Unchanging [h.s. au]

ten

The icy water engulfed my body and I desperately untangled myself from Harry in order to get oxygen in my lungs once again.

I wildly kicked my legs until I reached the surface of the water, inhaling deeply and rubbing the pond water out of my eyes.

"Clara! Jesus, are you okay?" Niall was looking down at me near the edge of the pond. Liam was close behind him with a concerned look on his face.

"Yeah, I think so." I gasped.

Harry suddenly surfaced next to me. His hair was covering half his face in wet ringlets while drops of water clung to his frame.

Harry pushed the wet hair out of his eyes to only start rambling. "Clara, I'm so sorry, I should have watched where I was going, I didn't mean to--"

I put my hand up to stop him. "It's alright, Harry."

"I can't tell you how sorry I am. Please don't be upset." Harry begged.

"Really it's fine, I'm not upset." I reassured him. "Just remind me not to play golf with you again." I joked.

I quickly reached out and splashed pond water all over his face.

He sputtered in surprise and I couldn't help but laugh.

"That means apology accepted," I grinned.

Harry narrowed his eyes. "I am really tempted to splash you back, but I suppose I deserved that."

"Such a gentleman," I teased

I waded in the water over to Niall and Liam at the edge of the pond.

The pond was set fairly deep in the ground and surrounded by a tall wall of grass and dirt. Great, I would have to jump.

I gauged the distance and got ready to move, but before I could, I felt strong arms grab my hips and hoist me out of the water. I let out a squeal of surprise. Niall and Liam each grabbed one of my hands, helping to pull me up. At the same time, I felt a hand on my bum, pushing me to dry ground. I turned around to see Harry cheekily grinning at me.

"Don't push your luck, buddy." I chided.

Water cascaded down my body as I stood up. I probably looked like a drowned rat.

"I can't believe you're not upset!" Niall said. "Most girls around here would freak about their hair and makeup being ruined."

"Sure you're alright, Clara?" Liam asked.

"Yeah," I reached up to pull a piece of seaweed off my shoulder. "I don't think I'll ever have as exciting of a golf lesson as this one, though."

Niall let out a loud, hearty laugh. I found myself laughing along with him. I just couldn't help it; his laugh was contagious.

Harry stood up on the bank next to me with a grunt. "I could help you find some dry clothes if you want, Clara."

I looked over at Harry and saw that his white polo had become entirely see through. Holy moly was that boy fit. His abs were well defined and tattoos were sprinkled across his chest. Droplets of water clung to his tan skin while his chest moved up and down with heavy breaths from having to climb out of the pond. I was so tempted to reach out and take off the entire shirt for him.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. "Um, yeah, that sounds good to me."

"Alright, I'll take you to my house." Harry started walking towards our golf cart between the trees.

"Wait, you live here?" I asked with disbelief. "And you work here too?"

"Course he lives here." Niall piped up. "Didn't he tell you that--"

"No time to chat!" Harry loudly cut off Niall. "We've got to get Clara some dry clothes." He reached out to grab my hand and quickly pulled me away.

I looked over my shoulder and gave Niall and Liam a confused look.

"See you around, Clara!" Liam waved.

"Bye!" I yelled before we were out of earshot.

Harry was noticeably shaken up from what Niall almost told me. He remained quiet as we walked through the trees.

"Harry?" I said softly. "Are you okay?"

He turned and gave me a small smile before responding. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Niall just gets a little carried away sometimes, that's all."

I couldn't disagree with that. Although, I was still curious about what he was going to say before Harry cut him off. "Is there anything you want to tell me?" I cautiously asked, not wanting to sound nosy.

He looked down at our entwined hands. "Not today," he faintly replied. "Someday, yes, just not today." He brought our hands to his face and brushed a warm kiss on the top of my hand.

His simple kiss made my insides turn to mush. It didn't help that he was still soaking wet and utterly sexy.

I nodded to him in response, not wanting to push the subject any further. I could respect the request of not talking about touchy subjects. I have had plenty experience with that myself.

The drive to Harry's house was relatively quiet. Harry still seemed to be thinking, but every once and a while he would point out a landmark or things to do at the club.

When Harry announced "We're here." I looked up to see one of the biggest houses I've seen in the neighborhood. It had a black fence surrounding it, like my dad's house, but its yard was twice the size. Square, trim bushes lined the driveway and full flowers bloomed everywhere out of the ground. Beautiful stone wrapped around the body of the house and a small waterfall fountain was built near the entrance.

Harry jumped out of the golf cart and motioned for me to follow him inside.

The inside of the house was flawless as well. There was a double sided staircase leading upstairs with an indoor fountain in the middle. I couldn't imagine growing up in a place like this.

"We can go upstairs to find some clothes." Harry started walking up the right staircase as I distractedly followed while trying to look at the artwork that hung on the walls.

Harry walked down the hallway and opened a door to reveal a room with dark, masculine colors. He immediately stepped up to a large armoire and rifled through the drawers.

"I hope you don't mind if I give you some of my clothes, even though they probably won't fit you quite right." Harry said as he faced the drawers.

"I don't mind," I responded.

Besides a few items of clothing on the floor, Harry's room was fairly neat. No decorations adorned the room except for one framed Fleetwood Mac poster on a far wall. The sheets looked fresh and crisp on his neatly made bed and there was a faint smell of cologne and clean laundry.

In the middle of my observation, Harry set a soft pile of clothes into my arms.

"The bathroom is just across the hall," he informed me with a smile.

I nodded, quickly walked into the bathroom, and shut the door.