"Wait, what?" Emma asks me, her brown eyes twinkling with excitement. We're sitting in the coffee shop on Main's street. The blonde sitting in front of me just almost spat out her coffee whilst I sit here timidly nursing my milkshake.
"How could you mistake a guy as me? I mean, not to mention that Harry's like 6 foot. Okay? I'm barely 5 foot, like- 7!" Emma's ranting, but she's not angry. She's actually having a real great kick out of the fact that I let an almost naked guy into bed with me.
"Dude, still not sure if I should be offended or not, but this is too funny to care," and then she broke into a fit of giggles. Some people in the cafe look at us strangely and I inwardly sigh.
My face was bright red when I stammered out the story to her once our drinks were placed in front of us. Emma sat still for a few moments before bursting out laughing. To her credit she isn't hung over from last night. She told me that she didn't drink and I believed her. She also said that she and the guys had great fun but she didn't put out.
"Oh my God that would've been so hot," she groans, "don't you like him a little bit?"
I shake my head, "Emma, he climbed into my bed, almost naked. No I don't like him."
I don't know if that is exactly true. Every time that a moment gets intimate between Harry and I, all I want is him. But he makes me so angry when the moment isn't and he's not trustworthy or a good guy in anyway.
"Okay, so you don't like him. But how about his body, how can a girl not love that?" Emma leans forward on her elbows and rests her chin in her hands.
Yeah, I have to agree with that. Harry does have a pretty freaking good body- and I'd seen it without clothes. I still can't get the feeling out of my head when Harry drove me home on his bike. The wind whipping against my face but the feeling of his warm, firm body in my arms. Or when I hurt my ankle at his house and he picked me up as if I weighed nothing. He held me close and I felt safe, even though I was thrashing and squirming in his arms.
I make a face at that memory, I'm still not too fond of it.
"Yeah, he has an alright body," I sigh but Emma isn't really looking or paying attention to me.
"And his bad boy imagine, it's really working for me." I raise an eyebrow at Emma and she shrugs, "I'd do him."
Something sparks in me and for a second I hate everything attractive about Emma.
"Then why don't you?" I snap and she just waves a hand dismissively.
"Nah, he's all yours babe. I'm working up something with Liam."
I frown at the unfamiliar name, "Liam?"
"Yeah Liam, Harry's friend?"
"Oooh, yes." I'm guessing Liam was the guy sitting next to Louis on the grass when I went over to return their ball. If Emma is 'working up something' with him then he's really in for a ride.
I sip at my milkshake as Emma talks to me about something. I'm not really listening as usual, I'm just looking out the window at the park outside.
Kids are swinging and climbing on the playground under the cool shade that the trees provide. There's sunlight dapples on the green grass and a nice breeze seems to be lightly sweeping though. The boats on the river bob up and down peacefully in time with the waves.
I notice a bunch of kids Emma's and my age hanging around the edge of the water. They're sitting on the grass in the shade and relaxing. My heart jumps when I notice Jack and Sam in the group.
I bump Emma's hand and cut her off mid speech. "Look, there's Jack with Sam." I point to where they're sitting. I feel the slightest bit uncomfortable when I see Jack hanging around with Sam- not that I don't trust Sam, it just doesn't feel right. I don't like it.
Emma laughs a disbelieving laugh when she sees them. I stand up and she follows. With our drinks in hand we walk across to where they are.
"Jack, Sam," I say when they notice us. Jack grins and jumps up to wrap an arm around Emma and I. He has his shirt off for some reason- as well as that ranga friend of Sam's that I keep seeing everywhere. Sam also stands to hug me but not Emma and I don't know how I feel about that.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Sam asks us, looking at me.
"Oh, we were just getting coffee," I point to the coffeehouse that we left behind us, "when we saw you guys."
Emma smiles at the guys that are sitting down on the grass. They look quite dazed when the blonde sits down next to them and starts chatting like they've been friends forever. I sit down next to Emma, and Jack and Sam sit down with me.
"Didn't expect to see you guys together," I tell them honestly, since I feel like I don't know either of these boys. Jack didn't even tell me he was hanging out with Sam. That would have normally been fine if Sam was a different guy- but he's the guy I've been crushing on for who knows how long. Jack knows this.
"Yeah, well we decided to go out after being cooped up in the house for three days," Sam says and my eyebrows raise in surprise. Jack hadn't left Sam's house since the party? Did Jack's even mum know?
I don't voice my questions and thoughts. I'll talk to Jack later when Sam's not around. I'll beat the truth out of him if I have to. I want to know what's going on with Jack, as his best friend I should already know.
Emma and I hang around the guys for a while. Laughing and talking in the warm sunlight. As more time passes I realise how much Sam and Jack know about each other. They're so friendly and already have inside jokes between them. I find myself feeling kinda jealous- but not of Jack, of Sam. Jack and Sam aren't supposed to be friends.
But then I realise how immature and selfish I'm being and I give myself an internal slap.
After sitting in the grass for a while, watching the shore of the waterline lap at the sand, Sam finally stands and offers a hand down to me.
"Let's go for a walk." I look quickly over at Emma who notices and nods her head vigorously. I take Sam's hand and he helps me up onto my feet. We walk away from the group and down the shoreline.
What does he want to talk about? But I have a pretty good feeling that I already know.
We walk together side by side down past the river docks. Couples and families go by and I look around me. I notice the cinema and the people, coming out of it and then I remember.
When Jack picked me up on Tuesday, when he asked if I wanted to wag with him. He said we wanted to go down to the park near the cinema. He wanted to go here? Why? It's a nice place but why here?
As I'm silently questioning my thoughts Sam wordlessly takes me down one of the longer docks. I finally realise what's going on around me. We are above water on a wooden dock.
My palms begin to sweat and I look nervously from side to side. Inspecting the wooden boards beneath my feet, checking if they're suitable for anyone to be standing on. They feel rickety and they creak when I walk on them. My heart leaps into my throat when I picture them breaking under my weight and I'd go plunging into the dark waters below...
I subconsciously move closer to Sam, swallowing the terror in my throat. If anyone ever knew how much I loath and fear water-
"You okay?" Sam asks me, obviously noticing that I'm in the middle of freaking out. "You're pale white."
"Oh, yeah," I clear my throat, "I- I uh, don't like water." Sam blinks and then stops.
"Should we go back then?" His brow is furrowed with worry and I shake my head, not wanting to make a big deal out of it.
"I'm good," I lie. Sam nods and takes my hand. We lean against the railing, with one hand I grip the wood tight, my other hand clutching onto Sam's. I think I see him wince out of the corner of my eye but I'm too frightened to apologise.
"You got quite a grip there, Mia," he jokes but I don't say anything in return. My eyes are on the turning of the waters below us. The churning and pulling of the waves have got me unmoving, still as a statue. The levels don't even look that deep but that doesn't matter.
"I wanted to talk to you," Sam begins after a deep breath, "on Friday night, when I kissed you. I thought that was cool. I've been thinking that I want to do it again. So do you wanna go out with me?"
He may have been talking about flying pigs and dragons and I still wouldn't have been paying attention. I'm not listening to him or looking at him.
Silence passes us and he says my name uncertainly, "Mia?"
I look up at him then, finally moving, "what?" I blink at him and he laughs irregularly, nervously?
"Do you want to go out, with me?" He asks again and I look at him. His golden hair looks soft in the sunlight, his blue eyes on me. His lips lifted in an uncertain smile, white straight teeth showing. I've probably imagined this moment a thousand times. When Sam would ask me out in the most beautiful way possible. But even though I've wanted this so bad in the past, now, when it's actually happening- it doesn't feel...right.
So I say something that shocks both of us, "no."
Sam's eyebrows fly up in surprise and I think mine do to.
No. I'm being stupid. I'm confused, who wouldn't want to go out with Sam? He's perfect. Athletic, rich, polite. So why doesn't it feel like the moment that I've always pictured when I Sam would ask me out in my head?
I need some time to think, I tell myself.
"I don't know. Maybe," I stammer, "I might need some to think." Sam stares at me, like he's completely shocked that I didn't jump right into his arms after he asked me the question. To be honest I'm totally shocked as well, why didn't I?
"Yeah- yeah 'course" Sam speaks, nodding along with his words. I smile a small smile and together we head back down the dock. My hand still grasping onto his tightly.

~~~

I can't believe she's making me do this.
It's 6pm and Emma left an hour ago, dad having left an hour before her. Mum's dragged me out of the warmth of my bed covers and away from my computer. She told me to get dressed and now here I am. Standing outside Harry's house beside her, a large frown on my face and a casserole dish in my arms.
She's making me eat with him, I grumble internally. N
"What's with you Mia? You guys used to be best friends," my mum had told me when I groaned when she suggested the idea. Of course I couldn't tell her a thing so I just combined a whole lot of groans and grunts together which of course she didn't understand.
I glare at Harry when he opens the door. His brown curls look damp like he has just had a shower. He's dressed in dark jeans and a t-shirt and even though it's the simplest of outfits, he still looks completely gorgeous.
Mum makes this weird sound that mothers make when she sees him and grabs him into a smothering hug. Harry laughs and returns her hug awkwardly seeing as she is just as small as me and Harry towers over the both of us.
He sees me and grins evilly, he's got mum under his power now and he knows it. Which pretty much means he has me too. I glare back.
"Hey, Donna," Harry says in his stupid raspy voice that sends shivers down my spine. Mum steps back and looks up at him, her fingers wrapped around his arms.
"Look at you! So grown up, with your big manly voice now!" Mum ruffles Harry's curls like everyone used to do when he was much younger. Harry looks at me and I show him the dinner plate.
"We brought tuna casserole," I say in a dull voice. I've been in a shit mood ever since Sam brought me to back the others. It was so awkward between us and I think the others caught on pretty quick on what happened. Emma and I went home in silence and not too long after that she left.
"Oh, great. I haven't eaten yet," Harry says with a slow smile that makes me want to hit him. He invites us in and closes the door behind us, making me feel trapped and unsafe. He leads us into the massive dining room where he instructs to sit down while he gets the plates from the kitchen.
Mum and I sit down at the long shining dinning table under the glass chandelier. We both stare up at it in awe.
Wow. Don't remember that being there. I look down to see mum smiling suggestively at me, "so," she begins and wiggles her eyebrows, "Harry's all grown up now."
By grown up mum means something else. "Mum," I say to her, deadpanned.
"He's gotten all good looking," she says in this weird voice and then she winks at me. She winks. I stare at her like she's grown a third arm. But she hardly notices, she just keeps rambling on.
"He's so tall and handsome, Mia."
"Stop! We're in his house."
"You should really bring a guy home like Harry. Or just Harry, because you know that I already approve," she continues and I drop my head into the hollow in my folded arms on the table and groan.
The bad thing is that she would probably approve if she found out what Harry really is like now.
"You know boys like him don't come around too often, Mia. I'll tell you that," mum just keeps jabbering.
"Oh my God, stop," I moan and then look up because Harry is back with the plates. He's smiling stupidly and I wonder if he caught the last few words of our conversation. I then scowl because I notice he's trying very hard not to laugh, of course he heard mum's one sided conversation. He probably heard it all.
Harry sits across from me and mum and begins serving the steaming casserole onto our plates. The dinner's conversation would go a bit like this. Mum would ask Harry a question and he would answer, they'd chat for a little while before mum would turn the conversation on me and Harry would stifle grins and laughter as I grunted and snapped out replies.
I was in hell.
After we all finish, mum gets up to clean the plates, shooting Harry down when he said he would help. She then gives me a look and I realise this is my mum's dreaded match making hour- match making night I should say.
I helplessly watch my own mother leave the room in my great time of need. My eyes flicker around to see Harry's green ones on me. I try not to shiver when I notice they look hungry.
"Where are the other guys?," I ask, not really caring just wanting to fill the silence.
"Out," Harry replies, not giving me much information in the answer. But I don't really care. I don't say anything and that seems to be fine with him because he starts talking.
"Do you wanna know how I spent this morning?" He asks and I shake my head, what type of question is that?
"No."
"I woke up to a massive headache and spent two hours nursing a nasty hangover," Harry continued as if he never heard me. What is it with today and people not listening to me?
"And all the while I was trying to remember what went on last night after I left to go see you," his eyes are on mine, I can feel them staring into me, "but sadly all I could remember was one little image." His lips are curled into a nasty little smile and I find myself leaning forward.
Sue me, I want to know what he remembers.
"It was a pattern actually. Polka dots." I lean back slightly as a flush creeps up my neck. Harry sees my obvious discomfort and adds, "pink polka dots."
My heart fumbles a bit and Harry grins wickedly, "I had no idea where and why I saw the pattern last night but then it clicked when I looked outside and saw you getting undressed through your window."
He watches my face turn pink to fully red before I quietly but deadly sharp ask, "you what?"
Harry laughs at my face and tone. His dimples showing as he cracks up directly in my face. I'm glaring at him so hard that I swear, if he doesn't burst into flames under my gaze then I'll have to set him on fire another way. Probably with a flamethrower.
"Has anyone ever told you that you have the sexiest ass?" Harry tells me once he's quit laughing. I'm so horrified and outraged and so completely embarrassed that he saw me undress that I can't even think.
"YOU PIG!" I yell loudly as I jump up from my seat, "YOU FREAKING PERV, ASSHOLE, DI-"
"Is everything alright in here?" Mum, my saviour, asks as she enters the room. I curl my fingers into fists as I glare at Harry who's trying hard not to laugh.
"Yeah. Everything's fine Donna," Harry tells mum and I'm so furious that I mumble that I'm going home before stomping out of the room and the house, slamming the door behind me.
I walk angrily around to my front door, opening it and closing it. I trample upstairs before yanking my phone out of my jeans and finding the right contact in my phone.
The dialling tone rings in my ear and finally Sam picks up.
"Hey Mia." If I was in my right mind I would have noticed that he sounds smug and not at all surprised to hear me call. But I'm not, so it goes unnoticed.
"Hi Sam. I've made up my mind," I tell him, "I wanna go out with you."
Sam laughs in my ear, "sweet. Well I'll see you at school tomorrow. We'll talk dates then."
And then I hang up because I'm done talking to people today.

Notes

All credit goes to doily