hooked // harry hook

chapter eight - the dance

I quickly began to realize that my new favorite thing was waking up next to Harry. I traced my fingers on his bare chest as I watched him sleep. He looked so at peace, so comfortable and so happy. I rolled my body on top of his and began placing soft kisses all over his face. He awoke with a groan and a chuckle, reaching down and rubbing my lower back. "I don't think I'll ever get tired of that." he mumbled, kissing me softly. I hid my face in his neck and closed my eyes.

"You're so cute when you're tired, you know." I giggled, kissing his neck. He looked down at me, his eyes slightly squinting from fatigue. "Shut up." he said, making me laugh. "Today is the big day. Are you excited?" he asked, running his hands through my hair. "More relieved. After tonight, I'm no longer a prisoner to Jane's planning. Honestly, I don't know how she doesn't explode. She's got more going on than I do." I mumbled, shaking my head. He laughed and kissed the top of my head.

I slid out of bed and stood, stretching my arms behind me. Harry watched me as I went around my room, cleaning up the books I had out from studying last night. I stacked them away in the shelves and walked over to my closet, looking for something to wear for the day. Harry groaned from the bed, and I looked back over at him. "What?" I giggled. "Please come back to bed." he complained, raising his arms and motioning me to come. "Five more minutes." I said sternly, crashing back onto the bed. "That's okay, I work fast." he winked, pressing his lips against mine and wrapping his arms around me.

-

I stood on Evie's podium, admiring the dress she had made for me. "Evie, I'm literally shocked. This is the most beautiful dress I've ever worn." I said, watching as the overflowing ruffles of my dress danced gracefully with every movement I made. "Stop, it was nothing." she said with a giggle. "I literally owe you a limb at this point. This is incredible, Eves." I said, turning to her and stepping down from the podium. I changed out of my dress and back into my clothes, putting it in a garment bag and slinging it over my shoulder.

"I'll see you tonight." I smiled, giving her a hug and walking over to my dorm. I had a long day of pre-homecoming prep ahead of me. I dropped off my dress before continuing to the white tent that was set up for the dance. Jane was scurrying around the tent, telling people where to place the flowers and streamers. It was already looking really impressive and we were still missing half of the things we ordered. "Vee, thank god you're here!" she said, running breathlessly up to me. "Can you start inflating the balloons?" she asked, looking at her tablet in dismay and scrolling rapidly. "I'll get right on it. You doing okay, Jane?" I asked, rubbing her shoulder supportively.

"I'll be okay as soon as everything is set up. I want this to be perfect." she admitted, turning around to take in her surroundings. "I'll be back, I have to go find the caterer." she said quickly before dashing out of the tent. I took a seat on the floor and pulled out the balloon pump from under a table. I sat alone, inflating the balloons and tying them. I would wait until I had a pile of them ready to tie the strings onto. She needed 40 balloons, which was quite a tall order. Even though it wasn't actually hours that passed by, that's what it felt like. My fingers began to ache progressively as I inflated each one.

Once I had them all tied, I got them together in groups of four and put them all over the tent. The balloons were white, but the lights from inside the tent reflected off of them. Jane had lined fairy lights all over the top of the tent. It looked truly magical. I finished placing the centerpieces that Jane had abandoned before wiping my palms on my jeans. From the looks of it, everything was ready except for the food that Jane was taking over. I sent her a quick text saying that I had finished and headed back to my room to get ready for the dance.

I immediately got to work, taking a quick shower and going on to style my hair. I left it blow-dried for the time being while I went on to paint any of my nails that had chipped while I was helping set up. After that, I moved on to doing my makeup. I wanted a glowy natural look, nothing to heavy. I didn't want to distract from the beautiful dress Evie had made. That was the star of the show. I used a sponge to blend in my foundation, concealer, and contour, before moving on to my eyes. I kept it really basic, sweeping a taupe shade in my crease and using a highlighter on my lids to brighten my eyes. I slid on my mascara and false lashes before highlighting the tops of my cheeks.

Moving on to my hair, I used a curling iron for a beach waves look, taking the front sections and tying them back into a small ponytail. I loved the half updo look. I clipped a red flower that matched the dress onto the base of the ponytail to hide the hair tie. Finally, it was time to slip on my dress. I stepped into the red fabric, pulling it up and sliding my arms through. The zipper was on the side, so I was able to zip it up myself. I put on my necklace and bracelet before standing in front of the mirror. I was so happy with how I looked. I spritzed on my favorite perfume and was latching my heels on when Harry walked in. I smiled and stood, grabbing my clutch from the nightstand.

He took a double take when he saw me before smiling widely. "Wow...you look amazing." he said, eyes wide. I blushed and giggled, looking down. "You don't look so bad yourself." I said, looking back up at him. "I uh, I have something for you." he said, reaching nervously into his pocket. He passed me a small jewelry box. I took it from his hand and opened it to reveal a small ring with a hook on it. "I know it's not much, but Dizzy helped me make it and I just-" he rambled. I jumped into his arms, pressing my lips against his. "Shut up, this is incredible. I love it. Thank you." I said in between kisses. He slipped it on my finger and smiled shyly. I held out my hand and admired the ring. "Seriously, this is great." I mumbled, taking his chin in my hand and pecking his lips lightly.

"As much as I'd love to stand here and kiss you all night, we've got places to be, love." he noted, wrapping an arm around me. I turned off all the lights in my room before following him towards the tent. The upbeat music could be heard from across the campus, and dozens of couples walked in the direction of the tent. Everything looked beautiful, and the tent was full of people dancing and having a good time. I took Harry's hand and led him to the dance floor. We moved our bodies to the music, my arms on his shoulders. "You're the best thing that has ever happened to me." he whispered, watching me as I swayed my hips. I smiled and kissed him, running my fingers through his hair. He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me back, pulling me closer. He was intoxicating, and I was beginning to realize that I was falling for him headfirst.