Effortless (h.s.)

Chapter NINETEEN - gotta run

"You need to jump!" Harry growled, resting his hands on the top of his head while he paced around the bottom of the fire escape.

There was a good four feet jump from the last step to the gravel road beneath me, I sat on the bottom step with my hands propping my chin up. The chances of me hurting myself restrained me from jumping down onto the ground. Harry had done it two minutes prior and had made it look easy.

I groaned, "I told you! I can't!"

Harry propped his large hands onto his waist, glaring up at me in a half joking and half actually annoyed way. I knew I was becoming more comfortable around him because I genuinely didn't care that he was upset with me, I didn't want to jump so I wasn't going to.

Through my nose, I made a 'hmph' sound and uncrossed my legs. I let them dangle as I rested the palms of my hands on the edge of the last step, "Don't give me that look, not my fault I'm scared of heights."

A flash of blinding brightness hit me in the eyes, head on. Harry's body turned into a shadow in front of the light, I shut my eyes and hid them behind my forearm.

"Get down, now!" Harry whisper yelled, my heart sank and suddenly Harry had his hands on my hips and hoisted me down onto the ground. I almost tipped out of his grasp, but right before I fell I grabbed onto his torso and was steadied to the ground, "Hug me later, we have to go."

Harry lightly pushed me out of his arms and clenched onto my elbow, dragging me up the side of the building and into a back alleyway, out of the direct car light that had been shinning on us.

My lungs burned within seconds of running. I hadn't done any physical activity since I moved here. Well, besides going out and dancing all night. But any exercise done when you're drunk doesn't count.

His hand let go of my bend in my arm and he started running ahead of me, I trailed behind but couldn't help but giggle. My hair flipped in front of my eyes and then rested on the back of my neck. I smiled watching a girl walk to her car, her dark silhouette stalking out and away from the building. A surge of adrenaline tingled through my body, sending me into a state of pure euphoria.

When I turned back around to get tabs on where Harry was, I was running along side of him. I bumped my shoulder into his and we both let out a cry of laughter like two little kids running from their parents. It didn't take long to pass him by and sprint faster than I ever had before.

I leaned into my turn and slowed the running when we were out of sight of Sierra, the hot LA night warmed my chilled skin from constantly being inside the apartment. Around the bend of bricks, the sunset was nearly gone and hidden by the tall buildings and the flat stretch of earth before us. The corners of my lips turned upwards and I breathed in.

Orange spurts of paint bled into the dark magenta sky, the sight along made my body burn up with joy. Having Harry standing there with me only added to my happiness.

Harry casually placed his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into a loose side hug, "It's absolutely beautiful, isn't it?"

My hand snaked around his waist and I pulled him into me tighter, smiling into his upper torso.

"When I was in high school, I used to sneak onto the top of our roof from my bedroom window. It was my favorite place to go. And nights like these were always the ones I looked forward to," I admitted, his heartbeat thudded underneath my ear. It was comforting.

A single finger of his rubbed my shoulder in a soothing motion, but as quickly as my nerves were calmed, they started back up again. I thought about how he told me he had asked me on a date last night and I agreed unknowingly.

The thought of going on a date with Harry was unquestionably one of the scariest things I've ever come across in my life. I wanted him in my life forever. What if he didn't like me after moving things along.

I snapped out of it and gripped him harder, I really need to stop thinking so much.

"When I was on tour with the lads, at night I would look up at the moon and think about all the people out there who I'll never meet," Harry stared up at the highlighted sky as I pivoted my head to look at him. His jaw was clenched after he spoke, "I was stuck on a tour with some of the best people out there, but all I could think about were the billions of people I'll never be able to spend time with. Sad, ya know?"

I paused before I replied to him, the moon was always special to me. Each person on this planet expresses gratitude for the sun always being there, but the moon was always falling just short behind the sun. It would reach the sky each night as people were falling asleep and had to leave by the time they woke up.

The thought of Harry looking at the same moon, wishing to be free from his hectic life, while I sat on top of a LA suburban house and prayed for something to happen in my life was eccentric to me.

"It is sad," I articulated, I pulled away from him and crossed my arms while thinking out loud, "It makes you feel so small, yet so powerful. Each person on this planet is equal and... while we're here it doesn't seem like it. But one day it isn't going to matter that I'm some college drop out or that you're a celebrity, we're going to be dust in the ground. It's humbling as fuck," I laughed the last sentence out.

His lips pouted when I finished my lecture, "I'm Harry," he corrected me, "And you're Lennon. The labels don't matter, love, have you noticed those titles are the most far fetched names that we could be called?"

I blinked blindly at his completely correct statement. The warmth that grew inside of me returned again, it would happen whenever I was alone with Harry. My lips twisted to the side and I peered around where we were.

We were in the intersection between the back of four large brick buildings, we had a couple of feet all the way around us and four separate pathways branching out to either a street or sidewalk. The sky was our only lighting now, but even that would soon burn out.

"Hey," I snapped out of my own head when Harry spoke softly to me and latched his hand onto mine. My dark eyes watched his ring covered hand with a small cross tattoo adjust itself into my own, making sure we had a tight grip on each other.

Gradually, I gazed up at him and he had a small smile on his face, "Are you okay with this?" He lightly shook both of our arms by swinging his hand.

My throat was tight and I swear my heart was protruding out of my chest. Was I okay with this?

A month ago I was laying in my bed, in the house I had moved into as a teenager, trying to force myself to have feelings for my best friend. I could feel the summer breeze on my rosy cheeks, watching the white curtains that were just a little bit too long for my window blowing back and forth. The blue walls were illuminated with the sun, making it's way into my room.

My fan buzzed over me and created a white noise, blocking out the sound of my parents downstairs having a conversation about how nervous they were having to deal with me.

Nothing was okay back then, but I had always had the power to make it okay.

No one was stopping me from happiness besides myself, the only wall that was up was one I had built up over years and years of living.

"Yeah, can we go for a walk?" I let the smile out onto my face that I had been hiding from him and released the unknown tension I had with the hand he was holding. I knew he noticed because his timid expression quickly morphed into a confident smile.

He hummed over the nearby construction, "I have somewhere I want to take you," I peered up to see his toothy grin had subsided into a softer smile, "I think you'll really love it."