Masterpiece {h.s}

28. Dating & Winking

It's a weird thing to spend time with someone else than Harry.
I was used to spending time with Liam in class, but outside of class, all my time was either spent with Harry or alone. So as we headed towards Liam's house, a ball of nerves formed at the pit of my stomach. Harry had informed me that we were to eat at Liam's before going out later and even if a part of me was excited, there was the usual part of me that was nervous.

As we rode in Harry's car, I stared at the window and listen to the radio. Halfway through the ride, Harry took my hand in his and rested it on my lap. I looked at him and gave him a small smile before turning back towards the window. As we arrived in Liam's driveway, or at least what I assumed was Liam's driveway because I had never been there before, I pulled down the mirror and made sure that I looked okay.

"What are you doing?" Harry chuckled and turned off the engine.
"Making sure that I look okay," I informed him as I tried to erase my smudged eyeliner under my eyes.
"You look beautiful Anna. Don't worry."

I shot him a menacing glance and his lip went into a thin line, trying to hold in his laughter.

"I looked like a raccoon," I corrected him.
"A cute raccoon," he replied and I hit him playfully in the chest.
"Shut up," I tried to scold him but failed and laughed. "Now let's go in and pretend like today didn't happen."

I tried to sound cheerful but the sad smile on my face gave me away. Harry's hand reached for my face and he rested his palm against my cheek. I leaned into his touch and sighed.

He looked at me worried but I shook my head, indicating to him that I truly wanted today to be left behind and he understood. He leaned his body forward and stopped centimeters away from my face. My eyes stayed fixated on his and I got lost into his beautiful green eyes. My heart started to beat faster and my hands became moist.

We were standing in a strange place emotionally, where we weren't exactly dating but we both knew we had feelings for one another. The urge to kiss him became harder and harder to resist the more time I spent with him, and having him so close right now didn't help at all.

He smiled wickedly before rubbing his nose against mine. The first time he had done that I had thought that it was weird, but now it was normal. It was our thing.

I lowered my eyes, unable to hold his gaze anymore and laughed silently. He nudged me again with his nose to make me look up at him.

I love you, he mouthed and I melted. I bit my lower lip and closed my eyes before nudging him with my nose. I wouldn't say it back, I wasn't ready to say it back, but I wanted him to at least know that he was important to me. He smiled, understanding before pressing a kiss at the tip of my nose.

"We'll have a good time tonight. Jessie will be there, you've met Jessie before haven't you?"

I nodded. I had met her when Liam had bought me with him at the coffee place. I hadn't really talked to her at the time, too caught up with the fact that Harry was there and that the last time I had seen him, I had ran away from him.
I remembered having poisonous thoughts towards her, jealous that she was talking to Harry. I hadn't seen her since but I didn't want that last impression of her to stain our potential friendship. I wasn't in a good place the first time I had seen her, I still wasn't but I was better. She seemed to be a good friend to Harry and Liam and the least I could do was give her a chance.

"Don't really know her though," I admitted.
"You'll see, she's really fun to be around."

I back away from Harry and he looked at me weirdly.

"Can I- Can I ask you something?" My voice shook a little and Harry frowned.
"Anything."
"Have you dated her before?"

My question clearly took Harry by surprise. His eyes widen for a second before he threw his head back and started to laugh. I pouted as his hand that rested on my cheek left to rest on his stomach. I already felt ridiculous for asking that but it was bugging me and I wanted to get that out of the way, and with Harry laughing I felt even more ridiculous.

"Fine, don't answer me." I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.
He caressed my arms as his laughter died down. "I'm sorry, it's just... the thought of me dating Jessie is absurd."

He laughed a little more before wiping the tear that had left his eyes.

"I never dated her, no." He shook his head with a smile.
"Okay," was all I said. I felt too uncomfortable to say anything else.
Harry saw my expression and calmed down. "I'm sorry."
"I feel ridiculous for asking."
"It's okay you didn't know," he tried to reassure me. "But, why were you asking?"
"I just wanted to know."
"Are you jealous Annabelle?"
"Of course not," I denied quickly. He looked at me with a sly smile and I blushed. "Maybe a little."
"Oh Anna," he tapped my nose with his index. "Don't be. Okay? You know how I feel."
"I'll try, but sometimes I just can't help it."
"Well, I choose to see that has a sign that you care."
"You know I do."

Harry took in a deep breath, as if hearing me saying this warmed his heart. We looked at each other smiling before Harry broke our eye contact and looked towards Liam's house.

"We better get going, Liam is going to wonder why we stayed in his driveway for so long."

I chuckled and nodded.
We exited the car and walked towards Liam's door. After knocking, Harry took my hand in his and we waited until the door opened.

A happy looking Liam wearing an apron greeted us and I held in my laugh.

"You guys made it! Finally!" He greeted us. He reached in for a hug and I gave him an awkward one-arm hug since Harry wouldn't let go of my hand. Liam noticed and looked at us both with sympathy. "Jessie is going to die."

I frowned, confused, and Harry chuckled. I looked up at Harry to get some answers, but he simply winked and smiled at me. We walked to the kitchen and saw Jessie sitting at the table playing on her phone. She looked up, her eyes landed directly on Harry and I's intertwined hands, and her face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"No way!" she exclaimed and I jumped a little, surprised by her outburst. "You guys are dating?"
Harry looked down at me, expecting me to answer. "I, uh... I guess?" I said carefully looking at Harry.