Ellie's P.O.V

The dinner isn't as messy as I thought it would be. Sure, his sister hates my guts. At least his mom and I had some fun.

She's surprisingly sweet. She kept telling me that we should hang out, just the two of us. 

I'm just happy things aren't awkward between us. She must think I'm a great assistant. 

Harry's oddly silent on the way back home. I don't bother asking what's wrong, he probably won't tell me anyway.

We arrive at the hotel and I hop out of the car. I turn back to see Harry resting his head on the steering wheel.

I climb back into the car and close the door. "What happened?"

"I'm just not in the best mood right now."

That's a semi-answer. At least he isn't acting okay when he's not.

"Do you want company?" 

He lifts up his head and gives me a sad smile. "No, thank you."

Not gonna lie, I'm shocked he doesn't. Especially with me. I know he's been dying to get me alone.

"Okay," I smile. "I'm going to be at the bar for a little. You know where to find me."

He watches me get out of his car and go into the hotel. Then, he puts his head back down.

Weird. I wish I knew what was bothering him. 

Whatever, I can take my own problems to the bar.

The bartender sees me and I can already sense the hesitation. 

"I'll limit myself," I promise. He doesn't believe me, but serves me anyway.

Amateur. At least he's making good money. 

I nurse my cup and people watch in the bar. It's a little before dinner so there aren't too many people. 

Then again, normal timelines don't exist in hotels.

"Guess who?" A raspy voice whispers in my ear. I turn to see Louis!

"Hey!" I smile.

He chuckles and takes a seat next to me. The bartender slides him a drink without asking. Interesting.

"Whatcha doing here?" I ask.

He shrugs. "Came to see the lad but he wasn't in his room."

"Ahh," I sigh. "He's not doing too hot today. He said he wants to be left alone."

"Even from you?" He fakes surprise.

I roll my eyes and laugh. "I know right? Can't believe his world doesn't revolve around me!"

We both chuckle for a minute. In all honestly, I'm very surprised he doesn't want me to comfort him; offended even. I know things are still weird between us, but that's from my side. I'd still expect him to want me around, especially with the way he's been acting recently. 

"So, how's the gal?" I ask about Eleanor, distracting myself from Harry.

"She's good! I miss her so much and can't wait to see her again," he grins. "She wants to apologize for that night. She feels awful about what happened."

I cringe, remembering it. I was such a mess. Poor Eleanor had to witness me have several breakdowns. "For what? She was an angel. You made a good choice."

Louis beams at the compliments of his girlfriend. 

We chat mindlessly, sipping our drinks. I really do limit myself to one drink. The bartender lingers around, ready to refill me at any second. 

I feel a presence behind me. When I turn around, Harry is looming over me. He looks absolutely horrible. His eyes are bloodshot and his hair is super messy. "Can we please go somewhere? Anywhere." 

"Yeah, sure mate. Let me take care of my tab," Louis teases, knowing he's talking to me. 

I lightly slap him on the arm and nod. "Louis, take care of this, will you?"

His smile drops and he groans. "Always left with the bill and not the girl." I laugh for a second, but turn serious when I look at Harry and the state he's in.

He grabs my hand and pulls me to his car. He gets in and I follow. We begin to just drive, without a destination. I'm glad I rented him this car, especially because he loves it so much. 

I know he needs a good distraction. "Uh, so my sister absolutely freaked at the video you sent."

His face is focused on the road, but his lips twitch upward.

I notice his hand on my leg. I don't dare move it. 

"So, turns out Audrey and Drew are soulmates. How insane is that?" I continue, hoping he'll loosen up.

He perks up and looks over at me. "Really?"

"Yeah, it's a long story. Basically, he doesn't like her because he thinks she's snotty." 

He nods, waiting for me to continue. 

"I promised I'd set them up somehow, but it's a little hard with the distance. So, you don't have to worry about Drew. I'm definitely not the girl for him." I grin, thinking how perfect he and my best friend would be. "I guess the pact we made won't happen."

He furrows his brows. "What pact?"

"Well, when we started dating, we made a pact. If we don't find our soulmates by thirty, we'd get married," I remind him, then sigh. "I should've known it wouldn't work. Just look at my parents."

He briefly glances over at me and then looks back at the road.

He pulls up to an isolated cliff. It overlooks a city. The lights from the buildings don't hide from the bright stars. It's absolutely beautiful.

"I don't know if I can handle this today," he looks at me in the eyes, "but is there really no chance that we're going to be together?"

My heart hurts. I can already feel myself falling for him again. He's been so damn cute and I can't help it. Not to mention, he's becoming vulnerable again. He's letting me in, showing me a new side. He's been there for me through so much, and he's finally letting me be there for him. 

I know I said we won't have a relationship, but by now you should know I'm inconsistent and a liar. 

"There's a chance, Harry," I smile softly. "There's always a chance. I don't think I'd be able to survive without you." Hey, if he's going to be vulnerable, so am I. "You really lost me for a minute. I don't know if I'll ever be able to trust you again, but I want to. I need time, I need proof, I need for you to be reliable."

The way the moonlight glistens on his face makes him look innocent, like a child. 

"Baby, I know I hurt you so badly. I promise, I'm punishing myself more than you know. I don't think I can live without you. You make me so happy and I find myself wanting to be by you, even when I don't want company. Just you leaving the car earlier today shattered me. I should have told you to stay. Dare I say it, Ellie Marsh, I'm falling in love with you."

I don't know if it's the alcohol in my system or the way the light highlights his face, but I go in for a kiss. I can tell he's shocked, but quickly goes with it. He grabs my face with his hands leaning in closer.

"Wait," I whisper. I begin to crawl over the middle console. He takes the hint and pushes his seat all the way back. I settle on his lap and we kiss again.

"Harry," I moan between breaths. 

My hands go up to his curls and I begin tugging. 

I pull away for a minute. "This doesn't mean everything's magically alright."

He eagerly nods and pulls me back in. 

This is not how I thought the night would end. 

We have issues, a lot of them, but for now, I'll enjoy the blissful kisses I'm receiving. 

A/N: 

This is more of a shorter chapter because I literally couldn't figure out what to write. Opinions?!?! Yay, they're (sort of) back together!!