Shy Heart || h.s

8: Bottomless Immeasurable Unfathomable

I'm A Mess - Ed Sheeran

♛

Scarlett made her way through the school hallways and to her locker. She wasn't surprised to see Harry waiting there, chatting to the rest of their group in front of her locker. She stopped for a second, her eyes watching her new friends chatting away, laughing and smiling. A warm feeling of content spread in her stomach at the thought that they were there because of her, waiting for her.

She finally walked up to them, a smile gracing her lips.

"Scarlett!" Louis exclaimed, averting his attention from the others to her.

"We're going to the beach tomorrow, do you want to come with us?" Harry asked, ruffling her hair. She ducked away, opening her locker and settling her bag in it.

"I don't think I can." She replied immediately, almost cringing at the idea of going to visit the beach.

"How come?" Liam asked curiously. Scarlett stuttered over her words a little as she spoke.

"I-um-I have to help my...mother tomorrow." She bit her lip nervously, a habit of her's for when she was lying.

They all nodded in understanding, but Harry gazed at her curiously. The bell suddenly rang, where the group broke apart, leaving for their own classes. Scarlett could suddenly feel someone's gaze burning into her, making her shift uncomfortably.

"What?" She finally asked, turning to Harry.

"You're lying." He said, a knowing smirk gracing his lips.

Scarlett shrugged. "You don't know that." She tried to be as casual as possible, looking down at the floor and scuffing her shoes against it while she leaned against the locker wall.

"Well Scarlett..." She could suddenly feel his breath fanning against her cheek, she could feel the unexpectedly close proximity between the two. She wanted to duck away, to push him away, but something was stopping her. Her body was frozen, mind hazy, almost as if she was under a spell.

"You blink a lot when you lie, you also stutter... Oh and you bite your lip."

She was blatantly surprised to hear the words leave his mouth. How did he know all of that? Those were details that were easily overlooked in someone's behaviour. It made her question wether he was more observant than she thought him to be.

She shook her head, not daring to look up. "I don't do any of that."

"Really?" His voice was a teasing whisper in the loud chatter of the halls. Scarlett wondered what this new side of him was. She knew Harry was cheeky, but this was a very different side to him. He was being cheeky alright, but there was something so alluring and mischievous in the way he was joking around today.

She nodded, trying to control and regulate her breathing.

"Alright then." She suddenly felt his finger on her chin, her head was gently lifted, their gazes meeting suddenly. There was a teasing glint in Harry's eyes, but Scarlett could see an underlying sense of seriousness burning in them.

"Why can't you go tomorrow Scarlett?" He asked, a smirk tugging at his lips.

She straightened her back, tensing her shoulders and trying to be as confident as possible.

"Because my m-mother needs me to help her."

Harry was smirking cockily now, his finger pulling away from her chin.

"What?" She asked in confusion.

"The mere fact that you're biting your lip is enough evidence right now." Scarlett mentally cursed herself for being so obvious. She sighed. She probably seemed like a coward in Harry's eyes right now and she didn't want him to think of her like that. "Fine I'll go, what time?"