Forever | h.s.

Chapter 11

~Harry's POV~

Never in my life have I ever acted that way to a girl, to anyone. But seeing her cry, even not knowing why, made me hurt for some reason. Her innocence was so sexy. She was so delicate, and beautiful. The way I wrapped her in my arms, was like she fit right with me. Her warmth filled me, and it gave me a feeling I've never felt before.

I climbed out of the car and slammed the door closed after I walked into the house.

"Hey, Mum." I mumbled. She sat in the living room, and watched the news.

"Hello, darling." She smiled. I turned away, and walked up the stairs, into my room. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket before flopping down on my bed. I had one incoming text message from Annabel. My heart started racing.

From Annabel: Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it :)

To Annabel: It was nothing, sorry for... anything.

From Annabel: Oh it was nothing, don't apologize.

She was so nice, so kindhearted. Everything about her gave me butterflies. I've never felt this way before, about any girl. Why did she of all people, have this affect on me? She wasn't a whore that just wanted me for sex. I didn't even know if she wanted me, and maybe that was the reason I was so attracted to her.

"Harry?" I heard a soft knock at my door.

"What?" I snapped, a bit too harshly. My mum seemed taken aback, but she acted like she didn't notice.

"Are you hungry, love?" She asked softly. I shook my head, before looking back at my phone.

"Is there anything wrong?" She frowned. I sighed. My mother and I were always close. Ever since I was a child, I told her everything I felt. I knew I could trust her, and she was my only family, aside from Gemma. She walked over, and sat at the edge of my bed.

"There's this girl. Her name's Annabel. But she's different than the girls I'm used to. She's so kind, and sweet. I can't seem to get my mind off of her, not even for a second. She's beautiful, to me. She's... perfect." I ran my fingers through my curls. I swear I saw my mum's eyes twinkle as I spoke about her.

"Harry, that's wonderful." She smiled widely.

"Mum, it's not like I'm going to date her, you know how I feel about dating." I said, a bit annoyed.

"I know, Harry. But you should give her a try." She put a hand on my knee. I thought for a moment, before hesitantly nodding my head. I didn't know if I meant it, but somehow I told myself I had to. "If she makes you happy, Harry, then you need to try. 'You must be the best judge of your own happiness.' Remember that." My mum spoke, before getting up off the bed. Emma, was the name of the book she just quoted. I remembered it from when I was younger. My mum was right, once again. She closed the door behind her, leaving me drowning in my own thoughts. I knew what I had to do.

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~Annabel's POV~

"The more I know of the world, the more I am convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love. I require so much!" I read. Mrs. Dashwood was so convinced that there was no man she could ever love. I related to her in that way. Would I ever find anyone?

Danny, my ex-boyfriend, whom I've been with for 4 years, was never

very affectionate towards me. I doubt he even loved me, for the while we dated. I ended things with him last summer, leaving both of us devastated. Man, what a summer. But I just couldn't stand him anymore. He was so uptight. I wanted things from him I knew I could never get. He was supportive of me, and he was always there for me, but I just couldn't see myself with him. Of course my mother was disappointed, he had a perfect GPA, and was such a smart man. He was polite, and I loved him, but was I so sure he loved me back? Not really. Instead of dwelling on my past, like I usually did before I met Harry, I found myself thinking of him, all the time. Imagining what it'd be like with him. I knew deep inside him, there was something secretive about him. Something no one knew, not even his closest friend. I was determined, as the nosy person I am, to figure that out.

I was so distracted, I found myself turning back a page in Sense and Sensibility, to reread it. Instead of trying to concentrate, I set the book aside, ontop of my nightstand. No one knew my feelings towards Harry, not even Lilly, and I told her everything. I've debated several times to tell both her and Brielle about my encounters with Harry, but I was smart enough to know, that all I'd get from them are warnings to stay away from him. I didn't think Harry was dangerous, just intimidating, but only because that was his reputation. I was probably the only person that saw right through all that 'bad boy' bullshit.

"Knock knock, guess who's here!" I heard a cheerful voice, and immediately smiled.

"Lil! What're you doing here?" I sprang up from my bed, and rushed over to her, wrapping my arms around her neck. One of her arms wrapped around my neck as well, her other arm holding something.

"I brought movies and popcorn!" She smiled, holding a couple of DVDs and unpopped bags of popcorn. I smiled.

"Why?" It wasn't like I didn't want her to be here, I was just wondering what brought her over.

"I haven't seen you in what, 2 days? You're my best friend, I can't go that long without you!" She laughed, setting the DVDs on the dresser.

"Are you staying the night?" I asked, closing the door.

"Yeah, if that's alright with you!" She said, plopping down in my moon chair.

"Of course! I'm glad you're here." I said, sitting on my bed.

"So, any gossip recently?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. I thought about Harry immediately. Should I tell her? She is my best friend. I sighed.

"Here's the thing. It's about Harry." I immediately noticed her furrowed eyebrows. "But I don't want you to lecture me about how he's dangerous, okay?" She hesitated, before nodding her head. I took a deep breath in, and started talking. I explained everything from the start, my thoughts and everything, leaving Lilly speechless. I fidgeted with my hands, and nervously picked at my nail polish, anxious to hear what she has to say. After a period of awkward silence, Lilly let out a dragging sigh.

"Annabel, you're my best friend. And I promised not to lecture you, so I won't, but I need to talk to you about this. So just listen." She looked at me with a sympathetic look, as I frowned. "Brielle has told me what Harry has done in the past. He just takes girls to bed with him, and leaves them, and never comes back to them. Once he's slept with you, you're nothing to him anymore. Harry doesn't date. He's always out at parties, and getting into fights, and I don't want you to be involved with a person like that. He may seem sweet to you now, but he's just leading you on. Trust me, Annabel. I don't want to see you get hurt, and by sticking with Harry, you're going to get hurt." She looked down at her hands. I stayed silent. Was she right? I didn't want to get hurt, nor could I afford to, physically or mentally, with the state I was currently in. I was fragile, I was broken. I needed someone to fix me, not harm me even more. I took a deep breath, and let it out.

"You're probably right." I said, not making eye contact.

"I'm sorry, Annabel-" Lilly started to say.

"Let's just watch a movie." I interrupted, a bit rudely. I didn't want to continue the conversation anymore. All it did was add to the list of thoughts, and I was tired. She nodded, without saying a word, and got up to put the disc to one of our favorite movies; A Walk to Remember, into the DVD player, while I made myself comfortable on my bed. This was going to be a long night, I could already tell.

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So this chapter is quite short, and I'm sorry! it'll get MUCH better, I promise! Love you all, thanks for voting!

The gif I linked is just an example of what I imagine Lilly is saying to Annabel!