Twelve Reasons.

Chapter Eight.

It wasn't long before I was in a car with Perri on the way to god knows where. Part of me regretted getting in the car with him, part of me felt like this was right. It wasn't normal to find someone you liked so quick after a break up unless they were a rebound, or unless you was never in love in the first place. I didn't think I had any feelings towards Perri, but every time he kissed me I couldn't help but melt into it, no matter how wrong it felt.

"What are you thinking about?" He whispers, knocking me out of my train of thoughts. I look over at him. He was dressed in some band t-shirt topped with some skinny blue jeans, but if they were so tight I didn't know how he moved in them. He had his hair still in the bun I had redone for him, but a beanie was placed on top of it, like a cherry on top of a cake. His skin looked flawless, topped with the smile that was driving me crazy. "You're staring at me" He whispers, making me turn away quickly, not realizing I had been staring at him. "Nothing" I mumble, as he chuckles. "You can look you know" He whispers, placing his arm on mine, his fingertips running down it making me shiver, which he knew because he smirked. "Where are we going anyway? you know I could of drove" I mutter, looking at the person who was driving us in the front, Perri had insisted that we sit in the back. "You might think your foot is perfect and better, but I know the pain you're probably in" He whispers. "What do you mean?" I ask, curious as to why he knew so much about sprained ankles, despite being a dancer. "I used to dance with Diversity, years ago" He chuckles, his face changes and softens, almost as if this thinking back to that time. "What happened then?" I ask, looking at him and turning my body to face him the best that I could. "I got injured, I flipped off Ashley's back, I landed dodgy, I was out of dance for a few months, Ashley told me my place was always there for when I was ready to come back, but I just felt like there was never a right time, I had been away so long, I hadn't rehearsed or trained in months, I didn't know if I was good enough anymore" He whispers, looking down. "But you are" I whisper, touching his arm, making him look over at me with a smile. "It took time, it took a lot of physio, it was sleepless nights, early mornings, I felt like I had lost my right arm, I hated coming to rehearsals and not being able to do anything just sit there and watch, it didn't feel right. Then one morning Mitch came around to my house and told me to grow up and come back, so I did" He whispers, smiling slightly. "So, are you and Mitch close?" I ask. He nods his head. "Yeah, we go back a good few years" He chuckles. "I used to be best friends with Mitch in primary school" I whisper. "Oh really?" He asks. I nod my head. "Then I moved, we lost contact, and then one day I seen Sam and Mitch dancing at Lakeside, I become closer with Sam, I don't think me and Mitch will ever have the friendship we once had" I whisper. "Lakeside was where I fell" He whispers, making me look back up at him. "Oh, really?" I chuckle. He nods his head.

A few moments later we pull up at a lake. I look over at Perri who just smiles at me. He gets out the car, and I get out too. Watching as he just looks over the water, looking at it like it was a thousand pounds, like it was everything in his life. I stand there silent, I didn't want to ruin his moment, nor did it feel right speaking to him with the expression on his face, he looked sad, but he also looked happy. "I haven't been here in years" He whispers, looking over at me slightly. I look at him, waiting for him to continue whatever he was going to say next. "This is my thinking place, I never bring anyone here" He smirks. "Then why have you brought me here?" I ask, walking over to him quietly. "Because I come here when I need to think, and maybe I need to think about you" He whispers, looking up at me. He smiles at me, and starts walking down what looked like a small pier, I assumed it would be a prime location for fishing, it was quiet enough for it, but it seemed like no one had been here for ages, the grass was untouched. I watch as Perri takes off his jeans, leaving him in some shorts and his top, as he dangles his legs in the water, sitting there like he hadn't got a care in the world.

I could have never imagined Perri sat here without seeing it through my eyes. He looked at peace, he looked happy. This wasn't the Perri I had my encounters with, unless you counted the day when he knocked me over, he genuinely cared that day. I watch as his eyes skim over the water, dancing around watching as if the water was going to move at any moment, but it wasn't, there was no reason for it to move. I take a seat carefully next to him, rolling up my leggings slightly so that they wouldn't get wet.

Perri takes his top off and slides into the water, I watch as he does it so effortlessly, and just stands in the lake, looking around like the water didn't ripple, like it didn't change, like he was in a trance. He turns around and smiles at me. "Come in" He whispers, paddling over to inbetween my legs. I shake my head "I'm not getting my clothes wet" I whisper, watching as his hair goes almost straight from being wet, his bun shrinking in size. "You can wear my top, I wont look" He whispers, turning around. I laugh, and he turns back around looking at me. "What?" He smirks. I shake my head. "Come in" He whispers, but louder this time. I roll my eyes. "I told you I wont look until you get into the water" He states, turning around and paddling away from the deck.

I look at his top on the floor, and then at the water, it was September, no way was the water going to be warm despite it being sunny. I was most likely going to die of hypothermia, but something inside of me told me to do it, to get in the water with him, to trust what he was saying. I slip my crop top off, placing his top over my head, watching is fall down my body, landing at the top of my knees. I slip my leggings off, and place them next to my top. I take a deep breath and enter the water, instantly feeling cold. "Fuck" I mutter, hearing Perri turn around. "Just embrace it" He whispers, moving my wet hair out of my face. I look up at him, his face close to mine.

He brings his finger to his lips, placing it there, indicating to keep quiet, was someone else here? I watch as he stares at me in silence, it was so quiet, it felt like he was looking at me for ages. "I just enjoy the silence, how quiet it is, it changes the mood from an over-loud studio, the pumping music." He whisper. I watch as his eyes are glowing, he is glowing, this was his place, he brought me to his place, what did this mean?

I move out slowly to the deeper end of the water, until I couldn't quite touch the ground, feeling the water around me, feeling it get warmer, slowly warming myself up. I feel Perri come behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me into this wet body, feeling how chiseled his body was. "You look good in my t-shirt" He whispers down my ear, making me shiver, but I pass it off as the water. "Lets get out" He whispers, bringing me back to the wooden pier.

Perri jumps out as effortlessly as he got in, reaching out his hand to help pull me up. I look at his hand, and take it without thinking, letting him help me up. I stand on the pier looking out at the water we had just been in, but you wouldn't tell we had been in it unless you looked at how wet we was. I feel Perri place his hands on my back, using one of his spare bobbles to tie my wet hair up in a messy bun, he could easily pass for a hairdresser if dancing went wrong.

He lets go of my messy bun and his fingers trail down arm, gently like he was wiping off the water droplets that had formed, his fingertips brush lightly against my hand, touching each of my fingers, before he moves his hand to the other arm, doing the exact same. I couldn't take my eyes of his face watching him as he was playing with my arm.

As he turns me around, his t-shirt rides up my thigh, exposing my legs more, his eyes not leaving my body. I was so insecure, but part of that went away when he touched me, like I was something that should be touched, like I was something to be proud of. I watch as he brings his fingers down to the hem of his shirt on my body, and play with it, his other hand lifting my head up to look at him. Our eyes connecting. He brings the hand that was playing with the hem of his shirt to hold my back, bringing us closer if that was even possible. I lean up and catch his lips in mine, kissing him. This felt right, this was what I wanted in this moment, it was a heated moment.

His grip gets stronger on my back as he deepens the kiss, our lips moving in time together, and it was like nothing else mattered in this world. His hand moves down slightly towards my bum and I jump slightly, causing him to pull away slightly, looking at me. "Have you never been touched?" He whispers, looking into my eyes. I look up at him, I didn't know what to say, how to say it. "You never answered the question during truth or dare" He whispers, wiping a stray hair that had fell on my face out of it, holding my cheek, his hand still placed just above my bum. I go to speak, opening my mouth but it was like the words just didn't want to come out. He steps away from me slightly, removing all parts of his body that were touching me. He places his right hand on my left collarbone, letting his hand full slowly down the front of my body, touching everything that I had to show in his wet t-shirt. I bite my lip slightly as his hand falls, I had never been touched like this, I hadn't done anything adultery. Harry never wanted to, this was all new to me. "You've never been touched" He whispers, moving his hand back to his side. "Lets get dressed" He whispers, walking off into the green to place his jeans on, and I guess give me some privacy, his words and thoughts spinning around in my head.