Strings Attached (Harry Styles FanFiction)

28. Give In

A/N: Harry and Cassie edit in the sidebar!

Cassie's POV:

At the end of the week, it was impossible to tell whether it had flown or simply drug on at an antagonizing pace. Classes had started up the day after I'd come home to Gwen and Harry's sad attempt at a search party and I found myself craving the times when I knew Harry would be at the flat.

Adrien had been mercifully silent but I wasn't sure how much longer that would last, especially considering the fact that Harry's visits we're becoming less "covert" due to irritatingly nosy neighbors just looking to make a buck. Gwen had already found photos on three Sugarscape articles and more than one video of Harry coming over late posted on various twitter accounts.

He'd been crashing on our couch on and off all week. In the beginning I'd tried to keep my distance, only speaking to him when it was absolutely necessary but I needed more. I'd purposefully walk in on him changing or do something stupid and clumsy so he'd come to my "rescue". I could tell that he was beginning to catch on, but I also suspected that he was enjoying it as much as, if not more than, me.

Last night I'd stayed up later than usual. Harry and I'd started off innocently watching a movie, him on one end of the couch and me on the floor leaning against the opposite side. Ten minutes in, I got up and made a pot of tea, when I came back Harry'd stolen all of the pillows I'd been sitting on, grinning innocently down at me as I glared at him from my newly hardened spot on the floor.

After thirty minutes of not being able to feel my butt thanks to the lack of circulation against the unforgiving ground, I'd relented and moved up to cower on the far end of the unfortunately small leather couch. I specifically chose to ignore the victorious grin plastered across his face as I tucked my feet up under me, eyes glued to the screen.

"Are you sure you're comfortable over there?" Harry laughed, eyes glinting as he took in my trembling state.

"Yeah, I'm just peachy."

"You know, there is plenty of room over here," he'd cooed, rubbing the extra space, waggling his eyebrows at me, "I promise I don't bite."

"It's not your bite I'm worried about," I'd grumbled, outwardly relenting to my cramped body, inwardly to the constant nagging to be closer to him that I'd been doing my best to ignore. He'd repositioned a pillow on his lap for my head as I'd scooted over.

"Don't let me fall asleep," I'd begged even as I'd felt my eyes drifting shut.

"I'll take care of you, Angel. Always."

Gwen was brutal when she woke me up this morning, her taunting starting even before my eyes opened. Harry had let me fall asleep and sometime during the night we had become completely entwined. One of his legs had positioned itself between mine, curling around me and holding me against him. The same had happened with his arms. They were curled protectively around my chest, his head nestled into the crook of my neck. Normally I would have freaked, the overwhelming sense of claustrophobia kicking in, but with Harry something about being that close to him just felt right.

"It's too early for this shit," I grumbled to Gwen. I had to shake Harry awake enough for me to slip free. He refused to let me go before I kissed him goodbye on the cheek even though I insisted that I'd be back in an hour to get ready for class. Clingy bastard.

I swore Gwen was slowly extending our morning run, waking me up a bit earlier each morning so that I wouldn't notice the added distance. But, guess what? I noticed. Forty-five minutes and six miles later my entire body was screaming for me to stop. As Christmas and the winter months approached the weather was getting consistently worse. The sun was shunning us, sentencing us to weeks of cloudy skies and freezing rain. Christ, I missed the sun.