"Hey, have you ever noticed how...bored Harry looks?" Car asks, leaning against the locker beside mine and looking down the hall. I follow her gaze to the group of them standing near the doors. Harry is leaning against the wall, not participating in the lively conversation his friends are having.

"He always looks like that at school. And at home. He always just looks bored," I tell her, putting my books in my bag.

"Unless he's talking to you," she says, smirking at me. I roll my eyes and shut my locker. "What? It's true! He lights up around you."

"No he doesn't." I start walking towards them and she falls into step beside me.

"What's it like having to of the most popular guys in school pining after you?" she asks.

"I wouldn't know," I tell her firmly. She's about to argue again but I walk faster and stand with the boys. "Hey guys."

Harry looks up from the floor and flashes me a charming grin. Caroline nudges me and raises her eyebrows. I shake my head and we have a silent gesture war about what she's insinuating.

"Everything okay?" Harry asks, chuckling to himself. We stop and my face goes a tinge red.

"Yep, everything's great."

"Mhmm. Ready to go?" I nod and we start walking towards the doors. I turn and wave to the group and Liam winks at me. My face goes red automatically and I give him another wave as I walk out the door. I have my own car now, but when Harry doesn't have practice we still drive to school together. As we get to the car Liam runs up to us.

"Adie, can I talk to you for a sec?" he asks breathlessly.

I turn and look at Harry quickly. He doesn't look very happy. He probably just wants to go home.

"Umm, can it wait?"

"Not really. I just wanted to ask-"

"We have to go, Liam," Harry says sharply, cutting him off. Liam shifts his gaze to Harry and I watch them glare at each other. Okay?

"I'll talk to you later?" Liam nods but doesn't look at me. Well this is awkward. And intense. "Okay, let's go!" I half-shout to pull Harry away from stabbing Liam with his eyes. If looks could kill they'd both be dead. What is their problem?

"I'll call you later," Liam says, I smile and nod my head. He grins and gives Harry a weird look, then leans down and kisses my cheek. Well then. He pulls back and taps my nose. "Bye, love."

"Bye," I say quietly as he backs away. I catch him give Harry a challenging look as he turns around. I climb into the car silently and Harry slams his door shut before peeling out of the parking lot. He's clearly mad about something because he's driving like a crazy person. I grip the handle on the door for dear life while he races through the city.

"Harry, can you please slow down?" I hate being a back-seat driver, but this is ridiculous. I don't feel like dying today. He glances over at me and I must look terrified, because he immediately lets up on the gas and starts to drive more normally. His grip on the steering wheel remains deadly; his knuckles are white to prove it.

"Sorry," he mumbles.

"Is everything okay?"

"Just dandy." His voice is dripping with sarcasm and his whole body looks tense. I decided to leave him alone for the rest of the drive home. When we got home he went straight to his room, shutting the door a little harder than necessarry. What is his problem right now? I go to the kitchen to get myself an apple, stopping to read a note left on the island.

Won't be home at all this weekend. Went to London for some meetings. Sorry to leave so last minute! I left some frozen dinners in the freezer and there's money in the drawer. Have fun you two.

Love, Mum/Anne

I laugh to myself at the way she signed the note. Looks like we have the place to ourselves for the weekend. I sit at the breakfast bar and start working on my last assignment for The Great Gatsby; we completed our group assignments a few days ago, now we have until Friday to write our final essay individually. It won't be hard since I've read the book so many times; it'll just take some time. After about an hour Harry emerges from his room, grey joggers slung low around his waist with no shirt to cover his torso. He completely ignores my presence as he walks to the fridge, but it's impossible for me not to stare. He stands there with the door open, one hand on his hip while he stares at the mass amount of food in there. He seriously can't find something? There's more selection than the actual grocery store.

"Your mum is gone for the weekend," I bravely inform him. After a minute or two I assume he isn't going to respond, so I go back to my assignment. I hear the fridge door slam shut and wince a little at the rumbling sound. When I look up Harry is leaning his elbows on the counter in front of me. Staring at me.

"Do you like Liam?" he asks bluntly.

"W-what?" I stammer, taken back by his question.

"It's a simple question, Adison. Do you?"

"What...why does it matter?"

He rolls his eyes. "Just answer the damn question."

"Why are you being such a jerk right now?" His expression of indifference remains the same after my lame insult.

"Adison, do you like him or not?" he asks again.

"I don't know. Why do you care?"

"I don't."

"Then why do you need to know?"

"I need to-" he stops short and stands up straight. "I just do." He goes back to his room only to emerge a minute later, now wearing a shirt. "I'm going out. I'll be back in an hour."

What in the world just happened here?

Harry's POV

I get in my car and take off quickly towards Louis' house. I feel like I want to beat the absolute shit out of Liam right now, so I figure if anyone can talk me out of it it's Lou. The thought of him kissing her...it makes me want to throw up. The little stunt he pulled in the parking lot was just fucking ridiculous. That little grin he gave me before he kissed her cheek was clearly just taunting me. So I guess he knows that I like her. I need to get him to back off. He offered once. Maybe the offer still stands.

Once I get to Louis' house I walk right through the front door; this place is like my second home. I wave to his sister who's sitting in the living room. She turns cherry red and gives me a shy wave. She's always had a crush on me. I head straight up to Lou's room and knock once before going inside.

"Hey Harry, what are you doing here?"

"I need to ask you something."

He sits up and leans back against the wall. "Okay. What's up?"

I start pacing in front of his bed. "I don't know what to do. Liam is just...and did you see what he did? She didn't even admit it...what if she goes with him? I don't know how to....I want to punch something....preferably Liam-"

"Harry!" he shouts, cutting me off and making me stop my pacing. "Coherent sentences would be good, mate. I assume you're upset about something Liam did with Adison? Is that what you're trying to say?"

I nod and sit in his desk chair. "When we were about to get in the car after school he came outside. I think he tried to ask Adie to the formal but he didn't really get a chance. so he gives me this like...weird smile thing. And he kissed her! He fucking kissed her right in front of me!"

"Wow, seriously? I didn't think Adie would be a PDA kind of girl."

"That's not the point. The point is I think Liam is just doing this to get under my skin. He must know that I like her."

"First of all, everyone does. It's so obvious. Well, everyone except Adie, she's pretty clueless. Second, does that seriously sound like something Liam would do?" he asks. I run my fingers over my lips and contemplate. "Wait, are you sure they kissed?"

"Um, yes. I saw it with my own eyes. He just leaned down and kissed her right on the cheek."

"Oh my-" he stops and gives me a 'really?' look. "On the cheek? Are you kidding me?"

"What?"

"Harry! You're such a girl! That doesn't count, that doesn't mean anything."

"It's not the kiss, Louis. Okay it is the kiss, but it's also the way he did it. Directly in front of me. And after when he was walking away he gave me this like...challenge sort of look. He was taunting me."

"I think you're being a little dramatic. Please tell me you weren't a dick to Adie because of this little non-incident."

"Why would you assume I was a dick to her?"

"Because you're clearly pissed and when you're pissed you turn into a grumpy asshole," he explains. Shit. I guess I did kind of do that. I must look guilty because he starts shaking his head in disapproval. "You were a dick weren't you."

"In my defence-"

"No, Harry. No defence. Stop being an ass and go apologize and just tell her how you feel. Seriously. She probably has no idea that you're into her. If she knew she might feel differently about the whole Liam situation. And about that, you realize she hasn't actually told anyone that she likes him, right? I think she's just enjoying that a boy is interested in her."

"Boys have been interested in her before, Lou."

He shakes his head. "She told me she's never had a boyfriend. Before she started living with you Tyler was the only one that talked to her."

"She told you that?" He nods and I frown. How is that possible? She's...she's Adie. She's amazing. "That's insane."

"I know. So go home and talk to her. You should hang out with her tonight, just the two of you."

"We do that all the time."

"No, you do homework together. Or you watch a movie or something boring like that."

"Okay..so you think I should take her on a date?" I ask, smiling a little.

"Well that might be a little preemptive." I frown and he notices, quickly explaining. "It might freak her out if you suddenly ask her out and profess your love for her."

I nod and stand up while running my hand through my messy hair. "Yeah, you're probably right."

He laughs and stands as well. "So you do love her?"

"What?"

"You didn't deny it," he says, pointing to my face. I swat his hand away and feel the heat rise in my cheeks. "You're blushing! Holy shit, are you actually in love with her?"

My eyes go wide and I quickly exit the room. "I'll let you know how it goes," I call behind me. I can hear him laughing as I walk down the stairs. Why didn't I say no? I can't be in love with her...could I? It's way too soon for that. If I'm honest, I've liked her my entire life. That's why other girls seemed so boring to me. Even when we didn't talk at all I still liked her. As we've gotten closer again I started liking her more and more...

But I can't be in love. That would be ridiculous.

Adison's POV

After getting two pages of my essay done, I decide the sentences I'm writing no longer make sense. I think my brain is officially fried. I close my laptop and fold my arms on top of it, leaning my forehead on my arms and closing my eyes. I just want it to be break already. I hear the front door open and close. It must be Harry, but I don't lift my head or say anything. He's in a bad mood and it's not exactly fun to be around him when he's like this. He's always had a temper, even when we were kids.

"Are you dead?"

I jump and straighten up in my seat, startled by his voice. I didn't even notice him sit down beside me. He laughs.

"Don't do that!"

"Do what?"

"Sneak up on me like that. You do it all the time. You've cut at least three years off of my life already," I explain, gathering my stuff and taking my bag off the floor. I start walking to my room and I can hear him walking behind me, taking heavy steps for my benefit. He follows me all the way to my room, where he walks in and picks up the sketchbook on my bed. I put my school stuff away on the shelves under my TV, not really thinking about what he might see.

"These are really good, Ads." I turn and watch him flip through a few pages. He looks genuinely impressed. It's really hard for me to watch him look at my drawings...they're like a diary to me. I draw my feelings instead of writing them. His mood seems to be a bit brighter now...I wonder where he went before. I walk up beside him and look at the drawings with him. He gives me a questioning look when he gets to one page.

"That's umm..that's what I picture my dad looking like. If he was still alive," I admit quietly, staring at the page. He starts to flip the next one and I get a glimpse of the next drawing before him. I quickly realize what it is and snatch it out of his hands, shutting it and putting it in the drawer in my bedside table.

"Why did you do that?" he asks. I shrug and sit on the bed while picking at my nails. the last drawing was one that I did a few nights ago...Harry had just showered after practice and hadn't done anything to his hair, so his curls were crazy. It was adorable. When I was drawing later that night I just kind of happened to draw him...

"Nothing. They're just...they're kind of personal."

"So you let me look at the whole thing and take it away when there's like two pages left?" he asks, smirking and sitting on the bed beside me. I shrug and avoid his eyes. "What did you draw, Ads?"

When I look up he's staring at me, watching me carefully. Does he know? Did he see it? Shit. That would be so embarrassing. His eyes look so green up close...

"Nothing." I snap out of my trance and stand up to put some distance between us. "Where did you go before?" I ask, trying to divert the attention from my drawing of him.

"I uh...I just needed to clear my head."

I nod, not sure what to say. Why would he need to clear his head? Harry's mood swings are extremely unpredictable, and majority of the time I have no idea what sets him off. Or what calms him down. When he gets angry I just try to avoid him usually. Thankfully it doesn't happen too often where he gets like he was earlier. Sometimes he gets in foul moods, but it doesn't take much for me to cheer him up or distract him.

'So, do you want to do something tonight?" he asks suddenly, scratching the back of his head. Harry has these cute little habits that I've come to learn go along with him being nervous or unsure of himself. Running his fingers through his messy quiff, scratching the back of his head, running his fingers along his bottom lip. He's so adorable; whoever the girl is that he likes is an idiot for not wanting him.

"Yeah, that sounds fun. Do you want to watch a movie or something?" I sit on the bed near my mound of decorative pillows and cross my legs.

"Well I was kind of hoping we could go out and do something."

"Like what?"

He crawls onto my bed and lays on his side next to me, supporting his head on his hand. "I don't know. Something fun. You've been doing homework nonstop and you need a break. What do you feel like doing?"

I shrug, "I don't know. I don't get out a lot. What is there to do around here?"

"Not a lot," he laughs. "Small towns are boring like that."

"Well we could always-"

"I have an idea!" he blurts suddenly, jolting into a sitting position. He smiles at me and jumps off the bed. "I'm going to go make us something to eat."

"Wait, what are we doing tonight?" I call after him. He pops his head back in my door with a playful grin on his face.

"It's a surprise."

---

"Ready?" Harry asks, knocking on my open door. I slide on my new burgundy coat. He smirks and looks at my sweater. "Is that mickey mouse on your shirt?"

"Yes. Do you have a problem with that?"

He shakes his head. "Not at all. Disney is the best."

"I agree. Are you going to tell me where we're going yet?"

He smiles and shakes one finger at me. "You're not allowed to ask me that, remember?"

"Harry, come on!"

"Whining gets you no where. You're going to need a hat or something, it's freezing outside."

"Fine," I huff, walking into my closet and selecting a white hat and mittens. "Now will you tell me?"

"Nope. Let's go, I'm driving." He dangles his keys in the air and I slide my phone into my pocket and some money. His phone starts to vibrate and he rolls his eyes when he sees the caller ID. "What do you want, Louis?....Okay...no..." he blushes and turns away from me. "Seriously....shut up Lou...no..no she's right here!" He turns and looks at me quickly, holding up one finger. "Yeah I took you're advice...yeah we are...I can't tell you....Because she's right here...fuck off. Goodbye, Lou." He turns and looks at me sheepishly. "Sorry about that."

"What did Louis want?"

"Just wanted to umm...check on something. Ready to go?"

I narrow my eyes at him for a minute, but when it's clear he won't be revealing anything more I give up. "Let's go."

We drive in silence for a few minutes; it's not awkward, just quiet. I've stopped being uncomfortable around Harry. We've gone back to the way things used to be when we were kids: basically best friends. It's different than the friendship I have with Tyler and Caroline. It's hard to explain...Harry brings out a different side of me, a more carefree and playful side that I forgot I had.

"Do you remember the winter when the creek behind your house froze over?"

I smile at the thought. "I do."

"How old were we? Maybe seven?"

"I think so."

I turn my body slightly and pull my legs onto the seat so I can face Harry while he recants the memory. "We would check all the time in the winter for that creek to freeze, but it never did. Then we had the coldest day in like twenty years or something like that and it finally froze. The next day we begged and begged for our mums to let us skate on it. Remember?" I nod and can't help but smile at the excitement in his eyes; he rarely gets like this. "They refused so many times. It was too cold out apparently. I think they just got annoyed with us and finally caved in. They bundled us up in so many sweater and coats and hats and gloves that we were sweating by the time they brought us outside. I remember laughing at you because all I could see was your eyes."

"You kept saying I looked like a robber," I recall. "I don't know why you found that so funny."

"Me neither.

"You were so lame."

"Hey!" We both laugh and he continues with his story. "Anyway, my mum helped us clear some of the ice and by the time we finally started skating we were freezing and exhausted. We were out there for maybe ten minutes before we went inside. Your mum was so mad that we made them go through all of that trouble for nothing."

"I remember." My voice is quiet and my eyes wander out the window past Harry. "We made them hot chocolate by ourselves to try and make them happy. It was horrible...but they drank it anyway."

It surprises me that Harry remembers that. The only reason I remember is because I'll never forget what she told me after that. She pulled me onto her lap and promised that no matter how mad she seemed that she would always love me. She said that no matter where she was or what she was doing I would always be the most important thing in the world to her. It's one of my best memories. It makes me kind of happy that Harry was a part of it.

"Shit, I'm sorry Ads. I didn't mean to make you sad," he says, reaching over and brushing a tear off my cheek. Why don't I ever notice when I'm crying?

"I'm okay," I say quietly, wiping under my eyes and pulling myself together. "I'm surprised you remember that."

"Of course." He drops his hand, but rests it on my own on my thigh. I lift my hand a little and he wraps his long fingers around my hand. "It was one of the best days of my life."

"Really? Why?"

He smiles and I feel the car roll to a stop. I haven't even been paying attention to where we are. When he puts the car into park he turns to face me, keeping my hand securely in his own.

"I'm not sure. I've always remembered it so well for some reason. It was just a really good day. Even if it wasn't technically perfect. It was for me."

"What made you bring it up?" I ask, smiling at him. He returns it warmly and looks out the front window.

"We're going skating."

His smile gets larger as he watches my reaction. I'm sure it looks like pure horror. I'm the most uncoordinated person on the planet, and the control Harry has over his body is extremely impressive. He's an athlete. I'm not.

Before I can protest he steps out of the car. I decide to stay in the car, since that will be less embarrassing. He comes around to my side and opens the door for me, holding his hand out for me to take.

"You cannot be serious." He simply smiles and keeps his hand extended. I take it hesitantly and step out of the car. "I thought you wanted me to have fun. This is just going to be embarrassing."

He chuckles and leads me towards the outdoor ice-rink.

"We'll see."

Harry's POV

Once I have my skates tied I slap my hands on my thighs.

"Ready?"

She huffs in frustration and leans back against the bench. I look down at her skates and see why she's frustrated; she's struggling to tie up her skates. I bite my lip and try not to laugh. She's so cute.

"Do you want me to help you?" She sighs and nods her head. I can tell she's feeling a little insecure about herself right now; I had a feeling she wouldn't be thrilled about skating. I can tell that she's not exactly steady on her feet even when she's on stable ground. Skating probably isn't going to be her best skill. To be honest, I was kind of counting on that. As I'm tying her skates she puts her mittens back on. Seriously, she's so cute. But she's hot at the same time. It's the best combination. Amazingly cute and incredibly sexy.

"I hate you," she mumbles. I just laugh and stand when I've finished, holding my hand out to her again. She sighs and gives me a 'really?' look before taking it. "I can't believe you're making me do this. I'm going to fall flat on my butt."

When we get to the edge of the rink I step on, but she stops and pulls me back. She looks nervous. This is what I was hoping for; a way to get all of the intimacy that goes with a date without asking her out on a date. I just want to see what she's like with me. If it's easy, natural, that's a good sign. If not...I'll probably be crushed. At least I'll know.

"Don't worry, Ads. I'll be right here. I won't let you fall." I give her a warm smile and she bites her lip before nodding and stepping slowly onto the ice. Her grip on my hand gets ten times stronger as both of her blades get to the slippery surface. "Okay?"

"Not at all." She laughs nervously and glances up at me quickly before putting her eyes back to her feet. "I haven't done this very much. And there's a lot of people here." I look around the rink; it's not crowded, but there's a good amount of people. It's actually kind of romantic; there's christmas lights around the whole thing and in lines above it as well. There's a little snack bar to one side that's lit up by softly lit lamps. It's really nice, especially since the area is surrounded by trees.

I take both her hands firmly in mine and stand in front of her, starting to skate backwards and pulling her with me. She keeps her eyes on her feet.

"Adie. Adie, look at me." She slowly lifts her eyes to mine. "Look at me, not at your feet. I've got you." She looks down again and I release one of her hands to tilt her chin up. "Do you trust me?"

"I'm a little mad at you right now, but yes."

I chuckle and take her hand back in mine, continuing to skate backwards and pulling her with me. "I won't let you fall. I promise." I continue skating backwards. Her eyes occasionally go back down to her skates, but she quickly lifts them again. This is like second nature for me; anything to do with sports isn't all that hard to me. I try to keep her mind off the task by asking her questions about her friends and school and stuff. There's so much about her that I don't know. Normally I hate just talking; holding a long conversation is boring as hell. But with Adie...I could listen to her forever. We could talk about nothing and I'd be happy.

"What do you do when you're not playing football? Or moping."

"I don't mope!" I defend.

"You totally do! You look so bored all the time."

I bravely release one of her hands and start sliding alongside her, still holding her other hand. Her grip hasn't loosened much; if she was a little stronger it might actually hurt.

"Maybe I don't have much to be excited about."

"That can't be true. You have everything."

I look down at her with a puzzled expression. "How do you figure?"

"You're popular. You have tons of friends, real friends that actually care about you. You're athletic, you're cute, you're smart you're nice.. Everyone loves you."

"Hold on, what was that last one?"

She pulls her eyebrows together. "Nice?"

"No, no. The one before that."

"Smart?"

"No, before that."

Her face goes red and she bites her lip. She called me cute. That's a good sign. "Fine, don't repeat it. I heard you the first time." I laugh and she reaches over to smack me with her free hand, the sudden movement causing her to lose her balance. I reach over with my other and and put it on her back, stopping her before she can fall. The motions bring our faces quite close, chests pressed together.

"I'm such a klutz," she says quietly.

I chuckle and straighten her out, keeping my hand on her back. "Maybe a little."

"Despite how embarrassing this is for me, I'm having a really good time." She smiles up at me and it makes my whole body feel warmer.

"Me too."

Adison's POV

The way he's looking into my eyes right now...it makes me feel like the only person in the whole world. Time stands still. Is that weird? We're..we're friends. Friends. Wait. Is this a date? Is that what this is? No, if he wanted to ask me on a date he would have said so. We hang out along all the time.

I bravely release his hand and step away from his body. Might as well try doing this on my own. He raises his eyebrows at me and I slowly push off my right foot, sending me slowly away from him. He's in front of me in a matter of seconds, gliding backwards gracefully while I attempt to propel myself forward.

"You're doing good," he says, moving a little faster. He winks at me and suddenly takes off, skating through the people and moving quickly around the circle. He stops abruptly beside me, smirking and starting to move again.

"Show off."

He laughs and starts skating circles around me, taking off once in a while do move around more. I'm probably moving painfully slow. He looks incredible. I start feeling a little more confident, moving faster.

"Look at you go," he says, skating backwards in a circle around me. "You're a natural."

His compliment gives me a false boost of confidence, my feet slipping up from under me causing me to land on my bum. Well that's going to bruise. Harry was halfway around the rink when I fell. I attempt but fail to get back on my feet. Well this is embarrassing. Harry gives me a sweet smile before looking around a bit. He suddenly comes flying towards me. When he's fifteen feet away he suddenly leans down onto his stomach, sliding across the ice straight towards me. I giggle as he slows down beside me.

"Looks like we're both clumsy," he says, shimmying forward on his stomach closer to me. I can't help but laugh and he joins in. I'm not embarrassed anymore, and he clearly isn't. What does he have to be embarrassed about? He's perfect.

Notes

well that took foreeeeever
its cute tho isnt itttt :) please let me know what you guys think! my next update is going to by on my story Fix ME, which will be coming to a close soon. sad. but then all my focus will be on this one :)

anywho. please comment :)

vote, subscribe, comment. means the world to me <3

thanks so much for reading! I really hope you guys like the story :)