Conflicted (H.S)

Chapter 5

Peeping slowly around Harry’s broad back, I halted in my tracks as I took in the sight of the rest of One Direction throwing suggestive smirks in our direction.

“Ohhh! Hazza got laid, boys!” Louis stated, his right eye dropping into a sly wink while high fiving Niall, a few wolf whistles and catcalls floating around the room.

“Shit, lads. I totally forgot about breakfast!” Harry rushed out apologetically.

“It’s fine, we can see that you were a little... preoccupied” Zayn interrupted with a smirk.

“What’s your name, love?” the boys attention turned to me at Liam’s question.

“Kira,” I shyly replied, retreating behind Harry’s back.         

“Are you hungry?” I nodded, “would you like some pancakes?” I nodded again. At this, Liam turned back on his heel and made his way over to the pantry, collecting the ingredients he needed for the batter, “Take a seat and we’ll get you some breakfast, alright?” Mumbling a quiet thankyou in response to Liam, I follow Harry and take a seat next him at the breakfast bar.

Mere seconds later, I’m gently tugged onto Harry’s lap, yet another blush flooding my cheeks. They blazed even further at the feeling of his plump lips brushing along the dip of my right collarbone.

Trying my best to stay calm and ignore his heart-fluttering actions, my head was still pounding as I remembered that we’d also come to the kitchen in search of aspirin.

“Harry?” I shakily enquired, “Can I have some aspirin?”

Releasing a slightly reluctant sigh, Harry lifted his head from my neck and asked Liam to grab a couple aspirin and 2 glasses of water. Relief flooded my body as I took the tablets and sculled down my glass of water, attempting to nurse both the headache and the dry mouth I was currently experiencing.

My stomach deafeningly growled at the sight of the heaped plate of pancakes Liam carried over to the centre of the breakfast bar, complete with maple syrup in his other hand.

“Hungry, are we?” Harry chuckled.

“Starving actually,” I sassily replied, reaching over the table to grab a few pancakes and placing them on my plate, dousing them in maple syrup.

“When was the last time you ate?” Zayn enquired with a somewhat playful look on his face.

“Umm, breakfast yesterday, I think?” I sheepishly replied.

“What?! Why didn’t you eat?” Harry placed his hand under my chin and turned my head in his direction, questioning my eating habits.

“Well, I had too many appointments at the studio yesterday so I couldn’t stop to eat, and umm I-I was just so stressed from work that I uhh forgot...” I trailed off, hoping no one had noticed the uneasiness present in my voice.

Conversation resumed at the table, the boys discussing something about the new tour, when suddenly Harry’s husky voice in my ear pulled me from my haunted thoughts of the previous day, “I know there’s real reason why you didn’t eat. You can’t hide from me, love.”

I stilled as his lips found themselves planted just behind my ear.

This guy has known me like 12 hours and he can already read me like a fucking book. What the hell?

~~~~

An hour later, I found myself planted on the soft black leather of Harry’s couch, still in his lap discussing various aspects of my life.

“You mentioned a studio before, are you like a model or something?” Louis enquired.

“No. Other end of the camera, actually. I’ve loved photography ever since I was a kid. My Dad was a photographer and I was absolutely fascinated by the whole process of taking a picture, but when you think about it, it’s not just a picture. It’s a piece of art that can tell a thousand words at a simple glance. It’s the best feeling in the world spending hours and hours preparing and waiting for the perfect shot, and after all that time and preparation, there is nothing better than the relief and excitement that floods through you when you are sitting down later going through all of the shots and you find the one that you’d spent all that time working on perfecting. It’s completely overwhelming and provides you with a sense of accomplishment that can’t be destroyed or dampened. Last year, I happened to make the decision to start my own photography studio and bring that happiness and passion I feel towards photography to other people. It’s absolutely wonderful seeing the look on people’s faces when I show them the photos I’ve taken for them. Especially at weddings, when I feel a sense of obligation at the idea that people trust me with the hefty task of perfectly capturing one of the most important days of their lives, and there is nothing sweeter than sitting down with them however long later and seeing the look of happiness and elation on their faces as they see their photos. That’s what I truly love, and I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything different.”

The room was so silent that you could hear a pin drop at the other end of the house. A strong feeling of embarrassment grew in my stomach as I realised how much I’d rambled.

I cleared my throat, hoping to somehow break the silence.

“Whoa. You must really love it then? It’s fantastic that you’ve found something that you are SO passionate about. What’s the studio called?” Liam finally broke the silence and my embarrassment eased off a little bit.

“Uhh, Framed Photography. Get it, because you can frame photos?” I joked, trying to lighten the mood a little.

~~~~~

After a few more hours of chatting, Harry offered to drive me home and we made our way back up the stairs so that I could collect my belongings and head home.

Picking up my dress, I cringed at the idea of having to wear it right now. Harry must have noticed too as he passed me a pair of his sweatpants.

“Thanks,” I replied, a grateful smile gracing my lips. He smiled softly in return as we headed back downstairs so that I could say my goodbyes to the boys.

“You’re coming back soon, right? Unlike the other girls, we actually like you,” Zayn playfully smirked.

“Uh, yeah sure,” a huge grin plastered on my face, “well, I have to go now, but I’ll see you guys later, ok?”

“BYE KIRA!”

Not two seconds later, I’m dragged out the front door of Harry’s house and into his car.

A/N: It's 2:01 am, you better love this.