It's a bit of a long one so buckle up besties. I've been dying to post this chapter ever since I wrote it, my favourite one I've written for this book so far. I hope you enjoy <3

Songs to listen to while reading:

Always, I'll care – Jeremy Zucker

Almost – Hozier

Kiss Me – Ed Sheeran (ONLY PLAY THIS SONG WHEN INSTRUCTED)

I'm nervous, why am I nervous? I don't need to be nervous. Tonight is going to be a fun, I'm going to dance with the girls and have a good night.

I turn around so that I can expect the back of my dress in the length mirror in the bedroom. I hope I look okay, the girls said that it was 'the one' as soon as I put it on and screamed like they were thirteen  or as if I was getting married. I really do like Hailee, Zendaya and Cara. I got to know them on a deeper level today. It's weird because I've never had a girl best friend but it feels like I have three now.

I made my hair into a big bun that sits on the back of my head, I went with my normal makeup routine which includes filling in my eyebrows and mascara. I added a bit of eye liner, a gold eye shadow and a red lipstick. I'm really hoping that I don't look like a clown, I'm not good at stuff like hair and makeup.

"You ready?" Harry yells from the outside of the bedroom door.

"Yeah." I reply, causing Harry to open the bedroom door to enter. Once his eyes land on me, he freezes and I think his breathe hitches in his throat.

"Oh god, is it bad? Cara said that the pink would look nice. It looks bad doesn't it? I look fat don't I? I should have gone for the other—" I begin rambling but Harry interrupts me, "No! No... It doesn't look bad at all... It looks the opposite of bad actually." He takes a deep breathe before sending me a small genuine smile, "You look beautiful Lexi." I can hear the sincerity of the compliment in his voice.

I put my hands on my hips and look down at the dress, he said I looked beautiful... I try to hide the smile by staring down at my dress.

I look back up to see that Harry is staring at my face, not my dress.

I take a moment to take in his own appearance. His greasy hair from running his hand through it all the time looks freshly washed, and the suit... the suit would be questionable by itself but it looks perfect on Harry. He makes anything and everything look attractive.

"You don't look so bad yourself Harry." I compliment him, he bites on his bottom lip to try and hide his smile but his dimple gives it away.

We don't say another word to each other, we walk to the car and climb in, after stuffing the contents of my dress into the car which was a difficult process. Harry begins driving to where ever this fancy dress event is. Once we have left the security of the compound, I start to feel nervous. I don't know what is going to happen tonight but I have a weird, uneasy feeling. I'm probably just overreacting.

Harry opens the window next to him and pulls a box of cigarettes out of his pocket. He opens the box and lifts it to his mouth to pull a single cigarette out in which he then lights with a lighter that was also from his pocket.

"You shouldn't smoke, it's bad for you." I mutter, looking out the windscreen of the car.

"And why should I not smoke Alexa?" Harry asks me, sounding a bit annoyed.

"I don't see a reason why you should. They smell gross, they're basically cancer sticks and... I don't know. I just don't like them."

I leave out the part about how the smell reminds me of my past, reminds me of people that I want to forget.

"I only smoke when I'm stressed." He replies, like it makes it any better. He wraps his lips lightly around the filter and takes a long drag of the cigarette before exhaling it out the open window next to him. God, I hate when guys smoke but even Harry makes it look attractive.

"Why are you stressed now then?" I question him, not looking at him to see what his reply is.

"Just work things." He states. Well that doesn't really tell me much but I'm not going to push him. Before I can say anything else, "We're here." Harry reveals, parking his car in the driveway of a big mansion. I didn't think the drive would be so short, we definitely aren't that far from the compound.

I climb out of the car and Harry does the same. He walks over to the passenger side of the car to meet me. "You okay?" He asks me, scanning over my face gently.

I nod my head in response, linking my arm with his. He smirks at me because of the gesture, then walking towards the entrance of the house. We reach the front doors, where a bouncer looking security guard is standing with a clipboard in front of him.

"Names?" The guard asks Harry in a monotone voice.

"Jason Sark and Julia Red." Harry recites, I snap my head towards him with a questioning look but the glance he gives me tells me not to say a word, so I don't.

The security guard checks what I'm assuming is the guest list, he then waves us through the front door once he seems to have found the names that Harry gave him.

Why did Harry give fake names?

We walk through the entrance to find a double stair-well and a huge entrance hall. This is the kind of house that the rich of the rich have. It's probably double the size of Harry's house from what I could see from the outside.

"Come on." Harry mumbles, grabbing my hand to guide me to follow him.

We walk for a couple of minutes in silence, he's scanning the room, it seems like he is scanning the room for someone. We're in what looks like a big lounge area that looks more like a museum than a lounge that has high ceilings. He's probably just looking for the others in the group.

I tug on his hand to indicate for him to stop, which he does and turns around to look at me. I lean closer into his neck so I can talk into his ear so that no one else can hear, "Why did you give the security guard fake names?" I whisper. Fuck, he smell's good. He smells like every good scent mixed together to create the heavenly scent of Harry.

"Don't worry about it. Look, there's the guys." He avoids my question. I turn my head to look in the direction of his line of vision to find the guys and the girls with them. Harry and I walk towards them.

Cara shrieks when she sees me, causing everyone in a close proximity to her to cringe at the loudness. She begins running towards me, wrapping me into a bear hug when she reaches me. "You look great Lex! I told you pink was your colour..." She yells in my ear causing me to laugh at her reaction.

I pull away from her hug, "Thanks Car, you look gorgeous." I state, smiling at her. I look towards Zendaya and Hailee, "You two look stunning!" Cara went for a pastel yellow coloured ball gown, Zendaya decided on a blue ballgown that made her look like Cinderella and Hailee went for a dark green mermaid dress.

They both walk towards me and pull me into a group hug. We pull away from the hug, and that's when I see Margot. She looks pretty, she's wearing a lilac-coloured dress that falls to just above her knees. "You look great Margot." I compliment her, giving her a closed lipped smile as well.

"Thanks." She replies, but she sounds sarcastic. I really don't know what her problem is.

Cara dragged a waiter over to where the group was standing so that we could all get some glasses of champagne. The waiter looked incredibly annoyed at Cara's actions. We all take a glass before the waiter walks away to serve more people. I don't even like champagne, it's too bitter for my liking so I just hold the glass, I wouldn't dare decline one after seeing how excited Cara was.

There must be a couple hundred people here, all standing round in small groups, chatting to each other in-between sips of whatever alcohol that they are holding. The music turns to a slow song, causing everyone to put their drinks down on the high tables scattered around the room. Everyone starts making their way into the middle of the room which seems to be the dance floor.

Cara practically drags Niall onto the dance floor, Zayn and Liam sit down at a table to indicate that they aren't going to dance so Zendaya and Hailee take off together to dance. Louis whispers something to Margot which she shakes her head to, causing the both of them to sit at the table with Zayn and Liam. Harry is standing next to me, sipping the champagne in his hand. He leans his head to the side, "Do you want to dance?" He mumbles so that only I can hear him.

I turn my head and glance up at him, "Do you?" I ask.

He shrugs his shoulders, "Why not?" He replies, putting his glass down on the table that the others are sat at. I grin at him and try not to blush. Why the fuck am I blushing?

I take his hand, leading him towards the dance floor. I stop when we are in a gap between people. "I don't think I've ever slow danced with anyone." I confess, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"I haven't either, we can just learn together yeah?" He replies, causing all of my embarrassment and fears to float away like a feather in the wind. The first slow song that started playing ends and a next one begins.

*PRETTY PLEASE PLAY KISS ME BY ED SHEERAN NOW*

1, 2, 3, 4...

I look up at Harry as he takes a small step towards me so that we're standing inches apart from each other. I've been this close to Harry before but this time feels different, we both seem nervous for some reason. It's just a dance, why are my hands shaking?

Harry puts his hand on my shoulder and watches as his finger gently traces down the length of my arm causing a wave of goosebumps to raise along the skin he touches. My breathe hitches in my throat, he's touching me as if I'm a porcelain doll that will break with just a gust of wind. His finger doesn't stop until it reaches my hand, in which he takes into his own and guides to rest on his shoulder.

Settle down with me...

He connects his arm around my waist to pull my body against his. His eyes reach my own which haven't left his face. God, he's beautiful, there are no words to describe the way he looks. I notice his freckles that are sprinkled on his face for the first time, it's as if someone splattered their paint brush, I've never noticed them before since you wouldn't notice them from afar.

And your heart's against my chest...

Harry guides my other hand into his own, in which he holds while he begins to sway our bodies to the music. He's moving me like a doll, placing me in the correct position against his body and I'm so glad that he's taking control. I haven't let a man even hold me like this for over three years, I would be lying if I said I wasn't completely engrossed in Harry and this moment that we've been captured in together. It feels like there's no one around us, it's just him and I.

This feels like falling in love...

I turn my head to the side and rest my cheek against Harry's chest. The next thing that he does was the very last I ever expected him to do.

He starts singing lowly in my ear so that no one else can hear. "Settle down with me, and I'll be your safety, you'll be my lady..." He has an incredible voice, my eyes drift closed as I focus on Harry's voice as our body's sway together. This moment between us feels so fragile, as if any sudden movement could break it and that's the last thing that I want.

"My heart's against your chest, your lips pressed to my neck, I'm falling for your eyes, but they don't know me yet..." He continues singing, his breathe causing goosebumps on my neck from how close his mouth is.

Kiss me like you wanna be loved...

I've never been held so gently in my life, the way Harry is holding me in this moment makes me feel like he could sew up all of my broken pieces. This is one of those moments where I never want it to end but I know that the song will end and so will the moment, it's only a moment. It's nothing more, I'm nothing more to Harry than a girl he found at the pub and was forced to kidnap. I'll never be the girl that is beautiful or who gets a genuine guy because I'm me and that's something that I'm going to have to accept.

I don't understand why I feel like this, why do I feel so Happy here in Harry's arms? I shouldn't feel like this. I just feel really confused, confused with my thoughts and feelings. Cara fell for Niall but I could never have feelings for Harry because... well because it would be wrong. Niall saved Cara from something horrible, Harry could never save me from the things that destroyed me. Cara is strong and brave and will move on with her life from her past because she has never let it define her, unlike myself who let's my past fuck me up every single day. Pieces of my broken heart have been lost over the years and will never be able to be fixed, it will never be full and whole again and Harry... well Harry deserves more than someone like me. Anyone deserves better than me.

So I hold you close to help you give it up...

Harry's head brushes against mine as he moves closer to me, as close as he could possibly get. I feel his warm fanning against my neck until I feel his lips graze my neck for just a moment until he presses them against my neck making my stomach flip into my ribs. He leaves them against my skin for a few seconds before he pulls away, leaving me feeling disappointed that he stopped. It happened so quickly, it's as if I dreamed the feeling of his lips on my neck.

He leans his body back, causing my head to lift from his chest. His eyes are glancing between both of mine with his eyebrows furrowed as if he is trying to read what I'm thinking. I don't even know what I'm thinking in this moment, I'm scared. I'm scared that Harry is going to hurt me, I don't think I could survive being hurt again. I know that I'm weak but I've never been anything else and I don't see myself changing anytime soon.

"Alexa... I—" Harry begins before the sound of a loud blast roars through the entire house causing everyone to drop to their hands and knees when the house vibrates from the impact.

I can hear something else... Is that gun shots?

Authors note:

Cliff hanger? Never heard of one ;)

I love every single one of you.

*awkward virtual cuddles because idk if you're mad at me for the end of the chapter lol*

See you in the next one!

~ Jess💜