's silence as an opportunity to push the wet curls that had stuck to his forehead back. Her fingertips never left his bronzed skin throughout their slow transition from his cheek to his forehead, and then his tousled hair. His skin was warm from the previous frustration he held that was now dying down. She let her fingertips linger in his messy brown mop, down along the nape of his neck, following a protruding vein, and then let her hand fall back to her side.

The last thing Eleanor wanted to do was remove her touch, but she didn't want to push Harry. He still seemed quite upset with her. The amount of guilt she felt from his questions was like a punch to the stomach. She hated that she hurt him, but the fact of the matter was that she hadn't been able to hold back and evidently neither had he. All she could think of at the moment was how Harry wouldn't have that look on his face if it weren't for her greedy actions under the pier.

Harry was at a loss for words. He was definitely had not expected Eleanor to utter anything of the sorts. She needed him?

"It didn't seem that way when you were kissing Louis," he finally replied to her explanation. Eleanor flinched at his words.

How could she have done this to Harry? He seemed so much more vulnerable than she had ever witnessed him before. It caused her heart to ache to a degree she had never experienced before.

"I'm sorry I did this to you," she spoke her mind, "I just... You know things with me and Louis aren't the best. I don't know what I was thinking. I shouldn't have... I'm so sorry, Harry."

She watched Harry's face almost sadden, as opposed to the previous betrayal he felt towards her.

"So you regretted it?" Harry asked, disappointed.

"What?" Eleanor was taken back by Harry's question. Why would he care if she regretted kissing him? He had been mad at her only seconds ago for leading him on and now he was worried about what she thought of the kiss itself?

"You regret kissing me. You don't like me at all, do you? I'm just a rebound, aren't I?" Harry frowned down at her.

"That's not true," she tried to assure.

"You're just coming to me because Louis isn't what you want anymore."

"That's not why I did it."

Harry paused for a moment and then a smirk gradually grew on his face, replacing his frown.

"So you like me," he said as a statement rather than a question.

"Huh?" Eleanor muttered, confused at Harry's conclusion that seemed to have come out of nowhere.

"Well, if you don't regret kissing me and you say I'm not a rebound because things aren't going well with Louis then you must have kissed me for a reason," Harry explained. "I mean, people don't just kiss each other because they see them as a friend."

Eleanor didn't know what to say. She was speechless as she felt her cheeks redden as much as Harry's usually did when he was around her. His smirk only grew at the sight of her blushing. He thought of how much better it was to have the tables turned for a change. He had caused her to blush this time. It only encouraged his sudden confidence.

Harry noticed Louis out of the corner of his eye. He appeared to be scanning the parking lot for his girlfriend.

Having regained some of his usual confidence, he winked at Eleanor and made his way over to his car when Louis wasn't looking.

Eleanor was frozen where she stood. Everything Harry had said in the last couple of minutes made her feel like she was on a nauseating roller coaster. He had gone from upset to angered to cocky at such a confusingly fast speed. One thing was certain, though. Harry knew Eleanor had feelings for him. How he had figured this out before she had, astounded her. It was all true. Every word he had said to her was true.

"Eleanor!" She turned to see that Louis had found her and was impatiently beckoning her over to his car. She snapped out of the dazed state Harry had left her in and quickly made her way across the parking lot.

When she reached his range rover Louis got into the drivers seat. She couldn't help but scowl at the way he didn't open her door for her the way he used to. It looked like nothing was the way it used to be nowadays.

- - -

She stared at her reflection with resentment. Dressed in a purple top and black jeans, Eleanor was ready to attend One Direction's Manchester concert. She didn't refer to it in her mind as 'Louis' show' anymore. She felt too distant from him to call it that any longer.

Other times she had been so excited to see Louis perform. She would always look forward to watching the show even though she had already seen it more times than she could keep count. This time around, however, she was dreading it. Eleanor didn't want to have to endure an entire evening centered around Louis, but it looked like she didn't exactly have a choice.

She thoughtfully smoothed out the lace fabric of her top and tucked the hem into her jeans. Eleanor adjusted her half up half down hair style, attempting to stall her encounter with her boyfriend. As long as she was still getting ready she didn't have to leave her house to go to the arena yet.

Normally Eleanor would have been with Louis at the arena throughout the entire day, but she had used the excuse that she had an important assignment to complete for one of her university courses. She had managed to escape spending the day with Louis, but there was no way she could avoid showing up for the concert.

With her mind on tonight's show, her thoughts also drifted towards Harry. He had left her utterly perplexed and she didn't know how to feel about it. He had basically admitted that she liked him for her. She would have never said it, but it was the truth. She had no idea how strong these feelings for Harry were, or if they could overpower the ones she still had left for Louis. And if they could, did she want that?

Once Eleanor came to the decision that she couldn't hold off from leaving her house any longer, she grabbed her leather jacket and purse. She took quick strides down her short hallway, out the door, and down the small path in front of her house.

Louis had sent a car to pick Eleanor up. It was already parked in her driveway when she stepped out. She greeted the driver and confirmed that she was ready to go. As ready as she would ever be, anyways.

Her phone vibrated just as they pulled out of the driveway. Eleanor looked down at the bright screen that illuminated the dark car. It was a text from Louis. Of course.

Louis: you on your way?

A little early in the evening to be suffocating me. Huh, Lou?

Not bothering to reply, she slipped the sleek cell phone back in her jeans' pocket. She would see him in a few minutes anyways. She didn't want or feel the need to text him back.

She leaned back in the leather carseat and took a deep breath, preparing for what she so desperately hoped would be an uneventful night.