HALF A HEART
Chapter 40
Annie’s POV
“So this is what?” Harry asked beside me, his fingers intertwined with mine.
“The ice cream shop that my dad used to bring me to every other Sunday in the summer. Afterward we’d go down by the ocean and see if we could spot dolphins or whales.” I replied simply and I felt his gaze turn to look at me. I returned his stare, “What?” I chuckled.
“We are SO doing that.” He said and dragged me through the front door as a massive grin spread across my face. My heart raced as I became more and more giddy around this kid. “Okay what do you usually get?” He asked me as he stared down at the hard serve ice cream flavors.
“Mint Chocolate Chip.” I replied as I stared at the ice cream flavors.
“Cones or cups?” He asked as his hand left my hand and slithered under my hair so he could stroke the back of my neck with his thumb. My skin tingled where he touched me and it was hard to concentrate on his simple question.
“Cones of course.” I laughed and I could feel my cheeks turning pink as the happiness I felt when we were dating a few months ago resurfaced. Wow did I miss this…
“What kind?” He looked at me with a soft emerald gaze and a small smile that showed his adorable dimples.
“Waffle man,” I replied, “Go big or go home.”
He laughed and kissed my temple before he turned to the girl behind the counter. I glanced at the girl and became slightly annoyed as she insisted on being flirtatious with Harry as he ordered our ice cream, his accent clearly getting to her head. Back off bitch…
After he was finished paying he walked back over to me and cupped my face in his hands before he lightly kissed my nose, “It’s okay love. I’m not that swayed. She just likes me because of my accent.” He winked as he read my mind and I felt my cheeks become red. He kissed my lips quickly before turning around to grab our ice cream from the girl.
We walked out of the store holding hands and licking our ice cream. A wave of sorrow washed over me as I remembered that the last time I had gone there, and made this exact walk in sequence was with my father, but the fact that I was now doing this event with Harry made it worthwhile.
“So what made you spontaneously remember everything?” I asked as I continued to lick my ice cream.
“I listened to “Half a Heart.” I hadn’t the night or the day after you gave me the CD. Louis and Niall knocked some sense into me. As soon as I heard the lyrics it all came back to me like something smacked me in the face. I got on a plane an hour later.” He said with eyes fixated on something in the distance. I looked at him as he said the last sentence and smiled.
“Why are you so good to me?” I asked feeling myself blush again.
He took a deep breath and looked at me. “Oh how I’ve missed those words.” My heart skipped a beat as the words flowed out of his mouth.
We got to the pier and leaned over the edge of the railing to gaze into the turquoise water below us. I looked up at Harry as the sunlight illuminated the single gold strands of hair that decorated his scalp. I missed admiring Harry when he didn’t realize it. As if reading my mind, he turned his head to look at me and smiled his dimpled grin.
“Do you wanna try some of my ice cream?” I asked.
“Annie, I got the same thing as you.” He chuckled.
“I’m sure mine is better though.” I chuckled.
He rolled his eyes and opened his mouth as he stuck out his tongue. I shoved my cone in his face purposefully getting ice cream all over his chin and part of his cheeks. He gave an “ah” of surprise and held his hand under his chin to catch the green ice cream that dripped off of him.
“I can’t believe you just did that.” He chuckled. I cracked up laughing as I dropped my deformed ice cream cone in the trashcan next to us and began to kiss him where ice cream still dripped. “Here you want some?” He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around my waist and started wiping his face on mine. I laughed even louder and heard Harry drop his ice cream into the trash as well and his hand came to my back to push me against him. He moved his lips onto mine and I couldn’t help but to smile against his lips. The sweet taste of mint ice cream seeped into my mouth as I granted his tongue access.
He pulled away and hugged me tighter for a second before releasing me from his grasp. He kept one arm wrapped protectively around my waist as he leaned on the railing to look into the water again. I sighed in frustration as the desire for Harry’s lips to be on mine increased. I looked at him as he gazed into the water and laughed as I saw ice cream sill clinging to his face.
I took a napkin out of his pocket and turned his face towards mine and began to wipe it away gently. His eyes fluttered shut as I threw the napkin away and continued to stroke up thumb over his cheek. The hand that was wrapped around my waist pulled me toward him so that our noses were centimeters from each other. He opened his eyes again and looked at me with passion.
“Now what do you want to do love?” He asked.
“Let’s go to Sunset Blvd.” I suggested.
“Oh just there.” He said sarcastically, clearly enjoying his first time in LA. I was happy to be experiencing this with him.
We walked down the sidewalk and admired the palm trees that towered overhead and the numerous advertisements for different movies and companies.
“I can’t believe you used to live here.” He breathed as he looked around at the towering buildings and palm trees. His thumb repeatedly grazed over my knuckles as he held my hand.
“I can’t believe you flew all the way here when you realized you remembered.” I laughed and he looked at me quickly.
“Annie, you don’t get it.” He said with a hint of urgency in his voice. “When I remembered it felt like I’d been on holiday for two or three months and hadn’t seen you. Yes I remember the couple of weeks when I didn’t remember you but that just made my desire to see you that much more important.” He smiled at me.
I stopped him suddenly with a pull of my hand and he looked at me concerned. I pulled him closer to me and kissed him quickly. I tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let me. His hand immediately left mine and went to the back of my neck as he reattached our lips again. His other hand found my lower back and crushed me against him as I wrapped my hands around his neck and ran my fingers through the hair on the back of his head.
“I missed you.” I whispered when I pulled my lips off of his and buried my face in his neck. He ran his fingers through my hair as he leaned his head against mine. I wrapped my arms around his back and began to lightly scratch up and down his spine. I felt him shiver as I gave him chills and could feel goose bumps rising on his skin.
“I love you.” He replied and I kissed his lips quickly in response.
“You always want to watch the most random movies Styles.” I laughed from my curled up position on the couch in my hotel room…. Our hotel room…
“You’re telling me you don’t like Charlie St. Cloud? What is the matter with you?” He asked me.
“It’s fine but I didn’t peg you as a Zac Efron aficionado.” I laughed again.
“I wouldn’t call myself an aficionado over Charlie St. Cloud my love. Maybe if I had suggested High School Musical or something, but no.” He smiled at me from the floor as he clicked through the hotel’s movie list.
“Ooh ooh!” I said. “That one! That one!” I chirped.
“The Lake House?” He asked.
“Yess! I LOVE Sandra Bullock movies.” I grabbed my blanket off of the bed next to me and wrapped it over my legs and torso.
He pushed play on the movie and it started. He turned the lights off and came to sit on the bed with me. I looked at him quizzically as he sat on the opposite side of the couch. He looked at me with an eyebrow raised and opened his arms, welcoming me to cuddle with him. I gladly stood up from where I sat, dragging my blanket with me, and crashed on the couch next to Harry. His hands quickly snaked around my waist as I rest my head on his chest. The gentle thump of his heart sounded in my ear and made me feel relaxed and at home. I put my right hand over his abdomen and felt my eyelids become heavy. Harry began to rub my back in small circles making it even more difficult to keep my eyes open.
“Go to sleep my love,” He whispered with his angelic voice, “You’ve had a long day. I’m here don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He soothed and I took a deep breath as I continued to listen to his heartbeat. Within minutes I had fallen asleep on Harry in the happiest state of mind that I’d been in in months.
“So this is what?” Harry asked beside me, his fingers intertwined with mine.
“The ice cream shop that my dad used to bring me to every other Sunday in the summer. Afterward we’d go down by the ocean and see if we could spot dolphins or whales.” I replied simply and I felt his gaze turn to look at me. I returned his stare, “What?” I chuckled.
“We are SO doing that.” He said and dragged me through the front door as a massive grin spread across my face. My heart raced as I became more and more giddy around this kid. “Okay what do you usually get?” He asked me as he stared down at the hard serve ice cream flavors.
“Mint Chocolate Chip.” I replied as I stared at the ice cream flavors.
“Cones or cups?” He asked as his hand left my hand and slithered under my hair so he could stroke the back of my neck with his thumb. My skin tingled where he touched me and it was hard to concentrate on his simple question.
“Cones of course.” I laughed and I could feel my cheeks turning pink as the happiness I felt when we were dating a few months ago resurfaced. Wow did I miss this…
“What kind?” He looked at me with a soft emerald gaze and a small smile that showed his adorable dimples.
“Waffle man,” I replied, “Go big or go home.”
He laughed and kissed my temple before he turned to the girl behind the counter. I glanced at the girl and became slightly annoyed as she insisted on being flirtatious with Harry as he ordered our ice cream, his accent clearly getting to her head. Back off bitch…
After he was finished paying he walked back over to me and cupped my face in his hands before he lightly kissed my nose, “It’s okay love. I’m not that swayed. She just likes me because of my accent.” He winked as he read my mind and I felt my cheeks become red. He kissed my lips quickly before turning around to grab our ice cream from the girl.
We walked out of the store holding hands and licking our ice cream. A wave of sorrow washed over me as I remembered that the last time I had gone there, and made this exact walk in sequence was with my father, but the fact that I was now doing this event with Harry made it worthwhile.
“So what made you spontaneously remember everything?” I asked as I continued to lick my ice cream.
“I listened to “Half a Heart.” I hadn’t the night or the day after you gave me the CD. Louis and Niall knocked some sense into me. As soon as I heard the lyrics it all came back to me like something smacked me in the face. I got on a plane an hour later.” He said with eyes fixated on something in the distance. I looked at him as he said the last sentence and smiled.
“Why are you so good to me?” I asked feeling myself blush again.
He took a deep breath and looked at me. “Oh how I’ve missed those words.” My heart skipped a beat as the words flowed out of his mouth.
We got to the pier and leaned over the edge of the railing to gaze into the turquoise water below us. I looked up at Harry as the sunlight illuminated the single gold strands of hair that decorated his scalp. I missed admiring Harry when he didn’t realize it. As if reading my mind, he turned his head to look at me and smiled his dimpled grin.
“Do you wanna try some of my ice cream?” I asked.
“Annie, I got the same thing as you.” He chuckled.
“I’m sure mine is better though.” I chuckled.
He rolled his eyes and opened his mouth as he stuck out his tongue. I shoved my cone in his face purposefully getting ice cream all over his chin and part of his cheeks. He gave an “ah” of surprise and held his hand under his chin to catch the green ice cream that dripped off of him.
“I can’t believe you just did that.” He chuckled. I cracked up laughing as I dropped my deformed ice cream cone in the trashcan next to us and began to kiss him where ice cream still dripped. “Here you want some?” He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around my waist and started wiping his face on mine. I laughed even louder and heard Harry drop his ice cream into the trash as well and his hand came to my back to push me against him. He moved his lips onto mine and I couldn’t help but to smile against his lips. The sweet taste of mint ice cream seeped into my mouth as I granted his tongue access.
He pulled away and hugged me tighter for a second before releasing me from his grasp. He kept one arm wrapped protectively around my waist as he leaned on the railing to look into the water again. I sighed in frustration as the desire for Harry’s lips to be on mine increased. I looked at him as he gazed into the water and laughed as I saw ice cream sill clinging to his face.
I took a napkin out of his pocket and turned his face towards mine and began to wipe it away gently. His eyes fluttered shut as I threw the napkin away and continued to stroke up thumb over his cheek. The hand that was wrapped around my waist pulled me toward him so that our noses were centimeters from each other. He opened his eyes again and looked at me with passion.
“Now what do you want to do love?” He asked.
“Let’s go to Sunset Blvd.” I suggested.
“Oh just there.” He said sarcastically, clearly enjoying his first time in LA. I was happy to be experiencing this with him.
We walked down the sidewalk and admired the palm trees that towered overhead and the numerous advertisements for different movies and companies.
“I can’t believe you used to live here.” He breathed as he looked around at the towering buildings and palm trees. His thumb repeatedly grazed over my knuckles as he held my hand.
“I can’t believe you flew all the way here when you realized you remembered.” I laughed and he looked at me quickly.
“Annie, you don’t get it.” He said with a hint of urgency in his voice. “When I remembered it felt like I’d been on holiday for two or three months and hadn’t seen you. Yes I remember the couple of weeks when I didn’t remember you but that just made my desire to see you that much more important.” He smiled at me.
I stopped him suddenly with a pull of my hand and he looked at me concerned. I pulled him closer to me and kissed him quickly. I tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let me. His hand immediately left mine and went to the back of my neck as he reattached our lips again. His other hand found my lower back and crushed me against him as I wrapped my hands around his neck and ran my fingers through the hair on the back of his head.
“I missed you.” I whispered when I pulled my lips off of his and buried my face in his neck. He ran his fingers through my hair as he leaned his head against mine. I wrapped my arms around his back and began to lightly scratch up and down his spine. I felt him shiver as I gave him chills and could feel goose bumps rising on his skin.
“I love you.” He replied and I kissed his lips quickly in response.
“You always want to watch the most random movies Styles.” I laughed from my curled up position on the couch in my hotel room…. Our hotel room…
“You’re telling me you don’t like Charlie St. Cloud? What is the matter with you?” He asked me.
“It’s fine but I didn’t peg you as a Zac Efron aficionado.” I laughed again.
“I wouldn’t call myself an aficionado over Charlie St. Cloud my love. Maybe if I had suggested High School Musical or something, but no.” He smiled at me from the floor as he clicked through the hotel’s movie list.
“Ooh ooh!” I said. “That one! That one!” I chirped.
“The Lake House?” He asked.
“Yess! I LOVE Sandra Bullock movies.” I grabbed my blanket off of the bed next to me and wrapped it over my legs and torso.
He pushed play on the movie and it started. He turned the lights off and came to sit on the bed with me. I looked at him quizzically as he sat on the opposite side of the couch. He looked at me with an eyebrow raised and opened his arms, welcoming me to cuddle with him. I gladly stood up from where I sat, dragging my blanket with me, and crashed on the couch next to Harry. His hands quickly snaked around my waist as I rest my head on his chest. The gentle thump of his heart sounded in my ear and made me feel relaxed and at home. I put my right hand over his abdomen and felt my eyelids become heavy. Harry began to rub my back in small circles making it even more difficult to keep my eyes open.
“Go to sleep my love,” He whispered with his angelic voice, “You’ve had a long day. I’m here don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He soothed and I took a deep breath as I continued to listen to his heartbeat. Within minutes I had fallen asleep on Harry in the happiest state of mind that I’d been in in months.
Notes
Hey guys! I'm sorry I didn't update at 108 votes!! :( my parents took me to look at guitars after school and then I had a bunch of homework and THEN I had to write the chapter. So with that being said I'm sorry this chapter is so short :( Thank you for reading and being patient with me. I CANNOT believe how much this story has skyrocketed in the past week! IM FREAKING OUT STILL! Thank you SO SO SO much for reading.
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11/9/16