Written by: loveinslowmotion on archive of our own

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When Harry woke up the next morning, it was from a good dream. A fucking great dream, actually. It wasn't the first time he'd had a dream like that, but it was the first he'd woken up with Taylor actually beside him. It was also the first time he was wearing clothes and he couldn't get himself off like his body was aching for him to, but let's not get into that. (Harry knew what he wanted to get into holy shit)

Fumbling around for his phone, he groaned as he turned his head to the side. Right. The braid. While Taylor had undone hers before bed, Harry hadn't wanted to take out the cute one she'd given him, and the hair tie sat right on his neck. Making a mental note not to pick pretty next time, Harry jumped when he felt a hand on his arm as his own grasped the shiny finish of his iPhone. "Scared the shit out of me, Taylor," he muttered as he turned back on his side to face her. He didn't exactly want to, but lying on his back wasn't really an option right now. They hadn't gotten that far last night.

"Sorry," Taylor smiled gently as their eyes met. "Should've said something first."

"Did you have a good sleep?"

She nodded in response before picking her own phone up from the blanket. "Are you getting any service? My phone is being shit."

Raising his eyebrows slightly, Harry went to run his fingers through his hair before he remembered it was still tied back ugh. "How long have you been awake?"

"Enough to be hungry and to be annoyed at my phone for not doing what I want it to." Taylor laughed at herself, wriggling over and turning on her side to match him. He noticed her eyes flicker down as she put her arm around him and he tried to keep his expression regular. "What are the plans for today?" she asked normally. There was no way she hadn't noticed how hard he was right now but at least they weren't going to talk about it. Thank god.

"More exploring?" he said, shrugging his shoulder slightly. "There's some tracks going the other way we could go take a look at."

Taylor smiled, to his relief. Despite having the idea for a while, he hadn't actually come up with a whole list of activities for them to do. Unless you counted making out in different places at various intervals, which Harry sure as hell did now.

"Sure. We'll definitely need that shower after, though," she teased, poking him in the chest and pulling away, which wasn't really fair. Was she taking back her sarcastic stance from the day before or was she just relishing in the vulnerable state Harry was in?

Climbing out from under the blankets, Taylor crawled over him to the supplies. He heard her rummaging around and pouring some cereal into bowls, and he couldn't help but smile to himself. It had been so long and the Coco Pops were far from the breakfasts she used to make for him when he slept in, but it felt so familiar and comfortable to him.

Harry thanked her as she placed a bowl beside him and sat on top of the blankets. She'd put her glasses on, which she unnecessarily pushed up her nose as she seemed to hesitate for a moment. "Do you... Did you want me to give you a couple of minutes...?"

Okay, maybe he'd been wrong.

"Um, no, it's okay," he mumbled, though if he was honest he wanted to say yes, just not to a couple of minutes alone.

A small smile crept up on her lips as they fell into silence — well, silence plus the crunching of Coco Pops — and when he questioned her Taylor shrugged a little. "It's just kind of funny. Wildest Dreams and then..." She bit her lip lightly as Harry looked down awkwardly. "You were kind of mumbling in your sleep... No, Harry—" she sighed as he buried his face in his pillow, and he heard her shuffle over to rest her hand on his leg. "Harry, look at me." He knew she was rolling her eyes when he didn't respond, but he hadn't been aware Taylor was going to lean in and say, "I kind of liked it," in his ear fuck.

"Taylor..." he murmured, eventually turning his head back and meeting her eyes again.

"C'mon, eat your breakfast," she said, her sudden bubbly tone breaking him out of his little embarrassed zone. She smiled at him as she returned to her own bowl, and after spooning some of the cereal into her mouth she added, "It's weird when you're shy."

"'m not being shy," he argued as he propped himself up enough to eat without spilling it everywhere or choking to death.

"Then give me a proper recount of your dream." Harry froze at her request, and Taylor let out a laugh, "I'm not serious! God, don't look so terrified."

"'m not terrified."

"Mhmm."

"It's too early for this."

"We're camping, Harry. The sun is awake, so we're awake!" Taylor threw her arms up excitedly, and Harry couldn't help but catch the way her top rode up to show a bit of her stomach.

"What the fuck did you put in these Coco Pops?" he laughed.

Taylor's expression turned to a frown as she mimed flicking a spoonful of cereal in his direction. "Y'know, I was just trying to be nice to you," she said matter-of-factly.

"I know. You know I'm not my sunshiny-est in the morning," he reminded her.

"You can say that again."

They smiled at each other and Harry was so glad not a lot had changed between them. Well, kind of.

"The ice isn't feeling so icy, by the way," she added, which kind of dulled his I'm-so-happy-we're-best-friends-even-though-I-love-you-more-than-that vibe.

"There was a stop just up the road, yeah? I'll go grab some more, if you want to wait here."

"Some time to myself? I'd love that," Taylor grinned teasingly, and Harry just shook his head with a laugh. What had he done without her?

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Once they eventually finished breakfast and Harry got ready, he left Taylor with their things and set off. He'd known from the start they would have to restock some of their supplies at some point, but now that he had to he didn't really want to. It just seemed like an extra risk of getting caught; they'd been lucky not to bump into anyone else at the campsite so far and there was no way he could avoid it now. He just prayed it wouldn't blow up into anything more.

When Harry arrived at the service station ten minutes later, he was relieved to see it was practically a ghost town. An old pickup truck stopped at one of the pumps, he figured he was safe. Thankfully.

It was a bit of a different story once he parked and got inside, though. Harry heard a gasp from the counter across the store that sure wasn't initiated by the tragic midday TV drama playing on the monitor in the corner. He did his best to ignore it as he started browsing the aisles, picking up some things here and there. Another packet of Doritos, some more marshmallows, two packets of gummy bears, the biggest bag of M&M's, two cinnamon donuts, a packet of gum — really he should've gotten himself a basket or something. He was destined to drop something when he went to grab the ice.

As he headed over to the freezers while trying to balance everything in his hands, he heard a "Hey" from behind him. Harry looked over his shoulder to see an older man, probably in his late 40's, who had just come out of the bathroom. He was scruffy looking, with messy hair and a beard growing in with streaks of grey, plus loose jeans and a plaid shirt with a pen sticking out of the breast pocket. Yep, definitely the guy from the truck.

"You're from that band, eh? My baby girl's got you all over her walls."

"Yeah. That's, um, that's very nice of her," Harry said, for lack of a better answer. At least he hadn't been greeted by some hysterical screaming like usual.

The man eyed him up and down, and Harry shifted a little uncomfortably on his feet. They were about the same height, but with the bigger build of the older guy Harry felt a little intimidated carrying a bundle of treats.

"What brings you out here?" he asked, voice inquisitive. "Haven't seen any famous faces here before."

"Just taking a break," Harry replied slowly.

"You got a lot of stuff there. Got the others with you?"

"Ah, no. Some other friends."

The man nodded and didn't question him, to his relief.

"Now, I'm not that much of a fan myself, but my girl's always going on about you lot and she'd never speak to me again if she knew I'd met you and hadn't gotten your autograph," he explained, a friendly smile forming on his face. "Would you mind?"

"Course not. You got a pen?"

"Becca! Get this young man a pen," he yelled over his shoulder, and Harry's gaze shifted to the girl standing at the register. He saw her shake her head as she moved along the counter, and the two of them walked over to meet her. "You're a fan aren't you, Bec?" he asked, leaning against the counter as Harry carefully placed his stuff down.

The girl nodded slightly, only briefly looking at Harry as she slid a notepad and pen across the table. "Did you want me to start ringing these up?" she asked.

"Um, I'm gonna grab a couple more things," he answered vaguely. "Who am I making this out to?"

"Jess," the man said proudly, and Harry scrawled a thank you message on a sheet of paper before asking what her favourite lolly was. He dashed over to the aisles and returned a moment later with four packets of Skittles.

"Tell Jess not to eat them all at once," he smiled as he dropped them on the counter. He grabbed another packet of gum and added, "And that this one's the best."

"You don't have to—"

"It's cool. Is there anything else she'd like?"

Plaid shirt shook his head, letting out a laugh. "Well shit, you're a proper gentleman aren't you? No wonder you've got girls fallin' at your feet." Harry was about to disagree when he remembered one time a girl literally tripped over in front of him, which wasn't exactly the same thing but the man was already speaking again anyway. "This one likes Snickers," he grinned, nodding at Becca behind the counter whose cheeks darkened.

Once the Skittles and gum were added to Harry's total, he thanked the man and wished him a safe journey home, watching as he left looking cheery and got back into his truck. Looking back at the girl, he smiled, "He comes here often?"

"He does a lot of travelling between the town up the road and the city. We're his stop in the middle."

"You're here by yourself a lot?"

"Lonely, right?" she grimaced, and he thought he caught a brief hint of sadness in it. "It's as bad as it sounds. It's kinda fun seeing all these different people come in, and, y'know, there's always the radio to listen to."

"And the TV to watch."

"Fuck no; there's never anything good on."

"So change the channel."

"I kind of broke the remote when I dropped it in the freezer," she confessed, and the pair of them tried not to laugh. He wasn't going to ask about that.

"'m gonna grab the rest," he told her, quickly going over for a bag of ice and doing one last scan of the aisles. He forced himself not to pick up any more chocolate, as tempting as it was, and instead looked for something a bit healthier. "You got anything good for lunch?"

"Um, not really. Unless you want sandwiches," Becca replied from the counter, and when Harry looked up he saw her coming out through a door to the main floor. "If you get some plain Doritos, you can get some salsa dip to go with them. We have that."

She grabbed a packet and searched for the jar of dip, and as Harry went around and joined her on that side he accidentally knocked the edge of the shelf with the bag of ice in his arms, sending some boxes tumbling to the floor. "'m sorry," he apologised immediately. He set the bag on the floor as Becca insisted it was fine and he reached to pick up the boxes, hearing a stifled laugh beside him.

"Want one of those too?"

It was a joke — he could tell in her voice she hadn't been serious — but as Harry picked up the boxes of condoms and returned them to the shelf he actually considered it. He knew there was at least one hidden in the back of his wallet and that he most likely would not need it, let alone a whole box. As much as he would completely enjoy spending the rest of their time away swapping orgasms in the tent with Taylor, the thought was a bit premature. Sure they'd spent the night before making out like nothing had changed, but that didn't mean anything more was going to happen. He wasn't even sure what would happen if he kissed her again.

So it was on pure impulse when Harry confidently responded with, "I'll take one, actually."

Becca's eyes widened but she didn't say anything as they headed back over to the counter and she scanned his items. Once he'd paid he handed her a $20 note and told her to stock up on Snickers, and he was about to bundle everything back up in his arms when she quickly asked, "Can I get a picture with you? Y'know, other than the security footage." She pointed up at a camera behind her and Harry childishly waved up at it with a grin. Becca ducked into another room and reappeared with her phone a minute later, and he leaned across the counter, smiling for the photo.

They both thanked each other, and when Harry managed to get everything in the car he sent Taylor a text, ignoring the few he had sitting there that he hadn't opened since they arrived. (Except for the one from his mum. He couldn't not answer that.)

To: Tay ❤️

You probably won't see this since your phone's shit but I'm on my way back xx

It didn't take Harry long to return and he somehow managed to successfully get everything back to camp without dropping anything at all, though that was almost completely lost when Taylor came running past him.

"Where have you been?!"

"Where are you going?"

"I have to pee!"

Harry watched her disappear down the path, smiling as he shook his head and climbed inside the tent. He noticed a few Polaroids spread across the blankets, but he figured he should sort all the stuff he'd bought before taking a proper look. He switched the ice bag for the new one, shoved the food in with the rest, and hid the condom box in the bottom of his bag. That was something he wasn't keen on her finding, which made him wonder why he'd even bought them in the first place.

Carefully stepping over the photographs, Harry sat himself down on Taylor's side of the bed and piled them together. They weren't any he had seen before — she'd taken them herself while he was gone. There were five of them, with Taylor pulling a different face in each. He didn't understand how it was possible for her to take a good photo every single time, but the evidence was right there in his hands. Taylor was just an overall adorable person and he believed that even more so when he noticed a Polaroid he'd missed when he'd been picking them up. It looked like an accident, like she had been laughing over the one she'd just taken and her finger had pressed down on the button without her meaning to. She was looking down, her head on an angle from where her hand had moved when she started laughing. There was a loose strand of her blonde hair falling on her cheek, with the whole photo focused on her smile. It was just a fact that everyone looked their most beautiful when they were happy, and if anyone needed any more convincing you could just hand them this one picture to prove them otherwise. Nothing was more beautiful than Taylor's smile. At least, that's all Harry could think.

When Taylor crawled back in the tent, Harry was still looking at the one Polaroid. "Sorry about that, I thought you were going to be quicker," she explained as she moved over to him, and as he looked up to meet her eyes she bit down on her lip slightly. If his gaze was screaming "I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU" as much as every other part of him was he didn't blame her for looking a little surprised.

"Do you like them?" she asked as she shuffled in close beside him, her hand resting on his shoulder as she looked down at the photos in his hands. "I got a bit bored waiting for you."

Now that she was actually there sitting at his side Harry couldn't keep his eyes off her, and it felt like more of an observation than a compliment when he said, "You're so beautiful." It brought a shy smile to her face, and when her lips parted to speak he cut off her "thanks for saying that" with a surprise kiss before she'd even started. Short and gentle, they held each other's eyes for the moment after.

"I want you to keep those ones," she told him quietly. "I made some sandwiches too, if you want to get going?"

He smiled. "You were busy while I was gone."

"I had to do something to pass the time."

"I wasn't that long."

"You were forever."

They grinned at each other, both going to grab their things to head off for the day. This, he realised, was one of the benefits of falling for your best friend. You didn't have to try to click.

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The other trail off from their campsite led to quite a different surprise. Harry hadn't done a whole lot of research on the place before they got there, just, y'know, that it existed. He figured the trail would just wind them towards another clearing; he wasn't expecting a small lake to come into view as they talked about finding somewhere to stop for a short rest.

"No fucking way!"

"Ha— God, Harry."

It had to be some kind of record for the efficient time it took for him to drop his bag on the floor and strip down to his underwear. Really it was a bit irresponsible — who knows what was in the water — but Harry really didn't give a fuck. He just wanted to get clean (maybe) and have some fun with her in the process, and what better way than to run into some random lake they'd just discovered.

"Fuck it's cold!"

"Then get out of there. Harry! Oh my god."

He sunk down into the water with a splash. It was like a band aid — you just had to get it over with. It wasn't particularly pleasant dropping into the cold shallow water, and it sent a gasp out of his lips and a slight shiver down his spine. Dunking his head under too, Harry got himself completely wet, shaking his head like the excited puppy he was when he resurfaced. "Refreshing!" he called, wiping the water from his eyes. "You coming?"

Taylor pulled a face, but she looked like she was seriously debating it. "Swimming in strange water isn't what I like to do for fun," she said.

"I promise it's fine. And if it's not you can hit me after."

"I don't want to hurt you."

"So come join me."

Harry stood back up and opened his arms wide, and even though she rolled her eyes she couldn't very well say no to that. Putting her camera case down with his stuff, he watched her mutter to herself as she slipped off her shoes and dropped her shorts. As soon as she began lifting her shirt over her head he recognised the purple briefs from the day before, and he knew he shouldn't be staring but his eyes fixed on her emphasized cleavage as she slowly made her way into the water.

"It's freezing!"

"You'll get used to it. Promise."

It had been all well and nice (kind of) for Harry to pull her into a hug as soon as she reached him, but pulling her down completely into the water with him without warning really wasn't. Taylor squealed at the sudden temperature change, disentangling herself from him as soon as she had the chance. "Jerk!" she gasped, flicking water at him and pulling him into a kiss he hadn't been expecting.

"Do you kiss all your jerky friends like that?" he asked breathlessly.

"Only the special ones."

Harry went for another kiss as she held herself up higher out the water to try to escape the cold. Then he was back to eyes eyes eyes keep looking up at her eyes. Which, y'know, lasted for about a whole five seconds.

One of the things Harry tried hardest to do was always be good to people — they were alike in that way. He didn't want anyone to think he took his success for granted or that it had given him a newfound ego. He still wanted to be the guy his parents raised in Cheshire, just getting to live his dream too. He understood that he hadn't been the best to Taylor when they were together, but he'd done a bit of growing up since then. He hoped she saw that.

If there was one time, though, that Harry never failed to be completely good to her it was romantically. Objectifying was high on his list of things not to do, but he wasn't blind — respect was the key. He knew Taylor was unbelievably gorgeous and that she deserved to feel like it. He always focused on her every time, making sure she was comfortable with everything and trying to please her before even considering himself. He knew it worked — he could never forget the way she would look at him with wonder like he had just shown her the best thing in the world. She always looked so full of total bliss and he couldn't explain how special to him it was to be the reason why. When he thought about it, it was the closest he ever got to telling her how much she meant to him.

Even so, Harry was still a guy, one who evidently found her very attractive from the morning's, uh, events. He figured he could be excused for his eyes misbehaving after so long without seeing her in anything close to this.

"I'm still cold," she told him, eyes wide and expecting.

"Get moving," he replied, against me on the tip of his tongue. Fucking frustration.

Taylor wrinkled her nose as she sunk back under the water and started swimming around him in circles. Harry, the little sweetheart, followed her by spinning around on the spot, lifting his arms up above his head like a ballerina and beaming when she laughed at him.

"This is why we needed to invite someone else — I want this on film," she stated, slowing down her circles a bit as she watched him in amusement.

"Are you saying I'm funny looking?" Harry asked in mock offense, raising his eyebrows as he continued to spin around. It wasn't the easiest thing to do in the water and he was getting a little dizzy, but he kept going anyway.

"You're such a kid sometimes."

"You only live once."

Stopping in her tracks, Taylor burst into laughter, and she ran awkwardly through the water and out to their stuff. She dried her hands as best as she could on her shirt before picking up her camera and making her way back into the lake. She took careful steps, and as he still spun around Harry noticed she had his shirt wrapped around the camera. He heard the click a few times as he continued, and again when he finally gave up and fell into the water in dizziness.

"How you feeling?" Taylor asked when he didn't move from his spot in the water.

"Dizzy," he groaned.

"Whose fault is that?"

"Mine."

"Come over here," she instructed. "Unless you're gonna be sick. Then get very far away from me — I'm not swimming in vomit."

"'m fine," he assured her, slowly wading over with his vision returning back to normal. He sure wasn't spinning like that again. He wondered how ballerinas managed it. Did they have some special superpower that let them spin forever without getting dizzy?

"Karlie did ballet, didn't she?" he asked when he stood up in front of her, still a little unbalanced.

Taylor just stared at him for a moment. "She's not teaching you, if that's what you're asking."

Harry shook his head, giving a small laugh as he playfully poked her stomach and she squirmed. "How do they not get dizzy?"

"You look at a spot — like that tree over there," she said, pointing over his shoulder, "and you keep your eyes on it. Here, I'll show you."

Taylor carefully passed the camera over to him and took a few steps backwards to the water's edge. She paused for a moment as she focused on a point behind him. When she started to turn on the spot, Harry was surprised by how proper she looked. Well, if you ignored that she was in her underwear and her hair was flying around freely with every spin. He immediately saw what she meant — she kept her eyes facing that point as much as possible. Then he let himself take in the other parts of her — how she held her arms like she was in a proper class and not in a lake, the way she bounced on her toes, how impossibly long and lean her bare legs looked, the way her chest rose and fell with every turn. She wasn't the most graceful — he excused it for the ground she was standing on — but he was totally transfixed. Something in his brain told him that this was something he wanted to remember, though he didn't feel completely aware of himself as he snapped a few photos.

"It's better when you see someone who actually knows what they're doing," she said when she came to a stop, shrugging slightly as if she hadn't just impressed him.

"You seem to look like you do."

"Kind of. But you should see Karlie — she's amazing. Ballet is so beautiful and I'm so uncoordinated."

"You're not that uncoordinated."

Taylor pointed to her knee and needn't say any more. She'd taken the bandage off earlier and it occurred to him that she should probably still be wearing it, but she didn't seem to care. The exposed cut just made her point.

"Okay, maybe a little," he gave in as she made her way back over to him. "But I still think you're beautiful."

"You'll say that no matter what," she countered, and it took everything in him not to break out into his own song when she kept her eyes down with a smile playing on her lips. She probably would've enjoyed that, to be honest.

Harry took a picture of her like that, and he smiled as she looked up at him at the sound. Taking a small step forward, she placed her hands on either side of his face and kissed him gently, which only made him smile brighter when she pulled away. He didn't question her either when she took his hand and started leading him out of the water and back to the trees. He just watched as she set up the camera in one of them, carefully balancing it in the gap where two branches met in a V. It was the perfect height for them, too.

When Taylor looked over her shoulder at him expectantly, Harry snapped out of his post-kiss I'll-do-anything-for-you-to-do-that-again daze and moved in, arms wrapping around her stomach and chin resting on her shoulder. She had to bend down to slip the Polaroid into his shirt that she had put on the ground, which didn't make for a very smooth transition between shots but they managed. Wide eyes, cheesy smiles, tongues out, kisses on cheeks — they took photos until the camera ran out of film. More memories.

With the suggestion of lunch next, Harry found a decent spot to sit down while Taylor brought their stuff over. He noticed her apprehension when she went to join him on the ground. It wasn't the most comfortable, he had to admit. Stretching his legs out in front of him, he grabbed her hips as she went to sit anyway and he guided her down so she was sitting across his lap instead. Taylor gasped at the unexpected change in her path, almost falling backwards onto the ground.

"So you don't get dirt all on you," he explained, smiling as he rubbed her back where he'd caught her.

"Thanks," she smiled back in appreciation, leaning in and giving him a peck on the cheek. She handed him a sandwich and took one out for herself, though it remained neglected in favour of their Polaroids. While she looked through them, Harry tried to focus on not focusing on the curves of her body and just how close she was actually sitting to his dick. Thank god he had the sandwich as a small but necessary distraction.

Taylor balanced the stack on top of his calf with two pictures resting on her own outstretched legs. Leaning in, he saw they were of their attempts at pirouettes in the water, and he was about to reach for the Polaroid of her to get a closer look when she tapped his hand away. Her phone was now in her hand, and she carefully snapped a photo of the prints before handing them to him. They had turned out quite good, actually. He hadn't seen the rest, but he understood why she picked these two for whatever she was doing. They were as clear as they were going to get with the movement and the camera. Taylor was frozen facing the camera with her arms out in front of her, her hair flicking out around her and a small smile on her face. The one of him was not nearly as graceful, but you could tell he was having fun, which was really the point.

After a few minutes, Taylor held her phone up to him so he could read the screen. With service in this spot, she'd sent the photo to Karlie, asking who had done it better.

Text: from Karlie

Definitely you

But look at Harry's hair!!

Her phone started buzzing in her hand as she received more messages, but Harry was too quick for her. He'd grabbed it and was twisting his body away from her as he read the new texts.

Text: from Karlie

And excuse me miss but what are you doing in that underwear hmmm?

How hard is he right now?

Harry ignored Taylor's protests as he quickly started typing back.

Text: to Karlie

Offended you didn't pick me. Glad you like my hair. H

The purple bra really knows how to work Taylor's tits. H

So close. H

It's killing me. H

"Harry, please," she whined insistently. "Give me my phone back."

"Hang on. Let me say goodbye."

Text: to Karlie

Taylor wants her phone back now. Pretend you don't know I think her boobs look fantastic. Hope you're having a nice day x H

Harry handed her phone back, completely aware and unashamed that she was going to go back and read what he'd written. To be fair, if Karlie hadn't mentioned it, he probably would've replied with a regular conversation. But one of his favourite subjects of discussion was Taylor, and he didn't get to talk about her all that often, let alone talk about her boobs. Which, he realised, he really wanted to talk about. Preferably back in their tent and with no clothes on. But, y'know, you take what you can get.

He watched her as she went back over the messages, letting out an "Oww!" when she punched him hard in the arm.

"Never say "Taylor's tits" ever again," she frowned. "Ever."

It was the glint in her eyes that made him lean forward and cheekily whisper, "Taylor's tits."

"Stop it," she demanded, returning to her phone to tap out a reply. Harry, the little shit he could be, still didn't listen, his arm sliding around her waist as he kept whispering it in a sing-song voice a couple more times, lips brushing against her shoulder.

To her credit, Taylor lasted a good twenty seconds before she couldn't ignore him any longer. Then she snapped, fixing him a hard look, the smile in it gone. "You wouldn't be saying that if I wasn't wearing this..." she trailed off with a frustrated gesture at her chest. "Just don't, okay?"

Harry backed off, leaning back on his hands as he just looked her with his mouth shut, like he should've in the first place. He would've stayed like that longer if she didn't look at him a minute or so later, her annoyance with him seeming to have faded fast. He tried a small smile, "You know I'm only teasing."

"I know. I just—"

"You're stunning, Taylor," he insisted truthfully. "With or without the bra."

Taylor gave a tiny smirk. "You'd rather without."

He had to laugh at that, because they both knew perfectly well the thought had crossed his mind more than once. "Maybe."

"People can be pretty terrible, y'know?" she started, sitting up a little straighter as she regained her confidence. "You're criticised for being flat chested and then as soon as you wear a push up bra you're accused of getting a boob job. It's not fair."

"I know it's not, love."

"It would be nice if we could just be left alone sometimes," she said a little sadly. Harry knew she was subject to countless amounts of pointless gossip and he'd always admired the way she carried herself in spite of it, especially after so many years. They'd had a good laugh at some of the things written about them, too. It seemed the only way to stay sane. "Thank you again for this," she said with a soft smile, "I've got a lot ahead of me and I think having some time to relax is really good for me."

"So I suppose suggesting we go for a run wouldn't be what you had in mind?"

Taylor laughed, "I would've thought your idea of using up our energy would be different." With her smirk returning, staring was all Harry could manage as she glanced down at her chest and very purposely grabbed her breasts as she adjusted her bra. Even as she returned to her phone and finally started on her sandwich, he couldn't stop staring, despite how many times he told himself that he was on the verge of obsessive creep and needed to stop.

Thank god she turned the screen of her phone back to him after a while, since he was going through a list in his head of words that rhymed with "tits" that was sure to end in a horrific poem, and probably another punch in the arm.

Her hand was covering the bottom of the screen so he couldn't read her recent replies. Intentional.

Text: from Karlie

Well what do you want?

I bet he's still saying it in his head

He's probably making a song about it right now

I don't blame him to be honest. You're hotter than you give yourself credit for

Work it babe

Harry laughed a little, since he didn't know how else to respond. Really he should've tried to defend himself, but that would be a lie he was sure she'd be able to see through.

She started getting more replies coming through, but she wasn't prepared to keep hiding the ones she had been trying to in the first place. His eyes quickly sped over the texts nudged further up the screen before she realised and moved her phone away from his view.

Text: to Karlie

It's all coming back Kar

I don't think I realized how much I still want /all/ of him

Taylor looked at him warily, checking what he'd seen, and Harry just smiled at her like he hadn't read anything at all.

━━━━━━━━

They spent a while longer messing around in the lake and washing off the dirt they'd gotten on themselves from sitting on the ground, after Taylor had finished her sandwich and they waited the required half hour, of course. Harry lost himself in it, letting the sounds of their laughter and splashes of water distract him. But it was still lingering in the back of his mind — "I still want /all/ of him" — with every smile, every touch of her bare skin reminding him.

With every reminder, though, he told himself something important — just because she said that didn't necessarily mean anything. He shouldn't get his hopes up too high when she could just as easily turn around and tell him she wanted to go home and never see him again.

After stopping off at the tent to grab a change of clothes, the pair headed to the toilet block hand in hand. (Harry had dared to take hers and was thrilled when Taylor swung them playfully as they walked along.) Harry gave her a short kiss before they separated, even though they were right where they were most likely to get caught. They lingered for a moment, Taylor smiling at him over her shoulder before she disappeared into the ladies' room.

There wasn't anyone around when Harry entered through the other door, and he gladly took the second shower stall from the end. He hung his clothes and his towel up on the hook on the back of the door before switching the hot tap on. Even if it ran cold, it couldn't be as bad as the lake felt at first, right?

There was a rather loud squeal from the next room, the picture of Taylor stepping under a stream of freezing water coming to mind.

Smiling to himself, Harry braced himself for the same, but was pleasantly surprised by warmth. It wasn't amazing, but it was better than when he'd tested it the day before.

"Taylor! Babe, it's warm in here!" he yelled through the wall. "Taylor!"

It didn't take her too long to shuffle in and knock on the stall door, awkwardly trying to hold up her towel and carry her stuff at the same time. "God, Harry!" She squeezed her eyes shut when he opened the door for her. "A little warning next time."

"What? I'm having a shower. It's the one place it's acceptable to be naked," he reasoned with a grin.

"Oh, go wash your hair."

Harry walked back to the shower head and reached for his bottle of shampoo obediently while Taylor threw her stuff unceremoniously over the side wall of the stall.

"No looking," she told him as she joined him under the water, and he nodded an okay.

It was awkward, to say the least. They'd never shared a friends-only shower before — Harry didn't think friends actually did that, especially not friends that used to be dating. They bumped into each other every now and then as they stood back to back, fighting for more of the water stream to wash out their shampoo. Neither of them apologised, instead just pretending it hadn't happened. But Harry was standing there with a stupid smile on his face — "I touched her butt" — and he couldn't help but wonder if she was too.

"Hey, Tay," he said after a while of silence. "Remember what you said about us showering together?"

"Oh god," she groaned.

"Since we've already braided each other's hair, we only have to fuck against a tree and plan world domination and we're good," he grinned cheekily.

"Three out of four isn't bad."

"But I liked the idea of taking over the world."

Taylor took him by surprise by elbowing him in the back, though not very hard. "You know that's not what I meant."

"Excuse me for misunderstanding; we are both naked right now."

"Right. Aren't you done yet? You're taking up all the room."

"Am not."

"Yes you are. Just 'cause you're bigger than me doesn't mean you can push me out the way."

"When did I push you?"

"You're just moving in so I have to step out the way so we won't hit each other and it's not fair."

"You were doing that to me!"

"No I wasn't!"

"Fine," Harry huffed, making an unnecessary show of running his fingers through his hair one last time and stepping out from under the water. "Better?"

"Much, thank you."

He shook his head as he walked to the other end of the stall. They should've just taken turns.

Even though he knew he wasn't supposed to, as he grabbed his towel off the hook on the door Harry snuck a glance over at Taylor. He didn't feel particularly guilty, though he knew he should since she had asked for privacy. He could only really see the back of her anyway; she'd taken up the space when he'd left, her leg propped up against the wall and a razor in her hand.

"Are you really shaving right now?" he asked without thinking first what his question revealed. He could've gotten away with it otherwise.

"Just 'cause we're out in the wilderness doesn't mean I want to have hairy animal legs," she said, and he could picture her nose crinkled at the thought. "And you said you wouldn't look!"

"It was an accident."

Taylor glanced over her shoulder at him with this look of total disbelief. "Yeah, and if this bar of soap slipped out of my hand and hit you in the head it would be an accident."

He smiled, "Again, your sarcasm hurts me."

"I can't help who I am, Harry."

Shaking his head again, he dried himself off and slipped into his clothes without trying to sneak another peek at Taylor, as tempting as it was. He warned her when he was about to open the door, not that there seemed to be anyone else around, and headed for a sink once she had managed to lock the door again without flashing him. He felt a little bad for thinking that was a shame.

Harry dropped his stuff on the floor without considering what was on the tiles — who knew how frequently these bathrooms were cleaned (judging by the state of the mirror, not often) — and rummaged through his overnight bag. Pulling out a razor of his own and a can of shaving cream, he sprayed some on his face and got started. Honestly, he didn't have anywhere close to the impressive facial hair he'd been bragging about when he'd texted her in the beginning. It was better just to get rid of it all.

He was almost finished when Taylor emerged from the stall with her things bundled up in her arms. She put one arm around him as she rested her chin on his shoulder, startling him. Hand slipping, the razor nicked his jaw, and he scrunched up his nose at her reflection in the scratched mirror. She smiled and rubbed his waist.

"I didn't mean to scare you," she said, and he shrugged his opposite shoulder.

"'s alright."

"Y'know, I was waiting for that moustache you were talking about," she teased, her fingers sliding up underneath his shirt. Another distraction.

"I think we both know that wasn't going to happen."

Harry dragged the razor down one last time before splashing his face with water.

"You're still bleeding," Taylor noted when he brought his head up from the sink, and she carefully bent down and picked up his towel without dropping anything she was holding. She pressed the corner to the small cut on his jaw and held it there for a moment.

"Thank you," he smiled gently, taking the towel from her and drying his face. He dabbed on some aftershave and turned to Taylor, who rested her hand on his cheek as she gave him a kiss.

"Your little bit of facial hair was kind of hot, though."

"Now you tell me."

Taylor laughed and moved her hand down to take his. "Can we go now? It's kind of really disgusting in here.

━━━━━━━━

Later, the pair munched through the packet of plain Doritos and moved on to the cheese supreme to finish off their jar of dip that had originally been intended for lunch but had become dinner for the night. They ate through several aggressive rounds of UNO (note: never play games with competitive people) and Harry brought out the drinks once he'd lost miserably, again.

"Getting me drunk isn't going to make you a better UNO player," Taylor told him factually as he handed her a bottle of red liquid.

"No, but it might make me forget how shit I am."

With the sun almost set, they had the lanterns dotted around them as they sat on the dirt, cards between them. They'd spent the rest of the afternoon talking and messing around with a Frisbee in their clearing, with no hint of the text that Harry shouldn't have seen. That hadn't stopped him reading it over in his mind in her voice, again and again and again. All he needed to make sure was that he kept his mouth shut for, well, ever.

"This is actually pretty nice," Taylor smiled at him after taking a sip of the drink he'd selected for her.

"You've never had one before?"

She shook her head as she started shuffling the cards again. "Nope."

"Ah. Go big or go home, eh?" he teased, laughing as she stuck her tongue out at him.

"It doesn't surprise me that you like these." She smiled when he raised his eyebrow questioningly. "Remember that time when you got me that really nice fruity cocktail and you drank like half of it?"

Harry remembered. Harry remembered dancing with her and getting really drunk and having to get her another drink after he'd found the first wonderfully delicious when she'd let him try some. Harry remembered every — well, most — decision of "girly" drinks instead of hard liquor and honestly, he didn't give a fuck. Who needs a whiskey when you're sharing cocktails with the hottest girl at the whole goddamn party?

"Let's make things more interesting," he proposed once she'd dealt out the cards, letting her previous comment rest. "Loser has to do a shot."

Taylor looked at him in disbelief, "You brought shot glasses?"

"We have cups," he shrugged.

She hesitated briefly. "Fine. It won't be me doing it, anyway."

Harry could've called her out on her cocky attitude, but his hand sucked. He had started to think she was stacking the game when she always seemed to have more wild cards than him; she was always ruthless with her draw two's and four's, too. One minute you were peacefully putting down some numbers, the next she would whip out a few draw two's in a row and you were left with more cards than you started with as she put her last down. Harry had already downed three cups of straight vodka before she had to do her first.

"This was a pretty shit idea," he said as she licked her lips and put her cup down.

"You don't say," she laughed, collecting the cards together and shuffling again.

"You could always lose on purpose."

"And why would I do that?"

"So I'm not pissed while you're still buzzed."

"What happened to "I didn't intend on getting us wasted"?"

"Do you care if we do?"

Taylor tilted her head, smiling at him. "I told you, I'm happy not putting too much thought into all this. If that means we drink all these tonight, so be it."

Harry rubbed his chin. "I think you're lying." He took a sip of his drink before continuing, "You're an over-thinker, always have been. No way you haven't done it for this."

Ever since she'd said that, Harry had wondered why. He knew Taylor over-thought everything, and he didn't believe she could just switch that off for something as big as this whole trip. He just didn't think to say so before.

Dealing out another hand, Taylor picked up her cards and met his expectant eyes. "Has it occurred to you that maybe I want to drink with you? That I want to spend time with you? Harry, if I wasn't into this I would've said so. You know I'm not afraid to do that."

Harry didn't know what to say to that. He just picked up his cards, silently relieved to see he had something decent this time.

"Hey," she said, uncrossing her legs and nudging his knee with her foot to get his attention back. "I like you, Harry. Can you at least try to look a little happy about that?"

A smile crept up on his face. "Define like."

She laughed, "That's my Harry."

They kept playing until they'd gone through a third of their alcohol supply and Harry finally cracked, throwing his cards at her when she beat him, again. There was only so much losing he could take.

"C'mon, let's do something else," Taylor smiled as she collected all the cards and stumbled into the tent with a lantern, leaving him to bring in the rest.

"God, more cards?" he frowned when he saw she had replaced the UNO cards with a plain deck. That wasn't quite what he had in mind when she said "something else."

"What, scared you're still gonna be a loser?" she grinned. "Let's play blackjack."

"Strip blackjack?" he asked with the thoughtless casualty of someone who had chugged too many cups of vodka.

She surprised him with a smirk. "Sure."

Oh the beauty of liquor.

"On one condition," she added, "Underwear stays on."

"Okay."

That was better than nothing.

Taylor shuffled and dealt some cards while Harry grabbed another two bottles from the cooler. They were both feeling it by now — clearly, since she'd just agreed to strip blackjack. He'd always liked having her to drink with, especially when they attended the same parties. They were a lot looser with each other, with comments they wouldn't normally make and touches they wouldn't go for otherwise. There was nothing quite like dancing with her after downing some shots.

It didn't take long for the first round to be over. With 16, Harry had picked up another card in the hope of getting closer but instead ended up way over 21. Off went his shirt.

The second, Harry lost by one, and he was slow to un-buckle his belt and pull it off.

The third, Taylor took off one of her socks, which Harry protested against but gave in to when he received said sock in a throw to the face.

The fourth, Harry pulled off his own sock to spite her when he got 22. Taylor started singing at him and they got off topic talking about her 22nd birthday party for a few minutes. He decided he really wished he'd been there.

The fifth, Taylor took off her other sock and threw it at Harry for no real reason other than that she had done it with her other one. It landed on his shoulder and he just left it there.

The sixth, Taylor set her hand down with a blank expression and looked him straight in the eye as she said, "Blackjack." Harry lost the game by default, and he wriggled out of his jeans with the determination to get Taylor in her underwear too.

The seventh, with nothing left to take off, Harry took a drink instead.

The eighth, Harry did it again.

The ninth, Taylor tossed her shorts aside and Harry had a hard time trying not to stare at her legs.

It wasn't until the thirteenth, ironically, that Taylor lost again. She made a bit of a show of it, pulling her shirt off and stretching her arms up above her head as she tossed it aside. She leaned back on her hands and smiled at Harry, who couldn't take his eyes off her.

"I think this is the part where we're meant to make out," she said casually.

Well fuck.

"Why not throw in some body shots while we're at it?" he suggested, and she shook her head.

"I don't want to get all sticky," she whined, her hand slowly running down her bare stomach and Harry staring obviously at her underwear. He wished she hadn't taken the good girl route and just let them go all out in the game.

When she grabbed her bottle and downed the last of the liquid inside, Taylor held the empty glass out to him. "Can you grab me another one, babe? And make it stronger?"

"You like this, eh?" he smiled as he took the bottle and switched it with a full one from the cooler, drinking a bit himself before mixing in some straight vodka while Taylor laid down and slipped her fingers in her hair.

"I love this," she answered definitely. "I haven't had many drinks in ages. And I always have to wear clothes at home in case some crazy person points a camera through my window." She sat up again when Harry crawled back over, smiling as she leaned in to kiss him. "I can't do that either."

Her drink was left neglected in his hand in favour of the taste of each other's lips. They kissed long and heated, with Taylor's hands moving to rest on his cheek and in his hair. When she did pull away, she had shifted herself up onto her knees and she looked at him with sparkling eyes.

"C'mere, baby," Harry beckoned her, and immediately she climbed onto his lap like she'd been waiting for his permission. He slung his arm around her waist loosely and kissed her again, the pair of them smiling into it. They settled into each other's touch easily.

If you asked Harry what his favourite things to do were, kissing Taylor was pretty high up on his list. He loved being with her in general, but there was something extra special about her kisses. Maybe it was because her lips were always soft and tasted sweet, or that she would play with the hair at the nape of his neck, or that he would sometimes wake up with lipstick stains on his neck after a night with her. Or maybe it was just because they fit together. Harry had always felt comfortable with her, even as they took that first step between being friends and something more. He didn't feel like he had to question himself when her hand slipped in his so easily and her body fit cuddled up in his arms and her lips pressed tenderly to his. He'd never been with anyone that felt so right to him and he regretted not trying harder to make things work with her, not trying hard enough to show her how much she really meant to him. He wasn't going to make that mistake again.

They drank and giggled at nothing in particular in between kisses. They touched and moaned and played with each other's tongues, and Harry wondered where on earth all his willpower was coming from when he had Taylor rubbing herself against him to the rhythm of the kiss and groaning into his mouth. It was a miracle he managed to control himself when she moved her thumb in circles over his nipple.

"Why are you laughing?" she asked, tiny pout when she pulled away from the kiss he'd started giggling into. He didn't want to admit what had sprung to mind, but she was looking at him like she was worried she had done something wrong and he couldn't let her think that.

So he actually started singing Drunk In Love at her and she threw her head back laughing.

"You're such a dork!" she beamed, kissing him again with her hands resting on either side of his face. She liked doing that.

"'s fine," he said, pulling back briefly. "You are too."

Harry poked her side cheekily and she squirmed and let out a laugh, sliding her hands down to his shoulders and pushing him back down on the blankets.

"Don't do that," she chastised, propping herself up on her elbows as she lay on top of him.

"Don't do this?"

He poked her again, grinning as she couldn't stop herself from repeating her reaction.

"Yes that! Poke me again and I won't kiss you."

That was enough of a threat to get him to behave. Harry pulled her into another kiss that lasted a long while, lips parting and tongues colliding. His hands wandered her bare skin with alcohol-induced assurance and he couldn't help his smile every time she gave a small sigh against his lips. He'd missed making her do that.

Taylor was the first to break away once more, this time trailing hot kisses down his neck and chest. She paused at the space just above his butterfly tattoo, and he gave a low moan as she started sucking down. Her confidence sometimes came as a surprise to him, though he didn't know why.

Harry had always found it kind of funny that it was assumed she was this innocent little flower. He admired the way she had managed to maintain that kind of image without having a meltdown and spiralling out of control. The thing was, Taylor was always being Taylor. She didn't pretend to be someone else, even more so now. And maybe that was why he found it so ridiculously attractive when she took the lead. He got to see a part of her that no one else did, and that meant everything to him.

When she was satisfied with the mark she left, Taylor moved back up to whisper in his ear, sending a shiver down his spine at the one word — "Mine."

He hoped she could tell he was trying to say it back when their lips met again.

━━━━━━━━

"Can I sleep in one of your shirts tonight?" Taylor requested after she eventually sat up and declared she was tired. They'd both completely lost track of time, too busy losing themselves in each other.

"But what about your fantastic boobs?" he teased, smirking lazily as she wrinkled her nose. She had gotten changed after their shower, obviously, and they'd fashioned a clothes line in the afternoon using some string and pegs Harry had brought to dry their clothes from the lake. She'd switched to simple white underwear, which, while not as fancy, Harry still appreciated. Taylor could wear literally anything and he'd still think she was to die for.

"You're a liar," she said with a grin before climbing off of him. Harry could hardly help himself from staring as she crawled over to his bag, until he heard his phone buzz in the pocket of his discarded jeans. He searched for it curiously as Taylor rummaged through his stuff for something to wear.

Text: from Liam

Where you been? Haven't heard from you in a few days x

Harry hadn't announced where he was going; he'd only just managed to convince security that he was going out of town for a few days and it wasn't necessary to have anyone come with him. That way, if everyone thought he had really disappeared, at least someone would know he was fine. No one would think to ask Taylor or any of her friends.

Hearing a giggle from Taylor, he turned his attention from his phone back to her. "What're you laughing at?"

"Did you have something planned?" she asked, biting back another giggle as she turned around. He froze when he saw what was in her hand.

Right. The condoms. He'd forgotten about those.

"I— um—"

"I guess I kinda ruined the surprise then, didn't I?" she teased. "But I still don't know how you were gonna do it. I mean, I know how, but like, are you gonna take me on a romantic midnight swim in the lake first? Or surprise me with a dozen roses you pull out of nowhere? Or maybe a simple "let's fuck" after some Coco Pops?"

Harry dropped his phone and turned on his side, facing away from her. He regretted buying those. He really regretted buying those; goddamn him and his stupid pride.

He ignored her further laughter, keeping his gaze on the tent wall as if if he rolled back after a few minutes that wouldn't have just happened. He was starting to convince himself it could ring true until he felt a tap on his arm. "What?" he mumbled.

"I fixed it."

"What?" he repeated, turning back to see her grinning with his phone in her hand. It was open on his inbox, and he had to take it from her to read it properly. He noticed the difference almost straight away.

He'd always liked Tay, as simple as it was. He didn't want to just write Taylor, and adding her last name like with some of his other contacts didn't feel right at all. But now Taylor had jazzed it up a bit, her contact name reading TAY TAY followed by three heart eyes emojis. He was okay with this.

"You're welcome!" Taylor bounced on the spot before climbing over him and under the blankets, dressed in the shirt he had worn on the first night. He was about to join her when he noticed the most recent message in his conversation with Liam had changed.

Text: to Liam

Harry's busy trying to make it out of the woods -T

"He's not gonna get it," he told her, glancing over and watching her get herself comfortable.

"I know. Can you turn the lanterns off?"

Tossing his phone aside again, Harry switched off the few lanterns they had on before fumbling his way under the covers. Taylor gravitated towards him, her arm sliding across his stomach as he settled himself with his around her.

"I've missed you," she whispered unexpectedly.

"I've missed you, too," he said, moving his hand over her hip gently. She nuzzled up against him with a gentle sigh. He loved her cuddles just as much as having her lips on his.

They laid there quietly for a while, relaxing into each other in the dark. There was one thought nagging at the back of his mind, one question on the tip of his tongue that he was hesitant to ask. But after sharing affection for so long tonight, now seemed like as good a time to ask as he was going to get.

"Are we gonna keep hanging out after this?"

Taylor tilted her head to look up at him as best as she could. "I don't know about you," she whispered, her foot nudging his, "but I don't think I could pretend none of this ever happened."

Harry had to bite his tongue to stop himself from saying three words that would've changed everything.