Love, Hate, and Other Things

Chapter 18: Why?

*Maddie's Point of View*

"It's you." Harry admitted.

I turned around. I walked right in front of him.

"Why me? I mean, out of all the girls out there, that are way more prettier than me, you chose me." I rambled. "Why?" I whispered.

"I already explained it to you, didn't I? I said that, quote, she's beautiful and she makes my day by smiling, unquote." he smiled at me cheekily.

"Harry, what you're feeling isn't real." I tried persuading him.

"No! It is real. You want to know how I know?" He took my hand and put it over his heart.

I felt it go up and back down, rapidly.

I made him feel like this?

"Only you. It's always been only you, Maddie." he smiled.

I felt my face and my whole upper body go hot as he stared into my eyes.

I, Madeline Jones, made the Harry Styles heart beat.

I tried to smile... But I just couldn't.

Harry liked me. Me! I mean out of the 7 billion people out there in the world, I made him fall for me. But that's the opposite of what I wanted. I didn't want any of them to like me... I just wasn't ready. Even after 6 months of being single? Yep. Still wasn't ready.

I snatched my hand away from him. He looked sad and hurt.

"That's not real, Harry. It's not."

He opened his mouth to protest but I continued.

"Harry, you can't fall in love with me."

"What do you mean by the words, 'I can't?" he asked.

"You just can't. In 6 months, you're going to forget about your feelings for me, Harry. I don't want you to get hurt."

"You... Think that I'll get hurt? Maddie, I think you're trying to tell me that you think I'm going to hurt you." he said.

"I'm not saying that! I just... I don't... It just won't work out between us." I said that and I ran off.

In the distance, I could hear Harry yelling my name and trying to catch up to me.

I hope that'll make him forget about me.

'ARE YOU AN IDIOT?!' the voice screamed out. 'MADDIE! LISTEN TO ME. YOU BETTER TURN AROUND AND APOLOGISE TO HA-' I cut her off.

You are the idiot here! I don't want to. And I can't. I already broke his heart and if I turn around, he'll be so broken and I can't deal with that.

Raindrops were falling and I only now realised that, one, I was soaking and freezing cold, two, I was in the middle of a busy highway, and three, I had no idea how to get home.

"Maddie!" someone screamed my name.

I turned around and saw Christian, driving slowly behind me.

"Christian?!" I asked as I walked over to the car.

"Yeah! What are you doing in the rain this late at night?! Get into my car!"

Reluctantly, I followed his directions and got into the passengers side of the car.

"Here." he tossed me a towel. "Dry yourself off! You'll get sick!"

I put the towel around myself and shivered from the cold.