After Harry left, Audrey and I had been sluggish all morning. She began to tell me about all of her holiday plans with her family and we arranged a day for me to go over to the Butler's house. I haven't seen them in months and they are practically a second family to me, since my family is so small. She hesitated when she told me about how Seth may be driving down here some time in the next couple of days to visit her. On the inside I felt uncomfortable, but I just smiled, telling her that it was great. After watching a couple of movies, sending ugly snapchats to each other although we were right next to one another, and getting dolled up for no apparent reason, we both groaned in hunger and decided to go out and grab a bite to eat. I smiled to myself, because although it was one of our coldest winters, watching the snow fall from outside of the car window can be quite breathtaking. It was only 3 days until Christmas and I was determined to get Harry something perfect. I didn't care if we haven't been seeing each other for the longest time, I still wanted to get him something to show him how much I truly appreciate him being in my life.

The minute the car pulled into Jack Astors, I couldn't stop the laugh that slipped from my lips. Jack Astors is my favourite restaurant, and it's the fact that Audrey didn't even have to ask me to know where I wanted to go. One of my favourite things about my friendship with Audrey is that we are practically the same person. Her father always used to call us soulmates, not in a romantic kind of way, but in a way where we were both purposely brought into the earth to walk into each others lives one day. She walked into my life 8 years ago, and we are still the closest two friends can be. We hurried inside from the cold, and surprisingly got seated right away. I shrugged off my wet jacket and hung it over the booth, eyeing the closed menu that was placed across from me. I smiled, because we didn't even have to look at the menu's, we always get the same thing every single time we come here.

"I'm starving." I groaned, placing my phone on the table in front of us.

"Is it bad that I'm way too excited to eat?" She asked, a small smile playing on the corners of her lips.

"Well, I'm always excited to eat..." I embarrassingly shook my head, Audrey's laughter now filling the restaurant. After our waters had been delivered to our table and our waiter hurried off with our orders, I could feel Audrey's eyes on me.

"So, Harry." She rested her arms on the table, staring at me with a smug smile.

My brows knitted together in confusion. "What about Harry?" I watched as her smile turned into a smirk.

"How are you guys? I mean you guys have been together for quite awhile now." Her smirk grew wider, one perfect brow now slightly raised.

"It's only been 3 months, Auds!" I laugh to myself, slowly shaking my head. I watched as she leaned in closer towards me, her words coming out a loud whisper.

"How's the sex?" She bit her bottom lip, trying to stop the laughter from escaping her mouth. She failed.

"You are horrible." I swatted her arm which only caused her laughter to grow. I sat up straight the second I saw our waiter walking towards our table with two plates in hand. I couldn't even see the food, but I could already feel my mouth start to water. After placing our meals onto the table and saying our quick thank you's, he unfortunately left me to answer Audrey's question. Yes, she's my best friend and yes, we tend to talk about the most uncomfortable things ever without it actually being uncomfortable, but this was new for me. I was a virgin before I met Harry, and Audrey was a lot more experienced than me, so this was normal for her to ask. It feels odd to open up about my sex life to my best friend, and it may be lame to think this, but my experiences with Harry are far too intimate and I feel like they stay special when nobody else but the two of us knows about them. I take a huge bite of my food in hopes to avoid the lingering question for a little while longer, but thankfully she was already blabbing on about something new.

I leaned back against the cushioned booth, placing both my hands over my stomach while a low groan came from the back of my throat. "I'm so full.." I whined, only for my same actions to be mirrored by Audrey. I sighed and tilted my head to the side, letting my eyes roam around the familiar restaurant. I could feel the colour drain from my face as I jolted forward to steady my hands on the table. My eyes were wide, and I could feel my meal turning in my stomach. I faintly heard my name being called but I couldn't focus enough to reply back.

"Emma, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Audrey's voice came out a little louder, and a small laugh came from her parted lips, but stopped when she realized I wasn't laughing along. "Emma!" My head snapped up and I fumbled while placing my hand over her mouth. She gave me a look of confusion and I swallowed down the knot in my throat.

"Harry.." My voice was barely audible.

She slowly moved my hand away from her mouth and lowered her voice. "What about him? Emma, what's wrong?"

I felt lifeless. My body suddenly had no energy and my mind was blank. I shakily raised my hand, pointing my finger in the direction I wish I never looked at. The direction I saw the boy I love sitting, laughing with a flawless blonde girl. She was as thin as ever, with cheekbones to die for. I watched as Audrey slowly stood from the booth to get a better view, only for her hand to be slammed back down onto the table.

"That asshole!" Her voice was starting to raise, and I frantically shook my head at her, whispering for her to please sit back down. After seconds of fighting with herself, she sat back down across from me with an angry look on her face. "Emma..."

"Maybe it's his cousin? Friend?" I heard my voice trail off, coming out weak. I knew it wasn't his cousin, I was sure the majority of his family are still living in England.

"Emma, text him right now. You will see if he will ignore you or reply, and you can tell if that girl is more than a friend, if he starts to look uncomfortable." Her voice was filled with disgust, her eyes burning into mine. I slowly nodded my head, my throat suddenly feeling dry. I reached for my phone and fumbled with the keyboard with my shaky hands. I could feel my heart beating out of my chest the moment I hit send. I forced myself to slowly stand on my shaky knees so I could see them once again. Audrey mimicked me, and we both watched a grin take over his perfect lips the second he looked down at his phone. Within the next second, he was on his feet, causing Audrey and I to duck down as fast as we possibly could. We watched as he walked further away from the table, while bringing his phone to his ear. My blaring ringtone caused Audrey and I to both jump and mumble silent curse words while trying to shut off the loud noise. I sunk further into the booth as I watched Harry's brows knit together, his eyes now searching the restaurant until they finally landed on mine. I watched his mouth word my name, his long legs now walking towards our table.

"Emma?" He said once again, his face full of confusion. He would be holding a much more terrified expression if he was with that girl for the wrong reasons, right?

"Harry, Hi.." I watched Audrey rise from the booth, mouthing me 'washroom' while quickly walking away from the table.

"What are you doing here?" His brows were still knit together as his slim body slid into the booth across from me, replacing Audrey's absent body.

"I could ask you the same thing." My words came out much more harsh then I meant to. His confusion was replaced with sorrow.

"Catching up with an old friend, waiting for you to finish your girls day with Audrey." He shrugged, his hands extending to mine from across the table. I hesitantly intertwined my fingers in his and bit onto my lip, feeling guilty about my sudden assumption.

"Oh..." My eyes dropped to the table, I couldn't look at him without feeling like a complete idiot.

"So, is your girls day over?" His grip around my hands tightened, the smirk in his voice forcing me to look up. I felt a smile take over my lips once I saw the grin plastered on his perfect face. I eagerly nodded my head, but stopped once I remembered the girl who was probably wondering where he went off to.

"Your friend?" My voice came out small. I watched him stand from the table, his hand still secure in mine.

"I'm sure she'll want to meet the girl I've been talking about for the entire meal." He smirked, pulling me to my feet before gently crashing his lips against mine. Feeling his soft lips move against mine, released a cage of butterflies in my stomach. He pulled away before I could properly respond and left one last kiss on my lips.

"I love you, Emma." He smiled at me adoringly, his dimples indenting his cheeks, and I couldn't help but pull him back in for another kiss.

"I love you too." I murmured against his lips, before slowly pulling away. I bit down on my bottom lip, causing his eyes to fall from mine, back to my lips. My lip was tugged from between my teeth, his hand falling back down to his side.

"None of that." His voice was smooth, but his eyes were filled with hunger. I felt the heat rush to my cheeks as my eyes found their way to the floor. I didn't have to look up at him to know that his smile widened, amused at what he can easily do to me.

"So I take it he wasn't cheating?" Audrey's distant voice caught both of our attentions, but only caused Harry's face to turn into a scowl.

"Cheating?" His voice was laced with confusion and disgust, as he looked back and forth between Audrey and I as she came closer.

"Nothing.." My voice was rushed and I fumbled with my wallet as I placed the money for my meal onto the table. "Audrey, we're going to go now." I gave her a look and she instantly caught on without questioning me.

"Go have fun you two." She smirked, giving me a quick hug before putting her own jacket on.

After briefly meeting the mystery girl who happens to be named Cara, Harry and I headed out of the restaurant. I fiddled with the radio, flipping between stations as I fell back into my habit of watching the boy beside me drive. His full lips were slightly parted, his brows were unintentionally creased in the middle, his face full of concentration. A small giggle escaped my lips as I moved my hand away from the radio, the sound of The Rolling Stones now filling the car.

His pink lips pulled into a smirk, his hand moving to rest on my upper thigh, sending shivers through my whole body. "What's so funny?"

I shook my head, convincing myself I most likely look like a fool with the huge smile that's plastered on my face. I placed my hand over his, gently playing with his long fingers. "You look cute when you drive, that's all."

"And that's amusing enough to make you laugh?" His smile never left his lips, his grip on my thigh tightening underneath my fingertips. I gasped, causing a quiet chuckle to come from his parted lips.

"I missed you today." His eyes landed on me as the car came to a red light. I looked over at him and smiled, because I missed him more than he will ever know.

"Isn't it weird?" I paused, but quickly continued when I saw his confused face. "How you can miss someone so much, when you've only been apart from them for a couple of hours?" My voice came out small, embarrassed by my sudden confession, yet I still chose to continue. "How you can drop me off after spending the entire day with you, and the second I go inside my house, I already miss you."

One of the many things I love about Harry is how his eyes never leave mine. He listens attentively to every single word I say, like he's genuinely interested to hear more of my blabbering. My eyes dropped down to our intertwined hands, his stare becoming overwhelming. I felt the pink spread to my cheeks, and thankfully a honk came from behind us, signaling Harry to move. His eyes left mine as he gazed back at the road, nothing but the music and the sound of our breathing filling the car.

"I never thought I could love again, Emma." He paused, his sudden confession catching me off guard. "Sure I was young, but I had never felt so hurt before. Losing Gemma hurt, and it still hurts to this day, but this was a different kind of pain. Although Madison fucked me over and slept with one of my closest pals, she knew I still had feelings for her and she took advantage of that. She knew I would listen and believe every word she said to me, so that's when the phone calls started." His words were slow, his features suddenly hardening. "I remember waking up from my phone ringing one night, to hear Madison sobbing on the other line. After I got her to finally calm down, she told me she had seen Gemma." His strong, prominent jawline was clenched tight. "I believed her like the dumb fuck I was. Once she realized how gullible I was, that's when the calls became more frequent. She would tell me how after seeing her many times, she finally spoke to her. She told me that Gemma had a reason for leaving us, that she was now safe and that she loves us, and to tell Mum to stop worrying."

My mind was racing with this new information. Harry was finally opening up to me. Panic washed over me once the car came to a stop, thinking he was dropping me off. I sighed in relief once I looked up to see that we were now outside of Harry's house. He took the keys out of the ignition and finally looked over at me, his face slightly softened.

"The calls were fake, Madison lied. Everyone laughed at how gullible I was, I became a joke." His lips were pressed into a hard line and I watched as his lean body slid from the open car door. My mouth was hung in shock as I watched his shoulders slump, his long body limp as he walked up the stairs to his house. The only question that was lingering in my head right now, was who in their right mind would do that to someone's family?

Notes

If I get to 15 votes, I will post another long chapter tonight! I'm sorry for the lack of posting, I was kind of upset and thought you all had lost interest so I've been avoiding writing as much as possible since I got barely any feedback on my last two chapters on this and my other page. I'm not too fond of this chapter, but I have some exciting things coming ahead. More from Harry's past.



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