There was no warning, no waiting, no holding on. Harry's lips were flush against mine and I felt my eyes close suddenly with the shock of it all. His lips were warm against mine, sending an electric shock through my body. He moved his lips against mine with so much emotion I could feel it flowing through my veins. Just as soon as he started, he pulled away, not giving me enough time to even process what I was thinking. 

He kept our proximity close, however, as he pressed his forehead to mine, leaning into me and closing his eyes. "I'm sorry." He whispered, opening his eyes again and moving them to my lips. "I'm sorry." 

I should be more careful, and I should put some space between us, because things are about to get very complicated, and very confusing between the two of us, but I don't. I don't because I'm so damn tired of hearing him apologize when he has nothing to be sorry for. 

"You need to stop apologizing, Harry." I said, and brought my lips to his this time. It was a rise of high emotions, an outpouring of chaos, and the only reasonable thing was to kiss him again. And I guess we must act on the same wavelengths, because Harry kissed me too. 

He kissed me even harder than before, not rough but with even more emotion. One of his hands rested on my cheek while the other was wrapped around my torso, pulling me into his lap. I could feel the shaking in his movements, telling me this all meant a lot for him.

At this point, it wasn't about what we were going to do when the kiss was over, or tomorrow, or next week, or next year. It's about everything in the past; learning from it, embracing it, and moving on. 

I was closer to Harry than I'd ever been, and our mouths were moving in sync. I was getting short of breath as my senses were overwhelmed. Never had I been more enthralled in a kiss. Never before has someone taken my breath away as Harry was now. And maybe its because of everything we've been through, or maybe it's because he's that good of a kisser, but either way, I don't want to pull away.

And again, he must have been thinking the same thing, because he deepened the kiss, taking control and running his tongue along my bottom lip. I complied, and now we were kissing to no end. 

And even though I was making out with Harry, in his lap, sprawled against my bed, I had never felt safer. Nothing was bad with Harry, nothing was dirty. What we were doing was full of emotion, us acting out our real, true feelings. 

It seems crazy the two of us were a crying disaster moments before, but now I couldn't feel more comfortable. 

Harry was the first to pull away, his breath shaky and cheeks flushed. He grabbed my hands and looked me in the eyes. "What are we doing?" He asked, his voice desperate and his eyes searching mine. 

"I'm not sure, Harry. I'm not sure."

"Me either." Harry said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and pulling us down, so we were laying side by side on my bed. "God, me either." 

We lay together in silence, the faint glow of the twinkle lights on the wall shining down on us like stars from above. Harry's arm is still wrapped around my waist, searing heat into my body where his skin touches mine. We've never laid like this before, but neither of us says anything about it. 

"We'll figure it out." I say, my words breaking into the silence. "We always do."

It seemed that long pockets of silence were fitting for the night, so it was awhile again before Harry spoke. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Silence.

"No."

Silence.

"Neither do I. Let's just let it be for now."

Silence.

"We'll have to do it eventually, though." I sighed. 

Silence. 

"But not right now." Harry said, tugging me closer to him so I snuggled into his side. There was an invisible barrier that was broken throughout the events of the night. It was unspoken, but evident. And even though we now had a mess in front of us, I wasn't afraid of the cleaning up—I was intrigued to see how it would go. 

We laid there for awhile longer in silence, knowing there was oh so much to talk about, but not wanting to do it now. 

"I should probably go soon." Harry said, but made no effort to move, still laying comfortably against me. 

"Just stay. Stay the night." I said, not wanting him to leave. I can't fathom going through the rest of the night without him. We're far too comfortable together right now for him to just leave. 

"I don't think that's a good idea, Paisley. Your mom doesn't exactly, like me and I don't want her to get the wrong idea. I know if you're feeling half of what I'm feeling you must be you're probably overwhelmed, but I don't want to make this worse by overdoing it-"

"Harry, just stay. Please." I say. I know where he's coming from, but my mom will be fine with it. Ever since I talked to her, she's gotten used to the idea of Harry and I being friends. I think she sees that I'm still the same I used to be and that really she can't choose my friends for me. "It will be fine, trust me, okay? My mom is fine with it. I'll go tell her you're staying the night and it will be fine."

"Are you sure? What will your dad think?" Harry asked. 

"My dad won't even know. My mom's always been good about keeping secrets about stuff like this."

"I don't know."

"Please stay, Harry." 

"Alright."

"Let's go tell her?"

"Let's?"

"Yeah, come down with me. That way you really know she's fine with it." I said nonchalantly. Harry looked at me skeptically, but before he could argue, I turned around and went straight down the stairs. From the thud of footsteps behind me, I knew he followed. 

So I know I may have faked confidence in my mom being so welcoming about Harry staying the night, but I also know she'd never want to look inhospitable in front of someone—even if it is the person that almost killed her daughter. And besides that, my Aunt Kara is a helpless romantic and can sway my mother's judgement like no other. 

It will all be fine. I hope. 

When we got down to the living room, my mother and Aunt Kara were seated on opposite couches, a toothpaste commercial playing in the background. Both of them looked up when we entered the room and I felt Harry stiffen beside me. 

"Hey mom, Harry is going to stay the night, alright?" I said, not really giving her much of an option. She looked at me with her eyebrows raised, but didn't say anything. "We're going to watch movies and stuff and it's so late already, we're both tired and I don't want him to have to drive all the way home this late." I explained. 

"Well...alright." She said, after a moment's hesitation. "What happened, I thought you were going bowling with your dates?"

"It was a bust." Harry said.

"Yeah." I agreed, content that he actually spoke. I want my mom to see that there's so much more to him.

"Alright. Well, I assume you know the expectation and—"

"Mom, we're fine." 

"Thanks for letting me stay." Harry said. 

"You're welcome." My mom said. She sounded like she was skeptical, but also was nice about it and I knew if she really had a problem with it, she would be giving me an evil glare. 

With that, the two of us headed straight back up to my bedroom. 

"I'm going to change into my pajamas." I said, grabbing them from the drawer. "I'll be right back." I went to the bathroom and changed. It was only when I entered back into my bedroom and saw Harry sitting on my bed that I realized he would have nothing comfortable to sleep in. Nevertheless, he smiled when I came back. 

"You don't have anything to sleep in." I stated the obvious.

"It's alright. I'm fine in what I have on." He said, as if it was no big deal. 

"Harry, you're wearing skinny jeans." He smiled at that, his dimples popping out. 

"Yeah, they're so tight they feel like leggings." 

"You're ridiculous. You can take them off if you want." I said, hesitant about it, but not wanting him to have to sleep in his outrageously tight skinny jeans. 

"Paisley, I promise I'm fine. I don't you to be uncomfortable." He said earnestly. I decided to let it go because I knew in the end he would be victorious anyway. I untucked the covers of my bed and sat down, not getting in yet. 

"Do you want to watch a movie?" I asked. 

"If you want to. I'm really tired." Harry said, getting in next to me. 

"Me too. Exhausted, really." 

"Let's just call it a night, then." Harry said, making the executive decision. I nodded and turned the light out, but kept the twinkle lights on. We both laid down for a minute and I could hear Harry's breathing beside me. After awhile, I scooted closer to Harry nuzzling into his chest. It was unconscious action, something I was doing before I could even think it over. However, immediately Harry's arm went to my waist, tugging me closer to him. I could feel his shallow breathing as his chest moved up and down under my head. 

"Goodnight, Paisley." 

"Goodnight, Harry." I said, closing my eyes. 

How did one night change so quickly. Everything was supposed to be so good and fun, and it all ended up being horrible. How is it that Harry and I continually deal with the same conflict, over and over again. I know this will follow me forever, but I had assumed it would be less painful by now. 

Nevertheless, the way Harry stood up for me tonight and tried to comfort me was so reassuring. He's the only one who truly understands and I'm starting to realize he's the only one that ever will understand, because I went through it with him. 

There's an unbreakable bond between the two of us.

And it's all a mess right now, but I feel calm. I feel safe. It's a mess to clean up another time. 

I left my house tonight thinking I might be falling for the most perfect guy out there. And now, laying in my bed cuddled up in Harry's arms with the glow of warm lights above us, I think I may have been wrong about who I was falling for and who I really care about. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  

I'M CRYING ABOUT THIS CHAPTER 

OMG its finally happening. You guys have no idea how excited I've been for them to get together!

Anyway, I want to know what you think!!!! SEriousLY please, PLEASE comment!

Sorry for my yelling and screaming, I'm just really excited. 

Macy xx

PS vote if you ship Haisley ♥