Chapter 37 ~ Harry

“How many instruments do you play?” I ask her as she looks for a song on her mobile to show me. She has the sheet music of the song there and I can read music, but still, it doesn’t come to me that easy. It’s better if I can listen to it first. Plus, it’s a song by The Cab, the same band of the song she was playing the other time with that guy in Uni. I want to hear them.

“A few,” she answers distractedly.

I put the music sheets aside and focus my eyes on her, on her ginger hair falling around her face, creating this curtain that hides her features from my scrutiny. We’re seated in front of the piano, next to each other, her thigh pressed against mine. We’ve been here for a while already, she played some songs and Hope already fell asleep on the piano.

Every time she touches me, even if she just brushes my hand or it is an intentional touch, like when she poked my dimple and then gave me a peck, I can’t stop feeling like all this is a dream. I can’t believe that she has finally accepted me, what we have, and that she is being this open. I was so scared that she was going to regret it and push me away again, but no, she only brings me closer. It’s almost like she is a whole different person, but then I look her in the eyes, she smiles at me and I know it’s Hannah. Maybe this is how she was before and now she is finally coming back to her true nature.

“How many?” I insist, my hand carefully landing on her thigh and her reaction is not as it would’ve been a week ago. She doesn’t slap my hand or freeze, on the contrary, she places her hand over mine, tangling our fingers together as she keeps sliding through her huge list of songs.

“Yes!” She exclaims and I figure she found the song. She then looks at me with a cute smile on her lips. “Uh, I play guitar, bass, violin, piano, drums, flute and a bit of cello.” I can only look at her with my mouth hanging open and she giggles at my expression. “I’ve been learning since I was a little kid and I’ll probably learn to play another one in the future. Music is my life,” she adds with a little shrug, but the way her eyes sparkle when she thinks of music tells me how important this is for her.

“That’s incredible. You’re really talented,” I compliment leaning in to kiss her lips. When she kisses me back immediately I feel, again, like this is a dream. For so long I thought I was never going to get her, that it was impossible. But I kept fighting for her and now she is… mine.

I pull back, lingering on her lips a little while before I fully break the kiss and I love the way she looks at me. “Thank you,” she whispers and then remembers her mobile song. “Oh, right. The song. Here, listen,” she instructs me handing me her gadget and I tap the play button.

The song is called Endlessly and as it starts playing, I pay attention to the lyrics and the music, perfectly picturing how Hannah will play it on the piano, her hands flying over the keys. When the chorus hits I’m astonished by how much I can relate to the words, how this is what I’ve wanted to tell Hannah all this time. I look at her, wondering if she feels the same way when she hears this song, but she only seems pleased, like it is one of her favourite songs.

“It’s amazing,” I say when the song is over handing back her mobile as another song is starting. She stops it and nods.

“You think we can try it?” She asks and it is my turn to nod. “Great, Here’s the sheet and I’ll start, okay. I’ll show you how to play it once and then I’ll teach you how to play it. Got it?” I nod again and she smiles encouragingly. “Just keep in mind what I told you before, okay?”

That said, she looks at the sheet and starts playing the song, the melody even more beautiful as it is only piano and when she starts singing, I swear I get shivers going down my spine. I sing the next part and she doesn’t expect my addition to the song, but she remains quiet as I sing.

And the ink may stain my skin,

and my jeans may all be ripped.

I’m not perfect, but I swear I’m perfect for you…

And we sing the chorus together, her voice and mine combining perfectly but I make sure to look at her the whole time, looking for her eyes just because I want her to know how much I mean these words for her. The lyrics of the song got stuck in my mind the first time I heard them.

… And there’s no guarantee,

that this will be easy.

It’s not miracle ya need, believe me.

Yeah, I’m not angel, I’m just me,

but I will love you endlessly.

Wings aren’t what you need, you need me…

She realises what I’m doing, why I’m looking at her like this instead of paying attention to the way her hands play the song on the piano, because her expression changes, her pupils widen as realisation hits her and when I see that change, a smile creeps its way to my lips.

She keeps singing but it’s not the same, there’s more emotion in her voice this time and she can’t take her eyes off of me when I sing and when we sing together again. By the time the song is over and she plays the last note, I’m holding my breath, not knowing what she will do or how she will react. Her hands have stopped moving and her eyes are locked with mine as the seconds extend for what seems like minutes.

“I do need you,” she whispers and before I can say something, she grabs my face and kisses me almost desperately.

I respond immediately, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her way closer to me as I kiss her back with the same intensity. Her hands slide to my hair, her fingers tangling with my curls and I love the way she messes with my hair. I cock my head to one side just to deepen the kiss even more, already feeling my heart hammering in my chest and my lungs screaming for a bit of air, but I don’t care about that now. Hannah is all I care about and how much I adore having her like this, in my arms, with no wall between us.

I’m not sure who gives in to the need of breathing first, I just know that my lungs are grateful, bringing air to them quickly, my chest rising and falling just like hers. Mate, I’m getting used to this too easily.

“Why are you smiling like that?” She asks, her breathing still heavy.

“How?” I question, pressing my forehead against hers as my hands move across her back, going to her waist and back. I can feel her shiver in my arms.

“Like you have a secret you don’t want to tell me,” she clarifies and I chuckle lightly before brushing her lips with mine.

“Maybe I’m just smiling like this ‘cos I like to be like this with you too much. I like kissing you.” Cue to my words, I bite her lower lip gently before kissing her.

“Savannah teased me saying we were going to be like this all the time instead of me teaching you to play the piano,” she says with a resigned smile on her lips.

“I like being like this better,” I comment and she laughs, but she doesn’t look surprised by my answer. Well, I don’t think anyone could be surprised that I like snogging better than playing the piano.

“But still, you came here to learn to play the piano, so we better start working.” I groan and that makes her laugh and when I pout, she pecks my lips shortly. “Learn to play this song, at least, and we can do something else. Not that,” she quickly adds when I look at her with a cheeky expression, just to tease her. Her cheeks burn immediately.

“Okay, okay,” I agree and release her and we face the piano again, looking at the sheets with the song I’ll learn to play. I’m glad that this will be the first song she’ll teach me; it has more meaning.

We start to work and she is very patient. I get it wrong many times, sometimes it’s hard to find the right key and for the right hand when the left is playing other notes. I ask her if I should, maybe, just start with the right hand but she says it’s better if I learn to play with both hands immediately, so I can get the hang of it from the beginning.

She is a good teacher, a really good one, because after almost two hours, I finally play the whole song with just minor mistakes and she is smiling very proud of me. I can’t stop smiling at myself. I still have a hard time reading the sheets and playing at the same time, but Hannah says it will get easier, even natural. I just have to keep practising.

I find out that I really enjoy playing the piano and I’m seriously considering buying one for myself. My flat is large enough to have one and Louis also plays the instrument. It would be great so he can practise too.

“I did it. Now what’s my reward?” I ask like a little kid looking at Hannah. She giggles shaking her head slightly.

“What do you want?” She asks and I can’t help the smile from coming to my lips.

As I lean closer, I answer, “oh, I’m sure you know what I want.” Her eyes widen at my words and her cheeks flush. “A cupcake,” I add and she blinks a couple of times until realisation hits her and she bursts out laughing pushing me playfully. “Oi! I’m serious,” I protest grabbing her by her waist and pulling her against my body, lifting her a tad bit until she lands on my lap, my arms firmly around her body, keeping her close. She hugs me loosely by the neck, still laughing.

“Okay, I owe you a cupcake for being such a good student,” she gives in.

“Just because I had a great teacher,” I compliment her and she smiles at me sweetly.

She leans in and kisses me again, softly, her lips moving in sync with mine as my hands rub her back, keeping her close.

“You still owe me the cupcake, though,” I say when she pulls back. “No matter how much you kiss me, I still want that cupcake. And I’ll take a picture of it and make Moni jealous ‘cos I got cupcake and she didn’t.”

Hannah laughs again and I still believe her laughter is one of the most beautiful sounds ever.

“And talking about weirdoes like Moni, Mila is about to release her first book.” Hannah opens her eyes in surprise and I remember I haven’t told her Mila’s story. “Oh right, she is a writer. I’ll tell you more about that later. The thing is she is releasing her first book and the girls are planning a party to celebrate. I was wondering if you’d like to come with me and meet my friends. They really, really want to meet you. It’s not gonna be crowded, but my closest friends are gonna be there and I’d love if you would come with me.”

She looks at me a bit reluctant and I’m afraid she will say no. Maybe now it’s easy for her to be open to me, but she still has a hard time with other people.

“When is this party taking place?” She asks carefully.

“The third week of February,” I answer, still hoping she will say yes.

Hannah seems to ponder the options, her eyes showing me how this decision is not easy for her. “Okay, I’ll go,” she finally agrees and I couldn’t be happier. Hannah is finally meeting my friends.

 -:-:-:-

Shout out for @1_d_4eva and to the birthday girls: @1Dalldayallnight and @terntiouk. 

Bel, xx

PS: And also at the sidebar, the song they sing. It's like the themesong of MS. I love it!