No Matter What // Harry Styles AU -- Dunkirk inspired

Chapter Twelve

"Harry?" I ask, turning around.

Harry lightly sprints towards me, his long coat unbuttoned, a paperboy cap in hand. When he reaches me, I can see under the yellow light of the street lamp that his cheeks are flushed. Niall follows just a few feet behind.

"What are you doing walking down this way?" he breathes out. Harry runs his hand through his mop of hair, pushing it out of his eyes.

"I'm headed home," I reply, confused but delighted to see him standing in front of me.

"Oh," he simply replies. He shifts his weight from one leg to the other, glancing around slightly. There's a sweetness in his expression that warms my heart. "Well why aren't you taking a cab?" he asks, fidgeting slightly with his hat. Is he nervous?

"Seemed like a good night for a walk," I offer with a smile, enjoying having the upper hand.

"All by yourselves, then?" Niall asks, a hint of worry peppers his tone. His eyes are soft and kind, but his jaw tightens ever so slightly.

"We have the stars for companions," Lucy jests. I shrug my shoulders lightly with a smirk and turn back towards my path. Within a few steps, I hear Harry's shoes click behind me and soon he is walking beside me.

"True, but the stars are never good for a conversation, Roses."

I stop walking and narrow my eyes at him, playfully smirking at his cheeky banter.

"Why do you keep calling me that?"

Smiling, he takes a few steps towards me, our bodies are so close that I'm terrified he can hear my heart beating out it's chest. "On account of those," Harry says as his hand brushes my cheek. My eyes flutter with the sudden rush of my pulse and my face instantly heats up.

So much for the upper hand, Hazel.

He lets out a lovely laugh, eyes bright as the stars we stand under. He takes his wool hat and playfully situates it on my head. It's too big and covers my eyes, but I gladly accept its warmth as well as the protection it offers from him seeing my further embarrassed face. I push up the front of the hat, and smile as Harry puts his hands back into his coat pockets and begins to walk backwards down the path.

"You coming?" he sings out. Niall and Lucy already lead us by a few feet.

"What about Kitty?"

For a moment I hate myself for asking. But I try my best to keep my cool by keeping my eyes focused ahead, shaking the image of how she had clung to him as if she were a small child and he were her favorite doll.

Harry stops walking, "What about Kitty?"

"You two seemed like quite the pair is all," I keep my gaze fixated on the cobblestone road ahead of us. The further we move away from downtown, the more rural the roads become. I use the street lamp that is now several feet ahead of us as my fixed target.

"Well I'll be," he chuckles. I look up quickly in surprise to find Harry's grin taunting me.

"That's not an answer, Mr. Styles," I say firmly. "I'm not sure how you do things around here, but I'm certainly not looking for any trouble-"

Harry looks down at his feet as we continue to walk. He scratches the back of his neck as he seems to search for his words. It dawns on me that a boy this good looking might be as slick as oil, and I start to grow weary of him.

"Kitty is just a girl I know from the factory."

I eye him carefully, suddenly very aware that I may have spent the night dancing with a puppet master who plays with a dozen hearts.