When I wake up in the morning I find myself in an empty bed. Normally that wouldn't bother me, but with the way Harry has been acting I'm just on edge about everything. I'm trying really hard not to let the over-analytical girl in me take over my every thought. It's a challenge. Especially since Harry won't talk to me about whatever is going on inside that curly-haired english head of his.

I turn over and frown when I see a piece of paper resting on his pillow. His messy handwriting is scribbled onto the sheet.

Sorry I had to leave so early. I made plans with Louis and Eleanor and didn't want to wake you. There's a spare key in my desk. Lock up when you leave.
I'll call you later
-H

Great. He's gone. Not even a good morning or a kiss before he leaves. Just gone. So much for working things out, whatever his problem is. He must be freaking out about the rumours. That's the only explanation. I don't blame him, I mean he definitely has the most to lose here. I just wish he would talk to me about it instead of pushing me away.

I get up and throw my jeans on, not bothering to change out of Harry's shirt. With the rest of clothes in my bag I dig through Harry's desk, sitting on the opposite wall of the railing. I don't know why he insists of having it in his bedroom...that's just ridiculous.

When I open up the third drawer something peculiar catches my eye: handwriting that isn't Harry's. When I take a closer look I realize that it must be the letters he said he was getting from his sister. He always puts his mail up here. This must be where the personal things go.

I can't look at those. No, that would be wrong. Harry would be so angry with me. If he found out...who knows how long it'll be until he actually tells me what's going on. How do I help him if I have no idea what's going on with him? I mean he did tell me some things...I'm sure he'll open up to me eventually.

I quickly shut the drawer before I can look at the letter anymore. I can't read that. When I look through the other side I finally find the spare key so I can get out of here. I would stay here and wait for him, but he clearly doesn't want me to. Plus, I have to get ready for the party tonight and Kylie wants to get our hair and nails done together.

I need to figure out what Harry's deal is. I know that he's upset about something. The way he looked at me last night...it was like he was arguing with himself. He looked so sad and scared and that kills me. He needs to know that this, what we have, is worth everything we're going through for it. We're going to be more careful and no one is going to find out about us. We're going to be fine. We have to be.

---

"And then he was just gone when I woke up. He's clearly upset about something, but he won't tell me what. Even last night, he seemed kind of...sad. But he wouldn't say why."

"Did you ask him why he's been avoiding you?"

"Yeah, he didn't really say much. He just said that he's fine."

"Well," Kylie says, "We are girls and we know better than anyone that more often than not, fine means the opposite. You need to talk to him."

"I know, but I just don't want to push him. He doesn't talk about stuff very easily."

"Yes well, that's what sex is for," she says simply. I just laugh. "What? It's true. The other day Mason wouldn't tell-"

"Okay, are you seriously going to tell me a story about my brother?" I ask, cutting her off quickly. She laughs and covers her mouth.

"Right. Sorry."

---

"Okay, there's two limos outside. Oh, Savannah, you look radiant!"

"Thanks mom." I smile at her as I come down the staircase with Kylie.

"Kylie, you look wonderful as well. Where's Mason?"

"I'm here!" he says, jogging down the steps. He stops in front of Kylie and examines her, then twirls her around twice. "You look perfect."

She giggles as he kisses her and I feel a pang of jealousy. It's going to be a long time before I'm about to act like that with my boyfriend. When their little moment is over he turns and looks at me.

"Woah, where'd you get that dress?"

"Mom brought it home for me."

"Designer," she says proudly. "Fits you like a glove. It's just perfect for you, I knew it would be."

"You look great, Sav," Mason says.

"Thanks."

I have to admit, my mother did a fabulous job with the dress selection. It's an A-line ivory ballgown with a tule skirt and a fitted bodice complete with beads, crystals and a sheer neckline. There's even a slit up the front of my left leg. It's a gorgeous dress. It's probably a little bit much, but it's just so pretty that I couldn't say no. Plus my mother literally wouldn't let me say no. I've never been more pleased with my outfit. I feel beautiful.

Me and the lovebirds go in one limo while my parents go in the first one together. They pick up their friends on the way and we head straight for the school where the event room has been made into an over the top Christmas Winter Wonderland. It's really well done...but it's excessive.

"Straight for the bar," Kylie says, taking my hand and leaving Mason to follow. I honestly don't even know how he keeps up with her. I have a hard time and I'm a girl. When we get to the bar Kylie orders some drinks for us. On the other side of me I think I hear British accents. Harry's voice immediately pops into my mind.

"Shit." Kylie looks at me with raised eyebrows. "Do teachers come to these things? I completely forget."

She looks behind me and her eyes go wide. "Yeah, I think they do." She points and I slowly turn around to see Harry and all four of his friends standing at the other end of the bar, talking and laughing away. He must have brought them all as guests.

"Are those his friends? Wow, are all British guys just way hotter than American ones?" she asks, peering over my shoulder to look at them.

"Hey," Mason warns. She turns and pecks his lips.

"Except you, of course."

"What do I do?" I whisper to them. "His friends don't know I'm in high school!"

"So don't tell them. Carter is here with his parents and he's not in high school."

"Somehow I don't think Carter being here is going to help me very much. Harry is the jealous type."

"Hey guys!" I turn around to see Troy approaching us with a huge smile on his face. "Wow, Sav you look great!"

"Thanks." I try to smile but I feel it falter. I look to Kylie for help but she just shrugs. This is just not a good situation. Troy, Carter, me and Harry....yay. What could possibly go wrong? Now they can't even help me because Troy is going to be with us all night. This is not going to be easy. Plus, there's the constant urge to just go over there and kiss him. That's going to be hard to fight wince we've barely spoken this week.

"Shit, he's coming over here," Kylie whispers. Mason and Troy are talking about something else so she has the chance to warn me. Shit. What am I supposed to do! Instead of turning and saying hi to him I just keep my back to his direction, leaning my elbow against the bar and hoping he doesn't actually see me here.

"Oh, hey Mr. Styles," Troy says. My mouth drops open and Kylie stares at him with wide eyes. It's not his fault, he as no idea, but still. Who does that? Who openly just starts talking to a teacher not in school.

"Troy," I hear his deep voice. "Hi, I didn't realize there were students at this event."

"Kids of the parents on the committees and the board and stuff," he explains. I slowly turn my body to face Harry. His eyes land on me and go slightly wider.

"Savannah?" His eyes quickly trail down my body and back up to my face. When our eyes meet he holds my gaze for a little too long. He slowly looks back at Troy and then me again, his eyes slightly darker with the realization that I'm spending time with him again.

"Hi, Mr. Styles." I say quietly, trying to smile at him. He looks over his shoulder at his friends and runs his fingers through his perfectly messy curls.

"Troy, come on. There's a girl I want you to meet," Kylie says suddenly. She takes his hand and abruptly pulls him away, Mason following her. I watch them go and then turn back to Harry, making sure to keep a professional distance from him.

"What are you doing here?" he asks lowly.

"My dad is on the board Harry, you know that. Why are you here?"

"I wasn't going to come, but Eleanor wanted to get all dressed up for her last night. Free drinks," he says, smiling a little and leaning against the bar. He flags the bartender down and orders three. "You look lovely."

"Are you seriously going to act like nothing is wrong?" I spit. He sighs and stands up straight, looking around a bit to make sure no one is watching too closely.

"We can't do this here." He looks back at his friends and then to me again.

"Alright fine. Why don't you just write me a few notes instead and leave them for me to find. That's always fun," I say sarcastically, turning on my heel and walking away from him. How can he act like everything is perfectly fine? It definitely is not fine. I know we're in public, but I don't really give a damn. He has barely spoken to me and he left me alone at his place this morning, and then he's going to act like we don't have a problem in the world? No. Just no.

I feel a hand wrap around my arm and I spin to start to tell whoever it is to fuck off, but Carter's easy smile makes me relax.

"Hey, you look amazing," he says, looking slowly down my body. "That dress..."

"Thanks," I say, laughing a little. He doesn't stop checking me out so I snap my fingers in front of his face and point to my own. "Carter, eyes up here."

"Sorry," he laughs. "Saw your mom. She's still a nightmare, isn't she."

"Did you expect anything else?"

"I guess not. Where's Mase?"

"Around here somewhere. Kylie took them somewhere I'm not sure-"

"Savannah!" I don't recognize the voice at first but when I turn around I instantly feel my palms start to sweat. Eleanor makes her way over to me and puts her arms around me in a hug. "You look fantastic! That dress is incredible!"

"Thanks, you look nice too."

"I love the shops here," she says. She looks at Carter. "Who's this?"

"Oh, sorry. This is my friend Carter. Carter, this is Eleanor."

"I'm a friend of Harry's," Eleanor says, shaking his hand. I wince and look up at Carter. He's clearly confused.

"Harry...?"

"Eleanor, let's get a drink," I suggest quickly, linking my arm with hers and walking towards the bar. I don't dare look back at Carter now, he's probably more confused than ever. Eleanor is looking at me with a curious expressions. "Sorry, he umm..." I rack my brain for some sort of explanation, but it doesn't come.

"Ex boyfriend?"

"Ummm...sure. Something like that." We stop at the bar and Eleanor orders us each two tequila shots. People rarely do shots at these things, so we take them to the end of the bar where it's not as obvious.

"Eleanor, you're tiny. Are you sure you can handle this?" I ask, half teasing but half actually concerned. She has clearly already had a few drinks.

"It's our last night, I want to have fun!" she says. She picks up one shot and I do the same, tilting it into my mouth and quickly sucking on a lime. We do the second one and El bounces a few times to keep it down. "Okay, more!"

"No," I laugh. "Not yet, anyway."

"Look who it is!" Louis says. He picks me up and spins me around once while he hugs me. When he sets me down I look around nervously to see if anyone saw that.

"Easy, Lou." Harry comes up beside him and we exchange a nervous look.

"Did you guys not come together?" he asks. "Harry didn't say you'd be here."

"He didn't know. My parents are on the board for the school, so me and my brother have to come to all this stuff," I explain.

"Well, aren't you going to kiss your girl," Eleanor says, pushing Harry towards me. I look at him with a terrified expression. This can not be happening. "What is wrong with you two? You're acting so weird, usually you're all over each other!"

"El..." Harry says in a warning tone. She pushes him towards me again and he rubs his hand over his eyes.

"I need to go find my brother," I say quickly. Louis and Eleanor look at me weird but I start walking away before they can say anything else. I need to get out of here. I can't be here right now, not when he's here with all his friends and everyone knows a different story. I can't act like his girlfriend with them and like he's my teacher with others when everyone is in one place. That just doesn't work. It's too stressful.

"Savannah." I turn towards my mother's voice. She waves me over. "This is Carl Richards, he's the dean of admissions over at Stanford."

"Nice to meet you," I say politely, shaking his hand. He excuses himself and I start to walk away, but my mother stops me again.

"Why were you talking to your teacher?" she asks. I shrug.

"He said hello, I was being polite." I say, a little too quickly. She scans the crowd and looks back at me. "I'm going to go use the rest room."

When I get in I check the stalls for people before leaning my hands against the counter. How am I going to do this? So many people in one place that know so many different things. Why did Harry have to bring his friends? If they weren't here, we could just act like nothing is happening. I look at my reflection and frown. How can I look so put together and feel like everything is falling apart at the same time?

Suddenly the bathroom door swings open and Harry walks in, shutting and locking the door behind him.

"You're the only one in here?" he asks quietly. I check all the stalls again, just to be sure.

"Yeah," I breath. I lean against the wall and close my eyes, trying to relax. "You shouldn't have brought them here."

"I didn't know," he says.

"You should have thought about it!"

"Don't blame this one me, Savannah. Besides, there's nothing we can do about it now." He walks over and reaches out to me, but I hold my hand out.

"Don't." He drops his hand in defeat and just stares at me. "What is going on with you? Why have you been avoiding me?"

"I'm not avoiding you. We were both busy this week," he says. That excuse is weak, and he knows it.

"That has never been a problem before. You haven't even called me." I close my eyes and regret that sentence immediately. I don't want to be this needy, I am not this person. "I need to go," I breathe, not looking at him as I walk towards the door. He wraps his arm around my waist and spins me to face him, pressing his lips to mine and putting his other hand on the back of my neck to hold me there. I push against his chest at first in protest, but that quickly resistance fades.

"I'm sorry," he says, breaking the kiss but keeping his face close to mine. "I just...these rumours, they're freaking me out."

"But why are you shutting me out? I get not talking to me at school, but you just haven't been talking to me at all. Are you second guessing this? Am I not worth the risk anymore?"

"Don't say that," he says, putting his hands on the sides of my neck. He presses his thumbs to the bottom of my jaw to tilt my face up to his. "I would risk a lot more than my job for you, Savannah. I just needed some space to think about what I was actually risking, whether or not it was more important than you. But it's not, nothing is. I can find another job, but I would never be able to replace you."

"What...what does that mean? Are you quitting?" I ask carefully. He sighs and looks all over my face.

"I'm not sure. I'm thinking about it. I can get a job at another school, I've started looking around a bit. I might not be able to start until next year, but that's better than going through another six months of hiding you. I'm tired of it."

"Wow." He smiles slightly at me. "That's a lot to process."

"Come over later, there's something else I want to talk to you about."

"What is it?" I ask nervously. He smiles wider and looks down at my lips quickly, then back at my eyes.

"Can't tell you, it's a surprise. I'm going to get my friends out of here, okay? Eleanor is pretty drunk anyway. Have a good time with your friends. Not too much, though, don't think I didn't notice Troy here with you guys."

I just roll my eyes and he kisses me again. I missed that so much.

"You look beautiful," he says softly. He kisses me again and starts to walk to the door I watch as he carefully opens it and sticks his head out, checking for people. "I'll see you tonight?"

I nod and he smiles, winking at me as the door shuts behind him. He said that everything is fine...

Why don't I feel better?

Notes

shit almost hit the fan. or did it? oh booooooy
honestly i dont even know if i like this chapter...what actually happened yes but idk im just not that happy with it. what did you guys think?

so, next chapter is just going to be 5 votes or 5 comments. get goin ;) but jsut FYI both would be fantastic. so pleeeeease if you haven't voted, click on those stars!

is there anything in particular you guys might want to see? I have a bunch of ideas, just curious to see what you guys want to happen next :)

the responses from my last little update were so fast and i was super surprised lol i opened my account to see 4 new comments. YOU GUYS ROCK :D