The Christmas Concert | h.s.

Chapter 21

Harry's POV

I watched Harli carefully as she wrung water out of her t-shirt. It was hanging way looser than when we first went out, and her hair was dripping onto it, not helping the whole water soaked situation. The once white t-shirt was see-through and I was having some trouble keeping my eyes from wandering.

"You ok?" she asked, catching me off guard.

"Yeah," my voice came out scratchy, so I cleared my throat, "yeah I'm fine, we'll make it out of this soon."

"How?"

I was stumped on this one, "I don't know, but I'll figure it out, I promise."

Harli looked like she was trying not to cry, and I walked over to where she was huddled against the wall. Before I could hug her or try to comfort her in any way, she just started laughing hysterically and I froze. Her head thumped back against the wall, and her body shook from the force of it.

"Holy cow, this is insane," she choked out between laughs, and I stayed frozen in place.

When she finally stopped, I wrapped my arms around her soaked form and brought her to my chest, "It'll be ok, Har, I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," she responded, but hugged me back regardless.

Her wet hair was tickling my arms as it hung down between us. My hand went to her cheek, running my thumb across it. Harli's shudders calmed with my touch, and her form began to relax. The rain was still pounding outside, and lightening lit up the sky.

"I had fun tonight," I told her softly.

"Me too, even though it didn't go quite as planned, it's certainly the most exciting date I've ever been on."

"Date, eh?"

"Yes Harry, I think we've well established that this is a date."

"Well then it's the most exciting date I've ever been on too."

"I should hope so, this is quite a standard to beat."

"Hey Har," I said after a few beats of silence.

"Yeah?"

"I think Patrick Kane had the right idea."

"What do you mean?"

"That he still talked to you despite being a Taylor Swift fan."

She grinned at me, "You flirting with me, Styles?"

"This is a date, so it's my shot to impress you, right?"

"I already said yes, so don't you think that's been accomplished?"

"Take the compliment, stubborn."

"Thanks, Harry, I'm glad you and Patrick Kane think I'm better than Taylor Swift, it's very flattering. But let's not forget that you chose to date her."

"That's not fair."

"I'll let you off for the first time, but we were sort of friends by the time New Years Eve rolled around, so that's no excuse."

"I was young and dumb."

"And since two weeks ago you've aged miraculously," she asked, teasingly.

"Well, miracles do exist."

I felt rather than saw her laughter from where my arms were around her. Her damp hair was sticking to my neck, and neither of our clothes were drying being pressed together like they were. Our close quarters were making my heart speed up, and my palms were slightly sweating, but I chose to believe it was rainwater.

The minimal light from the moon, somewhat showing from behind the clouds through the door, was suddenly blocked. A gasp escaped her lips, and I wrapped a hand around her mouth. I could feel her breathing pick up under my palm, and I fought to keep myself calm.

I heard the heavy breathing of the men who were chasing us. What was the goal they were trying to accomplish here? The rental car was destroyed and we were on the run in an unfamiliar area, I didn't see the point of chasing us down.

"They have to be in here, they can't just disappear into thin air," one broke the silence

"You look then," the other snapped.

I tried to distract Harli by running my fingers up and down her arms. She was shaking slightly and I pressed us closer into the wall, trying my hardest to blend in. My breathing stopped as he looked straight into our shadowed corner. When he backed out of the building, I stood and pulled her up with me, "We're sitting ducks here, we need to move."

She shook her head quickly, "No, they're still right there."

"Yes, come on."

Harli stubbornly planted her feet and refused to move. I waited about five minutes before putting her on my back and carrying her out into the rain. We, or I, walked down the street until a motel appeared on the side of the road. It was rundown and scary looking, but I was exhausted, and Harli was already dozing on my shoulder.

A man was propped up in a chair, looking very out of it. I cleared my throat to get his attention, and when that didn't work, spoke up, "Sir?"

"What can I do for you kids?"

I jumped a little at his raspy voice, "A room for one night."

His creepy smile gave me shivers, and Harli was pretty much fully out on my back. I envied her, but I also didn't want her to see the sketchy situation I was putting us in. The man led me up the stairwell and down a hallway to a room at the end.

When the door was opened, a stench of cigarette smoke and alcohol hit me. I wanted to gag, but I pushed it down because the man was staring at me. He crossed his arms, "Good enough."

"Yes, thank you."

I walked in and laid her on the bed before going to the bathroom to pee quickly. When I finished my business, I stared in the mirror for a few seconds, trying to calm my racing heart. Then I realized that I'd left Harli in a vulnerable state, so I quickly left the bathroom to make sure she was okay.

Thankfully the creepy man hadn't used his key to get in while I was gone, so I climbed in next to her and quickly fell asleep.