"I am unraveling unbearably empty, and if this ground gives way I just hope that you catch me."

Song: Saved

Artist: The Spill Canvas

Harry's POV

My blood boiled in my veins as I stood seething on the spot, certain I had never been more angry in my entire life. This was a different kind of anger that I had felt for Halle at any point in our relationship; that anger had been driven from hurt or pain, while this anger was derived from pure rage. Miles' words kept dripping through my brain, my vision blurring in flashes of red with each despicable word.

The things he had called her and insinuated about her had pissed me off far more than I ever would have imagined. He didn't know her at all, yet he'd treated her like she was some lowly person who didn't deserve a second of his time. While I wasn't sure why he'd acted like he had, I had my suspicions. I thought, sickeningly, that there was a part of him that wanted Halle for himself and had been waiting to see her at some party so he could pounce, seeing as he believed I would hold true to form and never speak to her again.

I also thought he really didn't like the idea of me settling down at all. I was his wingman, after all. Countless times when we had gone out, he'd only gotten laid with help from me. If I were taken, I wouldn't be around to help with that. I think he was afraid of me changing and leaving him behind, which was probably a legitimate fear for him to have because it already appeared to be happening.

These factors along with probably others I would never understand, I suspected, had motivated his even more pronounced asshole behavior, and I was done with him, as far as I was concerned. There was no way in hell he was going to get away with talking to Hal that way, and I certainly didn't want he and his smarmy hands within a mile of her. No, he would stay far, far away from her if I had anything to say about it.

Halle's blue eyes seared into mine as she stood across from me. She had risen from her seat at some point but that was all the farther she had made it before the shock of me punching Miles had frozen her into place. Her eyes were wide as she stared at me, her lips parted as her breathing came out nearly as ragged as my own. I was suddenly very afraid that she was scared of me; she had never seen me hit anyone before, and it wasn't something I did very often.

If she was scared of me, I didn't know what I would do.

"Hal," I said gently, completely forgetting that Jay was standing in a similar position as her, equally frozen into place and uncertain of how to react to everything that had just happened. I took a tentative step toward her, praying she wouldn't flinch away from me.

She didn't. She blinked once as she realized I was moving towards her, and it seemed to snap her out of whatever trance she had fallen under. She took a slow step toward me before breaking into a quick jog, closing the space between us almost instantly. A heavy sigh of relief pushed past my lips as she threw her arms around my neck, hugging her body tightly to mine.

"Um, I'm gonna go," Jay said somewhat awkwardly. I waved my hand at him distractedly before I wound it around Halle's back, pulling her into my still heavily heaving chest. I heard him shuffle from my house and close the door behind him when he left. Halle's face was pressed into my neck as she hugged me, her breath hot on my skin. Her arms loosened slightly as she pulled back, her elbows resting on my shoulders as her hands pushed my hair back. Her bright eyes studied mine closely, her expression one of concern rather than fear.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly. My hands linked together and rested against her lower back. For the first time, I noticed a tingling sting to my knuckles from hitting Miles' jaw. It hurt, but not more than I could easily handle. Anger still flooded through me as Miles' comments and his irritatingly smug face drifted through my mind once more. I could feel that my muscles were tense beneath my skin.

"Harry, baby, calm down, it's alright," she said, her quiet voice soothing as she let her hands roam down my chest and back up, her palms pressing into my muscles as she did so. I took a deep breath and blew it out, trying to release some of the anger I was holding on to even though he was long gone.

"I'm fine," I reassured her, forcing a calm into my voice. She didn't look like she quite believed me but she nodded. "I'm sorry he said all that shit about you and us and stuff. I hope you kept in mind what I said earlier."

"About not listening to them?" she asked. Her fingers never stopped moving as they pet across my cheek, my jaw, and through my hair. I loved the way it felt when she touched me.

"Yeah."

"I remembered," she said. The tiniest of smiles tugged at the corner of her lips. "You were right- Miles is a dick."

"I know," I agreed. Dick was an understatement.

"Jay seems cool though," she said, her tone brightening slightly. I tried not to feel jealous because I knew she didn't mean anything by it, but I couldn't stop the momentary flash of green that flared inside me.

"He is," I said, forcing myself to not be so stupid. Of course she meant it as innocently as possible. My breathing had finally calmed down and I didn't want it to pick up again simply because I was being irrationally jealous.

She seemed to pick up on it anyway, however, because she moved closer to me before speaking. "Not as cool as you though."

I smiled, her cheesy statement making me feel better all the same. "Obviously not."

She rose to her tiptoes to press a light kiss to my lips, my own responding immediately. "Thank you."

"For what?" I asked in confusion.

"For... everything. Sticking up for me and not... hiding me from them," she said. Her eyes darted back and forth between mine quickly as she watched me. I could tell it meant a lot to her that I'd actually claimed her as mine and not tried to pass her off as just another girl.

"I told you I wanna be yours, didn't I? That kind of comes with the territory," I told her, tightening my arms and pulling her closer so her chest pressed into mine, eliminating the minimal space between us. She smiled widely, her beautiful lips pulling across her teeth.

"As long as you don't get hurt, then I'm okay with it," she told me. She blinked suddenly as if a thought occurred to her. "Let me see your hand."

"No, it's fine," I said, pushing my chest further into her and keeping my hand firmly around her back so she couldn't see. It didn't hurt that bad, but there was probably some evidence on my knuckles and I didn't want her to see.

"Harry, let me see it," she insisted, releasing her arms from around my neck as she attempted to grab mine from behind her back. I was much stronger than she was, however, so it wasn't hard to keep her pinned between my chest and my arms as she tried to twist around in my grip.

"Harry-"

"It's fine," I told her, grinning at how adorable she was trying to break free from me. She wiggled even more, my grip on her tighter than ever as I stifled a laugh. She shot me an irritated frown as she tried without success to get a good look at my hand.

"Ugh, you idiot," she grumbled, finally stilling and folding her arms across her chest despite being pressed firmly into me, my arms still wrapped tightly around her waist. She leaned as far away from me as possible as she frowned at me in disapproval. I watched her pout with amusement, touched she was so concerned about my hand when really it was fine.

"Don't pout," I told her lightly, my lips pulling into a grin. I tried to lean forward, aiming a kiss at her lips that she dodged, leaning even farther away in my grasp. My jaw fell open in mock indignation.

"Ouch, baby," I said, taking my turn to pout. Her frown softened and I noticed a glint in her eye. Taking a complete 180 from before, she uncrossed her arms and let her palms slide up my chest. Her touch heated my skin through my shirt before they found my neck and hair. Her fingers wove effortlessly into the dark strands at the back of my head as she leaned forward.

Her lips pressed lightly into the base of my neck, and I could feel my pulse throbbing against her gentle kiss. I loved when she did that.

"I'm sorry," she purred quietly, her voice velvety smooth as she let her lips drag up my neck and along my jaw. Her grip tightened in my hair as she pulled my face down to hers and kissed me, her lips molding perfectly over mine. She surprised me by running her tongue along my lower lip before sucking it between hers, taking control of the kiss that she usually ceded to me. She arched her body into mine as she deepened the kiss, and my hands unwound from her back to rise and hold either side of her face.

My pulse started pounding harder in my veins as she kissed me deeper, her tongue pushing lightly against mine as her lips continued to shape against my own. Her hands tugged lightly on my hair, and I quickly felt the haze that often seemed to settle over my body when she so much as touched me rolling in.

When her lips pulled abruptly from mine, it took me a second to realize what she was doing, but by the time I noticed, it was too late. She had spun quickly in my grip, ripping my hand from her face in the process as she held it gently in both of hers. Her back pressed into my chest and she had my arm with my damaged hand wrapped around her as she inspected my knuckles.

"Harry..." she said sternly. I grimaced as I gave up my fight and rested my head on her shoulder, my eyes examining my hand for the first time with her. The knuckles were an angry dark red, hints of purple already leeching into the skin. A few tiny cuts ran along a few of my knuckles, but it wasn't bleeding profusely or anything.

"That was mean," I muttered as I watched her delicate fingers trace lightly over my knuckles. She shrugged lightly as her eyes continued to observe my hand.

"If you weren't so damn stubborn I wouldn't have had to do that," she replied. She leaned back into my chest as she gently ran her fingers across my hand. I wove my free arm lightly around her shoulders, my hand latching onto my other shoulder as I hung around her neck.

"It's fine," I repeated. "Honestly, it doesn't even hurt."

"It's already bruising," she pointed out skeptically, clearly not believing me. "At least let me run water over it or something?"

She tilted her head into mine so her eyes could connect with my gaze. If it would make her feel better, I guess I could let her do what she wanted.

"Fine, fine," I resigned. She grinned triumphantly as she started moving to the kitchen, her steps hindered because I didn't release her from my grip. She giggled as she stumbled over my feet once, my arms easily catching her and holding her up as we slowly moved to the kitchen.

We finally made it to the sink where she ducked out from under my grasp, her body taking its warmth with it. She turned on the sink, sticking her finger under the tap until she was satisfied with the temperature.

"Give me your hand," she instructed patiently, laying her hand out expectantly. I placed my injured hand in hers. Her hand was dwarfed in comparison with mine, but she cradled it gently with both of hers as he moved it under the warm stream of water. I watched in awe as she ran her thumbs lightly across my knuckles, washing away what little blood had dried there. Her gentle caress felt good on my slightly stinging hand. Once her fingers had cleared the blood, they moved in soft, light circles across the entirety of my hand, massaging away the dull ache that had settled there.

"Have you ever hit someone before?" she asked, her fingers continuing their gentle care of my hand. She didn't sound judgmental, merely curious.

"Yes," I answered honestly.

"Have you been in a fight?" she questioned again.

"Yes, but only once really," I replied.

"So you're not some secret street fighter or anything? Nothing like that I need to worry about?" she asked lightly. I smiled automatically.

"No, nothing like that." She nodded, accepting my answer.

My eyes shifted to her face, where she was concentrating on our hands under the running water. Her eyes were focused on what she was doing, brows pulled low and lips parted slightly as she was careful not to hurt me. I was struck, once again, by how absolutely beautiful she was. Everything about her was virtually perfect, from the soft skin covering her cheeks to her full, pink lips, to her clear blue eyes. More than that, however, was the fact that she was without a doubt the most beautiful person, inside, that I'd ever met. No one had ever touched me, watched me, or taken care of me the way she did, and I was again puzzled by what I had possibly done to deserve her.

"Does this hurt?" she asked, her eyes flicking up to find me staring at her. Her pupils dilated a bit in shock- she hadn't been expecting me to be observing her so closely.

"Not at all," I said quietly, our proximity making it feel like I needed to whisper. It was the truth- all the pain I had vaguely felt earlier was all but gone now as she tended to my injury. My eyes were locked on hers and I was acutely aware of her hands stilling against my own as she absorbed whatever emotion I knew I was emitting.

My free hand rose automatically to brush back a piece of her hair that had fallen into her face, my fingers tucking it behind her ear before I placed my palm across where her jaw met her neck. Light tracings were trailed across her skin from my thumb as it moved slowly back and forth across her cheek.

Thuds from my heartbeat sounded in my ears as I ducked my head slowly, her chin tilting up to meet me as I kissed her lightly. I just held my lips against hers, feeling their warmth and pressure before pulling back an inch or so to meet her unwavering gaze once more. I was vaguely aware of my hand pulling out of her grip to mirror my other hand on the other side of her neck, the wetness from the water largely ignored by the both of us. She copied me, pulling her equally wet hands from the sink to grip my sides as much as her small hands allowed.

A tiny smile pulled at my lips before I closed the space between us again. I kissed her slowly, my lips lingering on hers and hanging on every tiny movement we made. I wanted her to feel how much I felt for her, how much I already needed her, how much I wanted her. She was already so important to me that I'd chosen her over my friend of years without so much as a second thought.

I was still convinced there was no way that I deserved her, but she seemed fairly set on staying with me, so I wasn't going to push her away. I could feel her melting into me as I kissed her, her body relaxing into mine as our lips moved together in perfect rhythm. This wasn't the type of kiss that would lead to other things- it was the type of kiss meant to show affection, emotion, feeling.

If the pounding I could feel through her chest was any indication, she felt something very similar to me because mine was mirroring the rhythm of hers. It was fast, frantic, uncontrolled, and beautifully chaotic as her lips curled around mine again, her hands pulling me tightly against her. Her head tilted to the other side, our lips adjusting to the tiny interruption before reconnecting. My body was actually tingling as I kissed her, each and every tiny movement she made shooting through my body like a firework.

She was absolutely incredible, and there was no doubt in my mind that I'd made the right decision earlier by choosing her over Miles. She was far better than I deserved, but I was never going to let her go, if I could help it.

"You came and saved me tonight, defending all my life, oh, now I'm content with my breath 'cause I'm alive."