Latch - Sam Smith (Acoustic) 

HARRY 

Her hand fits perfectly inside my grasp. Our fingers interlocked like two old puzzle pieces. Her hand is soft against my calloused touch. 

I mentally shake my head at this. At this situation. It was unbelievable to me that my fingers were interlocked with the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. It was pathetic and unbelievable. I had a hard time understanding my life and these feelings that were dwelling inside of me. She made me feel things that I hadn't thought I'd be capable of feeling again. Not since her. A bunch of tingling, teenage girl, love sick butterflies that eat inside of me. 

She looks over at me, her eyes crinkling on the edges because her lips are curled up into a toothy grin. Her eyes watch me as I look at her. They dance under the moonlit sky. She was breathtaking. Even her flaws were breathtaking.  Everything about Isabella Maxwell was perfect. Fuck, I sound like a fucking girl. 

We continue to walk down Oxford street. The streets buzzing with people out and about on this Saturday night. "Where are we going?" Her has a slight rasp to it. A tone that I hadn't noticed before. 

"There's a gelato place near by. I thought'd you like it." 

"Gelato?" Her voice picks up in excitement. "I love gelato!" 

A grin spreads on my face, "I know. I remember you mentioning it to me before." She furrows her brows in thought. 

"When did I tell you I liked gelato?" 

I awkwardly chuckle. My free hand rubs the back of my neck. I look over at her. She looks at me, her lips pursed slightly her brows furrowed. "You told me once at the bookstore. A few months ago."

"You remember that?"

"I remember everything you tell me," I admit. 

She squeezes my hand. Her lips spread wide in a sheepish grin. "Do you think they have coconut?" She asks me with a child like glance. 

"Yep. I made sure." 

She stops ups suddenly. I jerk back from our still interlocked hands. "Are you okay?" I ask her. She nods quickly before she leans against me and kisses my cheek. She blushes as she takes a step back. Her fingers interlock with mine once again and she begins to walk. 

"What was that for?" I ask, a smirk on my lips. The skin of my cheek still tingling from her lips. 

"Guys don't usually remember things like that. Not about me, at least." She admits. 

"Those guys were idiots." 

"That's why I'm on a date with you and not them." She smiles over at me. I return the smile and turn my head back to the buildings in front of us. 

We continue to walk for a few more minutes. Our hands still held together. She rambles along about some book that she had read recently. I get lost in her voice. I love the way that she is able to talk about a book and not make it sound boring or long winded. Her voice was a sound that I could never grow tired of listening. 

"We're here." I interrupt her. We stand in front of a black painted building with a white sign in front. Tony's Gelato.  

Izzy leads us inside the building. Her eyes light up at the rows and rows of gelato selections. "This place is amazing." I mutter a small yes and follow her towards one side of the freezer. 

Rows upon rows of gelato sit inside the confines of the silver freezer. Isabella's eyes scan over the different flavors. She tries different flavors, forcing me to taste the gross ones with her. I think if I were to continue life without tasting wasabi gelato, I'd be fucking fine with that. Who the hell creates wasabi flavored gelato was a fucking moron. 

I mask the remnants of the fucking wasabi gelato with a cone of double scoop chocolate gelato. Isabella, of course, sticks with her coconut gelato, claiming that she was going to buy the mango flavor once I teased her for being predictable and not taking risks. 

We sit in the corner of the gelato parlour in a small booth. She sits in front of me, her feet brushing past my feet every once in a while. I watch her as she takes a bite from her spoon. "This is amazing," she moans as she takes another bite from her iced dessert. 

Her eyes dance with joy as she continues to eat. "Okay Styles. We have our dessert. It's time for you to spill on your life." She playfully pushes my leg with her foot. Her foot brushes against my leg once more before sitting it beside my leg. I can feel her skin brush against my jean-clad leg. It grows still against me. I don't move my leg as I relish in  the electric feel of her contact. 

I take a moment to bring my thoughts together. Her very presence being a fucking huge distraction to any coherent thought I may have. "Our lives are pretty fucking similar," I start. She watches me as I speak. Her eyes never leaving mine. Her face softens as she listens. "But, my parents weren't rich when I was born. My parents were poor as fuck. My mum was a school teacher but my dad didn't do shit. When I was about two he got up and left my mum alone to take care of Ben and I. A few years later she met Mark."

My hands grow into a tight fist. My heart begins to beat faster at the mere mention of my fucked up step-dad. "I take it you don't like Mark?" 

"Nope." I sneer. She nods her head understandingly. "Mark stepped in and automatically tried to be my father. I had a father, a fucked up one, but a father. I didn't want to have some stupid rich prick to step in and automatically assume that he needed to be some daddy figure in my life." 

I take the last bite of my cone. I chew on it, taking out all my built up frustration in every bite. "I began to hate my mum for it. She changed. She would wait on Marks hand and feet doing everything that he'd ask of her. She became this little house wife. She quit her job at the school. I wasn't old but old enough to know that she should be doing what she loved. My mum loved to work but she gave it up for some man. It's fucking ridiculous." 

Isabella nods her head slowly. She reaches her hand out and places it gently on top of my hand. I flinch on response, not expecting her hand to be there. She only smiles at me. I turn my hand over, allowing her fingers to interlock with mine. She squeeze it gently. 

"Do you remember much about your dad?"

"No." 

"Do you ever think about him?" 

"All the fucking time," I sigh. "As a kid, I'd imagine my dad coming back home and he'd take me to football games and teach me how to fish. All the kids in the fucking private school I was forced to go to all had these great dads who'd do shit with them. They'd teach them how to kick a football. Mark would try to teach me but I didn't want him. He wasn't my dad. He's still not." 

She opens up her mouth and shuts it quickly. "What about your relationship with your mom?" Her voice is gentle - a stark difference from the rage that was slowly filling me inside. 

"It's better now, I guess. I love my mum, I do. I just don't like her prick ass husband." Isabella nods and smiles. 

"I get that." She says looking away. "Have you ever tried to find your dad?" 

A loud scoff escapes me. "Nope. That fucker left me. If he really wanted to be in my life he'd stay. Or fucking find me himself." 

"I'm sure one day he will. Maybe he is just scared to see you?" She sqeezes my hand once again. 

I look at her. I study her face. The way her soft brown eyes watch me with such intent. Her thumb begins to rub soft circles against the skin of my hand. It soothes the raging anger that continues to brew in the pit of my stomach. 

Isabella had a way of calming me down. Even if it's just with a simple look, she made me feel so much fucking better than I did before. She was everything that I needed to feel whole. Her smile and her laugh encapsulated all of the childhood feelings that I wish I had felt. It is complete difference from the emotions that I deal with every fucking day. 

She is the sun in my darkness. The gold in my piles of coal. 

Isabella Maxwell was everything that I needed. I wasn't going to let her go. I wouldn't allow it. 

"Remember how you asked me what I was scared of?"

"Yeah." 

I take a deep breath. My mind racing with a myriad of thoughts and fucked up emotions.  "There are two things that fucking scare me. Two things that I fucking fear the most."

Her free hand comes up to our interlocked fingers. Her thumb rubs up and down my wrist. "What is it?" She asks.

"Never meeting my dad and -" I look at her. Her brown eyes meeting my green ones. "And losing you." 

She bows her head down. I can see pink fill in the dimples of her cheeks. "Me?" 

"Yeah." I breathe out. "The thought of losing you fucking terrifies me, Iz." 

"You won't lose me," she whispers. "I'm not going anywhere." She promises me. She leans over the table and leaves a quick kiss to my cheek. 

- 

It's been a few days since our date. Since I admitted to Isabella the two things that terrified me to no end. 

Every day since we have talked non stop. I never thought I'd be in this situation again. To be with a girl that I cared about. That cared about me. That saw beyond my demons, but saw me. Harry. 

Regardless of the fact that we were still only "dating", in my mind Isabella was mine. We didn't need any titles to know that she was my girl. I was also going to make sure that every fucking guy out there new that too. I wasn't going to lose her now that I had her. Especially to any rich, Irish fuckers. 

"Baby," I say in the phone. "Jeans and a sweater are fine." We had been on the phone for the last fifteen minutes talking about what she had to wear to our date. I had planned this date out for the past week. I was determined to start her list. To get her out of her comfort zone and force her to take those damn risks that she wants. 

If I was going to face my fears of being with her, then she was going to face her fears too. 

"Please tell me where we're going." She pleads in the phone for the third time in five minutes. 

"No, baby. I'll be there in a few minutes." Before she could say anything else I hang up. I throw on a Calvin Klein jumper, the only gift that Ben has got me that hasn't sucked, and pushed my hair back with a headscarf. 

My hair has gotten so fucking long. It's almost getting ridiculous, but I've grown a strong liking to these headscarf things. 

The drive to Iz's place is fast. She is waiting outside her apartment building in her jean jacket and usual black skinnies. "Hey," she greets me with a kiss. I smile into her lips, entangling my hand in her hair as I go in for another one. 

I pull back, my teeth biting her lips as I do so. "Mm, hello to you too baby." 

She smiles bashfully at me and turns to put her seatbelt on. I take the moment to shamelessly check her out. Those tight jeans were going to be the fucking death of me. I knew that for sure. 

"Where are we going?" She asks me once again. 

"I'm not telling you. Don't ask again," I chuckle. 

"God, you're annoying." I laugh back and continue to drive down the road and towards our destination. 

-

"An Aquarium?" She looks up at me, her brows furrowed in confusion. "You took me to an aquarium?" 

"Well aren't we Miss. Observation today," I smirk. Izzy nudes me playfully with her shoulder. I grab her hand in mine and lace our fingers together. "Much better," I say under my breath. She looks up at me again but this time kisses me lightly on the lips. 

I lead her away from the front lobby and towards our intended destination: the spider exhibit. "Harry," Izzy's voice grows higher as she takes in her surroundings. Glass cases line the walls. Fuzzy spiders crawl inside, ranging from tiny babies to fucking massive tarantulas. "Why the hell are we here?" She whispers harshly into my ear. Her grip on my hand growing tight. 

"We are facing one of your fears." 

"To hell we are," she turns around and tries to escape my grip. But alas, my strength is much tighter than she expects. 

"Nice try, baby. Let's go." 

We slowly, very slowly, make our way towards the worker. He looks over at us, a friendly smile on his face. "Are you Harry?" He asks me, his smile too fucking friendly. 

"Yeah." I answer quickly. He nods his head and motions for us to follow him. "My name is Todd." 

"Izzy," Isabella introduces herself. Her voice sweet like it always is. My grasp on her hand tightens in annoyance as Todd returns her smile. 

"Nice to meet you." I pull Iz closer towards me. I let go of her hand but instead wrap my arm around her waist, bringing her closer. She doesn't take notice of my sudden change of position, but Todd does. He gives me an understanding nod and continues to walk down the path towards wherever the fuck we were going. 

"I understand you have a fear of spiders, yeah?" Izzy nods her head slowly, her eyes growing wide as we enter a brightly lit room. There are a few kids inside the room with their parents and two teenage girls. The girls eye me over, childish smiles plastering on their lips. I ignore their stares as we follow Todd towards a table with small cases sitting on top. 

"Hello everyone." Everyone responds with quick hellos. Izzy steps out of my grip on her waist and interlocks our fingers. 

"I fucking hate you right now," she says quietly so that only I can hear her. "Worst. Date. Ever." I bite my lip to hold back the boisterous laugh that was to escape. I shake my head and bring her hand to my lips. I leave a few quick kisses on her knuckles to reassure her that everything was going to be okay. 

"Today we are going to be doing something that will probably scare most of you. That's alright. I can assure you that these spiders are not dangerous. They will not hurt you." Todd gives us all a reassuring smile. He takes out a two sets of gloves from a bag, laying them on top of the table. "Alright, who will be our first volunteer." 

Being the great date that I am, I raise my hand. "Izzy will go." Iz steps on my foot causing me to grunt. "Really?" I speak lowly to her. She only smirks back and shrugs her shoulders. 

"Alright Izzy, come on up!" She gives me a pleading look. I grab her hand in mine and lead her up to the front. 

"It's okay baby," I quietly say to her. "I'm not going to let it hurt you." 

She looks at me skeptically. "Fine," she breathes out. 

Todd passes her a set of gloves. She puts them on. He then puts his own on and grabs one of the glass cases. "This here is Lizzy. She's a mum tarantula. Really nice, don't worry." 

Izzy physically squirms at the sight of the large tarantula. She looks at me and flashes me what I assume is her attempt at a dirty look. I only squeeze her arm. "It's going to be fine, baby."

Todd walks over to where we stand. "Alright, Izzy. I need you to hold your hands out in a cupping formation." 

Izzy follows his instructions and does as he asks. She begins to back up as Todd reaches out, the massive spider still in his hands. Isabella bumps into my front. I chuckle at her obvious displeasure. I rub her shoulders gently. 

"Ready?" 

"I'm right here," I quietly remind her. She nods her head, as if to reassure both me and herself. 

"Okay. Give me the spider." Todd gives her a nod before placing Lizzy the fucking gorilla sized tarantula in Isabella's small hands. 

"Oh my gosh." She squirms as the spider sits in her hand. "Ew! Ew!" 

I begin to rub her back in soothing circles. "It's okay, love. You're doing great." I reassure her. She looks at me, fear written on her face. 

"I'm doing it. Oh my god! I'm doing it. I'm holding a tarantula." The kids begin to laugh. I can't help but join them as I watch Iz jump in excitement. "I'm holding a tarantula!"

"I want a turn!" A little boy cheers from the floor. 

Todd shakes his head, laughing. He grabs the tarantula out of Izzy's hands. "I've never seen that reaction before." 

Iz only shakes her head once again before turning around and wrapping her arms in a big hug. She kisses my cheek, giggling as she pulls back. "Thank you," she whispers to me. 

"Of course, baby. I told you I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you."

"I know. Thank you." She smiles at me once more before thanking Todd once again and leading us out the door and towards my car. "Let's go get some take away and go back to your place, yeah?" 

"Sounds good to me." I say, pulling her into my body and leaving a long kiss on her lips.