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Attraction

Locked Out

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. I tried to avoid Harry, which didn't really work. It's like he always knows where I am, and it's really damn annoying.

When the final bell rings, I start to walk towards my locker to get my things. The hallway is oddly empty, probably because it took me forever to find my way here. I look down at the little scrap of paper where I wrote down my combo. 23 left, 17 right, and 9 left again. I must've tried twenty times, and I still couldn't get it. Suddenly, I feel the scent of spearmint wafting towards me. I don't notice it fully until I feel hot breath down the back of my neck.

"Need help?"

"No." I say, feeling one of his hands brush my side.

"You sure?"

"Maybe"

"Here" He reaches around me to my lock and his cheek is pressed against mine. "What's your combo?" I tell him and the locker is open on the first try. I turn around to look at him.

"How...?"

"Practice." He looks down at me for a moment.

"I-I um... have to get home now." I stutter, our faces only inches apart.

"Let me drive you" he says coolly.

"I'm good" I break away from the closeness and start to pack my backpack.

"Really?"

"No"

"Meet me out front in 5"

"Okay" He stalks off down the hallway. Jesus, what has gotten into me? We almost kissed. I need to keep my guard up more. I close my locker and head downstairs and out the front door.

"You know love, I barley know anything about you. Tell me about yourself." We had been driving for a couple of minutes, and it just felt weird making small-talk with him.

"Um... Let's see... You know I'm a girl, you know I live across the street from you. That's pretty much it. After all, I am a very boring person" I joke. He chuckles lightly.

"Here, how about this: Where did you live before here?"

I looked at him. "Um, just about everywhere. We move around a lot."

"Ohh, like where?"

"Well, I was born in California, then we went to Venice, then Thailand, then to Norway, and to Costa Rica. After that, we decided to stay in the states and went from... Let's see... I guess Wisconsin, Oregon, Maryland, then finally to Florida, and now I'm here."

"Jesus Christ, Aria!"

"I know, it's a lot."

"That's a bit of an understatement."

"Okay, now that you know about me, tell me about yourself." I change the subject.

"Well, I've lived in the UK all my life, but I've been all around the world. My mom loves to travel." I look down at the mention of his mom.

"Aria, are you okay?" He looks over at me, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that my mom... Passed away when I was 7." Why did I tell him that? I don't want his pity!

" I'm sorry. Yeah, my parents split when I was seven too. I know that's not really the same, but still... Aria, I am so sorry." Wow, he actually took that really well.

"It's fine, and thank you." I say as we pull into his driveway.

"For what?" He glances inquisitively at me. "For not making a huge deal out of that."

"Any time, love" We sit there, looking at each other for a while.

"Okay, bye." I break the ice.

"Bye!" I opened the door to leave. As I approach my house, I realize that my dad is still at work, and when I was rushing in the morning, I had forgotten my key. I called my dad what must've been 8 times, but he didn't pick up.

"Shit!" I said out loud. I sat down on my doorstep and waited. I see Harry look out his window. He sees me, and comes down his stairs and out the door. From across the street, he yells over at me.

"Why are you still out here, love?"

"Locked out."

"Wait there" I stand up.

"Why?"

"Because I know what I'm doing"

"Really? And I don't?"

"No, not in the slightest." He walks over to the giant oak tree next to my house and starts climbing.

"What the fuck, Harry?"

"As I said, I know what I'm doing!" As he disappears into the leaves of the tree, I sit back down on the doorstep and wait. Suddenly, the door behind me opens and I feel a tap on my shoulder.

"Come on in!" I get up and look at him.

"How the hell did you do that?" He shrugs.

"You should lock your balcony doors or else some creep is going to come into your room and rape you." We walk into the house and I put down my backpack. I go over to the mud room and take my shoes off. Behind me, I hear Harry's footsteps coming closer and closer to me. I turn around and see Harry's green eyes drilling into my own. He comes even closer, causing me to back into the wall. He looks down at me, so our noses almost touch. He brushes a loose strand of hair out of my face, and his hand lingers there for a second. I want to tell him to stop, but he knows I like it and puts a finger to my lips which shuts me up. I wrap my hands around his neck and run my fingers through his hair. Then, all of a sudden, his lips lower onto mine. It was a pure kiss, full of passion and wanting. After a couple seconds, I pull away. "Aria, I'm sorry" he apologizes.

"No, it's fine. I just..." My heart is racing and I realize how bad this is. "You should go now." I tell him. Not objecting, he runs a hand through his hair and walks off in his black skinny-jeans and white v-neck.

"Bye, love. See you tomorrow!"

Oh my fucking god.