"You are way too excited for this," Mason notes, leaning against the wall beside my closet while I turn in and out to show them outfits. Kylie sits on my bed, laughing at me and shaking her head at Mason.

"She hasn't seen him in days, let her be excited," she scolds happily.

"You say him yesterday," he reminds us. "At school. He's our teacher, that's kind of the whole problem, remember?"

"Shut up, Mason!" I shout. I turn back to Kylie and hold up another dress selection. "Okay, how about this one?"

"Why are you wearing a dress again? You're just going to his apartment, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but I want to look nice, it's his birthday. Is this one too fancy?"

"Maybe a little."

"Okay, then come help me!" I whine. She laughs again and follows me into my closet. Mason shouts something about just waiting 'patiently' and I shush him as we disappear into my clothes. Kylie starts sifting through and I take out a bag I have hidden in the very far corner. "Ky, I need your help with something else."

"Sure," she says absentmindedly. I take a deep breath before taking the items in question out of the bag. "With what?"

"This," I say quietly. She turns and covers her mouth with her hand, giggling quietly as she stares at the items I hold in each hand. "Stop! Mason might hear you."

"These are so hot," she says. She takes one and holds it against her. "Is this his birthday present?"

"Part of it," I admit shyly, my face tinging pink. "Which one should I wear?"

"Definitely this one," she says, pointing to my right hand. "That one is just too intense, save that for a little later."

---

When I get to Harry's apartment later he's not back yet, so I take our Chinese takeout and my other stuff and unlock the door myself. When I'm inside I instantly feel lighter, happier. This has become my safe place, my favourite place to be. Throughout the entirety of our relationship Harry's loft has felt more like home than my house does, so it's so nice to be here again. I set the food on the table and bring the rest of my stuff upstairs. Harry shouldn't be too much longer.; it's after nine already and he knows I'm going to be here. I wish I could text him to at least tell him I'm here, but he's with Liam anyway and he should have fun with his friend.

I ended up just wearing black skinny jeans with a loose t-shirt. No point in wearing a dress since we're just staying here and our food isn't exactly fancy either. Plus, Harry has told me multiple times that he prefers a girl in jeans and a t-shirt; just simple, easy. That's more my style, anyway. Sometimes I wear more fashionable things, but that's only because my mother buys them for me.

I just sit on the couch to wait, Harry's cross pendant between my fingers while I stare at the black television screen. I'm just so excited to see him. It's insane to think that even though I see him every day at school I still miss him this much. It's probably a little unhealthy, but maybe love is anyway.

Eventually Harry comes strolling through the door, eyes landing on the takeout bag before he turns to face me. A large grin spreads on his face and I leap up from my spot on the couch, running around the furniture and throwing myself at him. He laughs as he catches me, my arms and legs wrapped tightly around him while his arms hold me tight in place. Neither of us say anything and I do my best to keep unnecessary tears from falling. This kind of happiness and relief is something I've never experienced. Harry doesn't say anything, just continually runs his hands up and down my back, over my sides, sometimes over the back of my head. Occasionally I hear a him exhale heavily and after a few minutes I slightly loosen my hold so I can put my face in front of his. He laughs a little and I run my fingers through his curly hair.

"You have no idea how empty this place has been without you here," he says quietly. "It's been driving me crazy."

"Really?"

He nods. "I've actually been wearing that sweater you gave me for Christmas. It still smells a bit like you." He says the last part a little quieter and his face warms from the admittance. I unwrap my legs and stand on my own again, our arms still wrapped tightly around one another.

"That's cute," I say quietly. He leans his forehead against mine and hugs me tighter to his body. "You have no idea how much I missed you."

Instead of trying to understand his mouth presses to mine. The kiss starts off slow, loving, tender, both of us just relishing in the feeling. However, it doesn't take long for both of us to realize how much we'v been apart and suddenly every movement is heated, desperate and needy. He turns me around and pushes me back against the door, my hands tangled in his hair and his moving up under my shirt. His large hands roam my skin and raise goosebumps everywhere, eventually moving down and landing on my ass. I smile against his lips and break the kiss, both of us breathing heavy.

"Happy birthday," I say breathlessly. He laughs a little.

"Thank you."

"Did you have fun with Liam?" My hands continue to brush through the tiny curls at the top of his neck while I attempt to slow my pulse.

"I did. Not as much fun as I'm going to have with you, though."

"Is that a promise?"

A cheeky grin forms on his lips and he playfully squeezes my bum. I jump a little and he separates our bodies slightly. Seeing him smile now, there's a light in his eyes that hasn't been there at school this week. Is that from me? Do I have the same thing?

"It definitely is."

"Not yet though," I chirp. I gently push him back and slide out of his grip, walking over to the food I brought and taking the containers out. He groans quietly and moves his body behind mine, wrapping his arms around my waist and gently kissing the side of my neck.

"Why not? I missed you," he says hoarsely. I bite my lips and my eyes struggle to stay open as he continues moving his lips along my neck. "I want to show you how much."

"I'm hungry," I protest shakily. He hums in response and his lips are against my ear.

"Me too."

"Okay," I laugh, turning in his arms. His adorably crooked smirk appears on his lips. "We're going to eat first then I have a present for you. Then another present. And then I'm all yours."

"That sounds like a lot of ways to postpone the inevitable," he says smoothly. I roll my eyes as he leans forwards to kiss me. I allow him a few seconds but after that I turn around and continue pulling out the food.

It has to be heated before we can eat it, but when it's done we sit at the table and just talk about everything. It's only been a few days since the last time I was here, but it's like we missed months of each other's lives not being able to talk at all. We could be talking about the plague and I'd be completely content.

"That's...kind of weird."

"I know. My Dad spent all of his time trying to talk to us and spend time with us and stuff. Mason has never been happier, but I thought it was totally creepy," I explain.

"Are they still around?" Harry asks. I shake my head.

"No, they left yesterday sometime. But they're still insisting on us spending the summer in Santa Cruz."

"That might be fun. Living on the beach..isn't that like everyone's dream?" he asks, smiling a little. "I would love to live on the beach."

"Oh I definitely love the house part, it's just the parents part I don't like," I explain. I stand and walk around the edge of the table, planting myself on his lap. His arms wrap around me and I put one around his shoulders. "Maybe if you moved with me I wouldn't mind it."

He chuckles. "I'm sure your parents would love that."

"I'm sure they wouldn't even know," I venture, twirling one of his curls around my finger. "You could just hide in my closet or something. I've seen it, it's huge. We'll just throw a fridge and a hotplate in my bathroom and we're set."

"A fridge and a hotplate," he repeats, laughing a bit. "Try not to spoil me or anything."

"When you see the bathroom you won't be complaining. It's amazing."

"Nicer than the one your already have?"

"No, but it's close. What have you been doing?" I ask, playing with one unusually tight ringlet behind his ear.

"Working. A lot. Basically just trying to distract myself and make it clear to the principle that I'm not sleeping with one of my students. Apparently I'm quite convincing," he says proudly, smiling up at me.

"Why's that?" I ask hopefully.

"I was in my office after English yesterday and he came up to tell me he's sorry about all of this. He says it's the worst kind of rumour you silly kids can come up with and he hopes it all dies down soon."

"Really!"

"Yeah," he laughs, amused by my excitement. "We still need to lay low, though."

"I know." I sigh and put my fingers on either side of his mouth, squishing his cheeks together so he looks like a fish. His eyebrows scrunch together and I laugh at the expression. "Good thing you're so adorable."

"Why?" he asks, the word sound weird from his difficulty speaking.

"Because if you weren't I probably wouldn't stick around."

He abruptly pulls my wrist away and places it on his shoulder instead while I laugh at my own joke.

"You're lucky I love you," he says simply. My heart flutters and I can't help the smile that spreads on my face as soon as the words leave his mouth. He tightens his hold around me and hides his face against the side of my neck. I know I'm lucky he loves me. So damn lucky.

"Okay, birthday celebration continued," I murmur, kissing him quickly before standing up again. There's an amazing bakery on the other side of town that I just had to go to for his birthday. They make these cake pizza things; they're brownie on the bottom, fudge and caramel in the middle and cake on the top with thick frosting on top. I've gone there since I was a kid and I know the owners, so I always have to go there for baked goods. It just says happy birthday on the top and I stick a single candle in the top before lighting it. When I turn around he laughs and shakes his head.

"I would sing happy birthday but trust me, you don't want to hear me try." He laughs again and I once again plant myself on his lap so I can hold it in front of him.

"You didn't have to do this," he says lowly, rubbing his large hand along my back.

"This will be the best cake you've ever had, trust me. Alright, blow out a wish." He raises his eyebrows and laughs as my forehead crinkles. "Wait, that's not right."

"No," he agrees, laughing still. He kisses my cheek.

"Make a wish," I correct. He looks at me for a long moment with a small smile on his face before he looks at the candle. Lips slightly puckered, he gently blows out the flame. "What'd you wish for?"

He laughs. "If I tell you, then it won't come true."

"Harry."

"Savannah."

"Tell meeee," I whine. He shakes his head.

"Sorry, I can't."

"Can I guess it?"

"Why?" he asks, scooping some icing onto his finger.

"You see, when you're young curiosity is a natural thing to have," I explain dramatically. "I guess you wouldn't know that anymore."

"Yeah, twenty-four is so old," he says, rolling his eyes. "Thank you for reminding me."

"That's what I'm here for." I hand him one of two forks and watch while he takes the first bite. His eyes go wide and I smile at how pleased he looks.

"This is amazing," he drawls, taking another bite. We eat half of it and by that time I'm completely stuffed. Harry takes the pie thing and sets it on the table, robbing me of the chance to stuff my face completely. Before I can protest he takes my face in his hands and brings my lips down to his. He carries me up the stairs to deliver on the promise he made earlier, I'm sure, but when he sets me on the bed I stop him.

"Just one minute," I request. He flops onto the bed beside me and lets out a frustrated and dramatic groan that has me giggling.

"Fine. But after sixty seconds I'm starting without you."

"Umm...ew."

He laughs and I kiss him quickly before taking my bag and heading for the bathroom. When I take out the outfit I brought I remember that I forgot to give him his other gift. Oh well, I can do that in the morning. When I'm dressed I freshen up a bit and mentally give myself a pep talk; this is a first for me for sure. Okay. Here we go.

When I slowly open the door I feel confused when I don't see Harry on the bed. When I look around I realize he's standing in front of the dresser, tapping at his phone. I step all the way out and flick the light to the bathroom off, which finally gets his attention. His eyes go wide and slowly rake up and down my body. He slowly sets down his phone and I take a few steps towards him. The buttons of his shirt are undone and he looks like some sort of model right now. I almost forget that I'm practically wearing nothing.

"That's umm...." he clears his throat and rubs his hand on the back of his head.

"This is your birthday present," I admit quietly, stepping closer to him. He swallows nervously and I put my hands on his chest, pushing him back towards the bed. When his legs hit the edge he sits down, eyeing me carefully with a small smile on his face. "Do you like it?" I bring one leg up beside his hip, slowly moving to straddle his waist. He nods.

"It's uh...yeah it's pretty fucking sexy," he says roughly. I slowly lower myself down onto his lap and he runs the sheer material through his fingers. "I almost don't want to take it off of you."

He stands suddenly and throws me back on the bed and I pull myself back so my head is on the pillows. He slides his shirt from his shoulders and crawls over to me.

"Almost," he repeats.

Notes

so i've been refraining from including the bedroom scenes...i dont like writing them much. but if you guys reeallllyyy want one then just tell me and ill do it.
also the blow out a wish thing, i actually typed that by accident and i thot it was funny so i was like hey why not. get a little giggle from someone. so i hope you appreciate that.

so please tell me what you guys thinkkkkkk pleaseee there haven't been a ton of comments lately so i just want to make sure you guys are still into the story

vote, comment, subscribe :) thanks guys!!