Dirty Little Secret » Larry AU

PART 9: Temptation

SECOND ERA:

Monday, I was stuffing my mouth with the last baked potato on my plate while listening to Caleb rant over his terrible Chemistry professor. It was interesting until he started talking about this game he was obsessed with, so I zoned out and focused on the littlest things in my surroundings—like how fast his hair had grown, or how irritating it was that Elise barely even spoke anymore because she was so fixated on her phone.

Apparently, her and Liam had been texting all weekend.

How was Niall doing? Let's see.

With his fork, he lazily organised the untouched vegetables the the left, making sure every single piece of lettuce would form a nice circle on the side. After that, he scraped the utensil to collect the remaining potato that he had earlier mashed down due to frustration when he heard Elise giggle. Yeah. He was struggling—because usually there wouldn't be a trace of food left on his plate.

My gaze travelled from Niall's leftovers to Caleb's face to make it believable that I was still listening. When my sight was at that height, I was able to spot something penetrating right behind my friend's shoulder. Somebody was staring, and at first I was too afraid to find out—but finally, I gave in, as it seemed there was nothing stopping them from gawking.

It was Harry. Surprise!

His jaw was chewing—as it did even when he wasn't eating—but now his cheeks were filled with food. I watched him swallow hard, his Adam's apple moving visibly in the process. With his fork he guided a cherry tomato to his lips, subtly sucking on it while looking me directly in the eye.

I dropped my knife onto the table. Swiftly, I glanced down into my empty plate and gulped after realising what I had just done. There was no way he hadn't noticed how flustered he had made me. There was no way.

I had already screwed up. Looking again wouldn't hurt anyone, right?

Regaining the view of him eating, I began to feel clammy beneath the fabric of my t-shirt. He was then chewing on the cherry tomato, his jaw moving slowly and according to my tummy—teasingly. I was clenching my fists on top of the table in order to attempt preventing my thoughts from going in the direction they were. I had lost control.

As soon as the smirk found its way to his lips, I knew I was doomed. The face that had once—in my opinion—been so utterly disgusting, was in that moment, the most attractive one I had ever seen. And he knew it. Because he smirked wider, and when I felt my cheeks flush, he chuckled.

I was so angry at myself.

"Louis. Are you listening?"

I blinked a couple times and found my way back to Caleb. "No. Sorry. I zoned out. What did you say?"

"I said, are you finished?"

I gulped one final time as I was still feeling his intense glare stinging into my skin. I nodded. "Yes. Let's go."

...

By the time I was off that same day, I met with my friends in the library. Adeline had just broken up with her boyfriend and was talking with Elise about whether or not she should try and go with Zayn so they could double date (since Zayn was friends with Liam).

I swear, Niall was still alive.

Just as they were talking about that, inconveniently, the entire boy-toy gang—including Harry—entered the library. I nudged Adeline's arm to make her realise and they both instantly shut their mouths. And of course, I felt my heart begin to race as if it was in a fucking marathon.

It wasn't intentional—I swear—but my eyes snapped up again when I heard them getting closer. Thankfully, he was focused on what Zayn was saying and didn't acknowledge that we were right there, a few rows down from where they were standing.

Elise spoke under her breath, "What do I say to him if he sees me?"

Adeline giggled. "Just say hi and smile."

They were talking about Liam, obviously. And I was staring at Harry, obviously.

The four guys stopped walking when they reached their desired shelf. Zayn began searching after a book while the others observed him. Harry leaned his back against the bookcase behind him and slowly started making sense out of his surroundings. He found me.

It was as if his eyes transformed into a different kind when they connected with mine. It seemed as though they almost adjusted themselves, suddenly got softer and were instantly ready to captivate my entire being. They were so green. Greener than I had ever seen them.

Harry ran his thumb over his precise jaw, his lips curling smugly as he observed my gawking stare. I watched his jaw clench and unclench, and I immediately felt the need to breathe in deeper every time I inhaled. He was subtly chewing on his lip when he moved his head a little, presumably trying to tell me something without actually speaking.

I raised my brows, advocating that I hadn't been able to tell what he was coding. He then bobbed his head to the side, his smouldering eyes telling me more than his words ever could've. There it was again, that tingling sensation in my tummy. It would always let me down, I supposed. At that thought, my jaw clenched—just like his—and I felt my whole body tense as I slowly stood up from my seat.

I told Niall to keep an eye on my things while I went to "the toilet". I noticed Harry slowly creeping away from his friends before disappearing in between the row opposite to them. I decided to keep it as discreet as possible and took another turn to walk off to the very end of the suspected row where he was indeed standing—smiling to himself.

He didn't notice my presence until my feet were only a metre away from his. He looked up at me attained the same look he had before, only this time it was hungrier. He still didn't have to say anything, because the look on his face was enough for me to realise that he wanted exactly the same as I did.

Taking him by utter surprise, I pushed him up against the wall, my body flush against his. In that moment, I couldn't dare to look him in the eye. I had never felt badder about being wrong because I could practically feel his arrogance sipping through his pores, stinging against my skin. He had been right. This is what I wanted, and I couldn't even see it myself.

"Please don't say anything."

"Lou–"

"Don't fucking speak," I snarled, my breath hitting the skin on his neck that I was glaring into. I took a deep breath, collected my thoughts and lapped my hands on each side of his waist, the sensation sending shivers right through me. I said, "I'll do this with you. But you can't tell anyone."

I finally glanced up at him. He looked like he was starving. His green ones had transformed into a much darker version of themselves and his lips were no longer curved—they were parted, puffing warm breaths that subtly fanned the top of my head. He was much taller than me, but that didn't seem to bug him. What was presumingly bugging him was the fact that I had told him not to speak, hence he was clearly struggling.

"Talk," I forced out.

He licked his lips, the words slipping out under his thin breath. "The cellar?"

...