"Are you kidding me?" I can't believe he dragged me to see this haunted-yet-cannot-be-called house to explain why he couldn't say no to his friends.

Harrison's oh so serious face snaps in my direction. He looks at me sharply with confusion.

"For heaven's sake, Kira, I poured out my deepest secret and you asked me if I was kidding?" His eyes narrow at me. "Did you have any idea how damn difficult it is to tell you? I don't need your pity and I will not be surprised if you will use this against me, like others who know."

I catch the vulnerability in his face before he averts his gaze from me to look in front of the small deserted road. If he murders me or I'll murder him — because of his ridiculous reason for pampering his so-called friends — no one will know. This place is creepy. Luckily, the guy whose knuckles are turning white due to his tight grip on the steering wheel is strikingly handsome which makes this place better.

He told me James and Shane, the Versace girl, knew him even before his father took him in and gave his surname. His mother was a cleaner to their houses. Harrison is a bastard, the product of his mother's obsession with his father. She, a housemaid, took advantage of his heartbroken father. She made him drunk to the extent that he thought he was making love with his girlfriend, now his wife and mother to Harrison.

Her biological mother was given a choice whether to go to jail or to disappear from his life. She did the latter and lived in the woods while his father and his bride lived in London for a decade. His father didn't know about him until he saw him outside the church, crying alone a day before his biological mother died of lung cancer.

Harrison and his father look very much alike and his hazel eyes are the same shade of his stepmother. Looking at their family picture, no one can tell that he is a bastard.

"I never thought you would think so low of me. You wounded me." I clutch my heart, making him look at me again.

"I didn't. I-I —"

I smack his arm. "Hey, I'm feigning so that you'll look at me."

He releases a hefty sigh of relief. Normally, I don't care how others think about me, but recently, what Harrison thinks about me matters.

"Did those shameless fools threaten you?"

"No," he pauses. "Not directly. I mean they mentioned my past whenever I didn't give them what they wanted."

"What do you think will happen if the public gets hold of this?"

"Mom will be hurt. No one would want to hang out with me. They'll mock me. My modelling career will be over." His knuckles turn even whiter and he grit his teeth.

"Did your Mom tell you to keep it a secret? Did your agency know and mention it in your contract?"

"No and no."

"Then, why? Why would you fear it?" I want to pull my hair out of frustration. Everything he says is not making any sense. Did he create his own monster?

"I assume it will hurt her and I don't want that, ever." They said a boy who loves his family will make a good husband. I don't know who said that exactly but it warms my heart.

He continues, "I need my friends and my career to prove that I don't rely on the wealth of my parents."

"Everyone needs friends but those shitty friends of yours don't belong in the category." I shift to my right to face him. He mirrors my actions and his eyes move to my jiggling humps around my waist. I feel my cheeks heat up but disregard it.

"If your agency turns their back on you because of your past, they don't deserve you. Don't let your past dictate your present or your future or your relationship to others, Harrison."

He stares at me for a beat, blinks his eyes and reaches to hold my hand, his eyes not leaving mine. At that very moment, my heart starts to thump loudly and frantically. "Will you stay by my side as I brave this storm?"

I nod even before he finishes his question. "There will be no storm, Harrison." I stop judging him. Maybe for me it's a small thing but to each his own. I'm blessed to have parents who love each other.

"You just made it up in your head. Talk to your Mom and Dad about this. If the public knows and mocks you, I'll be there to save your ass. And for the love of God, call it FO for James and Shame."

"Shane."

"Well, Shane the shameless."

From thinking of murder to laughing in less than one hour, we've made a big progress. I can't say we are friends now. I still loathe him for dessertblocking me and even though I forgive him, the obvious attraction on my part will never accept him as a friend.

🍰

"One tiramisu, one lemon tart, hmm," I say, my eyes are zooming to the range of cheesecake spread, not regarding the staff who's holding a tray to put my orders.

"That's all and another cup of earl grey tea."

Harrison's voice pulls me out of Dessertland to my favourite cafe. The sweet aroma of the cafe mixed with Harrison's fresh lime scent wafting my nose. The chatter of the patrons invades my ears. I've totally forgotten that he was with me.

I pout and he pinches my lips. "We can have the cheesecake next time." He takes the number and drags me towards the table at the corner of the cafe.

We've been hanging out everyday for three weeks now either eating, studying or working out. Right, he allows me to join his routine. Just like him, I always make my presence known whenever I spot him on campus. I crave his company just like I crave for tiramisu. He still stops me from what he called, eating disorder. We always order two desserts which we both share. For some unknown reasons, two have been enough, or should I say one since we go half half on each.

"You know why I'm doing this right?"

I nod, unable to speak with a mouth full of creamy tiramisu. Two weeks ago, I broke down and confronted him about why he always took or ruined my desserts. He showed me a photo of a fat 12-year-old boy and an old prescription to regulate blood sugar levels. Harrison had a pre-diabetic condition but he beats it by changing his lifestyle and working out.

"Are you like this to everyone who you think is overeating?" I take a sip of my earl grey tea.

He wipes his mouth before he answers. "No, only to you."

"Why?" My heart is doing a somersault again.

"I always admire your confidence whenever I see you in magazines. When I spotted you at Eloise's party, you looked even more radiant."

I know my face is red now. It's not everyday that someone as hot and handsome as Harrison compliments my rather unusually attractive self.

"I couldn't accept that you'll ruin yourself."

"Say the guy who let others ruin him." I glare at him.

He chuckles. "Don't you think we are meant to—"

"Hi Dude," James interrupts but none of us invite him to join us. He clears his throat. "It's Shane's birthday next weekend. Can we—"

"No," says Harrison firmly, his eyes on mine. "The beach house is off-limits from anyone else."

"But we are not just anyone," he places his palms on the table gently but his face shows that he's controlling his annoyance. "We are your friends."

"We are not." This time Harrison looks at him with an unreadable expression. I reach for his hand and squeeze it a bit. I know this is the first time he tells him that.

James told his friends about Harrison's biological Mom when he turned him down. Fortunately, it didn't cause any negative effects like he expected it to. A little hushed whispering around the campus and a buzz on social media for a week happened. A statement from his Mom and Dad proclaiming their unconditional love, especially from his Mom, turned the ugly past into what the social media calls, family goals.

"But—"

"You heard him. Now, shoo!" I interject.

James,unable to hide his frustration, looks at me. "I'm not talking to you and you are not his girlfriend so shut your fuc—"

My chest hit the table when Harrison pulls his hand abruptly and pushes James with enough force, making him stumble backwards and almost fall on his ass.

"Don't you dare. Leave before I break your nose." Harrison's eyes are full of fury, his hands are balled into a fist ready to hit something or someone.

James doesn't need to be told twice. One look at Harrison makes him scurry out of the cafe as quick as the lightning's.

"Are you okay?"

He takes a deep breath and laughs out loud, throwing his head backwards. Tears are forming in his eyes from laughing too much.

I blink and blink again and again. Has he gone mad? I don't find any humour in what happened.

"Care to share?"

It takes another minute or two before he finally calms himself.

"That feels so damn good, so fucking good. You're right I don't need them to validate my existence."

"Is that funny?" It is not, in my opinion, rather bitter, perhaps.

"Doesn't it? His face looked like a shivering cat and he said, you're not my girlfriend."

"He's right though."

For a few seconds none of us talk. I spoon the remaining tiramisu, very aware that he's staring at me.

"Katharina Hayes," he moves to capture my eyes and locks them to his, "are you breaking up with me?"

I gasp. "I-I'm not Katharina."

He lifts his eyebrow like what I said was utterly ridiculous.

"Fine. I am her b-but that's not the case." My brain works as fast as the dryer, trying to find something that will back my statement. "You didn't ask me to be your girlfriend."

He chuckles. "You didn't ask me when you proclaimed to the world that you're my girlfriend."

"I was just scaring them away." I say defiantly. "Why didn't you respond to correct them?"

"Why should I? I like this Katharina Hayes."

I gasp and my body freezes except my heart which just takes a leap out of my chest. I open my mouth but no words come out.

Did he just say he likes me?

"Don't you think we are meant to be? We're just doing perfectly fine until we meet at the party to bring out the worst in each other?" he says after placing the empty cup back on the saucer.

"I'm pretty sure that doesn't sound so romantic at all." I find it amusing instead. "Couples are supposed to bring out the best in them, not the worst."

"They do."

My eyebrows move into a frown.

"I care about my body and you didn't." He emphasises the use of past tense.

It's true, dammit, he's right.

Now I'm conscious about what I put into my mouth. Eating with him makes me full but when he's not around, his voice echoes at the back of my mind, reminding me to wat just enough.

"You accept and love everything about yourself, which I didn't." He reaches for my hands. "You and I brought out the worst in each other to become the better version of ourselves."

The intensity of his eyes burned me so I looked down. Using his index finger, he lifts my chin to lock our gaze again.

"Be my girlfriend, Kira."

I search for any hint of teasing, mocking and a sign that he's joking but I can't find them. His face is sincere instead. I will never be as thin as the supermodels but it doesn't matter. Weight is just a number. Size is just a number. Good health is what matters. I know it now. I can't just love myself, I should take care of my body as well. Self-care and self-love are two different things but one should possess both. Harrison is right, we are like a missing piece in the jigsaw puzzle, called our lives. We complete each other.

A soft giggle escapes from my lips when I think about him and I, kissing and cuddling.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"I couldn't remember you ever asked."

"I didn't because you are already my girlfriend since your announcement on Facebook."

How could he like someone with a bulging tummy? Although it is smaller now than before, it's still pretty obvious.

As if he reads my mind, "I don't care if you're the biggest human being in this world. Scratch that coz it's a lie. I don't care about your size."

"I'm heavy and you can't lift me."

"Are you saying I'm weak? Do you want to test your theory 'coz I really want to kiss you right now."

I push his face when he leans closer, making me feel feverish.

"Slow down."

"Fine, we have forever to do that anyways."

###
OMG! I finished another short story.
Thank you for giving my story a chance. I have a very few readers and sometimes I feel like stopping.

But even one reader makes a difference. Thank you for inspiring me to keep writing. I hope you enjoy Kira and Harrison's light story. I wrote this story to remind you that you should be loving yourself and taking care of yourself all the time.

Next and the last story in this series, will be about Riley, Kira's bestfriend, and Archer, Selena and Eloise's bff.

See you.

Lovelots,
Alya