GREEN (RL Harry Styles fanfic)

6. Tickled Pink

I was awoken by a gentle tapping on my left arm. I struggled to open my eyes and as I tried I was met with a bright light filtering in through the windows and a pounding headache. After blinking a few more times I was finally able to focus my eyes. I turned to the left to see what was tapping on me.

I watched as a large hand with long extended fingers bounced off my limb. I had never been so fascinated by a hand as I was with this one. I watched the sunlight reflect off each ring on the fingers. I eyed the small cross tattooed near the thumb and trailed up to a scattering of more. I was reminded of last night and how the conversation had led to tattoos, my tattoos. I smiled at the mixture of my vibrant colored inkings with the black and grey. My left arm represented my happiness and it combined beautifully with the artwork upon his- The one I realized belonged to Harry Styles.

I tore my gaze from Harry's hand and turned to my right side. It was then that I realized I was on Harry's chest. I must've fallen asleep and shifted on to him in the night. Harry had put his arm around me, allowing me to rest in comfort in his side.

"Good morning Olivia," Harry said as his voice strained to get out the words after being silent for so long.

"Morning. What time is it?," I asked completely oblivious. I wasn't sure if I had slept a day or an hour.

"It's 6:30 AM. Sorry for waking you, but I didn't want you out too long. And I couldn't really feel my arm anymore." He raised his arm and stretched it above our heads sighing at the change of position. "It's all tingly and asleep! I shouldn't have moved it. Ahhh!" He hissed at the feeling.

I bolted upright and instinctively began to tickle Harry's ribs and underarm. His muscles tightened beneath my fingers as he squirmed, his arm still above his head.

"You're the devil!," he yelled between deep laughter and cries from the movement of his tingling arm. I joined in the laughter, feeling accomplished in my torture.

"Well that's what you get for waking me up," I said as I halted my tickling. I smiled at Harry and his now pink cheeks. He had been laughing so hard he was flush.

"I was making sure you were still alive!," Harry defended putting on a serious face. I laughed at his expression.

"Well I am alive, although, my head is trying to kill me," I said, getting another round of pain.

"You should take your prescription. Let me get it for you." Harry unfolded his long body and rose off the couch. He grabbed the bag from the hospital pharmacy off the table in the entry and made his way into the kitchen. I could only make out his curls from my seat on the couch. I watched them bobbing around the kitchen for a few minutes accompanied with various sounds of dishes clanging and cabinets opening and closing. Harry returned with a glass of water, and a plate with a pill and a piece of toast with avocado spread atop it. "You need to take this medicine with food, I hope this will do for now."

"Thank you," I said taking his offering. I actually loved avocado on toast, that and a fried egg was my breakfast of choice. I smiled at his gesture, Harry clearly remembering my mention of avocado as my favorite fruit. He sat down next to me pulling a banana from his pocket. He quickly peeled it and devoured half in just a few bites as I ate my toast.

I was still tired, calculating that I had only gotten about two hours of sleep, but now that the sun was up Harry's house was filled with light. I certainly wouldn't be able to take another nap on the couch. Finishing my toast and downing my pill and water, I got up to carry my dishes into the kitchen.

"Are you all done with your banana?," I asked Harry, reaching for his banana peel. "Let me take it for you." I felt it was the least I could do considering Harry's hospitality.

"Mmhmm." Harry made the muffled sound with a mouthful of banana and handed me the peel. I discarded everything in the kitchen and returned to the couch next to Harry.

"Did you get any sleep?," I asked him.

"A little. I'm fine though. How did you sleep?"

"Good, but I'm still tired," I said honestly.

"Why don't you lie down upstairs and get some more rest? You need it," Harry said, his green eyes catching mine. They had a softness to them, and there was something about them you could just trust.

"I'm not going to lie, that sounds heavenly."

"You can sleep in my room, it's the most comfortable and it gets the darkest when the curtains are closed. C'mon." Harry gestured for me to follow him. We made our way back up the stairs and down the hallway I was now becoming familiar with.

When we reached his room Harry kindly turned down the covers for me and removed the Monopoly game that was still on the bed, shooting me a look. I covered my mouth indicating that I wasn't going to say a word about it. He pat his hand on the mattress summoning me to my borrowed bed and giving me a turned up smile. His gesture caused a fluttering in my stomach that I realized he had evoked in me a number of times now. What that was I still wasn't sure. He walked to the wall of windows, pulling the drapes shut. The day seemed to turn to night in an instant, evoking memories of the previous hours spent with Harry by my side. I climbed into his bed recognizing his scent, the crisp combination of mint and lemon and breathing it in.

"Get some rest. If you need me I'll be in the room across the hall," He said as he shut the door behind him.