Wildfire // H.S // AU

01

dedicated to theolames because i love her stories and the covers she makes soon their will be a cover made by her up for the story :)

   "Hit me," Harry called, sliding his glass toward the bartender. It had been a long day at what he called work and it ended with his bottom lips being split open and a slight bruise on his cheek, adding to his dark aura. Before the bartender could pull the bottle away, Harry had his hand wrapped around the top of the bottle. "Just leave it." He ordered and the bartender scurried away. The bottle had started off filled to the brim and just after twenty minutes it was halfway empty – and even then he didn't even have a head buzz.

   There was a jingle of a bell, signally the old rusting door of the bar swinging open. Harry's head snapped in its direction, watching a line of girls falls in giggling and laughing. They all spotted Harry at the bar and he nodded their way, winking and watching as each of the brunettes turned crimson red. But what really caught his attention was the girl fell into the door lagging behind them, catching her breath and suppressing her laugh by covering her mouth with ring covered fingers.

   She was tall with sun kissed skin, and petite. As she rested by the door, still catching her breath, Harry drank the sight of her. A tattoo on her side poked up from underneath the small, gray top she wore and her long legs were fit snug into a pair of black jeans just as tight as Harry's. Her hair fell off her shoulders in tangled blonde beach waves, contrasting with her piercing blue eyes. A smile that was electrifying was plastered on her face and it caught every man's eye in the room, perfect for Harry to mark as his own for the night.

   Majority of the light in the smoke filled bar was swinging above the booth the girl and her friends occupied, letting Harry get a view of the few freckles on her nose. Finally, her attention was drawn to the bar after feeling a set of eyes on her for quite some time. The only thing she could make out was Harry's silhouette and a slight shadow shaping his perfectly sculpted jaw line. She stood from the table while taking the drink orders of her friends.

   "One round Ronnie," she called, pulling a few bills out of the bag slung over her shoulder, "and I'm paying this time, you pay for my drinks every time I come here." Harry's face contorted in confusion, he hadn't seen her here before. He was a regular, he could recognize most of the faces that came in and out of here and she wasn't one of them.

   "Keep your money Ivy," Ronnie winked at her, popping the caps off of beer bottles and sliding them on to a platter.

   So now Harry had a name to put with the face. He glanced at her from the end of the bar as she tapped away at her phone waiting for the rest of her order. Little by little, Harry scooted across the stools until he was seated in the one beside her. Slowly, Ivy glanced up and was taken aback by his appearance. His eyes were a shade of green she'd never seen before with the little flickers of blue around his pupil, the brown locks on his head were unruly on his head. He was beautifully wicked, no denying it.

   "Hello," Ivy greeted, turning her attention to him. "What's your name, I know you know mine." It wasn't meant to sound arrogant. She could tell he was listening just by the way he was staring at his drink.

   "Don't flatter yourself, sweetheart." Ivy coughed out a laugh, sizing him as the guy he was just with that statement. "I'll call you, Blondie." One of his slender fingers reached up to catch one of the strands of her hair but Ivy caught his wrist, lowering it back down to his lap.

   "Ivy is good." She patted his hand just as the bartender came back with the rest of her order. Harry watched as she leaned across the bar, taking the tender by the collar and pulling him in for kiss to the corner of his mouth. Harry leaned back on his seat, peaking at the curve at the end of her spine.  Her lips lingered at the bartender's ear for moment before stepping back. She'd asked for Harry's name and Ronnie didn't have the willpower to say no to Ivy – barely anyone did with those blue eyes and that smile. So he told her Harry's name just for another kiss on his cheek. "Thank you Ronnie," Ivy sang before stepping away from the bar. "Bye Harry," she smiled before walking back to the table with his friends.

   At first he was taken back and being the arrogant, cocky asshole he was, he was expecting Ivy to have written her number down on a napkin for him not to call after their one night stand. She was to be another name on his dangerously long list of sex escapades. Women were constantly flinging themselves at him in hopes to be the one to tame him. Maybe even just be the one who got to stay the night. But no women even came close to having a genuine conversation with him. But then it hit him like a swift slap to the face. Ivy was playing hard to get – in his eyes.

   Harry pushed away from the bar and stood on his lanky legs and strode past men who reeked of desperation and divorce, and women who'd just been dumped. All eyes locked on him when he stood in front of the tables of brunettes and one blonde. All noticed except Ivy and sat up a little taller and tried to fix their hair without it being noticeable. Harry licked his lips and underneath that table you would've seen three sets of knees buckle. Ivy's eyes looked around the table until she followed her friends' eyesight.

   "Blondie," Harry and nodded and Ivy sighed leaning against the back to cushion of the booth. He could see her getting irritated and he loved it.

   "Harry," she rolled her eyes, "these are my friends, friends this is Harry." All of her friends waved hoping that he would at least smile back but his eyes never strayed from Ivy. "It's rude not to say hello."

   "Do I look like a nice guy?" Harry retorted, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his black trench coat. "Could I talk to you for a minute?" All of Ivy's friends smiled at her, shuffling out of the booth to leave them alone.

   "I have a feeling even if I would've said no they still would've left." Ivy sighed to herself as Harry scooted in to the booth. "So, what's next? Are you going to smirk until you're blue in the face and I'm pawing at your shirt?" She laughed, curling her lips over the edge of her beer bottle and taking a gulp.

   "You're playing hard to get –"

   "What happened to your lip?" She ignored his cocky remark and pointed to his mouth with her pinky. "You're bleeding." Harry ran his tongue over his lip, catching the blood that was starting to trickle down and refused to wince at the contact to the fresh wound. "Well don't do that, it'll get infected." Before he could stop her, Ivy grabbed a napkin, dipped it in water, and held his chin in place as she touched it to the split skin.

   "Well if you wanted to get this close all you had to do was ask." Ivy rolled her eyes and he smirked. "Come home with me." He leaned in further, reaching his arms out and trapping her.

   "How'd that happen to your lip?" Ivy asked, ignoring his straight forward request. Her first assumption was that he got into a bar fight – it didn't look like it was out of his nature with the fading bruise on his cheek and the whole asshole image he had going.

   "I don't think that's any of your business, Blondie." Harry gripped her wrist tighter than he intended and pushed it away from his face. Ivy wasn't surprised by the answer she got, he wouldn't even tell her his name.

   "So you're that guy."

   "Please enlighten me on what guy I am, because you know so much about me and my life." Harry challenged, eyes dilating and jaw clinching. If there was one thing he hated, it was assumptions.

   "You're the guy that only gives enough to keep everyone wondering what you'll do next – really helps with the ladies I bet. You're the guy that won't even dream of putting anyone before his self. It's your way or the highway. You're the guy who keeps all his secrets locked in a box and dangles that box in front of women so they'll come home with you. But that's only if they don't go for the whole brooding thing." Ivy shrugged, finishing her drink with a final swig. "Did I miss anything?"

   "Wrong, absolutely wrong. So tell me, what girl are you Ivy?" Harry asked, smirking when Ivy smiled with the use of her name.

   "I Harry," she started, "I'm the girl who's not going home with you. You have a nice night, Harry. I'll see you around." A kiss was placed to his cheek and Ivy slid out of the booth, calling her friends when she was out the door. And as she was walking out, she was still wondering what happened to his lip.