Background Noise [HS]

THIRTY-ONE

The utter sound was entirely overwhelming: hundreds of voices cheering above the firecrackers whistling through the air, whoops and hollers in celebration of the New Year. As the show approached its curtain-call moment, each and every explosion could be felt rattling the cavity of Violet's chest, piercing the drums of her ears. Beside her, Harry stood among the chaos with his hands in the pockets of his coat, head toward the sky. His mouth slightly agape, eyes glazed over by the dynamite display coloring the otherwise black sky.

It was while watching the finale play across his face, illuminating the bridge of his nose and the glare of his smile that she felt it—completely overcome by what could only be described as love. A sensation that comes only from feeling so deeply for someone that most of your happiness is derived from their own. And she did—nearly falling to her knees at the sight of him looking so full of hope and promise for the first time since they met. It was hard to put into words—like a switch in him had been flipped on.

There was not a star nor moon capable of challenging his light.

Flooded with a sudden need for closeness, for a source of warmth out in the cold, Violet pressed steadfast to his side, wrapping her two arms around his one.

Harry bowed to her in an instant. "Cold, baby?"

He'd nearly shrugged out of his coat by the time the shake of her head came across. Despite the freezing temperatures, Violet was warm with a fondness that wouldn't go away so long as he was near. Harry watched with furrowed brows as she timidly nodded before shuffling in closer, practically nuzzling her way into his side. Again, he went to remove his coat until she stopped him, wrapping her arms around the waist left exposed by his raised arms, squeezing tight with eyes shut.

A wave of understanding washed through him.

Without so much as another word spoken between them, Harry moved to stand behind her, molding her back to his front with arms crossed over her collarbones, head bowed to rest atop hers. Unforeseen feelings were kept at bay as the fireworks fizzled out to ash above the swarm of people lining the street. As they were forced to pull away, Violet felt a part of herself to be diminished, too.

Fell inevitably numb as Harry led her by the hand through the crowd, weaving in and out of random bodies in direction of the Range Rover. Felt the clash of fire and ice in the form of two emotions, both happy and sad, for it was then that she knew she'd fallen for a boy and lacked the courage to tell him so.

How does one muster such when it is so easy to simply keep it inside, say nothing?

Violet could not dwell on the thought for too long, because the passenger door was being parted in her favor just as it crossed her mind. Harry stood alongside it, making way for her entry. And if things weren't already becoming too much, he batted her hands away when she sat, denying her the belt and buckle, choosing to reach for them himself. Her heart only swelled, stomach only twisted more as he clicked her in, giving the belt a good tug at her waist.

She couldn't help but find the situation incredibly intimate, sucking in a breath and holding it as his nimble fingers moved about her waist.

"How was that?" he asked suddenly, catching her off-guard in such a troubling, testing time. Violet nearly thought he meant how she felt about the tendons roping his hands being so dangerously close to her crotch before righting the sensuous thoughts hazing her mind. She had to blink herself back to reality.

"The show? It was great." She pressed herself as far back into the seat as she could possibly go, tried her best to refrain from rubbing her thighs together with him stood so close. For fucks sake, his hands were practically resting on the belt loops of her jeans. "Really beautiful. A little deafening, but."