Timeless [ A Harry Styles OU ] {1/2}

seventeen

As Rhea flings open the bar door, the sudden gush of air dries the tear tracks that she hadn't gotten a chance to wipe away. She paws at the skin under her eyes as she is engulfed by the rambunctious atmosphere of her surroundings. She'd left her bag at the bar with Samuel.

She keeps her face low so she doesn't have to make eye contact with anyone. Her heart is pounding so loudly in her ears she can barely hear any of the mundane chatter and laughter around her. The adrenaline running through her veins is so poignant and wicked sharp, encouraging her to keep going as far as she can on this sudden rush. But, the magnitude of what's just happened between her and Harry hasn't yet hit her and she doesn't want anyone to see her when it does.

When she finally weaves her way towards her seat, Sam is scrolling through his phone. His glass of whiskey is empty now and the ice is melting and pooling in the bottom. Rhea takes a deep breath before she steps up and swings her bag onto her shoulder.

"Sam, I'm sorry but I have to go. Send the client file over to my email and I'll get back to you, alright?" She's rummaging through her bag trying to locate her phone so she can call and Uber.

"Oh, that's fi-... Rhea, hey, what's wrong? What happened?" Sam ducks down so he can meet her gaze. His eyes widen when he sees that she's got tears pooling in her eyes.

Rhea blinks at him, faintly registering that his lips are moving and he's trying to ask her something. The only thing she can think about is the finality of her conversation with Harry. It was over. They were over. There was something so terrifying and invigorating about that at the same time. Her heart sinks and her throat closes up at the realization of what she's done. But what really punctuates her pain is that she's not entirely regretting what she said to him.

She can hear the jingle of the bell on the bar door in the background and she wonders if it's Harry. Her skin prickles and her mind starts to flood with snippets of what they had said to each other out in the night air. She closes her eyes for a brief moment, hoping to stop it, but an image of Harry's face when she pushed him away the first time comes back to haunt her.

Sam reaches a hand up to cup her cheek, thumb brushing across her cheek bone in a delicate gesture as he peers at her with worry. She opens her eyes, losing herself in Sam's hazel ones. His touch is warm, but not gentle like Harry's. Yet, Rhea finds herself nuzzling into it nonetheless. Her gaze darts down to his lips as he asks her something and before she can stop herself she's leaning forward, pressing her lips to his.

Sam's hand slides back from her cheek to cup the back of her head, deepening the kiss. Rhea tells herself that she did the right thing; ending things with Harry and moving on as quickly as possible is exactly what she needs. She needs to keep her mind off of it so she doesn't have to face it or give herself a way to take back what happened.

It's not long at all before Rhea begins to feel nauseous and she shakes her head, breaking their brief kiss with a popping sound. She rests her forehead against Sam's who is panting in confusion.