You listened to the heavy bass intrude the walls as Harry turned the volume up on his laptop. You didn't pay much attention to the movie since your mind was still racing with an overwhelming amount of thoughts. Your eyes wandered to the closed door of his room and you tried to remember whether or not he had locked it. You took a deep breath and held it as you dared to look at him sitting beside you. You sat close on his bed, although you weren't touching at all. Sitting there with your knees brought to your chest, you took in how Harry looked with his face lightened by the screen in the almost dark room. He leaned against the headboard, hair messy and a few tattoos inked his arms. It was when you took note of the colour of his deep green eyes that you felt a chill run through your spine.
"Would you like a blanket?" Harry inquired without even looking at you.
His kind words were nearly startling. While mentally kicking yourself for not looking away sooner you noticed how odd it appeared for him to have asked something like that. He glanced at you with a gleam of his own confusion, then furrowed his eyebrows turning his face to the screen again.
"That's fine, thank you." You said politely but distracted by the loud noises outside. "Did you.. did you lock the door?"
Harry paused the movie before looking at you to ask, "why would I lock it?"
Your breath hitched in your throat nervously as you realised how he could have taken your question. "I mean, someone could just come in here."
"Someone did." Harry smirked at you.
You couldn't help but smile at him a bit. "I mean a person looking to start something or whatever."
"Look, you're new here, but everyone around knows that if they want to start something with me, I'll be the one ending it." He said this so nonchalantly that you wondered how serious he was being.
You nodded as you both looked back to the movie. It was in that moment that you experienced such a strong sense of safety with Harry for the first time. You felt Harry's eyes on you as your own grew heavy. Resting your head against the wall, you forgot about the party outside, breathed in the scent of cinnamon and pine, and focused on the sound of Harry's breathing next to you.
"Love?" A deep voice said near you.
Your neck was sore from the awkward position it had been in. You had fallen asleep and opened your eyes to see Harry sitting up. He was gently holding your shoulder, rubbing it lightly with his thumb. Coming out of your sleepy state, you straightened your back. The intense look in Harry's eyes was somehow calming, and a few butterflies made your stomach feel light. It was very quiet, and you felt relief knowing that the party had ended, mixed with a tint of disappointment that your time with Harry was over too.
"I should be leaving." You yawned.
"I never do this," Harry mumbled running a hand through his hair, "but if you want to stay the night, you can. It's past two in the morning anyhow."
You wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep with Harry's safe presence nearby. The person Harry had earlier referred to as your boyfriend was someone who you came to the party to forget about in the first place. The comfort you had felt in those few hours with Harry were far greater than anything your now ex boyfriend had ever offered. Your words disagreed with any emotion you were feeling as they replied for you, "I think I should go back to my dorm."
You got up and pulled on your Adidas you had taken off earlier, and saw that Harry was also putting on shoes.
"Where are you going?" You asked.
"With you."
"I'm sure I'll be fine I-"
"I'm walking you home."
