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It was a little past seven in the evening when my phone suddenly buzzed from where it had been abandoned.

I furrowed my eyebrows, hesitantly picking it up, worry in my eyes as I realised that I had just received a text. I sat up all of sudden, unlocking the screen and finding myself relax almost instantly when I found out that it was from Niall.

From Niall: can i ask for your help with something?

I gave the screen a weird glance, trying to figure out what he possibly needed help with, but not managing to come up with anything. I shrugged, giving one last look to the book I was keeping open with a finger before turning it around not to lose the page while I replied.

To Niall: Sure

I sent it and picked the book up again, putting it on my thighs and going back to reading, but only paying half of the attention to the words printed on the page as I not so patiently waited for Niall to reply. When the text came, it seemed like ages had gone by, even though the fact that I was still on the same page proved that hardly a minute had gone by. Without moving the book, I took the phone, reading the text from the notification that had popped up on my lock-screen.

From Niall: go get Harry? tomorrow we have the maths test and he'll probably go get drunk and come back at a crazy time if he leaves on his own. i'd do it myself but he'd probably slap me or something

I chuckled at the text, pressing the home button to unlock the phone and typing a reply fast.

To Niall: Okay. Where is he?

I sent it and threw the phone on the mattress, sitting up with a little sigh. I stared at the couch for a couple of seconds, deciding what to do, before standing up and getting a warmer sweater than the one I was wearing out of the closet. I took a black hair tie from my nightstand and put my hair up in a bun, not feeling like making sure it looked nice at half past seven in the evening. I glanced at the phone as I walked by to grab a pair of socks, stopping on my tracks when I discovered that the screen had lit up with a text. I bent down a little to read what was on it without having to pick it up.

From Niall: he's at the gym. hang on i'll text you the address

I took the socks, sitting on the bed and putting them on before standing up and walking downstairs, not forgetting to take the phone with me, of course.

My mother gave me a weird glance as I walked behind the couch she was sitting on to get a pair of shoes. "What are you doing?" She asked somewhat casually, pretending to go back to watching the movie that was playing on the TV.

"Out with a friend" I replied as I put on the shoes, giving her a fast glance to make sure she was okay with that.

She raised an eyebrow. "At almost half past seven?"

I stopped my actions and looked up. "Is that a problem?" I asked her, all of sudden fearing that she wouldn't let me go.

"Just come back at an acceptable time" she said, finally turning her head and going back to the movie she was watching.

I stood up and walked into the hallway, taking my coat and putting it on before getting out of the front door. I pulled my phone out, discovering only in that moment that I'd already received the text I was waiting for.

I let out the breath I was inadvertently holding when I discovered that it was close enough to my house for me to be able to get there by foot in about twenty minutes. I put the phone back into my pocket and started walking, keeping a fast pace to make sure I wouldn't have risked missing Harry by just a few minutes. Personally, I preferred to have nothing to do with what he liked to do in his free time, especially because, not being able to understand it, I didn't feel like it was my place to judge it, but at the same time I knew that Niall was right. Being hungover during the test of the day after wouldn't have certainly helped him to keep his good maths grade.

I closed the coat to keep the cold air of winter to freeze me down to my bones, looking down at the dimly enlightened pavement as I walked. I wondered why Harry did what he did. It couldn't certainly be good to spend a crazy amount of hours working out at the gym and then end the night by getting drunk and falling asleep in random places, not even managing to always make it back to his own house before morning. To me, the twenty-minutes run my ex PE teacher forced us to do was more than enough, so I couldn't comprehend how he could spend way more than two hours at the gym and still enjoy it. To me, that was the definition of a nightmare. I wished I could've understood it, though.

Somehow I managed to arrive at the gym in a little less than fifteen minutes. I glanced at the building from outside, the lights were on, but it seemed almost entirely empty - as you'd expect it to be at half past seven of a cold winter evening. I sighed, shaking my head and entering it.

The woman sitting at the front desk looked up when she realised someone had come in, sending me an existentially bored look. "We're closing in thirty" she deadpanned, not staring at me for a second longer and going back to her magazine, covering her mouth as a yawn escaped her.

"Oh, I'm just waiting for a friend" I replied quickly, sending an awkward glance to the side as I desperately tried to find something to focus my attention on to avoid the tension of the situation.

She glanced up quickly as soon as she heard my words. "Name of the friend?" She asked, finally putting down her magazine.

"Harry Styles" I said, tucking a strand of hair that had fallen out of my bun behind my ear.

She rolled her eyes. "Should've expected it. Corridor on the right, first room. Tell him we're closing soon." She grabbed her magazine in an annoyed motion and went back to reading.

"Thank you so much" I said quietly, giving her a small nod before disappearing in the direction she'd just told me.

I entered the smaller room, realising only in the moment in which I first stepped foot in it that it was completely empty, if not for a single person.

He was standing on the side, his back towards me, the sound of his punches violently hitting the punching bag interrupting the silence almost regularly. He suddenly stopped, putting his hands on his knees as he caught his breath, sweat running down his spine and attaching the white t-shirt he was wearing to the muscles of his back.

I stopped right where I was, not wanting to interrupt him, a curious look in my eyes as I watched him do something I would've never expected him to do. He always seemed so poised in every situation, to the point that it was just weird to see him like that, even though it kind of made sense, in a way. Especially because of how calm he'd always looked in almost every situation, it felt logical to think that he had to unwind some other way, and certainly that was a way better option than getting into actual fights.

I watched as he straightened his back again, pushing the somewhat damp curls that had fallen over his forehead back with his wrist before going back to aggressively attacking the hanging sack. I furrowed my eyebrows as I took in the way his breath left his lips in fast and loud huffs, wondering how long he'd been there for. We hadn't spent the afternoon together, and it was already past dinnertime, so it wasn't that impossible to believe that it'd been hours.

I leant against the entrance, silently taking my phone out and checking what time it was, discovering that the gym was set to close in just twenty minutes.

I flinched when a loud sound reverberated through the room all of sudden, looking up even before the echo could fade away just to realise that Harry had literally punched the black punching bag off the hook.

He stood in front of it, his head turned in the direction of where it was on the ground, his shoulders rising and falling quickly in the rhythm of his breaths. It was only a matter of seconds before he fell to the ground as well, his knees harshly hitting the surface, his head hung low as his chest expanded and contracted quickly as he tried to get the air he needed. He slipped his boxing gloves off and covered his face with his bare hands, not moving from his kneeling position, distress evident in the strain of his muscles.

I detached myself from the wall and quickly made my way towards him, putting a hand on his clothed, but still somewhat damp, shoulder.

He flinched at the touch, making me realise that he was that lost in whatever he was thinking about that he hadn't heard me come closer, his eyes meeting mine as he lifted his head to see who had dared to bother him. The alarmed look in his mint green irises quickly softened when he recognised me, and he blinked a few times as a frown took over his features. "Sierra? What are you doing here?" He asked, confusion evident in his breathless voice.

I crouched down next to him, squeezing his shoulder lightly, staring into his eyes to try to understand if he was alright, but with no use. The warm look had left his eyes as fast as it'd come, giving room to an unsettlingly emotionless stare. I sighed, removing my hand from his shoulder. "Niall asked me to come get you" I said, seeing no point in acting as if I'd randomly come across the gym he was at in the middle of the evening.

"Of course" he muttered, suddenly standing up, leaving me to stare up at him as he passed his fingers through his hair. "Did you walk here?" He asked as he bent down to take the black gloves from where he'd left them on the floor.

I stood up as well, opening my coat when I started to feel a little too warm. "Yes" I replied, not missing the way he furrowed his eyebrows at my reply, but decided not to comment on it.

He threw the gloves on a bench that was on the side of the room closer to us, before walking back to the punching bag, that was still abandoned on the floor, and picking it up, managing to get it back quickly, the easiness of the task making me realise that it was a somewhat usual occurrence. I sucked in a sharp breath when, as he turned towards me, he grabbed the hem of his damp white t-shirt, easily slipping it off over his head in a fast move. He walked past me, one eyebrow raised as he side-glanced at my reaction.

"That wasn't necessary" I said quietly, finding myself staring into his eyes not to risk looking at his shirtless chest. I slammed my teeth shut when he stopped in front of me, my attentiveness dropping and causing me to find myself staring at the way his silvery cross necklace rested against his damp skin, shining in the lights of the room.

He crumpled his shirt up in a hand, sending me a devilish smile when he caught me staring. "Right, but I still did it" he replied, apparent nonchalance dripping from his words. "Wait at the entrance, I'm going to have a shower" he added before walking out of the room and disappearing down the corridor.

I closed my eyes for a couple of seconds, trying to get myself together before going back to the entrance. I glanced at the woman, that was completely ignoring my very presence, before sitting on one of the four available chairs on one side, taking my phone out of my pocket and pretending to do something just to pass the time and look busy.

I glanced up at the sound of steps not even fifteen minutes later, discovering that Harry was already done, and was now standing in front of me, his curls still slightly damp from the shower.

"Come on" he said quietly, taking a beanie out of the pocket of his black coat and putting it over his head.

I nodded, getting up as well and following him as he made his way out of the door, not even sparing half a glance to the woman behind the front desk. I reached him, walking at his same pace while we got to his car.

"Have you had dinner?" I asked once we where inside, and he gave me a little shrug, not even backing it up with a couple of words as he turned on the car and started driving.

"I often don't have dinner, I'm fine" he replied quietly. "Can we go to yours?"

I widened my eyes at the weird request, but nodded nonetheless. "Sure" I replied, turning to glance at the dark through the window.

The car ride was silent, but I didn't really mind. I myself didn't feel up for conversation, so I accepted his lack of it quite happily. Just a few minutes after he parked in front of my house, and we both got out of the car.

I tapped my foot on the floor, squeezed between Harry's body and the door, as I passed the few keys I had, trying to find the correct one. Once I did, I put it in the lock quickly, unlocking the door fast and sliding inside, closely followed by Harry.

"I'm back" I said as I took off my coat, hoping that it would be loud enough for my mum to hear me. "We're just going to go upstairs." Without waiting for a reply, I started walking up the stairs, with Harry following suit.

We got into my bedroom and sat down on the bed. I watched as Harry took off his shoes and left them on the floor before crossing his legs on the mattress, and I took them off as well.

I turned to look at him when I suddenly realised that a deep silence had filled the room, giving him a little glance while I tried to figure out what he was thinking. I blinked a couple of times when the image of him shirtless suddenly came back to my mind. Honestly, I didn't even know why I was making such a big deal out of it - I'd seen him shirtless multiple times. But just - that one time was different. He hadn't taken off his shirt because of an art project. He'd done it because he'd felt like it. And it was different.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked all of sudden, catching my attention.

I blushed all of sudden as I took in his words. "I... nothing" I muttered, suddenly hating the way I sounded so helpless. "Just nothing."

He raised an eyebrow at my reply. "You're blushing" he stated, making me widen my eyes. He pursed his lips, trying to hide the way the corners of his lips slightly turned up. "Were you thinking of... earlier tonight?" He asked, the suggestiveness held in his words proving me that he was indeed quite right.

I shook my head fast, immediately condemning myself. "I wasn't."

"You were" he said, having got the confirmation he wanted.

"I was not" I said quickly, hating the way my cheeks suddenly felt even warmer.

He leant closer to me. "I know you were, Sierra" he whispered, his breath hitting my skin because of our sudden closeness and making my heart beat faster in my chest.

I looked at him, completely speechless, knowing that I had nothing to say that I could've defended myself with. He gave me a little smile to acknowledge his win, but didn't move away, almost as if he was waiting for something to happen.

I didn't know which one of us had leant in first, but all of sudden his lips were on mine, a low hum vibrating down his throat as my fingers intertwined with the little curls at the nape of his neck. His hand found its way down my spine and settled on my hip as he gently pried my lips open with his tongue, a sudden spark running through my veins as his fingers experimentally slid over my lower back. Suddenly feeling as if we were still too far apart, I scooted closer to him, finding solace in the way his chest pressed against mine. I sighed against his mouth, feeling goosebumps form on my skin when he broke away from the kiss, and left a trail of hot kisses down my neck.

"The things I'd do to you" he murmured against my ear before softly biting my lobe, the sound and the feeling of his hot breath on my skin sending a spark down my spine, almost making me tremble with anticipation.

We fell down on the bed and he turned us around with a sharp movement of his waist, settling himself between my open legs, his hands at my sides, holding him up. I put my hand on the back of his neck, pulling him down to meet my lips again.

The second kiss was wetter, and more urgent, intense. His hand shamelessly slid down my side, travelling down my thigh with no hesitation, gripping my knee and pulling my waist up to meet his crotch.

"You have no idea" he whispered when our lips momentarily separated, pushing his crotch against mine, his chest so close to mine that I almost couldn't breathe. His breathing was just as fastened up as mine, and his pupils were wide as he stared down at me. "But it's too soon" he said all of sudden, rolling over to lie down next to me.

I pushed away the sudden feeling of rejection that overcame me at first, realising as what could've happened came to me that - despite how sweet the promise sounded - I certainly wouldn't have been ready for it. As the feeling of freedom that had pervaded through me while we were close faded away, I felt a sudden redness spread through my cheeks. I couldn't believe I had truly acted like that, so pliant under his touch, but the worst thing was that I didn't truly regret it. If I had had to go there with someone in the near future, I knew it would've been him for me. It seemed crazy, thinking of how detached he usually was, for me to even consider such an option, but I couldn't help it.

I sat up, suddenly feeling like putting a little more distance between us just to clear my head, but was stopped when a hand wrapped around my wrist all of sudden. I turned my head, discovering that Harry was already looking at me, his head of curls on my white pillow.

"Come here" he asked quietly, the slightest hint of hesitance in his voice.

I furrowed my eyebrows, not really understanding what was going on, but lay down next to him again. We both stayed immobile for a few seconds, as if none of us could truly figure out what they wanted in that moment. I lifted myself up on one elbow, pursing my lips and giving him a little glance as I tried to decide my next move. With a little hesitation, I scooted closer to him and put my head on his chest, a little sigh leaving my lips when I felt Harry's arm wrap around me, his hand resting on my side. I put my finger on his chest, playing with the material of his black sweater in silence, feeling my body start to relax against his. I wondered why we'd never done it before. It felt nice to lie like that, listening to his heartbeat as it slowed down after our kiss. "Tell me one thing you like" I whispered all of sudden, not moving from my position.

Harry's hand stopped against my waist all of sudden. For a couple of seconds, there was only silence. Then, a reply came, whispered in the same way I'd whispered my request. "Reading."

"What do you like to read?" I asked quietly, feeling his hand faintly brush against my side as he started to get used to the conversation we were having.

The reply didn't come right away, making me wonder if, for at least a second, he had actually considered answering my question. "That isn't important" he said in the end, not surprising me at all.

I nodded, biting my lower lip as I stared at the white wall. All of sudden I lifted my head, turning my body so that I could look at him while we were talking. "Tell me one thing you dislike" I whispered again, not letting his lack of enthusiasm stifle my intention of discovering more about him.

He gave me a weird look, as if he was wondering where that sudden interest was coming from, slightly furrowing his eyebrows. "Uh" he started saying, his gaze shifting from my face to the plain white ceiling of my bedroom. He pursed his lips as he thought of what to reply, a somewhat concentrated look making its way into his eyes. "Being lied to" he said quietly, the intensity of his gaze as the words left his lips telling me that there was so much more to it than what I could've expected.

I stared at him in silence, not having truly expected him to reply - not that honestly, at least. It was kind of unsettling, if I had to be honest. I glanced down, scratching the tip of my finger over the black fabric covering his chest, feeling the hard metal of the cross pendant of his necklace under it. "Do you get lied to often?" I asked quietly, slowly looking up at him.

He gave me a little shrug, hardly managing to do that considering that he was lying down on my bed. "Many times" he replied faintly, his gaze drifting away to everything but time again, as if he wasn't comfortable with the honesty with which he'd replied.

"Do you lie to people too?" I asked him, giving him a curious glance. I knew he had a rather peculiar relationship with the majority of the people surrounding him - if there was a relationship at all, of course. It didn't seem that impossible to think that he lied to them from time to time. There was no way he could've managed to keep his secrets without lying, and I knew he had many.

He raised an eyebrow at my question, suddenly seeming somewhat displeased with the conversation. "Lying and omitting things are two different things" he replied sharply.

I gave him a little nod, looking down as a sudden thought rushed through my mind. "Would you get mad if someone omitted something while talking to you?" I asked him, my mind drifting back to the weird text messages I'd received lately. They were probably just a stupid joke, there was no reason for him to worry about them. It would've been stupid to tell him about them even before I could find out how serious they were, I would've looked like an idiot if it'd turned out being someone I knew playing some kind of dumb trick on me to have fun.

"It depends on whether I omitted something talking to them as well or not" he said all of sudden, harshly bringing me out of my thoughts.

I bit my lower lip, looking down at the black fabric of his sweater. "Have you ever omitted something while talking to me?" I asked him quietly, finding myself hoping that he had and that he hadn't at the same time. I would've liked to think we were friends, but I knew it wasn't realistic to hope that he wouldn't have kept anything to himself - especially considering his way of being. Also, I hoped that he had, because it would've made me feel less guilty to think that I wasn't the only one keeping something from the other - especially now that I knew how much he hated being lied to.

He cleared his throat all of sudden, carefully sitting up and sliding off the bed. "It's getting late, I should go" he said quietly, before grabbing his shoes and disappearing out of the door.

Artwork hit 600k! Thank you so much, it truly means the world to me. Also, I hope you liked this one x

Miki

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