The Boxer

Chapter 11

A/N: Kind of a long chapter  oops. ;3
Cryssy's P.O.V.

     I tried to ignore him as he approached, but it was kind of hard considering he even sweat like a fucking model. It covered him from his tank top and in the dip of his chest like a thin sheet on his exposed arms . His curls looked heavy as he sweeped them to the side and laced a smirk onto his cherry lips. His face was slightly flushed from working out and he kind of looked like he did last night when  he got knocked out. 

    "So, you're my girlfriend now, huh?" he asked, failing to hide his cocky smile as he pulled the cap off his water and downed a bit. I rolled m eyes and stopped the treadmill, pulling out my head phones in the process to talk to him properly, although he didn't deserve it. 

    "If you're talking about last night in the ring, it's because I had to get past people somehow to see if you were alright," I shrugged.  He hummed a little in response, the corner of his lips turning upwards. I grabbed my water and began walking in the other direction. 

    "Where you going?" he asked from shortly behind me, and I wasn't too surprised he'd gotten there so quickly with how long his legs are. 

    "Away from you," I answered simply and suddenly his voice changed so much I had to stop and make sure it was him who said it. 

    "I'm sorry," I looked back at the wide-eyed boy. He still had the exterior, scary and tough look, but his eyes . . .they were something else. "I know I'm being a prick it's just . . . I don't know, alright?" he finished, seemingly frustrated with only himself as he glared at the ground. I felt guilt well within me. 

    "It's fine, Harry. You're under a lot of stress, yeah?" he shrugged. "Let's go out for a drink tonight. I here Lucky's bar is pretty good?" Despite being my normal confident self, when it came to Harry, I was nervous for an answer. 

    "Uh yeah, yeah, sounds good," he said and I nodded, giving a small smile before walking away. I swear to god, it's his eyes that drag me back every time. No matter how tough he is and masculine he seems, or how scary he looks when he fights, in his eyes, you can see the little boy just begging to get out. Begging and pleading because whatever happened to Harry hinders him now and he does need someone. Like Louis said . . .he needs someone to bring him back.

~

    My heart hammered when the doorbell rang. I knew who it was and I knew he'd be here by now, but knowing who lay right beyond the front door still sent my heart into a frenzy. I blamed it on his temper, even though mine was just as bad at times. I took one last glance in the mirror to make sure my make up wasn't smudged already, and then opened the door. Harry stood tall and lean, his large hands stuffed into his front pockets and his chocolate curls stuffed into a snapback. He wore a long sleeved black shirt and matching black jeans that hugged his hips in a way I could never get jeans to do for myself. He offered a small smile and I matched it, grabbing my phone from the side table and following him out. It was strange how quiet it was between us. Normally, we would fight, or at least give some small talk, but it was silent, and I could tell Harry was thinking about something hard. He didn't open the passenger door, but I wasn't surprised. This wasn't  a date, and he wasn't the type of guy to open a girl's car door, anyway. 

    The Lumineers played from Harry's iPod as we began our drive and I couldn't help stifle a giggle. Harry rose and eyebrow and I laughed. "What?"

    "I just didn't expect big bad Mr. Harry Styles to listen to the Lumineers," I chuckled and Harry rolled his eyes, snatching up his iPod and changing it to The Vaccines. I hummed and nodded. "Better choice, but I still didn't expect you to listen to all this hipster shit," I commented. 

    "It's not shit."

    "No, it's quite good, actually, I love The Vaccines and The Kooks and all them, but everyone seems to find them uninteresting. I don't quite get it, honestly," I rambled aloud and Harry smirked.

    "Well, I didn't expect someone like you to like this, either."

    "Apparently we have more in common then we thought," I hummed and Harry stayed quiet, but the smile on his lips remained unhidden. When we arrived, Harry of course got out first, but, much to my surprise, he opened my door for me. I thanked him, and we headed inside. Lucky's was an Irish pub, so everyone here was already wasted, for the most part. The lower floor was mostly the bar and tables where you could eat, and the second floor was a more of a club-ish area. Karaoke, dance floors, all that crap. Harry brought us a round of pints and we clanked our glasses before beginning to drink, then headed up to the second floor. A spunky blonde guy was on stage, belting out the words to  a song by Usher with a tan brunette guy behind the DJ station. He was watching the blonde, obviously amused as he sang to the dancing girls in front of the stage. I laughed and pointed it out to Harry, in which he clamped a hand over his eyes. 

    "You know him?" I asked, slightly bemused and he nodded, rolling his eyes. 

    "Those are a few of Louis' friends. Niall on stage, and I 'bout got in a fight with Zayn, the one behind the DJ station once. Wasn't pretty," he mumbled into my ear above the music. 

    "Would you like to go somewhere else?" I asked, fearful of another brawl. I wasn't quite sure how well Harry could contain himself outside the ring. If he knew it wouldn't cost him the match, he probably wouldn't stop. Out here, he was free to do whatever he pleased until someone had strength enough to drag him off and, by the looks of the crowd, no one looked big enough for the job. 

    Harry waved the suggestion off and held out a hand. "Care to dance?" I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth but nodded, following him onto the floor. 

    I will admit, the Harry who actually cares is VERY attractive. The cocky one, well he was still hot, but a major dick head. But this Harry, I liked. 

    His large hands gripped me by the waist when we made it to the middle of the floor. Despite being drunk, Niall did a pretty good job intimidating Usher, and so we danced. Harry wasn't too bad. His hips needed a little help, and if he put his arms anywhere but on my body, he just looked awkward, so I turned around and placed his hands on my hips, helping guide his own hips with my torso. I grinded into his front lightly against the music. It felt strange at first, but then it was like the first time he asked me to dance all over again. That first night in the club with Louis and Max. We moved in sync and his hands hit all the right curves with the varied movement of the beat. When I turned back, Harry had sucked his bottom lip between his teeth and he was staring down at me. It was completely mesmerizing, his dark green eyes hypnotizing me as we moved. My arms found their way around his neck and my fingers guiding themselves through the curls on the nape of his neck. 

    All i wanted was to kiss him, but  I knew I couldn't. It'd just make everything awkward again. We'd probably be fighting again any minute now, what with our history this past month. But, oh if Louis saw us, he'd try his hardest to push our heads together and make us kiss. Even though that IS what I wanted, so many things could go wrong from it. Louis wanted me to help Harry and let him know I cared, not use him as a sex toy. NOT saying I would, but I'm sure Harry would find some way to make it out that way, even though he'd probably enjoy it. 

    Wow, I really need to stop thinking about this. 

    "Wanna go get a drink?" he asked, and I nodded quickly. We'd been dancing an hour, so it was probably about time again. I hadn't noticed Niall and Zayn leave the stage until we spotted them at the bar. Niall waved enthusiastically at Harry and Zayn looked about ready to shoot himself until his eyes landed on me and he almost smiled . . .huh. 


~

    The couple approached the two boys, Niall greeting Harry as if they were best friends and Harry giving an awkward smile in return. Zayn's presence went unnoticed by Harry, purposely of course, until Zayn stepped forward. "Hey Haz, who's your friend?" Harry glared, slicking his tongue over his ruby lips and looking down at Cryssy. He wasn't quite sure of how to tell Zayn to 'back the fuck off' and not look like her boyfriend at the same time, so he gulped down his anger and faked a smile. 

    "This is Cryssy. Cryssy, this is Zayn." he greeted tightly and, although Cryssy shot him a look, she also smile sweetly at Zayn, who in return, shook her hand and kissed the top her knuckles. She blushed, pulling her hand back shyly. No guy she had ever met was so sweet upon meeting her. 

    "Lovely to meet you beautiful," Zayn spoke, a side smirk, similar to Harry's dimpled one, present on his lips and again, she blushed. 

    "Nice to meet you, too,"  she replied. 

    "How about those drinks, yeah?" Harry clapped, pulling Cryssy closer to the bar and getting between the two. Zayn smirked and walked around Harry's tall frame as the waiter came and took a spot on the stool next to Cryssy. 

    "So you Haz's girl, yeah?" Cryssy shook her head no abruptly.

    "Only friends," she smiled. 

    "Oh," Zayn grinned. "Shame." 

    "Is it?" she asked, bemused, and Zayn nodded. 

    "Oh, immensely. A beautiful woman like yourself without a proper man to protect her? It's a damn shame," he said, and Harry's fists clenched so hard, he swore the skin of his knuckles would tear open. "Maybe I could take that spot for tonight?" he prompted, a small but sly grin present on his  lips, his dark eyes so alluring Cryssy could practically feel herself falling into his trap. 

    "Think I got it covered, mate, " Harry confirmed through clenched teeth, and Zayn slicked his tongue over his lips before looking at Harry. 

    "You sure? 'Cause I think Cryssy here could use a real man, not one driven crazy by some old man who promised him a family," he sneered and Harry lost it. His fist traveling so fast, it was practically invisible when it hit Zayn right in the jaw. Cryssy screamed as Zayn fell from his stool and onto the floor. Harry topped him and they wrestled, jabbing each other with their fists and rolling across the ground. People crowded, but none of them bothered stop it because they knew they couldn't. 

    "Someone call the police!" Someone shouted and Cryssy's eyes widened. If Harry got arrested, she knew he'd be suspended from fighting a lot longer than a week. 

    "Harry!" she screamed, grabbing the hem of his shirt and trying desperately to pull him off, but, of course, she was way too weak, so she reduced to begging. "Harry please! Please stop! Harry!" she cried. She searched the crowd for help and spotted Niall. "Niall! Please come help" The blonde cringed, but made his way over, grabbing Zayn by the shoulders as Cryssy did the same to Harry. Both of them pleaded for their friends to stop until finally Zayn spoke up.

    "Fuck it! Fine, Harry! You fucking win!" he growled, and Harry slicked his tongue over his teeth, before spitting a bit of blood on the floor. 

    "It wasn't about winning, mate. It was about respecting someone's propert,y" Harry hissed and Cryssy stared confused between the two, but Zayn rose his hands with a roll of his eyes and wiped away his bloody nose. 

    "Whatever." Cryssy took that as her chance to get Harry out and grabbed his arm. 

    "Let's go," she mumbled, pushing him slightly until he followed her outside. She already knew they were in for another fight when they entered the car. When they finally settled into the seats, Cryssy opened the glove compartment and took out some wipes she stowed in there when she stayed at Harry's and took his chin so she could wipe the blood from his lip and the dirt from his face. 

    It was quiet for awhile, just Cryssy holding Harry's chin in her small hand and wiping at Harry's face like a mother and Harry just staring blankly at her. She didn't know what to say other than ask the only question that was floating around in her head, but she knew it would end in a fight, so she only asked, "Why?"

    "Because he's slime," Harry spat, and she rolled her eyes. 

    "You said the fight wasn't about winning, but teaching Zayn to respect other's property . . . what's that about?" she whispered. Her cleaning of Harry's face was over with, but she kept his chin in her hand so she could look him directly in the eyes. Harry just closed his eyes and sighed. "Please answer," she mumbled. 

    "I didn't like him hitting on you." Cryssy swallowed slowly. 

    "Why?"

    "Because you deserve better than him!" Harry began to argue and Cryssy sighed. 

    "Harry, you have no right to say who I date, or like, or hook up with. It's none of your business," she muttered, letting go of his chin and turning away, but it was Harry's turn to be in charge. He pulled her face back to his with his thumb and pointer finger since that was all he needed with his large hands and looked her straight in the eyes. 

    "I should."

    "And why should you, hmm? You've been so bipolar with me every since we met! First, you're all flirty and save my ass, then you ARE an ass, then you save my butt again and become so sweet, then it gets awkward and then we fight. Then, you're nice again, and then we fight! Like, I can't even keep up with-" 

    "Because I like you!" Harry suddenly shouted, cutting her off. Her blue eyes went wider than normal, but she stayed put, even though he let go of her chin and just stared. "I'll take you home, now," he mumbled after a moment of awkward silence and staring out the windshield. Cryssy nodded and sunk back into her chair, processing. 

    When they arrived, Cryssy took a deep breath before opening her car door. Before exiting, she looked back at Harry and found him glaring at his lap, so she closed the door and Harry stayed in that position for a moment. Just thinking. He didn't mean to blurt that out. He did like her; he thought she was cool and hot and funny. But, he still didn't care about much else. 

    Harry tried not to look as shocked as he felt when his driver's side door opened and Cryssy hopped up on the step of his range rover and planted a kiss right on his plump pink lips. It was nothing either of them expected when thinking about kissing each other. 

A/N: uh ohh~ c: