Chapter 27 ~ Harry

Hannah is changing. She does things that she never did before. I know, I haven’t known her for a long time, but I can see the differences. Like when she held her hand out for me. Or when she squeezed my hand as a sign of gratitude, or the way she smiled at me when I gave her the name for her cat. But the biggest change is in her eyes. Those green eyes that once looked at me with such painful coldness are now warm. I see that she is working hard, giving in little by little, doing her best to mend all those wounds that the death of her mother left. I still can see her broken soul, I still see the pain in her irises, but I also see hope that things can be better.

This has been, without a doubt, the most different date I’ve ever gone on, but at the same time the best of them all. I shall never forget all the things we learnt today, all those stories Charles shared with us but the thing that will stay with me forever is the way Hannah looked at the kitty on her lap when we had to go.

She didn’t want to part, she didn’t want to say goodbye and she made a decision that shows her commitment to get better. She adopted the cat, took her with her. Maybe letting an animal in is easier than a person, but still. There’s a being she has decided to take care of, a being that will need her and she is going to there for her.

If I ever held a doubt that Hannah really wanted to move on with her life, this has proved to me that things will be fine. She will be fine.

The cat, Hope, is absolutely adorable. Her hair is ginger, like Hannah’s and her eyes are also green and they look so innocent, so desperate for love. She looks with adoration at Hannah and the smile Hannah gives back to Hope is one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen. Every time I take a glimpse of them both, I feel a strong and loud thump in my chest and a heart-warming feeling spreading from my chest to the rest of my body.

I’ve fallen deep.

I try to regain my concentration as I drive. I certainly don’t want to end up in a crash or something. I take us to the shop so we can buy what Hope needs and then I drive to Hannah’s home.

“Uh– if you have nothing else to do, you can come in with me. Later I can drive you to your flat. Just if you want,” she hurries to clarify and I smile, delighted that she has invited me to stay longer with her and Hope.

“It will be my pleasure,” I answer with my most honest smile that she replies.

We leave her car and she leads me inside. I follow her with all the shopping we did for Hope and she asks me to follow her to her room, where her new pet will have her bed. I’m not sure how to feel about the fact that I’ll be in Hannah’s room and that her father is not around. I try to keep it cool, like this is normal but it doesn’t feel like that. Not when it comes to Hannah. With her, everything is different.

As I take my first step into her room, I start taking notice of everything that’s in there: the queen size bed with a very girly cover in different shades of purple; the shelves with oh so many albums, almost like in a radio station; the guitars on one side; the desk with an iMac and equipment to record; the frames with pictures on the wall, pictures of her and Savannah, of her and a man and woman that I assume are her parents. The last thing I notice is the target with four darts on it. The same target I gave her and I can’t help it, I burst out laughing right there.

“Harry, what happened? What are you laughing at?” She asks me as she lays Hope on the bed. “You okay?”

“I can’t believe you actually use it!” I say between fits of laughter, doubling over as I hug myself.

“Oi, throwing darts is really helpful to manage stress. Plus, it was a present,” she explains with a shrug but I see her cheeks burning.

“Or maybe you have it because you want to have a picture of me,” I suggest just to tease her and her cheeks burn ever brighter.

“Of course not!” I chuckle at how shocked she looks.

“I know, I was just messing with you. Though it makes me really happy that you’re using it… wait, that doesn’t sound good, does it?” It’s her turn to laugh and I realise that I love her laughter. I could never get tired of hearing her laughing like that.

“You can throw some darts if you want. If you hit the nose I’ll give you a treat,” she offers me and I look at her very interested. Last time we bet, I won and I really like how that ended.

“What are you gonna give me?” I inquire walking over to the target to take the darts.

She seems to think about it for a while, seated on her bed while brushing Hope’s fur. “What would you like?” She asks staring at me naively. She doesn’t know what she’s getting into.

“If I hit in the centre, you have to give me… a kiss. A real kiss,” I add when I see her opening her eyes in sheer disbelief. She is frozen now and I want to laugh, but I fight that back.

“You can’t be serious.”

“I’m perfectly serious, Hannah. You can’t tell me that you don’t know I fancy you. I made that clear from the very beginning and I haven’t given up yet.”

She breathes slowly, carefully. Her eyes are on me and this time there’s no smile on my lips, I’m completely serious so she can understand I’m not playing here. I’m being one hundred per cent honest.

She nods ever so slightly that if I hadn’t been paying as much attention as I was, I would’ve missed it. That way, with the darts in my hands, I walk away and position myself to throw the darts, confident that I’ll hit the centre of the target, winning that kiss.

I throw the first dart and it hits the wall, falling to the floor next and I hear Hannah chuckling. But I don’t get discouraged. I’ve never played this, but it can’t be that difficult. I’m just getting the hand of it. I throw the second dart and this times it does hit the target, but it doesn’t stay there. It falls to the floor as well. This time, Hannah laughs harder.

“I think I won’t have to care about giving you that kiss, huh?” She mocks me and I turn to glare at her. Hannah raises her hands in surrender and I go back to the target, glaring at it now.

It won’t beat me; I’m going to win this.

I breathe in deeply and aim carefully before throwing the third dart. This time it gets hooked in the target, but almost at the edge of it. “Better, but still not good enough,” she says and I know she wants to distract me. I have one dart left, I can do it.

I focus, I focus like I’ve never done before, breathing slowly as I take the last dart and aim. My face on the target makes this a bit distracting, but I just know I have to hit my nose and I’ll get that kiss. I know I could get it anyways if I want, I can even steal a kiss when she doesn’t expect it, but I want her to give me the kiss. It means more if it’s that way.

I throw the last dart and it hits the target, but not in the centre. Closer than the previous one, but not what I needed. Hannah this time actually laughs, not bothering to cover up her amusement because I’ve lost.

“Hey, I tried,” I tell her shrugging and she laughs even harder.

“I shall give you a golden star for that,” mocks the ginger girl and seeing her laughing like that only makes me smile, not really caring that I lost.

Yes, I wanted that kiss. Truth be told, I’ve wanted to kiss her for so long, I’ve imagined and even dreamt of how it would feel to kiss her, to have her closely pressed against my body, my arms keeping her there; but you can’t always get what you want, right? “It seems like I won’t get that kiss today, right?” I say offhandedly walking over to her bed and taking a seat next to Hope, my hand flying to her ginger fur.

“And you will never get it, Harry Boy-band,” she promises but I arch my eyebrows.

“Are you sure? ‘Cos you know I’m very persistent.” She looks at me cautiously, knowing that I’m telling the truth.

“You may fancy me, Harry, but I certainly don’t.” I chuckle and look at her amused. It is highly probable that my feelings for her are stronger, I’m conscious of that, but she is not indifferent. That’s for sure. She cannot fool me.

“Keep telling that to yourself love, but you know it’s a lie.” I purposely take her hand, the same one that is stroking Hope’s fur. She tries to pull back, but I don’t allow it. I intertwine our fingers together and pull her closer. “You like me, even if you don’t want to accept it.”

“It’s only gratitude,” she defends herself and I roll her eyes.

“You can’t lie to yourself forever. Sooner or later, you’ll accept your feelings and who knows? Maybe you will be asking me to kiss you. Until then, I can wait.”

“You’ll wait forever, then.” I know she is stubborn and she tries to look certain of her words, but I see the doubt in her green orbs. I see she is not as sure as she wants to project.

“It’s okay, I won’t push you any further for today. But I bet,” I say carefully as I lean in closer, my nose brushing hers ever so softly and she doesn’t pull back, she’s frozen. “I bet you won’t stop thinking of this little conversation we just had. You may even dream of this.”

Her eyes are wide open, shock is written all over her face and I even see a bit of fear, but a different kind of fear. She is scared I may be right. I’m sure I’m right.

“See you later, Hannah. Thank you for this date, it was definitely the best one I’ve had,” I tell her in a whisper, there’s no need to speak louder as we still are so close. I lean in even closer but I don’t kiss her though I could. I don’t want to push too much in just one day, so I miss her lips and kiss her cheek slowly, my other hand on her arm and I feel her shiver under my touch.

I pull back and stand up, looking at her the whole time.

With one last smile, I swing around and walk away. I know she offered me a ride, but I can get a cab or even call one of the lads or even Paul. I have to leave even if I don’t want to, I have to leave her thinking of this, with my kiss on her cheek still lingering. For the effect I want to cause, I have to leave now.

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Dedication to @glamorousglen3 becuase this Friday is her birthday but I don't update that day so it has to be now. Have a wonderful day.

Bel, xx