Chapter 14 – '…have been silenced…'

I got out of the shower, trying to be as quiet as possible not to wake anyone. I had to get up early that morning, having an 8:30 lecture. I guess it wasn't such a good idea for us to take that late night 'escapade' for ice-cream, since I couldn't stop myself from yawning. But in all honesty, it may have been one of the best impulses that I had followed in a long time. If I had just let him go downstairs and sleep on the couch, we wouldn't have had that conversation, and God knows where we would be now. We weren't back to normal completely, but we were getting there, and last night was that push we needed in the right direction.

I had managed to get up, get clothes, get in the shower, dry my hair and get my books together without waking Harry. I didn't want to leave him, but I had to. Damn 8:30 lectures, damn my stubbornness for never wanting to miss a class, damn my goody-two-shoe-ness. I left him a note, telling him that I would be back late because I had a lab. I was almost out the door, when I heard a low, husky growl come from my bed.

"Hey you!"

"Hey, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you" I said, back pedalling away from the door, making my way to the middle of the room.

"That wasn't why I called you" he stated, sitting up in my bed.

"Oh, well I have to go to class; I left you a note on my desk. I'll be home late because I have a lab until about 6pm," was all I said.

"And you were planning to leave without waking me?" he asked, a little hurt.

"Well you just looked so damn cute laying there, I didn't have the heart" I said, feeling slightly warm in the face.

I pecked him on the nose and made my way out. He quickly stood up after me, and I was pulled back by the hand and fell back into his arms. We were in one of those typical, over dramatic, movie types of embraces; where the guy held the woman in a dipped position, as she just lay in his arms.

"Now, that's no way to say goodbye," he smirked, bringing his face down to mine.

He crashed his lips onto mine, his hand on the back of my head, holding me up gently as his tongue swept across my mouth. He pushed me into him, rubbing his lips against mine, as I brought my arms up around his neck. After moments of being locked in a passionate embrace, he pulled me up into a standing position, not breaking the kiss, gently biting my bottom lip as he pulled away.

"Whoa," was all that escaped my mouth.

"I want to see you tonight" he whispered, as I tried to catch my breath, still in his grasp.

"Yeah," was all that I could muster.

"Call me when you're done school, ok?" he told me.

"Why? I'll just come home" I said, a little confused at his statement.

"Well I won't be here, I have to go and handle a few things" he said, as he started to search for his shirt.

"What? What kind of things?" I asked.

"Well I do have to get some fresh clothing, these are not so nice anymore," he said as he picked up his wrinkled shirt.

"Oh right, so you'll be at the hotel then right?" I said, not really wanting to mention that place, it bringing back memories of that fateful night.

"Yeah" he said, sighing deeply.

"I have to call back home as well, I've been kind of ignoring their calls for a couple of days. I wasn't in the state to talk to them," he continued to talk.

"Right," I said, looking down, realizing how much of a toll this ordeal had taken on him as well.

"Well home is very important, so you should definitely get to that," I replied flatly.

It was hard talking about HIS home, and knowing that I really wasn't a part of that. He stepped closer to me, putting his hands gently on my hips.

"That doesn't mean you're any less important," he whispered into my ear, sending tingles down the back of my neck.

"Aw, you're too sweet for your own good, you know that Harry?" I smirked, pecking him on the nose and puling away.

"I have to go though," I stated, walking towards the door.

"Ok, I'll see you tonight then. Don't forget about me this time," he shouted to me as I left the room.

I stopped in my tracks, turning on my heel quickly and racing back into my room. I burst through the door, startling Harry slightly as his back was turned to me.

"Holy shit! I thought you had to go?" he spoke, a little confused, but continued to do whatever he was doing before.

I ran up to him and wrapped my arms around his neck and collided my lips onto his. I pulled him into me, standing on my tip toes, wanting to get close to him. I roughly swept my tongue into his mouth, massaging our lips together. He entwined his arms around my waist, lifting me up off the ground slightly, tightening his hold on me.

"Never," I mumbled against his lips as I pulled away.

He put me down, a smile plastered to his face. My cheeks were lightly flushed and I was short of breath. I pulled out my keys and started to fiddle with them.

"Here," I spoke, taking off a spare key from my ring. "Keep this; so next time you want to surprise me in the middle of the night, you don't have to wake my housemates," I said, giving him a sly wink.

I was taking the next step; showing him how serious I was about this whole thing. I wasn't able to tell him yet, those three little words eluding me, but maybe I could show him instead? He looked down at me, a little shocked. I just stood there, with my hand flat in front of him, the key sitting in my palm. He stared down at the key, not daring to touch it. Why was he hesitating? I thought he wanted this? I had made a mistake; going to fast, not thinking this through. Damn it.

"You know what, never mind," I said quickly, closing my hand around the key and turning around quickly. I couldn't get out of that room fast enough, my feet were failing me and I was feeling so embarrassed. I was almost at the door, but I felt an arm pull me back. He turned me to face him, but I hung my head, the embarrassment filling me.

"I want it. I'm sorry that I just stood there, but I was shocked. This is a big step, and I just… I want it," he repeated.

I smiled shyly, these words making me so happy. I looked up at him, stood on my toes and put my lips on his, the smile never leaving my mouth. His hands cupped my face, and he stroked my cheek with his thumb. I wrapped my arms around his waist, letting my hand slip into his back pocket, dropping the key. I pulled away, not breaking my gaze.

"I really do have to go now," I spoke quietly.

"Ok, I'll see you tonight then," he smiled at me.

I walked out of my house with a permanent smile glued to my face. We were going to go on a proper date tonight, one of the first we've had in a long time. It was always so hectic when he came to visit me; me never having had visited him. When he came, it was always for short periods of time, and we didn't bother wasting time with courtship, we couldn't help not being able to keep our hands off each other. Day-dreaming in class about this morning, waking up to him again, our conversation, the whole thing; it just made me smile.