Mistreated
Nerves
*One Week Later*
Tuesday December 24th
Harry’s POV:
All week, the rumors were getting worse. Some people were saying Iris is pregnant, others were saying Iris is going lesbian to start manipulating girls, and I also heard someone say Iris slept with the principal. That last one is just gross. Anyways, none are true and people are being stupid. I know Riley isn’t the one starting them because she’s barely even come to school and when she does, she never talks. The point is, I can’t stop them and I feel awful. I’ve found Iris crying a couple of times and the other days she ran to Perrie and Zayn…and Niall. The worst thing is what Iris told me on Friday: ”I want to cut again.” Luckily, I was able to convince her not to that day, but I can’t promise she won’t do it. I hurts my heart knowing her whole world is falling apart again. Our lives are nothing but emotional rollercoasters. It fucking sucks.
Now, we’re on Winter Break, so we don’t have to go to school until January. No rumors, no bitches, and no annoying ass teachers. Fuck yes. Today is the day I finally get my cast removed. Interestingly enough, it’s Christmas Eve and also the day of Perrie’s Christmas party she throws every year. Iris was kind enough to come with me to the doctor and Perrie dropped us off there. Iris and I figured we’d just walk back to Perrie’s since I’ll be free and wanting to walk. And might I add, Iris looks mighty fine today in that sexy outfit of her’s. (A/N: I suck at the Polyvore shit so don’t judge haha)
“Ready?” she smiled as she pushed me into the doctor’s office.
“More than you’ll ever know,” I groaned and received a giggle from her. The one thing I’m not looking forward to seeing is how disgusting my leg looks. Iris told me how when she got her cast off her arm, it was covered in dead skin and had a bad stench. It’s gonna be worse for me since it’s my leg and thigh that’s covered. Oh joy.
After checking in and waiting a few minutes, the doctor called me into the room and Iris came along. I’m pretty sure she’s just as anxious as I am to see me on two feet again, if not more.
The doctor and Iris helped me get onto the examining table…or whatever the fuck it’s called. Who cares? Anyways, then the doctor started moving my leg around to test for pain and I passed. Cool. So then she took a special saw to the cast and removed it, and I’ll just say this to spare you the details: I need a shower. I could tell Iris was trying not to look disgusted.
“Okay, so I’m going to check your leg for pain one more time,” the doctor stated as she put new gloves on her hands. I nodded for her to proceed. She lifted up my leg and pushed it towards me, “Does this hurt?”
Yes. I want so badly to lie but Iris can see right through me, just as Perrie can. “A little,” I curled my lips. Please don’t make me sit in that piece of shit anymore.
“On a scale of one to ten, how much does it hurt?”
I thought about it, “Uh, like a three?”
“Okay, well it may just be sore now so I’ll tell you what: you don’t have to use the wheelchair anymore.” Hallelujah. “But you’re going to need crutches until it heals up completely. When the pain is gone, you can rid yourself of them.” I nod. “If the pain doesn’t go away, you need to come back.”
“Works for me,” I grinned stupidly. “I’m just glad I can wear my skinny jeans again.”
Iris joked, “You sound like a girl.” I just glared at her, making her laugh yet again.
“So let me go get you some crutches and then you’re free to go,” the doctor grinned and shook my hand.
“Thank you,” I nodded as she walked out the door.
“Yay,” Iris clapped. “Are you excited? Now all of your friends will get to see you out of the chair.”
“Finally,” I rolled my eyes playfully. I watched as she bit her lip and played with her hair, still glancing at me. “What?” I chuckled.
“Nothing,” she blushed. Liar. She’s thinking about us, I can tell. Before I could even say anything to her, the doctor walked in and handed me my crutches. Then, she escorted us out.
For a while, Iris and I were just walking in silence. I was mostly just trying to concentrate on avoiding the cracks in the sidewalk with my crutches.
“I’m kind of nervous,” Iris finally broke the silence.
I chuckled, “Why?”
“Well you said your other friends are going to be there,” she played with her curls, stretching them out and releasing them so they’d bounce back in place.
“But it’s just Lou, Sophia, and Liam and you’ve met them before.”
She sighed, “No, Clarissa has. I’m meeting them as Iris and well…” she paused and sighed again. “What if they don’t like me?”
I stopped walking and leaned my weight on my crutches, “Mercy, you haven’t disappointed any of my friends one bit, I doubt it will be any different with the others.”
“Maybe,” she shrugs and stares at the cement.
“Look at me,” I placed her chin between my index finger and thumb. Her eyes met mine and I could see her trying to keep herself smiling. “You have nothing to worry about, Angel.”
“Okay,” she nodded her head and the conversation stopped there. I hate that she’s so insecure, but people have always given her reasons to feel that way. I really hope that one day she’ll see just how amazing she is and just show it to all who’s ever done her wrong. She deserves to be happy.
Iris’s POV:
Once we got to Perrie’s, Harry headed upstairs to shower. I don’t blame him…that leg looks terrible. I walked into the kitchen to find Perrie frantically running around the room.
“Hey Perrie. Need some help?” I giggled.
“Oh my gosh, yes!” she ran over and hugged me. “Love the headband by the way. I see I’m rubbing off on you.”
I grinned, “Thank you. So what do you need me to do?”
“Can you mix this?” she handed me a bowl of what looked like cookie dough. “I have to check on the gingerbread.” I nodded and mixed the dough. “Have you ever made a gingerbread house?” she asked as she opened the oven.
“Nope.”
“What?” she seemed surprised. Why is she so surprised? My family was never into doing shit like that, or at least not with me. “Well today, that’s going to change. You met Eleanor, right?”
I nodded, “Yeah, she seems really nice.”
“She is,” Perrie grinned as she pulled the cookie sheet of gingerbread out and set it on the stove. “Well, Eleanor really wanted to make some gingerbread houses, so I figured us girls can do that while the boys do their usual ‘let’s be boring and watch telly’ thing.”
I laughed, “Okay then. They seriously just watch T.V.?”
She rolled her eyes, “Or play video games.”
“We also tell funny stories about Perrie,” Harry smirked as he walked into the room. He looks so cute in his outfit. Even with crutches. The green beanie really made his eyes stand out as the grey shirt showed off his toned muscles. And of course, he was wearing those damn skinny jeans that outline his perfect legs. I swear, he has the legs of a woman, but he completely pulls it off.
“Stop drooling over him. You’ll only encourage him,” Perrie smirked. I can’t believe she just said that.
Harry chuckled, “She can’t help it, I’m just too irresistible.”
“You keep telling yourself that, Styles,” I smirked.
“Don’t think I didn’t notice you blushing when she told you to stop drooling,” his voice was filled with confidence.
“I never did such thing,” I lied, focusing my attention back to the cookie dough. “Is this good?”
Perrie walked over and checked it, “Yup. Can you and Haz put them on the pan? I have to help my mum decorate.”
Harry groaned, “Do I have to?”
I curled my finger towards Harry, gesturing him to join me, “Step into my lair.”
He chuckled, “You’re a dork. I hope you know that.”
“I’m not any worse than you,” I joked.
“Cheeky,” Harry shook his head.
“What does that mean?” I giggled.
He walked over to me, barely using his crutches. He’s gonna be stubborn about them, I just know it. “It means ‘rude’,” he smirked.
“Well ‘cheeky’ is gonna be my new favorite word because that’s what you are,” I said before casually humming.
He stuck his finger into the cookie batter and smeared some on my nose. “Oh, I guess you’re right,” he shrugged.
I gasped with a smile creeping on my face, “Harry!” He leaned towards me with a chuckle sliding from his lips before he kissed the batter off my nose. I giggled while his warm, plump lips captured the cookie dough. I bit my lip as I watched him lick his lips clean. He looks so…sexy. I usually don’t use that word, but hot damn. I sound like a fool right now.
He smirked and started placing some cookie dough on the pan, “You gonna be like that all night?”
“What?”
“Staring at me like that?” he chuckled. Fuck, he keeps making me blush. “It’s okay, I don’t mind. I’ll be staring at you too.” Butterflies erupted in my stomach from his words. These feelings get more and more powerful each day I spend with him. Every word he says just makes me fall deeper. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared, but I like feeling this way. I’ve never felt this way about anyone.
My hands became shaky as I scooped batter out of the bowl and placed it on the tray. I’m so nervous. He makes me nervous. I don’t want to screw this up or lose him. Wow, I wasn’t even this scared with Andrew.
A large hand gently held mine and helped me steadily place the cookie dough on the tray. I looked up and Harry who was smiling down to me. He leaned in and whispered in my ear loud enough for me to hear, “Don’t let the nerves get to you. Everything will be okay.”
I’m not sure if he was talking about us or if he was talking about me meeting his other friends, but I nodded and flashed him the smile he adores oh-so-much. He told me he likes it, like over and over and over. He’s so sweet.
“Haz, don’t you have any nice clothes?” Perrie muttered from behind us. I'm not surprised she didn't notice his outfit before since she's running around like a lunatic.
He faced her, rubbing his neck as he did so. “No. I don’t play dress-up.”
She glared, “Remind me to take you shopping.”
“Why would I do that?” he glared back.
“You should wear something nice for me one day,” I helped Perrie out.
“Only for you,” he showed off his precious dimples as he shook his head.
“You guys are adorable, but we have shit to do,” Perrie’s face was dead serious. “Chop, chop.”
Harry saluted her, “Yes Miss Bossy.” I giggled and nudged him with my elbow to shut him up.
Ding Dong! Well fuck, they’re here. I’m so fucking nervous I could throw up. My stomach feels like it’s doing backflips and it’s not a fun feeling compared to the ones I have for Harry. Harry’s friend’s approvals would mean the world to me. They didn’t like Riley. Well, she was a Bitch. Still though, there’s a strong possibility that they’ll be embarrassed for him even talking to me.
“Hey!” I heard Perrie squeal, followed by more girls’ squeals. I looked over to Harry who was already making his way to the door. Am I just supposed to walk over there? I don’t know how this shit works. I’ve been alone forever.
“Iris, come here!” Perrie shouted. I took the deepest fucking breath I could before walking over to the door. Standing in the doorway were four brunettes. They’re all fucking brunettes. It took every bit of me not to giggle at that.
One of them was Eleanor who immediately ran over and hugged the shit out of me, “It’s so good to see you again!”
“Nice to see you too,” I released my giggles I was holding in. She’ll think I was giggling from the hug. Smart right? No? Okay.
She pulled away from the hug and scanned my outfit, “Oh my gosh, I love your shirt. Where did you get it?”
“I’m not sure,” I bit my lip. “My sister got it for me for my birthday.”
“Lucky you, having a sibling to get you stuff,” she grinned. “I’m an only child so I just get money from my parents.”
I was practically an orphan until this year. “I’d rather get money so I could pick out my own clothes,” is what I said instead.
“True, very true,” she laughed. She walked over to the boy with longer brown hair and pulled him over to me. “Iris, this is my boyfriend, Louis.”
“Nice to meet you,” I held my hand out to him.
“I don’t do handshakes, I do hugs,” he laughed and pulled me in for a bone-crushing hug that was equal to Eleanor’s. I let out a gasp of fear since Harry and Niall are the only boys who touch me this way. Zayn doesn’t even hug me.
My eyes widened as flashbacks of Scott picking me up and throwing me into the janitor’s closet ran vividly through my mind.
“Hey Lou, let go,” Eleanor worriedly tapped Lou’s shoulder.
Louis let go of my and faced her, "Why? Are you jealous?"
I turned away from them to gather myself back together. Don’t look like a freak, Iris. He was just hugging you. He doesn’t want to hurt you. He’s a nice guy. He’s nothing like Scott.
“Hey, are you okay?” Eleanor stepped in front of me, being sure not to touch me by holding her arms close to her.
I nodded, “Yeah, sorry.”
She shook her head, “Don’t be sorry. Lou comes on a little strong, but he’s like a teddy bear.”
“Okay,” I shot her the best smile I could, but I’m sure it still looked fake. Where is Louis? I turned around to find him already talking to Harry. I could tell they were talking about Harry’s crutches by the way Louis was hobbling around; which Harry wound up hitting him in the leg with a crutch for the mockery. Of course, they just laughed it off afterwards. Then, I caught him glancing at me, flashing me his dimples and shooting me a wink. I blushed and turned back to Eleanor, listening to her stories about Louis.
“Hey Iris,” the other brunette girl walked over with who I’m assuming is her boyfriend since their hands were intertwined. “Harry told us your name,” she laughed. I must’ve looked confused. “I’m Sophia.”
“Nice to meet you,” I waved this time. I think I’ll pass on the touching for now.
“And I’m Liam,” he gave me a light wave. Then, he placed the side of his hand on his cheek so no one could see his mouth but me, “I’m the normal one of the group.”
Sophia laughed, “Don’t listen to him. Us girls are the normal ones. They are just childish.”
I giggled, “We better stick together then.”
“Speaking of that,” Eleanor jumped. “Let’s go make those gingerbread houses. Perrie!”
Perrie walked over and raised her brows, “Yeah?”
“Gingerbread houses?” Eleanor bounced her eyebrows up and down, making me laugh. I noticed I’ve been laughing a lot. It’s weird.
“If you think that’s funny, just wait until you see her and Louis goofing off together. I swear they are personality twins,” Perrie playfully rolled her eyes.
Ding Dong! The doorbell rang again. Must be Niall and Zayn.
“Parties here, Bitches!” Niall shouted as he swung the door open. Zayn stood behind him shaking his head and rubbing his temples. Niall must’ve annoyed him the whole car ride here, no surprise there.
“Ignore them,” Sophia scoffed. “Let’s go.”
It took me and the girls forever to even get the gingerbread house to stick together with the frosting. Mostly because Niall kept coming over and knocking the walls over. I got him to cooperate after telling him he could help me decorate one side of the roof on it.
“You’re doing it wrong,” he whined as I made a neat roof pattern with the frosting.
“I believe that’s what a roof looks like,” I smirked.
“No,” he held the word and bumped his hip against mine.
I groaned, “Dammit Niall, you messed me up.”
He shook his head, “Nope, that’s how you do it. Check it.” He grabbed the tube of frosting from me and began sloppily squirting it all over the roof.
“It looks like shit,” I glared.
“But it’ll taste delicious,” he said before making a ‘tsk’ noise with his tongue.
“Don’t worry,” Perrie whispered in my ear. “I made another one.” Clever girl.
Eleanor walked over and leaned onto the counter next to me, “So Harry told me you like to dance.”
I raised my brows, “He did?”
“Mm-hmm,” she hummed and nodded. “I like to dance too. I actually know lots of moves.”
“Can you teach me some? I only know funny dance moves,” I laughed.
“It depends on the song you’re dancing to, really,” she shrugged. “But yes, I’d love to teach you.”
I smiled, “Thanks.”
“So Iris. Are you and Harry a thing?” Sophia asked as she walked into the kitchen. “He can’t stop talking about you over there.”
I bit my lip, “Sort of, it’s complicated.” It really is…
Perrie rolled her eyes, “Beyond complicated.”
“Shut up,” I giggled.
“Well she’s right,” Niall butted in.
“Why are you even over here? This is the girls’ territory,” Eleanor smirked.
Niall snapped his fingers in a zigzag movement, “I’m just making sure you guys don’t screw this up.”
“Too late, you already did that,” I pointed to the gingerbread house that was drowned in white frosting.
“Too late, you already did that,” Niall mocked me, imitating the American accent as well which wasn’t hard for him to do; he’s good at impersonating other accents. I just playfully slapped his chest as my revenge.
“But seriously,” Sophia continued while chipping away the red nail polish on her nails. “I’ve never seen Harry so talkative over a girl.”
“It’s true,” Perrie nodded. “He barely even spoke about Riley and he’d get mad if we brought her up.”
“Oh God, I know,” Eleanor rolled her eyes in frustration. “He freely brings you into the conversation though,” she smiled. “He really likes you.”
I smiled shyly and turned to steal a glance of the curly-haired boy, only to see him already staring at me. He wasn’t kidding when he said he would. He turned to Zayn and laughed at something he said before turning his head back to me and checking me out. I watched as his eyes wondered from my toes back to my face and then he waved me over.
“Go get your man,” Sophia giggled and pushed me towards him. I rolled my eyes, with a smile of course, and walked over to him.
“Come here,” Harry patted the cushion next to him. I obeyed and sat next to him blandly. What do I do? We’re not dating, I won’t kiss him…why did I do this to myself? Just date me already. Wow…is this how all girls feel when they have a crush? This is pathetic.
My thoughts were interrupted by his arm wrapping around my neck and gently pulling me closer to him. “You look beautiful today,” he whispered into my hair.
I giggled, “Stop.” All of his friends are right there, how embarrassing. I turned my head so our noses were touching, “You should tell them about Clarissa.”
“Are you sure?” he furrowed his brows.
I shrugged, “Almost everyone knows anyways.”
“Okay,” he sung. Then he turned to his friends, his arm still wrapped around my neck. “Guys, remember Clarissa?”
“Yeah, she was cool,” Liam shrugged.
“That chick was badass for her first time smoking,” Louis added. I looked over at Zayn and received a wink from him, making my smile hard to hide.
“Well, guess who she really was,” Harry smirked. Then he started poking my ribs, “Take a guess. Any guess.”
Louis’s gasps drowned out the sound of my giggles, “No way! Iris was her?”
“Yup,” Zayn said popping the ‘p’.
“Wait, you knew?” Liam raised one of his eyebrows.
Harry laughed and stopped poking me. God, finally. “Yeah, he and Perrie knew. Actually, Perrie was the one who helped her dress up.”
“I don’t understand,” Louis shook his head and looked at me. “Why did you hide yourself?”
“People don’t really tend to like me,” I frowned. “I get made fun of at school everyday.”
Liam’s eyes widened, “Wait, you’re Deaf Freak, aren’t you?” I nodded. “Oh.”
Um…maybe bringing up the Clarissa thing wasn’t such a good idea. It’s just that Niall took it so well, and Harry was right, none of his friends have disliked me yet. It appears that’s changed now.
“I admire you,” Louis smiled. “People put you through so much shit and here you are, still on two feet. It’s like nothing can push you down.” He obviously hasn’t noticed my scars yet.
“Thanks,” I smiled to him and surprised myself by walking over to him and hugging him. I think I could be good friends with this guy.
"So what's it like being Hard of Hearing? If you don't mind me asking," Louis grinned.
I chatted with him, Harry and Zayn about it for awhile. Liam just listened, giving me weird looks here and there. Just great. We spoke about the hearing differences we have, how Harry and I know some ASL, and how I could turn off my hearing aids if I don't want to listen to people (which I've rarely been doing). I also found out it's Louis's birthday today. He's no longer a teen since he turned twenty today. That's cool.
“Hey Guys!” Perrie’s mom walked in after quite some time. “Let’s play a game, yeah? I have something set up in the backyard.”
We all nodded and made our way to the backyard. There was a table with five plates of what appeared to be whipped cream on it.
Perrie groaned, “Really Mum? This game?”
“What?” she laughed. “It’s fun to watch you guys play it. Alright, so on each plate, there’s six gummy bears hidden in the whipped cream. The goal is to find and eat all the gummy bears first and you can’t use your hands or feet, just your mouths. So who wants to play?”
Louis and Niall practically sprinted to their plates. Eleanor just shrugged and skipped over to another plate. Zayn kept pushing Perrie to go, but she pouted and convinced him to do it instead. She can get him to do anything.
There was still one plate left, so I nudged Harry and gave him a big, fat, agape grin, “Huh? Huh?”
He chuckled, “Fine.” Hm, I guess I can get him to do a lot too.
He walked over and took the last plate, placing his crutches on the ground next to him. I smiled at him but I felt awkward, and not because of him; I could feel Liam’s gaze on me. I was too scared to look at Liam’s expression, not wanting to see a glare or anything. He really doesn’t like me, I just know it.
“Go!” Perrie’s mom shouted. I watched as Perrie’s dad walked around the contestants with his camera, recording every bit of it with a happy laughter escaping his mouth.
Harry held his face up from the plate, revealing his completely covered face and chuckling about it. Then, he went back to town on his plate. I swear Niall was like a vacuum, sucking up everything off the plate. Zayn was taking his sweet time, smiling up at Perrie here and there.
Suddenly Eleanor jumped up, “Oh yeah! I win! Loooooosserrrrrrs!” Talk about competitive.
Everyone stopped and watched Perrie’s mom run a fork through the leftover whipped cream on Eleanor’s plate in search for gummy bears. While she did that, I noticed Niall licking his plate clean. Nasty.
“Yup, she won,” Perrie’s mom finally said.
Louis and Eleanor cheered, jumping up and down in each other’s arms. Geez, it was just a little game. They laughed and walked around kissing everyone on the cheeks with their whipped creamed covered faces. Perrie was right, they are hilarious together.
I felt cold lips hit my jaw and I turned to find Harry smirking. I smiled at him but shook my head in disapproval. He raised his eyebrows like he was being challenged. Then, he pulled me closer to him and rubbed his face all over my cheek.
“Harry!” I squealed and laughed.
“I’ll have to clean that,” he smirked and leaned towards me.
“Nope,” I shot him an equally smug look and pushed his chest away.
He whined, “Aww,” I giggled and grabbed a towel from Perrie’s mom who was handing them out. I wiped my cheek and jaw clean before pulling Harry by his shirt down to my height. He chuckled at my actions and his gaze fell softer as I wiped his face clean. I couldn’t tell what emotion was on his face. He wasn’t dazed, anxious, confident, or anything like that. It was like he was in a trance or something, his eyes locked on mine and his mouth slightly curved into a smile.
“What?” I asked, nervously chewing on my lip as I continued to gently wipe his face with the towel. He only shook his head and smiled more. I can’t tell what he’s thinking and it’s driving me nuts.
“Aww,” I heard Sophia coo, knocking me and Harry out of our thoughts. I turned to face everyone who were all staring at us in awe, well except for Liam. Liam looked like he opposed of me and Harry. I could feel my smile tugging down into a frown as I looked at the boy. He just looked down to the ground, possibly trying to avoid eye contact.
“Okay you two,” Perrie walked over with a smile and linked arms with me. “Let’s go build that other gingerbread house.”
As we walked in, I noticed Eleanor run swiftly to the bathroom. I watched as Louis ran after her and Harry followed him slowly from behind. Okay? I wonder what’s up.
Niall was excited when he found out we made another gingerbread house. Too bad we hid it from him since it's too pretty to be eaten.
It turns out Eleanor wasn’t feeling good or something, so her and Louis left but not before giving me more hugs. I was sad to see her leave because I really liked her company and she’s so sweet. Niall left not too long afterwards, taking his ugly gingerbread house with him. It was just Perrie, Zayn, Liam, Sophia, Harry and I who were left.
I felt awkward because of Liam and eventually just went back to the backyard. The Edward's have a porch thing in their backyard, so I was standing outside, leaning my arms on the railing. I admired how Perrie’s dad even hung up Christmas lights all over the backyard and the back of the house. I guess it makes sense though since the neighbors that live behind them are on top of a hill and can see in their backyard. I wish my dad would decorate our house, I would’ve happily helped him.
“What are you thinking about?” I heard a voice rasp from behind me. I looked behind me to see Harry limping towards me with no crutches, holding a blanket instead.
“Harry, you have those crutches for a reason,” I sigh, completely avoiding his question. “You’re only going to injure your foot more.”
He chuckled, “Fuck them. I wanted to be able to walk to you without them.” I glared. “Just for tonight,” he assured me. “You cold?” he didn't even wait for my answer and threw the blanket up and wrapped it around me before pulling me into a hug.
I felt my heart flutter at his touch. I buried my head deeper into his chest, if that was even possible, and heard him hum in approval. I just want to stand here holding him forever. Can I do that? Can I make this moment last a lifetime? I would never let go.
“So did you have fun today?” he broke the minutes of silence.
I nodded against his chest, “Mhm.”
“And what did you think about my friends?” he asked.
I smiled and pressed my chin against his chest, tilting my head back so I could look up at him, “They’re lovely.” Liam, not so much.
“I told you it’d be fine,” he grinned and kissed my forehead. Oh, you told me. Too bad you are wrong. “Let’s go inside,” he stepped back and gripped my hand before trying to walk towards the house.
“I’m fine out here,” I stood like a stone. I’m not about to go see Liam right now.
He sighed, “Angel, its cold out here. Plus, everyone’s gone and I want to spend time with you.” Oh thank God.
I nod, “Okay,” acting like I just caved in, even though that’s not exactly true. I'm just relieved.
We walked into the house, through the kitchen, and then over to the living room. After plopping onto the couch, Harry pulled me close to him and laid down so I was laying on top him, my head resting on his chest. I adjusted the blanket so it covered both of our legs and passed my butt; my upper half was warm enough against his torso. I smiled up at him and he began tracing his fingers up and down my nose.
“We still have to get that petition signed,” he mumbled, continuing to trace the features on my face.
“Oh yeah,” I sigh. “Fun.” I hope you can hint the sarcasm.
“Why do you say that?”
I run my fingers slowly up and down his arm, “It’s just that she said family too, which means we have to face our parents.”
“Fuck no,” Harry scoffed.
I frown, “I don’t want to either, but I don’t like knowing other kids are going through rough times because of the school too. Besides, we need all the signatures we can get, so I feel like we should do it.”
He sighed, “I don’t like that idea.”
“What about Gemma though?” I bit my lip. “Don’t you miss her?”
“Of course I do,” he groaned and placed his hand on my back, gently scratching his fingernails up and down it.
“Well you sort of left her with your parents like she did with you,” I pointed out. Please don’t be mad. Please don’t be mad.
He let out a deep breath, “Yeah, that was kind of shitty of me.” I feel like there was some sarcasm in his words.
“If anything, just go check on her, get the signatures and leave,” I shrugged.
He nodded, “Okay. I guess we were bound to see them again eventually anyways.”
“I kind of wish we could just hide away from the world forever, you know?”
“You and I both,” he chuckled. “Can I just…” he paused and trailed his hands lower on my back. “…try something?”
My eyes widened, but I nodded. What’s he going to do? I felt him lift my shirt up and as soon as his fingertips hit my back, I jumped and tensed up.
“It’s okay, Angel. I promise I won’t do anything you’re uncomfortable with. If you want me to stop, just tell me.” His hand started lightly scratching my bare back, slowly trailing along every inch of my skin. I let myself relax, enjoying every bit of his warm touch.
“I feels nice,” I whispered, letting out a hum at the end. He smiled down to me as he continued, bringing his other hand to my head. He ran his fingers through my hair, ending up smoothly scratching my neck as well. My body felt heavier, as did my eyelids, as I drifted off into a comfortable sleep. Merry Christmas.
Tuesday December 24th
Harry’s POV:
All week, the rumors were getting worse. Some people were saying Iris is pregnant, others were saying Iris is going lesbian to start manipulating girls, and I also heard someone say Iris slept with the principal. That last one is just gross. Anyways, none are true and people are being stupid. I know Riley isn’t the one starting them because she’s barely even come to school and when she does, she never talks. The point is, I can’t stop them and I feel awful. I’ve found Iris crying a couple of times and the other days she ran to Perrie and Zayn…and Niall. The worst thing is what Iris told me on Friday: ”I want to cut again.” Luckily, I was able to convince her not to that day, but I can’t promise she won’t do it. I hurts my heart knowing her whole world is falling apart again. Our lives are nothing but emotional rollercoasters. It fucking sucks.
Now, we’re on Winter Break, so we don’t have to go to school until January. No rumors, no bitches, and no annoying ass teachers. Fuck yes. Today is the day I finally get my cast removed. Interestingly enough, it’s Christmas Eve and also the day of Perrie’s Christmas party she throws every year. Iris was kind enough to come with me to the doctor and Perrie dropped us off there. Iris and I figured we’d just walk back to Perrie’s since I’ll be free and wanting to walk. And might I add, Iris looks mighty fine today in that sexy outfit of her’s. (A/N: I suck at the Polyvore shit so don’t judge haha)
“Ready?” she smiled as she pushed me into the doctor’s office.
“More than you’ll ever know,” I groaned and received a giggle from her. The one thing I’m not looking forward to seeing is how disgusting my leg looks. Iris told me how when she got her cast off her arm, it was covered in dead skin and had a bad stench. It’s gonna be worse for me since it’s my leg and thigh that’s covered. Oh joy.
After checking in and waiting a few minutes, the doctor called me into the room and Iris came along. I’m pretty sure she’s just as anxious as I am to see me on two feet again, if not more.
The doctor and Iris helped me get onto the examining table…or whatever the fuck it’s called. Who cares? Anyways, then the doctor started moving my leg around to test for pain and I passed. Cool. So then she took a special saw to the cast and removed it, and I’ll just say this to spare you the details: I need a shower. I could tell Iris was trying not to look disgusted.
“Okay, so I’m going to check your leg for pain one more time,” the doctor stated as she put new gloves on her hands. I nodded for her to proceed. She lifted up my leg and pushed it towards me, “Does this hurt?”
Yes. I want so badly to lie but Iris can see right through me, just as Perrie can. “A little,” I curled my lips. Please don’t make me sit in that piece of shit anymore.
“On a scale of one to ten, how much does it hurt?”
I thought about it, “Uh, like a three?”
“Okay, well it may just be sore now so I’ll tell you what: you don’t have to use the wheelchair anymore.” Hallelujah. “But you’re going to need crutches until it heals up completely. When the pain is gone, you can rid yourself of them.” I nod. “If the pain doesn’t go away, you need to come back.”
“Works for me,” I grinned stupidly. “I’m just glad I can wear my skinny jeans again.”
Iris joked, “You sound like a girl.” I just glared at her, making her laugh yet again.
“So let me go get you some crutches and then you’re free to go,” the doctor grinned and shook my hand.
“Thank you,” I nodded as she walked out the door.
“Yay,” Iris clapped. “Are you excited? Now all of your friends will get to see you out of the chair.”
“Finally,” I rolled my eyes playfully. I watched as she bit her lip and played with her hair, still glancing at me. “What?” I chuckled.
“Nothing,” she blushed. Liar. She’s thinking about us, I can tell. Before I could even say anything to her, the doctor walked in and handed me my crutches. Then, she escorted us out.
For a while, Iris and I were just walking in silence. I was mostly just trying to concentrate on avoiding the cracks in the sidewalk with my crutches.
“I’m kind of nervous,” Iris finally broke the silence.
I chuckled, “Why?”
“Well you said your other friends are going to be there,” she played with her curls, stretching them out and releasing them so they’d bounce back in place.
“But it’s just Lou, Sophia, and Liam and you’ve met them before.”
She sighed, “No, Clarissa has. I’m meeting them as Iris and well…” she paused and sighed again. “What if they don’t like me?”
I stopped walking and leaned my weight on my crutches, “Mercy, you haven’t disappointed any of my friends one bit, I doubt it will be any different with the others.”
“Maybe,” she shrugs and stares at the cement.
“Look at me,” I placed her chin between my index finger and thumb. Her eyes met mine and I could see her trying to keep herself smiling. “You have nothing to worry about, Angel.”
“Okay,” she nodded her head and the conversation stopped there. I hate that she’s so insecure, but people have always given her reasons to feel that way. I really hope that one day she’ll see just how amazing she is and just show it to all who’s ever done her wrong. She deserves to be happy.
Iris’s POV:
Once we got to Perrie’s, Harry headed upstairs to shower. I don’t blame him…that leg looks terrible. I walked into the kitchen to find Perrie frantically running around the room.
“Hey Perrie. Need some help?” I giggled.
“Oh my gosh, yes!” she ran over and hugged me. “Love the headband by the way. I see I’m rubbing off on you.”
I grinned, “Thank you. So what do you need me to do?”
“Can you mix this?” she handed me a bowl of what looked like cookie dough. “I have to check on the gingerbread.” I nodded and mixed the dough. “Have you ever made a gingerbread house?” she asked as she opened the oven.
“Nope.”
“What?” she seemed surprised. Why is she so surprised? My family was never into doing shit like that, or at least not with me. “Well today, that’s going to change. You met Eleanor, right?”
I nodded, “Yeah, she seems really nice.”
“She is,” Perrie grinned as she pulled the cookie sheet of gingerbread out and set it on the stove. “Well, Eleanor really wanted to make some gingerbread houses, so I figured us girls can do that while the boys do their usual ‘let’s be boring and watch telly’ thing.”
I laughed, “Okay then. They seriously just watch T.V.?”
She rolled her eyes, “Or play video games.”
“We also tell funny stories about Perrie,” Harry smirked as he walked into the room. He looks so cute in his outfit. Even with crutches. The green beanie really made his eyes stand out as the grey shirt showed off his toned muscles. And of course, he was wearing those damn skinny jeans that outline his perfect legs. I swear, he has the legs of a woman, but he completely pulls it off.
“Stop drooling over him. You’ll only encourage him,” Perrie smirked. I can’t believe she just said that.
Harry chuckled, “She can’t help it, I’m just too irresistible.”
“You keep telling yourself that, Styles,” I smirked.
“Don’t think I didn’t notice you blushing when she told you to stop drooling,” his voice was filled with confidence.
“I never did such thing,” I lied, focusing my attention back to the cookie dough. “Is this good?”
Perrie walked over and checked it, “Yup. Can you and Haz put them on the pan? I have to help my mum decorate.”
Harry groaned, “Do I have to?”
I curled my finger towards Harry, gesturing him to join me, “Step into my lair.”
He chuckled, “You’re a dork. I hope you know that.”
“I’m not any worse than you,” I joked.
“Cheeky,” Harry shook his head.
“What does that mean?” I giggled.
He walked over to me, barely using his crutches. He’s gonna be stubborn about them, I just know it. “It means ‘rude’,” he smirked.
“Well ‘cheeky’ is gonna be my new favorite word because that’s what you are,” I said before casually humming.
He stuck his finger into the cookie batter and smeared some on my nose. “Oh, I guess you’re right,” he shrugged.
I gasped with a smile creeping on my face, “Harry!” He leaned towards me with a chuckle sliding from his lips before he kissed the batter off my nose. I giggled while his warm, plump lips captured the cookie dough. I bit my lip as I watched him lick his lips clean. He looks so…sexy. I usually don’t use that word, but hot damn. I sound like a fool right now.
He smirked and started placing some cookie dough on the pan, “You gonna be like that all night?”
“What?”
“Staring at me like that?” he chuckled. Fuck, he keeps making me blush. “It’s okay, I don’t mind. I’ll be staring at you too.” Butterflies erupted in my stomach from his words. These feelings get more and more powerful each day I spend with him. Every word he says just makes me fall deeper. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared, but I like feeling this way. I’ve never felt this way about anyone.
My hands became shaky as I scooped batter out of the bowl and placed it on the tray. I’m so nervous. He makes me nervous. I don’t want to screw this up or lose him. Wow, I wasn’t even this scared with Andrew.
A large hand gently held mine and helped me steadily place the cookie dough on the tray. I looked up and Harry who was smiling down to me. He leaned in and whispered in my ear loud enough for me to hear, “Don’t let the nerves get to you. Everything will be okay.”
I’m not sure if he was talking about us or if he was talking about me meeting his other friends, but I nodded and flashed him the smile he adores oh-so-much. He told me he likes it, like over and over and over. He’s so sweet.
“Haz, don’t you have any nice clothes?” Perrie muttered from behind us. I'm not surprised she didn't notice his outfit before since she's running around like a lunatic.
He faced her, rubbing his neck as he did so. “No. I don’t play dress-up.”
She glared, “Remind me to take you shopping.”
“Why would I do that?” he glared back.
“You should wear something nice for me one day,” I helped Perrie out.
“Only for you,” he showed off his precious dimples as he shook his head.
“You guys are adorable, but we have shit to do,” Perrie’s face was dead serious. “Chop, chop.”
Harry saluted her, “Yes Miss Bossy.” I giggled and nudged him with my elbow to shut him up.
Ding Dong! Well fuck, they’re here. I’m so fucking nervous I could throw up. My stomach feels like it’s doing backflips and it’s not a fun feeling compared to the ones I have for Harry. Harry’s friend’s approvals would mean the world to me. They didn’t like Riley. Well, she was a Bitch. Still though, there’s a strong possibility that they’ll be embarrassed for him even talking to me.
“Hey!” I heard Perrie squeal, followed by more girls’ squeals. I looked over to Harry who was already making his way to the door. Am I just supposed to walk over there? I don’t know how this shit works. I’ve been alone forever.
“Iris, come here!” Perrie shouted. I took the deepest fucking breath I could before walking over to the door. Standing in the doorway were four brunettes. They’re all fucking brunettes. It took every bit of me not to giggle at that.
One of them was Eleanor who immediately ran over and hugged the shit out of me, “It’s so good to see you again!”
“Nice to see you too,” I released my giggles I was holding in. She’ll think I was giggling from the hug. Smart right? No? Okay.
She pulled away from the hug and scanned my outfit, “Oh my gosh, I love your shirt. Where did you get it?”
“I’m not sure,” I bit my lip. “My sister got it for me for my birthday.”
“Lucky you, having a sibling to get you stuff,” she grinned. “I’m an only child so I just get money from my parents.”
I was practically an orphan until this year. “I’d rather get money so I could pick out my own clothes,” is what I said instead.
“True, very true,” she laughed. She walked over to the boy with longer brown hair and pulled him over to me. “Iris, this is my boyfriend, Louis.”
“Nice to meet you,” I held my hand out to him.
“I don’t do handshakes, I do hugs,” he laughed and pulled me in for a bone-crushing hug that was equal to Eleanor’s. I let out a gasp of fear since Harry and Niall are the only boys who touch me this way. Zayn doesn’t even hug me.
My eyes widened as flashbacks of Scott picking me up and throwing me into the janitor’s closet ran vividly through my mind.
“Hey Lou, let go,” Eleanor worriedly tapped Lou’s shoulder.
Louis let go of my and faced her, "Why? Are you jealous?"
I turned away from them to gather myself back together. Don’t look like a freak, Iris. He was just hugging you. He doesn’t want to hurt you. He’s a nice guy. He’s nothing like Scott.
“Hey, are you okay?” Eleanor stepped in front of me, being sure not to touch me by holding her arms close to her.
I nodded, “Yeah, sorry.”
She shook her head, “Don’t be sorry. Lou comes on a little strong, but he’s like a teddy bear.”
“Okay,” I shot her the best smile I could, but I’m sure it still looked fake. Where is Louis? I turned around to find him already talking to Harry. I could tell they were talking about Harry’s crutches by the way Louis was hobbling around; which Harry wound up hitting him in the leg with a crutch for the mockery. Of course, they just laughed it off afterwards. Then, I caught him glancing at me, flashing me his dimples and shooting me a wink. I blushed and turned back to Eleanor, listening to her stories about Louis.
“Hey Iris,” the other brunette girl walked over with who I’m assuming is her boyfriend since their hands were intertwined. “Harry told us your name,” she laughed. I must’ve looked confused. “I’m Sophia.”
“Nice to meet you,” I waved this time. I think I’ll pass on the touching for now.
“And I’m Liam,” he gave me a light wave. Then, he placed the side of his hand on his cheek so no one could see his mouth but me, “I’m the normal one of the group.”
Sophia laughed, “Don’t listen to him. Us girls are the normal ones. They are just childish.”
I giggled, “We better stick together then.”
“Speaking of that,” Eleanor jumped. “Let’s go make those gingerbread houses. Perrie!”
Perrie walked over and raised her brows, “Yeah?”
“Gingerbread houses?” Eleanor bounced her eyebrows up and down, making me laugh. I noticed I’ve been laughing a lot. It’s weird.
“If you think that’s funny, just wait until you see her and Louis goofing off together. I swear they are personality twins,” Perrie playfully rolled her eyes.
Ding Dong! The doorbell rang again. Must be Niall and Zayn.
“Parties here, Bitches!” Niall shouted as he swung the door open. Zayn stood behind him shaking his head and rubbing his temples. Niall must’ve annoyed him the whole car ride here, no surprise there.
“Ignore them,” Sophia scoffed. “Let’s go.”
It took me and the girls forever to even get the gingerbread house to stick together with the frosting. Mostly because Niall kept coming over and knocking the walls over. I got him to cooperate after telling him he could help me decorate one side of the roof on it.
“You’re doing it wrong,” he whined as I made a neat roof pattern with the frosting.
“I believe that’s what a roof looks like,” I smirked.
“No,” he held the word and bumped his hip against mine.
I groaned, “Dammit Niall, you messed me up.”
He shook his head, “Nope, that’s how you do it. Check it.” He grabbed the tube of frosting from me and began sloppily squirting it all over the roof.
“It looks like shit,” I glared.
“But it’ll taste delicious,” he said before making a ‘tsk’ noise with his tongue.
“Don’t worry,” Perrie whispered in my ear. “I made another one.” Clever girl.
Eleanor walked over and leaned onto the counter next to me, “So Harry told me you like to dance.”
I raised my brows, “He did?”
“Mm-hmm,” she hummed and nodded. “I like to dance too. I actually know lots of moves.”
“Can you teach me some? I only know funny dance moves,” I laughed.
“It depends on the song you’re dancing to, really,” she shrugged. “But yes, I’d love to teach you.”
I smiled, “Thanks.”
“So Iris. Are you and Harry a thing?” Sophia asked as she walked into the kitchen. “He can’t stop talking about you over there.”
I bit my lip, “Sort of, it’s complicated.” It really is…
Perrie rolled her eyes, “Beyond complicated.”
“Shut up,” I giggled.
“Well she’s right,” Niall butted in.
“Why are you even over here? This is the girls’ territory,” Eleanor smirked.
Niall snapped his fingers in a zigzag movement, “I’m just making sure you guys don’t screw this up.”
“Too late, you already did that,” I pointed to the gingerbread house that was drowned in white frosting.
“Too late, you already did that,” Niall mocked me, imitating the American accent as well which wasn’t hard for him to do; he’s good at impersonating other accents. I just playfully slapped his chest as my revenge.
“But seriously,” Sophia continued while chipping away the red nail polish on her nails. “I’ve never seen Harry so talkative over a girl.”
“It’s true,” Perrie nodded. “He barely even spoke about Riley and he’d get mad if we brought her up.”
“Oh God, I know,” Eleanor rolled her eyes in frustration. “He freely brings you into the conversation though,” she smiled. “He really likes you.”
I smiled shyly and turned to steal a glance of the curly-haired boy, only to see him already staring at me. He wasn’t kidding when he said he would. He turned to Zayn and laughed at something he said before turning his head back to me and checking me out. I watched as his eyes wondered from my toes back to my face and then he waved me over.
“Go get your man,” Sophia giggled and pushed me towards him. I rolled my eyes, with a smile of course, and walked over to him.
“Come here,” Harry patted the cushion next to him. I obeyed and sat next to him blandly. What do I do? We’re not dating, I won’t kiss him…why did I do this to myself? Just date me already. Wow…is this how all girls feel when they have a crush? This is pathetic.
My thoughts were interrupted by his arm wrapping around my neck and gently pulling me closer to him. “You look beautiful today,” he whispered into my hair.
I giggled, “Stop.” All of his friends are right there, how embarrassing. I turned my head so our noses were touching, “You should tell them about Clarissa.”
“Are you sure?” he furrowed his brows.
I shrugged, “Almost everyone knows anyways.”
“Okay,” he sung. Then he turned to his friends, his arm still wrapped around my neck. “Guys, remember Clarissa?”
“Yeah, she was cool,” Liam shrugged.
“That chick was badass for her first time smoking,” Louis added. I looked over at Zayn and received a wink from him, making my smile hard to hide.
“Well, guess who she really was,” Harry smirked. Then he started poking my ribs, “Take a guess. Any guess.”
Louis’s gasps drowned out the sound of my giggles, “No way! Iris was her?”
“Yup,” Zayn said popping the ‘p’.
“Wait, you knew?” Liam raised one of his eyebrows.
Harry laughed and stopped poking me. God, finally. “Yeah, he and Perrie knew. Actually, Perrie was the one who helped her dress up.”
“I don’t understand,” Louis shook his head and looked at me. “Why did you hide yourself?”
“People don’t really tend to like me,” I frowned. “I get made fun of at school everyday.”
Liam’s eyes widened, “Wait, you’re Deaf Freak, aren’t you?” I nodded. “Oh.”
Um…maybe bringing up the Clarissa thing wasn’t such a good idea. It’s just that Niall took it so well, and Harry was right, none of his friends have disliked me yet. It appears that’s changed now.
“I admire you,” Louis smiled. “People put you through so much shit and here you are, still on two feet. It’s like nothing can push you down.” He obviously hasn’t noticed my scars yet.
“Thanks,” I smiled to him and surprised myself by walking over to him and hugging him. I think I could be good friends with this guy.
"So what's it like being Hard of Hearing? If you don't mind me asking," Louis grinned.
I chatted with him, Harry and Zayn about it for awhile. Liam just listened, giving me weird looks here and there. Just great. We spoke about the hearing differences we have, how Harry and I know some ASL, and how I could turn off my hearing aids if I don't want to listen to people (which I've rarely been doing). I also found out it's Louis's birthday today. He's no longer a teen since he turned twenty today. That's cool.
“Hey Guys!” Perrie’s mom walked in after quite some time. “Let’s play a game, yeah? I have something set up in the backyard.”
We all nodded and made our way to the backyard. There was a table with five plates of what appeared to be whipped cream on it.
Perrie groaned, “Really Mum? This game?”
“What?” she laughed. “It’s fun to watch you guys play it. Alright, so on each plate, there’s six gummy bears hidden in the whipped cream. The goal is to find and eat all the gummy bears first and you can’t use your hands or feet, just your mouths. So who wants to play?”
Louis and Niall practically sprinted to their plates. Eleanor just shrugged and skipped over to another plate. Zayn kept pushing Perrie to go, but she pouted and convinced him to do it instead. She can get him to do anything.
There was still one plate left, so I nudged Harry and gave him a big, fat, agape grin, “Huh? Huh?”
He chuckled, “Fine.” Hm, I guess I can get him to do a lot too.
He walked over and took the last plate, placing his crutches on the ground next to him. I smiled at him but I felt awkward, and not because of him; I could feel Liam’s gaze on me. I was too scared to look at Liam’s expression, not wanting to see a glare or anything. He really doesn’t like me, I just know it.
“Go!” Perrie’s mom shouted. I watched as Perrie’s dad walked around the contestants with his camera, recording every bit of it with a happy laughter escaping his mouth.
Harry held his face up from the plate, revealing his completely covered face and chuckling about it. Then, he went back to town on his plate. I swear Niall was like a vacuum, sucking up everything off the plate. Zayn was taking his sweet time, smiling up at Perrie here and there.
Suddenly Eleanor jumped up, “Oh yeah! I win! Loooooosserrrrrrs!” Talk about competitive.
Everyone stopped and watched Perrie’s mom run a fork through the leftover whipped cream on Eleanor’s plate in search for gummy bears. While she did that, I noticed Niall licking his plate clean. Nasty.
“Yup, she won,” Perrie’s mom finally said.
Louis and Eleanor cheered, jumping up and down in each other’s arms. Geez, it was just a little game. They laughed and walked around kissing everyone on the cheeks with their whipped creamed covered faces. Perrie was right, they are hilarious together.
I felt cold lips hit my jaw and I turned to find Harry smirking. I smiled at him but shook my head in disapproval. He raised his eyebrows like he was being challenged. Then, he pulled me closer to him and rubbed his face all over my cheek.
“Harry!” I squealed and laughed.
“I’ll have to clean that,” he smirked and leaned towards me.
“Nope,” I shot him an equally smug look and pushed his chest away.
He whined, “Aww,” I giggled and grabbed a towel from Perrie’s mom who was handing them out. I wiped my cheek and jaw clean before pulling Harry by his shirt down to my height. He chuckled at my actions and his gaze fell softer as I wiped his face clean. I couldn’t tell what emotion was on his face. He wasn’t dazed, anxious, confident, or anything like that. It was like he was in a trance or something, his eyes locked on mine and his mouth slightly curved into a smile.
“What?” I asked, nervously chewing on my lip as I continued to gently wipe his face with the towel. He only shook his head and smiled more. I can’t tell what he’s thinking and it’s driving me nuts.
“Aww,” I heard Sophia coo, knocking me and Harry out of our thoughts. I turned to face everyone who were all staring at us in awe, well except for Liam. Liam looked like he opposed of me and Harry. I could feel my smile tugging down into a frown as I looked at the boy. He just looked down to the ground, possibly trying to avoid eye contact.
“Okay you two,” Perrie walked over with a smile and linked arms with me. “Let’s go build that other gingerbread house.”
As we walked in, I noticed Eleanor run swiftly to the bathroom. I watched as Louis ran after her and Harry followed him slowly from behind. Okay? I wonder what’s up.
Niall was excited when he found out we made another gingerbread house. Too bad we hid it from him since it's too pretty to be eaten.
It turns out Eleanor wasn’t feeling good or something, so her and Louis left but not before giving me more hugs. I was sad to see her leave because I really liked her company and she’s so sweet. Niall left not too long afterwards, taking his ugly gingerbread house with him. It was just Perrie, Zayn, Liam, Sophia, Harry and I who were left.
I felt awkward because of Liam and eventually just went back to the backyard. The Edward's have a porch thing in their backyard, so I was standing outside, leaning my arms on the railing. I admired how Perrie’s dad even hung up Christmas lights all over the backyard and the back of the house. I guess it makes sense though since the neighbors that live behind them are on top of a hill and can see in their backyard. I wish my dad would decorate our house, I would’ve happily helped him.
“What are you thinking about?” I heard a voice rasp from behind me. I looked behind me to see Harry limping towards me with no crutches, holding a blanket instead.
“Harry, you have those crutches for a reason,” I sigh, completely avoiding his question. “You’re only going to injure your foot more.”
He chuckled, “Fuck them. I wanted to be able to walk to you without them.” I glared. “Just for tonight,” he assured me. “You cold?” he didn't even wait for my answer and threw the blanket up and wrapped it around me before pulling me into a hug.
I felt my heart flutter at his touch. I buried my head deeper into his chest, if that was even possible, and heard him hum in approval. I just want to stand here holding him forever. Can I do that? Can I make this moment last a lifetime? I would never let go.
“So did you have fun today?” he broke the minutes of silence.
I nodded against his chest, “Mhm.”
“And what did you think about my friends?” he asked.
I smiled and pressed my chin against his chest, tilting my head back so I could look up at him, “They’re lovely.” Liam, not so much.
“I told you it’d be fine,” he grinned and kissed my forehead. Oh, you told me. Too bad you are wrong. “Let’s go inside,” he stepped back and gripped my hand before trying to walk towards the house.
“I’m fine out here,” I stood like a stone. I’m not about to go see Liam right now.
He sighed, “Angel, its cold out here. Plus, everyone’s gone and I want to spend time with you.” Oh thank God.
I nod, “Okay,” acting like I just caved in, even though that’s not exactly true. I'm just relieved.
We walked into the house, through the kitchen, and then over to the living room. After plopping onto the couch, Harry pulled me close to him and laid down so I was laying on top him, my head resting on his chest. I adjusted the blanket so it covered both of our legs and passed my butt; my upper half was warm enough against his torso. I smiled up at him and he began tracing his fingers up and down my nose.
“We still have to get that petition signed,” he mumbled, continuing to trace the features on my face.
“Oh yeah,” I sigh. “Fun.” I hope you can hint the sarcasm.
“Why do you say that?”
I run my fingers slowly up and down his arm, “It’s just that she said family too, which means we have to face our parents.”
“Fuck no,” Harry scoffed.
I frown, “I don’t want to either, but I don’t like knowing other kids are going through rough times because of the school too. Besides, we need all the signatures we can get, so I feel like we should do it.”
He sighed, “I don’t like that idea.”
“What about Gemma though?” I bit my lip. “Don’t you miss her?”
“Of course I do,” he groaned and placed his hand on my back, gently scratching his fingernails up and down it.
“Well you sort of left her with your parents like she did with you,” I pointed out. Please don’t be mad. Please don’t be mad.
He let out a deep breath, “Yeah, that was kind of shitty of me.” I feel like there was some sarcasm in his words.
“If anything, just go check on her, get the signatures and leave,” I shrugged.
He nodded, “Okay. I guess we were bound to see them again eventually anyways.”
“I kind of wish we could just hide away from the world forever, you know?”
“You and I both,” he chuckled. “Can I just…” he paused and trailed his hands lower on my back. “…try something?”
My eyes widened, but I nodded. What’s he going to do? I felt him lift my shirt up and as soon as his fingertips hit my back, I jumped and tensed up.
“It’s okay, Angel. I promise I won’t do anything you’re uncomfortable with. If you want me to stop, just tell me.” His hand started lightly scratching my bare back, slowly trailing along every inch of my skin. I let myself relax, enjoying every bit of his warm touch.
“I feels nice,” I whispered, letting out a hum at the end. He smiled down to me as he continued, bringing his other hand to my head. He ran his fingers through my hair, ending up smoothly scratching my neck as well. My body felt heavier, as did my eyelids, as I drifted off into a comfortable sleep. Merry Christmas.
Notes
I'm really proud of myself. I haven't been motivated to do my homework and so I've been really slacking in the school department lately. Anyways, today I was like "I'm not gonna do my homework" but after starting writing this I was like, "If I'm gonna write this, I better have my homework done." So I did half of it hahahaha. Hey, it's more than I was planning on doing. Don't follow my example, kids.
Then, I wound up writing this super duper long and cute chapter and I'm way happier with it than I was with the two boring chapters I last posted. So I'm proud of my accomplishments :D
Not sure, but i think this is my longest chapter yet!!! Woop woop! I'm excited, can't you tell? I'm strange...don't judge. :P
Your support means the world to me. Subscribe and vote if you haven't already. Be sure to leave me a comment as well. Love you guys<3
Question Time:
Have you ever noticed that whenever Harry and Iris are happy, something bad happens? (;
I love this story so much!!!
11/18/17