♡ chapter 5 - Harry ♡

            John had passed the point of irritating. He was officially pissing me off. I don’t know what possessed him to flirt with Rose right in front of me, but he was doing just that with zero shame. We were all sitting around the bonfire, Rose perched on the log across from me with John too close next to her. I was waiting for him to slip up and get burned the shit out of, but sadly that never happened. However, Rose looked mortified to have him in her presence.

            Niall and Zayn were conversing from either side of me, but I was unaware of the topic their chit-chat was revolving around. I couldn’t take my eyes off of Rose and John. The sickening scene was like a magnetic force keeping my eyes attached. I couldn’t look away, no matter how much I wanted to.

            An elbow nudged me in the side, causing me to glance over at Zayn out the corner of my eye. He waggled his eyebrows, nodding over in Rose’s direction and clearly catching on to my uneasiness with John near her. But I just rolled my eyes at him, discretely shooting him the middle finger. I was in no mood for “teasing.” I was too pissed off for that shit.

            Ryan stood with a yawn, stretching his arms. “Well I’m going to hit the sack since we’ve got a long day tomorrow.”

            “I think that’s a good idea for everyone,” I growled through gritted teeth, John’s sinister gaze meeting mine.

            He was smiling.

            That bastard knew exactly what the hell he was doing.

            Liam seemed to grasp the pissy mood I was in, so he (bless his soul) stood and nodded towards John. “Hey, mate. Mind giving me another run down of the potions? They could come in handy tomorrow.”

            John shrugged, but winked at Rose as he stood. My nails were already indenting red marks into my palms from curling my fists so tight, and my teeth were on the verge of breaking from clenching my jaw so violently. But soon enough to answer my prayers, everyone filed inside, leaving Rose and I alone.

            Neither of us spoke for a while, but then I noticed the night was growing thicker. I looked to Rose. “Do you want to go in before it gets any darker?”

            Rose seemed confused by my soft, concerned tone as she furrowed her eyebrows. “Um, it actually feels pretty nice out with the breeze and… well, you said it yourself…” Rose paused, a small smile gracing her pink lips. She met my gaze before merely shrugging, her cheeks flushing. “I have you, right?”

            My eyes bulged just the slightest at her proclamation, my skin chilling with her words, my heart swelling a bit as I ran through her words again, not being able to believe them or wrap my head around the thought of her wanting me around.

            No one has ever wanted me before.

            But I can’t let Rose know how much those simple words mean to me. I can’t show her vulnerability or any sign of weaknesses, for she could use it against me. I’ve learned to keep feelings bottled up and tossed out the window. I can’t trust her; I can’t trust anyone. Not even if I wanted to. The world is too unpredictable to loan someone your full trust without gaining some type of loyalty from them. It’s too risky to get too close to anyone at all, and I’ve learned this from rough experiences.

            So as much as I hated to be harsh to her after her genuine statement, I faked a scoff and rolled my eyes. “You didn’t think I meant that, do you? I was just trying to get you to shut the hell up about your phobia.”

            Rose’s lips parted and I know I hit a sensitive spot. She pursed her lips together, clearing her throat before standing. “Right… well… goodnight,” she murmured before her voice cracked, then she began walking towards the backdoor of the cabin.

            “Fucking shit,” I muttered as I rubbed my face, heaving both hands through my hair and letting out a breath

             I didn’t want to be such a prick to her, but I couldn’t help it. I was raised to be independent and on my own. I’m not used to having people journey by my side, nor am I used to any females with actual feelings. Hell, I hardly even know what it’s like to feel shit anymore. I’ve been locked up in a cell for two years, so it’s not like I’ve had much experience. That doesn’t include what I did in the past, but the past is the past for a reason and I’d like to move on from it.

            But a part of me wouldn’t let Rose walk away.

            “Rose, wait.” I stood and jogged over to her, fighting the urge to grab her wrist as she hit the first step for the door. She turned to face me, her eyes watery.

            Nice fucking job, Styles. You made the girl cry.

            “Rose…” I sighed, heaving a hand through my hair. “I’m sorry, okay?”

            Rose shook her head. “It doesn’t matter, Harry. I get it, all right? Just leave it at that.”

            “You get what?”

            “That you don’t want me around. That I’m just some pointless wandering you felt sorry for. I get that we aren’t friends or anything close to it, so I shouldn’t even be upset right now. I should be used to you acting like an asshole and this is only my second day knowing you,” she snapped.

            I shook my head, rubbing my forehead. “Rose, I’m not trying to purposely be a dick towards you.”

            “Well you sure act like it!” she yelled, wiping the tears that fled her eyes. “I’m sick of being mistreated by everyone, Harry. If you want me to leave, I will.”

            I sucked in a sharp breath, pressing my lips together. I didn’t want Rose to leave, but I couldn’t bring myself to admit that out loud. I couldn’t admit to her that I found her downright adorable with her rambling and constant teasing. I couldn’t admit to her that in just two days she’s made me smile more than anyone else has. I couldn’t admit anything to her, so I stood there like an idiot.

            Rose bit her bottom lip, nodding once as tears trickled down her face. “All right… I’ll leave tomorrow morning.”

            “Leave where?” I managed to challenge, but my voice was hardly audible.

            “I don’t fucking know, Harry. Maybe I’ll find a cozy box under the highway to sleep in. But I know anywhere is better than here with you,” she spat, turning around and entering the house.

            Muttering profanities under my breath, I followed her inside like a lost puppy. She rounded the corner of the hallway where Max had told us we could stay. Of course we’d be sharing a room, but it’s not like I could touch her anyways. I’d rather not get a third degree burn today, or ever, really.

            Everyone else was already asleep, the house silent without a single noise bouncing through the walls. Rose wiped her face again before slinging one side of the covers off, ducking herself under them and pulling them up to her chin. I sighed once more, heaving a hand through my hair before quietly closing the door and sitting on the edge of the bed she wasn’t occupying. I didn’t know how to calm her down. I’m not a fucking comfort person; I kill to survive. I’ve never had to deal with hormonal girls before, so this is just fucking weird for me.

            The only thing that managed to leave my lips was a faint, pathetic, “I’m sorry.”

            Rose scoffed, sniffing straight afterwards as she ignored me, continuing to keep her back towards me. I knew she wasn’t asleep, but she wasn’t giving out any signs of being awake, either. She was just lying there, silently crying to herself.

            It made me feel like shit, honestly.

            “Rose, please don’t be mad at me. I’m not used to being around other people, okay? I didn’t mean to snap at you,” I finally muttered under my breath, feeling more pathetic than ever for begging her to forgive me.

            I’m Harry Styles, for God’s sake; I don’t beg.

            But something kept making me beg for Rose.

            “Are you still going to leave?” I asked her quietly, still sitting up in the bed as I glanced over at her motionless body.

            Finally Rose let out a sigh, but she still didn’t turn to me. “I don’t know.”

            I swallowed before mustering the courage to say, “You shouldn’t.”

            Rose glanced over her shoulder at me, but didn’t say anything else before she rolled back over, her quiet breaths turning into soft snores.

            And even though Rose was sound asleep, not even a little doze overcame me. Instead, I sat awake all night, just staring at the ceiling and trying to orient the thoughts running through my head.

            Marcus was a portion on my brain, but Rose was a larger one.

***

            “Mosquitoes are pointless in society,” Rose grumbled from behind me as she swatted the air aimlessly.

            I pushed a branch out of my way. “Actually, mosquitoes represent a considerable biomass of food for wildlife, Rosalie. They also populated this planet before humans were even thought of. About two-hundred million years ago, to be exact. So without this little pesky bastards, a lot of wildlife wouldn’t be living right now.”

            “I didn’t ask for a science lesson, Styles.” Rose chuckled from behind me, the small giggle causing a smile to form on my lips. She had an irresistible laugh.

            But I shook my head, trying to rid the thoughts of anything mushy or adorable. I needed to be focused while we were out here in the woods, and Rose blabbering about insects and such was somewhat helping me. When she woke up this morning, I convinced her into staying by bribing her with chocolate pancakes. I don’t know why the hell I want her here so bad, but I knew I didn’t want her to leave.

            “You owe me a double batch of pancakes for this,” Rose told me as she caught up, walking beside me instead of behind.

            “All right, deal. But you’ve got to stop complaining if you want food,” I teased.

            Rose rolled her eyes. “Complaining is what I do, Styles. Without complaining, I’m not a female.”

            I laughed, shaking my head. “You women should find a better hobby.”

            “Oh, like taking care of you men? Don’t worry, we got that covered.”

            I rose an eyebrow at her. “Is that so, Rosalie? I’ll have you know that I get by just fine on my own. I don’t need a woman to look after me.”

            “Oh yeah? You’re about to step in a spider web.” Rose smirked.

            I rolled my eyes, assuming she was choking but then I felt the grossness of the web lapse my face. Grunting in disgust, I quickly brushed it off of me to find that Rose was laughing her ass off. I sent her my sternest glare.

            “It’s not fucking funny, Rose.”

            “You’re right; it’s hilarious.” Rose laughed harder at her own joke, hunching over and slapping her knee.

            Pursing my lips, I rolled my eyes again before brushing off my face once more. It was then that in the distance I could hear a faint scream. My head snapped up, my eyebrows pushing together as I listened harder; another scream.

            A feminine scream.

            But the only female in this group is Rose, and she’s perfectly fine standing beside me. In fact, she’s still laughing her head off.

            “Stop laughing,” I snapped, tuning in my ears on the distance sound.

            “Come on, Harry. You have to admit that it was—“

            “Shh!” I held my hand up to silence her. Rose listened, her eyebrows frowning together as she watched me.

            The piercing scream rung my ears once more.

            “What was that?” Rose whispered, stepping towards me.

            My lips pressed together in thought, trying to process who could be screaming at such a close proximity. As mentioned before, Rose is the only girl we have on the searching crew and she’s right here. Who could this girl be and why is she screaming?

            Another scream was yelped, but the voice was giving out. Whoever this was, was tiring out; and fast.

            Rose stared at me with wide eyes full of terror, and I fought the urge to reach for her hand. Instead I gave her a look, saying in a firm voice, “We need to go.”

            “Who is it?” she asked weakly as she began running with me.

            The only answer I could give her was, “We’re about to find out.”

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A/N: Ooohh, suspense is rising ^.^ I tried to make this chapter long, but I failed because I wanted a cliffhanger xD BUT CAN WE JUST TAKE A MOMENT FOR THE GIF ON THE SIDE? LIKE. JESUS HAROLD, ENOUGH ALREADY. *.* Whale, Love you all (: xx

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