Cigarette Burns/ H.S

C h a p t e r 16

Unedited.

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She jumped and almost choked when she saw Niall grinning at her. His hair was messier than usual and if Ava was being honest, he looked like he hadn't slept very well.

"Niall..." she swallowed, not sure how she should react. She turned and no one seemed to notice.

"What have you been up to? Besides missing me, of course." He grinned.

A big flashing smile lit up her face. How could she not. She threw her arms around him. He laughed and hugged her tighter.

Ava pulled back, taking a good look. God, she  hasn't smiled in a long while. "What are you doing here?" She asked, composing herself in her seat.

"Harry is on a mission and it was close by." He shrugged and looked away. Ava was almost certain it was a lie.

"Oh." His eyes lit up, taking out something from his back pocket. He gave her a phone with a crack on the screen.

"My phone..." Ava trailed off, relived but curious how he had it.

"Yeah sorry Harry kept it." He sheepishly gave her a smile.

Ava glanced at her phone, the mysterious stories she came up on how she lost it made her sounded silly in her head now.

"I must ask you something, Niall." She looked up at his wide blue eyes.

"How did I get to my dorm on the night that I went on my arranged date with Harry?"

He paled and scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Oh, Ava.." he looked at her with eyes full of pity.

"Ava, you and your blonde friend take this conversation outside." The professor said.

So she did just that, she stood up and Niall followed her out, glaring at the professor. Once they were outside, Ava pinned down Niall with a hard look.

"You were tired so he took you home." Niall said while focusing on anything but her.

"Niall..please?" She begged, looking at his flickering eyes.

"Look, it doesn't matter. I just came here to say hi. So hi. Now bye." Niall turned his heel but couldn't walk away because just then Ava grabbed into his shirt.

"Fine, no explanation. How about we just have dinner at Mike's?" She smiled, hiding the fact that not knowing was killing her.

"Of course! I'll pick you up at 7:30 sharp!" Niall have her a last hug and left, leaving her more confused than ever.

She clearly remembers herself not being tired at all. He didn't weirdly offer her something than could've been poisoned throughout the ride.

She thought about all the ways that could've happened when she changed for that evening. Mike's was a local restaurant that was fancy enough to be dressed up.

Ava wore a simple blue dress with cute nude heels she found in Emma's closet. She didn't want to try too much.

It was 7:47 when the doorbell rang loudly. Ava smiled, expecting Niall. But instead, there stood Harry with a baleful expression.

Ava stumbled back, not believing it. He walked forward, shutting the door behind him.

"Look at you, pretty face, doing anything just to find out about me." He smiled, sizing her up. She hit the corner of her bed and Harry was closing in on her.

"What? Why-what are you doing-" he put his finger on her lip, shushing her.

"Oh Ava, you're such a bad liar. It's like..." he thought for a moment, tapping his finger against his chin.

"It's like you want to get kidnapped again. Should we even call it that? You sure did enjoy it." He beamed.

"No, I didn't." Ava defended with a weak voice. The fact was that she couldn't stop thinking about it. About him.

He laughed, putting his hands on her shoulders and pushing her on the bed, forcing her to sit. He looked down at her, feeling powerful when he saw her swallow in fear.

"You want to know so badly how you got here. But you don't really care, do you? You just want an excuse to come back to me." Harry smiled sinisterly and swept the hair from Ava's face.

"Look at you...so dressed up...it's for me isn't it?" He laughed, his eyes sparkling. Ava shook her head, her heart beating so fast, making her excited. She loved this feeling, like there was something about to burst out in her chest. She has chased this feeling and here he was, mocking her, giving it to her and he doesn't even know.

"Get out." She stated, swallowing away her desire. He still had that cocky smile, looking at her like she was so small.

"That's the thing, Ava. Come with me." He reached out his hand, offering it to her.

"Where?" She glanced at his palm and back to his face in confusion.

"Does it even matter?" He laughed, dropping his hand to his side. Then he got serious.

"Ava... I know this isn't what you want." He paused, looking around her small dorm in discontent.

"I know you want me. I know you don't want a boring life. You want what I can provide. I know you want to feel it all. I know you want to feel it here." He crouched down so he was eye level to her and tapped her chest with his index finger.

"I know you're just like me." He didn't smile or even have a playful tone in his voice. The silence in the room so heavy, Ava could barely carry it. He stood then, blinking away the seriousness and tenseness of the room.

Harry smiled. "But I can't make you feel that if you don't come willingly. So, what do you say pretty face?" He held out his hand again.

Ava was almost trembling, her fist tightly by her sides. She was scared, excited, happy. So many emotions washed over her. But she couldn't breathe, her chest felt tight and her eyes stinging. Some time passed, she didn't know.

She couldn't bring herself to say yes or no. It was so against everything she knew.

"Well, I offered." He lowly said. She didn't look at him but rather his shoes. He was turning away. His shoes were almost at the door now, hesitating.

"Wait!" Ava burst out, her voice sounding strange. He looked at her in surprise.

"Is there a guarantee I'll be safe?" She asked, now looking at him in his eyes.

"No. This life is a gamble, Ava. You either win or you die. Painfully." He shrugged. She grinned now. A true addict.

"Then yes. Let's go."

They both locked eyes. Both having the same deranged look in their twinkling eyes. But Ava didn't know, she had no idea what the future would bring. And yet, she was willing to embrace it.

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-it be like that sometimes-