Harry's head fell like a brick onto the pillow as he let out a frustrated groan. Cerise jumped up, her face flushed of all color and her eyes wide.
"What's this?" Amber remarked sultrily, silkily making her way over to the bed to better observe the guilty-looking boy, whose face was illuminated by the phosphorescent moonlight. Her eyebrows knitted together as she observed his face, though it was turned away from her, annoyed.
Cerise stood frozen beside Amber, clearly distressed.
"Are you...?" Amber murmured, disbelief written plainly on her features.
Harry sighed and nodded, turning towards her. "Harry Styles? Yes."
Amber's eyes flared and she quietly gasped. Then her countenance relaxed and she let out a quiet laugh. "So this is where they sent you. Not bad,"
"Please," Cerise whispered queasily, her eyes imploring. "You can't tell anyone. It would compromise his safety,"
Solemnity replaced amusement on Amber's face. "Of course. Why I would I give anyone else a leg up on him anyway?"
Cerise struggled to keep her voice even as she suppressed her rage at the comment. "Yes, well, we need to go back to bed. Goodnight, Harry,"
"Goodnight," he replied weakly, his face forlorn.
Amber turned at the doorway, Cerise only two steps ahead. She gave him a charming smile and winked at him before shutting the door.
Cerise lay her hand lightly on the doorknob to her room. A slender hand clamped down on her wrist. Cerise looked up irritably at Amber.
"You don't like him, do you?" Amber demanded.
"No," Cerise replied indignantly.
Amber smiled a little. "It looked like you were about to kiss him,"
A tiny frown formed on Cerise's brow, but the dark hallway concealed it. "Only on the cheek. We're just friends,"
Amber smiled with her teeth now as she let her hand fall to her side. "Good" was all she said.
~
The seeping light from the curtains and the hissing snore from Rebecca was enough to wake Cerise up. She glanced to her side at the girls, her heart stopping when she realized that one was absent.
She bolted out of bed and quickly walked out of the room, heading towards Harry's room. She heard Amber's soft voice and as she neared she saw them speaking in the doorway, Amber's arms crossed and her face betraying fury.
Cerise approached them slowly, hoping to briskly turn down the stairs to convince them of her innocent intentions. But it was too late; Harry had already seen her. Amber hissed something to him before whipping round and storming off.
Harry signaled for her to come into his room, which she promptly did. He shut the door behind them.
"What happened?" Cerise asked him concernedly.
Harry frowned and flicked his hair to the side with his hand. "She was being inappropriate," he told her with a grin.
Cerise hit his arm playfully. "No, really,"
"She was flirting with me," he admitted seriously.
Cerise's eyes closed and she sighed. "I knew she was up to something."
"Nothing happened," he added quickly. "I didn't let anything happen."
Her heart raced. She gazed longingly into his eyes, which reflected her intensity. Cerise's chest raised and fell quicker as he stepped towards her, his hands finding refuge on her hips. She felt as light as a feather in the amorous embrace; her head lifting upwards towards him. Their eyes fluttered shut and his lips began to make their way closer to hers, when she found her voice and stammered what she needed to tell him.
"I've never kissed anyone before," she blurted out purposely. She couldn't kiss him. He didn't love her because he couldn't and she wasn't good enough for him anyway. She would be too emotionally inept, too inexperienced to ever keep him satisfied.
His eyebrows raised and he jerked his head back. "What? Really?"
She stepped backwards, her eyes glued to the floor in shame. His hands reluctantly let go of her and awkwardly resumed their place at his sides, confusion written all over his face.
"I'm sorry," she breathed, brushing past him and down the hall back to her room. He can't see me cry again.
~
Amber had left with as much dignity as she could muster and kept her promise. Cerise spent the day avoiding him and even fell asleep in her father's deserted bedroom, where the sheets were cold and the room smelled too much like cologne. With a tear-soaked pillow, she fell into a fitful sleep.
