Dare You to Move (Punk Harry Styles)

Chapter Thirteen

(A/N: Not edited again. So you guys didn't reach the comment goal, but you did reach the vote goal, so yay! New chapter for you! I won't always do this, but I finished the chapter tonight, and of course I wanted to share it with you guys. Enjoy! :) )

Time seemed to be dragging its feet that day, my classes seeming to be endless, especially Contemporary Literature. When I saw Shelly wasn’t there at first, I breathed a sigh of relief. But then in the middle of class she showed up with a late pass. I had looked up when she came in but immediately looked back down at The Hunger Games before she could look at me.

I saw her walk down the aisle of desks until she got to hers out of the corner of my eye.

“Selene, I…” She started, but I completely ignored her, looking the other way. I didn’t want her to see the hurt on my face. The only problem was, when I looked up, I saw Harry staring at me from his seat, scrutinizing the situation unfolding, his eyes flicking between Shelly and I. I quickly looked back down at my book, trying to focus on the chapter in vain.

When the bell finally rang, I sprung out of my seat, eager to leave the room. I didn’t even wait for Harry as I practically ran out of the room. Lunch was next, but I felt sick to my stomach as I walked back to my locker. I spun the combination on my lock to get it open, shuffling around in my bag to switch out my stuff again. When I closed it I almost screamed, not having seen a certain curly-haired boy leaning against the locker next to mine.

“Jesus, don’t do that!” I half yelled at him, smacking his arm lightly, not having the energy to put much force into it.

Harry smiled at the hit, but his face looked troubled.

“What’s wrong?” I asked him, slinging my bag over my shoulder as I prepared for the dreaded walk to lunch.

“The thing with your brother has to do with Shelly, doesn’t it?” He guessed, quirking an eyebrow up.

I froze. We had started walking toward the cafeteria, but now I stopped in my tracks. People continued to walk around us as turmoil spun around in my head again. I chewed on my bottom lip, but my silence told him what he needed to know.

“Did she sleep with him?” He asked, making my jaw drop.

“No! God, no,” I shook my head furiously.

“What did she do?” He asked me, his eyes burning into mine. But it was more than curiosity, which was just how the form of the question came out. He wanted to help fix whatever was tearing me up inside, but he couldn’t do that if he didn’t know what happened.

“I…” I attempted to tell him, but the words got caught in my throat as tears began to well up in my eyes. I swiped them away quickly, hating how dramatic I must be seeming to be. “It’s not as bad as you think,” I finally said.

His brow furrowed in confusion. “If you don’t tell me, I’ll think the worst happened.”

I stared at him in silence, deciding against telling him. I knew I’d eventually have to tell him, especially if I decided I wanted to keep him in my life. It wasn’t just the fact that Shelly had kept the secret from me for years, it was the burn of betrayal that I felt after she’d hit me. After being there for her for years, seeing her beloved sisters leave for college to her parent’s divorce, I had thought that our friendship was stronger than her stubborn anger. If I had to tell Harry all of that, it wouldn’t be in school, let alone in a crowded hallway.

I finally looked away, not being able to take his intense stare. “Later,” I muttered, getting self-conscious with people starting to look at us funny.

Harry noticed my change in body language, looking around us to glare at anyone who dared to glance our way. “What are you looking at?” He even sneered at someone who had been looking too long for his liking.

“Harry, don’t,” I told him, taking hold of his wrist lightly. His hand had become a fist, but at my touch he relaxed and looked down at me in surprise.

“Don’t give any fucks for what people here think about you, Acosta. Okay? None of the opinions matter, except yours,” he said to me, his hand slipping into mine and giving it a squeeze.

I smiled at the warm contact, my heart already feeling a little lighter. “Thanks, Harry,” I said, squeezing his hand back before retracting it. Honestly, I wanted to intertwine our fingers and keep them clasped together for as long as I could. But that wasn’t realistic, especially if I was giving myself just two weeks to make this decision. My heart desperately wanted to say yes to him, yes to all of him, but my head was skeptical, ready to run if necessary. “Can we have lunch outside? I don’t think Shelly will look for me there,” I said.

“Whatever you want,” he smiled down at me, turning around to start walking the other way, not caring if he was pushing through the middle of hallway traffic. A few grunts and “watch where you’re going” could be heard from others as Harry made his way through the crowd. I followed closely behind, not wanting to get lost or to fall behind.

There were a few benches outside in the back where students could go and eat lunch if the weather was good enough. Today, it was a little chilly though, but I was grateful I had put on a sweater for today’s outfit. Harry had on his usual black skinny jeans and white t-shirt, but this time had a leather jacket over it.

He made his way over to the bench farthest from the school, which was a mere thirty feet. He sat down on one side, while I walked around to the other, his back to the school. Before I had completely sat down Harry asked, “Think someone would catch me if I smoked?”

I chuckled, shrugging my shoulders. “Probably. Have you ever smoked on school grounds?”

He nodded, grinning. “Only been caught twice.”

I rolled my eyes. “What punishment did you get?”

“The first was only a warning, and that was last year. I got away with it all freshman year. The second time was the first day back this year and I got two days of detention for it. I’d probably get a week’s worth if I got caught a third time,” he told me, but he didn’t look too worried about the possibility.

I shook my head in amusement, biting my lip to hold back a smile.

“I love it when you do that,” he said out of nowhere.

“What?” I asked, confused.

“When you bite your lip. Not the worrying chewing you do with your lip, I don’t like when you worry. But when you’re thinking hard about something, or you’re trying not to smile, it just makes me want to kiss you,” Harry explained to me. While he said it, he reached out, brushing his thumb over my bottom lip before pulling it back again.

I sat there stunned. Most guys wouldn’t notice something like that, let alone tell a girl about it, and so descriptively too. “Who are you?” I asked in awe.

His usual cocky smirk appeared before he said, “I’m just me, Acosta.”

(A/N: 15 Votes and 5 Comments ((comment goal stays the same since you guys didn't reach it last time)) Thanks for reading!)