<Coach Styles>

Fourteen-

I got You & I for Christmas and the boys said it was a charm, but I'm Larry and 1D af so imma wear it as a ring. Excuse my ugliness plz.

Harry's POV:

Feeling her softly press a kiss to my ribs, goosebumps scattered across my skin. She made me nervous, good God, so nervous. She scared the hell out of me. For a 16 year old, she looked and acted so much older. I wanted nothing more than to be there for her and give her everything that had been taken from her. I wanted to show her the world that I had been shown.

Gala's, parties, Paris, Luxembourg, Copenhagen, Portugal, Spain, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, everywhere I had been, I wanted to share with her. Basketball had led me to travel the world, achieving and I wanted her to realize there was so much more to life than the little corner people were trying to confine her in. Neely wasn't meant to be pushed down and held in place. She was meant to be inflicted upon the world like a pandemic, captivating everyone she met with her charm, beauty, and fiery wit. She didn't understand how special she was. Just how much she made an impact on the girls, her classmates, and even me.

I was politely social and funny when I had to be, but other than that, I was a pretty private person. Only Louis knew what I had gone through because we'd grown up together, going separate ways until meeting back up and living together. He knew why I charmed people when I was in public, but never really dated anyone. He knew why I had so many tattoos and the reason I didn't sing in front of people that often.

He knew everything and I was scared to death that Neely would ask him how I felt about her and he would give her what I said a few days prior. Only my leather journal knew the real way I felt about her.Yes, I was attracted to her physically, but she was so intellectually brilliant, it overrode the physical aspect. We'd kissed, but it wasn't just a drunken pity kiss like I assumed she thought it was. It was a kiss that I'd only ever had one other time and the kiss with Neely was 10 million times that.

It wasn't full of lust of what I thought was love like with Elizabeth. No, whatever I had- or thought I had- with Elizabeth was nothing compared to what Neely and I had -or would hopefully have in the future- it was better. I couldn't manage such a slumber like Neely had fallen into and I softly moved her off of my torso and got up, pulling on a pair of sweatpants. Grabbing my glasses off the nightstand, I tiptoed to the office and unlocked the drawer my journal was locked in.

Sitting down and turning on the lamp, I sighed as I opened to a clean page and scrawled the date at the top before beginning to write.

She wasn't simple. She was crazy and sometimes she barely slept. She always had something to say whether it be silently or as loud as a trains whistle. She had flaws and that was okay. When she was down, she got right back up. But one idea described her best. She was unstoppable and she took anything with a smile.When you start to really know someone, all his physical characteristics start to disappear. You begin to dwell in her energy, recognize the scent of her skin. You see only the essence of the person, not the shell. That's why you can't fall in love with beauty.

You can lust after it, be infatuated by it, want to own it. You can love it with your eyes and body but not your heart. And that's why, when you really connect with a person's inner self, any physical imperfections disappear, become irrelevant. Quiet people have the loudest minds, and in Neely's case, hers was like a rock concert with an audience of 100,000. She wasn't really so hard & cynical after all - in fact she was still dangerously soft.

She was careful about who she was soft around, but those rare moments when her guard was down, she was captivating, I'd rather die a thousand deaths than live a lifetime without meeting Neely. She smiled at me and I knew it was done. My heart belongs to her now. She held my hand and the air got caught in my throat. And when she laughed I got dizzy in the best kind of way. She was perfect. ****

My hair hung in my face as I scrawled across the page and I paused, popping my fingers, and bringing the pen back to the page. That was the funny thing, when it came to verbalizing, I was complete crap at vocalizing how I felt. I had been ever since Elizabeth ripped my heart out, stomping on it and I apologized to her for getting blood on her shoes. Now, Neely seemed like the one who had been used to apologizing.

I had managed to grow and bloom after the winter that Elizabeth was. I was going to help Neely grow and bloom. Hearing a slight knock on the office door, I snapped my journal shut and threw it back in the lock drawer.

"Writing about your sex dreams with Neely?" Louis' voice teased quietly .

"No," I sighed. "What do you want?"

"I know you only write in your journal and stay up late is when you're overthinking something, stressed, or about to fall apart. So, which is it?" he smiled, sitting down across from me.

"All three."

"What happened?"

"We kissed."

"I'm really happy for you, Harry. That's am-"

"That's not all we did."

"Did you finally-"

"No, I couldn't bear to do it while she's drunk. That would be awful. We shared a sensual moment and she fell asleep on me. I couldn't fall asleep, so I came in here."

"I know it's hard not to think about Eliza-"

"Don't even say her name. It's hard enough to just think about what she did."

"Okay. I know it's hard not to think about her, but you've finally kissed someone after three years of torturing yourself. How many women have thrown themselves at you that you refused?" he reasoned. Hundreds. Maybe even a thousand, I wasn't sure.

"A lot," I shrugged.

"Your heart is finally beginning to open back up, Harry. Don't slam it shut on Neely. It's gonna take time," he assured. "But great things always do and I believe what you and Neely could have could be great."

"Harry?" Neely's voice called, opening the door. Louis and I both turned to look at her, looking disheveled and so gorgeous at the same time.

"What's wrong?" I asked, hoping she wouldn't start crying again.

"I'm cold," she smirked sleepily, leaning against the door and looking at me.

Thank you all so much for all the reads, comments, and votes!! Working on chp. 15 and will probably post 15-20 tonight!!

****S/O to tumblr for great quotes and I paraphrased some stuff, but felt they applied.

xx