—Paisley—

The change in mine and Harry's relationship seems to have done wonders for us. I'm happy to have finally been able to push through the fear to be closer to him, because it's helped us to have a steadier relationship. We haven't had one single issue this entire month since coming back from Christmas break. 

The fact that that he used to sleep around and use girls for sex, have one night stands and just not give a shit about a girl's feelings, is stupefying to me. That guy is long gone in my eyes. As much as I know that I have changed since knowing him, I see how much he has too. He has almost always been exceptionally sweet with me since the beginning, but his heart has surely grown and the difference in the way he even looks at me, says a lot about the person he was then, compared to now. 

And I know that we didn't just change for each other. We grew as individuals and became better people on our own. Although he says that I am the only girl he'd ever treat nicely, I know that if things didn't work out with us, that he would treat the next girl just the same as he does me. I know this, because I know he wants what we have, in his life. He wants to be with someone, be important to someone and fall in love and have someone love him. I can tell that it's something he's longed for, even though he'd never admit to it, and I don't doubt for a second, that he'd ever go back to who he was before.

I'm unsure if things don't work out with Harry, if I would be able to trust someone like I do him, but I like to think I'm strong enough now to think that I'm passed my fears when it comes to the opposite sex, that I would be able to be with someone else. I don't want that, of course. But just thinking that my trust in people is back to normal, makes me feel better about myself and see how much I've grown.

"My birthday can be over now," Harry says, standing from the bed to pull his boxers on. "I got what I wanted!" I watch as he jumps back on the bed next to me, smirking as he does, making me squeal.

"That's all you're getting too," I laugh. "Because your actual present isn't even close to being finished."

"I told you, I don't want anything for my birthday, love." He brushes the hair out of my face, hovering over me, and pecks different places on my face in a quick but cute manner. "I got all I need, right here. I'm looking at her right now."

I roll my eyes at him. "You'll get your present eventually, I promise. If you'd ever give me time to finish it!"

I've been trying to make Harry's present for the entire month, asking everyone I know if they had any of what I needed for it, gathering all of my own stuff and putting it together. But Harry was giving me no time to work on it. Since we got back from Christmas break, we've been spending all of our free time away from school together, which with so many photo shoots and workshops on top of homework, really wasn't all that much time. But I would never complain about all the time we spend together, because in all the time we have known each other, the last few weeks have been extraordinary. 

"Maybe I'm not letting you finish it for a reason," he laughs. "Just being with you is all I want. Seriously, Paise, I don't want anything. There's no need to waste your time, when we could just spend our time in bed together."

"Like I said, you'll get it eventually." I shake my head, unable to help the smile on my face. He has been extremely incredible lately. The right words always seem to fall from his lips, and every single time, my heart just seems to melt into this big pile of mush and I'm putty in his hands. I play it off like he's just annoying me, always rolling my eyes at him when he says sweet things, when really, my insides erupt with butterflies and my heart feels like it's going to explode with happiness inside of me and I'm weak at the knees.

"How about this?" He brushes the hair from my neck, allowing it to fall onto the pillow my head is on, and starts kissing down my neck, slowly moving himself to lay on top of me. My legs naturally separate for him to rest comfortably between them and I clasp my ankles together around his waist to keep him from going anywhere. He props himself up on his elbows and looks at me. "I'm going to do something with Niall today, so you can work on my present if you want."

My eyebrows instinctively raise as I look back at him, feeling dumbfounded. "What are you guys doing?" I'm at a loss for words, hearing that he doesn't want to spend his birthday with me, and after all the time we've spent together, I shouldn't be surprised that he wants to hang out with his friend. We really haven't spent any time with anyone else lately, and it's nice that Niall's decided he wants to take Harry out to do something.

"Just some guy stuff." He leans in and kisses my neck again, leaving a trail down to my collarbone.

"The last time you did guy stuff with Niall, you came back with Blake's ex girlfriend," I remind him.

I can feel the smile on his lips against my skin. "I promise we wont come back with anyone's ex girlfriend," he laughs. "And we will hang out tonight."

Nova mentioned there was a party tonight at one of the film studios on the opposite side of campus. I have never been to the film studios before, but we decided that a party somewhere different than the norm, would be perfect to celebrate Harry's birthday. And as of right now, Harry isn't allowed to know about the plans. Even though the party isn't exactly for him, it's still supposed to be some kind of surprise, and so I have to figure out how to get around this.

"Don't you want to go out and have a few drinks?" I ask. "I mean, it is your birthday after all. You don't really want to just hang out with me. Everyone will probably want to celebrate with you. We should go to the pub."

"Love—" he breathes out, keeping his lips against my neck, just under my ear. "I'm doing my best work here and you're not even paying attention."

I realize that he's right, when I feel him cup my bare chest, and with this acknowledgement, my fingers instinctively tangle themselves in his hair, as I close my eyes to fully take in the sensations of his hand on me and his lips on my skin, completely forgetting about trying to make plans for tonight.

He brings his lips back up to meet mine. I have come to know, that one of his favorite things that I like to do, is glide my nails gently up and down his back. I love it how causes goosebumps to rise on his skin and he shudders slightly as I do so, making him kiss me harder.

Being with him this way, has easily become my favorite place. He's not as cautious as he was in the beginning, not hesitant anymore, because he knows I'm okay with his every move, his every touch. But he is still gentle with me, tender, like I'm delicate and fragile and doesn't want to do a thing to hurt me. It's easy to feel that he breathes me in the way I do him. That every intimate moment we have shared, he feels the same way about it as I do. Like it's not really about the physical aspect of it all, but more so that we're in this perfect moment, together, sharing the same tingles as our hearts beat the same rhythmic beat. We're in tune with each other's wants and needs, it's impossible to think we'd ever come down from this high we give each other.

I'm falling. I'm falling so hard for him. There's not a single thing that he could do that would stop this from happening. I'm waiting for the moment that my heart will burst, because I know that when it does, the second he steals my heart for good, it will complete me in ways that I've never felt before. I will be his, entirely. And there won't be a single thing that I won't give him. He'll have my heart. And with that, I will gladly give him all of me.

*

Just like Harry said, he went to spend the afternoon with Niall, and after the morning we shared, I was slightly disappointed to get out of bed and leave him for the next few hours. But I took this opportunity to take my memory stick to the editing room and work on Harry's present. I knew it still wouldn't be done by the time I had to leave to get ready for the evening, but at least I actually had some time to work on it.

Astrid came along with me, to work on some of her editing for class, and it was nice to just hang out with her after only ever seeing her in class lately. Even though it was in exactly the same place we always see each other, being able to talk with her without anyone else around was something I think I needed.

"That's a really good idea," Astrid says, looking over at my screen. "I think once you're done, Harry is going to love it."

"You think so?"

"Definitely," she answers. "Not gonna lie. You guys have had one really messed up relationship, and it's crazy, because there has been so many times you guys should've just ended things, but somehow—and I don't know how—you got through it all, and look at you now. I think this gift really shows exactly why you're meant to be together. The way you're putting it together. Telling that perfect love story, flaws and all." She waits for a second, looking away from the screen to look at me. "I was thinking the other day about why I think you guys are meant to be together."

"Which is what?" The only thing I can do is stare back at her, curious as to what her thoughts entail.

"I have known you both really well from the beginning of all of this," she starts. "I knew who you were then, and when I look back at it all, what I see—or think—it's like both of your heart's were broken, like cracked in this distinctive way, that only your heart would ever fit with his."

I raise my eyebrows at her, clearly pondering her words. It doesn't surprise me that she'd say something like this. She's too creative for her own good sometimes. But it's nice to think that maybe she's right.

"You have to see that I'm right, Paisley," she goes on. "Because even I know that Harry would never be with anyone the way he is with you. I think someone in his past really hurt him, and that's why he treated girls the way he did. But for some reason, you were always different to him."

I know that she's right. Someone did hurt him before. I remember our conversation on the beach when he told me about the one girl he fell in love with and she broke his heart terribly. I can't imagine what this girl did, to make him want to treat girls the way he did. It must have been awful, and I cringe just thinking about him being hurt.

"It's because you were a challenge to him." Ruby walks in the door, not hesitating to join in the conversation we thought was private. Apparently there was an eavesdropper in the hallway. She glares at me as she walks past me to her computer, brown eyes searing into mine and I want to pull that perfect head of dark hair from her egotistical head.

"You must not have had sex with him yet, since you're still together," she goes on.

"Well, I think I'm done in here." I start gathering my things, saving my work onto the memory stick, as Astrid signs off her computer and follows suit. I'm not interested in anything Ruby has to say. She has been surprisingly good with keeping her thoughts to herself since the whole thing went down in the hallway of my building, but she's always watching, rolling her eyes. I know she's just jealous. And I don't blame her. Harry's a catch. And I know that I'm lucky enough to call him mine.

"You just wait, Paisley," Ruby says. "You know I'm right. He'll be gone after you finally give it to him."

"Harry wouldn't do that to her," Astrid scoffs. "Because unlike you, he actually likes her."

"Keep telling yourself that!"

She isn't worth fighting with, and I know that she's wrong. I'm not going to waste my energy trying to prove anything to her. She's just trying to get on my nerves seeing that Harry isn't around, and I'm not going to let her get to me.

It's not long until I say goodbye to Astrid, to get ready for the party tonight. Harry and Niall are still gone wherever it is they went to, and Nova is nowhere to be found, so I take my time to have a shower and enjoy the alone time I seem to have been blessed with, turning up Halsey on my Ipad.

Nova returns when I'm done in the shower, carrying shopping bags in her hand. "I got you the sexiest dress ever today!" she beams.

I stare at her, confused for a moment, trying to figure out why she would get me a dress, but coming up with nothing. "Why the hell would you buy me a new dress?"

She acts like she didn't hear me, placing the bags on her bed, not wasting any time to take the dress out to show me. "Harry isn't going to know what hit him when he sees you in this tonight!"

"Where is it?" I laugh. "If you think I'm wearing that, you're crazy!" 

She encourages me to try it on, and shoves me into the bathroom with it. The dress isn't much. It's sexy, like she said. Tight at the top, loose and flowy at the bottom, but it's shorter than I'd like it to be. I stare at myself in the mirror after I've tried on this little black dress, feeling quite sexy. I'm unsure if I like how revealing it is, seeing as it's strapless and accentuates my boobs, but I leave the bathroom to show Nova anyways.

She shrieks when I open the door. "You are so getting laid tonight! I don't think it will matter if you want to or not! Harry wont be able to keep his hands off of you!"

"I'm changing." I dart for the bathroom to take it off, but Nova pulls me back into the room, convincing me it's perfect for tonight. "I don't even understand why you got me a dress. It's Harry's birthday, not mine."

"Well, consider yourself my birthday gift to him!"

"I don't think it works that way!"

Nova has insisted that she does my make up and makes me pretty and I haven't got a clue as to why it matters. Just because it's Harry's birthday, doesn't mean I need to look any better than I normally do. We're just going to a party and getting drunk. She says it's so I can finally give into my desires and make sure Harry's birthday ends with a big bang. Of course she'd say something like that. I have no intentions of having sex with Harry for the first time, drunk off my ass. And drunk off my ass is what I plan on being tonight.

After Niall texts Nova, explaining that him and Harry will meet us there, we finish up getting ready to leave and walk across campus to the film studios.

It's quiet. Too quiet for there to be a party going on, but Nova explains it's upstairs on the roof on the other side of the building. I take her word for it, and follow her inside the building, up the elevator and through some dark halls. Not once do we run into anyone.

When she opens the door to the roof, I walk out, and there stands Harry in the middle. He smiles when he sees me and I can't seem to focus on anything but him. He's dressed up nice in a button down shirt. Bandana still wrapped around his glorious curls and his smile makes me feel weak in the knees.

Twinkle lights are hung all around the walls and in the trees, lanterns are strung, leaving the whole rooftop looking like a romantic scene from a movie. I giggle as I walk to him, realizing we're the only ones at this party, and Nova's wishes to make me look nice, all of a sudden make sense.

"What is all of this?" I ask, looking around with wide eyes, taking everything in. A table for two is nicely set in the middle under a tree, a bottle of wine set to the side in an ice bucket. It is so beautiful, so picturesque. So romantic. I am speechless, and surprised isn't even the word I can describe as to how I'm feeling at this very moment.

"I wanted to surprise you," Harry smiles, pulling me in close to him.

"It's your birthday, shouldn't I be the one surprising you?"

"I wanted to do something special for you," he kisses my forehead gently. "For my birthday, all I want, is to see my girl smile."

The smile on my face grows, and I feel like crying happy tears. This boy—This man, holding me in his arms, is mine. And for his birthday, he really did only want me. And not in the way Nova seemed to be set on, but in a way that says everything I needed to hear. And the fact that I can feel it so strongly, without him saying anything at all, proves just how real this all is. 

"When did you do all of this?" I ask. "Or who?"

"I spent the day here with Niall and Nova, setting everything up," he explains, as we walk over to the wall to look over the edge. The sun just set and the stars are starting to pop out in the sky. It's not the most amazing view, but that doesn't matter. "We've been planning this for a couple weeks. I had to rent this place. They make some of their movies up here. It's pretty nice. Do you like it?"

"Harry, this is amazing." I lean into kiss him. "I don't even know what to say!"

His lips meet mine again, his tongue moving with mine in such a way that makes my heart swell. I can feel his need to be closer to me and when his lips part from mine and the way he looks me in the eyes, I feel nothing but love for him. In this perfect place, in this perfect moment, with my perfect person. I love him.

"Dinner for two is served!"

We're taken out of the bubble we seemed to have been in, as Niall has interrupted carrying food through the door, wearing an apron and a chefs hat with Nova trailing behind him pushing a cart. I can't help but laugh at the sight in front of me. Niall looks ridiculous, but it makes this night a thousand times better, seeing as how they have put so much effort into it, to make this night incredible.

Harry and I sit down at the table, while Niall places our meals in front of us. It's clear that this is food from the pub, and I giggle at how cute it is, as Nova pours us each a glass of wine. "You guys really don't have to do this," I tell them.

"Of course we do!" Niall says. "This is your night!"

Harry places some money inside the pocket of Niall's apron. "Your services aren't needed anymore." He tries not to laugh as he says this, but seeing as I can't control how funny I think it is, he laughs with me, keeping his eyes on me the whole time.

"We're free now?" Nova asks and Harry nods his head, making her scream. "Let's go have fun with these aprons, baby! And Paisley! Remember what I said!"

I look over at her, already at the door, furrowing my eyebrows, unsure of what she's talking about.

"Big bang!"

When they're gone, Harry looks at me confused.

"She thinks because I'm wearing this dress, we're going to have sex tonight," I explain. "She doesn't think you'll be able to keep your hands off of me. Hence, the big bang!"

He laughs. "Well, she's right. You look absolutely stunning tonight. And there's no doubt that I will want to peel that dress off of you later, but I didn't do all of this for you to get that. I hope you know that." He takes a sip of his wine, looking at me seriously as he does.

"I know—"

"I'm serious, love," he cuts me off. "I wanted to show you how much you mean to me. How much I love every second that I get to be with you. You're the most amazing thing to ever happen to me, and I feel like I don't show you enough appreciation in the way you deserve. I've only ever done nice things with one girl in my life and that was a long time ago, so I'm a little bit rusty on how I should do things with you. But you deserve so much more than I've ever given you."

And if I didn't already feel like I was in love with him already, hearing those words come out of his mouth, with his sexy accent and the way he is looking at me like I'm his whole world and seeing the way the lanterns light up his beautiful face, I would have fallen in love with him at this very moment. I've never felt more loved in my life, whether he feels that way about me or not. I don't care, because I feel it so strongly, so completely, that nothing in the world matters, except this very moment, where it's just the two of us.

Surrounded by twinkle lights, under the night sky, I fell in love with him. And there's no doubt in my mind, that if our hearts were broken, and cracked in a distinctive way, all the pieces were, in an instant, assembled to fit perfectly together, making us whole again.

A/N: Wow, this was a long one! I am so enthralled into writing this book, I can't seem to stop! I live and breathe to write it. It is my baby! 
So, I did write some smut in this chapter, and it was published with it, but I decided to take it out, as I don't feel it belongs in here. So if you're re-reading and see that it's gone, that's why.

Gah! Paisley's in love! Do you think Harry feels the same way? He is so freaking cute, I can't even believe it sometimes! I want a Harry in my life so so bad! (The real one, please!)

Thank you for 17.8K reads! ☺☺☺ I can't even tell you how happy it makes me, seeing how many people are reading my book! I love you! Please vote if you like it! Votes make me so very happy! Please don't be a ghost reader! If you are reading, I'd like to know who you are, so I can thank you personally, because I really do love you! <3

Much love,
amberlove
xo