Captured Soul

I sat up quickly in my bed when I felt freezing cold water pattering on my face. I was breathing heavily after the abrupt wakening and started to shiver.

“YOU!” I snapped my head to the right to see a pair of captivating green eyes shining back at me. “I swear, I’m going to kill you,” I said as I pushed the comforter off of my body and jumped off the bed.

Harry dropped the cup of water laughing and ran around my room as I chased him. He ran around my bed and then jumped over it, running out the door. I darted after him and he was running down the stairs. I followed quickly after as he jumped off the last step. I was about four stairs behind him when my foot slipped and I harshly fell and rolled down the last few steps. Pain surged to my back as I plopped off the final step. I rolled so I was facing the ceiling and groaned. Harry turned when he heard the thumping of the stairs and rushed over to me.

“Oh my God. Stella, are you okay?” he asked, concerned. I glared at him and started to pick myself up off the floor and Harry helped me by supporting my back.

“This is your fault,” I accused.

He raised his eyebrows. “Darling, your lack of coordination is most definitely not my fault.”

“Uh, yeah. It is. If you weren’t being such a jackass, pouring water on me at…” I looked at the clock sitting in the living room. “FIVE O’ CLOCK!? Why on earth would you ever think waking me up at five o’ clock in the morning on a Saturday is a good idea!?” I whisper-shouted, realizing my parents were probably still asleep.

“We are going on an adventure,” he said with a grin.

“What kind of adventure?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“The adventure of a lifetime,” he said.

“Yeah, ok,” I said sarcastically.

“Well, let’s go,” he hurried me.

“Okay, I’m going,” I said. I retreated back to my room and picked out a simple outfit; jeans, a black oversized crewneck sweatshirt that said ‘Hipsta, Please’ in white and my black converse. I let my hair fall out of its ponytail and brushed it out. My brown waves loosely flowed down my back. I turned and walked out the door and back downstairs. Harry was sitting on the couch scrolling through his phone. His keys were sitting on the table and I took the opportunity and chucked them at his chest.

“Oi! What was that for?” he glared.

“For making me fall down the stairs,” I said with a devious smile. He scowled, picking up the keys and walking to the door. I followed as he opened it and closed it behind us. The cold air struck my skin and the dark sky indicated it was still early.

“It’s still dark outside. How do you expect us to ‘adventure’ in the dark?” I asked with a hint of sass in my voice.

“You are quite literally the sassiest person I’ve ever met,” he pointed out with a smirk.

“And you are quite literally the smirkiest person I’ve ever met, but you don’t see me complaining. Actually, just kidding. You do see me complaining,” I replied.

“There it goes again.”

“What?” I questioned.

“The sass.” I rolled my eyes at him and we got in his car. I noticed a radio cord to play music from your phone and I immediately pulled out my phone and plugged it in. Harry’s hand shot directly to my phone as he tried to unplug it.

“Hey! I got it first!” I said trying to pry his hand off.

“It’s my car,” he countered.

“So?” I scoffed.

“SO, my friend, I get to play my music.”

“Haha, no. I get to play my music, because I’m cooler than you, and my music is better than yours,” I argued.

“Okay, first of all, you are most definitely not cooler than me, and second, my music is so much better than your shitty ‘boy band’ crap,” he said still trying to take the cord. My jaw dropped.

“I literally cannot believe you just insulted my band!” I said.

“Give me the cord, Stella,” he demanded.

“Or what?” I challenged with a grin.

He raised his eyebrow at me. “Or this!” he said as he reached both his hands over to me. He tickled my sides and I immediately began to laugh and kick. He continued to tickle me and I couldn’t breathe.

“Okay! You can have it!” I surrendered.

“No, I don’t think you’ve had enough yet,” he smirked as he went back to tickling me. My breathing became sporadic as I tried to exhale.

“Please!” I begged in between laughs.

“Say, ‘Harry Styles is way cooler than me and his choice in music is amazing and 5 Seconds of Summer sucks at life’.”

"No!”

“Say it!”

“Fine! HarryStylesiswaycoolerthanmeandhischoiceinmusicisamazing…” I trailed off.

“AND?”

“And 5 Seconds of Summer wins at life!”

“You are so stubborn!” he exclaimed as he continued to tickle me.

“FINE! 5 Seconds of Summer sucks at life!” I caught my breath when Harry stopped touching me. He started the car and began to drive as he selected his first song. I didn’t know the words nor who sung it, but it was Harry’s music… So…

“So, where do you get your stubbornness?” Harry asked me.

“How should I know? Growing up with three older siblings that constantly boss you around is nothing easy,” I replied.

“You have three older siblings?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, I do,” I confirmed. “Stephen’s the oldest, then Scarlett, Samuel next, and then me.”

“Wow, that’s intimidating.”

“Good.”

“So did you also inherit your sass from your siblings or is that just your personality?” he asks sarcastically.

“Oh, that’s all my own personal touch,” I said with a smile.

“Great,” he mumbled.

“What was that?” I asked.

“Nothing, I said, you’re looking very beautiful this early morning,” he covered.

“Yeah, right. So where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise,” he winked at me.

“Why does everything always have to be a surprise? Why can’t you just tell me where we’re going?” I questioned.

“Because you ask too many questions, my dear friend.” I rolled my eyes at him.

An hour later, we were entering the beautiful city of London. I admired the red double-decker buses driving and the people rushing through stores, probably for last minute Christmas shopping. I looked to my right to see Big Ben in the distance. Harry parked the car in a random place at the park and he got out of the car retrieving a picnic basket and blanket from the trunk.

I got out of the car and took his hand when he offered it to me. We strolled through the park for a while until we found a peaceful, shady tree to sit under. Harry unfolded a blanket and sat against the base of the tree and I sat next to him, leaning into his chest as we looked over the expanse of snowy grass. He put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer to him.

“I like you a little bit,” he said.

“Yeah, you’re alright, too,” I joked.

“Ooh, well if I’m just ‘alright’, I guess I can eat this ‘alright’ breakfast picnic by myself,” he said as he pulled the picnic basket from behind the tree.

“Okay, fine. I like you a little bit, too,” I said as I pulled the food out of the basket. We talked for a while, about life and our respectable sports.

“Yep, I started playing football when I was three and I loved it. I played all throughout school, but when high school hit, my dad wanted me to become more focused on school than football, so he made me quit,” Harry confided in me.

“Wow. Yeah, it was kind of the opposite for me. My mom wanted me to quit school to focus on skating.”

“That’s crazy. I hate how parents live their lives vicariously through their children,” Harry said as we looked at a mother yelling at a little girl to extend her knee while she danced. I stared at the scene in front of me. It’s horrible how she’s yelling at a four-year-old to dance better.

I was thinking about the mother and daughter when I felt a cold ping on my neck. I turned around quickly to see Harry with left-over snow in his hands.

“You are dead,” I threatened as I lifted myself off the blanket.

I piled some snow in my bare hands and threw it at a now running Harry. He managed to pick up more snow and he chucked it at my face. I brought my hand to my face and rubbed the area that was just hit. I picked up more snow and ran after him. I caught up to him and shoved the snow in his face. I saw his expression and immediately turned and ran. He chased closely after me as I ran as fast as my little legs could carry me. I ran around our tree and back out into the open. I thought I lost him and started to slow down, but instantly regretted it when he barreled into me, sending us both to the floor. Harry rolled so he was on top with his hands and knees planted on either side of me. He pinned me down by my waist and I couldn’t move.

“Now, do you have something you’d like to say to me? Something along the lines of, ‘I’m sorry for throwing snow at your face, Harry’?” he provoked.

“I most certainly do have something I’d like to say.” I saw his face smirk, thinking he’d won.

“How about, ‘SUCK ON THIS’!?” I shouted as I thrusted more snow in his face.

He released his grip on me and I took the opportunity to run. He grunted and sprinted after me. He caught up to me and grabbed me by my waist, spinning me around. He placed both his hands on the sides of my face and planted his lips on mine softly and lingered. My eyes instinctively closed as I got lost in him. He sent shivers down my spine and goosebumps to my skin. He caressed my face and continued to kiss me passionately. After a few moments, he pulled away with a grin on his face.

He took my hand and we began to walk back to our tree. We gathered our stuff and headed back to the car. I got in the passenger side and waited for Harry to join me. He hopped in and started the car, turning the heater all the way up. He reached for my hand and gasped when he felt it.

“Your hands are so cold,” he said as he brought it up to his mouth, kissing it.

“Cut the romantic shit, Styles,” I said with a grin. He began to drive to another unknown location.
“
You love it,” he said, kissing my hand again.

“Yeah. Keep flattering yourself,” I smirked.

“You know, you’re different from any other girl I’ve ever met,” he said staring at me.

“How so?”

“You aren’t all sappy and lovestruck, you are way too sassy for your own good, and you just don’t care about anything or what anyone else thinks of you. How?” he asks with an inquisitive grin on his face.

“Well, when you go through a certain amount of fuckery in your life, you kind of just… Let everything go. When you’ve experienced enough shitty things and you get to a point when you can’t take it, you let it all out. And after, you stop caring. Because when you care too much, people take advantage of your feelings. They manipulate them into believing there’s such a thing as love. The second they walk out of your life, you realize that there really isn’t and love doesn’t exist.”

HARRY’S POV

It hurts to see her like this. She’s never experienced love and she doesn’t believe it exists. You would never be able to tell that she’s so broken at first glance. It takes something special. You have to look into her glimmering, grey eyes and when she lets you in, you can read her. She’s very closed off, reserved. Doesn’t open up to anyone. I get it.

“Maybe not. But then again, maybe it does. Falling in love takes risks. You have to take a fall to get there. But in the end, you have to trust that the other person loves you enough to catch you. No matter what,” I respond, glancing at her.

“You really suck at speeches, you know,” she said.

“It wasn’t a speech, love. It’s a realization.” She looked over to me with those eyes, those big, grey eyes that grasp you and don’t let go. Those eyes that cause imbalances in my heart. The eyes that are so captivating and breathtaking.

I turned back to the road and when we reach our destination, I park the car at a local restaurant. I give her a sly smile and get out of the car as she does the same.

“Where are we?” she asked.

“You’ll see,” I smirked.

“Why is everything such a mystery with you?” she asks me with the infamous sass.

“Why not?” I challenged. She hushed and I grabbed her hand as we walked in the cold air.

Snow began to fall from the sky, and I looked at her trying to catch a snowflake on her tongue.

“You’re a weirdo, you know that?” I asked her.

“It’s been scientifically proven,” she states. I chuckled and we continued to walk.

“Pouvez-vous me dire où est la salle de bain le plus proche?” a woman with a toddling boy asked me.

“I’m sorry I don-“ I started.

“Where’s the closest bathroom?” Stella asked me.

“Uh, two streets over to the left.”

“Deux rues plus à gauche,” Stella told the lady. I looked at her with a confused expression on my face.

“Merci,” the lady nodded and rushed away.

“You speak French.” It came out as more of a statement than a question.

“I do,” she nodded.

“So do you speak any other languages?”

“Nah, well besides sarcasm, sass, and asshole, but other than that, no.” I laughed at her comment.

“Where did you learn the language?” I asked her.

“Asshole? I came preprogrammed. Ass-y out of the womb.” I laughed as we came to the crosswalk of the busy street.

We were waiting for the traffic to subside, but it never did. I soon after felt myself being pulled by the arm and running. I was too shocked to stop, and we ran across, trying to avoid getting hit. Horns were blaring and screeches were heard. We finally reached the other side and I pulled Stella into me.

“You’re a maniac!” I told her.

“You only live once,” she shrugged.

I scoffed. “Yeah, you only live once until your insane girlfriend pulls you across the busiest street in all of England and you both die because a car hits you!” I rolled my eyes at her and she rolled her eyes back at me.

I saw a poster for an amusement park in Los Angeles and I shuddered. Stella noticed and smirked at me.

“Don’t like roller coasters, curly?" Stella asked as I responsively unconvincingly chuckled.

"What about you? Any phobias?" I asked her with a smirk.

"Hashtag no. I'm too cool for fears. Except for heights. I can't do heights."

"Well that's unfortunate, because we're going on the Eye," I smirked.

She laughed, thinking I was joking. "You're not serious?"

"Oh, but I am."

"There is no way I'm going on that!" she screeched as she pointed to the wheel.


STELLA'S POV

"Hell to-the-no, my friend. No way," I said, shaking my head.

"C'mon, I'll be right next to you the entire time. Don't you trust me?"

"Not entirely," I said cautiously. He laughed, and I thought I finally got through to him, but he quickly changed my mind when he threw me over his shoulder. I hate when he does that. "Okay! I will go!" He set me down gently and we proceeded to the line. When we got to the front, a short man ushered us to a moving pod. Harry was behind me, and I stopped directly in front of the door. "WAIT!"

"Come on," Harry coaxed as he pushed my back gently.

I reluctantly boarded the pod with Harry close behind. We escalated in our enclosure at a very slow rate. The speed was calming, but I couldn't deny the fear igniting within me. As we ascended further, my nerves got weaker. I could faintly hear Harry pointing out a few of the beauties of the lovely city before my breathing became choppy and inconsistent. I felt his hand on my back, trying to ease the worry. Although he was trying to comfort me, his touch only reminded me of the reason I have this fear.

I closed my eyes and the breathing got worse. Harry was shouting my name, but everything I heard was blurry. My heart felt like it was going to fly out of my chest and my palms were drenched with sweat. My eyes were shut tightly and I flinched at every sound. I heard Harry calling my name before my knees gave way and I fell to the floor. He caught my back before I hit the ground and lowered me gently.

"Stella, baby. You need to breathe, darling," I heard Harry coo.

I forced my eyes open to see his glimmering green ones piercing through me. They shined in the early morning sunrise and at night, they glow like the moon. He had a way of getting inside me and controlling me.

My breathing started to steady and circulation in my body returned.

"Oh my God, Stella," Harry said as he pulled me to him.

The doors to the enclosure opened as we reached ground level. Harry effortlessly picked me up and I clung onto him tightly. My shaking was still present, so I struggled to stay latched to him. I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. He held onto my back for support as he walked.

I thought I could do it. I thought I could push the memories away. Pretend that nothing happened. I was wrong. So, so wrong.

When my breathing was controlled, Harry set me down on a nearby park bench and plopped down next to me. He pulled me close and I leaned into him. I closed my eyes and inhaled his scent.

"I promise I won't ever make you do anything you don't want to do ever again," he promised. He lay his cheek atop my head and we stayed that way for a while.

"Stella?" a horrifyingly familiar voice made my eyes shoot open. I felt Harry lift his head and I looked up.

The memories. They all came flooding back like tsunami tides. The height, the fall, the fear, the sadness, the depression. These memories aren't going anywhere.

"Jack," I whispered quietly.

Notes

OOOHHHH WHO'S JACK!?!? IDK EITHER

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