Thalia

Three days. I had effectively avoided speaking to Harry for three whole days. This was quite an accomplishment in my opinion seeing as he's been attempting to corner me every time we're in a room together.

After that catastrophe at the bar the other night I couldn't risk having another breakdown. Being around Harry and Nicola brought out a whole new level of insanity in me that I didn't know existed. I knew I should take Marco and the guys' advice and just talk to him...but it was so much easier to run away from problems that it was to face them. This whole thing was one huge mess that was just waiting to unravel. But I was already in so deep, there was no point in making a scene of it now...all I had to do was-

"Just keep swimming," I hummed to myself as I lightly skipped through the villa corridor. I had already memorized most of the labyrinth of halls and was just making my way down the stairs. My goal was the garden. It had become my sanctuary these past few days. Sitting there hidden in the flowers, painting the villa had been my one excuse to avoid everyone but Marco. The only trick was getting there before the rest of the house woke up, otherwise Harry would catch me and-

"Thalia."

I paused and turned to see Harry frozen at the top of the steps, looking down at me with a frown. He looked like the model on the cover of one of those cheesy romance novels with his skinny jeans and a loose white top. His long hair didn't help the situation either and I wasn't sure weather to laugh or swoon. Harry opened his mouth but no sound escaped him and after a minute of standing together in silence I turned to escape.

"Wait! Thalia I-"

"What is it Harry?"

"Can we uh...can we talk?"

"Nope." I sped through the hall, aiming for the yard where I could loose him in the garden.

"Thalia please I-"

"I don't have anything to say to you Harry."

"Then will you listen?"

"Harry-"

"Ah! Just what I need! Two helping hands!" Both Harry and I jumped at Signore Conti's sudden intrusion but attempted to look innocent as he continued, "Would you two help bring up a case of wine from the cellar? We need the Renoir for tonight."

"Of course Signore Conti," I gave him a smile before shooting a glare in Harry's direction.

"Magnifico!" Signore Conti boomed. "Come. It's just through here. Lucky I've found you two. The staff are all off for today."

"Why is that?" I asked curiously.

"Thalia it's Sunday," Harry replied as though this was the obvious thing in the entire world. "Haven't you noticed how quiet Sunday's are in Italy?"

"Actually no," I sassed. "There's a huge market outside my apartment every Sunday-"

"Ah! At Via Ippolito?"

"Si."

Signore Conti clapped his hands excitedly as we entered the kitchen. "And have you ever visited Camp di Fiori?"

"Si! That's where I get my fruit!"

"Ah! Perfecto! Mi regazza you have been living like a true Italian! You will have to take Harry next time and show him around! Are you planning a trip to Roma?"

"We'll see," laughed Harry. We had arrived at the cellar. The entrance was an old wooden door near the back of the kitchen.

"Just the Renoir per favore," Signore Conti smiled.

I nodded to Signore Conti who disappeared back into the house and, after a brief look at Harry, started down the wooden steps. Harry followed me down into the cellar and flicked a switch near the base of the stairs. Dim lights flickered, then turned on to reveal the a second heavy wooden door which held the Conti family's wine stash. Harry heaved the door open while I grabbed a rock which sat nearby and held it out for him.

"Here, brace it with this," I said, kicking over a piece of wood.

"Oh so you're talking to me now?" Harry quizzed, a smirk on his face.

I didn't respond, but instead began looking for the crate among the tall rows. I could feel him watching me.

"Thalia-"

"Harry I told you I don't want to talk-"

"Well what about what I want huh?"

I turned to see him running his hands through his hair. He was stressed. I watched him pace back and fourth, his blood shot eyes staring at the ceiling as he readied himself for speech. He looked as if he hadn't slept in days and I hoped it wasn't my fault. With a deep breath I gave him permission to voice opinions I knew would hurt me.

"Alright Harry. What do you want?"

"I...for us to be normal! Look at us! We're guests in these people's home and we hardly look at or talk to each other because of something that happened a year ago."

"I'm trying to be normal," I lied.

Harry scoffed. "You've been avoiding me like the plague."

"Only because I don't want to see you and Nicola sucking faces all the time."

Harry stared at me blankly and I immediately began looking through the stacks again to avoid his eye. That was not something he was supposed to know.

"I'm sorry...you don't want to see me kissing someone else?" Harry scoffed. "What about you and Marco?"

"What about us?" I half yelled.

"Well don't you think I'd like to see you and Marco come up for air every once in a while?"

I shot him a look. "I'm not doing it to spite you if that's what you're thinking. He's Italian, he likes the contact."

Harry snorted. I threw a lone cork his direction causing him to flinch and duck. See, this is insane Thalia. This is why we avoid Harry...

"Hey!"

"You see! This is why we don't talk! I was trying to be good and normal and you have to go and-and..."

"And laugh? Thalia come on! Teasing is our normal. When are you going to stop taking everything I say or do personally?"

I glared at him. "We should look for the wine."

"Damnit Thalia! I'm trying to have a conversation!"

"And I'm to avoid one!"

"Wh-"

BANG!

Harry and I both spun around to see the heavy wooden door had slammed shut. After sharing a quick, terrified glance we ran over. I immediately went for the handle but there was none there - just solid wood. I let out a groan and slid down the length of the doorway.

I was trapped in the cellar with Harry.

"S-someone will come looking. They'll have to. Signore Conti needs the wine for a party," Harry said in a wishful tone, which only worked to dampen both our moods.

"It could be hours before he remembers," I muttered, pushing my hair out of my face and running my hands over my temples. I heard a pop and looked up to see Harry grabbing two glasses which stood on the small counter next to us. I frowned as he began to pour deep red wine into each glass. "What are you doing?"

"Like you said - it could be hours before someone finds us...might as well help ourselves to a bottle."

I gaped at him. "Harry you can't just steal an Italians wine!"

"He'd have given it to us anyway. It's the Renoir."

"You knew where it was the whole time?" I snapped, crossing my arms growing even more bitter.

Harry held out a glass as I glared at him, hoping to make him disappear with the might of my stare. He let out a groan, the hand which held the glass still outstretched. "If I knew we were going to be locked down here I would have grabbed it and ran. I didn't plan this."

"Could have fooled me," I growled, grabbing the glass and taking a sip.

Harry let out a sigh and slumped down against the counter so he was facing me. After nearly ten minutes of silence and two glasses later he looked up at me. "So you don't like seeing Nicola and I kissing..."

"Harry!"

"It's fine," He shrugged. "I don't like seeing you and Marco kissing either."

I took another sip of wine as I sat seething.

"He's a good guy though." I looked over to see Harry frowning, his normally smooth features screwed up in confusion. "Maybe that's what makes me dislike him even more."

I remained silent, still annoyed that I was stuck in this situation. Though as Harry rambled on in his tipsy state, I couldn't help but feel a small sense of accomplishment. He poured us each another glass and I felt myself relaxing against the door.

"Does he treat you well?"

I blinked and looked up at Harry. What did he just say? But Harry was looking at me in adamantly, concern written all over his features.

"Are-are you happy with him?"

"I-yeah of course I am," I spluttered, totally taken aback. "Marco is...I mean he's perfect. He's kind, extremely smart, resourceful, caring...he takes care of me and my family-"

"But are you happy Thal?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Harry gave me a sad smile. He took another drink of wine and it was then I noticed how glazed his eyes were.

"Do you always answer a question with a question?" He mused.

"Not always," I replied with a small smile. I took another drink before asking, "What about you and Nicola? I know you're fond of her lips but does she have any other redeeming qualities in your eyes?"

Harry let out a laugh. "You know I'm surprised you two aren't better friends, you're very similar."

I shot him a glare and took a drink of wine.

"Well okay. What she did at the bar was out of line. And for your information, I haven't forgiven her for that yet. She's tried to apologize but apparently you're avoiding her as adamantly as you're avoiding me," he added. "But I'm serious about the other part. Nicola is a good person once you get to know her. Very passionate-"

"Oh really?"

"Not like that!" Harry cried, pouring what remained of the bottle into my glass. Had we really drank that much already?

"She's just afraid of you."

"Nicola?" I laughed. "She's a famous Italian model. Why on earth would she be afraid of me?"

"The same reason Marco's afraid of me."

"He's not-"

"Face it Thalia, neither of the Conti siblings likes the fact that we used to date."

"They're not alone." I regretted the words as soon as they escaped my lips. I turned to see Harry looking beyond hurt.

"Y-you wished we never dated?"

I thought hard before I spoke, making sure to phrase my words carefully. "It wasn't easy Harry. But-"

"So you regret it."

"No!"

"Then what Thalia?" Harry cried. "You don't regret it but you wished we never dated?"

"Yes!"

"Why the fuck would you say that?"

"Because it hurts Harry!" I practically screamed. "I can't even think about it because it hurts me so much. We were perfect. Everything was perfect and I had never been so happy in my entire life and then...then..."

"Then you shut me out!" Harry cried before dropping his voice to a whisper. "Why did you shut me out?"

I opened my mouth to answer but words failed me. Instead I let out a sigh and leant my head back against the door, staring at the boy that I had once loved.

I had loved Harry. And a part of me knew I would always love the carefree, curly haired, dimpled boy. But now he was asking impossible questions which I wasn't sure I had the answer to.

Loving him had been hard both on my body and on my soul. He had been gone so much and I had become so lonely. He was off on grand adventures while I had been stuck in London praying I would see him within the next month. Praying that a picture of him and some model wouldn't emerge on the front page. That he would come home to me. Harry had made it so easy to love him, and yet so hard.

"I shut you out," I replied quietly. "Because I was afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"That you had stopped loving me," I answered quietly.

"You thought I stopped loving you?" Harry's whisper was barely audible, as he looked at me with deep concern.

"You proved it!"

"Only after you shut me out!" He looked even worse than ever as he pushed the hair out of his tired, drunk, hurt eyes. "What was I supposed to do?"

"Anything else would have been better," I spat.

"We both fucked up. We both made conclusions-"

"Conclusions? More like predictions." I hissed. "You can't blame for being right about you."

"You weren't right! You just don't believe me! You don't trust me!"

"No I don't fucking trust you Harry!"

"Well maybe if you knocked down your ego a bit and actually listened to me you'd realize you weren't the only one who got hurt that night."

"I was hurting long before that Harry, you just didn't care to realize it until it exploded in your face."

It was then I realized I was crying. I mentally cursed myself for falling apart in front of him again. Harry scooted closer to me as I wiped the angry tears from my face.

"No. You're right. I didn't realize," he said quietly. "And I am so, so sorry for that Tootles."

I let out a small sob when I heard his old nickname for me. Harry brushed the hair out of my eyes and wiped away a few tears. Instead of stopping him I watched his movement.

Harry had become so familiar to me in the year we had dated. I had memorized all his manors, all his movements. The tilt of his head as he looked down at me with concern, the worried expression covering his normally carefree one. I knew every tattoo, every scar, every bump and bone is his body. And as he interlaced his familiar rough, bony fingers with mine I could have sworn this was all just a bad dream. Harry began gently rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb and I was pulled back to the present.

"I really loved you," I whispered, giving his hand a gently squeeze.

"And you know I loved you," he smiled sadly. We sat for another moment in silence, our minds filling with memories and thoughts of what could, and maybe should have been. Then Harry cleared his throat, causing me to jump slightly, "do you want me to leave?"

"Don't tell me you've known where the key is this whole time," I smiled weakly.

Harry broke into a smile as well, the small dimples popping onto his face, "Uh...no. No, I didn't mean it like that."

"I know," I sighed, wiping the old tears from my eyes and attempting to pull myself together. "I don't want you to leave on account of me Harry."

"But I don't want us both to be miserable for the rest of the month."

"We won't be. Or at least I won't be. You were right Harry. We couldn't make it work but that doesn't mean we can't still be friends...be normal."

"I'm sorry," frowned Harry, a mischievous expression crossing his face. "Did I just hear you correctly? Did the Thalia Kalfis just admit that she was wrong?"

"It's been known to happen..."

Harry held up his glass, "so friends?"

"Friends." I clinked my glass against his but then remembered we had drank all the wine. Harry burst into laughter and I couldn't help but join him. "Shit. Harry! This was not our wine!"

"Shh, don't worry about it," Harry cooed. "They have two full cases and Signore Conti only wanted one."

"If we get caught I'm blaming it on you."

"Nice."

I smiled up at him in a 'sorry not sorry' sort of way. He eventually returned the smile before leaning against the door as well.

"So, what have you been up to for the past year?"

So I told Harry all about my move to Rome, my new roommates, and my painting class. I talked to him about the trips I'd taken and the places I still want to go. I told him the hilarious adventures of my friends and I on our nights out. I told him how much I missed my family and how I couldn't wait for them to come visit.

And once I was done he told me everything that he'd been up to. All the award shows, concerts, and songs. All the hilarious new stories that came from him and his friends acting like idiots. He told me how Zayn left the band and how much that had hurt him.

We talked about everything and I felt as though I finally had my old friend back.

"Thalia? Harry?" Called a distant voice.

Harry leapt to his feet before pulling me up as well. "We're down here!"

A second later Marco appeared, Louis and Liam close behind him. Marco fumbled with what sounded like keys as Harry and I stepped back from the door.

"We thought you had gotten lost in the garden!" Cried Marco, running in and scooping me up into a hug. He grabbed my cheeks and kissed me gently. "Thank goodness we've found you!"

"Have you two been down here all day?" Frowned Liam. Harry opened his mouth to question the time, but Liam beat him to it. "It's nearly four!"

"Four!" I cried, shooting Harry a frown. How on Earth had I spent nearly seven hours trapped in this cellar with Harry...

"What have you two been doing down here this whole time?" Louis asked, his suspicious eyes shifting between Harry and I.

"Well...we may have helped ourselves to a bottle or two," Harry said slowly. "Sorry Marco..."

Marco frowned and I kissed his cheek before adding, "We figured if we were going to be stuck down here we might as well die drinking like true Italians! It was his idea."

"Which you went along with..." Harry hissed at me before turning back to the others. "So we're a little bit drunk off of that Renoir..."

"Or drunk off of love," Louis muttered only loud enough for me to hear. I shot him a glare as Marco let out a loud laugh at Harry's poor attempt at an apology.

"Don't worry, we have enough wine down here to last us for years," Marco smiled. "I am just happy we found you both! Come on! There's a party starting upstairs!"

Marco scooped me up bridal style and began carrying me up the stone steps. I ruffled his hair before asking, "who is this party for anyhow?"

"You're gonna die," Louis smiled evilly.

Marco gave me a mischievous smile as well and said, "It's a surprise mi amore."

I reutnred Marco's smile but felt my insides twist into anxious knots. I didn't know if I could handle any more surprises today.

Notes

Merry Christmas! And Happy Holidays! This is my present to all of you! I was going to be mean and leave you on a cliff hanger, but decided I'd be nice instead...don't mind the cheesy ending to the chapter...