"Clever is not the same thing as true. There is a point to everything, there are answers." - Cassandra

PART TWENTY SIX
↳ delicate touches

PENELOPE HAD BEEN OUT OF SORTS after the council meeting and had finally decided to text Harry to see if she could spend the night with him. Before she headed to his house she had grabbed a change of clothes from Grizz's house and checked on Elle - who would be staying with Helena for the night. 

The change in the blonde haired girl only one day apart from Campbell was extraordinary. Already, she smiled more and everything about her felt lighter and more carefree. This was the real Elle, Penelope realised grimly, the Elle that had existed before Campbell.

Penelope had been in a good mood when she left Helena with Elle and arrived at Harry's house. She ignored the glances and smirks from the other kids living in his home and trudged straight upstairs to his room. 

The place had become so familiar over these past two months, it felt like a second home. Penelope and Harry had only been 'official' for nearly a week but time seemed to work differently here. It already felt like they'd been dating for months. 

Although they'd not yet used the word 'dating' it seemed to be something unspoken but true for the both of them. This thought was still on the girl's mind as she slipped into Harry's room, without knocking. 

"Boo! Guess who?" she laughed, her half hearted attempt to scare him was not at all effective. He was so used to her barging in at any moment that it had little effect on him anymore. Nevertheless his face lit up as soon as he heard her come in and he patted the bed beside him expectantly. 

Nell launched herself onto the bed beside him but immediately regretted it when a sharp pain hit her like a punch to the gut. Harry saw the pain flash across her face and was immediately concerned, however his expression softened when he realised, "You're an idiot."

Nell rolled onto her back, mimicking Harry's position beside him as she gingerly rolled up her shirt to check the bandages that still covered her torso. "Shush, it's been getting better so I almost forgot about it."

Harry turns onto his side and leans over her, watching her beautiful face with concern as her brows clench together in a frown, "Hey, at least it seems to be healing well."

"Yeah, I suppose so," she sighs, folding her shirt back down and letting her head fall back against the bed beside Harry's arm.

"Hey can I talk to you about something?" Harry asks suddenly, as if he had blurt it out before he changed his mind. 

"Of course," Penelope replies, turning to watch him with a delicate smile.

"I think that it was Dewey who shot you and Cassandra and I- I think that it was partly my fault," he finally admits, not able to look her in the eyes. 

Nell reaches forward and places a hand against his cheek, "Yeah, I had my own suspicions about that guy. But if it was him it most definitely was not your fault."

Harry grimaces and pulls away from her touch, "No Nell, I know you're just trying to see the best in me but I said some pretty awful things one night and I think Dewey took them scarily serious."

Harry expects her to recoil from him but she strangely doesn't seem surprised by his confession. 

"It doesn't matter what you said Harry, if Dewey killed Cassandra it's because he chose to pull that trigger. You had nothing to do with it," her expression tells him not to bother arguing with her, so he sighs and lets the matter go for now. 

"I told Gordie to check his place for a gun, anyway."

"Yeah, I figured, he brought it up in the council meeting, they're gonna do it tomorrow," Nell responds absentmindedly as she tries to get herself into a more comfortable position. Harry takes note of the fact that her bandage seems to be giving her some grief. 

"Do you need help changing the dressing again?" he offers, remembering that Nell had told him it needed to be changed fairly regularly to avoid infection.

"Actually- yeah that would be really helpful. I haven't been changing it nearly as often as Gordie told me to," she admits sheepishly. Harry smirks as he accepts the fresh bandages Nell passes him from her overnight bag.

"Lie back then," Harry instructs, scooting over so she can lay in the middle of the bed. Penelope smiles at the sudden seriousness in his face and lies back, her head against the pillows that smell strongly of everything she associates with Harry.

Harry reaches for her shirt but looks to her for permission before he lifts it up, Penelope smiles and nods her consent. He places his hands gently on her waist and Nell has to keep herself from shivering at his gentle touch.

He pulls her shirt up until just the bottom of her bra is visible and then slowly begins to unwrap the old bandages. Nell stares up at the ceiling during the entire slow and agonising process, trying not to let it show how badly his gentle fingers were affecting her. 

Harry's face is scrunched up in concentration throughout, he's doing his best not to hurt the girl as he reaches the end of the bandage and ever so slowly pulls the remainder of it off. Nell doesn't react so he assumes he did an alright job. He looks to her face for some kind of a cue but she's staring straight up with a strange expression.

"Hey Nell, you okay? I didn't hurt you did I?" He watches her carefully, scared to make the smallest mistake.

"W-what? Oh, no you did fine. I'm fine. Keep going." 'Just put your hands back on me' she thinks to herself

Harry gives her a strange look but begins to wrap the new dressing around her torso. He takes note of the fact that her wound looks much better, it's almost fully healed in fact. As he wraps it around the final time, Nell tried to disguise her shiver but he finally notices. 

He pulls back right away, fearing his hands must be cold or something but when he sees the look on her face he finally understands why she's being so strange. With an arrogant smirk, he places his hands back onto her waist and carefully swings one leg over her torso so that he's holding himself above her body.

Penelope's face reddens and she manages to squeak out, "What are you doing?" before Harry is leaning down and pressing his lips hard against hers. It only takes a moment for the girl to relax into his touch, the familiar feel of his lips on hers has become a comfort. 

There's something different about this kiss though, there's a heat to it that she has never experienced before. Harry's hands brush against her waist, leaving a fiery trail in their wake. He deepens the kiss and when she pulls herself even closer to his body, this only seems to encourage him.

The fire inside of her body burns hotter and continues to grow as Harry helps her remove the layers of clothing keeping them apart, one by one. He presses gentle kisses on every small spot of skin he can find as he does this. 

Penelope had never felt as close to another human being as she had that night. Later, she falls asleep with a smile still on her face. Her cheek is pressed against Harry's bare chest and she drifts off to the sound of his steady breaths above her head.

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

The day of the 'pre dawn raid' had arrived. Penelope felt like she was drowning as she tried to keep up with everyone else's problems. She was worried for everyone as a whole while they searched for Cassandra's killer, she was concerned for Harry and his mental health, she was doing her best to support Elle while Penelope herself was constantly on the guard incase Campbell showed his face.

With all of this on her mind she was beginning to neglect her own issues. She had essentially given up on trying to understand the why and how of her situation. But she still couldn't help but wonder how long she had left. Was she really, truly, stuck in this world? Was that what she wanted?

Harry rolled over in his bed beside her and wrapped an arm around Nell as he snored softly, unconsciously pulling her body closer to his. The girl smiled as she turned her body over and tucked her head in against his chest.

In the entire time that she had been here, she'd been more scared than she ever had in her other life. But she'd also never been more happy. She had real, meaningful friendships with a number of people, and a boy who seemed to bring out the best in her.

They'd had an important moment last night, Penelope blushed as she recalled it. It was a big step for her, had it meant as much to him? She'd never had a serious boyfriend before, these were all firsts for her. 

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her phone buzzing from the pocket of her discarded jeans. She tried to be quiet as she tugged the throw blanket off the bed and wrapped it around herself as she searched the floor for her phone. 

Harry finally stirred awake as she spotted her jeans in a pile of clothes near the door to Harry's bathroom. Harry sat up and rubbed his eyes, giving her a funny look as he took in her appearance. 

"You know you don't have to cover up anymore, I've literally seen it all."

Penelope blushed fiercely and hurried back over to the bed, hiding herself under the covers once more, "Shut up."

"Awe, are you blushing Marks?" he reached for her, tickling her sides lightly as she giggled uncontrollably and desperately tried to escape his grip. 

When his attack finally stopped, Penelope opened her eyes just as he pulled her in for a toe-curling kiss. When he pulled away it took her a few moments to compose herself before she could think to check her phone. 

Her relaxed smile fell as she read the message from Grizz. Harry watched her face change with outward concern, "What is it?"

"They have Dewey."

"What? Where?" Harry puzzled, the comfort he felt waking up beside Nell was suddenly forgotten. 

"Come on, get dressed. We're going to Luke's house."

It was time to return to the real world.

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hello i am finally back yay! i know some of u may have been hoping for some full blown smut but i have to admit im not super good at writing it. i tried it once & it turned out okay but i think i was doing it more for the readers & less because i felt it was needed. so im gonna hold off for now, maybe ill try again in the future? idk hopefully u like the update & hopefully u guys stuck around! see u with another update real soon xx