Hooked || Harry Hook x oc

CHAPTER XI: NICE TO MEET YOU AGAIN

Rowan sat by the edge of the gazebo, dangling her toes in the water of the enchanted lake. She hadn't had this pleasure the last time she was here, so she thought she'd better take advantage on such a beautiful day.

She had sent the text to Harry with confidence. She had showered and stretched and chosen an outfit which would be "Delish!" by Evie's standards. She had even managed to play a small trick on an unsuspecting student on her way, flipping his backpack inside out and stacking the contents neatly back into the reversed bag. She was feeling back to her good-timing self. So, why now, as the clock neared the time they'd set to meet, did she suddenly feel her courage slipping away?

"Hey there, doll," came Harry's sultry accent from behind her.

She turned to greet him, trying to force a kind smile to her face.

"Hey, Harry. How have you been?"

He sat down beside her, unlacing his boots to put his own feet in the lake.

"Oh you know, handsome and charming as ever," he joked, trying to mask his own anxieties in front of her. This earned a small laugh from the girl.

They sat there a moment in silence, watching the ripples of the water lap against the side of the platform on which the gazebo stood. Birds chirped somewhere above, and the leaves rustled softly in the breeze.

"Why do I get the feeling that you asked me here to say absolutely nothing?" Harry asked, relaxing back against the platform, arms crossed behind his head.

"I-I just wanted to see how you were doing is all."

Harry closed his eyes, enjoying the sunshine. He could never get enough of the stuff, having lived his entire life on the cloud-covered Isle. "So, you missed me, eh princess?"

"Missed you? I've seen you nearly every day!" Rowan protested, splashing her feet.

Harry rolled to his side, using his arm as leverage to tilt his head up towards her. "But you miss our talks, don't you?" He was getting rather cocky now, feeling the nerves wash away from him. Being around Rowan when they were alone like this was comforting. Perhaps it was the awkwardness amongst their peers that had him so stuck in his head these last few weeks.

"You were kind of an ass," she blurted.

"I was an ass?" Harry held his hand over his heart, feigning offense. "You've basically been giving me the cold shoulder since we got back!"

Rowan objected, trying to toss the blame back his way. "You could have made some sort of effort to speak to me if you'd wanted." She shrugged as if this matter were nonchalant.

"I've tried, princess. You've hardly even looked my way!"

"Well maybe if I had any clue that you cared whether I existed or not, I might have actually paid more attention to you!" Rowan rose to her feet, frustration beginning to seep from her pores. This was not going the way either one of them had hoped. The contented atmosphere was being overtaken by hostility, which each directing fault to the other.

"Any clue? Was that night no clue to you? I spent an entire week being convinced that I had not dreamt that kiss. Tell me after all this time dwelling on it that I wasn't wrong!" Harry was starting to second-guess Uma's advice. Perhaps it had all been in his mind, after all.

"Do you mean the one after you screamed in my face? The one before you shoved me to the ground? You hurt me, Harry! You can't sandwich one fantastic moment between two ugly ones and expect me to know that you care!"