<Coach Styles>

Sixty One-

Harry's POV:

"You know you can tell me anything," I smiled, looking at her facial expression, I could tell it wasn't something good. "Talk to me."

"Um," she sighed, swallowing thickly. "There's something I didn't tell you about."

"What is it?" I chuckled. "Surely it's not this bad." My mind was going at a million miles a minute.

"Colby-" she started. "H-he-" she struggled to get the words out but I could only assume what she was going to say.

"He touched you?" I whispered almost inaudibly and she nodded.

"No," I said, tears filling my eyes. "Don't tell me that."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I didn't know how."

"Oh my God." Pulling her as close to me as I could, I felt tears fall against my hand and didn't know if they were hers or mine.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed.

"Shhhh. It's okay. I'm so sorry. So, so sorry." All the times since then we'd played around and teased each other, I could sense she was uncomfortable but never knew why until now.

"I'm never gonna let anyone hurt you like that again," I whispered. "Ever." I felt like I had let her down, not being there to protect her when Colby did break in. It'd been eating at me since the incident and I hadn't slept very much.

"You didn't let anything happen to me. It's not your fault," she sniffled, wiping at her nose with the back of her sleeve. I didn't say anything back, just held her tighter and took a few deep breaths to stop the tears that were silently falling down my cheeks.

"What do you want for Christmas?" I asked, changing the subject as we finally let go of each other.

"You don't have to get me anything," she dismissed. "As long as I have you, I've got all I need."

"I'll just surprise you."

"I hate surprises."

"I know, but you'll love what I'm thinking about getting you."

"I might, but I'm gonna complain about it being a surprise."

"I wouldn't expect anything less," I laughed, kissing her forehead. The sun finally came up and I relished in the way it illuminated Neely's face. It was a serene moment.

"Okay, Shakespeare. If you don't want me looking ugly all day, you might want to take me back home," she teased as the clock on the dash changed from 7:25 to 7:26.

"You never look ugly."

"I beg to differ." Driving back toward her house, I slowly stopped in front of the building with a sigh and we looked at each other.

"I'll see you at lunch," she smiled slightly. Leaning forward, our lips met and my hand cupped her warm cheek. Touching our foreheads together, I smiled.

"I love you," I said quietly. "So much."

"I love you, too." She kissed me one last time before opening her door and getting out. Waving quickly as she jogged in front of the car, I honked, laughing as she jumped and flicked me off. Pulling off once she got inside, I made my way to the school and the halls were quiet.

"Nice to see you," Louis' voice rang out as he sauntered into the room.

"I had plans this morning. Everything good?" I chuckled.

"It's so good to see you so in love again."

"It feels good. I'm meeting some of her family tonight."

"That's amazing."

"I'm kind of nervous, to be honest. It's scary."

"How do you think she felt when she met your family? I'm sure you're going to be fine."

"I hope," I sighed.

"Have you gotten her anything for Christmas yet?" he asked, sitting on the corner of the desk.

"Not yet. I'm trying to think of the perfect gift. I don't want to shower her with stuff like it did on her birthday. I want it to be something special."

"Do you want to get her jewelry?"

"I'm not sure. I mean, I want to get her a ring, but not an engagement ring. Just something to let her know how much I love her."

"Maybe give her your necklace. She asked me about it a while ago and why you never take it off."

"She hasn't mentioned it to me," I shrugged. "I'll take what you said into consideration. Thanks, man."

"No problem, but you might want to get something soon. Christmas is only two weeks away and you lot are in a tournament after Christmas."

Hey guys! Thank you all so much for the reads, votes, and comments. It means the world and y'all are amazing. These are a few filler chapters before we delve into some good stuff. Keep reading.

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