I quickly shoveled food into my mouth as my mother watched me with a disapproving expression, not pleased at my less-than-ladylike behavior in my haste to finish. I shrugged at her, not caring much what she thought about it.

"Honestly, Joey, did you even chew that?" she said, a hint of amusement glinting through her deadpan stare.

"I'm supposed to meet Harry and I'm late," I told her through a mouthful of food. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure he will be fine."

I just shook my head at her as I continued to eat. She didn't seem to understand my constant urge to be near Harry; it wasn't something I could control. It was like my body was always physically gravitating toward him, never satisfied until we were reunited. My heart ached every time I had to leave him and would physically throb in my chest at the smallest thought. He had thoroughly, in every single way, taken over my life.

Despite how devastating it was to be away from him, I wouldn't have changed a thing about how I felt when we were apart because being with him made everything so incredibly worth it. There was nothing I wouldn't sacrifice to be with him, nothing I wouldn't do for him. I would never be as happy as I was when I was with Harry, and every day I was surprised by how I grew inexplicably and shockingly happier.

Surely there would reach a point where I couldn't possibly get any more content without exploding, but I was yet to find it. He was my world, my sunshine, my love, my everything, and I knew I was that for him, too. As cliché as it sounded, he really was my other half. It was getting to the point where I could hardly function unless I was with him, a thought that terrified and thrilled me all at the same time.

I loved and hated that I was so dependent on him. Loved, for obvious reasons, because I knew that no matter what I'd have him in my life, going through everything I could every think of without a second thought. Hated, because whenever I wasn't with him I was practically lifeless, constantly thinking of him and wishing he were there with me. I liked to think of myself as a fairly independent person, and while I thought I had only grown stronger in some aspects with Harry, my independence in terms of anything to do with him had absolutely plummeted.

All things considered, though, I was the happiest I had been in my entire life.

I finally finished my lunch and threw my dishes into the sink, a loud clang ringing out in the kitchen as I dropped them a bit harder than I'd meant to.

"Joey, careful!" she scolded, narrowing her eyes at me.

"Sorry, mom. Gotta go, bye!" I said cheerfully, happy I was finally leaving. I practically ran out of the kitchen and pulled my jacket on before heading out the front door. I was supposed to meet Harry at his house ten minutes ago, but I had gotten behind schedule with my mother constantly pestering me for details about our relationship.

I arrived at his house to see him sitting on his front porch, pulling at a thread fraying from the sleeve of his navy plaid shirt he wore beneath a gray jacket. I let out an appreciative huff as I took in his appearance, looking more attractive than ever as he waited. He heard my footstep on the pavement and looked up, a grin instantly spreading across his face as he stood up. His lanky frame moved toward me as I approached, hands cupping my face gently as he bowed down to kiss my lips once.

"Hiiii," he said, grinning at me.

"Sorry I'm late, my mom-"

"It's alright, love, no worries," he interrupted me, dimples dotting his cheeks adorably.

"Okay. You ready?" I asked, returning his carefree grin. He nodded and hummed his assent, running his thumb across my cheek before dropping his hands from my face. One of his arms looped around my neck, pulling me into his side as he steered us back down the driveway. His waist was encircled in my arm, soaking in the feeling of his firm torso beneath the layers separating. He leaned over to press a kiss to my temple as we walked.

We had decided to just go for a walk to the park since the weather was finally warming up. It seemed like we had been in winter forever, and spring was finally poking through the clouds that had hovered over us for so long. It was the first semi-warm day we had had in a long time, and we wanted to take advantage.

The park we were heading to happened to be the same park I had fled to after my parents' divorce and my misunderstanding with Harry. It struck me now how stupid I had been: of course Harry hadn't said any of the things I had been imagining. If I had learned anything from that, it was how important it is to really take a step back and look at things before jumping right in and overreacting.

So many girls I knew would freak out on their boyfriends for the smallest of offenses, yelling and screaming for something that was completely not worth the stress on the relationship. I had seen my friends go through it countless times, and had even had my own fair share of them from my relationship with Colt. Those petty little fights were toxic to relationships, eating away at each other and destroying any semblance of trust and respect you held for each other.

I was so happy my relationship with Harry had, so far, been relatively drama free. Well, at least when it came to our own relationship, it had been. We'd definitely had our fair share, but it was usually aimed at us as a pair, uniting us even further despite the world's best attempts at pulling us apart. I wondered where we would be today if we hadn't gone through all those things together.

I had to think we would still be together anyway, but I wondered if this deep, burning connection we had with each other would have been as strong as it was now. It was strange to think about, and I couldn't really come up with an answer to the hypothetical situation. All I really cared about, though, was that we were where we were right now because of all we'd gone through together, and I was beyond ecstatic about that.

"Joey," Harry said, giving me the sense that it wasn't the first time he had said it. I had been stuck in my own head thinking about all the hypothetical situations that I had kind of tuned out.

"Sorry, what?"

"Can we swing?" he asked, grinning adorably at me, his green eyes sparkling. We had arrived at the park without my realizing, and I was pleased to see it was relatively deserted apart from us and a few kids playing in the sand while their elderly supervisor watched on. He looked so excited as he asked that I couldn't refuse.

"Only if we take turns pushing," I laughed, squeezing his torso in my arm and nuzzling my face into his shoulder.

"Deal," he grinned as he pulled me toward the swing set. "Me first, though."

I giggled as he excitedly detached himself from me and pulled his long frame into the seat, kicking himself off the ground like an enthusiastic toddler. A very tall, handsome, goofy toddler. His long legs stretched out in front of him as he pushed back before leaning his body forward eagerly as he flew through the air.

"Joeyyy," he called, grinning at me and nodding behind him, reminding him of our agreement to push him. I rolled my eyes playfully as I moved a safe distance behind him, keen to avoid being kicked in the head by his big feet. My hands connected with the small of his back as he rushed toward me, shoving with all my might against him. His weight made it difficult for me to really make much of an impact, but he seemed to enjoy it judging my the radiant smile on his face.

"You're such a child," I teased, pushing him once more.

He tilted his head back to aim his words at me. "No way, everyone likes swinging."

"Touchè," I giggled.

After a few minutes of letting him soar uninhibitedly through the air, my arms started to get tired from attempting to push him. Luckily, it seemed he decided he had had enough as well because he dragged his feet through the sand, stopping himself before hopping out of the seat. He pushed his hand through his hair and grinned at me, eyes alight with enjoyment.

"Your turn," he said, sweeping his hands toward the swing in a grand gesture.

"Oh, thank you kind sir," I laughed as I climbed onto the plastic strip. He grinned as he moved behind me, hands wrapping around mine that clung to the metal chain. Pulling me back, he lifted my seat a few feet off the ground and pressed a kiss to my shoulder before lightly pushing his large hands into my back and sending me forward. Air rushed past my face and I couldn't help but smile. It had been ages since I'd been on a swing, and I had forgotten how freeing it was to just fly through the air on only a small seat supported by two thin chains.

His hands collided with my back again to send me even higher, and an uninhibited laugh escaped my lips. Over and over, I soared through the air, Harry's hands pushing me higher and higher with every swing, my grin only growing wider. I let out a cheerful whoop as my hair blew back from my face.

"Okay, you're right," I called, shouting slightly so he could hear me. "This is fun!"

"Told you," he called back. I could practically hear the smile in his voice. After a few more minutes, I decided I could get off the swing even though I could surely spend all day flying through the air.

"Okay, stop me," I requested, shooting my words over my shoulder.

"What?" he asked loudly.

"Stop me!"

"Can't here youuu." His hands pushed into my back again, sending me even higher despite my request.

"Harry!" I laughed, unable to control the wild grin spreading across my face. I let my feet drag across the ground, slowing my speed lightly as I swung forward. I started to move backward again, my ground dragging across the sand again as I swung backward. I was surprised when Harry stopped me suddenly, catching me from behind and stopping me in the position I had started in. His hands wrapped around mine again as he walked a few steps forward, reducing the tension on the chains.

Now that I was stopped, I was able to twist in my seat to look at him. His expression looked so incredibly happy and alive that I felt it spreading to me as well. Without a word, he ducked his head down over my shoulder to press a kiss to my lips, lingering as the slight chill melted between our mouths. My lower lip sunk perfectly between his as he kissed me, instantly warming my entire body from the inside out.

He pulled back an inch to grin at me, still leaning over my shoulder.

"I'm such a genius, admit it," he said proudly, clearly still enthused with his swing idea.

I rolled my eyes jokingly. "Yeah, yeah, you're a genius," I teased, smiling as I glanced at his lips once more before he leaned in to reconnect them. He had only been kissing me for a few seconds when something interrupted us.

"Harry?"

We pulled apart, glancing toward the source of his name in confusion. A girl I did not recognize stood in front of us, clutching her jacket around her chest as she stared at us with curious eyes.

"I thought that was you!" she exclaimed as she beamed at him. Her eyes drifted to me, happy expression faltering slightly before returning them to Harry.

"Katie?"

Katie? Who is Katie?

I studied her face, trying to determine if I knew her or not. She had medium length blonde hair, wide brown eyes, and as much as I didn't want to admit, a pretty face. She appeared to be our age, but I was certain I had never seen her before.

"Yeah, it's me! How are you?" she pressed excitedly.

"Um, I'm fine... how are you?" he said, voice relatively blank as if he were not expecting this person to show up.

"I'm great. I'm just here babysitting my cousin," she explained, nodding toward one of the kids playing in the sand that wasn't there when we had arrived. She must have just gotten here.

"Oh," was all he said. "Um, Katie, this is my girlfriend Joey," he said, nodding toward me. I hadn't realized but he had moved out from behind me and now stood by my side where I still sat in the swing. I stood up and leaned into him instinctively, grabbing one of his hands in mine.

"Hello," I said, forcing my voice to sound pleasant. She gave a small wave and forced a smile.

"Nice to meet you," she said, sounding as if the exact opposite were true. Okay.

"Are you... back in town? Or what are you doing here?" Harry asked, his voice dropping the blank tone but sounding apprehensive, unhappy. I was extremely pleased to hear the obvious distaste in his tone.

"Yeah, for a few months. My dad got transferred back." Her gaze remained completely on his, not once glancing back at me. I frowned her. I did not like this girl.

"Cool," he said neutrally, squeezing my hand. "Well good to see you, Katie, but we were just about to leave."

"Okay, we should get together sometime to catch up," she said brightly, smiling at him even more.

Stop.

"Yeah... see ya," he said vaguely before pulling me away, hand gripping mine tightly as he led me from the playground.

What the hell was that all about?