Dedicated to: @flo_the_queen

When I woke up, Harper was still fast asleep.

I was immediately overwhelmed by a calm serenity.

Unsurprisingly, our hands had become unraveled at some point in the long night, and instead, Harper had an arm flung across my waist, clutching me very close, so I was almost fully pressed up against his front.

I sighed slowly, watching Harper sleeping, not in the creepy Edward Cullen way, knowing that trying to get out of bed now was no use. I was too lazy.

He looked almost angelic while sleeping. All his features were at rest, no cocky grin, no teasing smirk- just his lips slightly apart and his eyes closed. I smiled.

And of course, Harper Andrews, being the idiot he is, had to ruin the moment.

He slowly pried his eyes open, his green eyes almost glowing.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." Harper chuckled huskily.

Oh, gods.

His morning voice.

I groaned and pulled his arm off me. "I wasn't staring at you," I scoffed quickly.

Liar.

"Sure, baby doll," Harper grinned as I slid out of the bed, self consciously adjusting my sweater and mini sleeping shorts and smoothing down my hair which probably looked like a bird's nest.

Harper, on the other hand looked even better than normal. His hair was messy and disheveled- more than usual- and his dark green eyes flashed brilliantly.

I kind of felt bad for my boring hazel ones.

I quickly pulled my hair into a messy bun and turned to Harper who was now sitting up in the bed.

"Okay, you have to get out of here so I can get ready. And you have to do it without anyone seeing you." I told him. Harper merely raised an eyebrow.

"Why not?"

"Because people will get ideas!" I squealed. Harper chuckled.

"Okay, okay," he laughed. "I'm leaving." He stood up out of the bed, before heading to the door. Before he could leave, he leant over so his lips were by my ear.

"By the way, you look sexy in those shorts." He whispered, slipping out of my room.

What?

I gaped at him. He winked, closing the door behind him.

——————————————————————-

"Is everybody ready?" Maggie called out, walking out onto the chalet's porch. We all nodded in unison.

"Good," she muttered, taking a seat on the hard wooden chairs. "Our instructors will be here to pick us up soon."

I nodded and took a seat next to Samara on the floor of the porch. Florence was sitting next to her, flipping through a magazine.

"Seriously?" I called out to Florence. "We're about to go skiing and you're magazine-shopping for Jimmy Choo shoes?"

"Well, I'm sorry, but it is my job to look better than the college students at my university- I mean, peasants. I have a reputation to keep." Florence replied, glaring at me playfully and returning back to her magazine. I giggled, and at that exact moment, Harper walked out of the chalet. I turned away quickly as I felt him sit beside me on the porch. I glanced over at Samara who winked at me. I glared, of course.

"You're not wearing the shorts." Harper said, pouting. I gave him a sarcastic smile.

"Because I will definitely wear sleeping shorts in the snow." I rolled my eyes, running my hands down my not-very-attractive ski pants.

"So... an adult tomorrow?" Harper asked, running a hand through his messy hair. I realized he was referring to my birthday.

I shook my head. "Nope. I'm not turning eighteen tomorrow. Turning seventeen."

He looked over at me in surprise. "You're still sixteen?"

I blushed, nodding. "Yeah, I was just before the cut off date at school."

Harper let out a sigh of relief. "Thank god, baby doll. I'm glad I'm older than you. I feel more powerful."

I laughed. "You? Powerful? I don't think so."

"Are you sure? Yesterday, I kind of did pin you to the bed while tickling you." He replied.

"Yeah, but I did flip you over after that. So- " I poked him on the cheek, grinning happily. "- I won."

"No way, baby doll. I'm stronger." Harper shook his head.

"Prove it." I challenged.

Well done, Noelle.

Of course he's stronger than you! Have you seen those arm muscles?

"Arm wrestling?" He asked. I paused in horror and it was Harper's turn to grin. "Or are you scared?"

Too late now.

"Please, says the guy who's scared of thunder." Harper glared at me. "Fine." I sighed, as Harper held his hand out for me to take in arm wrestling. I gently slid my hand into is, and immediately shuddered from the sparks.

"Ready, baby doll?" He grinned. I nodded.

Harper immediately began pushing, and I struggled to push back.

Damn it.

In less than ten seconds, Harper was cheering for victory. I pouted as I heard Samara laugh from behind me, and I could sense everyone else watching. Apart from Florence, who was now involved with the Gucci section of her magazine.

"Let me try again." I argued. Harper shook his head.

"Nope, I won that." He replied.

"Scared?" I grinned a little. He narrowed his eyes.

"No."

"Good." I grabbed his hand again, pulling into position. I counted down, and Harper immediately began pushing, but I acted quickly, flipping his arm over my shoulder and pushing him face first into the snow next to the porch.

Mom, Maggie, Jenna, Samara, and especially Lana, burst into peals of laughter.

I leaned down to Harper's level.

"I won." I whispered in his ear. He brought his head up from the snow, pushing himself into a standing position and awkwardly wiping the snow away from his face an jacket.

"It's times like this when I really don't like you, baby doll." He grumbled, adjusting his sleeves. I grinned, and before I could say anything I was stopped by the sound of car engines.

We all turned to see two jeeps approaching us, dark green, contrasting against the white snow. They stopped in front of the chalet, and two people left each jeep. Mom and Maggie walked over to them, and we followed.

I looked carefully at the first of the four people.

"Hello, we are your ski instructors! We can't wait to work with you. We'll start off by introducing ourselves." She gestured to her self. She had long brown hair and looked to be in her mid-twenties. "I'm Rose."

I smiled and scanned my eyes to her left to see a Japanese woman in her thirties. "Hi, I'm Kira." She waved. I waved back politely.

"I'm Harriet." A blonde girl who looked to be Florence's age grinned. I nodded.

I turned to look at the last ski instructor properly, when-

"Alfie?" I asked incredulously. "What are you doing here?"

He grinned. "Surprised to see me?"

"Definitely not happy," Harper grumbled from beside me.

"Do you know each other?" Mom asked.

"Yeah, we do." Alfie answered. "Live in the same town. Just came here for a job over winter break." He paused before shooting a grin at Harper. "Friends with Harper."

"Hey- " Harper protested. Maggie cut him off.

"That's great! Good to have another guy here for you, isn't it Harper?" Harper groaned. Ignoring him, Maggie continued.

"So I'm Maggie." She gestured to us in turn. "This is Ria, Jenna, Lana, Samara, Noelle, Harper and Florence."

I couldn't help but notice the way Alfie's eyes caught on Florence, who had finally put down her magazine.

"Nice to meet you." Kira smiled. "Now, I take it none of you have ever went skiing before?"

We all shook her heads.

"Okay. So we'll need you to get into pairs, and we'll have an instructor for each pair."

I immediately headed for Samara or Florence, but Florence's elaborately painted nails pulled me away and pushed me towards Harper.

"Nope, Noelle. Not happening. You are going with Harper whether you like it or not."

I gaped at her. "I thought you hated shipping!"

"Well not this type," she muttered. Pushing me so far towards Harper that I tripped. Harper's hands immediately gripped my elbows, holding me in place.

"Looks like you're stuck with me," He smirked.

"That's perfect!" My mom squealed. "You can go with Alfie since you already know each other!"

Great.

—————————————————————————

"You've never been skiing, right?" I asked Harper.

We were sitting in the snow, waiting for Alfie to come back with the ski equipment. He had driven us to another part of the mountain, as our families had split up in our pairs.

"Well, I can ski, technically." Harper replied, playing with the snow. "I've seen it on TV."

I rolled my eyes. "Well I've seen heart surgery on TV, that doesn't mean I know how to do it."

Harper raised an eyebrow at me, somehow looking very attractive. "I'm kind of worried about what kind of content you watch on TV now, baby doll."

"No!" I slapped his arm. "It was for science!"

Harper grinned. "Okay."

"Did you know Alfie worked here?" I asked. He shook his head, his mood immediately starting to darken.

"No." He replied shortly.

Okay...

End of conversation, I guess.

"Sorry," I mumbled, awkwardly fiddling with my gloves. Harper sighed beside me, and pulled an arm around my shoulder.

"Sorry for being snappy and stuff. I just really hate Alfie." He said softly.

I smiled. "It's okay. I'll forgive you just this once, Andrews. Next time, I'll spoil Harry Potter for you."

Harper mock gasped. "You wouldn't!"

I grinned evilly. "Oh, I would."

Unlike a lot of other fangirls, I loved spoiling books for people. I don't know why. I guess it's just the dark side in me.

I opened my mouth, ready to spoil it, before Harper came lurching forward, tackling me to the ground and covering my mouth with his bare hands. He landed on top of me in the snow.

"Mmmmf!" I yelled through his hands. He shook his head and laughed.

He's so heavy!

I know.

I licked his hand.

I expected him to leap away, but he just smirked. "You can try, but I've been licked everywhere before, baby doll. Just my hand won't bother me."

EW, EW, PUKE.

That is by far the grossest thing he has ever said. Please get that out of my brain.

I prepared myself to do that flip thing again to flip us over, but as if he knew what I was going to do, he pressed himself closer to me, pinning me to the ground. He finally took his hand off my mouth.

"Get off me you fat elephant!" I yelled immediately, trying to push him off. "You're heavy!"

"Not until you promise not to spoil Harry Potter for me!" He answered.

Careful consideration taking place.

"Fine." I sighed. Harper smiled and got off me. I glared at him, readjusting my beanie as I sat up. Suddenly, abruptly, he spoke.

"I remember everything I said that night, you know."

"What?" I asked, startled by his solemn tone.

"When I was drunk," he said. I held my breath. "I remember everything."

"W- what are you talking about?" I shot back quickly.

Shut up, Noelle. You know very well what he's talking about.

"When I told you I was jealous about Charlie. And when I told you that I thought you were beautiful." He spoke softly, refusing to meet my eyes.

"Did you mean it?" I asked hesitantly. There was a long silence.

Ouch.

Great going, Noelle. Not only did you make things awkward, but you also just hurt your own heart. Well done.

Harper opened his mouth, ready to speak, when Alfie returned, ski equipment in hand.

"Up you get, love birds!" He called out. "I have to teach you to ski!"

——————————————————————

"Harper- you know what- I think you've had enough for one day." Alfie sighed, rushing over to Harper and pulling him out of the snow. I, on the other hand, was no help at all, just laughing at Harper who had been falling back and forth in our skiing lesson.

But me?

I was strangely good at this.

"No! Just one more time." He huffed, an adorably determined expression set on his face as he stood up and dusted himself off.

Alfie raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure if that's quite safe."

"Well I can try," Harper growled grumpily, picking up the ski stick things. I still didn't know what they were called.

"Woah, woah," Alfie put a hand on his arm, which Harper sourly shook off. "At least go with me so I can make sure you're safe."

Harper looked at Alfie incredulously.

"I am not going with you." He growled. "I want to go with Noelle."

They both looked over at me.

I put my hands up in defence. "Me?" I shook my head. "No. I just learnt to ski today! How am I meant to help him?"

"You'll be fine." Alfie replied, pulling me over so I was next to Harper. "Now hold his hand- " Harper took my hand. "- And Noelle? You hold the left pole, and Harper hold the right."

We got into position, and finally, we set off, down the not very steep slope.

"You okay?" I called out to Harper, feeling the wind whip my face. He squeezed my hand in response.

"You know, now I definitely feel more powerful." I called out.

"Just this one time, baby doll. Enjoy it while it lasts."

"I'l try!" I replied and I heard Harper chuckle next to me.

I moved my poles to move us around, and finally we came to a stop- two minutes later.

"That was amazing!" Harper grinned, pulling me into a hug. "I didn't even fall over!"

I smiled and hugged him back, jumping around. "It was, wasn't it?"

I felt Harper nod, and he jumped up and down with me. We stood like that, jumping up and down with me giggling violently before we finally let go and collapsed onto the ground.

"Do you like Alfie?" Harper asked softly.

I stared at him, surprised at his abrupt question. "No!" I exclaimed. "Well, not in that way."

"Good," Harper sighed, smirking. "I was afraid that his 'attractiveness' might be some competition for mine."

"I don't know... " I began teasingly. "Alfie is pretty hot."

Harper scoffed. "Not as hot as me."

"Are you sure? Because I don't see that 'Jace Herondale', golden, sweeping locks thing going for you." I smirked a little. "And that's always a winner."

Harper ran a hand through his hair frustratedly. "Whatever. I'm hotter than him."

"Whatever floats your ego-brimming boat," I sang, standing up, beginning my trek up the slope.

(A/N: I'M SO SORRY FOR THIS TERRIBLE FILLER PART I JUST WANTED TO SHOW A PLAYFUL SIDE OF NOELLE AND HARPER'S RELATIONSHIP BECAUSE THE NEXT BIT WILL BE PRETTY SERIOUS)

———————————————————————————

"What movie do you want to watch?" I asked Harper, flitting through the channels, twisting my red hair around my finger.

We were currently sitting on the sofa in the living room of the chalet, and Mom, Maggie, Lana and Jenna had all gone to the main campus of the hotel to buy souvenirs, while Florence had insisted on going on a walk, I know, terrible, while Samara was up in her room watching The Big Bang Theory.

I waited for Harper's answer which never came.

"Harper?" I turned towards him. He was still, not moving, a sorrowfully wistful look on his face as he stared blankly at the TV screen.

"Harper?" I asked again, starting to get worried. He finally shook his head.

"I'm so damn worried about her, Noelle," he muttered in a raw voice, not looking at me. "I'm so fucking worried."

I cautiously scooted closer to him. "Who?" I asked softly.

I think I know.

"Kate," he mumbled, running a hand through his hair. "I'm finding it hard to stay strong." His voice broke, and I was immediately overcome with guilt.

Harper had been there for me for so long, working through all my problems with me, and if he couldn't, he was my support that stopped me from falling. He had done everything to help my mending soul, but I had done nothing for him. I had completely ignored his vulnerability underneath his protective layer.

I had done nothing.

In his eyes, I was probably just a selfish, bratty girl he had to take care of.

Stop it, Noelle. You're doing it again. Just be there for him for once, okay?

I moved closer to him, inviting Harper to hug me if he wanted to. He took the opportunity, pulling me to his chest.

"I'm worried that one day she'll stop fighting," Harper continued. "That one day she might give up. After all, it's been a year. There's only so long she can fight for."

"I'm sure she'll try her hardest. She'll keep fighting for you." I replied gently.

"She can try," Harper answered. "But sometimes trying isn't enough. Trying to fight won't win you a war."

I breathed in deeply, taking in what he just said.

"It didn't seem real at first. That my lively, happy sister was on the threshold of death. But when I realized it. It was like you couldn't breathe, you know? Something closing in on you from all sides, pressing you closer, and closer till you give up surviving."

Like a panic attack.

"I don't know who I will be if she dies, Noelle. I won't be able to take it." Harper chuckled darkly, and I could feel the vibrations under my shoulder, rumbling like a storm through his chest. "I'm barely surviving now."

I didn't know what to say. I couldn't tell him that everything would be okay, because I didn't know that for sure. I couldn't tell him he will go through this unscathed, but that's a lie.

He has enough scars in his heart already.

"I don't know what will happen, Harper," I whispered softly. "But whatever happens, I'll always be there for you, okay? However cheesy that sounds."

Harper laughed lightly, pulling me even closer to him.

"You don't have to do that, baby doll." He answered. I shook my head.

"But I will." I shot back. "You've done way too much for me."

"Are you okay with being there for me? Like, I understand if you're not, because it's quite a big thing to handle."

I nodded lightly, and suddenly my heart clenched.

I didn't know if it was pain or pleasure, sorrow or joy, all I knew was that I felt it, in every single fibre of my being.

That Harper, this cocky, egotistical boy on the outside, who was vulnerable and fragile within, was dealing with something as terrible as having a sister in a coma on the verge of dying and he still found it in himself to ask me if I was okay.

That exact moment, sitting with Harper on the couch in the living room, all these incredible thoughts and feelings running around my head, was when I realised it.

I am in love with Harper Andrews.

OH MY GODS

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