Evening the Score // Book One

Chapter 6

Harry's nervousness was a little more pronounced than before due to the fact that he didn't have Niall's fangirling as a buffer this time. His nervousness was also attributed to the fact that he had to tell Elena he was leaving for two weeks. Would she halt the progress of their relationship? Tell him it was best if they just remained friends?

Two things passed through his head at that moment.

One, he was ridiculous. Already wondering about the status of a "relationship" that was barely a week old. And two, it was a relationship...to him. He'd far passed the feeling of being just her friend. That's not what he wanted. If she suggested that he'd be upset.

He shook his head at himself as he walked towards the entrance to the field. This was the last thing he expected when he walked onto a commercial shoot and said hello to a brunette girl with the blue eyes. But..here he was.

Harry wanted Elena. And not in the sexual sense of the word although that would have been fine too. He wanted her time and her attention. He wanted to know how she liked her coffee or if she even drank coffee. The things he'd learned about her up to that point had been mundane yet so fascinating they left him craving more.

Did she have any tattoos? Did she watch certain TV shows? What color was her bedroom? What kind of lunch meat did she prefer? Did she cheat on her meal plan? What was her favorite song when she was running?

Harry was knee deep in a zillion questions passing through his mind so much so that he almost didn't realize Elena standing right in front of him. She waved her hand in front of his face,

"Harry?"

Harry shook free of the thoughts running through his head as he stared back at her,

"What? Oh! Sorry I was - " He stopped just short of asking her one of the questions that had just floated through his head, "Working out some lyrics." He finally answered, his eyes wide.

Nice save. Kind of.

Elena studied him for a moment. It was clear that was not what he was thinking. But she didn't want to pry. She pulled her bag up onto her shoulder and gestured out into the parking lot,

"Did you drive? I rode in with Andy so my car wouldn't be left here."

Harry jingled his keys in his pocket,

"Yeah."

Elena looked down at his wrist, a deep frown turning the corners of her mouth down,

"It hurt?"

Harry shook his head. She was so close that he could smell the lotion she'd used after practice,

"I told you I'm fine."

She ran her hand over his wrist, spreading his fingers out when she ran over his palm,

"I really need to let things go sometimes." She whispered softly.

Harry lifted his hand to slide under her ear,

"Hey...look at me." She looked up at him, still frowning a bit, "You didn't do anything I didn't ask you to do. I would never expect you to hold back for me or because of me."

She looked back at him for a bit, her eyes narrowing just a bit as she studied his face. The more he spoke, the more they hung out, the more she was inclined to believe he would fit nicely into her life.

She linked her arm through his, a slow smile spreading across her cheeks. Harry melted into his shoes,

"Let's go do some hiking then."