The Sound of Silence 2 // H.S.

28

"The Minute" - Marion Raven

Harry's POV

"Wake uuuup..." Nikki was kissing me all over my chest. I woke up awhile ago when she started nibbling down my neck, but I didn't want her stop. Her tongue ran beneath my belly button then traced my laurel tattoos. My breath hitched, giving me away.

"Hellooo ya big faker." She playfully nibbles on my hip. "I have something for you."

I open my eyes, expecting to squint at the daylight but it was dark outside. Had we slept all day?!

"What time is it?!" I sit up and rub my face to try and wake myself up more.

"Almost 5AM..."

"THERESA NICOLE! I need my beauty sleep!" I dramatically fall back against the pillows.

"You're such a damn drama queen! Get up! GET UP! This can't wait!" She tickled my sides. I yelped and rolled away in attempt to get away from her.

"We have to be up in three hours. You have a long day of filming and interviews. Now cuddle me or I will spank you for tickling me this early, erm for even tickling me at all!"

"But I want you to hear the album before everything. I've just been scared of what you'll think..." Her voice shakes slightly and I immediately sit back up. My eyes take a moment to adjust and settle on her moonlit naked body.

"Baby, it's you. I know I'll love it." I reach up to cradle the side of her face. She leans into my hand, her eyes held a vulnerability that had me in protector mode.

My angel was scared of sharing this album with the world. It was a very personal body of work. I have a feeling I'll only fully understand once I hear it for myself. It would feel like knowing her on another level, through the way she artistically tells her story.

"Hey, I love you. You're mine and I'm yours, yeah?" My thumb strokes her brow while still still holding her face.

She nods before turning her head to sweetly kiss the palm of my hand. I smile at the gesture. I've made this creature so much more affectionate than she used to be. I'd like to think that she reserves this softer side solely for me.

I watch her get up, the duvet revealing more of her creamy flesh. She must've brought her record player upstairs while I was asleep. I bite my lip in disappointment that I missed her gallivanting around our house naked, although watching her perfect backside right now was making up for it.

"I know you're jealous that I gave Mitch a copy first, but you'll be the first person that I'm going to sit and listen to the whole album with besides my manager and producer." She turns back towards me after the record begins to play.

"I'm honored." I hold my arms out. "Wanna be close to you, baby."

Nikki hurries over to the bed, curling into my side. She whispers each song title as they begin. I let the music wash over me and feel every emotion at once when I hear her voice; it's quite difficult to describe. Words aren't enough. They're never enough.

She gave away what songs were about me or us, smiling into my neck and kissing me there softly. Her lyrics were both poetic and unforgiving. She was vague when she needed to be, but if you didn't know her before you were about to when you listened to this album. Nikki was lost, fragile, and broken for so long. Hearing her get stronger and happier with every note was incredibly effective. It felt even more raw to hold her naked in my arms, completely bare and exposed physically and emotionally.

I tend to show my love in grand gestures, this house being a good example of that. That's just how I am. Nikki is much more sentimental and subtle. Knowing that she recorded this album during our breakup and still incorporated me into her album in a positive way was validation that I didn't realize that I needed.