Before She Falls

Chapter 18

"What's taking him so long?" Niall complains from the backseat of Harry's car. Vanessa, Niall, and I are stuck waiting for him in the parking lot of the Aquarium. He said he had to stop by the gift shop to pick up something for his sister, Gemma, apparently she loves dolphins.

"I don't know" I rest my head on the cold window.

The sun is now starting to become a pink and purple mixture, since it is 7:45pm. I remember that I have to drive back home with Vanessa around nine o'clock tonight and I suddenly become discontented. I didn't want to leave New York City and I didn't want to leave the boys, particularly Harry for obvious reasons. But the boys are catching a flight straight out to Los Angeles at midnight tonight.

The trunk opens and it's Harry shoving a bag from the gift store in the back of the car, behind the backseats where Niall and Vanessa are seated.

"Sorry I took so long, the line was out the door" he apologizes then slams the trunk door shut and rushes to the driver's seat.

Harry starts the car and pulls onto the main street to return back to the hotel. I stare out of the window for most of the ride, listening to whatever song Harry is playing in the car right now. I watch the endless buildings and countless people pass by the car.

"Did ya ladies have fun today?" I hear an Irish accent coming from the back seat.

"Yes" I reply to Niall and turn around to see Vanessa's head on his shoulder and their fingers intertwined.

"I did too" Vanessa smiles.

"Me too" Harry says cheerfully from the front seat and his green eyes seem to be shining in the growing darkness from outside.

"I didn't ask you Haz" Niall says playfully.

It's eight thirty at night now and Perrie and Danielle were dropped off at their apartment and hotel while the four of us were out. So it's only the five boys, Vanessa, and myself still at the hotel. Louis disappeared into his bedroom as soon as we arrived back home, while Zayn had been in there since we left for the aquarium. Harry told me he gets really lonely without Perrie around him, so it's completely normal that he would want alone time now.

However, Liam was out in the living room along with Niall and Vanessa just talking and watching television. Harry and I relax on his bed, but the doorway to the bedroom is open, so we can still hear parts of the conversations flow in from the living room.

"Want to see what I bought Gemma?" Harry asks me, sitting up on the bed and already reaching over to grab something out of the bag off of the floor.

"Yeah, show me" I tell him and sit up straight so I'll be able to see the gift.

Harry pulls his hand back from over the edge of the bed to reveal a box. He opens it to show a small metal charm of a silver dolphin.

"Aw Harry, that's adorable" he lets me hold the box and I examine the tiny gift. "Is this for her charm bracelet?"

"Yeah, my mum bought her one a couple of years ago. But surprisingly she doesn't have a dolphin charm yet" Harry gives a genuine grin. "Go figure."

"She's going to love it" I tell him as I place the lid back over the box and hand it back to him.

"I bought something else too" Harry says placing the Gemma's gift in his lap and reaching over to grab the bag from the ground.

The bag is a lot bigger than I expected and Harry reaches inside of it to pull out a stuffed animal. Before he can say anything about it, I realize it's a shark stuffed animal and my mouth opens.

"Since you're not scared of them anymore" Harry mumbles through a wide smile.

"I don't know about that" I say as Harry hands the two-foot shark to me. It's grey and white fabric is super soft and a small smile is stitched into the plush toy. "Thank you, Harry."

"My pleasure" He gives me a closed-mouthed smile and his dimples pop out on either side of his mouth.

"So this is what took you so long in the gift shop" I smirk and he starts to laugh.

"Part of the reason. I also took a few pictures with some fans" Harry leans back on the bed. "They knew it was me, even through the sunglasses."

"Anyone could spot this smile from a mile away" I say and place my hand around his mouth, causing him to smile as I squeeze his cheeks together.

Harry takes my hand and pulls me down to him, so my face is hovering closely over his. He cups his hand around my jaw and brings my lips to meet his. We share a short but sweet kiss and then I realize the door is still wide open to the living room.

"Kat!" Liam calls from the living room almost on cue and I instinctively pull away from Harry.

"What?" I ask innocently and I can feel Harry's hungry eyes looking up at me, causing me to smile. His hand grazes over my bare shoulder and I feel goose bumps spread over my skin.

"It's nine o'clock" Liam says and I'm surprised to look up and see him standing in the doorway, but he doesn't seem fazed by Harry lying underneath me. "I told your mom you'd be home by eleven."

"Okay, okay" I say and start to climb off of the bed as Liam walks away, closing the door behind him.

I feel Harry's arm pull me back onto the bed and he smashes his lips onto mine, quickly sliding his tongue into my mouth.

"Don't leave" Harry exhales as he pulls away.

"I have to" I laugh as he kisses my cheek. "How about you don't go to LA?"

I tilt my head upwards as Harry nuzzles his face and laughs into my neck.

"Come with me" Harry says onto my skin.

"I can't" I run my fingers through his fluffy hair while he brushes his lips along my jawline.

There's a knock on the door and I jump up, realizing that it's really time to leave now. I grab my over-night bag from the hallway near the bathroom and pull my car keys from inside of it.

"Wait, Katrina" Harry rolls off of the bed and goes to his dresser. He pulls out my white sweater that I had lost here a few days ago.

"Thank God" I take the sweater and throw it into my bag with the rest of my belongings.

"Promise you'll come to England?" Harry pulls me into a hug before I can even answer.

"I promise" I say into his v-neck.

"Because I can't wait another two years to kiss you" Harry says leaning his head down to press his lips against mine while his hands rest around my sides.