So the song for this chapter is "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor. I'm sure y'all heard it but don't know the name cuz it's ICONIC. So god listen pls thanks.

I also have a very important question for you guys at the end of the chapter so please answer ❤️

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I know chasing after you is like a fairytale

But I feel like I'm glued on tight to this carousel

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   "It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight!"

   "Rising up to the challenge of our rival!" Harry continued Adriana's words as they jumped and danced around drunkenly on his bedroom.

   "And the last known survivor. Stalks his prey in the night," she continued to sing, holding up his brand new Gucci shoe as a mike while he held up a Saint Laurent one.

   "And he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger!" he screamed, hitting the high note on the "eye" part perfectly with his eyes screwed shut and pink lips parted wide.

  They then continued dancing and singing along to Eye Of The Tiger by Survivor loudly, with the music blasting out through the speakers of the stereo in Harry's room. Both Harry and Adriana couldn't remember the last time they had fun like this, even though they were both intoxicated.

  Adriana found herself enjoying Harry's company, she found herself actually having fun in such a long time. She couldn't remember the last time she sang along without having a worry in the world, dancing in her underwear and whipping her hair around like she was a teenage girl.

   "Rising up, straight to the top. Had the guts, got the glory," Harry pointed at her with a grin, making a face that had her laughing so hard her stomach was aching.

   "Went the distance, now I'm not gonna stop. Just a man and his will to survive!" she continued singing, shaking her hips, while Harry bobbed his head with a grin on his lips, moving his arms in sync.

   "It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight," he started the chorus loudly, making her grin in awe at his singing talents. She thought she was screaming like a maniac and she really didn't care, but Harry actually sounded good.

  They continued dancing, both of them whipping their heads back and forth, Harry's curls flopping around as he jumped up and down on the bed with Adriana. They pretend to strum and play guitars as the guitar solos came on, Harry pouting his baby pink lips and bobbing his head as he flexed his biceps while pretending to play the guitar solos, actually knowing the notes by heart.

  If Adriana wasn't too busy laughing at his facial expression, she would've found him playing the guitar extremely hot. But then he started using his leg as a guitar, which made her bust out into laughter, clutching her bare stomach with her eyes watering. He then stopped and continued jumping and shaking his head side to side, long chocolate curls whipping back and forth, screaming "the eye of the tiger".

  They sang a couple more songs until Harry asked for his shoe back from Adriana and she refused to give it, giggling as she stuck her tongue at him childishly before jumping off the bed and darting towards the door. Harry let out a loud 'hey', grinning as he jumped off the bed and started chasing her. The sound of their blissful laughter filled up the empty hallways of Harry's mansion, the lights automatically flickering on as their bare feet padded against the floor lightly.

  Harry caught up to her, wrapping his arms around her slim body and lifting her up with an airy laugh, making her drop the shoe. He earned a loud squeal from her, then a string of melodious laughter, that made his lips stretch apart into a wide grin because he loved her laugh. He loved making her laugh because it seemed like to him, she didn't do it often.

   "Put me down!" she shouted with a laugh as he spun her around.

   "Your wish is my command, princess," he said in an exaggerated manner with a posh as fuck British accent. She began giggling again as he set her down and pressed his front against her back, kissing her cheek.

   "I want you to play me a few of your songs. You promised me, remember?" she murmured to him while cupping his jaw, turning her head to the side to look at him.

   "I remember. It was that time I took you out for breakfast," he let go of her and started leading her to his music room where his instruments were laid out. He grasped her hand and laced their fingers, making Adriana's heart skip a beat as he led her down the hallway. "If you stay the morning after, I promise I'll make you a great breakfast."

   "Harry, my son-"

   "Oh right, I forgot. I'm so sorry," Harry quickly apologized glancing back at her. "I mean, I can take you both out for breakfast tomorrow morning," he offered, gazing at her with hopeful eyes while she bit her lip and pondered.

   "I-I'll think about it," she responded quietly, watching the hope in his eyes die a little while his lips pressed together and he nodded sadly. Adriana knew that all her attempts at avoiding a relationship with Harry would go to waste as soon as she sees Harry interact with Mateo, and build a good relationship. This was why she said what she said.

"Here we are!" he stopped in front of two large oak doors, exclaiming loudly with a wave of his hand.

  He let go of hers, turning his head to shoot her a cheeky grin with his bright green eyes dancing brightly, then turning back and opening the doors. They swung apart, revealing a large, spacious room full of instruments and a lot more. Adriana felt her jaw slacken as she walked into the room, feeling the plush carpeted floor under her bare feet as her wide, dark eyes gazed around the room.

  There were guitars hanging off the wall, a grand piano by the corner, a drum set in the other one. There was a sort of chill out area by one corner, where next to it was a large oak desk table with a huge Mac computer set up with a keyboard next to it. Right next to the little workspace was two glass doors that led to a small recording studio.

   "Jesus, Harry," Adriana whispered in awe as she walked further into the room. "This place is fucking huge."

  The thing that intrigued her the most was the grand piano. She loved grand pianos and has always wanted to learn how to play one but never really got the chance. She hasn't seen one in a while ever since she left the ballet company she used to work for. Her fingertips danced delicately across the closed lid of the piano as she walked around it, curious dark eyes studying it attentively as Harry followed closely behind. She noticed sheets of music on the music rack, glancing at the title of the song she assumed he had written since the piano notes looked hand-written.

   "It's a new song I've been working on," he murmured quietly from behind her, making her spin around.

   "Can I hear it?" she asked with a genuine grin, now stroking the piano keys.

   "I've only got like a few of the lyrics down though, and sorted out the piano chords and melody," he mumbled shyly as he went to sit down on the bench.

   "It's fine, I'd love to hear whatever you've come up with," she told him honestly, sharing a smile with him as she sat down on the bench next to him.

  She squinted and tried to read the title of the song, frowning when she didn't quite understand it.

   "Sign of the Times?"

   "Yeah, sounds a bit odd, innit?" he grinned as he shuffled the papers around before getting comfortable and raising his hands up to rest his fingers on the keys.

"No I like it," she shook her head, smiling at him softly. "It's like Prince. Sign O' the Times."

  He began playing and Adriana was immediately enticed. Her eyes gazed upon his ring-clad fingers that struck the piano chords with precision. He barely looked down, nailing each note of the different major and minor chords to perfection before he began singing. When he sang, Adriana felt the lyrics and his voice swim through her mind and soul like a wakeful dream, eyes fluttering shut as she began swaying from side to side, finding absolute joy and relaxation in his voice.

   Just stop your crying it's the sign of the times

   Welcome to the final show

   Hope you're wearing your best clothes

  Her eyes fluttered open again and she stood up to stand by the piano, resting her forearms against the lid as she gazed at him from her standing position. His brows were furrowed lightly in concentration, long, unruly curls laid messily over his head while his pretty, pink lips moved slowly, curling around each melodic syllable that left his mouth. She wanted to start dancing, not erotic dancing: ballet dancing. But he didn't have much of the song done to continue singing it, so he finished before she could start.

   You can't bribe the door on your way to the sky

   You look pretty good down here

   But you ain't really good

  The piano chords faded away once he finished, making him stop awkwardly and look up with a nervous smile, wondering with Adriana thought. He was relieved to find her clapping quietly with the biggest grin on her face, praising him with compliments and showering his face with kisses.

   "Baby, that was so good!" she exclaimed, hugging him from the side and pressing a firm kiss to his cheek as he glowed happily.

   "You think so?" he questioned with a shy mumble, nudging his nose against hers adorably before he tilted his head and placed a soft kiss on the tip of it. She felt her heart melt at the adorable action.

   "Definitely. It's so different to music nowadays. It's actually like older music. I'm getting David Bowie, Queen, Elton John vibes here," she told him, making him grin ecstatically.

   "I'm so glad you think so," he told her honestly. "Your opinion matters a lot to me."

   "Aw Harry," she cooed, cupping his cheek and kissing him as she sat down on the bench again. "I can't wait to hear the rest of it, if that's okay."

   "Of course!" Harry nodded enthusiastically. "I'll invite you to one of my band practices once I finish the song and we've practiced it together."

   "You're in a band?" she gaped in surprise, making him nod with a grin.

   "Well yeah, I'm the lead singer and guitarist," he told her, making her eyes widen. "That's why I wasn't at the club tonight before picking you up. We did a small private show for a benefit dinner that my mum's friend hosted. We're not like an official thing, but we do shows every now and then. Mostly covers."

   "Wow, that's amazing, Harry," she murmured in slight awe. "A band. That's so fucking cool!"

   "Innit?" he giggled.

   "What the fuck does 'innit' mean?" she laughed a little, making him snort with laughter as well.

   "It's kinda like slang for isn't it, in Britain," he explained briefly, making her lips form an 'O'.

   "It's cute when you say it, innit," she tried to mimic his voice, failing miserably and making Harry burst out into laughter.

   "I think you're cute," Harry continued to giggle drunkenly, pulling her onto his lap and holding there. "So cute, my little cutie pie–"

   "God, you're so drunk," she squished his cheeks together while she scrunched her face up at him like she was staring at a baby. His baby pink lips were pouted, nose scrunching up adorably at her as she squeezed his cheeks. "You're gonna have a massive hangover tomorrow morning."

   "You keep saying tomorrow morning but you're forgetting that it's almost 4:00 in the morning right now," Harry laughed with a cheeky grin.

  She shot him a playful glare, pulling away from him and the piano, and walking towards the middle of the room. Harry recognized the look in her eyes when she turned around, a soft smile dancing on her lips as Harry's pale jade eyes gazed into her dark ones. Her eyes were filled with the desire to dance. He had seen that look in her eyes every time she performed on the stage at The Neon Demons. Harry moved his hands from his lap to the piano, fingers curling over the keys as he began to play a piece he had composed recently that was engraved into his head.

  Adriana's dark eyes fluttered shut as she sucked in a breath, feeling every nerve and cell in her body wake up to the sound of the dark, beautiful piano music. She began dancing, her movements fluid and precise with elegance and grace. Harry was speechless, watching her somehow manage to pivot in a revolving whirl on the carpeted floor, her hands moving over her head gracefully. Her long dark hair whipped around in the air as she did a couple of pique turns, taking a step forwards each time as Harry watched in awe, breath sucked in while his fingers danced across the keys.

  Harry eventually became too engrossed by her dancing his finger slipped and he missed a key, ending the piano piece then and there. Adriana stopped her movements, a knowing smirk playing on her lips as Harry continued to gaze at her with wide eyes full of awe. He then stood up and began clapping, the biggest grin stretching across her lips as he did so. A soft laugh tumbled out of Adriana's parted lips, playfully bowing for him as he put two fingers and his mouth and whistled. He then pushed the piano bench back and headed over to her.

   "What do you-" she began to ask him about his opinion on her performance before she was cut off when Harry grasped her face with his hands and pressed his lips against hers.

  His soft, pink lips captured hers in a slow, firm, lingering kiss, his hands warming up the sides of her face as he tilted his head ever so slightly to the side. Adriana's hands touched his lower stomach; kissing him back gently with the corners of her lips curved into a smile. Her warm hands slipped up his chest, feeling his hot tattooed skin under the palms of her hands, until she rested them there, puckering her lips against his. They eventually broke away for a breath of air, foreheads touching slightly as their eyes opened and gazed into one another's.

   "That was fucking incredible," Harry whispered in awe, making Adriana's heart warm up. "I didn't know you could dance like that."

   "I told you I used to do ballet," she murmured quietly with a grin.

   "Yeah but you said used to, so I assumed you didn't practice or do ballet as much anymore," Harry responded, making her nod in understanding.

   "I still practice every now and then," she told him, tracing the butterflies on his chest.

   "Well your dancing is incredibly beautiful, Adriana," he told her sincerely.

   "Thank you, Harry," she whispered with a smile that made his heart skip a beat. He gazed at her with new found feelings for her, finding that he was falling even harder for her just by watching this little performance.

   "So talented," he continued to murmur and shower her with compliments that made her cheeks flush because she wasn't used to being appreciated at all. She then let out a quiet yawn, pulling back slightly to cover her mouth.

   "You're tired," Harry pointed out, pulling his hand up to tuck her hair back behind her ear sweetly.

   "Yeah I think my cocaine high died half an hour ago," she yawned again, blinking to help the drowsiness disappear. "I get really tired after doing cocaine."

   "Well then let's go to bed, shall we?" he said softly, ducking down to kiss her lips gently once again.

  When he pulled away, he took her hand in his and lead her back to his bedroom. After they both cleaned up in the bathroom and got ready for bed, Harry lent her one of his t-shirts and a pair of his boxers to wear. He didn't want to admit to her how much he liked seeing her with his clothes on, green eyes gazing at her smooth tanned legs that were revealed. Harry climbed into bed next to her, somewhat giddy that she was finally sleeping over, which meant that he could cuddle with her a little.

  Harry kneeled on the bed as he puckered his lips at her, beckoning her to kiss him. She let out a soft chuckle, crawling across the bed on her hands and knees to press her lips against his. Harry giggled against her lips drunkenly, falling to the side onto the bed and pulling her down on top of him. More laughter left their lips as Harry slipped his fingers into her lengthy dark hair, kissing her slowly and deeply as she straddled his waist and pressed her chest against his. They rolled to the side where Harry pulled her thigh over his hip, squeezing her ass with his warm hand while she twisted his chocolate curls with her delicate fingers.

  Harry found his mind in a state of chaos. He had his feelings grow tonight even more to an unbearable point where kissing her made his heart hurt because he was upset that whenever he kissed her, he kissed her because he felt deeply for her, he cared about her, he had fallen for her. But in his eyes, he felt Adriana kissing him back without mutual, reciprocated feelings. He felt like she was just with him for sex, and that she had successfully pushed away her feelings for him.

  He felt sudden panic hitting his heart, mind randomly conjuring up scenarios of him getting his feelings hurt due to the inevitable rejection that was going to come if he were to ever approach her about relationships again. He was piss drunk, which was probably why he was feeling over-emotional and was over-thinking everything now.

   "Wait, stop," Harry suddenly spoke up, breaking the kiss. "I c-can't."

   "Harry," Adriana whispered in a concerned tone, hand touching his cheek as he gently pushed her leg off his hip. She felt her heart fall a little at the action. "What's wrong, baby?"

   "I don't think I can do this anymore," he murmured ever so quietly, as if he didn't want her to hear, but she did.

   "What?" Adriana uttered in surprise, brows furrowing in confusion as she sat up and gazed at him. "What do you mean? Where is this coming from?"

   "I just-" he sat up as well, looking at her with parted lips before letting out a groan of frustration. "I just don't want to get hurt."

   "I would never hurt you, Harry," she whispered quietly, somewhat shocked he'd assume she'd do so.

   "You wouldn't know you're doing it," Harry immediately said with a shake of his head, staring ahead. "I-I like you so much it hurts me whenever I realize that there's no point, you don't ever want to pursue a relationship with me. I'm just hurting myself doing this 'friends with benefits' shit all the time."

   "Harry," she said with a shake of her head, unsure what to say as she bit her lip. "C'mon babe, let's just sleep now, yeah? You're still drunk, and we're both exhausted. We can talk about this in the morning."

   "No, we need to talk about it now. I need to know now," Harry mumbled firmly, shaking his head. "I need to know right now whether you like me too and you want to take what we have further, or not. Because if not, I'm just wasting my time and hurting myself as I always do."

  Adriana was slightly surprised with the firmness and seriousness of Harry's tones, his usual soft, green eyes now pale and hard, gazing into her soul. She pondered for a second, asking herself a couple of questions, which seemed easy enough to answer. Yes, she felt for Harry, a lot. Yes she definitely wanted to take their relationship a step further because for the first time in her life she found a man who respected her and cared for her well. But then there was the question, why doesn't she want to take it a step further?

   "Harry, I would be a fucking idiot to let you go. You make me feel valued, cared for, and happy. Like tonight, or yesterday night, I felt happy for the first time in years, despite the fact I was high," she chuckled a little, watching his expression soften. "God, you respect me, which is something I have never experienced from any man before. None of what I've experienced with you is nothing like I've ever felt before, and they're all things I want to keep experiencing with you for time to come."

   "Harry, I want you. I want you so bad," she whispered vulnerably, hand reaching out to caress his cheek. "But."

   "But," Harry sighed in disappointment.

   "But wanting you is a selfish thing. It's selfish because I want you to provide me with happiness and care, and all those good things a partner in a relationship can give the other. But I'm afraid I won't be able to give back enough," she tried to make him understand. "I feel like I'll give you nothing but pain and sadness."

   "Adriana, you're being dramatic," he said bluntly, making her scowl and shake her head.

   "Harry, I'm serious. I have an addiction to cocaine. I know I probably said at some point that I don't do it as often. But I do. I do it every day," she began to explain one of the things she has been hiding from him for a while now. Harry listened attentively, noticing that this was the first time she's actually opening up to him about something that was going on in her life.

"I've been addicted ever since I was 18, and I'm 23 now. I stopped when I was pregnant with Mateo, it's a miracle he came out healthy after how damaged I was during that time. I didn't do it until I moved here. Things were going great for a while, until the addiction came back. And fuck Harry, they're like demons. Fucking monsters."

   "The addiction is like a fucking disease, an incurable one. I cannot be saved, Harry. And I'm telling you this because I know you will try if we were ever in a relationship, and when you do try to save me from drowning, I will pull you down with me. It's not intentional. That's just how it is with a drug addict," she rambled on as Harry found himself and his thoughts a mess. "I don't want to do that to you. It happened to my friends, that's why I'm alone. Nobody wants to be associated with a drug addict."

   "Adriana," Harry whispered, slightly overwhelmed with this new information he had learnt. "Baby."

  He wrapped his fingers around her arm, pulling her close to him so that he could wind his arms around her and hug her. They laid back down on the bed, Harry's arm wound tightly around Adriana's shoulders while her head rested on his shoulder, thigh resting against his lower region. He turned his head and pressed a soft kiss against her forehead, stroking her hair as she continued to talk.

   "I know it seems like a lot, what I just said, but it's the truth. And it's not just the drug abuse, there's more. I don't want to sugarcoat life with me because it's fucking tough, and complicated as hell, and I feel like you will suffer. I'm not trying to say that you can't handle it, it's just that, I care about you. So much, which is why I don't want to hurt you this way," she summarized, thumb stroking his collarbone as she spoke. "You don't deserve that kind of pain, not at all. You're so sweet and pure, I feel like I'm gonna ruin you."

   "Don't say that," Harry muttered, wishing everyone would stop thinking of him as this sweet, innocent baby. "Adriana. I don't want to be like those other people who gave up on you. I want to be there for you, now more than ever after hearing this new information. I know you don't want to cause me any pain, and I get that it's a consequence of being with a drug addict. But I don't care. I want to help, I want to take care of you, and I want to fucking be there for you. I want to be your boyfriend, who'll do whatever it takes for you to get better and feel happy again."

   "Harry," she whispered, a little overwhelmed with his words. "I-I just can't believe that it's a risk you're willing to take, it's not even a risk. It's inevitable, you getting hurt. Both of us will."

   "I know," Harry mumbled, wishing she wasn't this much of a pessimist. "Our feelings for each other are and will be stronger than that and will help overcome it."

   "I-"

   "I know this all seems a bit over the top, but I think we're past hooking up and crushes," he murmured, interrupting her before realizing that she had grown quiet. "Adriana?"

   "Harry, I'll think about it," she mumbled tiredly, feeling her eyes droop now as exhaustion rolled over her.

   "Adriana, I want an answer now," Harry tried to be firm with her but she was already asleep on his chest.

   "What the fuck? Did you just fall asleep?"

  Harry didn't understand that a lasting health effect of cocaine use is chronic, extreme fatigue. Adriana often suffered from fatigue like that for years, and the exhaustion was at its peak only after she comes down from her cocaine high. Harry had a tight frown on his face, upset and slightly angry that she slept on him like that. He was sad, which he tried to mask with his slight anger. He had a feeling she wasn't going to address this topic in the morning again, and this was just a ploy to stop him from talking about it.

  That night he slept with a heavy heart almost wishing that he hadn't fallen for this dark-eyed beauty who laid, sprawled across his chest, sleeping soundlessly.

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∙ lol yeah she accidentally fell asleep, not on purpose. Do you guys think Adriana's reasoning makes sense?

∙ Here's the important question!

So I just realized that I might be romanticizing the whole drug abuse situation. For those who don't understand, it's kinda like making something desirable. Like sometimes movies and tv shows and books romanticize things like mental illness, abuse and etc. it's just making those things desirable. It's like hiding the ugly stuff about it.

I know it's a bit too early to tell but do you guys think I am romanticizing the whole drug abuse thing and Harry wanting to be there for her even more because of it?  

Like I'm really gonna show the ugly side of her drug abuse very soon so hopefully I'm not making the whole thing look like drug abuse is nothing.

I'm gonna really show the struggle Adriana goes through with withdrawal symptoms and the pain Harry will go through just by being her boyfriend, because it's painful to watch someone you love suffer like that and not be able to do much about it.

Those weren't spoilers or anything lol but yeah please share your thoughts!

Until we meet again...

thiora