A/N: woo another chapter. I'll hopefully be updating the road to verona soon as well because the next chapter is going to be good :)
An hour later and I'm completely exhausted. Looking after a child is hard work. Especially one as energetic as Harry. It's like Mitch and Scott after they've been drinking too much coffee. Thankfully Kirstie's dealing with it far better than I am. If Harry's like Scott and Mitch then she's definitely had more practice. Part of it seems to be down to the fact that Harry's slightly in awe of her. She's so sweet and understanding and funny and she talks to him like everything he says is really important. I find myself just staring at her, not really helping at all. Once we've finished the puzzle and had a ridiculous chase around the house with the dog we decide to watch tangled. I put it on and then we curl up on the sofa with Harry between us. We watch quietly for a few minutes until Harry turns to Kirstie and looks at her. "What's up Harry?"
"She's like you."
"What?"
"She's pretty and she does singing and she has yellow hair like you."
"Aww thank you." He snuggles into her side and she looks over at me and grins.
Pretty soon Harry has fallen asleep. I guess he wore himself out with all the running around. I carry him upstairs and lie him on my parents bed and then return to the couch where Kirstie is sat, still transfixed by the film. "You know I sort of see where he's coming from, you are a little bit like her." She smiles as I sit down and wrap my arms around her. "Although you're much prettier." She blushes and buries her face in my chest "Shut up." I just shake my head and press a kiss into her hair, trying desperately to ignore just how coupley this whole thing is. We stay wrapped around each other as the film progresses and when it reaches the boat scene she sighs. "You ok?"
"Yeah I just love this. It's like my favourite movie scene ever, it's so romantic."
"Yeah it's pretty sweet." She hums along with the song and I join her automatically. "You'd make a pretty good Flynn."
"Yeah?"
"You've got the hair for it."
"Well you haven't quite got the hair to be rapunzel but otherwise we're pretty close."
When my parents get back we're lying on the couch. She's on top of me with her head resting on my chest and her back's against my stomach. I'm leaning against the arm of the couch and we're discussing Scott's upcoming birthday and what we're going to get for him. "Alex just set the bar too high. That Beyonce painting he did last year is basically Scott's favourite thing ever." "Yeah he's such a great boyfriend."
"Is someone jealous?" She turns her head to look up at me and laughs "No I'm happy with what I've got." I'm actually really glad that my parents choose that moment to walk into the room because I have absolutely no clue what to say.
"Hello you two, where's Harry?"
"I put him in your bed to nap." We start to get up but my dad shakes his head. "You two stay there, I'll go and check on him." Kirstie lies back down but she rolls over slightly so that she can face my mom who's sat on the armchair. "How was furniture shopping?" My mom launches into a story that I struggle to concentrate on with the scent of Kirstie's hair clouding my brain and the weight of her body resting between my legs.
Dinner is uneventful for the first few minutes but after a while the shopping talk dies down and we're the obvious subject to jump to. "Kirstie it's obvious what Avi sees in you but what made you like him?"
"Yeah Kirstie, what do you like about our brother?" I glare at Esther but she just sticks out her tongue as everyone around the table looks at Kirstie curiously. "Um well first I noticed how cute he was and then how beautiful his voice was. After a while though I started to realise how smart and caring and kind he is and that's when I really fell for him." She ducks her head and I grab her hand supportively as my family ooh and aah happily. "Oh that's so lovely. You two are so lucky to have each other." Part of me wants to help Kirstie out but I'm distracted by the idea that maybe she meant some of what she said. She still hasn't looked up from her lap and I realise that we need to get out of there. "We're done eating so we're just going to go for a walk. We won't be long."
I barely wait for my statement to be acknowledged before I pull her up from her chair and out of the front door. I'm thankful that it's warm because I didn't think to grab a jacket for either of us. We walk down the street until we reach a small patch of grass at the corner. I look at her sad, serious expression and wrap my arms around her. "I'm so sorry Kirst." She stays pressed against me but lifts her head to reply. "I don't know if I can do this anymore Avi. It's getting too confusing. It's so hard to keep the boundaries and I'm so worried about how things are going to be when we leave here and they really believe us." I stroke her back gently. "You don't have to do anything that you don't want to do. We can stop this whenever you want. If you feel awkward then I will genuinely drive you home tonight. You are so important to me and I'm not risking our friendship just to stop my family from being uncomfortable." She moves out of the hug and looks up at me. "I don't know I just need some time on my own. I haven't been apart from you and that's fine but it makes it really hard to properly think about things." I understand what she means. In some ways this all feels right but in others it makes no sense at all. After all this time of being firmly just friends this whole thing is so sudden. "Take as long as you need. You can have my room, I'll be with Esther or out here." She nods and walks away and I watch as she leaves, feeling like she's taking part of me with her.
