THALIA

"What are you doing here Marco?"

"It's good to see you too Thalia," he smiled, watching as I set down my bag and crossed my arms in annoyance.

Greta and Francesco were in the kitchen ease-dropping under the guise that they were 'throwing together a midnight snack.' I had told them that they could go to bed, that I could handle Marco. But they insisted on staying within close range just in case.

"Marco. It's one in the morning," I said, growing frustrated. "What do you want."

"To talk."

"Then talk."

"You lied to me," he accused. He started to pace the small living room as he performed what I assumed was a well rehearsed speech. "You told me you were not choosing him, that you were not going to go running off into the sunset with him. And yet, it has not even been a week and you are running around Roma with him like a silly schoolgirl!"

"Harry and I are just fr-"

"DONT LIE TO ME!" Marco roared, knocking over a chair and sending me on a trip down memory lane.

Francesco was in there in an instant, yelling at Marco and threatening violence if he ever raised his voice towards me again.
"Francesco, please," I said, taking his arm and pulling him back towards the kitchen. "I'm fine. Really."

"Thalia," Francesco warned.

"Go," I said stubbornly before rounding on Marco. "Look, I'm sorry that things didn't work out between us. I'm sorry that we ever went to the villa and I'm sorry that Harry and I became friends again. But just because you're angry and hurt it does not give you the excuse to barge in here, terrorize my roommates and destroy my apartment. If you want to talk, we'll talk. Calmly.”

Marco ran a hand through his disheveled hair before he began pacing about the room.

“Do you realize how embarrassing this was to my family?”

I refrained from rolling my eyes, “Yes. You’ve been very vocal about your family’s image. But Marco, only mutual friends know about our relationship and I won’t tell anyone if you’d prefer.”

“Yes I would prefer that,” Marco scowled. “Unfortunately my sister has been ridiculed because of you.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t intend-“

“Stop saying you are sorry when we both know you aren’t.”

“You don’t know how I feel-“

“No! You don’t know how I feel!” Marco cried, his voice rising in his anger. “I welcomed you into my life Thalia. I took you to my home, I introduced you to my family. I loved you. And you betrayed me.”

I bit my lip to stop myself from apologizing again. After a deep breath I nearly whispered, “I know I hurt you but please believe me I had no intention.”

“You’re talking in circles Thalia.”

“I don’t know what else to say.”

“Anything! Anything would be better than this!”

“What, do you want me to yell?” I asked, growing irritated. “You want me to call you names and rant about how great Harry is compared to you? You want me to make it easy for you to hate me?"

Marco had stopped his pacing and was now staring at me in horror.

"Well I'm not going to Marco. Believe it or not I don't want you to hate me. I want you to be angry with me because, you're right, I deserve it. But I hope afterwards, you might try to understand where I'm coming from."

"I understand," Marco snarled. "I was just a distraction."

"Marco..."

"I should have taken you away the moment you saw him again! Maybe then you wouldn't have left me for him!"

"Marco please-"

"Why Thalia? Why?" Marco demanded. His eyes were red and he was blinking furiously to hold back the tears. "Why him?"
"I've already told you it isn't a choice between you and Harry-"

"YOU'RE IN THE PAPER!" Marco bellowed, grabbing my wrist and pulling me close. The sudden change in emotion caused me to panic. "Marco please-"

"It's all anyone is talking about! 'Famous Harry Styles is in Rome and back with his ex girlfriend!' You're not even trying to be careful!"

"Marco you're hurting-"

"Taking him to Villa Borghese," Marco sneered. "And to the the club. Do you know how that looks? Do you know how that makes me look?"

"Let go Marco," I persisted, trying to escape his vice-like grip. "Let go!"

"WHY? TELL ME THALIA!"

"MARCO!" Boomed Francesco, running into the room and pulling Marco off of me. Greta was at my side in an instant.

"I GAVE YOU EVERYTHING A WOMAN COULD WANT!"

"You were trying to control me!" Tears stung my eyes as Greta held me tight. "I'm not your doll Marco!"

"And he's any better?" Sneered Marco, struggling against Francesco's grip.

Just as I opened his mouth there was a loud banging on the door. Cold dread spread throughout my body as a moment later a voice called, "Thalia? Is everything alright?"

Greta let go of me, frowning in confusion. All three of them watched as took a breath and walked over towards the door.

"Fuck." I cursed before slowly unlocking the door to see green eyes and a tangle of curls. "Please don't be angry-"

"Who's that?" Marco sneered, wiping his eyes and growing angry again.

Harry frowned. "Who's that?"

"Harry look, I can explain-"

"HIM?" Cried Marco. "Just friends huh Thalia? What's he doing here at one in the morning?”

Harry pushed the door open before I even had a chance to stop him. His bright green eyes, which had been so filled with concern a second ago, were now narrowed at Marco in an intense glare.

"I could ask you the same question," Harry growled, moving in front of me instinctually.

I rolled my eyes and stepped between the two. “Alright that’s it. Harry, back off. Marco, You're leaving. Now.”

“I’m disappointed in you Thalia,” Marco replied as he looked between us. “I guess he’s got you wrapped around his fist tighter than I thought.”

“The fuck did you say?” Harry yelled.

"Marco!" I cried, pushing against Harry's chest to keep him from pouncing. Francesco was trying to shove Marco out of the apartment while Greta and I held Harry back.

"What?" Sneered Marco. "You don't remember drunkenly telling me about your ex's anger and stalking problems?"

"That was her ex before me!" Roared Harry. He made another move but I quickly grabbed his shoulders and held him back.
Marco shot me a look and snorted, "Oh yes, I forgot you whore around."

The others cried out but in my anger I cut them off. "FUCK you Marco! You are just - how the fuck did it take me so long to see what a self-righteous, arrogant, prick you are?"

The room fell silent as Marco stared at me in bewilderment. But I was done with this, done with him. I stood before him, my body shaking with rage and hurt as I screamed out, "you act like you're the better man but are you really? You belittle me because I don't live up to your impossibly high standards of which, by the way, are equivalent only to a fucking fairytale princess!”

I felt Harry’s hand against my arm, but I shook him off. Now that I had started I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to stop. All my emotions came flooding back as I glared at the man who not a week ago was asking for my hand in marriage.

"You pride yourself on your privilege and your name and yet you manage to disgrace it so spectacularly! And, in case you were wondering; your wealth doesn't make you better than me Marco, it makes you pettier. Your class doesn't make you great, it makes you presumptuous. And your hatred…your hatred makes you undesirable. So think before you judge Marco. Because I know I've fucked up. I hid things from you, hid myself from you. But you're not so innocent either. You put on a mask too. You came into my life as one man and you're leaving as another. We did this to each other and there's no one to blame but ourselves! So stop, just stop!”

The ringing silence that followed seemed to press in on me. No one moved, no one seemed to breath as my words sunk in. Harry’s gentle squeeze on my shoulder brought me back.

"I think you should leave Marco," I whispered.

"I won't let you get away with this Thalia," Marco snarled. He shot Harry and I one last menacing glare before swiftly exiting the flat.

"Are you alright Thalia?" Greta asked? She wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug before pulling back to take hold of my arm. "Your wrist..."

"Yeah, I'm fine," I promised.

"What about your wrist?" Asked Harry, his voice still dangerously low.

"Nothing, Harry its fine I promise."

I had tried to turn my body from him but Harry had taken my hand and was pulling me closer. His touch was as gentle as if he were handling glass. I wanted to pull my hand away to keep him from seeing the red mark left by Marco, but for some reason I knew that would be worse. Harry would think I was more injured than I was.

"Thalia," he breathed. A mix of sadness and anger flooded his features as he looked down at my bruised skin. His shoulders sagged in defeat before he looked up at me with sad green eyes.

"Don't Harry," I whispered pulling him close. "I'm alright."

"We should kick his ass," Francesco growled. I shot him an angry look as Harry stiffened beneath my touch.

"And what will that solve?" I asked fiercely. I then squeezed Harry's hand gently and said, "Please, I'm okay."

"You sure?" Harry pressed.

"I'm positive," I replied, moving my wrist in circles to show Harry it still worked. Greta and Francesco began tip-toeing off to bed as Harry watched me worriedly.

"How did he even get in?"

"He was waiting at the door when we came home."

"But why'd you even try talking with him?" Harry asked, following me around the living room as I picked up the mess Marco had made.

"Because I thought it'd be better if I listened to him here than if the neighbors listened to him out in the hall," replied with a sigh.

"But-"

"Harry, I'm tired," I said, pausing to look at him. "Would you like to spend the night?"

"Of course," he replied quickly.

I nodded and headed towards my bedroom, Harry following behind me wordlessly. I dropped my things onto the floor and let out a huff. I felt like crying.

"You know," Harry said, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my temple. "That was pretty fantastic."

"Glad you liked it," I mumbled. "Because I feel horrible. I shouldn't have said all those things."

"Why not?"

"Because now he's just going to resent me."

"Why does it matter? He's an ass Thal. You're better off without him."

"It's important to be able to move on and grow from these things," I replied. "He's not going to be able to do that if he just continues to blame everything on me."

Harry was quiet for a moment before, "we didn't move on. Well, at least I never really did."

"Yeah," I replied vaguely, not wanting to give too much away. "That speaks a lot to this past month."

"It's been a hell of a ride," Harry chuckled. "C'mon, let's not think about all that just now. Bedtime."

I nodded, noting that I had a headache coming on. Marco really knew how to sober a girl up. I changed into a ratty large t-shirt while Harry stripped his clothes off. I glanced in the mirror when I heard him fall onto my bed with a sigh. He placed his hands behind his head as he watched me preform my nightly routine.

"Are you sure you're alright Thalia?"

"I'm going to fine Harry," I assured him, crawling under the covers and feeling my body finally give in to the exhaustion.

We fell into an awkward silence as Harry turned out the bedside light. As he slid back under the sheets I cuddled up next to him. He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me closer. After a moment I began running my fingers absentmindedly across his chest, listening to his steady breathing.

"You know I never thought this was going to happen again." Harry's chest vibrated as he spoke, the effect sent shivers down my spine. "I was scared to leave you at the club. I was worried that if I left you'd never let me in again."

I bit my lip to keep myself from responding. Harry pulled me closer and kissed my hair.

I knew what I was doing was unfair to Harry. Marco was right. Site-seeing, clubbing and inviting him to spend the night. I was leading him on in the worst way. He was continuing to give me everything while I was continually holding back. But Harry wanted so much more than I was able to give him. He needed affection and he craved love. So why then had he chosen to fall for a woman like me?

But neither of had really chosen. Maeve had been right, I was a goner from the day I met him. Harry had been patient. He had slowly broken all my walls without me even noticing. He had found a way into my heart, into my soul. And he was doing it again. That's the bit that really terrified me.

"Thal, will you talk to me?" Harry asked, running a hand through my hair lightly. "Please?"

Tears pricked my eyes as I fought to control my emotions. Didn't he understand that I couldn't talk about it? The very thought of a conversation involving Marco was overwhelming and if he didn't stop asking me I was going to break down. But Harry knew me and maybe he really was pushing me to show my emotions. But I couldn't, not yet. So instead I decided to redirect the conversation with my own question.

“Say we were still together, right now in this instance,” I whispered, pausing to look up at him. I could just make out his features in the dim street light. “What would you do?"

"What would I do?" Harry asked, pushing the fallen hair from my face.

"Yeah. I'm just curious."

“I’d cuddle the fuck out of you and kiss your face endlessly," he said matter of factly.

I let out a laugh despite myself and resumed my tracing, pretending I couldn't feel him staring at me through the dark. How was it that this curly haired idiot would end up holding my happiness?

"What would you do?" He asked, gently rubbing my shoulder. "Now I'm curious."

I paused a moment before saying, "Exactly this."

Harry broke into a dimpled smile before closing his eyes and letting out a sigh. I rested my head on his chest once more, wild thoughts still running ramped through my brain.

"Hang on, you never told me about your weakness!" Harry cried out loudly. As I shushed him he wrapped me in a bear hug and pulled me on top of him, whispering, "you never told me your weakness!"

"I don't know if I want to," I whispered back. Harry was trying to distract me from thoughts of Marco and now conflicted thoughts of himself. Because we both knew I could talk myself out of anything if I thought about it for too long.

"What! I told you mine."

"Yeah but you're going to do it and I don't want to go to sleep right now."

"What would you rather do?"

We were still whispering. Harry held me close, pinning me against his chest. I reached up and began lazily playing with his curls, attempting to ignore how well his body fit against mine.

"Stay awake."

"Doing what?" Harry pressed, pushing the hair from my face once more.

Kissing you. I bit my lip nervously before blurting, "Thinking."

"About what?"

You. Marco. London. My family. You. "Everything."

"You shouldn't do that."

"What, think?"

"No, overthink," Harry chuckled.

"I don't know how to stop."

"Do you want me to help you?" Harry's voice was hardly even a whisper as he ran his thumb gently over my lips. I knew he wouldn't do anything unless I asked. But the question was, did I want to push things further with him? Even after everything we had been through? Even after tonight?

"Yes."

Harry's lips crashed onto mine, his hands cupping my cheek gently as he pulled me further into him. The world melted away as I was engulfed in feelings both new and familiar. His touch and the way he kissed was just as before. Just as sweet, just as longing. But so much had changed.

"Thalia..." Harry moaned. He flipped us over so he was hovering above me, his lips and body grazing mine as my breathing hitched. "I've missed you so goddamn much."

"I missed you too," I managed.

My brain now working overtime. Given the chance Harry would gladly send me to the edge and take me over with him. But where would that leave us? I had told myself I could never let him in again. And yet here he was, kissing and moaning and setting my senses on fire because I asked him to.

"I missed your voice," Harry mumbled between kisses down my neck. "I missed your laugh."

His hand slipped under my shirt and tugged lightly at the material.

"I missed your body," he said, moving down to pepper my stomach with kisses. "I missed your mind."

I tugged gently at his hair as he began sucking on my hip.

"I missed the way you made me feel," he whispered.

"Harry," I gasped. His lips had traveled dangerously low and I knew if he were continue, I'd never be able to stop. And I just couldn't do that to us...not tonight. As much as I needed him right now it wouldn't be right for us to reconnect like this.

Harry sensed my hesitation and slowly returned to my lips, kissing the length on my body the whole way there. When his lips met mine they were soft and loving.

"I missed you," he breathed.

"Harry I...I can't have sex...not tonight," I blurted, running my hands through his hair once more.

Harry broke into a crooked little smile. "I know Thalia. I'm not asking you to. I just wanted to kiss you."

I rolled my eyes and he brushed his lips teasingly against mine.

"How can I help?" He whispered desperatly.

"Just you being here is enough," I answered, running my finger across his pink lips and scratchy chin. "But another kiss wouldn't hurt."

Harry broke into a smile before pulling me close and kissing me so passionately and so lovingly, I almost forgot why I was upset.

Almost.

Notes

Gahhh I am so sorry for leaving you all on a cliffhanger for a MONTH?! Inexcusable. So here's a nice, slightly intense long chapter with the showdown you've all been waiting for in attempt to make it up to you. And as a special treat I'm working to get the next chapter up in a couple of days. Thanks for sticking with me, hope you all enjoy xx

PS let me know how well you think Thalia handled herself against Marco. I had been going back and fourth on her reaction for a while.