[Neither of them promised forever, yet it hurt all the same.]
River Hamilton cannot afford to fall for just anyone. To continue the legacy of her family the only way she can, she must eventually marry someone she may not want to spend the rest of he...
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R.HAMILTON
"All those trays of canapes will go to waste now," River sighed as she looked back towards the building. Something managed to set the fire alarm off which instantly turned the sprayers on, and everything, including the art on the walls, got drenched. River barely made it out, and now the crown of her head was damp.
Everyone who attended seemed displeased, some of them even worried, while others just wanted to get home. The scene attracted those on the street, an elderly lady even asked what happened and if the people were safe.
"Are you hungry?"
River nearly toppled over at the sound of Harry's question. "Starving."
"I know a place," Harry offered, eyes averted with some embarrassment which no doubt came from the moment they shared inside the building. Hamilton didn't know how to process the past events, but she found she'd have to face them before the end of the evening.
"Well... I suppose we have some time," River sighed as she gave in but it wasn't really a bother for her. In fact, she was thrilled to spend the night with Harry, and visit wherever he wanted to take her because it was new.
Harry seemed to give her a one over, and she frowned without meaning to react. "Will you be able to walk in those shoes?"
The question made River laugh, and almost slump her shoulders in relief. "Of course."
"Okay," he nodded, but didn't believe her and she knew it. Harry had a very expressive face, and nothing ever stayed hidden within. If he tried, he failed, but River didn't know if she had the right to tell him.
Truth be told, heels had the tendency to kill River's feet. Events like tonight were fine because they lasted a few hours, but to walk in them for a while? Everyone under the sun was going to be cursed by her tonight.
The music of the night carried the two of them through the streets. Their shoes tapped the asphalt, the cars wheezed past as if they ran on borrowed time. Honks and tire screeching, the odd shout in the distance. All of it brought a sense of comfort to River for it made her realise she was safe.
Harry almost felt like a threat to her, she acknowledged. He was new in her life, a foreign individual who happened to be at every corner she passed. When River put things into perspective, like tonight as she walked through the streets of her home, she realised everything was still the same.
She almost grew frustrated with herself because she couldn't understand the sudden change. No one had the chance to become a thorn in her side like this. No one had put her out of place like this before.
"For what it's worth, some of those paintings were cool," his words broke the silence, and the wheel of thoughts that revolved completely around him in River's head. "Not the naked, faceless woman, because I still think that's just lack of skill—or she got bored with it," he laughed to himself, quietly, and just for a second. That, and his comment was enough to force River's lips upwards. "But the rest... they were alright."
