Through The Dark COMPLETED

Chapter 51

Harry looked over at Julie who was off by herself a bit. They'd had a great night. She had interacted with everyone there. She was charming and kind, and everyone seemed to like her. Not that it was the most important thing, but he was glad everyone seemed to see the good in her. She did look tired though. Maybe a bit overwhelmed. She wasn't the most outgoing person, but she'd tried extremely hard tonight to speak to everyone who wanted to speak to her. It was late; it probably would be safe for them to leave. He watched her run her hand through her hair and let out a deep breath. Yeah, she'd had enough. He walked up to her. "Hey, gorgeous. Ready to get out of here?"

"Oh, I'm ok. Just needed a bit of a break. It's exhausting trying to be nice to everyone. Especially for me." She joked.

"Funny, love. Funny." He leaned down and kissed her. "I know you like to pretend you're big, bad and mean. But you're not. Just accept it."

"You should just accept your girlfriend is mean." Julie smiled up at him. "Hi." She put her hand on his cheek and looked into his eyes. "I missed you so much. You have no idea. And that's really hard for me to admit."

"I know." He laughed. "But thanks for admitting it." He put his hand behind her neck and pulled her closer to him, kissing her, and wrapping his arms around her waist. "I think it's ok for us to leave. I've seen these people for weeks, and I haven't seen you, or touched you, in a month."

Julie rolled her eyes. "Of course. I know exactly what you're thinking about. Such a typical man."

"Do you blame me? I mean, look at you. How could I possibly think of keeping my hands off you when I have the most beautiful girlfriend in the universe?" He chuckled and kissed her.

"Oh, you think you're so charming." Julie said shaking her head. "You're lucky I fell in love with you before I realized how much of a smooth talker you were." She took his hand when he backed up from her a bit.

"Yeah, yeah. Super lucky. Come on. Let's go say goodbye to mum and then everyone and get out of here. We can go for a walk if you want. Let's just go be alone. I can think about other things, you smart ass." Harry said pulling her along back to his mom.

"I love your pet names for me. They're so lovable." Julie said tucking hair behind her ear.

"Shut up." Harry laughed at her. They spoke to his mum for a bit longer and then said their goodbyes. He placed Julie's coat around her shoulders and put his on. After she'd closed up her coat, he put his hand gently on her back and walked her out of the restaurant. When he'd met her, he hadn't been looking for a serious relationship. Ever since that day though, he couldn't think of anything else. Yes, she was complex; yes, she was scared; yes, she was sassy and a bit closed off; but he couldn't love her anymore. Maybe he was truly brought into her life to understand her, help her. He'd said before that Niall understood her more than he did, but he wasn't sure that was true. Niall did see things a little simpler than he did. But he felt he did know her better than anyone. He still wasn't over her openness in Tahoe. He knew she had pulled back some since he left. He could hear it when they spoke and see it when they FaceTimed, but she still seemed more opened than she had been previously. He walked her to the car and opened the door for her, helped her in, and then closed her door. After he walked around the car and got in, he looked at her. "I'm going to take you someplace before we go home. I want you to see the city like you've never seen before."

Julie smiled at him. "Ok, love. Someplace special?"

"Yes love, although anywhere with you is special." Harry laughed when Julie scrunched her nose at him. "God, I love you. You're so cute when you make faces at me."