Beautiful Agony

"Love is a meeting of two souls, fully accepting the dark and light within each other. Bound by the courage to grow through struggle and into bliss."

Chapter Six

His fingertips trail down my spine, giving me chills, as his lips attach to mine. My fingers tangle themselves in his hair, pulling slightly and a groan erupts from his throat. He tugs on my bottom lip and his arms wrap around my waist as his tongue invades my mouth, deepening the kiss. He grips the back of my thighs and lifts me up. I wrap my legs around his waist as he pushes my back into the wall. I gasp and his lips attach to my neck, sucking on the soft, warm skin. I fist his black t-shirt in my hands and he pulls away from my neck and tugs off his shirt. I can't help but stare at his toned chest that is littered with tattoos and his deep v lines that go down into his black jeans.

I run my hands across his skin and he grabs the hem of my shirt and pulls it over my head. I lean up and press my lips against his again and then he carries me back and into my bedroom. He sets me down on the bed and I unbuckle his jeans and pull them down his legs, revealing his tight black boxers. He lays me down and pulls off my jeans, leaving me in my black lace underwear.

He crawls on top of me and lowers himself to his elbows. I can feel his bulge on my thigh, being constricted by his tight boxers. He rolls his hips into mine and I moan at the sensation that travels through my body. His lips attach to my neck, sucking harshly while his hands wonder all over my body. I dig my nails into his back and moan, "Harry!"

I sit up in bed with a gasp and clutch my thin singlet that is sticking to my chest from the sweat that has coated my skin. My heart feels like it's pounding out of my chest. I bring my knees up and rest my elbows on them, running my fingers through my hair with a loud sigh. This is not the first dream that I have had of Harry. I've had one every night since that day that I first met him and they get more and more graphic each time. Why do I keep dreaming about him? He has nothing that I want. Everyday my mind turns towards him and I can't stop myself. No matter what I do, I always end up thinking about him and his green eyes that seemed like endless pits of emeralds and his soft lips that look too good taste. What is wrong with me? Snap out of it Aria! You've never been affected by a man like this before. Maybe it's time to start. No!! I won't do it! Just because my hormones are acting up doesn't mean that I have to give in to these adolescent desires. I refuse.

I look over my shoulder at my bedside table and see that it's 08:20. I sigh again and fall back onto the mattress, pulling the blankets over my face. It's Saturday, one week since I've last seen Harry in my flat. I was supposed to work today but there was a mix up with the shifts so I don't have to work until tomorrow. I have the whole day to myself—what a surprise.bi close my eyes and try to fall back asleep but after ten minutes of laying there restless, I decide to get up and go to the studio. At least there I can get my mind off Harry.

~*~

A few hours later at around noon, I find myself wondering around Hyde park. The sun shines bright but the temperature feels cool and the wind blows my long brown hair around my face. I have my hands in my coat pockets and stare aimlessly at all of the people who are walking and sitting around on the grass. The loud laughter of children resonates throughout the air and I smile at the sight of the young kids who run are running around chasing each other and weaving throughout the bystanders. They're so innocent and pure. They don't know what the real world is like yet. Seeing them be free and happy makes my chest feel heavy with longing. I wish that I was able to do that when I was little. The only running I did was away from my adoptive parents and that was until they caught up with me and beat me into the next day.

I shake those bitter thoughts from my mind as soon as they come up. It's all in the past Aria. You have nothing to worry about anymore. You're finally safe. Am I though? Any day I could die from some disease or get hit by a car. What would my life be then? There's no telling what's going happen in the next few minutes or seconds of your life and you can't control what comes next. There is nowhere that is ever 100 percent safe. No matter how safe I feel here, it's only temporary. In another year or two I'd probably have to move somewhere else to get away again. He always said that he'd find me. That I'd regret ever leaving and I'd be begging for him to kill me when he's done with me. How much longer do I have before that happens and the life that I built here is destroyed? Everyday I worry that he is coming for me or that he's already found me. I'm a sitting target waiting to be hit. I'm a ticking bomb that is waiting for its light up.

"Hey miss, watch out!"

I hear a yell behind me and then I feel a pair of arms wrap around my waist and tug me to the side. Two men on bikes zoom past me and they wave one of their hands behind them for an apology and keep on peddling down the pavement, not even bothering to look back. I push away the person's arms that are wrapped around me but they don't budge. I look up at the person to see who I'm about to hit in the face and my heart sinks at the sight of familiar curly hair and green eyes.

"Long time no see Ariana." Harry smirks.

I glare at him and try to undo his arms but he tightens his grip and pulls me closer to his warm body.

"I think this is the second time that I have saved your life. I think I need some reward from you. Anything's welcome." His deep voice rings out with a raspy and cocky undertone.

I roll my eyes at his perverseness and innuendo. His eyes gleam with mischief and he smiles in a way that would make every woman drop her panties in a second. I swat at his arms again and he finally releases me. I step back from him and look around at the other people who are conspicuously staring at us. Nobody comes close to us, they all make sure to they keep their distances and not one of them makes eye contact with us.

'What are you doing here?' I write when I get my notebook out of my bag.

He places his hands in his front pockets. "Stalking you."

My heart stops at his blunt response and my face must look horrified because he chuckles in amusement. "I'm joking Ariana. I walk through here almost everyday."

I nod at him, but that doesn't make me feel any better. I never wanted to see him again let alone feel what it's like to be in his arms, which felt very nice by the way. It's bad enough that I'm dreaming about him, I don't need to get involved with him in my real life either.

"Do you want to walk?" He gestures forward and I nod.

Yeah I'd like to walk far away from you.

We continue on the path that I was walking before in silence and I look at him from the side, trying to not seem obvious.

He's wearing black skinny jeans that make his legs look like they go on for miles and shiny black boots that look brand new. A white t-shirt that I can see some of his tattoos through fits his chest like a glove and it's covered by black jacket that has the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, revealing his tatted forearms and his hands that have three fingers covered with a silver or black ring. His hair is a mess of curls and his eyes are rimmed with a thin black line, making them stand out even more.

Damn he looks good.

"Having fun checking me out?" The smirk and smug expression on his face shows that I have been caught staring and I look down, trying to mask my reddened cheeks. He snickers at my embarrassment. Great! Another thing that he can add to his ego. I roll my eyes at him and walk ahead of him, trying to get some distance between us.

"Hey! Where are you going?" His longs legs walk faster than mine and he comes up right beside me.

"Away from you." I think to myself and continue to walk, ignoring him and his questioning stare.

"Are you in a hurry or something? You keep walking ahead."

I ignore him. Maybe if I keep ignoring him he will leave me alone. I don't need someone like him in my life. If he is what people say he is, then I'm staying far away.

"Hey." He grabs my arm and I spin around glaring at him. I smack his arm hard and he lets go.

"Okay what did I do?" His eyes look directly into mine and I have a hard time keeping the contact. His stare is very intense, making me squirm, but his eyes are so deep and dark that I just want to stare into them all day and never leave. I look away from him and focus on an elderly couple that are sitting on a bench watching the world around them.

"Hey." I feel his fingers grasp my chin and force me to look up into his eyes. I hold his stare and we must look like we're a couple because I can feel everyone's curious stares on my back.

"I want to take you out tonight." He says in the softest voice that I have heard from him.

Ignoring my pulse that has started to quicken and the turning in my stomach, I push his fingers away from my face and pull away.

'No.'

His eyebrows furrow. "No?"

I nod. 'No.'

I bet he's never been told that before. I start to walk away again and he catches up. Surprise surprise.

"I wasn't asking you." He states.

'Doesn't matter. I'm not doing it.' I really want to get out of this park and get away from him. Like I would ever let him take me out. I don't even know him! He could be a murderer for all I know. He doesn't look like one though.

"You don't even know where I want to take you."

'You're not taking me anywhere.' I stand my ground. I'm not getting involved and I'm not letting him guilt me into anything.

"I could take you to bed if that would be more of your liking." He smirks.

I roll my eyes again and scoff at his sick, sexual mind. He has no shame. 'In your dreams.'

"Every damn night." He gets that smirk again and it makes me want to smack it off of his face.

I don't write anything after that. Our conversation is done. I've said all that I've needed to. I'm not going on a date with him and there's nothing that he can do to get me to comply.

"You are so stubborn!" He groans and stops walking. I keep my pace and walk without a care. Now it's my time to smirk.

"I will see you again soon Ariana!" He yells to me and I keep walking, this time with a stride in my step because I know that he is watching me. I keep my head high and walk out of the park, never looking back at the man that is still standing in the middle of the sidewalk speechless at the stubborn girl who has done what nobody has ever done before. She said no.

~*~

"Aria, how's the chocolate ganache going? Is it ready?"

I nod at Jacob and place the big bowl of creamy chocolate on the counter. It's ready to be put in the piping bags. Him and I both work on filling the piping bags while Liv and the others finish making the four tier chocolate fudge cake.

"The bags are ready. Let's get going on the icing and decorations for this cake." He instructs and him, me, Liv, and two other bakers start to decorate this cake for a wedding reception.

I diligently move the piping bag around the base of the cake, making clean swirly and curly designs. Today has been a busy day. We've already done an order of 300 teal and gold cupcakes for one wedding reception and now we have this chocolate cake for a different wedding reception that needs to be done today. We've been working hard since 8 am this morning and now it's 13:20.

Earlier this morning when I was walking to get here, people were constantly staring at me. I could hear some of them whisper to another about me in the park two days ago with Harry. Some of them looked disgusted, others looked curious, and some people looked very uncomfortable. I was used to the stares from when people found out that I was mute, but this was different. It was like people were afraid to be around me or say hi to me. When I made eye contact with them they would turn and look the other way. I ignored them and pushed through the awkward uncomfortableness until I made it inside. At least here they never gave any indication that they knew about anything. I saw the look that Liv gave me which said that she would talk to me about it on our break. Great, I'm about to get an earful.

Once Liv and I are on break, she immediately goes to Harry and I. "So what's going on with you and Harry Styles?"

'What do you mean.'

"Oh come on! You can't be that oblivious to what people have been saying about you. You and Harry have been the main topics in conversations now."

'What do they say Liv?'

"Rumors are that you two are dating."

'Is that why everyone has been staring at me?'

She chuckles. "Yes that's why. They're all very curious as to why you were seen with him in a very, might I say, loving embrace?"

I roll my eyes at that statement. It was anything but loving.

"I thought I told you to stay away." She reminds me.

I nod. 'You did Liv. I didn't plan on seeing him, I just ran into him again and he would not leave me alone.'

"I believe you Ari. I just don't like the idea of you and him." She admits.

'I haven't seen him since two days ago. I honestly don't know what to think of him.'

"What do you mean?" She questions, takin a sip of her tea.

I shrug. 'I don't know. There's something about him that keeps pulling me in. I've been having dreams about him.'

"What kind of dreams?" She asks and my cheeks redden at some of the dreams I've had of Harry. By my blush, she knows what kind of dreams.

"Sex dreams?" She laughs and I blush even more, wanting to sink down into the floor.

This makes Liv laugh even more.

'It isn't funny!' I glare daggers at her and she keeps laughing.

"It is too. Oh my god Ari! I can't believe you!"

Her laughter finally does down and she's back to being serious Liv.

'I don't want to admit it, but I keep thinking about him. No matter what I think, it always turns to him. I don't want to feel this way Liv. This is the last thing that I want, but I feel like no matter how hard I try to fight it, I keep being pulled right back in.'

She sighs and I look down at the table feeling conflicted.

"I can't tell you what to do Aria. All I can say is to be careful. I don't know Harry or what really happened with him, but please just be careful. I don't want you to end up like Lily did." She says the last part quietly and then thankfully changes the subject.

"So I met someone yesterday." She smiles.

'Who?'

"His name is Jordan and he's really sweet and funny. We met through one of my friends from school, Ella, and we started talking and we really hit it off."

I smile. 'That's great. I'm happy for you.'

"Thanks. I don't want to say anything else but yeah, he's really nice and hot too."

I chuckle at her and we share a laugh before getting back to our lunches.

"Did you hear about that one guy who was murdered last night?" She randomly asks.

'No what happened?'

"It was all over the new this morning. His name was Tucker Daniels. He was a drug dealer and part of some gang around here called The Savages."

'What happened to him?'

"He was shot in the head seven times and was found in an ally at two in the morning," She explains.

'Do they know who did it?'

"No. This is the third guy from the same gang to turn up dead in the last month."

'That's strange.'

"I know right."

'Wonder who did it.'

She shrugs. "No idea. I just hope that this city stays safe."

'What city is really safe Liv?'

"You're right, but I'd like to be able to walk down the street and not be afraid of getting mugged or killed." Her bluntness makes me shake my head. Typical Liv.

'So tell me more about this Jordan guy.'

She is more than willing to talk about her new guy and get away from the heavy subject.

~*~

Once my shift is over with, I start the journey home and again, everyone stares and whispers. I hear some things they say like, "She's so innocent and naive," What is she doing?" and "She better be careful." I quicken my steps and ignore their uncomfortable looks and remarks and keep walking home. When I finally get inside the lobby, I sigh in relief and head to the elevator. I press the up button and gnaw on my bottom lip, waiting for the doors to open. Once the doors open, I step inside and press the 7 button. Right when the doors start to close, a voice yells, "Hold the door!"

I put my hand on the door and it opens back up. A young looking man comes rushing in and says, "Thanks."

I nod and he asks, "You going to seven too?"

I nod again and he slightly smiles. The doors close and we ride up to the seventh floor in awkward silence. I take a quick glance at him. He is tall and very strong from what I can see. His short light brown hair is disheveled and he has some light stubble on his cheeks and chin. He has pale light blue eyes and I can see tattoos covering his arms and some being exposed on his chest due to some of his shirt being unbuttoned . He looks very muscular and intimidating.

I look away from him and stare at the floor until the elevator doors open on our floor. I step out into the hallway and walk away from him towards my flat. As I'm walking, I can feel eyes watching me. I turn around and see the guy from the elevator stopped in front of a door, his back to me. I shake off this uncomfortable feeling and stop at my door.

I furrow my eyebrows when I see a small white piece of paper stuck on the door. I grab the piece of paper and look at the words written on it. I roll my eyes and sigh in frustration. Great, just what I need.

I'm taking you out tonight even if I have to drag you. I'm not taking no for an answer. Make sure you wear something sexy. I'll see you at 20.
-Harry

Notes

I'm going to update in the next few days. The chapters are coming to me faster than I thought. Thank you for reading and please leave me a comment, I always respond back.