"She taught me all about real sacrifice. That it should be done from love...that it should be done from necessity, not without exhausting all other options. That it should be done for people who need your strength because they don't have enough of their own." – Veronica Roth


Harry's POV


I waited on line at the local café by my job to buy an iced coffee and croissant. The people in front of me were progressing at a slow pace, but lucky for me I wasn't really pressed for time. For some odd reason I found it difficult to eat a full meal in the afternoon with as much work as my new project has accumulated. I remember hesitating to follow through with my ideas at first, but Lucy convinced me to take the opportunity while my boss, Louise, was still out of town.

My friend, Ashton, who also happens to be a photographer for Vogue magazine, agreed to help me find models for the campaign I've recently begun supporting: Emma Watson's #HeForShe. The struggle for gender equality to prevail in this patriarchal world has been an ongoing battle for the last few hundred years now, and only recently have men begun to acknowledge and contribute to the movement. I am guilty of being one of these late bloomers too.

If it weren't for my relationship with the current women in my life, I would probably be that same prick who used drugs to get high off of life and women for sexual pleasure. I was at a very low point in that period of my life, but I've been sober for nearly three years, and nothing can ruin that.

When I came face to face with the barista, I ordered a large iced coffee with milk and two sugars and a chocolate croissant. She type a few numbers into the cash register before reading my total aloud. I handed her my MasterCard and collected my receipt in return while waiting for my food.

I remember being too engrossed in sending an email to Ashton to hear that my iced coffee was ready until a man tapped me on the shoulder and told me himself. I was very caught off guard to say the least--but not because of the gesture; rather, I was shocked by the person enacting it.

"The lady said your coffee's ready. Would you mind taking it, so she can attend to everyone else's orders, mate?" The preppy-looking bloke piped in annoyance, my animosity for him only increasing by the second.

"Yeah, sure. Wouldn't want you to be late for your next class, now would we?" I clipped back with a tight smile after accepting the coffee and croissant I paid for.

The grey eyed boy glowered at me with a scowl but chose to overlook my snarky comment. I found myself biting my tongue in order to prevent myself from saying something supercilious. Despite what Lucy told me, I still had my suspicions about Connor and wanted to make it crystal clear that my girlfriend was off limits.

"Listen, Connor. I have no idea what your ulterior motive is or if you even have one at all, but I'm not comfortable with you ta–"

"–Talking to Lucy?" He finished the words for me, turning back around to face me. "She's my art professor's student teacher. She's supposed to be accessible to me in every sense of the word, so I'll talk to her whenever I want. You being her boyfriend doesn't change that."

I took a deep breath to control my fury before opening my mouth to speak again. "My point exactly," I deadpanned. "She's your teacher, not your bloody life coach. Lucy's only job is to teach art. It isn't being your friend or grabbing coffee with you after hours."

"You know, the only reason why I'm in this coffee shop is because your beautiful girlfriend asked me to buy her a latte," Connor sneered.

I squeezed the plastic container filled with the light brown liquid a little too hard upon hearing his confession, resulting in staining the floors. Immediately, I jerked back so the coffee wouldn't stay in my jeans, but I was unsuccessful in my attempt, and all eyes turned to face me. If it weren't for Connor doubling over in laughter, I had reason to believe the other people in this astonishment would have waited until I at least left before laughing amongst themselves.

I stormed out of the café while harshly sipping on what was left of my coffee and crossing the street. My first instinct was to reach into my pocket for my phone to dial Lucy's number and ask her why the hell she had Connor buying her a latte, but I didn't want to sound like a crazed and overprotective boyfriend out loud. What I did instead was sit on a park bench and finished eating my afternoon snack. I needed to calm down and think things through, for I had no clue how to control this jealousy of mine.

---

While Lucy was on her way home from work, I decided to surprise her with takeout and two of her favorite sitcoms we could snuggle up and watch together. In the meantime, however, Anya was kind enough to keep me company as I waited for Lucy in their living room and allow me to express my stress and anxiety over her relationship with Connor.

The normally headstrong blonde made an effort to interrupt me multiple times during our conversation with an apology, for she regretted pushing Lucy toward another man without knowing how she felt about me. I simply told her not to worry about it since that was in the past. All I could do now www hope that I was the only guy my girlfriend had eyes for.

"So, I've been thinking a lot about what we talked about a few weeks ago," Anya said to me out of the blue, "and I think we should do it."

I raised my eyes in confusion before clearing my throat. "Pardon?" I asked her back politely.

"Well, I'm not sure if you have noticed, but Lucy has been a bit withdrawn these past few days," She pointed out while shuffling closer, her voice dropping down to a whisper. "Now, I'm not saying she's a threat to her own safety, but I think she is slowly falling back into that same funk I found her in when she got back from college."

I took a few moments to think about Anya's statement and tried to recall all of my encounters with the beautiful brown eyed girl.

Whenever she is around me, a smile is always glued to her face, and I want to believe they are genuine ones, but there's a little voice in my head saying it could also be artificial.

I ran a hand through my curls with a sigh, facing the undeniable truth that my girlfriend is still haunted by the rape every single day and accepting the fact that I, alone, am not enough to erase her pain.

"Let's do it then," I replied with a frown.

"Listen to me. We're doing the right thing here, Harry. She may not see it that way at first, but in the long run Lucy will be thankful for your help." Anya reassured me while gently patting my back.

I accepted her comfort as I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. When they fluttered open, I felt elated to see the girl whom I was waiting for had entered the space, keys in one hand and purse straps mindlessly dangling in the other, but her mouth was agape in shock. I was perplexed by her reaction when her eyes shifted into a harsh glare until the proximity in which Anya and I sat away from each other suddenly registered with my mind; the fact that her hand was in a stagnant position on my lower back made the innocent gesture seem worse.

"What the hell is going on here?" Lucy demanded to know the answer to the single question we dreaded giving a response to.

Notes

I hate that I haven't been able to update weekly. It's not fair to all of you who decide to read my story, but I thank you for your patience nonetheless. The next chapter is in the works, but I will update my story Ink twice before I update Picture Perfect again.

Please comment your thoughts, and subscribe/vote if you see fit. It's mind boggling that this story has over 70 votes. Thank you for all your support so far. It means the world, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Love
–M

Question: How would you feel if you walked into your apartment seeing your boyfriend and best friend have an intimate moment?

PS- If anyone ever wants to reach me, message me @kkgal15 on either kik or wattpad. Both Picture Perfect and Ink are published on that site too so feel free to vote on there as well. I'm in desperate need of a cover so if you think you can make a good one, don't hesitate to contact me.!