Cut!

Take 24 - Does He Know - Part 3

A/N Comment away, it helps me pull my bum into writing more for you guys. More comments = More writing. Spam away, bring those pompoms.

Looking around, I contemplated all possible escape routes. If I bolted for it, I might reach the lobby before he caught up to me. I swallowed. The pool was also an option. Maybe I could jump in and he’d be so confused he’d leave.

I didn’t think so either…

Slowly, I stood up, stopping right in front of Harry. “I need to talk to you too,” I said with a sigh.

The sound of crunching plastic bag pierced the silence that followed. Annoyed, I glanced at Liam, who was stuffing his face with candy while looking between us. Not once did he take his eyes away from us.

“Do you mind?” I asked Liam, gesturing to Harry and me. I had a feeling this conversation was best held under private circumstances.

Liam shook his head. “God no. Go ahead.” He took another gummy bear but stayed seated.

That so wasn’t what I’d meant. Note to self: If I ever need to give Liam a hint again, I should buy a neon sign. Turning my attention back to Harry, I looked at him through my eyelashes.

He didn’t look angry, but then again, he didn’t look happy either. In fact, the expression on his face wasn’t one I’d seen before. Then again, he was extremely good at acting.

“Look…” I sighed. “I know what you’re going to say, and trust—“

“I like you,” he interrupted. “A lot, actually.”

“Huh?” I gawked. Not what I was expecting…

He continued, “And I don’t want to play this game anymore. I know you said you wanted to maintain a professional distance, but this”—he gestured between him and me—“it means something, and I know you feel it too.”

“Harry…” I said, but he held up a hand to stop me.

“Just… let me finish, okay?” he pleaded. “I don’t know what your reasons for pulling away, but I wanted you to know—once and for all—that I really like you. And if you’d agree to it, I want to take you out on a proper date.”

I was speechless. Here, I’d been ready to grovel on my knees for his forgiveness. It’d seemed so serious, and now he was asking me out? I couldn’t make any sense of this, at all. My mind was going in a thousand different directions.

“I…” I didn’t know what to say. I stared at him, trying to avoid Liam’s piercing stare from the sideline. At least, someone was finding this entertaining. “Why do you say this now?”

Harry shrugged. “It was something Louis said… He asked me about you, and I just knew… I had to tell you immediately. It’s how I feel, and I wanted you to know.”

“Okay…” I said. A smile crept onto my face. He liked me. I’d known it already, but to hear it out loud made it so much better.

“Okay, as in…?”

“I’d love to go out with you,” I said.

The following expression seemed like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. His smile was broad, and he looked shyly to the ground. “Really?”

I laughed. “Really. I’d like to go on a date with you.”

We smiled at each other, just staring into each other’s eyes.

It was Liam, who broke the silence. “Will you just kiss already? The suspense is killing me.”

Harry rolled his eyes but placed his hands on my waist. My heart skipped a beat, and I held my breath. I was actually doing this—no regrets.

His lips covered mine, and he pulled me closer. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and his went around my back. Lacing my fingers in those wonderful curls, I couldn’t help but smile against his lips.

He pulled slightly back. “What is it?”

Shaking my head, I just brought his lips back to mine. I was just happy.

We stood there, only illuminated by the pool light, for seconds, before a small sniffle interrupted our moment. I pulled away and glared at Liam.

“Dude, really?” I said.

He grinned and shrugged. “Can’t help it, I’m a sucker for happy endings. Never thought I’d see Harry ask a girl to go steady, though—way to keep it old school, mate.”

Harry smacked him playfully on the shoulder. “Shut up.” But his face was full of happiness.

“I’m going to head upstairs again,” Liam said. “You can join whenever you’re finished with that.” He gestured to our faces and made a smooshing sound.

After picking up the excess plastic from his now empty bag of candy, he walked inside. Harry and I stood outside, under the stars and looked at each other. Averting my eyes, I bit my lip.

“What is it?” he asked and frowned.

“There are things…” I started. How could I tell him without breaching the contract? He deserved to know.

“What kind of things?”

“Secrets, I guess.” I met his eyes, taking a deep breath. “And as much as I want to tell you about them—I can’t. You just need to know, that it’s because of these secrets that I stayed away, not because I wanted to.”

“I don’t care,” he muttered and leaned in to kiss my forehead. “Whatever it is, you can tell me when you’re ready.”

“But—“

I didn’t get to protest anymore because he covered my lips with his. Butterflies erupted inside my stomach, and I clenched my fist on his shirt.

If this was how love felt, I never wanted it to stop.

It was perfect. Even the earlier remarks from Liam didn’t bother me. I was exactly where I wanted to be, and nothing could change that.

His words made me feel invincible, and I felt confident that Harry would understand whenever I could tell him the truth. After all, he’d never met Ludmilla: the person he knew was me—I was the person he fell in love with.

And I’d fallen right back. There was no denying it.

 A/N: As said beforre, comments help me to write more. I love it when you talk to me, to yourself, to the characters or to each other about what happens. It literally shows me that you guys still want this story, and that I'm not wasting my time. 

Give it a vote, maybe? Unfortunately, I didn't get to top 100 in fanfic, but maybe someday <3 

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