Harry entered the house and shut the door behind him, expecting his mother to be waiting for him on the couch. She wasn’t there, so he assumes she’d slept off. He kicked his shoes off and made his way upstairs towards his room, but paused to peak into the room right before his.

She was asleep, tucked under blankets, clutching her teddy bear in her hand. He knew she was scared of the dark, she couldn’t fall asleep without the tiny light next to her bed. It was still on, and Harry quietly tip toed inside and turned it off, making sure not to disturb any of the machines or wires next to her bed. He didn’t know how she could sleep with the constant beeping sound, but maybe he was used to it now.

“Hazza?”

He cursed silently, and turned around. He’d woken her up. Obviously, he was not as quiet as he thought he was.

“You should be asleep, kiddo,” Harry said softly, looking down at her.

“I couldn’t sleep without you,” the tiny girl told him, raising her tiny hand. Harry immediately reached for it, knowing she wanted to hold his fingers.

“Have you been pretending to sleep this whole time?” Harry grinned at the small girl.

She smiled back. “Anne wouldn’t let me stay awake,” she said. “Where were you, Hazza?”

“I went out with my friends,” Harry replied, sitting down on her bed, still holding her hand. “I missed you, though.”

“I’m tired,” she told him, and her statement was immediately followed by a yawn, her tiny pink lips stretching to
form and ‘o’ and her eyes squeezing shut.

Harry smiled. “You should have slept off, Jade,” he told her.

“Stay,” she pleaded, her eyes already fluttering close. He knew that it wouldn’t take her more than two minutes to sleep off. He couldn’t believe she had waited up for him.

He gently soothed her forehead with the hand that wasn’t holding hers, sitting beside her till she fell asleep. Like he had predicted, it didn’t take her too long. Slowly, her fingers loosened around his and he gently tucked her hand under her blanket, leaning down to give her forehead a gentle kiss. He got up slowly, making sure not to jostle the bed, took extra care to be quiet as he tread softly towards the door and shut it behind him, leaving Jade in what he hoped would be a peaceful sleep inside the room.

---

Harry lay in bed for a long time, simply thinking. He’d been doing that a lot, lately. He’d come home and lay in bed, thinking over a lot of things. He thought about how much his life had changed in the past two years or so, and if he was honest with himself, he’d give anything for things to be the way they used to be before. Things were easier, and he didn’t have to go through everyday worrying that at any moment, something would snap and his life would come crashing down.

He wished he hadn’t disappointed Melissa the way he knew he’d been doing for the past year or so. When they first began dating, Harry loved her. He truly did. But as time passed by and things progressed, Harry knew he wasn’t there for her the way she really needed him. And she wasn’t there for him either. They both had expectations from each other that the other couldn’t live up to. Sometimes Harry didn’t understand why they were still together. She should have given up on him a long time ago. Why hadn’t she?

He thought about the tiny girl asleep in the bedroom next to his, who had to live her life constantly wondering if she’d wake up to see the next day.

Jade was only five. She deserved the chance to live the life that should have stretched on endlessly before her, so she could do anything she wanted, be anything she wanted. She deserved to grow up and have fun, to make her own mistakes and learn from them, to grow old, to find someone who loved her, to get married, to have kids.
Instead she was diagnosed with this illness that she could never get rid of, an illness that was slowly eating away at her, sapping life and energy out of her as quickly as she blinked. She’d never done anything wrong—she was just a kid, for God’s sake.

Harry places his hand over his palm and sighed. What was the point of going over this again and again? There was nothing he could do about it.

His phone beeped and he checked it to find a text from Melissa.

Hey, u sure you can’t see me for a bit??

Harry’s thumb hovered over the reply button as he thought of how to turn her down. He shouldn’t be turning her down in the first place. He should be eager to meet her, he should want to spend time with her.

Finally, Harry set his phone down on the side table, and he turned over and shut his eyes, trying to let sleep take over him. He didn’t reply to her.

---

Georgia bid a quick goodbye to her aunt and Mel, letting them know she was going out to look around for a bit. She received an enthusiastic ‘bye’ from Mel and a small nod from her aunt and then she was out.
Within fifteen minutes of hanging around on the streets, she knew it was a bad idea. The rain wasn’t as hard as it had been yesterday, but it was still cold and wet and it hit her umbrella in loud thuds as she walked up and down streets, looking at shops and the people and just simply exploring her small town.

Tired of walking and the rain, she decided to enter the small coffee shop down the end of the street. The contrast between the temperatures inside and outside the coffee shop was a relief. She was instantly glad of the warmth and the dry atmosphere. She quickly ordered a cup of hot chocolate and then took a seat at the end of the store. The cocoa was so rich and so thick that her spoon could almost stand in it. She took a sip and sighed as the drink warmed her insides, and sunk back into the chair.

The tiny bells above the door jingled and on instinct Georgia looked up to see who it was.

She recognized him immediately. His face was not something you could forget so easily. He walked in with the same air of confidence she’d seen around him the whole of previous night, quickly closing his umbrella and leaving it in the stand.

It was only when he fully walked in did she noticed the tiny girl bobbing up and down beside him, holding his large hand tightly in hers. She was telling him something excitedly and he was laughing at her. It was a contrast from what she’d seen the previous night. Harry had looked so inapproachable then, so intimidating. His face set in a particularly serious way, jaw hard and even when he smiled it didn’t seem like a smile at all. But with this little girl beside him, Harry resembled a normal teenage boy, someone who was easy to talk to and even easier to be friends with.

Georgia watched as the ordered their drinks and quickly looked away, not wanting to seem like a creep for staring at the two so shamelessly. Maybe he wouldn’t see her. Or maybe he would and simply ignore her. She was okay with either one of those.

But when he called her name, she looked up, surprised. She knew it was silly, but it shocked her that he remembered her name.

“Georgia?” he asked, walking up to her with two tall drinks in his hand and the little girl trailing behind him.

“Hi,” she greeted him, and then looked down at the girl, who was half hiding behind Harry. “Hey, beautiful.”

The little girl mumbled a shy hi in response, making Georgia smile. “What’s your name?” she asked her in an attempt to make her feel comfortable.

“Jade,” she replied, her voice soft and shy.

“Well, that’s a beautiful name,” Georgia said to her, and was glad to receive a smile from the child.

“Are you Hazza’s friend?” Jade asked in a small voice, finally coming moving away from Harry to stand before
Georgia.

Georgia glanced up at Harry who was watching their little exchange with an amused smirk lighting up his face. Jade had met Harry’s close friends before and never said a word to them, not even her name. She didn’t like them at all, though she never said it. She didn’t even like Melissa. So it was nice to see her talking to someone of Harry’s own age, apart from Harry himself.

“She’s Melissa’s cousin,” Harry spoke for Georgia. “You’ve met Melissa, haven’t you?”

Jade looked up at Harry and nodded.

“What are you doing here?” Harry asked Georgia.

“I was looking around and then it started raining, so,” Georgia told him. It was hard to look right at him and talk. It was like she was back in school, crushing on her seniors and finding it hard to talk to them, her insides jittery with nerves.

“Where’s Mel?” Harry asked her.

“Um, at home,” Georgia told him.

Harry nodded. “You liking it here, then?” he asked her, and she was surprised to see he was trying to make friendly conversation with her.

“It’s…it’s okay,” she lied. She didn’t like it here one bit. She missed home so much it was painful, and she only wanted to go back. Her aunt was nice to her, Melissa was beyond nice, but they were not enough to fill the void her old life had left in her heart.

Harry opened his mouth to reply but he stopped when Jade tugged at his hand. Harry bent down considerably and she stretched on her tiny toes to whisper something in his ear. Georgia watched this exchange with amusement, the height difference between the two comical yet endearing. Harry nods at her with a small smile and yet again, the contrast shocks Georgia.

“Well, we should get going,” Harry said. “Are you going to come to Niall’s tonight with Mel?”

“I…I don’t know,” Georgia said, not aware of any such occasion. Melissa hadn’t told her. Maybe she didn’t plan to.
Georgia was okay with that. After last night, Georgia didn’t think she wanted to back to the drunken, sullen atmosphere again.

“Well, you should.” Harry told her. “It’ll be fun.” He looked down and Jade. “Come on, kiddo, let’s get going. Wanna say bye to Georgia?”

“Bye, Georgia,” Jade said softly, raising her hand.

“Bye beautiful,” Georgia beamed at the little girl.

She looked back up at Harry who nodded once at her, a slow smirk on his face and she was instantly reminded of the way he’d teased her in the car, the way he’d called her tiny, the way he’d suddenly come so close to her she couldn’t breathe, his hands reaching over to unbuckle the seat belt.

Then he turned, holding the little girl’s hand and without a second glance at Georgia, he was out.
---

Is it turned out, the moment Georgia reached home, Melissa told her that she had absolutely no choice, that one of her friends was calling a few people over to his house, and that Georgia was coming. Georgia chose not to mention that she was already aware about the small get together, having been told by Melissa’s boyfriend himself. She simply nodded and agreed.

So a few hours later she found herself at Melissa’s friend’s house, and once again the situation was similar to the one during the previous night. She sat beside Mel while everyone talked and had fun, sipping their drinks and chatting away. She didn’t know exactly when she was going to start opening up, but she didn’t think it was going to be any time soon.

A girl sat plopped down next to Georgia quite suddenly, bouncing in the seat and sighing. “God, I’m wasted,” she muttered immaturely, and then glanced at Georgia. “Who’re you?”

Georgia shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “I’m Georgia,” she said, trying to sound as polite as she could.

“You’re Mel’s sister, aren’t you?” she slurred.

“Cousin, really,” Georgia corrected.

“Hmm,” she mumbled. “Why aren’t you drinking? Don’t you drink?”

Georgia shook her head. “Not…not really.” The girl snorted as if the idea was as amusing as it was ridiculous, and Georgia frowned and looked away.

There was a sudden shift in the atmosphere when the sound of a beer bottle crashing to the floor echoed throughout the room, and suddenly, Harry had launched himself off of floor, where he and Melissa had been sitting on the mattresses scattered all over the room. He glared at her as she glared back up at him, but Georgia noticed her trembling bottom lip and her frown, and something about her expression said that she was as hurt as she looked angry. A few people who were bothered to seem concerned turned to look at them.

Harry rolled his eyes and stalked off in no particular direction as Mel sat there alone, everyone staring at her.
“You’re a prick!” she yelled suddenly, and everyone looked shocked. Georgia had no idea what was going on, but she knew she should comfort her cousin. Before she could make a move to get up, however, Mel had snapped at everyone looking at her and then walked off.

Everyone sat there, quite stunned. Niall complained about having to clean up the mess Harry had left in the wake of his anger, and everyone slowly returned to their conversations.

“What was that?” Georgia asked.

The girl next to her smirked. “Happens all the time,” she said. “Harry and Mel fight a lot. It’s a bit of a surprise they’re still together. Harry snaps at Mel all the time and she just sits there and takes his shit.”

“Oh,” Georgia frowned.

“Well, can you blame her?” the girl asked. “Of course Mel puts up with his crap. He’s so sexy. And good in bed.”

Somewhere in the back of her head, she wondered if this girl had slept with Harry. Then she proceeded to wonder
just how many girls had. But then again, did it matter to her? It shouldn’t. Why should she care? Besides, she had things to think about other than what this curly haired boy had been doing with other girls. Her first priority should be Melissa.

Georgia quickly got up and headed off to find Mel and check on her. Niall’s house was massive, and Georgia found herself roaming around empty corridors and stumbling across different rooms as she looked for her cousin.

She decided to check in the balcony to see if Melissa was out there, but instead found herself facing the back of a familiar curly haired figure. She could see him grasping the railings tightly, his knuckles white as his hands balled in tight fists around the rod, as he fumed silently, glaring at the scenery before him.

She meant to quietly escape and continue her search for Mel, without letting him know she’d discovered where he was, but she took a step back and tripped, possibly on air, and her back hit the balcony door with a loud sound, the glass shuddering and the noise echoing loudly. Her back stung but she ignored it as Harry spun around, taking in a seemingly frightened Georgia before him.

“What are you doing here?” he snarled at her, repeating the question he’d asked just a few moments before. Except his tone was bitter and harsh now, not as friendly as it was in the coffee store. “Has Mel sent you then? To ‘talk’ to me?”

“What—?” Georgia started.

“She does that all the time,” Harry said angrily. “If I didn’t listen to her, why would I listen to you?”

The last word was said with such contempt that it made Georgia’s stomach flip. He was obviously angry, choosing to take it out on the girl before him, but Georgia wasn’t going to have any of it.

In a brave attempt to sound as rude as he did, she said, “I didn’t come here to talk to you. I was looking for Mel, and I happened to see you here.”

“Well if you find her, you can tell her to stop pissing me off all the time.” Harry barked.

“Why don’t you tell her that yourself?” Georgia snapped.

Harry scoffed. “Your cousin is the most unreasonable woman I have ever met,” he said, “that’s why. If I go to talk
to her, she’s going to sob and make a big deal like she always does.”

“She’s not unreasonable,” Georgia defended Melissa quickly.

Harry glared at her. “You don’t know half of what she is,” he told her, taking a step towards her. His long legs enabled him to reach her with just one stride, and he was almost pressed up against her, trapping her between him and the wall. Even up close, he was immensely attractive. His breath fanned her face and she smelled the alcohol on it. She realized his outburst was possibly due to his slight drunken state.

“Are you here to lecture me then, Georgia?” His green eyes bore into her with an intensity that made her want to hide herself under a blanket and never have him look at her that way again, and yet, she couldn’t look away from him. “Are you going to tell me how to deal with my own relationship?”

“I…” All the courage she’d mustered up to snap at this boy seemed to leave her in one go and she found herself stuttering like an idiot as she looked up at him, unsure of what to say.

He leaned in impossibly close, their noses almost brushing. There was a shift in his expression and suddenly, he was smirking, his eyes flecked with dark humour. “Or,” he said softly, tracing his finger across her cheek. Georgia fought a wave of revulsion at the same time that she didn’t pull away. “Are you here to take advantage of the situation?”

“What?” she asked incredulously, her breath coming fast and her heart thumping wildly in her chest.

“Are you here to make me feel better about the fight, baby?” he asked. “Because I wouldn’t mind that.” He leaned in and pressed his nose to her cheek and breathed in, hand reaching up to take hold of her waist. The finger on his cheek was now trailing down her jaw, slowly down her neck and to her collarbone, tracing patterns on her skin.
“Mel doesn’t have to know.”

“Oh my God,” Georgia spat, disgusted by his behavior.

Harry grinned and pulled away, but not far enough to increase the space between their faces. His plump lips were just inches away from her own, his smirk slow and teasing, hands still on her. “You came here on purpose, didn’t you?” he asked her in his gravelly voice. “You weren’t looking for Mel. You were looking for me.”

“No—” Georgia started, but was cut off suddenly when Harry’s lips were on hers.

She gasped in pure shock as he kissed her. He was kissing her. Her cousin’s boyfriend was kissing her. God, this was so wrong.

The hand on her collarbone cupped her neck, bringing her face to his, his head tilting to deepen the kiss. The other hand held her waist tightly, pulling her to him. Despite the waves of disgust shooting through her body and her instincts screaming at her to push him away, she couldn’t help but notice the soft texture of his lips against hers as they moved furiously against her own. He held her to him, impossibly close and tight, and she pushed at him with all her strength (which was close to nothing compared to his).

Finally, she let her palm collide hard with his flat chest and he staggered backwards. He didn’t seem upset or guilty or surprised with that he’d done. He was smirking at her, seeming satisfied.

Before Georgia knew it, her palm had collided with his cheek with such force that the noise rang loudly in the air. To her immense satisfaction, the smirk was wiped off his face instantly, and he seemed to sober up just a little.

“You asshole!” she spat at him. “Oh my God, you’re disgusting.”

Harry looked absolutely livid, his cheek still stinging as his blood boiled due to anger. For a tiny second, he had to remind himself that this was a girl before him. But in the next second, he realized what he’d just done.

Guilt hit him like a truck of bricks and his expression changed immediately. He reached out for Georgia, his mouth opening to apologize for what he’d just done.

“Don’t touch me!” she warned him venomously, and shoved him hard. “God, I hope Mel breaks up with you. She doesn’t deserve someone like you.”

“Listen—” Harry started, shame written all over his face. Georgia knew that her slap had sobered him up just a little, but she still felt so disgusted with him that she had to step away.

“Don’t come near me again,” she told him, and without another word, she was out.

Notes

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