Speak |h.s. a.u.|

Chapter Twenty-Seven

              "Oh my," Anne's voice was soft, and yet surprised. She looked into the kitchen to see flour all over the counter and floor, sauce and cheese on the floor. Only a little. Her voice surprised Harry and Annabelle, making them both pull away from the kiss -their first kiss- and look up to where she was standing. She wasn't focused on them, mostly just the mess. She had seen them kissing when she first walked in, making sure not to make any noise for a moment. Yeah,it was totally weird seeing her son kissing a girl on the kitchen floor, but she knew Harry had been waiting ages to kiss her, and she was happy for him.

Harry couldn't stop smiling, and Annabelle had no idea how she should be feeling. She was so happy, so excited. She felt her stomach and all of her senses going crazy. That was her first kiss, like, ever. She was also embarrassed that they had gotten caught. She was scared she wasn't a good kisser. She was just scared. He was over the moon, on cloud nine. She was terrified and ecstatic all at the same time.

"Sorry, mum." Harry said, standing up and then offering a hand to Annabelle. She accepted it, feeling like an idiot on the floor. "We were making dinner, but," he laughed, "I guess we kind of got distracted." Then Gemma walked in, she looked surprised, but amused.

Annabelle looked down, seeing her shirt was covered in flour and sauce, and it was probably all over her face too. She felt the back of her neck and cheeks heat up, she was so embarrassed.

"Well you better get to cleanin' it!" Anne said, a small grin peaking through. She wasn't a strict mom. She was fun.

"We will." Harry was still smiling, while Annabelle was looking at her feet, praying that they would leave already so she could clean up the mess and go home. She just wanted to go home.

Anne and Gemma left the kitchen with grins on their faces as they quietly started talking and giggling. They were probably talking about how horrible and funny Annabelle looked, covered in white powder and red sauce.

Harry looked at Annabelle, seeing she was just standing there. She looked up at him. "We better get cleaning." He said. Annabelle quickly nodded, chewing on the inside of her cheeks (a habit, which Harry thought was weird... And kind of cute). She grabbed a dish rag from the sink, wetted it, and began wiping down the counter. When she was almost done, Harry had come up behind her, turning her around. "You've got a little something here." He was still smiling. He wiped her cheeks and chin with a wet paper towel, and then the tip of her nose. Thank God her whole face wasn't covered in it.

Annabelle was shutting down again, she was beginning to hold back all expressions and emotions. She was starting to become insecure around Harry again, and she wasn't even sure why. Shouldn't she be happy that they kissed? Shouldn't she be jumping with joy?

After they were finished cleaning the kitchen, Harry lead Annabelle upstairs. He gave her one of his black t-shirts to change into, since her shirt was probably ruined. (He chose a black shirt, knowing she liked black, she wore it all the time).

So finally they went back to the kitchen and finished the pizza. Harry was beginning to notice Annabelle's behavior. He didn't like it. He remembered when she used to act shy and scared all the time, before he started taking her on dates, hanging out with her, and texting her so much. He wanted the cute, giggly Annabelle back. What happened to her?

After the pizza was put into the oven, she tried to leave. "Woah," Harry held her arm gently. "Where are you going? Don't you wanna stay and eat dinner?" He asked, calmly. He didn't want to make Annabelle feel any more frightened. She lightly shook her head, a polite smile forming on her face.

She did want to stay. She wanted to stay and eat all of the pizza and kiss Harry all evening long, but she also wanted to leave and go home and crawl in bed, watching television until she fell asleep. She couldn't function properly when she had such crazy feelings.

"Oh," Harry nodded. "Okay. Well, um, I'll give you a ride home?" Annabelle declined his offer. She needed to walk a while and clear her mind. "Okay. Um," he froze again, not knowing how to react. She was totally shutting down again. "I'll text you later, yeah?" She nodded. She did want to talk to him. Just not right now.