Harry

"Well that went well," joked Louis from the back seat.

"At least we know one thing...she still hates yer guts Haz," chuckled Niall.

I'm immediately got out of the car only to slam the door angrily. I had always known Thalia had a temper but Jesus I had never seen her snap so easily. Although, I'm not going to lie, I did egg her on. It pissed me off how the waltzed around with Mr. Perfect over there acting all smitten. How could she forget about me - about us so fast?

I glanced over at Thalia to see her and Marco sucking each other's faces and felt my stomach churn. Since when did she get so public with her relationships? It's like she was doing to to spite me.

"Well, well, well look who decided to show up." I felt something wrap around my arm and turned to see Nicola.

"So now that we past the test..." I asked, turning myself towards her and trying to push Thalia to the back of my mind. "What's the prize?"

"Come here."

Nicola took my hand and pulled me past where Marco and Thalia were. As we stepped out onto the clearing my heart nearly skipped a beat. We were standing on the edge of a twenty foot cliff. To the right a small waterfall fell into a crystal clear bay below. It was cut off by the ocean from a small sandbar and looking like something out of paradise.

"Holy fuck," muttered Louis who had appeared next to me.

"Come on." Nicola pulled off her tiny cover up to reveal a white one piece, if you could even call it that. It definitely showed off way more skin than it was supposed to. She, just like the place, looked straight out of a magazine.

"Well boys are we just going to stand here all day and admire the view? Or are we going to live a little?"

Nicola looked back and shot me a wink before throwing herself off the cliff.

"Nicola!"

"Shit!"

"What the fuck?"

Nicola hit the water with a splash and a second later resurfaced with a huge grin on her face.

"Come on boys," Marco said clapping mine and Louis' backs.

"Is it safe or are you just trying to kill is all?" Thalia half laughed.

"It's safe mi amore!" Marco chuckled. Why does he keep calling her that?

"I can't even go off da high fives at da pool so I don't know how yer gettin me off this thing," Niall said, shaking his head. I couldn't help but break into a smile.

"Alright Ni, then let's us chickens go together." Thalia pulled off her cover up and I felt myself gulp. She had on a black lace one piece that only worked to accentuate her curves. We all pulled off our shirts and Thalia gripped Niall's hand tightly.

"Come on Niall, we'll all jump together.”

“Yeah don’t be chicken Ni.”

"Fuck that! Ya always say that and then I end up the only one jumpin!"

Thalia let out a laugh before pulling him towards the edge. "Alright then how about a pact...if someone chickens the rest of us come back up here and throw their ass in."

Thalia shot us all a challenging look, daring us to disagree. Honestly I was a bit scared to throw myself off a cliff but I felt the familiar sense of adrenaline was beginning to kick in.

"One..."

"Two..."

"THREE!"

I jumped. The wind rushed through my hair and my stomach leapt to my throat as we plummeted towards the crystal clear water below. I could hear Thalia scream and a second later we hit the water with a crash. After a split second of panic I kicked my feet up towards the surface above. I came up sputtering and coughing, but ready for another round.

"Nice of you all to join," Nicola mused, swimming effortlessly over to me. I immediately looked for Thalia, but wish I hadn't when I saw her and Marco once again lip-locked.

"Let's go under the waterfall," I heard myself say.

Nicola broke into a smile before disappearing under the water. I followed her over to the small thundering waterfall. Suddenly I felt a hand grab my arm and next thing I knew I was behind the waterfall.

"Well what do you think Harry?" Nicola giggled.

"I think you live an incredible lifestyle."

"I would agree. All the fun of yours but with no media attention."

"A dream come true."

"I wonder what the media would say if they could see us now..."

"You would probably get death threats for hiding behind a waterfall with me."

"I can handle death threats," Nicola laughed. She was close, very close. The water seemed to glisten off her tanned skin as she looked up at me with wanting eyes. "What I can't handle are headlines like 'brother and sister cozy up to ex lovers Harry Styles and Thalia Kalfis.'"

I froze and broke into a frown. Nicola on the other hand let out a laugh and only pulled me closer. "Cara told me all about Thalia before you came here. I didn't know she was Maro's new girlfriend until she showed up last night though."

"I didn't either. Are you angry I didn't tell you?"

"No. I'm not worried about her," she replied confidently and I wasn't sure if I should take offense to that or not. "But my brother is worried about me..."

"How do you mean?" I asked, letting my curiosity get the best of me. I was curious of the stories Thalia had been telling.

"He just said you hurt her," she replied pulling herself around so she was practically straddling me. Her fingers lightly traced my shoulders as she whispered, "and he thinks you're going to hurt me too."

"And what do you think?" I asked, my voice thick as she pressed herself against me.

"I think you're too nice for your own good. And I think it was she who did the heart breaking...not you."

I turned my head, not knowing how to respond to her correct insinuation. I felt her hand take my cheek and a moment later she was turning my face towards her once again.

"Don't worry Harry. Your secret is safe with me," she whispered, her lips brushing against mine. "And I promise not to break your heart."

I broke into a laugh before pulling her closer to me. She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me passionately, the water giving her lips a sweet salty taste.

My hands lowered down her back across her butt and down to her thighs. She jumped and wrapped her long legs around my torso. Our kisses were growing more passionate, and more sloppy. It wasn't until our names were being called some twenty minutes later did we even consider breaking apart.

"Well, well, well...what have you been up to I wonder?" smirked Louis as I returned to the group red lipped and put of breath.
"Nicola and I were just getting to know each other a little better," I replied innocently.

"Yeah I bet you were," scoffed Liam.

I rolled my eyes and splashed him. However this turned out to be a mistake as his retaliation turned into an all out war between the guys and I.

"Geez don't drown each other!" Thalia called before letting out a laugh.

Louis swam over to her and then disappeared under the water. A second later Thalia screamed as she was lifted up from the water perched on Louis's shoulders.

"Don't do that! You damn near gave me a heart attack!" She laughed, hitting his head lightly. "I thought you were a shark!”
“Don’t be such a chicken!” Louis teased.

“Hey there’s an idea!” I cried out. I sunk under the water and Niall scrambled onto my shoulders. My feet sunk into the sand as I lifted Niall up out of the water, Thalia’s terrified face was priceless. But she quickly recovered and looked at us evilly.

“You’re going down boys…”

“Oh lord,” Marco sighed and I heard Nicola laugh somewhere in the distance.

“Ready…set…BRAWL!” Cried Liam.

Moving around in the sinking sand proved to nothing short of impossible, but somehow Niall and I managed to make it work. Louis and Thalia were competitive on their own, but paired together they created a ruthless team. Niall and I were both dunked multiple times and after the third drowning I let Liam take over.

“Look who’s chicken now!” Thalia called after me.

I turned to lock eyes with her fierce brown one’s. For a split second I saw all the hurt and anger behind them, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. I rolled my eyes and swam back over to Nicola as they began another round. Was this how it was going to be for the rest of the trip? Thalia and I continually attempting to one up the other.

“You’re not a very good chicken,” Nicola giggled.

I frowned, and shook off her improper translation with a laugh. Nicola had put me in an infinitely better mood since our arrival and I planned to keep it that way. We were pretty much joined at the hip for the rest of our time there, that was until Marco asked me to help him unload the food from the truck.

“How do you like it so far?” Marco asked once we were out of ear shot from the others.

“This place is amazing…everything his here is stunning.”

“Yes…I would have to agree…she’s pretty incredible isn't she?" Marco thought aloud.

I turned to look back at Thalia. She was sitting near the edge of the cliff quietly painting the scene around her. Her hair was pulled back in a loose braid and her bare arms and legs already covered in paint. How could I have forgotten how beautiful she was?

"She is," I replied. Marco turned to look at me, some hidden emotion played behind his eyes.

"You know she loved you right?" He asked. I blinked, not knowing how to respond. "She wouldn't tell me much...and I never pressed because I knew it hurt her."

“Yeah well…don’t take it personally if she doesn't tell you everything," I replied, with more bitterness in my voice than I meant. "She keeps a lot to herself."

"She'll tell me when I earn her trust," Marco answered confidently.

Good luck with that I thought to myself. Thalia kept her secrets, her feelings locked up tight within her. She would only let you get so close before shutting you out again. When Thalia finally divulged something it felt like all your love and patience had finally paid off. When she gave you a secret it was proof that she loved you too. But with every secret she told, there were ten more she kept to herself. I couldn't stand it anymore. Her inability to trust me nearly drove me to insanity.

"How did it happen? May I ask? The break up..." Marco was staring at me again. And I cleared my throat before answering.

"We just um...we just grew apart." That was only partially true and had little to do with why we actually broke up...but I couldn't tell him the real reason. I hadn't told anyone - including the boys. How could I face them when I could hardly face myself?

Marco stared at me for a moment. If he knew I was lying he didn't show it. Instead he took a deep breath and turned back to Thalia. "I was just curious if I had to worry about you. An ex lover of my girlfriend staying in the house is a bit concerning."

"You have nothing to worry about," I assured him. Thalia had gotten over me a long time ago, today had proved that.

“With my sister either?”

“I like your sister. Nicola’s an amazing girl.”

“Are you going to hurt her too?”

“I would never-"

“I’m sure you said the same thing about Thalia…”

Marco met my eye again and I held his gaze. He was right, I had never meant to hurt Thalia and yet I had. She had left England because of me. She had cut the guys out of her life and willed her friends to do the same. And from what Marco and Nicola have told me today; she’s still hurting.

But now Thalia was moving on with her life. She had a career ahead of her as an amazing artist. She was dating a rich Italian bachelor who could give her the world. There was no reason for me to feel responsible or sad for her in anyway. She had made a better life for herself and I wasn’t anywhere near it.

My mind flashed back to the argument we had in the car earlier today, and my blood boiled. What happened between us was as much her fault as mine, and I was sick of carrying the blame and feeling like shit because of it.

If Thalia was moving on, then so would I.

Notes

Hi. I'm sorry it's been ages since I've written last. Is anyone still on here reading? The site has seemed a little dead lately...
School has left me with hardly any down time so I'm sorry for the long waits between updates! Though I'm sure most everyone is feeling that same pressure.
Let me know what you think of this latest chapter! Writing in Harry's POV is tricky and I'm still trying to get the hang of it. I promise things will be picking up soon!

Ciao ciao lovelies!