Careless

Chapter Twenty Three

"H-hi"
I nervously give Scott a side smile, placing my elbows on the table. He looks handsome.. Wearing the similar clothes Harry wore to my birthday except without a tie.

"Ariana, you look stunning"
He slowly says, his eyes examining my outfit, his hands dug into his pockets with a nervous look on his face. I can tell we both were having the same feelings.

"Thanks"
I mumble, feeling butterflies in my stomach, my heart pounding out of my chest but I try to keep my cool.

"Did you come alone?"
He asks curiously, his words slow and nice and I open my mouth to speak but I am interrupted. "Or with your boyfriend?" He continues and I feel confused and shocked, shaking my head.

"Harry and I.. We're no together"
I awkwardly nod my head, clearing up the whole idea. My eyes search around the room for any sign of Harry but I'm disappointed when I find none.

"Oh, sorry I thought you and him..."
Scott's voice trails off, probably assuming I knew what he was going to say. Observing his face and behavior, I sense maturity. A lot of it and I feel memories chasing after me.

"No.. Where'd you get that idea from?"
I curiously ask, leaning over the table as I watch him straighten up a bit.

"I overheard him talking to his friends about it"
He mumbles, cracking his knuckles as he nervously smiles and I start to feel like I know who he is talking about.

"Who?"
I ask, double-checking the idea I've got in my head now.

"Harry"
Scott blurts out, the look on his face expressed as though I would've and should've known already. My heart drops and I feel my body go weak.

So I was right.. He does have some feelings about me and this is just further proof. I can't believe it and I know that this has made a part of my job so my easier.

Feeling two hands press down on my shoulders, I jump, twisting my body around only to find Harry with no drinks, only with an impatient smile plastered on his face.

I run out of words to say and once I turn around, Scott has already gotten up and starts to walk away as quickly as possible and as far away from us as possible.

"Harry"
I nervously laugh, as he steps to the chair beside me and sits down firmly on it.

"Where are the drinks?"
I ask curiously, frowning as I observe his face. He looks awkward and impatient and I can tell he never got to get the drinks he went to get for us.

"What was he talking about?"
Harry passes my question and curiously asks, frowning at me but his face soon softens once he realizes how weird this is.

"It wasn't about you, Harry. Calm down"
I lie, biting my lip before rolling my eyes at him. He sighs, leaning back on his chair as the song comes to an end, blending with a slow song, me realizing that it's one of my favorite songs, Stay With Me. Also, this is the time for me to spill my feelings out and if it works out, then about my future.

"Can we dance?"
I genuinely ask, smiling at Harry as his face turns to look at me, his emerald eyes drowning me. He lets out a chuckle, nodding his head and my heart melts.

Getting up, I once again face the battle of walking in these heels but I feel supported once Harry gets to his feet and grabs my arm to help.

Smiling, I mouth a thank you once he looks at me and he guides me to the dance floor where everyone has a partner and is slow dancing. How romantic.

We find an empty spot in the middle and stop. Feeling Harry's hands snake to my waist, I firmly place my hands on his shoulders, feeling how close we are and my heart begins to beat faster.

Normally if we were this close, it wouldn't be so special to me but this time, when I know he has something for me and Im going to confess, it feels new and different all of a sudden but it feels good.

"Thanks for coming with me, Ari"
He smiles, staring directly into my eyes and I smile, liking the nickname and nod my head slowly.

It's weird how he is totally okay with dancing with me in front of everyone.. In front of all the people who know him and talk to him. But right now, he is the only one that matters, not all the glares from his past fuck buddies and jealous girls.

"Look how far we've come. Graduated and now we're here. Thanks for forcing me into this"
I laugh, receiving a chuckle of him as we slowly sway away to the music.

"We're like a couple of old people now, except I'm always gonna be hot"
He jokes, grinning widely, showing off his adorable dimples. I giggle, looking down. I have to be straight forward and confess before the song ends or else it was just a waste.

"Harry.. To be honest with you, Scott and I.." I mumble, feeling myself twist the words around. "We were talking about you"

The look on Harry's face was confusion and curiosity. He was frowning with his head slightly tilted to the side, waiting for an explanation from me.

"He told me something that I find absolutely okay.."
I bite my lip, trying to make it seem less awkward for him.

"What the fuck is it? Tell me now, Ariana"
Harry's voice is more or less demanding and scared and I sigh, taking a long deep breathe. We both slowed down, coming to a stop with our dancing but still remained in the same positions.

"He told me you told your friends that you and I.. We're dating and I understand why you would do that.. Because I-I"
mumble, biting my lip as I attempt to continue. The facial expression Harry had was priceless. He looked absolutely terrified and angry, making me more nervous.

"What?"
Harry removes his hands from my waist, taking a step back with absolute confusion and uncertainty.

"It's okay, Harry." I step towards him, a nervous smile on my face as I continue. "It's okay because I-I like you too.." My voice trails off once I see the transition of his facial expression.

From confusion, I see an emotionless expression and my heart breaks from confusion and rejection. I wait for a response but I receive none.

I ruined everything. This ruined our friendship.. Our extraordinary connection and most of all, it ruined perfect well planned imagine of this moment in my mind. I ruined this.

"Please say something"
I mumble, my eyes filling with water I know will eventually spill out. My body weakening, my hand falls to my side, me blinking back the tears. I can't look at him in the eyes feeling what I used to feel.

He just stares at me quite blankly, with absolutely no emotions. The only thing I can feel is tension. His eyes are fixed on me, his eye brows narrowed and I can tell he's just as speechless as I am.

Without saying a word, he turns around, storming out of the hall, his shoes meeting the floor every second being the only noise. And then there's me, feeling a tear roll down my cheek, my heart beating out of my chest aggressively.