Author's Note: Happy Thursday! I haven't heard as much feedback lately, hoping there are still readers out there somewhere! It really does brighten my day to hear what you all think.
"Oh, Melody," Jane's sing-song voice cut through the dream she was having, bringing her slowly back to reality. "If you are seriously cuddling with what I think you are, then you and I really need to talk."
Melody cracked open one eye to find her friend was staring at her from across the room at her desk. Morning light was streaming in through the window at an angle that told her she should have been up already.
"And you know, we have class in about forty-five minutes."
"I'm not going," she groaned.
"Yes, you are," Jane said, smiling. "If you can untangle yourself from Harry's coat." She waggled her eyebrows. "Now I know I left it nicely draped over the end of the bed, so… are you going to finally explain to me what is going on? Harry's okay isn't he?"
Jane's bright blue eyes were wide and expectant as she scooted her chair closer. She was already dressed in a blue and pink striped top and a matching blue knee-length skirt. She'd done her make-up and probably showered, too.
Her perky smile made Melody feel like a lazy sea slug.
She sighed, pushing herself up to sit on the edge of the bed, and with Harry's jacket in her lap, she surrendered all of the details about the hospital stay. She rehashed Harry's apology and the explanation about the locket, their first kiss, their second kiss immediately after, and then the cuddling and falling asleep only to be found by Uma and Gil.
"I knew it by the way." Jane narrowed her eyes and pointed an accusing finger in her direction. "I could tell at the beach that he was going to kiss you."
"You were right," Melody said, trying and failing to keep the daydreamy quality out of her voice. "And we almost kissed again, right before the Black Pearl attacked."
"On the ship? Yeah, that would have been much more romantic than in a hospital bed."
Melody laughed. "Yeah, Harry's heart rate monitor was a bit of a mood killer."
Actually, she remembered it had been the exact opposite. But Melody was not ready to admit to her friend just how exhilarating it had been listening to Harry's heart pound for her. Ugh, but if she couldn't control the scorching heat creeping up the back of her neck, her roommate would most certainly know how much fun that had been.
"So, now you're completely smitten and sleeping with his jacket, huh?"
Oh yes, her cheeks were definitely on fire now.
"It's ok," Jane said, leaning over and propping her head on her hand with a wistful expression in her eyes. "I get it. Carlos left his gloves in my room once and I wore them for an hour, for no reason at all besides the fact that it made me feel close to him somehow."
She wanted to hug Jane in that moment, for understanding. For always saying the right thing exactly when she needed it.
"Alright, I told you everything," Melody said. "Now I need to ask you something. Which outfit do I have that would go with a pirate hat?"
"I know just the one," Jane said, winking.
Melody flew down the hall to the shared showers and was back in enough time to dress in Jane's chosen outfit.
She'd laid out a white shirt with a corseted front and black shorts, over torn leggings and calf-high boots. She looked in the mirror as she put on the hat Uma had given her, completing the look.
Then she scooped up her backpack and Harry's jacket with the intention of giving it back after class, and walked with Jane to the South Tower where both of their classes were. She walked Jane to Chemistry of Potions and continued to the room two doors down to her own Research Statistics class.
Melody had never had such a hard time focusing on a lecture in her entire life. As she sat there listening to the instructor drone on, she had a thousand thoughts that kept interrupting her attention. What if Harry had taken a turn for the worse last night? Would he be mad that she didn't visit him first thing in the morning before class? Since they'd kissed, did that make him her boyfriend?
She really needed more experience with this stuff.
Eventually, she became such an anxious mess, that she pulled Harry's coat over her shoulders, its weight and familiar scent an instant balm to her nerves.
The class sped by after that, though she wasn't sure whether she soaked up any knowledge or not, and when they were dismissed, she jumped up and waited for Jane outside the door where they'd agreed to meet after class.
"Hey Melody." Wesley Darling's bright green eyes and freckles appeared next to her as she waited. Tufts of blonde hair peeked out from under the brim of his tourney cap as he smiled and waved a greeting. He was brave to talk to her again after Harry had scared him off last time. "Nice, hat," he said, eyeing the pirate hat on her head.
"Thanks," she said, and it looked like he was about to continue walking until she stopped him suddenly, with a tug on his sleeve. "Hey, what did you think about those standard deviation practice problems?"
Wesley had been very quick to answer the professor's questions this morning, and it might not be a bad idea to get someone to check over her homework after her failed attempt at paying attention to lecture today.
"I think I'll be alright if the homework isn't much harder than the in-class practice," he said.
She blew out a breath. "But it's never like the in-class practice, is it?"
"Never," he agreed. "Hey, you want to meet up and go over this homework before we turn it in next week?"
"That would be awesome. Do you still have my number?" She'd given it to him during Move-In week, thinking they could get together. He'd never texted so she'd assumed she'd said or done something to scare him, off as was her usual when trying to make friends.
"Yeah," he said. "I'll text you."
Just then, Jane approached with a smile on her face. "Hey guys!"
Melody introduced Wesley to Jane. They chatted for a bit before Wesley he said he had to go, his next class was starting soon.
"Talk to you later," he said, waving.
When he was out of earshot, Jane nudged her. "What was that all about?"
"My ticket to an 'A' in statistics," she said.
Jane just shook her head. "Harry is rubbing off on you, Mel. You are positively villainous."
"Come on. Let's go see how he's doing."
They arrived at the front desk of the Health Center where the receptionist informed them that Harry had left against medical advice at four in the morning. Melody only just managed to contain the long string of curses that were running through her brain.
She rummaged in her bag, trying to find her phone. She pulled up their last text string from a few days ago and angrily pecked out a message.
You're dead, Hook.
It wasn't long before she had a response.
What did I do now?
She held the phone out so Jane could read his response.
"He really has no clue, does he?" Jane asked, shaking her head.
YOU LEFT THE HOSPITAL BEFORE THE DOCTOR CLEARED YOU! She hoped the all caps showed him she meant business.
I promised I would stay overnight. I kept my promise. Come to the library, third floor, I need your help.
With what?
My texting is painfully slow. I'd rather tell you in person.
"He's completely insane!" Melody growled in frustration, shoving her phone angrily back into her bag and garnering a few stares from the people in the waiting room. "But I guess we're meeting at the library." She dragged out the last word to make it sound as preposterous to Jane as it was to her.
Jane told her she was supposed to have a late breakfast with Carlos in a few minutes, but they could catch up again later. The two parted ways and Melody crossed the campus for the third time, now heading toward the library.
Harry was lucky it was a beautiful day, because by the time she reached the front steps, the clear blue sky and huge powder puff clouds had dampened her fury some.
The library was housed in one of the oldest buildings on campus. The stone façade was so dated, moss and ivy made it look like the walls had become one with nature over the years. It was built in a gothic style, with tall, pointed towers, thin arched windows and stained glass above the double entry doors. She climbed the stairs, wondering how in the world Harry had managed this walk in the shape he was in.
Stupid pirate.
The door creaked loudly with her entrance, her steps echoing on the shiny black marble as if to announce her presence to the entire first floor. She followed the entry rug past the frumpy librarian seated at the check-out desk toward a magnificent, curved stairwell at the back of the building. As she climbed the stairs, she couldn't help but gaze up above at the decorated patterns in the vaulted ceilings. It looked like the columns had melted together where they met the ceiling, and someone had twisted and turned them until they'd dried into geometric criss-cross patterns.
Her gawking was interrupted by a near face plant on the steps. Luckily, she caught herself before she fell down the stairs, glancing around to make sure no one had seen her graceful acrobatics. When she continued up the staircase this time, she took care to watch her feet and not the ceiling.
Once on the third floor, she wound her way through tables and chairs in the open study area, past rows and rows of books. As she walked, she inhaled one of her most favorite smells in the world. Leather bindings and old paper. And the sounds too. Just her feet tapping lightly on the hard floors, joining with the whispers and delicate shuffle of pages being turned.
The library had always been one of her happy places.
She scanned the far side of the quiet room and it didn't take long to find him. Harry stuck out like a red flag amidst the reserved, bookish types huddled at their tables. He was seated toward the back of the study area, in a private alcove surrounded by bookshelves. Wearing a long, red jacket with embroidered sleeves, he had his booted feet propped on the table and a book in his lap. The study spaces around him had been abandoned and she had to laugh. That was one way to always have some privacy, just bring Harry along.
His face was scrunched adorably in concentration and he had a good-sized pile of books next to him. The fact that he had a pair of crutches leaning against the table made her initial greeting to him a little less venomous than she had originally intended. At least he was trying to take care of himself.
"Harry, I cannot believe you checked out against the doctor's advice! What is wrong with you?" Her whisper was harsh enough to attract a few eyes from around the room.
He didn't look up immediately. "Nice to see yeh, too, lass."
When he finally raised his eyes from his book, they widened immediately when he saw her. He pulled his feet off the table, his face distorting just slightly with the movement, showing he was definitely still hurting. He recovered quickly, offering a devious little smirk as he trailed his eyes over her from head to foot in a look that felt far too intimate, causing her to squirm a little where she stood. Finally, he ended his visual assault and his gaze settled on her hat. "Can I say yeh look positively bewitching today? The hat suits yeh."
"Don't try to butter me up, you relentless flirt," she said, crossing her arms. "You were supposed to listen to the doctor, wasn't that the whole point? Are you just being stubborn or are you really that clueless?"
"Come 'ere." His tone was brusque, demanding, and the straight angles of his face gave no hint of emotion.
She raised her eyebrows suspiciously, then walked over to stand at his side, still glaring at him.
He gave no warning before pulling her down to sit on his lap with such force, she squeaked with the surprise.
"Harry, your leg!"
But looking where she'd landed, he'd positioned her on his good leg and now had her wrapped up in his arms so she couldn't escape.
"We're going to get kicked out," she hissed into his ear. "People are already staring."
"Then quit tryin' to start a fight and let me kiss yeh."
With those words, her heart was in her throat and a shiver of excitement prickled her skin. He pulled her back against his chest and nestled his head close, finding the sensitive skin between her neck and shoulder and kissed her softly, once, twice. Trailing those soft lips up to her ear and her heart was racing as though she'd run the entire way here. She was very aware of her own rapid breathing when he pulled back a bit to look at her.
"See, now isnae that better?" he teased. "Nae need to attack me. And there's more where that came from if yeh play nice."
But he'd done just enough to make her feel even more frustrated, skin flushed and aching for more of his touch. But curse him they were in the library and she couldn't have any more than what he'd already given her or risk being kicked out.
She scowled at him. "You are such a tease. You cannot placate me with kisses."
"Seems I just did." He used his hook to pull another chair next to his and scooted her off his lap and into it.
"Now look here," he said, tapping the table with the point of his weapon. "We've got work to do."
Her head cleared enough for her to finally focus on the titles of the books he'd pulled from the shelves. Magical Seas, Mythical Objects and Their Uses, and Triton's Bounty among others.
"You're looking up sea magic? To figure out what items Sparrow might be after?"
He was back with his nose between the pages of a particularly well-worn book whose binding was coming undone. "We know he's after yer locket, so I'm startin' with that. Yer locket is mentioned in these." He gestured to the pile on his left. "Let's see if we can find a connection, get a step ahead of him."
She felt her lip pull up into a smile as she studied Harry then. Torn coat and heavy eyeliner, mussed hair, hook twirling between two hands, all with his face buried between the pages of an old book. He was a study in contrasts. Harry had been content to let everyone think he was a dangerous, brainless lunatic. But here he was researching. The last place she'd ever thought to find a pirate. Her chest warmed as she watched him and she had to squeeze his hand then, she had to touch him just for that moment.
He gave a quick glance to see what the interruption was for, then he set his hook down on the table to free up his other hand to turn the pages. And he was right back into what he was reading.
She settled down next to him, grabbing Triton's Bounty from the top of the stack and started skimming.
Fifteen minutes later, Harry broke the silence and started reading out loud. "This one says 'the power at the heart of the golden scallop locket is Triton's sapphire.'"
Melody looked up. "Yes, it has a sapphire inside that glows when the magic is activated. I was just reading about it in this book." She backed up to a page that she'd been skimming, finding the correct line. "The locket gifted to Triton's granddaughter holds the last of Triton's sapphires. Only three were ever imbued with his power."
"Three of them?" Harry asked, his eyes alight with curiosity. "Where are the others?"
"I don't know," she answered, staring off at the walls, letting her mind drift back to Zach Sparrow. What was he after?
She thought back to his swagger as he'd faced down Uma's entire crew. She replayed the wording of each threat he'd made. She recalled how fast his ship had appeared and how easily it had caught up to them. Even Gil had said it seemed the ship had come out of nowhere. He had to have something that allowed him to do that. But what was it?
And then it came to her, she remembered Sparrow's sword, a golden blade encrusted with blue jewels. Blue like sapphires. She remembered thinking it looked familiar. That she'd read about it in some book.
She blurted her answer at the exact same time Harry blurted a different one.
"The Sword!"
"The Trident!"
They turned to stare at each other as a chorus of sssshhhhhh's' erupted from all over the library quiet room.
"The sword," Harry repeated bringing his voice back down to a whisper and gazing at Melody with an awestruck look. "Aye, of course it's the sword!" He took her face between his two hands and kissed her, smothering the verbal response she had been preparing to give.
She pulled away, blinking and slightly dazed. She wasn't sure she would ever get used to how freely he expressed himself physically. "Seas, Harry. You can't keep doing that."
"Yeh dinnae like it?" he asked, his face so screwed up in confusion it was actually funny. "Yeh seemed to like it last night? I'm sorry, I – "
She slapped his shoulder. "Of course I like it, that's why you have to stop. I like it too much."
His face lit up before that sly grin unfolded over his features and she could tell he had no intention of stopping. Her cheeks burned and she had to force herself to look away.
"Wow," she said, trying to recover her mind. "Well, the sword and the trident. That makes so much sense. I just didn't think the trident had any sapphires on it."
"Maybe nae on it, but it could be inside. There's nae way to know, but with its power and its link to yer grandfather, I think it's worth lookin' at. And the sword should've been obvious to me. I stared the blasted thing right in the face yesterday. It was crawlin' with sapphires."
He got quiet again, running a hand through his hair as he chewed on all these new clues.
"It would make sense if Sparrow had Triton's sword," she said. "That would allow him to pass through into Auradon. Wouldn't it?"
Harry offered an apologetic twist of his lip that she plainly read as 'I don't know.'
"I don't either," she admitted. "I should know, I mean the sword and trident are practically family heirlooms."
"It's alright, 'least we have summat to go on now. I'll go an' look up the sword and the trident in the catalogues, there'll be more books to look through. Yeh keep searchin' here."
He pushed himself to stand, wincing as he did and used his crutches to hobble over to the research station.
"Harry, you sit down, I'll go – "
The warning glare he shot her reminded her that he was still his father's son. So, she sat right back down again, and tried to ignore him. She was going to need to learn to choose her battles with Harry otherwise they were going to spend all of their spare time fighting.
As she watched him go, she thought that might be okay, so long as it came with a little time making up afterwards.
Melody was now flipping through Triton's Bounty, looking at pictures of the trident. But she didn't need the pictures to remember exactly what it looked like. She'd held the thing before for seas sake. She would have remembered a sapphire. None of the pictures made it look like it contained a hidden sapphire, either, and the narrative captions never talked about what kind of magic it would have if it was combined with other items. All it described were some of the uses for the trident itself which she already knew, like energy manipulation and controlling the sea.
Harry returned about five minutes later with another two books in one hand and both crutches in the other.
He was limping and the crutches were not being used. At all.
She glowered at him in utter disbelief. "You have to use the crutches all the time or its pointless, Harry!"
"Shhhhhhh!" Another chorus of shushes rose from the center of the quiet room.
She slapped her forehead. Yep, they were going to get kicked out for sure.
He sat down and responded in a very tight whisper. "I cou'dnae exactly use the crutches and carry these books at the same time, now could I?"
She slid one of the books over to her side of the table while casting him her iciest glare. "Yes, but you have me, your…" she paused, almost saying 'girlfriend' but feeling awkward about finishing the sentence, "your friend, sitting here and I am more than willing to help you."
"Friend?" he said, raising an eyebrow.
Ugh. Was he really going to torment her about this?
"Harry, give it a rest. I don't know what to call us anymore."
"I dinnae know about you, lass, but I dinnae go around kissin' my friends the way I kissed yeh last night."
Her cheeks heated and she slammed the book down on the table. "I don't know, Harry, with the way you flirt, I get the feeling you might kiss just about anyone like that!"
She regretted the words as soon as they'd left her lips.
Harry's jaw clenched, then he reached for the chair she was sitting on and turned her, chair and all, to face him, ignoring the ridiculously loud scrrrraaaappee of the wooden legs against the marble floor as he did so.
"Now you listen here," he said, his whisper hot and angry in her ear. "Yer bein' difficult again and I'll have none of it this time."
She glared at him, daring him to say something more.
Of course, Harry was always up for a challenge and his dark brows drew together to frame a glare that he'd practiced his entire life. A villainous stare meant to scare the living daylights out of his enemies. And it got her heart pumping alright, albeit for different reasons. "Now it's easy as this, Melody. Do yeh like me or nae?"
When she didn't respond, he blew out an exasperated breath.
"Because if yeh like me, I want yeh to be me girlfriend. The way they do over here in Auradon." He was still glaring at her as he pulled a ring off his pinky and pressed it hard into her palm. "But if yeh don't like me, then get it over with and tell me now."
His blue-eyed gaze had gone steely, but underneath it all, she saw a little glimmer of fear in his expression. And Melody realized, it wasn't easy for him to do this either. He'd told her that last night, when they'd been lying together on that hospital bed. Talking wasn't easy for him either. The Auradon ways were new to him, being allowed to have feelings was new to him, and she was being totally unfair.
She released a long, slow breath, trying to coax herself into a state closer to calm.
"Harry, I'm sorry. I – I didn't mean what I said. I was embarrassed is all, and… I do like you." She closed her hand around Harry's ring. "Of course I like you, that's why all of this is so scary to me. It's why I get so mad at you. If I didn't care, I wouldn't be arguing with you."
His stony expression cracked then, as he allowed the hint of a smile to break through. "Yeh'd be ignorin' me like yeh did that first week."
"Right," she said, putting a hand on his knee and giving him a light squeeze. "Harry, I'm sorry. You said you weren't good at this talking thing, and the truth is, neither am I. This is all moving so fast for me."
He leaned in, forehead now wrinkled in concern. "If it's too fast, yeh can say no. We can go back to how it was before. Just tell me what- "
"No," she said, cutting him off before he could finish that thought. "No, I don't want that."
Then she uncurled her fingers and looked down at her hand, at the ring he had pushed into her palm. The golden band was embossed with a pattern of tiny scales all around with an ocean blue gem at its center. And if she really looked, she thought she could see tiny waves moving inside of it. A trick of the eyes, but beautiful, nonetheless.
"It's perfect."
His smile was widening now. "If yeh'll have me, I'd like yeh to wear it so long as we're together," he said. "That's the Auradon way isnae it?"
She didn't have the heart to tell him that not everyone exchanged rings when they became a couple. So instead, she took the ring and put it on the ring finger of her right hand.
" 'Course I'll have yeh, 'arry," she said, teasing his accent, watching his reaction.
That restored his smile to its full glory, the smile that got so wide it crowded his other features and wrinkled the corners of his eyes.
And seeing that face, she threw caution to the wind, ignoring whether anyone was watching and climbed onto his lap - on his good leg of course. From there, she kissed every last trace of fear that might be lingering underneath that joyful expression.
He pulled back to look at her once, as if deciding whether she had really started this in the middle of the library.
Then he was kissing her back. She could tell he'd been upset, because his lips were rougher with her, more forceful in the way they moved against her mouth. And that undercurrent of ferocity did something to her and she couldn't suppress the sigh that slipped out against his mouth. She slung her arms around his neck and -
Someone cleared their throat from behind them.
"I'm going to have to ask you two to leave."
And Melody nearly lost it to a fit of laughter when Harry Hook had the audacity to ask the librarian one last question as they were being thrown out. "Can I at least check these books out first?"
