When the Clock Strikes 12:00 // L.S.

Chapter Fourteen: 'Tis The Season

Harry's POV

"Niall, can I ask you something?"

Niall looks up from his phone, "Yeah H, what's up?"

"Why do you kiss Ashley?"

"Huh?" Niall asks caught off guard by the odd question.

I know it's none of my business, but I need an answer. "Why do you kiss her?"

"Uh, because she's my girlfriend." Nail says simply.

"No, I know that I guess like why?"

Niall thinks for a moment, "I kiss Ashley because it makes her feel loved, I can make her feel loved. If somethings wrong, or she's having a bad day I can kiss her and reassure her everything is going to be alright. It's just a small gesture but it speaks a hundred words."

I ponder on this explanation for a minute and then continue, "Can you love someone and never have kissed them?"

"Sure!" Niall says, "I love Selena Gomez, but I've never kissed her." Niall jokes.

"Niall, come on."

"Ok, ok let's see um..." Then he stops. "Harry, is this about Louis?"

"Uh, yeah." There's no use lying. Niall knows me better than I know myself sometimes.

"He hasn't kissed you yet?" Niall asks surprised.

"No, I-I wasn't ready," I admit bowing my head in shame. I was fairly sure I loved the boy, and we haven't even kissed.

"And he was ok with that?" Niall asks staring at me in amazement.

"Um, yeah he said he'll wait as long as it takes."

"Damn Harry. What you two have is almost unheard of." He says.

"That could possibly be very sweet of you,"

"No, I mean that as the greatest of compliments. There are not a lot of people who would agree to a relationship that didn't involve anything physical which means what you two have is stronger than most."

"Louis mentioned something like that when I first told him I wasn't ready." I remembered, "He said, 'some of the strongest relationships are ones built on conversation, not sex.'"

"He's right."

"But the thing is I want to."

"Then do it," Niall says.

"But I'm terrified."

"Of what?"

"I don't know!" I say frustrated.

"Harry don't push yourself. One day you'll just know you're ready and I guarantee Louis will be right there waiting."

That made a bit of sense. I had worked up enough courage to kiss him on the cheek so maybe there was hope for me after all.

"We better get going," Niall said glancing up at the clock. "We said we would be there five minutes ago."

It was the week before Christmas and Louis, Zayn and Liam had invited Niall and me to the Christmas village to hang out before we all went our separate ways next week. Well, not me and Louis but I wouldn't see the rest of them until next year.

"I'm so glad you and Louis brought us together," Niall says as we walk down to the subway. "I can't imagine life without Liam's salads and Zayn's mocking."

I couldn't agree more. I didn't even want to imagine what my life would be like if I hadn't met Louis. These past couple of months had been amazing with him and it felt like forever ago that he took me on that date to the library and we fell asleep under the stars.