Harry’s hand gripped mine firmly as we darted through the darkness, dodging fleeing partiers and trees alike as we tried to maneuver through the backyards.  The flashing lights behind us grew dimmer and dimmer as we ran, Harry constantly looking over his shoulder as he pulled me along to make sure I was keeping up.  He stopped suddenly and I crashed into his back before regaining my balance and looking up at him to see his head swiveling frantically back in forth.

A majority of the people were running to the right, a pack mentality taking over as no one dared diverge from the rest of the crew.  He glanced to the left, where almost no one had gone, and pulled me in that direction, deciding to break away from everyone else. 

I was glad he had taken charge, because I probably would have gone with the group, which was surely the wrong decision.  Cops were going to follow the large group, not the two scampering off into the darkness, if they even saw us at all. 

The yards were dark as we jogged through silently and I managed to stay on my feet despite tripping a few times over uneven ground.  So much had just happened that I was having a difficult time focusing on keeping up with Harry, not falling, and trying to process that I had just been an actual fist fight.  The thought of the fight seemed to remind me of the throbbing wound on my cheek, which was surely swelling now from when Katie had punched me. 

I couldn’t imagine what her face felt like if mine hurt this bad from just one blow- I had landed a lot more than she had, and they had been pretty solid hits at that.  As awful as it was, I couldn’t help but feel proud of myself for taking action and holding my own against that her.  Anger flooded through me again as the image of her trying to force herself on Harry flashed in front of my eyes again, distracting me from my focus and causing me to trip on the grass.

Harry caught me just before I hit the ground and pulled me back up, stopping and turning to me instead of making us carry on in the dark.  I guess he figured we’d gone far enough to be safe and not have to run anymore.  He squinted at me in the darkness, green eyes narrowing as he examined my face.  His thumb rose gingerly to run across my cheek, making me wince when he came into contact with where she’d hit me.

“We should get ice on that,” he said quietly, whispering in the darkness.  A surge of anger toward Harry flared up, surprising me.  I hadn’t realized until now, but I was upset with him, too, for agreeing to go off with her in the first place.  I stepped out of his reach and kept walking in the darkness, away from him. 

“Hey,” he said, sounding confused as he rushed after me and put his body in front of me, forcing me to stop walking.  “What’s wrong?”

“Seriously, Harry?” I huffed, forcing my voice to remain a low whisper, the threat of cops still fresh in my mind.  He looked confused as what little lighting there was cast sharp shadows across his face.

“Are you mad?” he asked in bewilderment.  I stared at him, not saying anything but clearly letting him know he was right.  “Why are you mad?” he restated, frowning down at me.

“Why did you go off with her?” I demanded.  Confusion flashed across his face, clearly not realizing that that was something that would upset me until right now.

“She said she had to talk to me,” he said simply, eyes flitting back and forth between my own. 

“About what?” I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to look tough but really just needing the comfort.  I was angry, but I was also upset.  Even though he hadn’t done anything, the image of him with another girl was haunting me and tearing away at my insides. 

“She said she wanted to apologize,” he admitted.  “For what happened, you know?”

I stared at him skeptically.  “I don’t think that’s what she had in mind.”

“That’s what she said,” he said defensively, his innocent background working against him.  To me, it had been blatantly obvious what her intentions were and what she wanted.  To him, he wasn’t used to girls flirting with him and trying to get their way, so of course he had believed her.  It was somewhat naïve of him, but I couldn’t blame him for that.

“Harry…” I groaned, running my hand over my face and pinching the bridge of my nose.  “I forget how clueless you used to be about girls.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, scratching the back of his neck.

“She was all over you,” I said slowly, not fully understanding how he hadn’t picked up on it at all.  “I knew the second I saw her that she wanted you.”

“Oh,” was all he said, eyebrows furrowing as he thought about it.  “I mean I got that once we were outside but until then… I dunno.  I guess I still don’t really know what I’m doing.”

I let out a little chuckle, feeling my anger dissolve the more he spoke.  He was clueless about the effect he was starting to have on girls, beside just myself. 

“You do, just not with anyone besides me,” I said smugly, stepping closer to him and resting my hands on his chest to look up at him.  “Harry that was so hard to watch,” I said seriously. 

“What was?” he looped his arms around my lower back to hold me against him. 

“Everything.  Her smiling at you and touching you and you walking away with her…” I trialed off, my eyes dropping from his face to look at the shirt covering his chest.  I bit my lip to try and distract myself from the next image that flashed through my brain- the worst of all. 

“Joey, I didn’t even realize that,” he said calmly, reaching one of his fingers under my chin to lift it and force me to look at him.  “I’m sorry.”

I took a deep breath, steadying my voice.  “Then when I came out here and couldn’t find you, I was so terrified of you being alone with her.”

“Why, Joey?” he asked, sounding a little hurt.  “Don’t you trust me?”

“Of course I do, Harry, it’s just the thought of you with anyone else absolutely kills me.”  He blinked at me.

“’You know I’d never cheat on you, right? Please tell me you already know that without me saying it because if you don’t know that then I’m doing something wrong.” His voice was stern as he spoke, a slight undertone of anger just barely detectable. 

“I know that, babe, I do,” I said earnestly, looking him in the eye. 

“Then why would you be afraid of that?” he pressed.  I dropped my forehead to his chest, burying my face in his shirt and feeling stupid for acting so irrationally. 

“I don’t know, Harry,” I mumbled, my words muffled by the fabric.  “I didn’t trust her, and for a good reason, obviously.”

“Yeah, but Joey, I’d never let anything like that happen,” he said, kissing the top of my head gently.  “You don’t have to worry about anything like that ever happening.”

“I know,” I muttered again.  “I just… don’t think rationally always when it comes to you.”

I could practically feel him smirking as he spoke again.  “I know the feeling, love.”

I lifted my head from his chest to look at him, leaning into him much more than I was initially aware.  “I’ve told you this a thousand times but… I’m yours, remember? I have no interest in anyone else.  There’s only you.  It’s always been you.”

A smile pulled at my lips, erasing the sadness and obliterating any remaining anger I was holding onto.  My hands slid up his chest to wrap around his neck and pull him down to me, allowing me to press my lips into his. 

I exhaled softly as he let his lips capture mine, the spaces between mine filled perfectly with his.  He brought his hand up to rest on my cheek and I winced involuntarily when his thumb brushed the swelling lump under my skin.

“Ow,” I hissed, grimacing as he pulled back.

“Oh, shit, I’m so sorry, Joey,” he said frantically, squinting at my cheek.  “I totally forgot for a second.”

“It’s alright, it doesn’t hurt too bad if you don’t touch it,” I said honestly, the pain already ebbing away.  I knew it would be more painful tomorrow, but right now it was more than bearable.  He didn’t look like he believed me but he nodded and let his hand fall from my neck, where it had dropped immediately. 

“Let’s get home,” he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me to walk with him.  “Are you okay with walking? I don’t know how else we’d get home…” he trailed off, blinking in concentration.  It seemed like so long ago that we had been drinking and I felt basically sober, but I knew a breathalyzer would prove otherwise and it wasn’t a good idea to drive. 

“It’s fine, it’s nice enough out,” I said, gripping his hand in both of mine as we walked.  It was only when we had gone a few more blocks toward home that we dared exit the backyards and walk on the sidewalk, finally comfortable with the distance we had put between ourselves and the party.

“I hope they don’t get in trouble,” I mused out loud, frowning at the sidewalk.  Harry squeezed my hand. 

“I know.  It’s not exactly looking good, though,” he admitted reluctantly, scrunching up his nose and twisting his mouth to the side. 

“Lydia’s screwed no matter what, it’s her house.”

“Her parents, more like.  Housing minors and all that,” he said quietly, his deep voice nearly getting lost in the still night air.  I hadn’t even thought of that.

“Oh no…” This was getting worse by the second, and I felt awful for Lydia, her parents, and anyone else who had gotten caught, but was beyond happy Harry had made it out without getting into trouble.  And myself, I guess. 

We were fairly quiet on the rest of the walk home, the still darkness making us feel the need to be silent as we walked.  It only took about twenty minutes to walk home, thankfully.  Apparently we had run farther than I thought at first, because normally the walk would have taken much longer.  I was grateful Harry had chosen to run in the direction we did, because not only had it probably saved us from getting into trouble, but it was in the direction we needed to go anyway.   Brilliant. 

When we arrived at his house, I half expected him to take me home and say goodnight but was pleased when he pulled me inside without hesitation.  We were as quiet as possible as we crept upstairs into his room where he made me sit on the edge of his bed while he went back downstairs to retrieve some ice for my face.

“This feels familiar,” he joked as he knelt in front of me and pressed the icepack he had wrapped in a thin towel to my skin.  I winced at the pressure and the cold, but instantly felt some relief at the temperature. 

“It’s a little different,” I argued lightly.  Flashbacks of Harry sitting on the bed while I cleaned his cuts swam through my brain, painful jolts rushing through my heart.  That had been one of the nights where I realized I had real feelings for Harry, not just an infatuation or curiosity- real, actual feelings.  How strange it was now for him to be taking care of me after a fight when I had done it so long ago for him. 

“You shouldn’t have done, that, babe,” he sighed, resting his hand on my knee and letting his thumb trace lightly over it, still holding the ice to my face. 

“Oh yes I should have,” I disagreed.  If there was anything from tonight I regretted, it certainly wasn’t fighting Katie.  It had felt so good to release my anger in an actual physical fight rather than just hurling spiteful words at her. 

“You got hurt,” he stated, as if that were obvious.

“She got hurt worse,” I said stubbornly.  He just frowned at me. 

“Besides, you couldn’t exactly do anything, you’re a guy.  And she wasn’t going to get away with touching you because, as you said, you’re mine,” I said, grinning lopsidedly, still proud of myself.  He shook his head in exasperation, sighing but letting a small smile pull at his lips all the same.

“Yes, love.”

He held the ice to my face for a few minutes, not saying much but never letting his fingers stop their gentle patterns on my leg, eyes focused on their movements.  I examined his face as he did so, noting the gentle pull on his eyebrows. 

He was concerned, I could tell, that I was hurt worse than I actually was letting on.  He didn’t like the fact at all that I had gotten hit, I could tell.  His dark eyelashes cast a shadow across his sharp cheekbones, and his lips were parted slightly as he breathed evenly. 

I didn’t like seeing him so concerned, even though it was because of his worry for me.  It weighed on my heart to see him upset, and it ached with love for him.

“That’s good, Harry,” I said quietly.  His eyes flitted up to meet mine before pulling the ice away from my face.  He leaned forward to examine it, grimacing slightly at the angry red mark he saw there.

“You might get a black eye, Jo.”  I shrugged, expecting as much.

“I’ll be okay,” I told him.  His lips pressed into a line as he stood up to set the ice on his desk.  I crawled back onto his bed, laying on my back with my head on the pillows.  My arms reached out to him, beckoning him to me.

“Come here,” I requested.  The bed sagged as he crawled onto it, bringing himself over me before lowering his weight to my body and holding himself up on his elbows.  His face hovered inches above mine and he bit his lip into his mouth.

“I love you,” I whispered, wanting him to smile.  He seemed so heavy right now and I needed him to feel better.  I really was fine and he had no reason to be so serious. 

“I love you, too.”

“Harry please lighten up, I’m fine,” I begged.  “It’s one little bruise.”

“I just don’t ever want to see you get hurt again, Joey,” he said seriously. 

“You’re sweet, Harry, but I’m a big girl, I can handle one hit,” I told him playfully.  “A weak hit, at that.”

He smiled gently, eyes meeting mine as I grinned up at him.  “I know you’re tough.”

I nodded sharply.  “Exactly.”

He shifted himself up slightly to press a kiss to my forehead.  “You’re a big,” he kissed my left cheek.

“Bad,” a kiss to my other cheek.

“Tough,” a kiss to my nose.

“Badass.”  He smiled softly at me before lowering his lips to mine and pressing them together.  “But I’ll still be here to try and protect you no matter what,” he whispered, pulling back just enough to let his lips mumble the words. 

“My hero,” I whispered back, raising my gaze to meet his. 

“I’ll be your anything, love,” he said quietly.  My heart swelled with love for him as he leaned down again to kiss me once more, the pain in my cheek and the events of the night completely forgotten as his lips molded into mine, kissing me the way only he knew how. 

**

Hope you guys liked the chapter! Sorry I didn't update yesterday- I had every intention of doing so until the whole Midnight Memories leak madness happened and I was no longer able to function.  It's amazingggg, yeah? ALSO, if you haven't already, please have a look at my second fanfic, 'Resolution' and tell me your thoughts! I really, really appreciate it :) Don't forget to vote/comment, thank you guys! :) x