nerd.

trente-six

Two Hours Later

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Arielle Evans 

I knock lightly on thedoor before a few shuffling noises are heard and the door swings open.

"Oh, Arielle! How lovely to see you." Anne remarks, embracing me in a hug.

"You too, Anne. I'm sorry I didn't tell you that I would be coming." I smile. trying my best to ignore the brick of guilt in the pit of my stomach. "Is Harry here?"

"Yeah, he's upstairs in his bedroom. You can go right upstairs, if you'd like." I nod before giving her another small hug and dashing up the stairs. Don't do this, Arielle,my subconscious warns. You're sacrificing a perfectly good relationship here.

"Oh, shut up." I mutter as I reach the bedroom door. I take a deep breath and open the door, finding Harry sitting on his bed strumming on his guitar. Why are you doing this, Arielle? You'll break his heart. I freeze when I realize that my subconscious is right.

"Arielle." Harry's voice, laced with amusement, brings me out of my thoughts. "What are you doing here?"

"I have to talk to you." I blurt before I can chicken out.

"What's up?" He places his guitar against his nightstand and scoots over, patting the place next to him for me to sit. I take the seat and exhale, my stomach churning a million miles an hour.

"Mason came to talk to me today." I gulp, watching Harry's expression change. Too late now, Arielle. Go on, tell him. "Harry....I don't know how to say this."

"Go on, love. I won't be angry, whatever it is." Harry smiles, and my stomach does flips.

"Uhm....Mason kissed me." I blurt before mentally smacking myself in the forehead. What have you done? Harry's expression breaks, his lips automatically curving down into a frown, and stress lines taking place on his forehead.

"What?!" he screeches, jumping off the bed. I instinctively stand and step away from him, my lip quivering and my heart pounding. "Did you kiss him back?"

"Uhm...I don't know." I struggle to think of a response. Harry rakes a hand through his curls, pacing back and forth between the bed and his nightstand.

"Fuck!" he screams, randomly shoving the papers off of his desk. He's breathing heavily now, and I step closer to the door, terrified.

"Y..You promised you wouldn't be angry." I say in a small voice, and he pauses, glaring at me.

"Well, that was before I learned that my girlfriend cheated on me." he spits.

"I didn't cheat on you! He kissed me, I didn't kiss him!" I cry, my voice shaking.

"Really? Then why was the answer 'I don't know' when I asked you if you kissed him back?" Harry yells. I can't think of a half-decent answer, so I stay silent and look down at my feet.

"I'm sorry." I mumble.

"Sorry isn't good enough this time, Ari." Harry snaps. I begin to cry silently. I told you, Arielle. Now you've gone and done it, there's nothing you can do abut it. You broke his heart. "You should go." he says, tugging at a few of his curls. "I need time to think."

"Okay." I agree as I fumble with the door handle, my vision blurry from the tears. I finally manage to get it open, and I sprint down the stairs.

"Ari, what's wrong?" Marcel questions, noticing my tear-stained cheeks. "Did Harry do something?"

"No, it was my fault this time, Marcel." I shake my head. "I kissed Mason." Marcel's expression softens, but instead of yelling at me like I thought he would, he wrapped his arms around me comfortingly. "You aren't mad at me?" I mumble against his sweater vest.

"No." he says, resting his chin on my head. "It's not your fault. I've known since the moment you and Mason split that you still had feelings for him. As much as I don't like seeing my brother hurt, I believe that you and Mason were meant to be."

"Thank you." I whisper against his chest, and he kisses my hair.

"Oh, so first she kisses her ex-boyfriend and now she's kissing my brother?" Someone snorts from the stairs.

"Piss off, Harry." Marcel rolls his eyes, pulling away from me. I suddenly feel cold from the absence of Marcel's warmth, but the heat immediately resurfaces to my body when he wraps his arm around my shoulder.

"I thought I asked you to leave." Harry snaps pointedly. What has gotten into him?

"I asked her to stay. And this isn't just your house, Harry, so you can't boss everybody around." Marcel snaps, equally as rude as Harry.

"Can she leave now?" Harry rolls his eyes. Bipolar much?

"No." Marcel retorts. "What the hell happened to you?"

"My girlfriend, excuse me, ex-girlfriend, cheated on me." Harry's tone is soft now, and he rubs the back of his neck nervously as if he were silently apologizing for his behavior.

"I didn't mean to." My voice is barely a whisper, and I am sure no one can hear me. Clearly Harry does, though, because his head snaps up at my response.

"If you didn't mean to, then why did you do it?" he asks quietly. Marcel glances back and forth between the two of us, trying to decipher what is going on.

"He kissed me first, I just kissed him back on instinct." My voice is wavering between a whisper and silence now, but somehow Harry manages to hear me. "I-I'm sorry."

"I am too." he mumbles. "We can't be together."

"I know." I mutter. "You don't deserve this."

"Perhaps now isn't the time for us. Maybe some day, in the future, when both of us have matured, we will be ready to love each other again." Harry whispers, stepping a little closer to me.

I nod, but my resolve breaks, and a few tears manage to escape from the outer corners of my already watery eyes. "I'm so sorry, Harry. You didn't deserve any of this."

Harry smiles, some tears of his own slipping from his green orbs. "You're saying I didn't deserve the best five months of my life?"

I smile, despite the serious conversation, wiping my eyes. "Are you kidding? Those months must have been hell for you." This causes us both to laugh softly, and Marcel to raise his arms in confusion before leaving the room.

"Are you going to be with him now?" he asks suddenly.

"Uhm...I don't know, Harry. I really don't know. I don't think I'm ready to be in another relationship."

Harry nods, but hurt is still clear in his eyes. "I meant what I said a few weeks ago, Arielle."

"What?"

"Even if we are never together, I will always be in love with you." he says, causing me to smile.

"I wish we could be together." he mutters, fiddling with his fingers.

"Me too." I say, although I only half mean it.

"Perhaps we can stay as friends." Harry suggests, extending his arm.

I proudly shake it, my emotions becoming clearer now. "Friends."