Rewinding Time (Narry)

Chapter Seventeen

Sorry I haven't updated for about two weeks—even though I promised to update as much as I could since it is summer. I've been somewhat busy and I honestly just didn't feel really comfortable with how I was writing Harry's POV at the beginning of the chapter (I feel like his character development is moving way too quickly and it feels kind of cliché to me so I tried to make up for it in this chapter). Thank you so much for all of the kind comments in the last chapter; I'm really thankful for each and every one of you guys! Like always, thank you for reading and supporting me!

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❝HARRY❞

It has been more than two hours since I have gone to bed yet I still couldn't sleep. I couldn't quite shake off the memory of what had just gone down a few hours ago.

I didn't know what was coming over me; I'd been going really easy on Niall for the past few days. Perhaps I had just been lonely; Zayn and I had not spoken once since our quarrel that one night.

That must be it. The only reason why I'd been warming up to Niall was because I had nobody else to talk to.

Regardless, I was somewhat glad that we were talking to one another now. When we first met, I found Niall very shy, introverted, and frankly, irritating. Now that I think about it, the tension between us has been slowly diminishing.

I wonder if Niall felt just as comfortable around me as I did when I was with him. Indeed I did not speak much to him, but the silence between us was rather comfortable and peaceful; just having him around made me feel slightly better. There was no way I'd give him the satisfaction of knowing that his company was very much requested.

I rolled over onto my left side and stared long and hard at my right hand. The warmth from his hand still lingered in my memory; the only contact I normally have with another person is through sexual favors. This sort of contact, on the other hand, was very foreign to me; it felt raw and intimate. Normally, I would dislike such feelings because it made me feel vulnerable, but strangely enough, I enjoyed it. 

I must have be very desperate for the touch of another person if I found something like this enjoyable. Perhaps the main reason why I sleep around was because I couldn't fall asleep without the warmth of another body. The past few nights had been some of the longest nights of my life; Mother and Father had been keeping a watchful eye over my activities to ensure that I wasn't sleeping around anymore since I was to be wedded soon.

I understood that it was my duty as the son of a noble to marry another noble, but the idea just didn't seem too appealing to me. Call me selfish and delusional, but I fancied the idea of marrying a person whom I love and chose for myself—regardless of the fact that I currently had no such person. Perhaps I just disliked the thought of marrying somebody that my parents chose.

Growing tired of lying sleeplessly in my bed, I climbed out and wandered over to the loveseat, running my hand over the velvety material that covered the entire furniture. I threw my body across the length of the chair, sighing as I sunk into its soft cushions. My legs began swinging back and forth as they dangled over the arm of the chair. Eventually, the familiar drowsiness began to invade my body. I closed my eyes, inviting the feeling to take control.

❝NIALL❞

I woke up with a startle, jolting right out of the armchair that I had made my bed for the night. I glanced up at the maid who had pulled me from my slumber; she slightly scolded me for sleeping in the ballroom instead of returning to my own room. Silently, she began to shuffle around the room, tidying it up before the rest of the servants came in with the decorations.