aesthetics for this chapter

Well, enjoy this 10'000 word-long chapter
please. It was so stressing to
write this istg, it took me like a week or sum.

***

What will I leave behind me?
Where will I choose to go?
To tell the truth, I'm tired of falling
When I'm floating, I'm closer to you

Three days went by more than quickly.

I didn't even have a record of what was going to happen next till Harry kindly reminded me today was the trade thingy. I wanted to die.

Things were going just fine, but way too good to be true, of course. I wasn't expecting anything good to happen today, except for the fact that I was going to get more time to spend with Harry. That was the only thing I was actually looking forward to doing.

But besides from that... things regarding the job hadn't been going on great for us, I couldn't see how they would get any better. What had changed? Absolutely nothing.

But with Harry, things were nice. There wasn't tension or awkwardness anymore, we actually were acting like... I don't know, friends? Honestly, I had no idea how to call what we had going on, the only thing I was certain of was that I was really enjoying it.

And yet, I had been snapped out of my little comfort bubble as soon as I remembered what was our purpose here in the first place. I was acting like a normal person till now, so the mission had me in a really shitty fucking mood.

This thing was meant to be easy and I was supposed to finish it in little to no time... but here I was. It had been over two weeks and I knew it wasn't long, but it felt like it had been a whole fucking decade. I mean, we had been in three different countries already.

I wasn't complaining as much as I usually would, and the reason for it was a certain six foot curly-haired guy.

It had been just me and him up to now, we hadn't even gotten in the amount of trouble I thought we would. As far as I remembered, we hadn't killed a single person so far except for that one dude back in London. But I was almost a hundred percent sure no one was linking me or Harry to that, the FBI hadn't given us any reason to start hiding.

We were still hanging low though, we were trying to draw in as little attention as it was possible. The last thing I wanted was ending up in jail, I would die before letting myself be caught by the feds.

I had no idea what was going on with Harry, personally speaking. None of his friends had texted him at all, neither had his sister or, I don't know, a cousin. I was slightly concerned about it, because I would've never pictured him as the lonely type of person.

Maybe his friends had texted him, I just wasn't aware of it. Or maybe he really didn't have friends at all, then I could be his friend. I really wanted to be his friends.

Overall, I was just hoping he wasn't feeling lonely. I wasn't, he was really great company, but I couldn't say the same about myself. Usually, I was a loner, which was why this whole shit was pretty much new to me.

My period was gone by now, and I was really fucking thankful about it. Mood swings didn't hit me hard anymore, though I still had some because that was just me being me. Cramps were lighter too, so I had stopped taking painkillers.

Last days with Harry had been so much fun, we had grown really close. I was still planning my revenge on the whole teasing thing, he was most definitely not winning this. I was the queen of sexual fucking teasing and he was going to be reminded of that.

We had some moments where all that could be sensed in the atmosphere was tension... the sexual kind of tension. Both of us acknowledged it, but none of us said a word. We probably were too nervous to even speak, which was why we made the decision to just shut up.

I had pulled a big-ass Natalie and entered the bathroom right after he showered a couple times these past few days, only to annoy the crap out of him. I really enjoyed seeing him all flustered, it was really cute.

And I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the teasing too.

He was good at it, I had to give him that. He knew just what to do to make me wet, dripping down to my thighs... fuck, I had touched myself thinking about him and I wasn't even bothering in trying to stop thinking about it. It was pointless, I had already given up on trying to get him out of my mind because he seemed to be living there already.

I thought about heading to his room in the middle of the night a couple times too. The feeling of fucking him was beyond noticeable, and I couldn't avoid it anymore.

Yes, I was way hornier than usual. But I mean, talking to the people who knew him, who wasn't horny around him? He was so hot when he wanted to, the bastard knew that.

We were supposed to be ready by 1 p.m. to head to the museum, and I knew exactly what to wear. The idea was to look casual, like a normal couple going out on a nice day. It sucked though, because that meant getting rid of my usual style only to dress like a cheesy-ass teenager.

The basics; a white floral-pattern sundress with sandals. I really did look like a married woman or some shit, it was weird seeing me dressed like this and it was definitely a one time thing. Maybe my usual style was a bit dark, but that was just how I liked it. I'd much rather wear leather jackets than unicorn skirts, thank you very much.

I had no idea what Harry was going to wear, probably something based on the same idea I had, but I guess I was going to find out soon. I knew he was waiting right outside my bedroom door.

"Can I come in?" I heard after a couple of silent seconds of me just staring at myself in the mirror.

The sundress really suited me, but only in the physical way. I didn't like it at all, it made me feel uncomfortable and just... weird.

"Sure," I answered, watching askance as Harry opened the door and crossed the threshold.

He was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans with a plain white shirt and velvety Chelsea boots. He looked hot without even trying, I felt jealous yet my eyes were so fucking blessed that I was starting to question if eyes could be horny.

"Would you look at that? Natalie Perkins wearing... whatever the fuck that is," Harry chuckled, raking his eyes up and down my body shortly.

"It's ugly. Looks ugly, feels ugly." I rolled my eyes, adjusting the top hem of the dress so that my boobs weren't all over the fucking place.

"It doesn't look ugly, I just never expected to see you wearing something like that. It's different, but I like it." He nodded his head, giving my cleavage a very long stare that clearly didn't go by unnoticed.

"Why, thank you." I smiled lightly. "You look good too."

"I know I do." He rolled his eyes playfully, making me swatt his arm in response. "Ready?"

"Not at all, but let's just go ahead and say yes." I formed my lips into a line, grabbing his hand as we both left the bedroom.

Harry laughed quietly, and I really loved it when he did. It was a godforsaken sound, very sweet and low and just fucking adorable.

About my feelings... yes, I really had been feeling different about him. Especially since now it was clear to me the big crush I had on him. It would probably end up to be just a platonic joke, but I couldn't help but wonder about us. I really did like him, romantically speaking, and that was freaking the fuck out of me.

I was concerned about Zayn too. I really didn't want to hurt his feelings, and I had the gut-wrenching hunch that he had found out. I hadn't even stopped to think about how that could've ever happened, but all the same, I still felt like it did.

What if things didn't turn out with Harry, but Zayn was too mad to let me into his life once more? I was going to have no one and I would lose them both, absolutely nothing to go back to and nothing to depend on.

I was scared, I really was. My first instinct was always to hurt people, and it was really fucking ironic how, this time, I didn't want absolutely anyone to end up getting harmed. If anyone, that would be me.

"Did Tomlinson send a car again?" I huffed in annoyance, getting a low hum in response.

We were walking down the stairs till we got to the door, where we crossed the sill and were gifted by a very nice little car. It was red and modern, the slick paint reflecting under the weak sun. The big clouds littered across the sky threatened to start pouring down any minute.

I smiled a bit because I had a thing for this type of car, but the emotion was erased completely when I remembered who it belonged to. God, I hated that asshole so fucking much.

We continued our slow pace to the car, where the driver opened the back door for us. And we started the ride, a ten minute trip to the museum.

"Do you think Alex is going to be there?" I asked, not even recognizing my voice when I noticed how marked my accent sounded.

"Probably. I mean, he's appeared before, nothing's changed this time. I just really fucking hope we get this done today." Harry answered, looking out the window while he subconsciously kept one of his hands on my thigh.

I really liked the small touches, they had become almost vital. Harry placing his hands on my knees was like an instinct by now, and it sent so much warmth to my heart that it made me want to scream.

"Who do you think they are? I mean, him and that Alissa bitch." I rolled my eyes, feeling beyond frustrated about our situation.

"How do you know the girl's name?" Harry turned to me, creasing his eyebrows together and ignoring my previous question.

"We met in a bar a couple nights ago. She was very nice, but the cunt lied to me." I sighed, feeling as Harry's fingers started to trace lazy patterns upwards on my thigh.

Goosebumps erupted all over my body the minute I deciphered what he had in mind, my dress was riding up and I didn't know how to feel about it. So I clenched my thighs... and Harry cleary had to notice.

He curled his lips into the tiniest smirk, making weird chills go down my spine. I didn't want to look so desperate, but I had developed very strong sexual feelings towards him and there was no going back now. He knew how badly I wanted him, and he was using that against me.

"Don't you dare." I breathed out through gritted teeth, only making Harry laugh under his breath.

"What? I'm not doing anything." He looked at me, scanning my face up and down briefly. "Or maybe it's just you... wanting me so bad, right?"

Oh wow.

"Harry!" I arched my brows, whisper-yelling at him the moment I felt his knuckles brushing over the front of my underwear.

All he did was let out a breathless chuckle in response, and I could see how tense the driver was. His eyes were widened and he was gripping the steering wheel like there was no tomorrow... I really felt sorry for him.

"Be honest with me, do you really want me to stop?" Harry whispered, acting casually while he hooked his finger on the hem of my underwear and grazed it back and forth. I was already getting so fucking wet for him. Fuck.

"Considering the fact that we are in a car we don't own, and the poor driver is probably freaking out... yes, I do want you to stop." I said, gripping the edge of the seat for some support.

"Mhmm." Was all he had to say.

I knew for a fact he could feel how wet I was starting to get. Something about being in public was making it all more thrilling and exciting, but I knew we would arrive at the museum soon enough.

"So fucking wet," Harry murmured to himself, pressuring his thumb on my clit and making me suck in a sharp breath while I squirmed under his grip.

There was a sly smirk plastered on his face, the kind he puts when he knows exactly what he's doing... fuck, he did know exactly what he was doing and it was driving me so fucking insane. I was literally stopping myself from moaning right there.

He still hadn't gone beyond the teasing, I wanted him to keep going but something was telling me he wouldn't. The pressure in my lower stomach was kinda painful, I hated it when people teased me.

I felt his index and middle fingers gliding up and down my drenched folds, collecting a bit of my arousal. I knew I had done a mess of my underwear already. Fuck, it felt as though my pussy had a heartbeat of its own now. I let out an airy whimper, forming my lips into an O before I could control myself.

But the car started slowing down and soon enough, I realized we had arrived at the museum already. Harry pulled away his hand, though I really wanted him to finish what he started. This wasn't fair.

I opened my mouth in order to talk but, before I could say anything, he was already leaving the car. I had no choice but to follow him, but I hated when he teased me. It left me in such a bad mood.

I knew for a fact I had ruined my underwear, and the way Harry took his fingers to his mouth to suck them clean made my stomach clench weirdly. I tugged down my dress and ignored him when he extended his hand to help me out of the car.

I heard him chuckle, but oh, would he pay for this.

He grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers, and I felt my muscles tense at the sudden touch. We both entered the museum, watching as the security guard standing on the doorway gave us a bored look, but we ignored him and headed towards the counter.

"What time is it?" I murmured to Harry, watching askance as he checked his watch.

"Half past two," He said, right when we made it to the counter.

The guy raised his head and gave us a warm smile. He must have been in his thirties, blond short hair and very skinny. His red nametag showed the name Carl in big white letters, so my gaze dropped there before going back up to meet his eyes.

"Good afternoon," He smiled with a terrible accent, so I smiled back.

I had no idea how he knew we were English, but I wasn't the one to correct. I knew how to talk in Spanish, but I'd much rather speak in my own language. Maybe they got a lot of tourists, I don't know and I don't care.

"Good afternoon." I rebounded. "Uh, we bought the tickets online."

"Alright, name?" He answered, hovering his hands over the keyboard of his computer to start typing.

"Styles." I cleared my throat, Harry giving me a side look.

"Yes, here." He finished typing before taking out a small map of the establishment and handing it to us. "This is the map for the museum. The permanent exhibitions are on the underground stories and the temporary ones are upstairs. I hope you have a great day, enjoy."

"Thank you." Harry smiled, and I imitated his actions as we both started walking towards the mechanical stairs that led to the underground stories. "Ready?"

"Sure. I mean, what could go wrong?" I breathed out, clamping my hand around Harry's... I don't even know why.

"Everything." Harry snorted, making me laugh quietly too. "Let's get this done."

We got together on the stairs and I leaned on one side, watching as he leaned on the other. And we just stared at each other. Harry looked deeply into my eyes and I looked deeply into his, keeping my hands on the rubber railing.

We finally made it to the underground story, and we were gifted by a bunch of sculptures and paintings. Lightbulbs scattered across the ceiling illuminated different pieces of work with limelight, mostly sculptures.

Low classical music was playing in the background, which I recognized as Ladyfingers. It was quiet, but it made the ambient much more enjoyable and it wasn't loud enough to be annoying or intrusive.

https://youtu.be/l6U1JB7z-I8

We went down another set of stairs to a very ample hall with more paintings, all of them scattered across the walls and some benches settled in front of them. The place was big enough to fit two hundred people, there was a lot of space.

Yet, the museum was empty. Except for one man looking at the paintings with no interest at all. He was clearly a tourist, but what called my attention wasn't him. Following behind him were two bodyguards.

That was him, that was one of our guys.

"Harry, we have one of our guys. Eleven o'clock," I murmured to Harry, who shot his head towards the direction I mentioned.

He gave me a steady nod and quickly drifted his head towards a very nice painting. It was actually really beautiful, but I wasn't much into art to be interested in it.

I kept my eyes fixated on the guy, but I was soon distracted by a specific room. It was a secluded area full of paintings attached to the walls, all of them related to horses and illuminated by tiny reflectors.

All of the pieces of art had been painted with a specific technique, pointillism. They were so fucking beautiful, and I was secretly obsessed with horses... I couldn't not go when they were literally putting my dreams into pieces of paper.

"Harry, look!" I tugged on his arm like a little kid, pointing at the specific part of the hall out of excitement.

"What?" He answered, kinda alarmed at my sudden action. "Oh."

"Let's go!" I exclaimed, yanking him towards the room.

We sprinted towards the area with our hands latched together, and I couldn't help but catch the guy giving us a weird look. Harry was chuckling lightly behind me and, when we finally arrived, I noticed the music was a bit louder here.

I let go of Harry's arm and started to examine the paintings, amused. They were so fucking beautiful, all of them carefully traced. They were clinging to reality, but yet, I could notice the imaginary fine line between what's real and what's not. Some of them were very big and others were small, but all of them equally impressive.

They were so detailed, I knew it had taken a shit ton of time for the artists to paint them. The further away you got from the painting, the clearer you could notice the shapes. The pictures were an explosion of colors, looking like they were thrown onto the canvas.

"They're really nice," I heard Harry from behind me, but I had been attracted by a specific painting.

There were two horses galloping together traced in different colors, contrasting against a very messy yet beautiful background. The small dots looked like little stars, the upper part of the background being way darker than the bottom one.

"They're beautiful," I said, turning around to him only to catch the biggest smile on his face.

A dimple popped in each of his cheeks, making him look the happiest I had ever seen him. His hair was messy, and I found myself staring a bit too much. I always stared a bit too much, it was like an unbreakable habit by now.

"You look really beautiful too." Harry walked closer to me, placing his hands on my shoulders.

I cocked my head back to look at him, and I couldn't help but melt under his touch. His hands were so warm, contrasting against my skin which felt so cold. They were sending chills down my spine, the good kind of chills.

I smiled, but I would've wanted to do more. I never knew how to express myself, but him saying things like that really mattered and a lot. Especially being so out of context, he didn't have to say but yet, he did.

So I booped his nose, which was like our signature by now. He let out the nicest laugh looking downwards at me. His smile was showcasing his dimples deeper, if that was even possible, giving him a childish glow which I had grown to be so fucking attached to.

"Dance with me?" Harry smiled wider, showing me his whole set of perfect white teeth.

I could notice the corner of his eyes crinkling, which was something I hadn't paid much attention till now. The way his eyes became smaller but his smile grew wider was like a heavenly sight... I couldn't look away.

The way his eyes glimmered made me smile too, and I couldn't say no when he had that face of his and I could see clearly the galaxy in his eyes. It only appeared for me and it always made me so fucking happy.

"I don't dance..." I laughed, feeling my cheeks getting warm. "But I will with you."

Harry laughed and immediately grabbed one of my hands, making me spin. I gasped a bit at the sudden action but immediately laughed too as we danced to the music. His cute little giggles were so fucking cute.

He then snaked his free hand around my waist and started swaying with me, slow and caring. I made sure not to trip or step on Harry, I sucked at dancing more than I sucked at staying away from him.

Harry spun me once more and, this time, I ended up with my back against his chest and his hands around my stomach. He puzzled his chin on my shoulder and kept swaying to the music with me.

"I really like you," He whispered.

The suddenness of his confession made goosebumps erupt all over my skin and my stomach clenched in the weirdest way. I smiled though, because it felt nice knowing that he liked me back. I felt a weird chill go down my spine while I mentally prepared myself to speak my next words.

"I really like you too," I answered back, leaning my head a bit towards his. "Thank you, Harry."

He grabbed my waist and turned me around, looking down at me with a slight frown on his face. There was also a cute pout on his cherry lips, making me want to kiss it away.

"For what?"

"For liking me," I shrugged, feeling as I blushed a bit.

I bit my lips nervously, looking down to hide my face, but Harry cupped my chin and tilted my head back up. My eyes landed on his green ones, which were so clear that looked like a meadow in a sunny day.

"Always." He answered simply, stroking my cheek with his knuckles.

I was going to speak, but the appearance of a different guy followed by two bodyguards interrupted us. The action immediately erased whatever I was thinking about earlier, mostly because I remembered what was our purpose here in the first place.

Instinctively, Harry and I ran towards the bigger hall. He checked his watch and I peeked at it, the white lights showing the numbers 2:36 p.m.. We had about forty seconds till this guys decided to make a move, but I never expected to see the people I saw.

Walking down the stairs were Alex and Alissa.

"Fuck," I said under my breath, hearing as Harry cursed too.

Alex and Alissa hadn't seen us yet, which was why I yanked Harry's arm and hid us behind a wall. If they saw us, then we were screwed together with the whole plan. I heard Harry gasping a bit at my sudden motion, but I quickly took my index to my lips.

"Alex is here," I whispered, watching as his eyes widened a tiny bit.

He darted his eyes downwards to his watch once more, keeping his eyebrows creased together, "We have twenty five seconds."

I nodded, peeking from behind the wall only to see one of the guys approaching the other. The four bodyguards stood tall behind them, partially blocking my view. I knew this wouldn't be easy, especially now that we had been set with a new obstacle.

I caught Alex standing in a corner whispering something to Alissa, and I cocked my head back before she could see me. I took a deep breath, feeling Harry's presence behind me. My heart stopped now that I realized his hand was on my hip... fuck, not the moment, Natalie.

But my heart stopped again, and not in the good way, when I noticed a new set of men walking down the stairs to the hall. They were all securities, but I knew for a fact they weren't working here. I had no idea who they were and what they wanted, but something felt so fucking off.

"Who the fuck are they?" Harry whispered, probably more to himself than to me.

"I have no fucking idea," I answered back equally, feeling my blood boiling in my veins.

I knew the plan was screwed already, there were more people than I thought would be and there was no way out. Fuck, I really thought things would go just fine for a second. I was happy with Harry, and now this.

But what surprised me the most was Alex's scared face, kinda like he knew who those people were... and it wasn't good. His eyes widened in what I thought was slight fear and then I noticed they were all heading towards the two guys that were supposed to trade the diamond.

"Fifteen seconds," I heard Harry whispering next to me, making my heart start thumping against my chest so fiercely I thought it would jump out.

"We'll be out in five, yeah?" I whispered back, earning a nod in response.

I kept examining the situation, the men were getting closer and closer to the two guys and nobody seemed pleased with that action. On the other hand, Alex looked so fucking nervous I was starting to get concerned.

"Ten."

Fuck, I was getting so fucking stressed. We didn't just have one problem, we had two. All I knew was that I really didn't care if we didn't get the diamond in the end, but I just needed to get Harry out of here. I had a very bad fucking feeling about all of this.

"Seven, six... let's go!" Harry pointed, so we both sprinted towards the hall the quickest our legs allowed us to.

We immediately caught the eye of literally everyone in the room, they were all wide and probably not expecting us. The men, which were three or four, stopped in their tracks, giving us a few extra seconds to head towards our destiny.

Alex and Alissa started walking towards us too... and the trade was happening right in front of our eyes.

The four bodyguards partially blocked my view, but I could distinguish one of the guys passing a red velvety box to the other. The bodyguards immediately took out their guns and clicked the hammers, pointing it at us.

The two little groups of three started running towards the exit through different paths, the guards blocking us the way to the diamond. So I had no choice but to reach out for the gun in my holster too. I clicked the hammer and pointed it at them, making them jolt a bit but keep a steady position.

If they reached the exit, then it was the end. I had no idea where Harry was, probably somewhere behind me, but I also knew Alex, Alissa and the other men were there too. Knowing these made fear start crippling through my veins as soon as I realized.

Maybe Harry was being attacked. Fuck.

Out of reflex, I turned around. Harry was just fine, but the whole fucking world was approaching him, so I motioned with my hands for him to follow me so we could get the fuck out of here.

The arrival of a bullet next to my feet made me gasp and freeze in my tracks. I had no idea who had pulled the trigger, but it only took a quick glance over my shoulder to know it had been goddamn Alissa. Her gun had a fucking silencer, of course.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going!" The bitch yelled at us, holding her gun high and keeping her finger over the trigger in case she needed to shoot again.

"Natalie, c'mon," Harry chimed, tugging on my hand for us to leave.

But I raised my own gun and fired it too, mostly out of anger, and I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins like a toxin. That was probably a very impulsive fucking decision, but I was too pissed off at everyone right now to think straight. I knew for a fact Harry had taken out his own gun too, and I could see Alex reaching out for his.

All hell broke loose when more bullets were fired by the securities. I yanked Harry's arm to hide behind a wall, but I saw askance how Alex and Alissa stayed to fight the guys. They hid behind a very big sculpture to shield themselves from all of the bullets flowing around.

Fuck, this was all a huge chaos. None of this was ever supposed to happen, and now we had created a museum into a fucking warzone. I was so stressed, who the fuck were those guys? What did they want? Did Alex know them?

I could hear gunshots flying around, so I peeked from behind a wall only to see Alex and Alissa hiding behind the stairs while shooting their guns. Well, actually, only Alissa was shooting her gun, Alex seemed like he was having a panic attack or something.

He was breathing heavily, trying to take deep breaths to calm himself. It didn't seem to work though. His knees were trembling slightly, like they were about to give up and let him drop to the floor.

Seeing him like that made me kinda sad, mostly because I saw myself reflected in him. I used to have a lot of panic attacks, usually when I woke up from night terrors... which was why I stopped sleeping. When I did, the panic attacks were reduced and they rarely ever happened, but they were still as painful and the feeling was stuck in my mind like glue.

I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He had taken his hand to his chest, probably to try and calm down the hyperventilation, and I really felt the need to go help him. I didn't fucking know why though, it just hurt me seeing someone going through the same I had been going on for two years of my life.

"You go for that side, I'll go for this, yeah?" I told Harry all of a sudden, surprising both of us.

"Huh? Why?" He turned to me with his eyebrows creased together, speaking over the echoing of the bullets.

"We're leaving, but we might as well take down those motherfuckers too." I explained, watching as he nodded his head in response. "Go!"

Immediately, both of us were out, shooting our guns to this unknown people. I managed to headshot two of them, blood splattering all over the white walls behind them, but an aimless bullet grazed my thigh and made me stumble back.

The adrenaline flowing through my veins wasn't allowing me to feel any pain, plus, I was very resistant of it. I looked down to check the wound quickly over the dress, but I really didn't care about a small scratch on my skin.

I shook off the thoughts but, when I looked back up, I noticed Alex and Alissa standing in front of us and shooting the guys too. Alex seemed to be calm now, which gave me a brief peace of mind, but I was surprised as fuck to see they weren't attacking us... they were defending us.

Harry and I stood there, both startled to our asses. Alex kept shooting his gun with an excellent precision till he turned around to us, smiling lightly. He looked so fucking soft, but I was still too amused to think straight.

"Go!" He motioned his head towards the exit, making my heart jump to my throat when I processed his words correctly.

Had he just told us to leave?

"What?" I exclaimed, holding eye contact with him all the way through.

"Leave! Now!" Alex exclaimed one more before a bullet flew right next to his head, making him turn around once more and continue.

Well alright.

Still startled as I was, I grabbed Harry's hand and yanked us both towards the emergency exit. I was surprised no one had walked downstairs to check what the fuck was going on, the men's guns didn't have silencers and neither did ours. I couldn't risk walking out through the main entrance though, so I took us both out through the emergency exit.

My hair flew behind me as I made sure to keep a tight grip on Harry's fingers. He intertwined our hands together, making my skin tingle and butterflies flutter in my stomach. I kept running through the hallway till the gunshot sounds faded and we were out in broad daylight.

Harry and I made sure to tuck our guns back in before anyone could see them, sighing in relief. Luckily, no one was around. We were face to face with the river, where some boats were floating. I could see the Puente de la Mujer in the distance, the white surface glowing under the what was left of the sun behind the clouds.

"What the fuck just happened?" Harry asked in between heavy breaths, looking at me while he propped his hands on his knees. "Who were those dudes?"

"I really have no fucking idea, but they clearly wanted the diamond too." I sucked in a deep breath, smoothing my hands down my sundress while I felt the light stinging from where the gun had grazed my skin.

"Why do you think Alex let us go?" Harry asked.

I really had no idea why he had let us go, maybe he had changed his mind? Honestly, I really didn't care, because maybe he was just trying to get us out of the way quickly. His little smile though... I don't know, everything was so fucking weird.

"I have no idea, but I still don't trust that motherfucker." I rolled my eyes, starting to walk towards the parking lot of the museum as I still tried to heave my chest with enough oxygen.

Instinctively, I took my hand to my chest, but the necklace was gone. My blood stopped flowing in my veins and I had to stop walking for a second. Fuck, that necklace had grown to be a part of me, I couldn't fucking lose it.

It was like my lucky charm.

"Is everything okay?" Harry pressed his hand on my shoulder, making me snap out of my little thinking bubble.

I looked him deeply into his eyes for a second, mostly because I didn't want him to notice the necklace was gone. He would be mad at me and I didn't want him to be mad at me, I liked him too much for that.

Jesus, I was so fucking whipped.

"Yes, it's fine," I stuttered, smiling lightly.

Harry gave me a reassuring smile, sliding down his hand to grab mine. He intertwined our fingers, and I couldn't help the tickling I felt all over my body. An odd shiver went down my spine as we started to walk again.

My mind kept wandering off though. I couldn't stop thinking about Alex... why? That was my only fucking question. It was true, I still didn't trust him. I mean, he had dedicated himself to make my life harder than it already was, trusting him wasn't easy. But yet, he had decided to let us go when he could've easily shot us both.

And the way he was having a panic attack... I couldn't even begin to explain how related I felt to him. My first thought was that any kind of violence triggered him, but that didn't make any sense to me. Why would he be involved with such work when he hated violence? Maybe he had a PTSD, like me, but still... why would he want to get this job if violence was such a trigger?

Something told me he was good, deep down. Maybe he never wanted to be here? It would actually make a lot of sense, maybe he was forced into joining... wherever the hell he worked. If that was actually true, then fuck, I was so fucking sorry for him.

Before I knew it, Harry and I were both in the car. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't even remember to open the window, which was why I nearly started hyperventilating before I noticed. When I did, I was quick to lower it, it affected me more than I knew it did.

Harry kept giving me weird sideway glances, probably trying to figure me out. Truth be told, I couldn't even decipher what was going on in my own mind. I was just thinking... a little too much, like always.

"Sunshine," Harry caught my attention when he placed his hand on my knee. "We arrived."

I smiled and nodded, getting out of the car after he did. I watched as the little red car drove away, getting lost when it swerved past a corner.

The wind was blowing a bit stronger now, making both my dress and my hair fly around. It wasn't cold, which was weird since it was winter in Argentina. What I could notice and was result of the season of the year was that it was barely 5 p.m. and the sun was already halfway down.

My house was located in a very cute neighbourhood, which was why I liked spending time out here. I'd usually bring a chair out to the sidewalk and just observed everything I found, such as the neighbors, the sky, the ground... whatever.

I didn't have a permanent house back in London. I kept moving from cheap hotel to cheap hotel, all of them located in bad neighbourhoods which prevented me from enjoying being outside.

I rarely ever came to Argentina, but when I did, I made sure to stay as long as I could. I'd usually come during winter, when the weather was much more enjoyable to me, so-

"Nat?"

Harry's deep voice made me jolt a bit when I realized I had been staring at the sun for the past few... I don't know, minutes? I had no idea how long I had been out for, but clearly not much since Harry was just noticing my absence.

"Are you coming in?" He said with a warm smile plastered on his lips.

I really didn't know what was up to me, I was acting so weird and even I myself could notice it. Maybe it was the fact that seeing Alex having a panic attack had made unwanted memories resurface... or maybe the necklace was the reason. Fuck, I had no idea. Maybe I was just tired.

"Yeah," I took my hand to my chest instinctively and walked towards him.

He held the door ajar for me to walk in, and I was immediately greeted with the warm air in the interior of the house. My skin was still cold because of the wind, so the sudden change in the atmosphere hit me a bit too hard.

My only reaction to finally being back home was taking off the fucking sandals, my feet were starting to ache under the leather straps. But when I tried to lean down to unhook the little clasp, I finally remembered the bullet graze on the side of my thigh.

It was just a small scratch, it was bleeding but it wasn't a big deal. I was handling quite well, but I was way too tired to repress the small grunt that left my lips. Well, of course Harry had to hear it, because he immediately shot his head towards me with a confused frown and a very cute pout on his lips.

"Is everything okay?" He asked before his gaze dropped on the small bloodstain on my sundress. "You're bleeding."

"I'm fine," I huffed, looking down at my thigh.

I hadn't even bothered to check the actual wound because I really didn't care enough to. Grazes were basically nothing, they were like a small cut or scrape and those were things I was very much used to feeling.

It had been a while since I got a bullet graze and I couldn't understand what was the big deal with them. Yes, if they grazed something such as your jugular or an important artery you could die of blood loss... but it was my fucking leg we were talking about.

"Let me see." Harry walked closer to me, but it only made me take a step backwards out of reflex.

"Harry, really, I'm fine." I said, motioning my hands in front of me since he was already aiming to lift my dress.

"Babe, a quick checkup won't harm you." Harry chuckled lightly.

My stomach fluttered at the nickname, but I knew he was just being sarcastic. Something about the way the pet-name sounded in his accent made my heart thump against my chest like there was no tomorrow.

"I know, but I'm fine- Harry!" I squealed when he snaked his hands around my knees and hoisted me up over his shoulder. "Put me down!"

I couldn't help the giggles leaving my lips, because he was basically carrying me like a sack of potatoes towards the couch. I kept squirming and laughing under his grip, but my tiny self was nothing compared to him and his strength.

I could only see his feet and the mahogany floor as he walked, and he finally dropped me in the couch like I was a feather. The sudden action made the injury start stinging a bit, but the emotion was too clouded by giggles for me to even notice.

Something about the way he was looking down at me was making my stomach clench oddly, but the scene didn't last long because he immediately leaned down next to me to check my thigh. He lifted my dress up enough to expose my whole leg together with the wound, and this was the first time I was seeing it.

It wasn't just a scratch like I thought it was, the bullet had actually drilled into a very large area of my flesh. Dry blood was glued to the edges of the small hole and it looked very ugly, I knew it would leave a small scar even if it was a faint one.

"Well shit." I said, stopping my laughter immediately.

My resistance to pain was very good, but also very bad. I never knew which injuries were serious and which ones weren't till I checked them... and checkups were my list favourite thing in the world.

My lack of responsibility was the reason all of the scars along my body were so ugly, I never bothered to actually look out for them. My mom used to put a special product on my skin every time I got a scrape or a cut, she said scarring wasn't an easy thing so we always had to help our bodies.

"See? Checkups are very important, Natalie." Harry placed his hands on his hips on a mocking tone, standing up and heading towards the entrance table where I kept the first aid kit.

Don't ask me how the hell he found out I kept it there because I have no fucking idea.

"Oh, excuse me, Mr. Doctor." I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest as I kept my exposed legs extended in front of me.

I analyzed his movements with my eyes as he headed back towards the couch, kneeling down next to me. He opened the small white box and took out some disinfectant and gauze. The injury was starting to sting a bit, which was collateral damage of actually thinking about it.

I wasn't thinking about it till now, so it didn't hurt. But now that my mind was focused solely on it and, well, a bit on Harry too, it did hurt. I was like a fucking philosopher or something, questioning my whole purpose of existence.

Harry wetted a piece of cotton with the ethyl alcohol, making the smell of Ethanol immediately invade the atmosphere. The strong scent of it made me scrunch my nose, but it got no reaction out of Harry. I guess I was the only one with a high intolerance to strong smells.

I winced the minute the piece of cotton connected with my thigh, it started stinging a bit stronger. It was like having a serrated knife drawing patterns on your skin without necessarily cutting it, as if it was just testing your limits.

"Is this okay?" Harry asked when he noticed my small flinch, but I nodded immediately.

"I can handle it." I gave him a reassuring smile, and I really liked how worried he seemed to be even over something so meaningless like a scratch.

I could've been bandaging my thigh on my own, but I liked it when Harry touched me and I wasn't the one to correct. His concern was far more than just appreciated. Plus, the proximity gave me time to analyze his face once more like I had done hundreds of times.

I followed the curve of his jaw with my eyes, I really liked his jaw. I know it's a weird thing to say, but it was the truth. I followed upwards to his eyes, his meadowy green eyes that looked the lightest ever... I wondered if I'd ever be able to spot tiny flowers in that miniature field.

And my eyes dropped to his lips, obviously. His rosy, plump lips. He was sucking his lower one under his teeth in concentration as he disinfected my wound, and that made them look even better than they already did-

"Done," He lifted his head to look into my eyes, and I was quickly snapped out of my small little bubble when I realized he was finished bandaging the wound.

I hadn't even realized he had started bandaging it, but I quickly shook away every thought and smiled at him, mumbling a quiet 'thank you' while I tugged my dress downwards to cover my exposed leg.

"You really didn't have to, Harry. I can do it myself," I stood up, crossing my arms over my chest.

This dress was making me really fucking uncomfortable, I couldn't wait to get out of it.

"I know you can, Natalie Perkins can do everything," Harry rolled his eyes playfully, making me laugh a bit. "But it's okay, I wanted to do it. Plus, I get an excuse to touch you."

I froze in my tracks and waited for him to laugh, claiming it was just a joke. But when the statement wasn't followed by his usual little giggles, I realized he was being deadass serious. There was a playful smirk on his face, but I was too surprised to think about it. Besides, he had literally put my thoughts into words.

"You don't need an excuse to touch me, dumbass," I rebounded after I cleared my throat, but it was too late when I noticed how flirty I sounded.

"Really? Are you saying I can touch you..." He took a step forward, towering over me for at least five inches. "...wherever I want, whenever I want?"

The height differences had me cocking my head back as he tilted his forward, looking deeply into my eyes like he was trying to burn a fucking whole into my skull. I gulped, trying to hide the insecurity in my aura.

"Someone's horny today," I raised my eyebrows a bit, even though my proud ass was blocking me from taking a step backwards.

Our noses were inches away, and I could feel the body heat he irradiated. His curls were hanging on his eyes but he wasn't bothering to fix them back up, probably knowing how crazy they made me. I knew he was trying to start something, I was sure this was way beyond just a little teasing game.

But did I want him to stop? Please, that was like asking a bird if it wants to stop flying.

Harry surprised me when he leaned forward to peck the tip of my nose, and I was caught very fucking off guard with his sudden softness. The small kiss left my whole body tingling, and I couldn't even begin to process how the fuck I was feeling at the moment. My heart was fluttering so fucking hard that it was almost painful, but painful in the best way possible.

I watched as he disappeared through the kitchen door, but I stayed frozen in place. My eyes were a bit wide, but I slapped myself twice in the face so that I stopped acting all weird. It was just a fucking kiss, not that we hadn't kissed before.

I ran upstairs and to my bedroom, ready to tell my pillow everything that happened today, but I was stopped dead when I noticed the rain starting to pour down outside my window. My body was drowned into a trance of absolute bliss, I loved rain so fucking much.

Despite the grayish atmosphere, the big scary clouds and the fact it looked like the world was falling apart, rain made me so happy. It was like being splashed by an unexpected wave of confidence, a wave you never saw coming and always left you wanting more. It was probably just me though.

It was also correlated to the fact that rain distracted me in every possible way. It smelled of thick air and wet grass and it draped the screaming voices in my mind with its loud downpour. The sound of the little droplets hitting the concrete was enough to fulfill any kind of emptiness, it didn't let a single voice slip in between the cracks.

Despite the irony, everything was quiet when it rained.

So I did the only thing that came to my mind. I changed myself into an oversized shirt and sleeping shorts as fast as I could, reaching out for a big fluffy blanket I found in my closet and running towards the window. By the time I was done, the sky was practically falling over me, so I hurried myself because I didn't want the rain to stop.

It felt like these little moments were mine and only mine, even though thousands of other people were watching the rain too. But I felt like I was alone in the world when I got these moments, like the rain was made for my eyes only. As if nobody really appreciated its beauty, so I had been chosen to just... observe.

I sat on the windowsill, sliding the blanket around my shoulders to cover myself with it. I let my legs hang down, and I was aware that it was a dangerous position but I also knew I wouldn't have many other chances to enjoy the rain.

The only reason I wasn't getting completely soaked by the rain was a small tin roof that spread all along the facade of the house. Still, I could feel some tiny drops of water that had been dragged towards me due to the wind.

I swang my legs and gazed around, sucking in a sharp breath through my nose. Today, the rain smelled of peace. I wasn't quite sure how that smelled, but it came in the form of man cologne and green eyes when I noticed Harry sitting next to me on the windowsill.

He had his own blanket around his shoulders and he was wearing only a pair of gray sweatpants, like always. I found it very cute how the blanket he was using to shield himself from the cold wind was pink, combined with the cute pout on his lips that was making me want to kiss him.

"It's raining," He suddenly spoke up, catching my attention.

"Well, no shit." I giggled a bit, making him laugh back in response.

Harry's laugh. Harry's godforsaken laugh. I really liked his laugh. It was deep and raspy, smoothed out like silk or velvet or corduroy or whatever, and it was just so fucking adorable. I was constantly thinking about how it didn't match his intimidating body at all.

We stayed silent, everything was really quiet. At least it was to me. The rain was making a noisy scandal right in front of our eyes, but yet, everything felt so muted. I couldn't hear a single thing, except for the distant rambling of little droplets crashing against the floor and the small hums leaving Harry's lips.

He was singing.

I didn't recognize the song he was humming at first, neither I did at second. It was an unknown melody leaving his cherry lips like heavenly notes of an angel's harp. Similar to the rambling of the sea, his voice kept vocalizing beautiful harmonies.

He had a beautiful voice, I would've never expected him to actually be talented at it. I was surprised I had been able to catch the sound of his voice over the thunderous roaring of the rain, but I was so fucking grateful I had.

"It's gone," I blurted out all of a sudden before I could stop myself.

Harry's head immediately shot in my direction, giving me the most confused look. His cheeks were a bit flushed, a pinkish tincture dyeing his skin that only made him look even more cute than he did before, if that was even possible.

"What's gone?" He asked over the rain, and something about being sat on a windowsill with him made the moment even more unique.

"The necklace. It must've fallen while we were at the museum. I'm sorry, Harry, I didn't mean to lose it, I swear-" I started talking the fastest I had ever talked before Harry interrupted.

"Hey, Nat. Remember? No apologies." He gave me a lopsided smile, making only one of his dimples indent on his cheek. "Besides, I know it wasn't your fault. It's just a necklace, babe, I can get you another one."

"No, but-" I started, but reconsidered myself when I heard the soft tone of his voice. "Thank you, Harry, really."

"It's nothing."

And once more, we were plunged into a wave of comfortable silence, filled only by the rain and the wind blowing in our ears like a constant alarm. By the time, the sky was already completely dark, but I didn't know when time had passed by.

The sky lightened up in a silent flash of lightning, making it able to see the clouds for a brief second before everything was consumed by absolute darkness once more. I loved the moments before the thunder, when the sky was illuminated this way. It made my blood bubble in happiness.

Seconds later, the noise of the sky roaring caught my attention. That short seconds were all that could be heard was the thunder, it felt as though the whole earth was shaking. Like the ground beneath us wasn't steady anymore.

My skin crawled in amusement as I analyzed the little droplets falling on my bare knees. The street was already drenching wet, making the splashes of water ten times louder. I felt like I was orbiting, spinning around in circles as a rush of wind hit me in the face and made the hairs on the nape of my neck bristle.

"You know, death must be a beautiful thing." I started talking, keeping my eyes on the dying sky above us.

"What?" Harry's tone sounded kinda alarmed, and I assumed he wasn't understanding the meaning behind my words.

"Everything is quiet. You have no yesterday and no tomorrow, you forget time and forgive life because there's no reason to stay mad at it once you don't have it anymore. You're laying down on the soft soil, feeling the grass sway to the wind right above your hair and finally, finally, you're allowed to rest."

And once again, absolute silence.

It felt like the rain and sky had stopped their dying state to listen to my words. I hadn't looked at Harry since I started to talk, I didn't want to look away from the sky because I knew this moment would be erased by tomorrow morning and the only thing I'd get to have would be the aftermaths of a rainy afternoon, the small puddles of water laying on the floor and the gray sky showing the vanishing clouds above us.

I knew the sun would come out again tomorrow.

"Well, life is a beautiful thing too." Harry talked, shifting a bit next to me.

"Yes, but not all people are really living. Some of us just exist," I shrugged my shoulders indifferently. "In the end, we're only love and spacedust."

And with that, I knew I didn't have to speculate anything else. I was one of the people that were just existing, because I hardcore believed I was born with no purpose. I remembered once reading that life's purpose is to give life a purpose... but that was the reason I thought I had no reason to be here.

I didn't know how to give life a purpose.

The distant ringing of the doorbell made us both turn around, but fear immediately drowned me. We weren't expecting anyone today, we didn't even know anyone in Argentina. We hadn't told anyone about our stay here, who could possibly be ringing our doorbell?

I gave Harry an alarmed look and we both ran down the stairs. I grabbed my gun from the entrance table and made sure it was loaded before opening the door. Harry waited behind me as I twisted the handle.

I kept the gun down, but I never expected to see the face I saw, which made me raise it and click the hammer. He flinched a bit at the sudden action, but I was trying to process my mind over the fact that the motherfucker was standing right in front of me, knocking on my door.

There was a car parked behind him and he was drenched in rain, his jet-black hair was falling on his eyes due to the dampness. He was wearing a leather jacket and skinny jeans, which were soaked too, but I really didn't care about that at the moment. What the hell was he doing here?

"Alex?" Harry and I both asked at the same time.