Even If It Hurts -H.S. AU

37

I step out of the shower and wrap the towel Harry left for me around myself. I pull one of his T-shirts out of the closet, and slip it over my head, before I slide sweatpants up my legs.

I'm not tired in the slightest. The past few days have me absolutely wired and the fight with Harry is just adding to that. Things are fine between us now, but it just feels like there's this tension around me in the air that I can't shake.

I head down the hall, looking for Harry, and I smile when I see him standing with both refrigerator doors open, whistling to himself, as he searches for something to eat.

"Are you hungry, baby?" He asks when he notices me stop in the doorway to watch him.

"Not really." I mumble quietly. "I actually don't feel so good."

"I'm sorry, love." He says sincerely. "Go sit down, I'll be there in a sec."

I turn around and walk toward the couch, looking forward to sitting with him under a blanket while we watch a movie. When I find a handful of bags on the cushions, I freeze.

"Harry," I say softly, picking the contents out of one, "what are these?"

"Oh." He mumbles and hurries over behind me. "I forgot about this when we started- well, when I got home."

"There has to be, like," I pause and scan the very full couch in front of me, "two hundred magazines here."

"I bought every copy I could find on my way back today." He admits quietly and takes the magazine from my hand, putting it face down on top of the pile I got it from.

"You walked back from Alex's office?" I turn to face him and he nods at me. "That's close to an hour walk."

"I couldn't stand to think of these just being out, for anyone to see." He explains and my heart swells in my chest. "So, I bought them all."

"Harry..." I step toward him and hold his face in my hand. "You're so fucking sweet." He smiles at me before he turns his face to kiss my palm. "What the hell are we going to do with all of these?"

"I have an idea." He mumbles and grabs the throw blanket off the back of the couch, wrapping it around my shoulders, before he picks up all of the bags of magazines in his hand. "Come on."

I furrow my brows at him and hold the blanket closed around me. I follow him through the kitchen, pausing when he grabs a brand new bottle of wine from the cabinet, and he opens the door to a little balcony with a staircase that leads up the side of the building.

He turns around to wait for me and smiles when my eyes light up. I hurry past him and head up the stairs to the roof.

"Why did I not know you had roof access?" I mumble breathlessly when we get to the top. I lean over the edge a little to look down at the street, the people below us look like ants.

"Don't do that!" Harry says quickly and wraps his arm around my waist to pull me back. I turn to look at him and find the color is drained from his face a little and he's refusing to glance over the edge of the building.

"Are you afraid of heights?" I smirk softly and he glares at me. "I guess that's why I didn't know."

"Am I afraid of you falling off this building?" He mumbles back, avoiding my question. "Yes."

He guides me to the middle of the roof and I gasp when I find a small fire pit and two chairs angled towards it. Harry sets the bags down and arranges wood in the fire pit before he sprays it with lighter fluid and throws a lit match in. He jumps back when flames erupt and grins at me.

"I thought we could burn them." He says, his dimples cratering his cheeks as he looks at me.

"I love you." I blurt out and immediately bend down to grab a small stack of the magazines, to throw into the fire, as he chuckles softly.