My mouth drops open when I see them. I hear Caroline curse beside me, probably seeing the same thing as me. Liam? He's supposed to be the nice one. He's supposed to be the nice, safe, predictable guy that would never, ever hurt me. That's why I chose him. He's what I wanted. Apparently he didn't want me.

And now I really don't want him.

I storm off the dance floor and past them. I do notice something, though. I don't feel the same way I did watching Harry kiss Courtney. That felt like someone knocked the wind out of me, like I was punched in the stomach. This doesn't feel good, don't get me wrong, but I feel embarrassed more than anything. I feel stupid.

I get out the sliding doors and walk to the edge of the building, sitting on the edge of the fountain that runs along the front of the hotel. There's water being shot up every couple of feet, ending behind where I'm sitting on the end of the stone wall. How could I be so stupid? I thought Liam liked me. Why would he, no one ever has before. Why should he be any different? He's popular and I'm just me. Boring, broken old me.

I want my mom. I want her to be here to hold me and comfort me. and promise me that she'll kick his ass. Then we would eat ice cream together and watch sad movies to have an excuse to cry. That was our routine. I miss it. I miss her.

Harry's POV

What the fuck? What is...what? Is that Liam? Ashlee can't be...he's not...what?

I hit Niall's back and point over to Liam. He looks quickly to where I'm pointing and goes back to his food, then quickly turns back around, shock written across his face. He looks me at me, eyes wide. I'm fucking pissed. Liam is not supposed to be this person. And he's really not supposed to be fucking over Adie. Of all people! I backed off so much because I knew that he wouldn't do this. He was one person I thought I could trust not to this kind of shit. What an ass.

When I finally realize that this is actually happening I stomp over to them and rip him away from her. He stumbles a bit and finally focuses on me. Of course he's fucking drink.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I spit at him. He gives me a lazy smile and clamps one hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, mate. Just having some fun."

"You're here with Adison!" I yell, smacking his hand away. "How could you do this to her?"

He chuckles and shakes his head at me. "Don't act like you care, mate."

"I do care because I know for a fact that this would hurt her."

"Well then I guess that's good for you, isn't it? I never had a chance, did I? Go ahead, have her. I'm fucking done competing with you or her. She's not worth it."

"What the fuck did you just say?" I ask through gritted teeth. Not worth it? She's not worth it? She's worth the entire world, which is a hell of a lot more than I can say for Liam right now. "You're a dick, Liam."

"If you ever manage to get in her pants let me know. I'll buy you a beer."

With that I fucking lose it, bring my arm back and punching him hard in the jaw. He falls backwards and puts his hand on his face. Well that probably wasn't the best idea. He stands and moves towards me, but Louis jumps in front of him.

"Stop, Liam. Not here."

He scowls at me and walks away, Ashlee running after him in her hooker heels. Louis shakes his head as he disappears.

"I can't believe that just happened," he says. Good, so he saw it too. I'm not crazy.

"Where is Adie?" I ask, running my now throbbing hand through my hair and looking around the room. I hope to everything on earth that she didn't just witness that.

"Harry did you see where Adie went?" Caroline asks, running up to me. "I can't find her. Also, thanks for doing that. Liam is an asshole."

Shit, so she did see. Without a word I turn and run through the hall towards the doors, looking through the foyer and continuing when I don't see her. I run out the front doors and look around a bit, trying to see that gorgeous gold dress of hers. When I've spun i na circle I find her sitting on the edge of the fountain, as close to the edge of the building as possible. She's facing away from the doors, holding her hand out and putting her fingers in the stream of water being forced up from the false river. I slowly make my way over to her, walking around to her other side and sitting in front of her. I expected her to be crying, but she's not.

"Hey."

She smiles weakly without looking at me, focusing on the water bubbling up through her fingers. I sit for a minute, waiting for her to say something, because I don't know what to say myself.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" she asks suddenly. I practically choke on air.

"What?"

"Do you?"

"Of course not. Why would you-"

"I think I am," she says, cutting me off. "I was stupid to let Car talk me into coming here. I was stupid for agreeing to be Liam's date. I was stupid for buying this damn dress. I was so stupid to think that he liked me. I was so stupid to think that I could come to something like this and have a good time when my mother is fucking dead. She's gone. I don't deserve to have fun."

Well that's the first time I've ever heard her curse. I stare at her in shock for a minute, not really sure how to respond to that rant. She continues staring at the water and holding her hand out in the stream.

"Adie, you don't seriously think that?" I manage to choke out.

"Why shouldn't I? What has happened to make me think otherwise? This night is a complete disaster." A tear rolls down her cheek and I think I can feel my insides cracking. I can't stand to see her like this. I'm not even sure what to say because I don't understand how she could think so little of herself.

"Adie, look at me." She shakes her head as more tears fall and I take her hands in mine, including the one that is now quite wet. She still won't look at me. I lean over to the side until she finally looks into my eyes with her own that are filled with sadness.

"Ads, you have no idea how much it breaks my heart to hear you say things like that about yourself. It's ridiculous. I know that you don't mean that, you can't."

"Why not?" she asks quietly. "I'm all alone. Why would anyone want me anyway?"

"Is that a serious question? Adie, Liam is the idiot here, not you. He doesn't see how amazing you are. Do you want to know what I see?"

"A crying mess," she jokes, laughing without any humour and sniffling.

"I see a sweet, beautiful, amazing girl that is far too good for someone that would treat her like that. You have no idea how much you deserve, Ads. You deserve to be treated like a princess. You're the most incredible person I've ever known. Don't ever forget that, okay?"

She nods slightly and I release her hands, putting my arms around her shoulders and sliding along the stone to hug her against me.

"Thank you, Harry. I don't know what I would do without you," she whispers. I press my lips to the top of her head and rub my hand along her arm. She must be freezing.

"Do you want my jacket?" I ask, pulling back slightly to look at her. She shakes her head and wipes under her eyes.

"No, let's go back inside."

"Are you sure? We can go home if you want."

"No, Car would murder me." We laugh and I tuck her under my arms as we walk back inside. She leans her head against my body as we walk through the doors.

"Are you going to be okay? I ask, stopping before it gets too noisy. She nods and backs away.

"I'm just going to clean myself up. I'll be right back."

She disappears into the bathroom. I feel so bad for her. Maybe if I had grown a pair and done something about how I felt then I would be her date and none of this would have happened. I would never do that to her. I mean I guess I made out with Courtney in front of her...but she wasn't my date and it's not like she actually likes me anyway.

She did seem rattled by it though...

Anyway. The point is that this is my fault. I feel so bad for her. If I had just asked her myself then she wouldn't have gotten hurt like this and Liam would be free to suck faces with whoever he wants. I cannot believe what just happened. It makes my blood boil. Liam, of all people! He's supposed to be the nice one. He would never do something like that. I have no idea what got into him. This is Liam we're talking about. Actually, none of my friends would pull shit like that. The only one would be...well, me. If I'm honest. But not to Adie. Never in a million years would I betray her like that. Courtney doesn't count. It doesn't count because Adie had already agreed to come here with Liam and I was just acting out. If she was actually mine I would have no need for anyone else. Ever.

When Adie comes back out of the bathroom she looks good as new. I am determined to make her have a good time tonight. It's the first night of our Christmas break and she's been doing homework nonstop for the last two weeks. She deserves to have fun.

"So, I think its time for you to officially switch dates," I announce as she approaches me.

"Trust me, I know," she says, laughing a little. "No more dates for me."

"No I said switch dates, not have no date."

"Right, because that worked out so well for me the first time. I think being date-less is the way I'm meant to go." She starts walking back towards the hall. I take her hand and pull her back to me, putting my one hand against her lower back and pushing our bodies together. I hear her breathing hitch, making me smile.

"You only think that because you haven't been my date," I say softly. She bites her bottom lip, clearly nervous. I don't think she's used to boys being this way around her, because even the slightest things make her nervous. She gets so unsure of herself.

"You? Want to be my date?" she asks quietly. I nod, smiling down at her and releasing my hold. I lift her hand above my head and spin her around a few times, eliciting a giggle that gives me butterflies. When I stop her spinning she stumbles slightly.

"Dizzy?" I ask, laughing and helping her stay steady. She nods. "So, what do you say? Will you be my date for the rest of the formal?"

"I would be happy to." I can't help the smile that spreads across my face. It takes everything in me not to lean down and kiss her, but I feel like that might freak her out. This might has had a lot of drama already, she doesn't need anymore. With that I take her hand and lace our fingers together as I lead her back to the hall. The music is still blaring and people seem to be having a good time.

"Can we get a drink?" Adie asks, tugging on my hand. I nod and lead her to the refreshment tables. And there is Liam. I stop short of the able and Adie follows my gaze. I feel her stiffen and shrink into my side when she sees him. He half-runs over to us, stumbling a little. I shift to my right, putting my body slightly in front of Adie's.

"Adie, I'm so sorry. It just happened, I swear. She kissed me!"

"That's bullshit and you know it, Liam. Are you too drunk to remember what you said to me about ten minutes ago?"

"You're drunk?" Adie asks, clearly surprised. She's so naive. It's adorable. Not the time, though. She isn't around this kind of thing a lot, so obviously she wouldn't have been able to tell.

"Everyone drinks at these things, Adie. Don't be a buzzkill."

"Liam, are you seriously this much of an ass?" I spit, stepping forward and pulling Adie behind me more. "Am I drunk? Is Niall? No, you're the only one. Okay, Lois probably is, but that doesn't count 'cuz it's Louis and he's not a dick like this when he drinks."

"Holy shit, Harry. Just give it a rest. You realize you're acting like a jealous boyfriend, right? It's pathetic. Adie obviously doesn't like you, anyway. She came with me, didn't she?"

I stand there glaring at him for a moment. I don't know what to say and I have no idea who this person is. Liam has never acted like this before. Plus he totally just told Adie that I like her. This isn't exactly how I planned for her to find out.

"Maybe I did come with you, Liam but I'm certainly not leaving with you. You're not the person I thought you were and I am not interested in whatever apology you want to give me. Just leave me alone." I turn and give Adie a surprised smile, who doesn't look quite as sure of herself as she sounds. She stares at Liam, who walks away without another word. She lets out a deep breath once he's gone and gives me a shy smile.

"That was impressive, I must say." She smiles wider at my congratulations and shrugs.

"I don't know where that came from. I've never spoken to anyone like that before."

"I believe you," I laugh. She smiles and steps past me to get herself a drink from the punch bowl. "Ready to have some actual fun?"

She nods and sets her cup down. I pull her out onto the dance floor, right towards Caroline. Car is good at making her have fun and to be honest after Liam basically told her that I'm into her I'm kind of nervous. We start dancing to the fast paces songs, dancing around with our friends. I normally hate these kinds of events, but I'm having a really good time. She dances mostly with Caroline, both of them belting out the lyrics and dancing like their lives depend on it. I spin her around a few times and she looks happier than ever. I love that she's smiling.

"Is everyone having fun?" the DJ shouts out at us after a while. I look at my watch and see that it's getting close to midnight. "Well that's good, but unfortunately this is the last song of the evening. Have a good night everyone!"

Adison's POV

I'm surprised to find myself sad that there's only one song left. I never thought that I would actually have fun here, especially with the way the first part of the night went. Harry completely turned it around for me. Especially after Liam..did what he did. I thought it would ruin my whole night; it did for a few minutes. Then Harry said all those sweet things to me and he stuck up for me. Now I'm having the best time. I'm so glad that I came.

When the song starts playing I can tell that it's slow, but I can't tell which song it is. I stand there with my eyebrows furrowed for a seconds, deciphering the music and figuring out what it is.

"Are you going to stand here or dance with me?" Harry asks cheekily, taking my hand and pulling me towards him. As I get closer I realize it's the song Hero by Enrique Iglesias. It's kind of a cheesy love song, but it's still a classic in my eyes. Harry pulls me close and lowers his mouth to my ear as the lyrics start, singing the opening lines in a soft and raspy tone.

"Would you dance
If I asked you to dance?"

Chills run down my spine at the sound of his voice and the feeling of his warm breath against my ear. He pulls back slightly and gives me a small smile. We start dancing the same way as before, him holding one of my hands and the other resting on my waist. We sway easily back and forth, Harry leading me though an easy circle. We dance in a comfortable silence, completely the opposite of when I danced with Liam earlier. As the last chorus starts Harry leads my heads up to the back of his neck. I feel his hands lock together on my lower back and he moves his head from next to mine. One of his hands leave my back as he reaches up to push a stray curl back from my face. I lift my eyes to his, our faces alarmingly close. My heart starts beating fast and faster as Harry stares into my eyes. He leans his forehead against mine and I gently run my fingers through the curls at the nape of his neck. I could have sworn I felt him shudder, but that could have been my imagination.

The last 'I can be your hero' comes through the speakers and we slowly stop moving. Harry pulls his face slightly away from mine, running his fingers lightly along my jawline. My eyes stay on his.

"I think the song is over," I whisper, now aware of our peers moving off the dance floor. He nods and runs his fingers along my cheekbone.

"I know." His voice is quiet like mine, but it comes out shaky. His eyes flicker to my lips and back up and for a second I think he's about to kiss me. After a moment he sighs and lifts his chin, lightly pressing his lips to my forehead, lingering there for a few seconds. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, inhaling his musky scent.

"Adie!" I groan internally and pull back slightly from Harry, turning towards the door to see that the hall has emptied out quickly. Car is standing in the doorway with Niall, waving us over. I look back at Harry, whose eyes are still locked on my face.

"I guess we should go," I suggest. He sighs and gently takes my hand in his, leading me towards the door. Car hands me my bag when we get to them, but to my surprise Harry doesn't release my hand. Niall and Caroline have clearly made progress tonight. She'll be happy about that. As we get to the doors Harry pauses and shrugs off his jacket.

"Take this." He drapes it around my shoulds, making me blush.

"Thanks." He smiles warmly and takes my hand again as we walk outside into the crisp night air.

"Well, it looks like Niall is finally making a move," Harry says quietly so they can't hear. We stop a bit back from my car to give them a minute.

"Thanks for everything, Harry. I had a really nice time."

"Really?" he asks, smiling like a little kid. I laugh and nod my head. "I'm glad. I had a lot of fun, too."

"You're surprisingly good at dancing," I compliment. He laughs and swings our still connected hands between us.

"My mum taught me. According to her dancing is a good way to get a girl."

"Well I can see why she would tell you that." I blush and he chuckles, stepping a little closer to me. When Harry offered to be my replacement date I was sure he was just being my friend and trying to make me feel better . But right now....he's acting like a real date.

"I'm really glad you had a good time."

Before I can respond Niall approaches. Harry and I both take tiny steps away from each other, realizing how intimate that moment was.

"I'll see you at home, Harry. Bye, Niall." I start to take off Harry's jacket but he secures it around my shoulders.

"Keep it. I'll get it later. Drive safe, okay?" He leans down to kiss me on the cheek before walking back inside with Niall. They have some cleaning up to do from their performance. Harry surprised me in so many ways tonight; the gift, the performing, the dancing, the way he treated me after Liam kissed Ashlee. He was so perfect. If only he wasn't far too good for me.

I drop Caroline off and head back home, immediately going to my bedroom to change. I throw on some cotton shorts and a baggy tshirt. After my make up is removed I pull my hair back into a ponytail and decide to watch The Notebook. I get a blanket and make myself comfortable on the couch. About twenty minutes later Harry comes home. He leans down over the back of the couch.

"The Notebook?"

"Yup."

"I'm going to change and I'll join you." I nod and he leaves for two minutes, coming back out in sweatpants and a tshirt. He gets out a tub of cookie dough ice cream, taking the entire thing along with two spoons with him to the couch. He sits right beside me and we both start eating. After a bit I start feeling cold, a shiver running through me as I pull the blanket further up my body. Harry has nicely stolen half for himself.

"Are you cold?" he asks, laughing a little. I shrug and take another spoonful, slouching down more into the cushions. He takes my spoon and sets both on the coffee table with the container. He sits back and puts an arm around my shoulders, pulling me to lean into his body. I turn slightly so I'm more comfortable, pulling my legs up and leaning them slightly onto his. His hand rests on my legs and my head falls against his chest. I feel so comfortable right now. It's not weird at all to be cuddling with him like this. I feel him start playing with my hair, twisting it between his fingers. I'm completely exhausted, but I don't want to sleep and I don't want to go to my own bed right now.

"Can we lay down?" I ask hesitantly, sure he's going to get weirded out and excuse himself to his own room. Instead he lays down parallel to the back of the couch, creating room for me and holding out his arm. His smile is inviting and I wiggle between him and the couch, my head falling near his collar bone. He rests one arm on my waist, fingertips lightly tracing the skin along my side. I rest my hand on his chest; he puts his won about an inch above mine. I kind of wish that distance wasn't there.

I try to focus on the movie. Allie just fainted at the picture of Noah in the paper. I've seen this movie so many times and it never gets old. Noah and Allie are a timeless love story and I think every girl is jealous of her at one time or another.

My attention shifts back to my hand when I feel Harry move his hand closer to mine, lifting his two outside fingers and placing them across my won. Slowly but surely the rest of his hand follows until mine is covered. He overlaps some of our fingers and I can feel his heartbeat, slightly fast now. My pace matches his as I try to focus on the movie. I start to get nervous when I realize what scene is coming up. It's quite..intimate. I've never watched it with a guy before. Will it be weird? I hope not.

As Noah and Allie are kissing in the rain I feel Harry's foot wiggle between mine, the rest of his leg following an encouraging me to move it towards his own. I hesitantly do what I think he's asking of me. To be honest I have no idea; I've never cuddled with a guy like this before. I pull my leg over his as the steamy scene unfolds on the screen. Actors undress each other and I watch the familiar sequence of events that lead them to a bedroom. I feel Harry's heartbeat under m hand, slowly getting faster along with my own, his chest rising and falling slightly faster with his breathing. He slowly trails his hand from my hand down my arm, leaving a trail of goosebumps. I have no idea what's happening right now. Am I supposed to do something? What's he trying to do here...

I'm more wide awake tan ever at this point, not sure what's about to happen but excited by the thought of what could. The steamy scene on the screen is blocked from me when Harry shifts his position, moving to lat on his side in front of me and shuffling down so his face is still slightly above but in front of mine. He lifts my hand that was on his chest and slides it onto his waist. He keeps his one leg between mine while the other is lifted to the top of the pile. His lingers lightly trail along the top of my arm as he stars into my eyes.

"Can I tell you something? I swallow nervously and nod my head. He looks down at my lips and gets slightly closer. I feel his breath against my lips as he whispers his next words.

"I really want to kiss you right now."

Notes

so its back. rattled. if anyone is reading this story for the first time and already read 16 before this one, im really sorry :( i really have no idea what happened.