#ribsfic

[cherryyharryy]

My new fic:)

Read the announcement here for a summary

Rating/Warnings: M - smut, language Trigger Warning: anxiety/anxiety attack

Next Update: Wednesday April 17

<><><> Chapters <><><>

1. 🦴Jugular Notch

2. 🦴Manubruim

3. 🦴Xiphisternal Joint

4. 🦴Vertebra

5. 🦴Clavicular Notch

6. 🦴Sternal Angel-fibrocartilage

7. 🦴Coastal Cartilage

8. 🦴True Ribs

9. 🦴Intercostal Spaces

10. 🦴Floating Ribs

11. 🦴Xiphoid Process

12. 🦴Coastal Margin

13. 🦴False Ribs

14. 🦴Thoracic Cage

[cherryyharryy]

Chapter 1: Jugular Notch

The Drink You Spilt all Over Me

Voices were blending into one constant whine; once tolerable, but the line was crossed around the time Adeline’s parents reenacted the Dirty Dancing lift. Chatter about Daniel's big home run and Susan's promotion and the approaching snowstorm had slowly slipped away into the sticky heat that had been accumulating all evening.

The house wasn't near as large as it had appeared upon her doomed-from-the-start arrival. Half-empty glasses of forgotten red wine strewed about marked the spots where every soccer mom in the neighborhood had once stood.

All the oxygen in the room had successfully been replaced by sweat and raw body heat. The stench that'd been building up has been in question, but now, hours after a risen moon, it's clear that perfumes only spritzed on special nights have combined to create a unique haze that filled every inch of the place. Deep breaths would only bring her closer to passing out.

A lovely sheen of oil mixed with makeup smothered her face, weighing down her eyelids. She doesn’t even want to guess how nauseating she must look. But as she scans the revolting sight playing before her, she realizes the state of her attraction isn't important, and doesn’t look near as pathetic as Ms. Hardy, who thought five beers would be enough of a confidence boost to catch the eye of the local butcher.

The drumming in her head leads her ears to summon a pulse that normally isn't there. She’s slowed her heart down at least five times tonight, and another round of meditation was well on its way. She’s been huddled in this corner for as long as she could tolerate...because she’s an adult now.

And being an adult means you can go to the Ramsey's party but you can't drink.

Being an adult means watching every self-respecting businessman and PTA member re-live their glory days.

Being an adult, apparently means, dividing your time up between wasteful and pitiful.

She really could use a drink.

On this splendid evening, she learned that darkness is deceiving. It provides a layer between her eyes and the repulsion that's been sweeping 145 east seventy-second street, but delays the warning of bulky watches and worn out heels that consistently invade her space. And 80's music will never be the same; forever tainted with images of shameless middle-aged drones trying to recapture their youth.

She’s decided she’s had enough, well, she had enough three hours ago, but now she’s really done. An escape is needed for sure, that is if she wants to survive. Because being an adult means just that: surviving.

Trying to find a path out of the sea of ripened bodies proves to be a challenge. The disturbing line dance that's forming has Helen taking off her hand-knit sweater while holding in the schnapps that threatens to spill past a closed lip smile and a squeal.

Adeline sucked in her stomach and slid past everyone who'd begun moving in unison to the left. With the back door in clear view, and a new surge of adrenaline in her bones, she wiggled her way through the crowd, exhaling once her hand touched the doorknob.

The cat door swings back and forth a few times before leaving her in complete silence. The moon was hidden, and if she hadn't attended countless barbecue gatherings, Marykay parties, and tee-ball banquets, she’d be nervous. But too many summers were spent shuffling around every backyard in this town for her to worry, having map-like memory of every tree, swimming pool, and swing set for her to fear a star-lit backyard.

She swears there's glitter swirling with her breath in the gelid air. Her heels scrape against the concrete slab as she shuffles in circles, attempting to jump-start her circulation. The sting of frost was soothing for only a moment.

"C lunch?"

Her head whipped around to follow the voice, the rush of air drying her lips out as goose bumps riddled her bare arms.

"C lunch, right?" The raspy voice asks again.

"What?"

"I'm in D lunch."

"What are you talking about?" She takes a step closer to the heap of blankets piled in a lawn chair, tucked into the corner where the garage joined the house, curly hair sticking out from under them.

"I see yeh leavin' lunch every day. You sit by the vending machines. And you’re always writin’ in that old journal. What do you write about anyways?"

His voice is slow, and she doesn’t know if it's due to the hypothermia he's surely gained by being out here, or if that's a natural quality. Either way it's a little too intriguing for her liking.

"Are you aware that you're successfully coming across as the biggest creep I've ever met?" She’s now only a few feet away. The blankets are tempting, and when he starts to unravel the little nest he's created, his choice of clothing makes her jealous. A thick black sweater clings to his body, but not as much as the tight jeans. She looks down at the olive green dress plastered to her skin, observing the effects of a harsh December night on her bare thighs.

"I apologize, love," he picks through the blankets before pulling one out and holding it out to her. "Will this clear my tarnished image?"

She hesitantly grabs it. "For now I suppose."

"Good. I can't have a fellow Edgewood high survivor mad at me."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Told you, m'in D lunch." He leans back in the chair and readjusts the blankets to shield his body again.

"That's not what I mean."

"Right, well, y'should really be more specific with your questions. I'm a lot of things, Adeline. M'smarter than you, tallest in my family, and just last week I was asked if I would be interested in a modeling career. However, luckily for you, I understand your vague request. My name's Harry."

Anger spikes her nerves and all thoughts of being cold are forgotten and replaced with wanting to slap the smug look off his face. Instead of wasting another second on this boy she hastily heads back for the door.

"Oh, whoa, don't have t'leave, I mean no harm.”

Her hand freezes on the door handle. After rolling her eyes she peers over her shoulder, pulling off her best glare.

“I don't bite, love," he smirks. "Well...that's a lie actually." A dry laugh follows his words. He smiles for the first time and a dimple makes its appearance. Of course; he wouldn't be complete with only a chiseled jaw and wind swept hair.

She contemplates her options: She can head back in to watch her respect for everyone in this town disappear forever, or stand out in the cold with some arrogant jerk named Harry.

"Here," he says, snapping Adeline out of her thoughts. He squirms around before pulling a bottle of vodka that's half full from under the blankets. She raises a brow and wraps the blanket tighter around herself.

"Relax. Didn't drink this all tonight. S'been a work in progress." Her brain is being jerked in two directions; one towards Harry's enthralling accent and the other put off by his cocky attitude.

She takes small steps towards him. “So there's no excuse for your ignorant behavior?"

"Ouch, was tha' really necessary?" He pulls the bottle back as soon as she reaches for it.

She huffs and rolls her eyes. "Well you haven't exactly been a gentleman."

"I only speak the truth, darling." He holds the bottle back out, but only because he knows she’ll leave without the incentive.

"You don't even know me."

"I know I was smart enough to dress for the occasion. That dress doesn't look very warm." He nods towards her outfit. "I know tha's been bothering ya, that I said I was smarter."

She avoids eye contact as she reaches for the bottle, this time he allows her to take it. "I would be offended if you weren't so full of yourself." She pressed the bottle to her lips. The sting makes its way down her throat, warming her up better than any blanket could.

"M'just pushing your buttons, love. I've gotten quite bored out here."

She passes it back to him and watches as he throws his head back to take a sip. His hand has no problem wrapping around the entire bottle. "What are y'doing out here anyway?”

"The same as you I'm guessing." She reached for the bottle but instead of complying with her gesture, he pops the cork back on and slips it back under the blankets. "This needs to last me at least through the end of the year. I'll be in this same spot come graduation night if the urge strikes you."

She takes a step back to distance herself from him. Even with a snarky attitude she can't help but feel lured in. They wallow in silence, the only sound coming from the monstrosity taking place inside.

"Ah...there they go," he grumbles. The ill-fated countdown made its way to her ears no matter how hard she tried to block it out. She glanced down at a pair of flushed, green eyes staring back at her. "Growin' up sucks."

"It does."

"Well then how about one more? For the sake of growing old. What do y'say?" He pulls the bottle back out and pops the cork off. “Happy New Year.”

Swallowing in anticipation and yearning for the burn she didn't know she needed, she lets the blanket slip down her shoulders to give her hands better access, exposing her skin to the sharp cold.

Harry stands up, towering over her as the blankets topple to his brown boots. His feet attempt to move but catch on the pile of fabric, causing him to wobble in place before teetering over.

Something crossed between a yelp and a squeal leaves her mouth. The vodka that was supposed to make it to graduation seeps through her dress, dripping its way towards her nude pumps. If her body weren't so numb she would’ve had the energy to cuss him out, but all she does is look up at Harry to see his eyes wide and jaw slack.

"I—I’m sorry."

She closes her eyes and breathes in through her nose, filling her lungs with as much air as she can, speaking through clenched teeth. "It's...ok...was an accident." He makes a noise between a grunt and a cough, and when she opens her lids, the gleam in his eye is evident. "Are you seriously laughing?"

"M'sorry but the look on your face was priceless." He doesn't even try to hold the laughter back now, his eyes squint forming lines around the corners, and every one of his white teeth are on display.

"Whatever, Harry." She tosses the blanket at him only for it to combine with the heap on the ground.

"No wait, lemme help you clean up." His laughter dies down and the red tint on his face begins to fade. His hand on her lower back gently nudged her towards the door. He slipped them inside, up the stairs and in the master bath without anyone noticing.

***

Adeline spared herself the horror of her own reflection, keeping her eyes locked on her shoes against the tiled floor of the master bath. However, curiosity won, and sure enough, the sight before her was disturbing. Black smudges had settled in the creases of her eyes and her lips were dried and shriveled prunes. She looked nothing short of pathetic.

Harry stepped out of the adjoining closet holding a long gray t-shirt and made his way to where she was leaning against the sink.

"Here, think this is long enough. If you’d worn pants you'd have more options.”

She rolled her lips together and sucked in a breath, "I'm not in the mood. And I'm not wearing that."

"Why not?" He inspected the shirt to find what had displeased her about it, looking up in confusion when he found nothing wrong.

"First of all, I don't feel comfortable wearing Mr. Ramsey's shirt," she crossed her arms over her chest and rested her weight on one leg. "And second of all, I don't feel comfortable wearing Mr. Ramsey's shirt, in his house, where everyone in town will see."

"Are yeh serious? First of all, no one will notice," he mocked. "Second of all, who cares? Unless you want to smell like cheap vodka the rest of the night I suggest you put this on."

She ran her tongue over her teeth and steadied her eyes on him. There was no way she was going to walk down those stairs wearing nothing but her principal's shirt.

"Fine," he quipped, tossing the shirt onto the counter. He reached behind his head and began pulling the sweater off his body. Swirls of ink decorated his skin, toned muscles rippled and pulsed. She had to fight to keep herself from staring. He tossed the sweater to her, nailing her in the face. When she removed it he was already sliding his arms through the t-shirt.

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

"You can wear it. That's wha' most people would do."

She held it out in front of her body to check the length, secretly hoping it would be long enough to wear. "Turn around."

"What, and miss the show?" He ran a hand through his hair as his lips curled up. "Okay, okay, don't give me the glare again." He held his hands up in surrender and turned to face the closet. She waited a few seconds to make sure he could be trusted before peeling her now ruined dress off. The sweater was actually longer than her dress, reaching a little pass mid-thigh. It was warm from being wrapped around his body and she couldn't stop herself from pulling the collar up and breathing in the scent of his cologne.

"You can turn back."

He rolled his eyes and returned his hand to her back, ushering them out and towards the stairs, her soaked dress balled in her hands.

"Thanks," she squeaked, before they started to head down.

"No problem."

Once they reached the bottom, her mother came bouncing towards them with a big smile on her face. "Adeline! I was looking for you, we're leaving now. You'll have to drive though, your father's had a little too much." A giggle slipped past her lips, letting Adeline know she's had a little too much as well.

"Um, thanks again," She said, looking back at Harry as she followed her mom to the front door.

"You're welcome, love. And cute underwear by the way. Pink is your color."

[cherryyharryy]

Chapter 8: True Ribs

It feels so scary, getting old

*A BIG thank you to @loveandyourstrulyh for helping me with this chapter!!!!!*

The thick, black scarf wrapped around Adeline’s neck proved to be of little protection to the cold biting at her skin. She tried to keep her tongue from swiping across her lips as it only aided the wind in drying them out. The walk from her last class to her car became longer each time she made it.

The meeting she’d had with her advisor that morning was still floating around her mind. The only thing that kept her from calling Harry with the good news she had was the opportunity to tell him in person, to see his face light up rather than imagining it while on the phone. And she’d be counting down the last few days until Thanksgiving break by the minute.

“Shit.” She slipped on a patch of ice, wobbling until she regained her footing and checking over her shoulder for anyone who saw. She took to shuffling from there on, her head conjuring up warmer days and sweeter nights, pulling her summer dresses out from the back of her closet, spending soft nights outside with Harry, under fairy lights and the gentle crackling notes of The Beatles from his damn record player he's yet to buy. Maybe a trip to the beach or lake, fireside evenings and slipping into bed after one too many fruity drinks.

She was snatched from her day dream when white flecks started falling before her eyes. She tugged the hood of her coat over her head and quickened her pace, determined to get to her car before it really started coming down.

***

"Nicole?" Adeline peeled the layers of her clothing off, tossing them in the corner next to the front door as she headed towards the living room. "Hey—”

"I'm glad you're back, I've been needing to talk to you."

Nicole's voice sounded more motherly than usual, which only ignited the developing fear that'd been crawling up her spine as of late. Her first words to Adeline after she returned from her impromptu stay with Harry at the crummy motel had been enough to humble her.

“Oh, I assumed you weren't coming back. I've already started packing your things.”

Sure enough, boxes had been stacked on her bed and piled along the walls of her room, which Adeline emptied and tossed in the trash before Nicole could get another word in. She had avoided her cousin as best she could since then. If she wasn't around she couldn't be kicked out, and maybe if she stayed away enough it wouldn't bother Nicole so much that she lived there.

"It's freezing in here. Have you turned the heat on today?"

"Adeline, we need to discuss some things." Nicole peered over her shoulder from her place on the couch, the basket of laundry sat by her feet as she folded a towel into equal thirds before smoothing it out and adding it to the stack on the coffee table.

Adeline drew in a breath, mentally preparing herself for whatever lecture was awaiting her. "Okay, what's up?"

"I think it's time you found your own apartment."

Right, straight to the point. She had no way out of this. "I don't understand why you hate me being here?"

"I don't hate it, but you're an adult, and you need to start acting like one. How long were you planning on staying anyway?"

"I—I didn't really have a time in mind, I guess just as long as needed." Adeline rounded the couch and sunk down into the leather armchair. She stretched her legs out in front of her and let her chin drop to her chest with a sigh. “Just until I got started on, life, I guess.”

"And how long will that be?"

"I don't know." Adeline shrugged, biting the inside of her cheek.

Nicole shook her head, little lines appearing across her forehead as her arms crossed over her chest. "See, this is why it's time you moved out. It's time to grow up."

Adeline’s stomach twisted in knots at the reality unfolding before her. Surely, this would blow over; she may have to seriously start helping out around here, but there was no way Nicole was actually going to make her leave.

"I'm sorry, I know I've been a burden to you, but I promise to contribute more. I can take over half of the chores, and we can alternate buying groceries each month, and—"

"No, Adeline. No more begging, you just can't stay here any longer. I'm not your mother, and I haven't enjoyed playing one these past months."

“What?” Adeline shot up from the chair, steam puffing out from her ears. “You've got to be kidding me! That's all you've ever done, even when we were kids you acted like a parent to me!"

"Don't be so dramatic. The only thing I'm concerned with is our current situation, which simply isn't working out anymore."

“But we can make it work!”

“You’re not motivated, Adeline. When I was in college one of the first things I did was get a job. I had everything planned out by the time I finished my first year, and stayed on track to graduate. I took summer classes...you’ve already dropped out of one class and it’s only your first semester.”

“The professor was crazy! I couldn’t understand anything he was saying!”

“This isn’t up for discussion.” Nicole fished through the basket until she found the match to the small white sock in her hand. “So—”

“It is! It is up for discussion! It’s my life, remember? And besides, I am motivated, I picked my major today. Filled out the paperwork and everything.”

“So you just picked it. Woke up and decided to be...what? Astronaut? Ballerina?”

Adeline stared her cousin down, swallowing all the words she wanted to say, the words she wanted to throw right in her snobby face before gritting out the major she’d been excited about announcing.

“English Literature.”

Nicole’s face didn’t move, in fact, her entire body froze. Other than a few slow blinks, she sat completely motionless with a half-folded scarf in her hands. After a few slow minutes she finally cleared her throat and continued lining up the edges of the scarf in her lap.

“Have you told your parents?”

“No. haven’t told anyone.”

“I don’t think that’s a wise choice. English, I mean.”

“And just why is that?”

“Because,” Nicole mused, “it’s not a stable choice. What are you even going to do with that degree?”

“Write. I can be a writer.”

Nicole halted her movements once again and looked up to Adeline with a roll of her eyes. “Write? And what exactly are you, someone who’s never written anything before in her life, planning on writing?”

“I don’t kn—”

“The back of a cereal box? Or maybe a corny slogan for toothpaste?”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Hey! Language!”

“Shit, Nicole! I can’t—no! Y’know what? Forget it! Forget I even said anything!” Adeline stomped past her cousin, yanking her clothes off the floor as she went. Right before she stepped into the hall she paused and collected Nicole’s attention. “I should’ve expected such an answer from you, from someone so...so, so vanilla!”

She made it halfway to her room when the slur of thoughts in her head formed another sentence worth spewing out. She spun on her heel and stepped back into the living room where Nicole’s stunned face hadn’t moved an inch.

“And another thing, I haven't enjoyed your overbearing ways either and I should've left a long time ago. I don't deserve to be talked down to by someone who's only a few years older than me."

Picture frames swayed on the wall after Adeline slammed her door and the absurdly expensive cookbook she’d bought for Nicole's Christmas present was slung off the dresser, landing in a heap on the rug.

With all the anger surging through her she still felt a little relief. Getting away from Nicole is what she needed. She had just pushed it to the back of her mind to worry about later.

This is all for the best, everything will be okay.

"Adeline."

Dear God.

She threw the door open to see Nicole's stone cold face. "What?" she gritted.

"I wanted to tell you that you don't have to leave right away. Just be sure to be out before spring semester begins."

"Oh, thank you, Nicole, how generous of you."

"Excuse me? What's generous is me letting you stay here for almost five months! Need I remind you of the bills you don't pay? Or the food?"

"You cannot hold that over my head! I have offered since day one to help pay for things, but nooo. 'Don't worry about it Adeline, you're my guest.'" She was seething by now, her grip on the door frame digging into her skin, and she suddenly missed the chill from outside.

"Just forget it, you're immature and ungrateful!" Nicole’s voice raised for the first time. “I can’t believe I actually thought I could have an adult conversation with you! You have no clue about life and what it means to be independent!”

“And kicking me out solves that!? Just because I don’t have every fucking detail of my boring life planned out like you did doesn’t make me an idiot, Nicole!”

“Real mature, Adeline.” Nicole seethed, her head moments away from popping off her neck. “And yes, you moving out does solve the problem.” Her voice was sickeningly sweet. “You won’t have to worry about my boring life, and I won’t have to worry about the day I tell your parents you’ve dropped out or failed or whatever screw up is in store for you.”

The door slammed shut with a sharp jolt and the pictures swayed once again as Adeline flung herself on the bed. After screaming into her pillow for a solid ten seconds she rolled over with a tear stained face, searching for a distraction with the view from her window.

Snow pelted the glass, wind howling through the bare trees. The sky was as white as the blanket on the ground, the only color being the red brick house that sat on the corner.

She stared past the frosted glass, the falling ice and dead trees, watching the couple that lived in that little corner house step out of their door, bundled in coats and scarves, as they piled up the fallen snow into the beginnings of a snowman.

Jealousy was the basis. The bottom line, foundation, of the shattering despair fueling the tears down her still hot cheeks.

Jealous of the kids in her class who barely made it to class, a Sunday morning hangover still lingering from the weekend parties they'd spent with boyfriends and girlfriends.

Jealous of the brick house couple, who weren't as old as she’d first thought, just a few years past her and Harry that she discovered on an early morning jog back in September—married homeowners with plans of a spring baby—the newlywed had gushed while checking her mail.

Jealous of the ones at graduation who had their whole life planned out, most of them probably busy with internships, wedding plans, and credit scores while she lays here, a sobbing mess.

Jealousy and fear were not a good mix.

***

“You’re going out? But you just got here?”

“You’re going to bed anyways.” Adeline slipped her jacket on and pulled her keys from her purse. “You’ll see me in the morning.”

“I just thought you’d wanna spend all your time at home.”

“I will. It’s just one night.” Adeline pressed a kiss to her mom’s head. “You’ll have me all week.”

“Is this because of what Nicole said?”

“What? Why—”

“Well she called over the weekend and said you were pretty upset. About your major, and that she tried to explain—”

“Nicole is an idiot, okay, just—it doesn’t matter. I’ll be back by eleven.”

Adeline stormed out of her house and managed to get into her car before the tears broke through her will power. She peeled out of her driveway and took off down the street, cursing Nicole’s name at every light.

***

“Where are you?”

“That gas station where you fell that one time and hurt your ankle.”

“Al’s? What’re you doing all the way out there? It’s like an hour away?” Harry scrambled around his room to snatch up his wallet and keys. His phone was tucked between his ear and cheek as he slipped his shoes on.

“I don’t know, Harry,” Adeline groaned, “don’t patronize me right now.”

“M’not, I just wanna know why the hell you’d drive off at night—”

“I didn’t plan on a flat tire! I thought I’d be back home by now!”

“Hey, don’t snap at me! It’s almost midnight and you call me to tell me you’re stranded, I’m worried sick alright!”

Adeline sighed through the phone. “Okay, okay, just, don’t let your mom see you leave. My parents will kill me if they find out.”

“I know the drill. I’ll get there as soon as I can, alright? M’leaving now.”

“Okay. Be careful.”

***

Harry cringed when his car pulled up to Al’s. Gravel rolled under his tires and then under his feet as he sprinted inside the small concrete building, passing Adeline’s car on his way in. His chest was pulled tight until he saw Adeline hunched over with her head in her hands, sat at one of the three wobbly booths in the corner of the store.

“You’re gonna get in trouble you know.”

“I don’t even care.”

Harry slid in the booth across from her, pulling her hand that was busy tugging on the end of her jacket towards him, running his thumb over her knuckles. “Last time you got home late you dragged me under the bus. Are we gonna have a repeat of that? Need to know so I can figure out my excuse for my mum.”

“I’m not in the mood, Harry.”

He breathed out a sigh and inched closer, bowing his head to look her in the eyes. “What’s goin’ on, bug? Why’re you all the way out here?”

Adeline shook her head and twisted her face in disgust. “Fucking Nicole pissed me off. Don’t know why I’m so surprised.”

“What’d she do now?”

“I—she just, ugh! Kicked me out for one thing, then thought it’d be a good idea to practically bash my major.”

“You picked your major?”

Adeline narrowed her eyes at Harry. “And she kicked me out. There’s no way I’ll be able to get a job and an apartment before next semester! What the hell is she thinking, anyway?”

“M’sure if you talked to her you could work something out, maybe chip in on the rent.”

“I don’t know what I’m gonna do,” Adeline groaned. She pulled her hand away from Harry and resumed her earlier position with her face pressed into her hands.

Harry slid out from his seat and squeezed in next to her. His arm was wrapped around her back and he pulled her close to his side, resting his cheek against her head. “It’ll all work out,” he whispered.

“I hope so.”

“You wanna go get what you need out of your car?”

With a shaky nod she was leading Harry back outside. Her car was freezing when she slipped in, grabbing her school bag from the back seat and plopping it down in her lap. To lessen her load she began stuffing her purse inside the bag, a pointless attempt that had her pounding the steering wheel when she finally realized it wouldn’t fit. The passenger door opened a second later.

“Y'alright in there?”

“I just hate my life but other than that, yeah, everything’s great.”

“Hey,” Harry cooed, slipping in and shutting out the cold behind him. “Take a deep breath, okay.” His hand instinctively smoothed over her tense back in small circles. “You don’t have to figure everything out right away. And you’re not gonna be out on the street, darling. You know your parents will let you move back in in a second.”

Adeline’s lip was shaking when she finally looked back up into his eyes, and Harry knew it was only a matter of seconds before tears would be pouring down her face. “It’s—it’s too far to drive.”

“Baby—hey, c’mere.” He leaned over the console and enveloped her the best he could manage in the small, cramped space. His fingers swiped away the tears as they began to fall.

“It’s too long of a commute. And next semester I have an early class.” Her voice wobbled, muffled by Harry’s shoulder where he was cradling her head. “I’d have to fucking leave at like four in the morning.”

Her shoulders shook. Every positive endearment that Harry tried out fell against deaf ears. She countered everything he whispered against her hair with an unapproachable argument.

“Do you know how much that’s gonna cost me in gas? Every day? And my parents will drive me insane!” She squeezed him tighter, releasing all her pent up frustration in a crushing grip. Her voice lost its strength, coming out softly against his neck.  “She was right. And I fucking hate her for it.”

“Who’s right, love?”

“Stupid Nicole. About my stupid major. I don’t know who the hell I think I am, English Lit, I’m a fucking idiot.”

“What?” Harry pulled back, reigning in the smile tugging at his lips. “You’re gonna do it? You’re really gonna write?”

“No, it was stupid—”

“Hey now,” Harry scolded, “absolutely not. Look at me.”

Adeline reluctantly lifted her head, supported by Harry’s gentle hand under her chin.

His voice was soft but stern. “Listen t’me, alright? I think it’s incredible, I’m so proud of you. Who cares what Nicole thinks, okay. As long as you’re happy that’s all that matters.”

She didn’t move for a minute, letting Harry’s words seep into her brain as they fought for dominance with the negative mantras that’d set up camp a week prior. She wiped away a few stray tears and cleared her throat, timidly pulling out a notebook from her bag and flipping towards the front. Her nerves were on fire and a part of her was screaming, begging her to close the notebook and sooth her desperation with more of Harry’s sweet words. She didn’t need his approval. She writes because she loves it. It’s her escape and her imagination’s best friend.

Harry had been nothing short of respectful when it came to the stories she scribbled out in the book. He never pried or snuck a peek; never looked over her shoulder when she was hunched over, pen in hand as she laid down her thoughts and immersed herself into a new character.

The first time he’d seen her pull the book out he was naturally curious. It was a worn, faux leather with a strap that wrapped around twice to secure it in place. When she had opened it a few slips of paper fell to the floor where she snatched them up before he could finish the descent down to retrieve them for her.

“Is that for school?”

“Uh, no, not really.” Adeline sat back into the chair in the corner of Harry’s room, curling her legs close to her chest and angling herself so she had the perfect view of the heavy rain falling outside his window.

Harry had nestled himself on the floor beside her, wrapped up in a thick blanket with To Kill a Mockingbird in his hands. “So is that like your diary? Do you write about me in there?” She glanced down at his cheeky smirk. “Did you write about last Tuesday night?”

His eyebrows danced across his forehead and she wanted to smack them off. She rolled her eyes and bowed her head to hide the bashful look on her face. “No, you dork. It’s just, I don’t know. I like to write I guess.”

“You do?” He perked up, straightening his back and widening his eyes up at her. “Prose?”

She nodded, cheek bitten between her teeth.

“That’s fucking awesome, Addy.”

She blinked a few times but her brain hadn’t fooled her. He had the biggest smile spread across his face and if she wasn’t mistaken, pride in his eyes.

“My baby’s a writer!” he gushed. “Look at you, just when I thought I couldn’t love yeh anymore!”

“Shut up.”

“Will not.” He slid out of the blanket and shuffled over on his knees before standing up and taking her hand in his. He pressed one kiss to her knuckles and then bent over to kiss her forehead. “You’re pretty cool, y’know that?”

She rolled her eyes but darted in for a quick peck on his lips.

“So can I…”

She followed his gaze down to her notebook in her lap and slid it closer to her body. “Um, n-no.” She cleared her throat and peered up at him through her lashes. “It’s not you, I mean, well I don’t let anyone see what I write. It’s just for me.” Her voice had fallen to a somber whisper.

Harry’s face didn’t falter, and if anything his sweet smile grew. “Of course, whatever you want.” He kissed her once more and re-settled himself back into his blanket on the floor.

“You’re okay with that?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? It’s yours, and it’s personal. I don’t own your privacy.”

Adeline ran through the memory while Harry’s hands stroked her face and arms, reminding her to breath and assuring her that she was in fact, going to be okay. “I um, well here.” She handed the notebook to Harry. “Tell me what you think. And be honest.”

Harry looked back and forth between the words etched onto the page and her face. “You sure? You don’t have to y’know? I mean, I know your writing’s private and—”

“I’m sure. If everyone else is gonna read it one day, might as well get used to it.”

Harry let his eyes drift down where he devoured the short story Adeline had poured her heart into. Her notebook weighed thick and heavy in his hands and a part of him felt like he wasn’t actually holding it, like it wasn’t actually her thoughts splayed out on paper and her mind’s handiwork resting in his palms. He was invading, witnessing the words he’d seen her drain onto the pages countless times from across the room where she’d been hunched over with her nose in the book.

He read over it once, then again, and then a third time before he uttered a word. “I, baby, this is...it’s incredible.” He looked up with a slack jaw, shaking his head in disbelief. “I always thought you’d be good...but I wasn’t expecting this.”

“You sure you’re not just saying that? ‘Cause you feel like you have to? Because it won’t bother me if you don’t like it.”

“Not like it? Addy, this is beautiful.”

“I mean it, Harry.”

“So do I. Darling, the way you described everything, and the depth and detail, felt like I was really there.”

Adeline nodded and Harry caught one last tear trailing down her cheek. “Thank you.”

He leaned over and lingered his lips on her warm skin, easing into a soft kiss. “Thank you for sharing. And I think there’s one more person who should see this. If you’re okay with that.”

Adeline pulled back and sighed. “I guess I’ll get my first real review.”

***

“Was that the last one?”

“Umm, yeah.” Adeline took the dinner plate from her mom’s soapy hands. “Did um, did Nicole say when she was leaving?”

“No, why?”

“No reason.”

“Harry sure enjoyed himself,” her mom laughed, tossing the towel she dried her hands with on the counter. “I’ve never seen him eat that much.”

Adeline shrugged and set the plate with the others back into the cabinet. “It’s Thanksgiving, you’re supposed to eat a lot.”

Her mind was elsewhere, and if she’s honest she couldn’t tell you if Harry stole the turkey and devoured the entire thing on his own while everyone else watched in horror. She vaguely remembers him sitting beside her and she’s not even sure if she ate anything at all. The only thing she’s really aware of is the small argument her and Harry had before dinner about Nicole, and then Nicole’s arrival that had the both of them scurrying off to hide out in her room.

What was really eating at her was the ridiculous fear she had towards her cousin. The power this woman who was just a few years older had over Adeline was sickening, and her tactic to plead for a second chance scarred her pride more than she’d like to admit.

“Need anything else?”

“Nope, that’s it, till next year,” her mom clapped, “I think everyone’s in the living room. I’m gonna go change real quick—you should ask grandpa to tell his fishing story for Harry! But wait till I get back!”

Adeline was left alone as her mom scurried off, but not for long when Harry peaked around the corner, a small smile on his face.

“You okay?” He strolled into the kitchen, one hand behind his back and the other reached up to pull her into his side.

“Yeah,” she sighed. “Maybe this is stupid, I think it makes me look like I’m trying to hard, y’know?”

“You are trying hard. That’s the point.” Harry revealed her notebook from behind his back, already flipped to the page with the story they’d chosen together to show Nicole. “Just remember what we talked about.”

Adeline nodded and slipped the notebook into her own hands. “But what if Nicole—”

“What if Nicole...what?”

The couple turned around startled, both glancing back and forth between each other and Nicole. She stood at the doorway with an empty glass in her hand. She took two steps before crossing her arms and challenging them to speak with an irritated look on her face.

“Uh, I was wanting, to um,” Adeline stammered, “I wanted to talk about our arrangement. About me staying with you.”

“We’ve already discussed this—”

“No, you discussed it.”

“It’s my apartment.”

“You offered for me to stay with you, remember? I didn’t ask or just show up! I don’t think it’s fair that you just decide that you’re done and you want me gone, and then to expect me to just stumble across a job and find someplace to live?”

“If you had showed more motivation in your life I’d feel differently. You don’t think ahead, you have no goals. When I started college I—”

“I don’t care what you did! It doesn’t matter what you did! I’m doing what I need to do for myself!”

“Adeline, you’re not thinking about your future. You’re only concerned with the present moment, I mean, you can’t even choose a reasonable major.”

“I—” Adeline sucked in a deep breath and held back the storm of words waiting on her tongue.

Harry had been silent the entire time, standing back and watching the two women work things out...if that’s what he could call it. He didn’t want to step in and micromanage, but when Adeline looked over with tears in her eyes and shrugged her shoulders, signaling her defeat, he spoke up.

“Why don’t you read some of Addy’s writing. Might change your mind.”

“What writing?”

“I’ve been writing for a while now.” Adeline’s voice wobbled.

Nicole hesitantly took the notebook from her cousin’s outstretched arm. Her brows were raised in defiance as she lowered her gaze from Adeline’s desperate glare to the page with a heartbreaking story about love and loss scribbled out in red ink.

Releasing her book to Nicole wasn’t relieving like she’d hoped for it to be. Adeline pushed the thought of snatching it out of her hand and running out of the room away. This was a mistake, she thought. There was no way any good could come out of this. Nicole would just humiliate her once again, point out her flaws and reiterate her desire to get her out of her apartment.She was terrified, equipped with a racing heart and sweaty palms, already accepting her defeat.

Harry counted the pages as they turned, and held his breath once he knew she was on the last one. Nicole’s face had relaxed, and once she finally looked up, he saw a softness in her eyes that hadn’t been there before.

“You wrote this?”

Adeline nodded.

Nicole started to flip the page but stopped and cleared her throat. “Can I read more?”

Harry and Adeline exchanges glances before she slipped the notebook from Nicole’s grasp and flipped the pages to the middle of the book. “You can read this one.”

[cherryyharryy]

Chapter 2: Manubruim  

 'Lover's Spit' left on repeat

Part One

“What did dad get you for Valentine’s Day? Your first Valentine’s Day together?”

Adeline’s mom looked up from her computer. Her eyes slowly rose as her face twisted in concentration, willing the memory to appear before her. “Um...oh that’s right! He got me a teddy bear!”

“Well what about him? What’d you get him?”

“Oh I didn’t get him anything, dear.” With a wave of her hand her focus was back on the screen.

“What? Why not?” Adeline slumped down in the armchair in the corner of her mom’s office. “That seems a little rude.”

“Well we’d had a fight. And I was still mad. There was no way I was going to buy him something after he’d pissed me off.”

Adeline chuckled through a breath. “Okay then. You’re no help.”

“Help?”

“Yeah, for Harry.”

Her mom hummed, drumming her nails along the edge of her desk. “Candy?”

“Candy? As a gift?”

“Well yeah, what’s wrong with that?”

Adeline rolled her eyes, slinging her legs over the arm of the chair and huffing out a response. “No candy.”

“Wait…” Her mom pushed back against her desk and wheeled her chair towards the bookcase behind her. She scanned over a shelf before sliding out a large decorative book.

Dust flew out in a small cloud when it was dropped on the desk. It was a mix of dark grays and browns, a metallic finish coating the intricate swirls. Adeline scrambled up from the chair with a grimace on her face, curling her lip at the old book.

“A gross book?”

“No, not exactly.” Her mom opened the cover and tipped the book over, a mess of random items spilling out leaving the hollowed-out center bare.

“What’s all this?”

“Things your dad gave me over the years. Some were for holidays and birthdays. Others were just little gifts for fun. And then I saved little things, like mementos I guess.”

Adeline sifted through what she could only call junk. Wine corks and a single playing card, a Panama City key chain and little elephant figurine. There was the typical, some pressed flowers and handwritten notes, an aged birthday card and a plethora of fortune cookie papers.

“What’s in that envelope?”

“Oh that’s the letter your father wrote me after our first fight.”

“The Valentine’s Day fight?”

“No, no, this was much later. A real fight.” Her mom slipped a folded paper from the envelope, a smile working its way onto her face as she read over it. “I was really scared. I knew I loved him, then we had this big blow up about college. I got a great scholarship but it was out of state. We’d never see each other if I went.”

“But you went to school here.” Adeline nodded to the diploma on the wall.

“Mhm I did. I regret it, but I did.”

“Wait, regret it? But you guys ended up together.”

Her mom shrugged her shoulders, folding the letter back up and tucking it back into the envelope. “It was still a great opportunity I gave up. For a boy.”

“But you loved him. Isn’t love like, the ultimate goal in life?”

“Happiness is, dear.”

“So, you’re not happy?”

“Oh no! I’m extremely happy. I’m in love with my life and my husband.” Her hand gently lifted her daughter’s chin up. “And my daughters.”

“Well then how can you have regrets?”

“Life’s complicated. You’ll understand more when your older.”

They continued picking through the pile of sentiments, Adeline asking for the stories behind a few.  

“A necklace, this is...hideous, mom.”

Her mother laughed and took the beaded necklace from Adeline’s hand. “We went to an arcade, and bless his heart did he try to win me something. He ran out of money, and spent his last quarter on one of those gumball machines that has little toys inside.”

“Oh. Well I guess it’s sweet then. Not ugly.”

“No, not ugly,” her mom sighed, eyeing the cheap jewelry like it was made of gold and diamonds.

“Well I need some ideas.” Adeline curled back up into the cushioned chair, bringing her knees up to her chest and resting her head atop. “We’ve been together just a little over a month. And I know he’s getting me something because his friend Logan said he was.”

“You could make him something?”

“Like what?”

“Write him something!” her mother gushed. “You do so well for the school newspaper. And that poem you wrote for me last year was amazing, I’m sure he’d love something like that.”

Adeline scrunched her face up, rocking her head back and forth in thought. “I think I’ll hold off on that. I’ve never written for a boy before anyway.”

“Okay, well you can make him a sweater. I can show you how—”

“No.”

“Buy him a sweater?”

“No. He has a hundred sweaters. I don’t wanna get him clothes anyway.”

Her mom hummed as she filled the box back up and slipped it back onto the shelf. “What about...take him out to dinner?”

“Too formal.”

“Lunch?”

“We go out for lunch all the time.”

“You’re hard to please, sunshine.”

Adeline groaned and dragged herself up from the chair. “M’just gonna go ask dad.”

***

Flowers. Harry loved flowers. He’d spent plenty of time since they’ve met complaining about the weather, about how dead everything looked and how there was no color outside. He made promises of showing Adeline the beautiful garden his mom planted each year, full of daisies and tulips, and his favorite—sunflowers.

His head nearly popped off when he found the sundress tucked into her closet one day, a pastel blue with tiny sunflowers decorating the fabric.

And then there was their first kiss, where he’d tucked her hair behind her ear and after a while gained the courage to whisper sweet nothings in her ear, including the promise to take her to a field out in the country where he’d make her a crown of the bright yellow flower.

And so she really can’t show up to their date without flowers.

“Would you like to write a note? Or we can have it printed for you?”

“Yes that’d be great, my handwriting is atrocious.”

The man behind the counter finished wrapping up her bouquet, complete with a silky black ribbon to hold the stems together and glittery paper that looked like the night sky. “Okay, let me go get a pad an pen and we can work on your message.”

The bell of the door chimed a moment later, a young girl came bouncing in with her mother close behind. They went straight for the roses, the girl’s small hands yanking out the brightest reds and shoving them up towards her mother.

“Okay, miss—oh! Mrs. Porter! Nice to see you and Shelby again, always a pleasure!”

The little girl—Shelby—hopped up to the counter with a big smile on her face, front tooth missing as she squealed in excitement. “I’m getting flowers for daddy!”

“You are?” The florist exclaimed. “That’s very sweet of you!” He pulled a page over on his notepad and nodded to Adeline. “Let me get this young lady’s order taken care of and I’ll be right with you, Shelby.”

***

“I must say, wasn’t expecting this. You’re quite the romantic, Addy.”

She certainly didn’t feel like a romantic, and standing in the middle of a room with flashing lights and buzzing sounds, beeps and rings, and the occasional heavy roll of a skeeball followed by a procession of high-pitched nasally chimes didn’t exactly scream romance.

“We can leave,” she pleaded, swallowing down the lump in her throat, already tugging on his sweater to retreat back out the door. “I—I’m sorry. This was stupid, I’m not good at this—”

“Hey, who said anything about this being stupid? I love this, darling. Really, haven’t been to an arcade since I was a kid.”

She nodded, holding back the smile that was sparked at the pet name. He’d been using them more freely and each time her stomach flipped and her brain fogged over. “Okay.”

They tried their hand at every game in the arcade, both of them shaking off the nervous jitters and letting their shyness slip away. They’d managed to accumulate enough tickets for a small stuffed bear which was awarded to Adeline in a most Harry fashion—he made her damn near beg.

Their faces were stuffed with hotdogs and candy, and one too many smoothies plus the giant pretzel they had shared. And despite all the sugar and salt weighing them down, Harry’s dancing wasn’t affected; bopping along to every song that hung in the air above them.

“Damn.” Harry popped two more quarters into the machine and swiped his hair off his forehead.

“Try for that turtle.”

“I want the bear.”

“We already have a bear.” Adeline’s face was pressed against the glass, eyeing the metal claw as Harry maneuvered it over the pile of stuffed animals.

“Exactly. He needs a friend.”

“But look at the turtle’s head! You can get a good grip on that!”

“No! I can get the bear’s arm!”

“Harry!”

Both of them were jumping and Adeline was banging on the plexiglass as the claw descended into the mix of toys, shouting a bit too enthusiastically for two people in public.

“Come on you stupid bear!” Harry’s hands were tugging on either side of his head, eyes blown out with the worried look of a stressed out dad meeting Adeline’s through the glass.

“Nooo!” They groaned in unison, watching as the claw rose back to the top without a prize in its grasp.

Harry slapped the buttons and pulled his wallet out, grumbling about being taken advantage of.

“Oh no, you’ve spent eight dollars on this.” Adeline grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the game and towards the door.

“I wanted a bear,” he pouted.

She sighed, rolling her eyes at the man before her who’s bottom lip was jutted out and arms were lazily crossed over his chest, in a proper disgruntled pout over a stuffed animal.

“Come on, think I may have something that’ll smooth out these lines.” She reached up and ran her thumb between his brows. “Let’s get outta here.”

***

“Addy…” Harry looked up from the box in his lap, mouth wavering around silent words.

A soft snow was drifting outside her car. The heater was on high and the radio was softly playing as they sat facing each other in his driveway. Her hands trembled when she’d pulled the gift from the glove box, avoiding his eyes when he toyed with the gold ribbon.

“You planned this, didn’t you?” He spoke through a smile, holding up the black stuffed bear.

“Your mom said your dog destroyed the one from when you were a kid.”

“I love it, petal. S’a perfect Valentine’s Day.” He leaned over the console and pecked her nose, humming, and going back in for a full kiss on her mouth.

“Wait,” she spoke softly into his mouth, knocking their teeth together when they parted.

Adeline leaned towards the back seat and pulled the bouquet of bright flowers from the floor. Harry chucked, his face a bright red when she placed them in his arms.

“Addy it’s too much,” he giggled. “How’d you know these are m’favorite?”

“What d’you mean how’d I know? You only bring them up in every conversation!”

“Do not!” He grumbled.

“Whatever. Do you like them?”

“I love them.” He stuck his nose against one and sniffed dramatically, sighing with a dopey smile on his face. “Oh, and a little card.”

Adeline’s heart twisted and sunk to hide behind her stomach. Regret of the intimate words she’d bashfully relayed to the florist earlier that day mocked her frenzied mind.

Her hand anxiously ran over the back of her neck. “It’s just, I mean...just words, y’know?” She stumbled.

“I’ll say.”

The smirk carved onto his face and the gleam in his eye only sped up the nervous tyrant going on inside her.

“You tryin’ to tell me something, love? Not as innocent as I thought,”  he teased.

“What?”

He cleared his throat and brought the small card up to read. “For my favorite daddy, happy Valentine’s Day.”

“Oh my God! No! That’s not—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa now, s’alright, sweetheart. We’ve all got our thing.” His smile was as wide as it could possibly be. “Just didn’t expect to be findin’ out so soon.”

“No! Harry!” She couldn’t get the words out quick enough, no longer able to sit still as her whole body fidgeted in her seat, her hands darting back and forth between the card and her own face. “That’s not mine! There must’ve been a mix up!”

“Now Addy, d’really think I’d judge you? No need to lie, darling.”

“No! I mean it! I—I had this sweet little message and then Shelby came in! And—and—well it’s the florist's fault! I’m complaining first thing tomorrow!”

Harry was beside himself, a laughing fit stifling the words he tried to get out.

“Addy, baby—no darling don’t cry,” he cooed, setting the flowers on the dash and inching closer to her, holding her face in his hands as his thumbs went to work swiping the tears off her cheeks. “I believe you.”

“That’s just—it’s not what I wrote.”

“I know, I know,” he chuckled. “Was just messin’ with yeh. Why don’t you tell me what you wrote?”

She sniffled, nodding in his grasp. She ran her tongue over her lips before flickering her gaze up to his.

“I don’t remember exactly, it was just something about how happy I am with you,” she whispered, voice barely louder than the song filtering through the car, “and how even though we haven’t been together for very long, everything just feels right with you. Like, better than anyone else I’ve been with.”

A new, softer smile tugged at his lips, her face soon mirroring his once he spilled kisses all over her face.

“Harry!” She giggled.

“I’m so happy with you too.”

The snow picked up as they continued to shower each other with soft caresses, gentle humming from both of them when they finally pulled apart.

“I’ve gotta go before my mom comes out here,” Harry sighed.

“Yeah, m’sure my parents are watching the clock right now.”

“I’ll see yeh tomorrow, yeah?”

She nodded, pecking his lips once more before he shuffled out of her car with his gifts in tow. Before he shut the door he leaned down to face her, releasing his lip from his teeth.

“I didn’t forget you, may have spoken to your mom too.”

With a wink from his gleaming eye he was shutting the door and shuffling through the few inches of snow towards his house.

Adeline’s heart was back to top speed as she drove back home, his words bouncing around her mind as her heart filled up with a childlike giddiness. She sung along with the radio, a smile on her face once she pulled into her neighborhood.

“All these people drinking lover's spit They sit around and clean their face with it.”

Her coat was shrugged off as soon as she stepped through her front door. All the lights were off, and her parents were surprisingly in bed already. She flew up the stairs to her room, debating on waking her mom up to find out what Harry’s promise had meant, but once she flicked her bedroom light on the questions fizzled from her mind.

Sat on her bed was a bright pink teddy bear, it’s paws holding a little red heart. She picked it up, and with no shame, cuddled the soft animal against her chest. When her eyes opened they landed on the folded paper that was hidden under the bear.

Adeline,

I’m so grateful to have you in my life. Just thinking about you brings a smile to my face and I couldn’t be more thrilled to call you my girlfriend. You’re just the sweetest, cutest thing, and I want you to know how much I care for you. Happy Valentine’s Day, my love.

XOXO Harry

[cherryyharryy]

Chapter 5: Clavicular Notch   

 This dream isn't feeling sweet

A shattered gasp shot through her lips as her head flew off the pillow. Harry’s shirt was glued to her drenched body and her pillow held more than her imprint. Adeline clenched the comforter through the exhausted and weakening paralysis coursing in her bones, focusing on what little energy and strength she could conjure up to throw the heavy weight off her body.

She counted back from ten before finally opening her eyes, willing her lungs to find a calmer rhythm. It took her brain a few moments to register that she was awake, her legs now dangling off the edge of the bed, allowing her feet to get used to the shock of cold from the hardwood.

After a few minutes of stirring in silence she shuffled out of her room in need of a glass of water, eyes nearly closed and her tongue struggling to swallow in dryness.

The apartment was dark, and she didn’t have the stamina to fiddle around for the light switch when she stumbled into the kitchen. The sink seemed miles away as she drug her feet across the tile, yanking a mug off the rack on the counter and filling it to the top with cold water.

She adjusted her shirt so it covered her thighs before sliding onto the barstool at the island, sparing her already tormented body from the bite of the cold leather. She only had three big gulps past her lips when her body flinched at a sudden burst of light.

“What are you doing up?”

An ankle-length-nightgown-clad Nicole strolled towards the stove where she started a pot of tea. She flipped the box of small packets open and picked out a few before deciding on one, which only sent memories of Harry tumbling through Adeline’s head.

Harry and his middle of the night tea that served to further his consciousness rather than its intended purpose of soothing his wired body and rambunctious mind, which led to flirty texts buzzing through her phone and a whispered phone call until one of them fell asleep.

But Nicole was no Harry and now they had a bit of a different routine.

Despite having been asleep for hours, every hair on Nicole’s head was in place and her nightgown was wrinkle-free. There were no makeup smudges under her eyes nor any evidence of a panic attack wreaking havoc on her as she slept. Her kettle steamed right away, drawing her questioning eyes from where they’d been resting on her younger cousin.

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“These walls are thin you know,” Nicole eyed her knowingly, “I can hear you gasping and mumbling to yourself.”

“I’m just a little stressed.”

“Are you having nightmares? Are you—why are you using a mug for water?”

Adeline looked down at her drink and sighed. “No nightmares, just stress. I think I let it build up and then at night it all hits, and then I just...lose it. I don’t know.”

Nicole took a seat beside her cousin, her tea in perfectly manicured hands. “What are you so stressed about?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? How could you not know?”

Adeline shrugged. “Life I guess. That’s what I worry about.”

“What could you possibly be stressed about?” Nicole asked accusingly, waving her spoon in the air. “You’re 18, living in a rent-free apartment, away from your parents. You’re at a great school, no job, no major responsibilities. Your skin is blemish free...what’s the problem?”

Nicole’s criticism only furthered Adeline’s need to shut down. The clinking of her spoon stirring her tea grew louder, mixing in with the whirlpool of reasons she should be happy flinging around her mind.

“I know, I know. I’m very blessed. I don’t know what it is, just got a case of the blues.”

Nicole’s eyes narrowed in on her. “Alright then, whatever you say.” She brought her cup to the sink, mumbling about all the chores she had to do the next day before cleaning up her mess and bidding Adeline a weak goodnight.

Adeline downed the rest of her water and slid off the stool, holding back a round of tears as she she rounded the island, leaving her mug on the counter for Nicole to fuss about in the morning.

***

Half an hour later and Adeline was still tossing in bed, so she resorted to the only thing that could quiet her mind.

“Hello, darling.”

“Harry…”

“Bad night, love? You alright?”

“Just tell me about your day.”

And so their routine began; her calling in the middle of the night to rely on Harry’s voice for comfort. The time they spent together took a major hit when fall semester began. His college acceptance letter to Chadron had been bittersweet, knowing what it meant for their relationship.

“I had quite a productive day. Woke around noon to go stand in line at this new record store that was opening. I was eighth in line, Addy.”

“So? What does that mean?”

“That, my dear, means that you are talking to the proud owner of two free vinyls.”

Adeline settled back into her pillows, her body finally able to relax at the thought of the smug grin that was surely adorning his face, lying in his small bed, shirtless with the covers kicked down to his feet because he always got too hot, fan on high with that morning’s coffee still sat on the nightstand.

“Congratulations, glad to hear you skipped class yet again for a worthy cause.”

“You’ll eat those words when you’re listenin’ to this delicacy the next time we see each other.”

“Neither of us even owns a record player.”

“M’working on it, babe, don’t worry about it.”

“Anyway,” Adeline hummed, “what are your plans for tomorrow?”

“Guess I’ll go to class considering I haven’t gone all week.”

“All week! Harry you can’t do that! This isn’t high school. They aren’t going to cater to you. If you miss assignments, that’s it, no more turning things in whenever you want.”

“Thank you, mum.”

“M’serious, Harry. We can’t slide by anymore. Last week this girl showed up ten minutes late to class and my professor told her to leave. He said if she was going to be late, then she shouldn’t even bother showing up. We have to be more responsible now.”

“I know, but s’just not any fun. Guess that's what happens as yeh get older, the fun dies a little each day."

"I think that's a little dramatic. We can still have fun, we just have to put school first."

"For someone so smart that was a load of shit, Addy. If I were to die next week, my life flashing before m'eyes, what do you think I'd wanna see?"

"I know," she let out a sigh, "I get that, I do, I just don't wanna mess this up. This is the rest of our lives we're talking about."

"True, but you can't have all work and no play either," he reasoned. "See, this is why we should've gone to the same school. We balance each other out. You could yell at me to do my homework, and I could drag your bloodshot eyes away from your laptop to some stupid party."

Spending her college years with Harry would be a dream. She missed him more and more as the days went by. The picture he painted made her skin tingle and her brain dance, wanting nothing more than to live out the innocent fantasy.

"And then what?"

"We'd be there for an hour before leavin' out of boredom, tired of watching people drink themselves into a coma and mixing drugs in the bathroom. Then we'd go get ice cream, or go skinny dipping."

"How are those my only choices?" She laughed.

"Sorry, I meant, go get ice cream, and go skinny dipping. Forgive me love, m'quite knackered."

"You're ridiculous. What about in the winter when it's cold?"

“In the winter we would...go back to my apartment, cause you're roommate is really weird. Like, really weird. And pile up every blanket we own onto the bed and just hug 'till we fall asleep."

"You mean cuddle."

"You know I don't like that word, Adeline."

Laughter erupted from her mouth at his sudden serious tone. It had been late at night, not long after they first got together, that he informed her of just how much he hated the word. It was on a list that included overdone brownies, people who let newspapers pile up at the end of their driveway, and seeing babies in frigid grocery stores without socks on their feet.

"I couldn't help myself. I—ugh, Nicole is shouting at me to be quiet. I should probably go." her eyes flickered to her clock. "It's getting late anyway, almost three."

"Yeah, I have an early class tomorrow, he sighed.

"Thought your Thursday class didn't start 'till eleven?"

"It does, that's early."

"Whatever, Harry."

"Hey,” he cooed, “I know you've been really stressed out lately, yeh need to step back sometimes to relax."

"I know, I've just been overthinking about my life at the moment."

"You're living the dream, babe."

"I know, s'just not what I was expecting.

"And what was that?" He asked.

"I—I don't know. Just doesn’t feel the way I think I should feel. I don't even know if that makes any sense."

"It does, I understand."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I miss you too, angel. More than you know."

***

And then her professor, a dignified man with three degrees and a never ending collection of sweater vests, who erased everything he wrote on the board about two seconds after he wrote it, who's advice for her when she came to him for tutoring was to 'look at her notes', was anything but helpful.

The classroom was on the exact opposite side of campus from her class right before, and you'd think fifteen minutes would be more than enough time to get there, but a few weeks in and she can only manage to arrive after the door had been locked and she’s left to interrupting the lecture with her knocking.

On top of that, the room was freezing. The guy that usually sat next to her asked for a pencil every. single. day. And last week she sat in gum.

So needless to say, she dreaded Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Despite the weekly impending doom, today she had high hopes. They were getting their first test back, and she was in need of some good fortune. Nicole had been a grouch that morning, complaining about how she interrupts her morning routine, which led to an argument which led to her storming out without even having the chance to brush her teeth.

So an 'A' on a test, which she knew she was getting—she had studied for hours—was just what she needed to turn her day around.

***

Dr. Wallace loved to torture apparently, making them wait the entire hour and fifteen minutes of which she couldn't harness any concentration, until he passed back their exams. Adeline’s heart was a pounding frenzy and her bones were tingling.

When the seventy-five question test was finally laid down before her, her brain froze in mindless thought and the anxiety filling her up moments ago switched gears. She looked up to her professor, who was already five rows past her’s, and back down at what must be a mistake.

Had to be a mistake.

Please, God, let it be a mistake.

***

"Well maybe next time you'll try a little harder. Set some time aside and study, you can't have your boyfriend the focus of your life anymore, school needs to be your priority, Adeline."

She just sat there, dumbfounded with her mouth gaping around silent protests. Her dad flipped through the pages of her test, shaking his head every so often. At one point he pointed out one of her wrong answers, with the audacity to ask her why she got it incorrect. And he did not care for her response of 'I didn't know the answer'. Before she even had a chance to put a sentence together, he continued on with his rant.

"College is different, honey. Your professors aren't goin' to babysit you anymore."

"I know dad, I know." her head dropped into her hands. She huffed out a shaky breath and met his gaze once again. "I guess next time I'll start preparing three weeks ahead of a test."

"Now that's what I'm talking about." He slid from his seat at the table, nodding with each word as he picked up both of their plates. "More cake?"

She shook her head. "M'just gonna head back."

"What? I thought you were spending the weekend? That's a long drive."

"Yep. So the sooner I leave, the faster I get back." She slung her bag over her shoulder and rounded the island to kiss her dad's cheek. "I'll see you guys at Thanksgiving."

***

Strike two. The understanding of trying your hardest was not a part of the genetic makeup on her dad's side of the family.

"Adeline, I don't know what you want me to say? This is a terrible grade. You got what you deserve. You get out what you put into things. Try harder next time."

With that boost of encouragement Nicole tossed her now crumpled test on the counter and went back to scrubbing the bare fridge, mumbling about how Adeline arranged all of its contents wrong and how she has to do everything.

"You're not listening. I did try. Really hard—"

"If you tried hard you would have the grade to show for it."

She snatched her test and spun on her heel. "Whatever, Nicole. M'goin' to bed."

***

Surely this was a joke. Bombing this test was bad enough, but everyone’s negative input was just another muddy stomp across her heart.

“You can’t be mad, Addy, not at me or anyone else.” Gina, Adeline’s friend from high school whom she sat with in her Sociology class, attempted to smooth out her test on the edge of her desk. “You’ll do better on the next one.”

“But Gina, you can understand why I’m frustrated. I mean, look at the second question—it’s ridiculous! How can he expect anyone to get that right? And—”

“Blaming the professor will get you nowhere.”

She sighed and took her somewhat smoother test from her hands and stuffed it into her book bag, trying not to let any more tears slip all because of one stupid exam.

“You’re my friend, aren’t you supposed to complain alongside me, y’know, and tell me as long as I try my best it’s good enough?”

Gina brought her coffee down from her mouth and narrowed her eyes. “M’not your mom at your dance recital. You’re in college now. The bar for doing your best has raised, so you’d better catch up.”

***

"It's one test, love. You'll do better on the next one."

"You don't understand, Harry." She kicked her door shut and flopped down on her bed, keeping her phone pressed to her ear. "I spent hours over the course of days studying. Took pages of notes, did the practice questions, I even went to a study group with some people from my class! All for nothing but a lousy fuckin' 42."

"M'sorry Addy, know how you feel," he sighed. "But I also know how smart you are, how yeh never give up. You'll come out of this class with an A, I know it. Remember that biology teacher you had? She was a piece of work and you made it outta her class alive. I'm rooting for you, darling."

She relaxed into the pillow, letting herself believe his encouragements. It wouldn't last, she’ll worry and panic the rest of the semester, but for now she’ll pretend he's right.

"Thank you, Harry."

"F'course. S'what I'm here for. So other than everyone you know not taking your side—”

“Don’t mock me!”

“S’your own words,love.”

“I was really upset!”

“I know, I know. But you’re not now?”

“Until my next test.”

He sighed on the other end, and now more than ever did she wish she could see him, feel him. His voice alone was losing its convincibility that Harry was actually physically on the other side of the call.  

“Take a deep breath, baby. Your whole college career isn’t dependent on this one class. Everyone has a test or two that they’re going to bomb. All you can do is learn from it. Maybe find someone who’s already taken this professor, see how they survived.”

“Yeah, there’s this guy in my history class who took it last semester. Guess I could pick his brain.”

“There you go. You’re going to be fine. And if all else fails, I’ll support you for the rest of your life.”

She rolled her eyes, fighting back a smile. “Shut up.”

“So...any luck with picking a major?”

“I was hoping you wouldn’t ask,” she sighed.

“How many times do I have to tell you—”

“I know, I know. Literature. But—”

“It’s your calling. Your mom said you’re an incredible writer.”

Adeline rolled her eyes. “She’s my mom, she has to say that.”

“I’d say it too if I was allowed to see any of your work.”

Adeline bit the inside of her cheek, thankful that Harry couldn’t see her at the moment. She’d done an excellent job of keeping her writing to herself, only choosing to share a poem or short story here or there with her family, but the thought of Harry reading anything she’s put down on paper filled her with more fear than she’d like to handle.

“I’ll think about it,” she mumbled softly. “My major I mean. I’ll think about literature.”

“Good. And—ah my neighbor’s here. I blew him off last week, can’t do it again.”

“Have fun. Don’t do anything stupid.”

“I won’t if you’ll stop stressin’ over this class for now.”

“I’ll try.”

“Good,” Harry sighed. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Sweet dreams, love.”

[cherryyharryy]

Chapter 6:   Sternal Angel-fibrocartilage

 We're reeling through the midnight streets

“Adeline, you have a visitor!”

A visitor?

Adeline’s notebook was tossed aside, along with the endless pile of assignments with upcoming due dates, to the other side of her bed. She swapped her pajamas for a university hoodie and jeans, and swiped her thumb under her eyes to rid of that morning’s makeup and did a once over in the mirror. Before she left her room she snatched the sociology book she’d borrowed from Morgan off her dresser, planning out her apology for not returning it three weeks ago like she’d promised.

“I was beginning to wonder if Adeline really had a boyfriend…”

Adeline sped up at hearing Nicole’s motherly tone from down the hall. She didn’t have to see her to know the wheels in her head were working overtime; concocting some plan to pawn her off on Morgan. She can sense her cushy lifestyle slipping away each time she calls Nicole because she forgot her key or complained about the vegetable stir fry they had for dinner every week. Nicole’s lips were growing tighter and the pulse in her neck was visible by the late afternoons. And the hints she’d been dropping for Adeline to look for her own place were no longer subtle.

“Morgan I—” Adeline froze, all her senses shorting out then sparking back to life. He was there, in the flesh, all five foot eleven inches of lanky limbs and regretful teenage tattoos, perched on Nicole’s white linen couch.

“Addy,” Harry smiled, jumping up to engulf her in a bear hug.

“We’re never goin’ three months again, you hear me,” she mumbled into his chest. Tears were sprouting behind her eyes, slipping down her cheeks as he spoke against her hair,

“Loud and clear, babe.”

Nicole’s not so subtle cough broke their moment. One last squeeze and Adeline grabbed his hand, hauling him towards her room at the end of the hall.

“Was worried yeh wouldn’t want me here.” He plopped down on the foot of her bed, patting the space next to him and sliding her school work towards the pillows.

“Of course I want you here. I always want you here. Think I mention it at least three times a phone call.”

His smile was all the proof she needed to know her words put him at ease. The last thing she wanted to do was worry him, especially when they’re so far away from each other.

“Come ‘ere.”

She didn’t have to be told twice, kicking her door shut and flying over to land on his lap.

The hug turned into a kiss, which turned into harry testing to see how long she could go without breathing properly. Dopey smiles and hazy eyes stared back at each other as they inched their way up her bed, and what wasn’t a long enough half-hour passed before rhythmic knocking doused the fire they had started.

“If I don’t answer she’ll just keep knocking.” Adelien pried herself away from Harry’s warmth.

“She’s been a joy so far.” His eyes rolled back while his hands smoothed out the mess that’d been made of his hair.

When the door opened, Nicole had disgust etched over every corner and feature of her face. “I didn’t think I would have to say this, but please control yourselves in my apartment. If you want to behave like animals then you should find your own place.”

Nicole’s arms were crossed over her chest with her shirt gripped in each fist. Her head looked as if would burst if they pushed just the right buttons, but a voice in the back of Adeline’s head reminded her of the rent she didn’t have to pay and the dorm she didn’t have to share.

“We didn’t do anything, Nicole. Don’t call us animals, we deserve more respect than that.” Adeline pulled her best innocent face and sickenly sweet voice. “You know me better than that anyway.”

A flash of guilt crossed Nicole’s face, vanishing as quick as it came to uphold her dignity. “I’m sorry. You two have just been in there a while.”

“Not long enough.”

“Harry!” Adeline slapped his arm before he got away, sliding past the two women with a quirked grin.

“Well if you two could spare a minute,” Nicole straightened her posture and tucked her hair behind her ears, clasping her hands together and raising her chin, needing to recapture the position of authority between the three of them, “I made lunch.”

***

Sandwiches were piled high on a platter in the middle of the kitchen table. Adeline’s mouth watered and Harry’s pace sped up at the sight of the food.

“Nicole you didn’t have to make this much. Is someone coming over, there’s gotta be over ten sandwiches here?”

“Fifteen.” The three of them slid into the cushioned chairs, Nicole across from Adeline and Harry. “Well I didn’t know how many your boyfriend would want, or what kind. I didn’t even know he would be dropping by.” She adjusted the placemat in front of her, avoiding eye contact with either of them. She unfolded her napkin and smoothed it across her lap before she delicately placed a sandwich on her plate.

Adeline bit her tongue and smiled the best she could manage. “Well, I guess we won’t have to make lunch tomorrow. Or the day after.”

“They won’t last. I’ll have to throw them away. Shame.” Nicole shook her head and pulled her eyebrows up, eyes boring into her cousin’s.

Harry cleared his throat. “I apologize for coming over without a warning...I wanted to surprise Addy.”

“Well next time please call Adeline first. I’m very busy and don’t have much time as it is to entertain a guest.”

The topic was dropped after that. They ate in silence and cleaned up in silence, all until Harry’s voice rang through the air, asking Nicole to wrap up the leftover sandwiches, insisting he’d eat them on his drive back to school so they wouldn’t be a waste.

***

Hours later, once the sun had disappeared, Adeline had all of her school work caught up on. The project her and Morgan had been tirelessly working on had consumed most of her time, leaving little to work on her other classes.

Harry was sprawled out on the wooden rocking chair by the bay window. He’d fallen asleep not five minutes after they had settled in her room, keeping his promise to not bother her so she could get her assignments finished.

She laid back on her bed, stretching her stiff legs out and reaching her arms up against the headboard, head lolling back, eyes squeezing shut as her muscles tightened and relaxed.

And if she’d been paying attention she would’ve seen her binder laying at the corner of her bed. And then she wouldn’t have knocked it off the edge, its papers fluttering about as the notebook clambered against the hardwood.

But then Harry wouldn’t have jumped up from the noise, and he wouldn’t have looked at her with lazy eyes before giving her a lopsided grin, crawling onto the bed to nuzzle his face in the crook of her neck.

“You all mine now?” he whispered.

She breathed out a soft yeah, pulling him closer.

He relaxed against her, but only for a minute before his head popped up from her neck. “M’bored,” he whined. His hot breath sent chills down her spine, but he quickly warmed her up, rubbing his massive hands over her arms and down her sides. “Are yeh allowed to go out?”

“Very funny. I can do whatever I want, Harry.”

“Right,” he snickered, “s’long as you’re back by curfew.”

“Shut up.” His laugh sent vibrations deep in her chest and the little bites and kisses to her shoulder weren’t helping the for loomed situation either. “Harry, stop.”

“Is that what you really want?”

“Yes, if Nicole even thinks there’s something going on in here I’ll be out on the street.”

Harry rose up to rest his weight on his elbow, looking down at her with sparkling eyes. “She’s not the boss of you. She has more rules and regulations than your own parents did. Why don’t you just leave?”

“She just...loves me. She’s always been this way. Being overprotective isn’t the worst quality, and living free while in college would be stupid to give up.”

He groaned into her shoulder, popping back up with a red face. “Let’s go do something.”

“Like what?”

"I don't know." He turned to face her, the green eyes she’d longed to see were as beautiful as ever, bright and clear from his rest. Light stubble decorated his perfect complexion. It wasn't fair, he looked like he'd stepped off a runway, wearing the usual patterned button down and tight black denim, hair a rightful disaster. "It’s your town, show me around."

"There's not much t'show."

"Come on, let's go." He came around to her side and pulled her up by the arm. She felt like a rag doll; exhausted and her brain was fried from staring at her laptop for hours. She huffed out a groan but complied anyway, getting up to choose something to wear. “Let’s go paint this town red.”

***

“That was...interesting,” Harry mused.

“Told you there’s not much to do!”

After a midnight snack at a run-down burger joint, getting kicked out of Target for an impromptu speed race on skateboards around the store, they ended up at a two am poetry reading at a café near campus where they concluded they were the only ones still awake without a buzz of something fueling their night.

Adeline slung her purse over her shoulder, freeing up her hand to link with Harry’s. “Interesting is an understatement. And a lie.”

“Was tryin’ to be nice.”

There was a bite to the air that had them picking up speed as they hurried down the sidewalk. The next move for their evening plans was a little less glamorous—piling up on junk food for a movie they’ve seen a hundred times.

The bell chimed as they stepped through the door of a 7-11, Adeline making a beeline for the freezer with the taste of Oreo ice cream already on her tongue.

“Adeline?”

She jumped against the glass door and spun around to see Morgan with an armful of chips and a smile on his face.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” he chuckled.

“H—hey, what are you up to?”

“Ah, beer run. Johnny’s makin’ sure we don’t run out again.” Morgan nodded towards the other side of the store where a head of familiar blond hair passed over the aisle.

“Sounds like you’ve got quite a night ahead.”

“You can join us if you’d like. It’s just the two of us, plus cameron. We’ll behave for—”

“Addy I got the biggest bag of skittles I’ve ever seen.” Harry came around the corner, waving a giant red bag in the air.

Adeline reached for his free hand once he was beside her and cleared her throat. “Harry, this is Morgan, from my sociology class.” She avoided his gaze, swallowing thickly as she turned to Morgan. “Harry’s my boyfriend.”

“Oh, I didn’t know Ads was seeing anyone. Do you go to Peru too?” Morgan stuck his arm out the best he could while holding the chips to offer a handshake.

Harry ignored the gesture, his focus aimed at the girl beside him, a white hot glare boring into her with an inferno flickering behind his blown eyes. “I don’t,” he hissed. He dropped her hand and shoved the skittles into her arms, storming off with the chime of the bell ringing seconds later.

“I’m sorry, I better go.”

“Yeah, he didn’t seem too thrilled to see me.” A nervous laugh echoed Morgan’s words. “I’ll see you Monday.”

She waved to Morgan as she took long strides towards the door, pushing back the lump in her throat as a wave of anxiety took over.

She’s had her fair share of arguments with Harry, a few heated ones even, but the look on his face and he popping veins in his neck made those disagreements seem like child’s play.

Harry was pacing the sidewalk when she stepped out, hands running through his flattened curls every few seconds. She took a deep breath and inched her way towards him.

“Harry?”

He swiveled on his heel, face settling into a frown. “Why did you not bother mentioning that Morgan was a guy over the hundreds of phone calls we’ve had?”

“I—I did. I’ve been complaining about our project from the start of school.”

“No, Ads. You didn’t.” His jaw was clenched and his eyes looked as if they’d aged just within the past ten minutes. “Believe me, I would have remembered that the Morgan who’s dorm you’ve stayed the night, who drives you home, who buys you take out every Wednesday was another man.”

“So you’re saying you don’t trust me?”

“I thought I did until you felt the need to keep secrets from me.”

“It wasn’t a secret!”

“The hell it was!” he barked. “Then why didn’t you mention him?”

“Okay, well maybe I left that part out. But this is why,” she begged, motioning between them. “I knew you’d overreact.”

“Fucking,” he shook his head, a dry laugh contrasting the red in his eyes. “This...this isn’t overreacting, babe. I couldn’t give a shit as to who you spend your time with at this fucking school.” His words came out slow, bitten and sharp, making sure she didn’t miss a one. “You lied to me, Adeline.”

“I just didn’t want you upset, Harry! It’s hard enough as it is to see each other, and then throw in the fact that each time I would’ve mentioned working with Morgan you’d get jealous.”

“Yeah I would’ve been jealous! I fucking miss you every day and some moron gets all your attention! I’d have every right to be jealous!” he was practically foaming at the mouth, and she was desperately trying to hold back the tears that were just pleading to fall. “But y’know what else I would’ve been? D’you know what else, Adeline?”

A beat of silence passed before she realized he wanted her to answer. “No,” she squeaked.

"I would’ve trusted you. Yeh never gave me a reason not to, and I wouldn't of stopped. But for whatever reason you felt that you couldn't tell me, and I'm supposed to be the one person who you can tell. You have no fuckin' idea how much that hurts me."

The tears were spilling out now, her throat felt as if it was closing up, making it difficult to swallow. He was right; she’d been worried about Harry trusting her, and she was the one who ended up spoiling that bond.

"If it'd been the other way around, and you found out that I had deliberately kept another girl in my life a secret from you, how would yeh feel?"

"Horrible," she choked out between sobs. "I'm sorry, Harry, it wasn't my intention at all, you have to know that. Was just trying to keep things easy for us. I didn't want to lose you over a misunderstanding."

"And deception was the answer to that I see," he spit out, rolling his eyes. "Also glad to hear I was kept a secret from all your friends too."

"It just never came up!"

"Shit, Adeline! What did I do to deserve this? This isn't you! The Addy I left back in July would've never done this!"

"I'm sorry, Harry.” Her voice was soft and slow. He stood there fidgeting, not even making eye contact with her. "So what now?"

"I don't know. Let's just go back." He shook his head and began walking back the way they came. She shuffled behind, making sure to stay a couple feet away. The drive back to Nicole's apartment was done in silence, Harry still too angry, and her too upset to say a word.

They took the stairs up to the third floor, which she was thankful for to avoid any more awkwardness that would've ensued in a silent elevator. The lights were off and there was no sign of Nicole, who probably went to bed hours ago.

For once, Adeline wished she was here. She would freak at the sight of her swollen, tear stained face for sure, but she would sit them down and make them talk it out like the mother that she was. Instead, they trudged down the hall and into her room, where Harry immediately began packing the overnight bag he'd brought.

"You're not staying?" her voice cracked and she felt the waterworks stirring back up again.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why?"

"Do I need to recap for you?"

"I know you're mad, and you have every right to be, but that doesn't mean I don't want you here."

His eyes left hers, dropping to the shirt in his hands. Timidly, he added it to the bag and ran his hand over his neck.

Then it hit her—he didn't want to be here. It was late and her mind was running on empty, making it harder to comprehend how out of hand this had all gotten. A white lie, a little white, harmless lie to keep their relationship peaceful, and everything she loved was unraveling before her eyes.

"Harry, please, let's just talk about this. I'm sorry. So, so sorry. This will never happen again."

"I know yeh are. I just need to think 'bout everything. About us. We both need to. We're going to spend the most part of the next four years away from each other. I think things aren't as simple as we'd expected. I didn't even matter enough to you to mention my name to anyone."

Her heart split at his words. Was this his way of breaking up? Are they done? All because of her stupid mistake?

"Harry, at least stay the night. I don't want you driving this late, especially when you're mad."

"M'not mad anymore. Just need time to think." He slung his bag over his shoulder and made his way to where she was still standing by the door. He gave a weak smile and then a light kiss on her head before walking out of the room.

She followed him to the front door, waiting for him to turn around and change his mind, but when he opened the door after whispering a goodbye, she was left with the gut-wrenching truth that he might not ever come back.

[cherryyharryy]

Chapter 7: Coastal Cartilage

 And I've never felt more alone

The pounding in Harry’s head was the only greeting he received, the only indicator that he was no longer asleep, and the only warning of a day he wasn’t ready to face just yet.

He dragged his heavy body away from the bed, wincing with each step on the cold floor as he struggled to make it to the faded black coffee pot in the corner of the room. As the brew trickled down into the carafe he rested his weight against the waist-high dresser, digging his palms into his eyes and letting out a strangled groan.

His dream that night had been of Addy. He hadn’t had many involving her, but each occasion he awoke with a bashful smile on his face and the increased desire to see her as soon as possible.

But while last night’s dream had been a good one, full of a happy and giggling Addy, it made waking up alone and cold all the more straining.

The choked gurgling of the final drops of watered-down coffee had Harry jumping in place and out of his momentary lapse. He yanked a sweatshirt over his head before pouring an excessive amount of Splenda packets into the paper cup half full of the dark liquid.

It’d only been about ten minutes since he woke, and the courage to turn his phone back on still hadn’t manifested like he’d hoped. With a reluctant gulp of the syrup in his hand he yanked his phone off the charger and waited for his and Adeline’s faces to appear.

And if he thought the fear of what he’d find once his lock screen had settled was bad, then the slap of being hit with no missed calls or unread texts was downright devastating.

***

“Shit, Addy.”

Harry ended the voicemail prompt for the hundredth time, opting to send yet another text, begging her to answer him.

“One cheeseburger with fries.” The waitress set his food down and refilled his water. “Anything else y’need?”

“No thanks,” he mumbled, nudging the plate away.

He naïvely assumed she’d be waiting on bated breath for his call, prepared with a drawn-out apology that he’d string out for just a little bit, because he was still mad, still so pissed he could hardly see straight, but he missed her, and the only thing overshadowing the anger still brewing inside him was that he didn’t get to wake up in her arms.

She ruined that, too.

Just as the boiling in his veins was stirring up again, and the sight and God-awful smell of the greasy diner food was becoming too much for his senses, his phone lit up, her name searing into his eyes.

“Thanks for calling,” he spit. “S’not like I’ve been trying to reach you all damn day.”

“Harry—”

“No, I’m not done. I haven’t even started yet.” He sucked in a deep breath, getting a heaping dose of salt and the stale perfume still lingering from his waitress into his lungs. “I don’t wanna do this over the phone. I’m at a motel off the main highway. I’ll send you the address.”

***

His bag was packed and the bed he tried not to think about sleeping in was made. The buzz of a rerun had been turned off half an hour ago, too much for his frazzled, throbbing head at the moment. His stomach was churning and the only thing he could be greatful for was the untouched lunch he had left on the sticky diner table.

He heard her car pulling in on the gravel and yet her knocking still startled him. He pushed himself from the chair in the corner of the room and swung open the door.

“Hey.”

“S’cold, come on.”

Adeline shrugged off her coat, eyes running over the room as the hatred she had for herself intensified.

“Um, I know it won’t mean anything, and you don’t wanna hear it...but I am sorry.” Her voice was shaky and her eyes were desperate, looking up at him as she wrung her hands together.

“I know. And uh, I’m sorry too.” His voice was just as quiet. “Shouldn’t of left like that.”

Adeline nodded, sucking in a breath before continuing. “I’m sorry I never told you about Morgan, I mean, that he was a guy.”

“Why though? I still don’t understand why you couldn’t tell me something like that? Did you think I would’ve gone off the handle or accused you of cheating?”

“No, I...I’m not sure. I guess I just didn’t want to chance it. I wasn’t doing anything with him, and I convinced myself that by not telling you I was keeping the peace.”

Harry was leant against the closed door, arms crossed over his chest with his head tilted to the side.

“I didn’t think you’d be jealous,” she added. “It was just, well it was just stupid, okay? What I did was plain stupid.”

She plopped down on the edge of the bed, her head falling into her hands as her shoulders began to shake.

“Hey,” Harry whispered. He pushed off the door and sat beside her, pulling her into his side. “Addy, s’alright, I’m not mad. It’s was stupid, yeah, but it was a mistake.”

He wiped the tears off her cheek once she looked up.

“I am sorry,” she choked out.

“I know, darling. C’mere.” He opened his arms and she curled up against his chest, his hands wrapping around her. “S’alright, Addy. Hey…” His fingers slipped under her chin to lift her head up, his thumb gently tracing her jaw. “It’s over, yeah? Forgive you.”

She nodded as he rid her cheeks of the last of her tears. “Okay,” she weakly agreed.

“Come ‘ere.”

“M’right here.” The corners of her lips finally twitched up, her words mixed with a soft giggle.

“I know, want you closer though. Missed you.” The hand that hadn’t left her face trailed up to tuck her hair behind her ear. His eyes were hooded with a soft, lazy gleam sparkling in them, a small but confident smile matching their desire. “Missed you so fuckin’ much, angel.”

Once his words had met the air between them he dropped his head to smooth his lips over hers. The softest of moans released deep in his throat, and before it could bubble up into the point of no return, he broke off of her, inhaling the stale air and swallowing back his own protest. “Is Nicole at work?”

“Yeah, yeah till three,” she squeaked.

“Let’s go.”

***

What Harry had imagined as a frantic frenzy of biting and scratching, ripped clothes and a chaotic search for a condom in his pocket, new vulgarity introduced between the two of them and a high neither of them had experienced yet, was playing out much differently in reality.

“God, I knew I’d miss you, but I didn’t expect it to actually fucking hurt.” He hovered his lips over hers, barely grazing her chapped skin that her teeth had done a number on. His legs were wobbly as he moved, sinking into the mattress while encouraging Adeline to slide onto his lap.

“I know,” she assured, “I just wanted to go back in time. Never thought I’d miss high school.”

Adeline drug her mouth across his cheek, humming in tune to the slow sigh he exhaled against her ear.

“You really missed sneakin’ around your parents? Waitin’ for my mom to go to the store?” His hands slid up her arms, rounding her shoulders to glide up her soft neck and hold her head still, eyes boring into hers. “Or d’you just miss the chance of gettin’ caught? Missed actin’ like you were too shy to hold my hand when anyone else was around.”

Her jaw flexed in his grip, her face barely moving to nod in response.

“Then we’ll go slow,” he breathed out. “‘Cause we always had to rush, didn’t we? Now we’ve got all the time—until three.”

His stone-hard serious expression broke into a smile, eyes crinkling at the corners with his dimple carving into his cheek.

Adeline laughed in his grip. “We’re not much better off.”

“Then we better get started.”

Harry pulled her impossibly closer, joining their heated mouths together while they both released strained sighs. Her hands slid up to tangle in his hair, tugging against the resistance he fought for to keep their tongues connected.

Within seconds their entire bodies were fidgeting. Too many clothes and not enough patience. As soon as Adeline gave her first thrust forward, her chest grazing his, Harry popped off with a harsh intake of air.

“C’mere.” He nudged her to slip off his lap, waiting for her silent nod to start revealing her soft skin with every inch of her shirt disappearing until he could see the goosebumps trickling under his breath and her breasts pulse just that much closer with each rapid inhale into her lungs. “You’re so beautiful. Most prettiest eyes, most prettiest everything, petal.”

If it wasn’t for the crimson stain coating his cheeks that had accompanied his declaration, she might have lost the courage to keep their eye contact. But instead she slipped her bottom lip under her teeth and watched his throat throb. “So are you.”

His mouth was back on her, only her neck this time after pulling her back to straddle him, taking his time to etch his love onto her skin. Her fingers tugged at the hem of his sweater, pushing it up his taught sides after he begged her to take it off against his bite.

Harry smoothed his thumb over his work, catching the twinkle in her eye as she watched him. “Next, right?”

She followed his gaze down to where his thumb was pulling on her belt loop, breathing out a soft yeah.

They were separated once again, only flushing their bodies back together once both their jeans were piled on the floor. Harry coaxed her to sink into the pillows, following close behind with his hair draping around his head as he peered down at her.

“What?” She laughed.

“What do you mean?”

“That...look.”

He settled his weight onto his elbows, brushing their cores together with a strangled restraint. “Think we forgot somethin’.”

Her eyes shot open. “Well I don’t have any! Didn’t think you’d be showing up unannounced! Why didn’t you—”

“Sh, sh, no, love. S’not what I meant,” he laughed. “I meant...these.” The band of her panties snapped back against her hip, a devilish grin smirking above her.

“Then get to work.”

Harry’s brows shot up, his smirk turning more innocent. He shifted down her body, flicking his gaze up to hers for one more approving nod. He slid the black fabric down her legs, gulping as soon as her true desire was revealed.

“I—I want to, God I want to, but—”

“S’alright, don’t wanna wait either.”

Harry was off the bed and back on, his boxers now abandoned, in record speed. His smirk was back in full force as he watched her own eyes travel down between them.

“S’where you’re supposed to make a joke about me missin’ you.”

“Oh shut up!”

He trailed his fingers down her arms until their hands were clasped, bringing them up to rest above her head. “Alright then, I’ll do it.” He lowered his throbbing cock to meet her skin, reveling in the flinch of her body and the gasp she released. “See how much I missed you?”

“Could you please act like an adult?” Her eyes rolled but her reluctant grin was a dead giveaway.

“I think we’re doing exactly that, darling.”

He dropped his head to press their lips together, joining them together with soft moans exchanged into the other’s mouth, adjusting his weight over her body until he couldn’t stand it any longer and gently slid himself inside her, both their mouths falling open with harsh breaths of air released.

“Really missed you,” he moaned. Once he was buried inside her, the first few thrusts slowly reacquainting themselves, he released one of her hands to cradle her face. “So much, so much.”

His name slipped past her lips in a sweet sigh, eyes desperately trying to stay open so she wouldn’t miss a second, pushing the thought of him having to leave into the back of her mind.

He picked up his speed, pressing their foreheads together and indulging in the sparking electric buzz pulsating throughout him, his senses on overload with her nails digging into his back, feathery touches of her skin meeting his as she writhed beneath him, raspy words of delayed satisfaction coming in hushed sequences from her swollen lips.

“God, fuck, Harry.”

“I know, I know, baby. Doin’ so good, so good for me.”

Her legs wrapped around his waist as he ground into her. A strangled grunt shooting out from his mouth when her teeth sunk down onto his shoulder.

“So close,” he choked out. “You? Love, please—”

“Yes, I am, I am,” Adeline moaned, arching her back as her body stiffened. “I am.” She thrashed under his weight, body jolting as the overwhelming wave she hasn’t felt in so long beat against every bone in her body, filling up her heart and lungs and every nerve that Harry was obsessing over with his thumb down below with the sugariest euphoria she’s had yet. “Fuck, Harry, I am!”

Her own name came tumbling past his lips, a rhythmic chant of obscenities shortly after as he rode out the explosion of pure bliss racking his own body. “Shit, baby, s’good.”

It took her shaky hand on his wrist to cease his movements, which had already slowed to virgin touches before he pulled out, shocking her system with a new kind of sensitivity.

“You okay?” He asked.

“Mhmm. Very okay.” She sighed around a smile, dipping her chin down and darting her eyes away.

Harry rolled to her side, slipped the condom off and into the wastebasket before returning to press up against her lazily. “Why’re you bein’ so shy?” He slipped his hand under her chin and coaxed her to look at him. “Hm?”

“M’not.”

“Are too.”

“Harry…”

He nuzzled his face into her neck, nipping at her shoulder. “S’okay. Cute when you get all bashful anyway.”

***

Their breathing slowed down, as did the gentle grazes they performed on each other’s skin. Adeline was tucked into his side, the covers properly wrapped around them with his hand tracing patterns along her hip.

“Hated bein’ away from you.”

She looked up, her cheek still flush against his bare chest. “Me too. M’gonna miss you when you have to go back.”

“Still got a whole day together.”

“It’s gonna go too fast, then I’ll be all alone again.”

“Hey now,” he mirrored her pouting, bottom lip jutting out as he reached up to tap her chin, “still have Nicole.”

“I can’t even pretend like that’s funny.”

He chuckled and pulled her closer, pressing a soft kiss to her head and humming out a relaxed sigh. “Well then there’s only one thing t’do.”

“What’s that?”

He flipped her over, trapping her beneath his warm body as the duvet slipped off his hips, that damn smirk right back in its place. “Make the most of the time we’ve got left.”

[cherryyharryy]

New Fic Announcement:)

🦴Title: Ribs

🦴Summary: Where Harry meets Adeline and they think they have growing up all figured out.

🦴Excerpt: “M'still fun. Don't have to act like an idiot to have fun. Those two are idiots. Always were. And m'not old. They're—"

"Harry." She grabbed his hand and pulled him up beside her. "Don't worry about them, okay."

"S'true? Did some wild things growing up, now look at me. What've I done?"

"You don't have to steal your neighbors car or sneak into an R rated movie to be fun." She narrowed her eyes at him. "There's a line between fun and stupid. Those two are still in high school, and from the looks of it they might be there longer than planned."

"Still. M'so boring now."

"You're not boring, you're just... mature, you've—"

"This way," he interrupted, tugging her down a side road.

"What? Where are you going?"

"We're gonna have some fun."

<><><><><><><><>

Hi! So I have a new story that I’ll start posting in February. I’m excited about it—I actually started writing it a couple years ago, abandoned it, and then picked it back up (with lots of editing).

It’s inspired by the song ‘Ribs’ by Lorde. If you haven’t listened to it, do so now. Like right now. It’s good I promise.

This story will be 14 parts, with each part stemming from a different line or lines in the song. There will be a FC for this story, and not a Harry and Y/N Pairing. However, there will be no physical descriptions of the FC, just a name.

If you like it, or anything else I’ve written, please feel free to let me know what you think!!! It’s what encourages me to keep writing:)

[cherryyharryy]

Chapter 4: Vertebra   

 It drives you crazy, getting old

The sky was a beautiful shade of blue without a cloud in sight. The grass was freshly cut and the flowers were starting to bloom, decorating the walkways of each house Harry and Adeline passed by.

The windows were down and the sun was generous, grazing their faces with the perfect amount of warmth, not too hot, just enough to warrant the air conditioner and for Harry to ditch the jacket he’d brought.

He pushed the sunglasses further up his nose which had gained a few extra freckles, as did his slightly burnt cheeks and the tops of his shoulders, which had grown considerably since he finally put his New Year’s resolution into play and had been spending three mornings a week at the gym.

“It’s this left, up here.” Adeline slipped her hand into his over the console, flicking her eyes to his ridiculous jaw busy with a piece of gum.

“Stop starin’, love, you’ll make me blush.”

“Wasn’t staring.” She swatted his arm, and she definitely did not admire the way his smirk carved out his dimple or the way a vein in his neck swelled. “Couldn’t tell if you were blushing or not anyway. That’s a nasty burn.”

“Doesn’t hurt.” His hand left hers to tap at his rosy cheeks. “It’ll be gone soon. I’ll be a bronze god before summer even gets here.”

“Well before you golden up you need to slap some spf on that, especially since you’re gonna be in the sun all day, don’t wanna make it worse.”

“It’ll be fine, Addy. S’just a little burn.”

“Alright,” she mused. “It’s that house, the brick one with the oak tree in the yard.”

“You mean the one with a million balloons on the mailbox and a hundred cars parked out front?”

“Oh shut up.”

“Well I wouldn’t wanna miss it, now would I?”

“Just park the car, smart mouth. And help me get the present out of the trunk.”

***

Chatter and children laughing, the crackle of ice being stirred in a pitcher of lemonade and the high pitched barks of Daisy, the chihuahua, running around greeted Adeline and Harry when they stepped through the door. The house was full of family that she hadn’t seen since the holidays and plenty of people she’s never seen before.

“Which one’s your cousin?” Harry asked.

“Uuum, Grace is over there.” Adeline nodded towards a little girl in a soft purple dress. “Guess we should say happy birthday, huh?”

She adjusted the present in her arms, and only managed one step before Harry was yanking her back by the shoulder as a handful of kids ran by.

“If we can make it to the backyard before this tea set gets destroyed it’ll be a miracle,” he chuckled.

“Adeline!”

Adeline shoved the gift into Harry’s arms and ran to her sister, throwing her arms around her look-alike with a squeal. They latched onto each other like glue, only pulling apart when Brianne started to speak.

“Mom and dad driving you crazy?”

“They’re working on it,” Adeline chuckled. “And doing a fine job.”

“Well graduation’s around the corner. You’ll be free as a bird before you know it.”

Adeline looked over her shoulder, lips parting to call out Harry’s name but her voice was lost as soon as her sister pulled her back, resembling their mother more than ever with her brows scrunched in concern and her lips tight in a line.

“So what schools did you get into?” Brianne asked, holding her sister at arm’s length. “And you’re doing a double major, right? Oh, and you looked into internships I’m sure, before you picked a school?”

“Uuuh, well I applied to one and got in, so, that’s that.”

Brianne’s face twisted into a grimace, a disbelieving laugh matching her tone. “What do you mean, one? Addy...you need to make sure the school is a right fit for you and what you want to pursue.”

“I got a couple small scholarships. And my SAT score was good enough, sooo yeah, perfect fit. Plus it’s way too far to commute so I’m moving out in July.”

Brianne shook her head, but before she could continue Adeline beat her to the punch, pulling Harry over by his arm who’d been standing off to the side.

“This is Harry, I told you about him when you visited last month.”

“Hello, Harry, it’s nice to finally meet you.”

Harry nodded, shifting the present in his arms. “Nice to meet you too.”

“So, Addy,” Brianne continued, “What program—”

“Lemme help Harry with this, it’s heavy.” Adeline yanked the gift from his grasp and marched towards the back yard, leaving her sister mid-sentence with Harry following right behind her.

“God this was a mistake,” she groaned, setting their present down by the pile of other wrapped boxes and gift bags. “I should’ve lied and said I had, volunteer work or something.”

“You’ve never volunteered.”

“Well I should’ve started. Like today.”

Harry pulled her into his side and pressed a kiss to her temple. “Just ‘cause you don’t have your whole life planned out like she did doesn’t mean anything.”

“It’s not even—she just, did...everything,” Adeline complained, throwing her arms up and letting them fall against her with a slap. “Dual enrollment, paid internship, graduated early, got engaged, got promoted. S’fucking annoying.”

“Heeey, watch it there’s kids here.”

“Don’t remind me. Just how I wanna spend my Saturday, standing out in the heat for a seven year old’s birthday party.”

“We’ll have fun. There’s cake.”

Adeline sighed and shook her head, looking up at Harry with her hand cupped over her eyes to shield the sun from her view.

“You need sunscreen.”

***

Harry was eating his words. Neither of them had any fun whatsoever in the two hours they’d been at this party. The only attention they were getting were demands of their future plans, spitting out answers to the same questions over and over again.

“What schools are you going to?

“Are you gonna study abroad?”

“You’re not just getting an undergraduate’s degree are you?”

They were currently camped out on the swing set, doing their best to hide without being obvious, each with a juice box and sour attitude, watching the twenty or so kids chase each other around the yard.

“She didn’t like it.” Harry sucked the last drop of his juice and flattened the box with his grip. “I mean she actually said she didn’t like it. Who does that?”

“‘Least she was honest.”

“Who cares about honesty? D’you see the look on her face? Might as well of given her a bag of rocks as a present, would’ve gotten the same reaction.”

Adeline shrugged her shoulders. She kept her head down, engrossed with the grass she was pushing up with the toe of her shoes. “Her parents got her a phone. Can’t compete with that.”

“And that’s another thing—who the hell gives a seven year old a phone?”

Adeline sighed and reached over to tug on his sleeve, gaining his attention away from the crumpled box in his hands.

“In other news, I’ve had about fifteen people grill me about school.”

“Yeah I know. Apparently journalism isn’t a ‘wise career choice’,” he mocked. “If one more person tells me to major in advertising I’m gonna explode.”

“Did you tell them how successful your mom is?”

“As a matter of fact, I did,” he grumbled. “And the fact that my mom created her very own local magazine means jack shit to these people. Or that it’s what I want to do.” He thrust his finger against his chest.

She hummed in response, kicking up a patch of dirt she’d been working on with a dandelion now uprooted. “Well I had my aunt very generously berate me on us wanting to go to the same school together.” Adeline straightened up and turned towards Harry, lifting her nose in the air as her voice came out in a whine to imitate her aunt. “Addy, dear, you don’t need to be concerned with that boy. It’s better if he goes to a different school so you won’t have to see him after you break up.”

“Oh so now we’re breaking up?”

“Yep. And I should pick a major right now. Like right. fucking. now,” she grit.”

Harry looked over with an amused smile on his face, reaching over to link his hand with hers. “You okay there?”

Her eyes were big, and he knew what was coming before she even opened her mouth. “What if you don’t get into Peru? You’ve already been waitlisted on all the surrounding schools. The only other one left is basically on the other side of the state.”

He swallowed with a nod, no sense in trying to argue with her reason when he knew she was right. “If I only get into Chadron...then I only get into Chadron. If we wanna make it work then we will.”

“I want to.”

“I do too, love.” His thumb skimmed over her knuckles and he gave her hand a squeeze, forcing his own worries about being so far apart out of his mind. “Right now I’m just hoping I get into college. Those rejection letters suck.”

“You will,” she assured. “And—”

“Addy! Harry! We’re cutting the cake!”

They both groaned in unison, prying themselves off the swings and stretching their stiff muscles.

Adeline smoothed over the landscaping she’d done with her shoe, pausing to pick up the little weed to present it to Harry.

“S’kinda like a sunflower.”

He hesitantly took it, brows raising up in disdain. “S’nothing like a sunflower.”

“It’s yellow.”

“Are you two coming!?”

With another shared groan they sulked back towards the house, hands linked together with the dandelion tucked behind Adeline’s ear.

***

After the cake had been cut, which neither had an appetite for any longer, and the backyard was littered with shreds of wrapping paper, Adeline grabbed her purse and nodded towards the door.

“Go start the car, I’m gonna say goodbye to my parents and then we can leave.”

She flew through the house until she finally spotted her mom in the kitchen tying a kid’s shoe.

“Me and Harry are gonna head out. I’ll be home for dinner.”

“Wait!”

Adeline stopped in her escape already halfway out of the room. “What?”

“Can you just watch those three over there?” She nodded towards two little girls and a boy by the back door. “I’m taking Jeremy upstairs to change.”

The boy with now tied shoes smiled up at Adeline, a big pink stain on his shirt that he didn’t seem bothered by.

“Yeah, fine,” she grumbled.

Adeline trudged over to the kids and led them back outside, warning them with empty threats to stay where she could see them. She settled on a patio bench as they played in the yard with a few of the other children.

All was going well until someone called somebody else a mean name, and then a shove brought one of the little boys to the ground.

“Hey!” Adeline jumped up and ran to the crying boy, helping him up and dusting off his clothes. “You okay? Are you hurt?”

His whimpers grew louder until he was nearly screeching, tears pouring from his eyes.

“Hey, you’re alright,” Adeline cooed. “You wanna go inside? Do you want some candy? A popsicle?”

He pulled his hands away from his red eyes and nodded, his cries softening as she carried him in and set him on the counter while she dug through the freezer.”

“Okay, here you go.”

He didn’t waste a second grabbing the dessert from her hands, mumbling a thank you around the treat.

Adeline sighed and leaned back against the fridge, checking the time on her phone and answering Harry’s text asking what was taking her so long.

“I heard screaming is—oh my God!”

A woman with dark hair came barreling towards the little boy, yanking the popsicle from his mouth and pulling him towards her across the counter.

“What!? What’s wrong?” Adeline yelped.

“Did you give this to him?”

“Yeah, he—”

“He’s allergic! Why would you do that?”

Adeline’s eyes shot open as she shook her head, mouth fidgeting around apologies. The woman glared at her, lip curling up as she examined her child.

“You better hope nothing happens to him. What were you thinking? Are you crazy?”

“I—I was just trying to calm him down, he—”

“Leah what happened?” Adeline’s mother rounded the corner, her face twisted with concern.

“Your daughter gave William a red popsicle.”

“Oh, Addy,” her mother winced. “Why would you do that? He’s allergic to red dye.”

“I didn’t know! How was I supposed to know?”

Leah pulled William off the counter and settled him on her hip. “I think I’m gonna take him to the hospital. And Adeline, you’re not to watch my child ever again.”

With that she was gone, a melted popsicle dripping onto the floor and a teary-eyed Adeline left to clean it up.

“Where are the other two? Did you leave them alone?” her mother asked.

Adeline froze as she pulled paper towels off the roll, uttering a quiet yeah. Her mom rolled her eyes and ran outside, yelling at her to clean up the mess.

Once the counter and floor were wiped clean she headed towards the front door, forgoing anymore goodbyes in fear of an impending break down. But as soon as she reached for the door knob Harry came waltzing through, his smile dropping as soon as he saw the first tear slip down her face.

“Baby, what’s wrong? What happened?”

She shook her head, mumbling a quick let’s go as she went around him for the door again.

“Adeline.”

“Can I fucking leave?” She gritted under her breath. “What Brianne?”

“Are you two leaving?”

Adeline looked to Harry and rubbed her eyes. “Yep.”

“Well you could at least say goodbye to Grace. And me.”

“Bye, Bri.” Adeline rolled her eyes. “I’ll call you when I get my life together.”

“Adeline why did you give William a red popsicle?” Her dad appeared beside Harry, his hands shoved in his pockets as he rocked on his heels. “His mom’s really upset.”

“Oh my God! Why can’t anyone understand that it was an accident?”

“He’s allergic, Addy,” her dad continued, “that’s not an accident, that’s a trip to the ER. You could’ve seriously hurt him, you need to be more responsible.”

She rolled her lips in and sucked in a breath, filling up her lungs as much as she could while she counted to ten.

“You need to tell Grace goodbye before you leave,” Brianne chimed in.

“Fine,” she bit.

Adeline grabbed Harry’s hand and dragged him through the house and out the backdoor where everyone was standing around. Her eyes skimmed over every kid that darted by, her anger boiling by the second.

“D’you see her?”

Harry shook his head, taking a step back to peer into the house for any sign of Grace. “No not yet. Maybe we—Ahhhhh.”

When Adeline jumped around, Harry was lying on the ground, well, on the long table that he now broke which was bent under his weight, on the ground. The crash itself was spine-tingling, an explosion of something shattering mixed in with his shouts.

“My tea set!” Grace came bounding over, her tiny hands pulling at Harry’s shirt. “Look what you did!”

“M’sorry, I—I fell.” He pulled himself up with Adeline’s help, groaning as she picked out shards of pastel porcelain from his backside.

“You broke it! You did it on purpose!”

“I did not,” he grumbled, frowning down at the child who had a scowl on her face. “I slipped. Was an accident.”

Right on cue Grace’s mother stepped out of the house, rushing over to her sobbing child to assure her they would buy her a new tea set. She looked up at Harry with her brows pulled in. “Harry, dear, you need to be more careful. Both of you, really. You’re older and you need to set the example, stop acting so crazy.”

Adeline bit her tongue. Example for what? If it was possible there’d be steam piping out of her ears and fire shooting out of her mouth. She held back a bundle of words, and instead of furthering her embarrassment she tugged on Harry’s sleeve and headed back inside.

Silently they both made it outside and back into his car, where they both slumped in their seats. After a few minutes of stewing in peace Harry started the car, flipping the visor down to block out the setting sun.

“Well that was eventful,” Adeline groaned once they pulled out of the neighborhood.

“They expect you to have your whole entire life planned out, but then God forbid you make a mistake, you’re treated like a child. S’crazy.”

Adeline shook her head in understanding. She dazed off at the scenery passing by, deciding to do herself a favor and push today as far into the back of her mind as she could. Her eyes started to get heavy, and before she fell asleep with her head against the window she slipped the little dandelion out from behind her ear.

She twirled it in her fingers a few times before turning to Harry and sliding the flower behind his own ear, running her hand down his jaw and grazing her thumb over his cheek.

“Ah,” he flinched, pushing her hand down. “M’burnt, don’t touch me.”

[cherryyharryy]

Chapter 3: Xiphisternal Joint

 My mom and dad let me stay home

“I’m comin’ over.”

“Harry, I’m fine, it’s just a stomach bug.”

Adeline pulled her phone away to let out a dry cough into the crook of her elbow, clearing her throat and blinking away the few tears that had bubbled up in her eyes.

“I heard that, m’on my way.”

“Harry—”

The call ended before she could get another word in, opting to type out a rushed text—‘stop fussing over me, you’ve got a chem test today!’—but she knew her protest was unwarranted once he had his mind set on something.

The alarm that was set to erupt in an hour was turned off and her phone was tossed to the other side of her bed. The room was still bathed in early morning darkness, sparing the humid yellow glow from her lamp, tempting her to drift back to sleep. And she would, needed it really, but her boyfriend was a worry wart.

Breathing through her nose became a tortuous task anyway, leaving her mouth dry and throat a scratchy sore. Her ears were achy, head heavy, and her chest filled up with a stifling weight each time she attempted to hold back a brutal cough, finally giving in when her lungs were seconds from exploding.

Chills raked her body, coming in waves with a supporting round of sweat coating her skin, and she’d take her temperature, because she’s positive a fever had settled itself within her weak body, but that meant climbing out of bed and going downstairs, which she couldn’t be bothered with at the moment.

The last time she’d spent the day in bed with a runny nose she’d indulged in a Scooby-Doo marathon with her mom’s chicken soup warming her from the inside, and the satisfaction of her friends stuck at school topping off her day. But somehow things just weren’t the same anymore.

“How’re yeh feeling, love?”

Adeline jumped at his voice, settling into the covers with a scowl on her face. “I just talked to you twenty minutes ago.”

He shrugged his jacket off and set a grocery bag down on her desk. “A lot can happen in twenty minutes.”

Harry kneeled down on the floor beside her bed and tucked the blanket over her shoulders, skimming his knuckles over her cheek and pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.

“Sorry you feel crummy.”

She hummed in response, cracking her eyes open to get a look at him.

He was beautiful, to a fault, could get anything he wanted with the right smirk or boyish grin, but there was something about Harry in a Rolling Stones tee, baggy gray sweats, and thick navy socks—one hitched up higher than its twin—tucked into knockoff designer loafers that he argued were for style and not shuffling down the driveway to get the mail, that had her heart melting.

She turned on her side and pulled his head to rest on the bed, running her fingers through his unruly bed-head hair. He sighed, relaxing his body against the mattress.

“Harry…”

“Hmmm.”

“Come up here, you’re fallin’ asleep on me,” she whispered. “Been up as long as I have.’

He didn’t waste a second to round her bed, toe off his shoes and slip under the heavy duvet. Adeline turned to face him after switching her lamp off, nuzzling into his side, fisting his t-shirt and shuffling her leg across his thighs.

Despite the official start of spring having passed two weeks ago, the mornings were still chilled, only thawing out in the late afternoons, which made her warm bed all the more pleasing. But there were still spots left untouched by her restless sleep that sparked goosebumps to rise over her arms, and had Harry grumbling as he kicked the legs of his pants down to cover his ankles.

“S’awfully cold in here.” He spoke against her hair, cradling his head against hers and the pillow. “I’m freezin’.”

“You’ll warm up soon.”

“Are you contagious?”

“Don’t know.”

“You better hope you don’t get me sick, Adeline.”

“Told you not to come,” she mumbled.

“Was this your plan? Contract a virus, lure me over here with your needy pleas, then infect me to render me helpless?”

“Yep. You caught me. Spent weeks on this one too.”

“S’not very nice, Addy.”

“I’m terribly sorry.”

A yawn escaped her mouth and she tightened the blanket around her shoulders. Harry’s hand traced her jaw, tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear and pressing his lips to her head.

“Get some sleep, darling.”

***

Adeline’s eyes peeled open to a soft glittery light filtering through the window, the smell of warm rain filling the air and the bite of chill no longer eating at her skin. She turned to her right but found the spot Harry had occupied empty, but not yet cold.

He stepped into the room just as a sneeze attack took over her. He jogged to the bed and ran his fingers over her back, handing her the tissues off her nightstand once she caught her breath and slumped into the pillows.

“Yeh don’t look so good.”

“Thanks.”

“Maybe I should take you to the doctor?”

“No, harry, I’ll be fine. Just need to ride this out. I’ll be better tomorrow.” her voice cracked and strained against her sore throat.

“If you’re not I’m tellin’ your mom to take you in.”

“Whatever.”

“Nice to see your attitude hasn’t been affected,” he joked, tugging her shirt back up her shoulder and giving it a squeeze.

She nodded to her desk. “What’s in the bag?”

“It’s my very own first-aid kit,” he boasted, opening up the bag. “If this doesn’t heal you, nothing will.”

The smirk plastered across his face ignited Adeline’s nerves. Harry was a troublemaker, and her vulnerability was prime opportunity for him to take full advantage.

He pawed through the bag, only pausing to throw a wink over his shoulder. Adeline shook her sinus-heavy head and rolled her eyes, snatching another tissue from the box.

“Let’s see, I have Advil, an ice pack, heating pad...cough drops, more tissues…” He piled everything onto her desk, looking back at her with a gleam in his eye that meant nothing good.

“Harry you didn’t need to buy all this, I don’t need it.”

He pouted and crossed his arms over his chest. “My treatment has been proven effective, but if you don’t want it…” he started putting everything back into the bag.

“No! I mean I do, I was just saying, you didn’t need to go to all the trouble.

“S’no trouble at all love. Now, what else,” he hummed, “vapor rub, microwave soup, and oh—I also have someone’s favorite candy,” taunted, waving a bag of skittles in the air. “But someone doesn’t believe in my medical expertise, so I guess someone won’t be needing this.”

Adeline threw the covers off her body and shuffled over to Harry, but when she reached for the candy his arm shot up in the air, dangling it above her head with a proper devilish grin gracing his face.

“What d’ya say, Adeline?” He drawled out. 

“Please,” she huffed, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of watching her beg.

“Hmm, sorry, s’not quite I’m looking for. Care to try again?”

Her eyes rolled back. “May I please have the skittles…”

He shook the bag and cocked his head to the side. “Wrong again, my dear.”

She shifted on her feet while playing with the hem of her purple sleep shorts, avoiding the one word she knew would settle this stand down.

“Harry—”

“Not quite…”

“With a heavy sigh she pinched her cheek between her teeth, daring a second of eye contact. “Fine.” She passed her weight between her legs, eyes gazing down at the carpet while her voice came out in a muffled grumble. “Daddy.”

“M’sorry, petal, didn’t quite catch that?”

“Harry!”

“M’running out of pet names, darling...and patience.”

“For the love of—” she stomped her foot and groaned into her hands. “I said, daddy.”

His smile grew as he lowered his hand, setting the candy in her grasp. “Thank you, now s’that so hard?”

“I’ll be getting you back. Soon as I feel better, you’d better watch out.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

Adeline rolled her eyes and tore the wrapper open with her teeth, offering Harry a few pieces before filling her mouth.

They settled back in her bed, curtains drawn to block out the sun, pillows that still held their shapes, and extra blankets to mimic the warmth of sunny seasons.

Harry played with her hands, slipping his rings on her fingers and cooing about how each one fell off onto the mattress. Adeline finished off the skittles and tossed the bag on the floor, closing in towards his body with their legs in a tangled knot.

“I’m entering that writing contest at school.” Her voice was shaky, muffled by his warm chest.

He pulled back only for her to follow his movements, keeping her face flush against his body. “Hey, look a’ me.” He tried moving again, this time blocking her with a hand on her shoulder. “Why’re bein’ so shy?”

She shrugged her shoulders, her eyes glued to the faded famous band logo on his shirt.

“I’m so proud of you, baby.”

“Was worried you might be mad.”

“Why on earth would I be mad?” He tilted her chin up to face him. “For doing what you love?”

“Because,” she uttered softly, “You haven’t, well I mean, I haven’t shown you anything I’ve written. And it’s not that I don’t trust you! I just—I don’t know—”

“Hey it’s alright, love. You don’t have t’show me anything, don’t owe me anything.”

“It’s just that most of what I write is pretty personal, y’know?”

“Addy,” he warned, “What’d I just say, hm? Don’t owe me any explanation. Your writing is just that—your writing. Which means you do what you want with it.”

She nodded as he pecked her nose, curling right back up next to him.

“Nice of your mom to let you stay home today,” she spoke into his shirt, nuzzling closer to his chest.

“She thinks I’m at home sick in bed.”

Adeline looked up to see the goofy smile on his face, a blush working its way onto his cheeks.

“I have to be home by five, before she gets back from my aunt’s house.”

“You could’ve just told her the truth.”

“Might not of let me skip.”

“True,” she mumbled. “It’ll be nice when we won’t have to worry about things like this, once we’re on our own.”

“Me too, sweet girl.”

***

Adeline bent over the sink and scrubbed away the face mask that had begun to itch, leaning in close to the mirror once she finished to inspect her skin.

“Aw fuck.” Her hand flew up to the bump that was throbbing on her chin, seemingly bigger and angrier after the diy concoction her sister had recommended, her Saturday night pamper night already off to a bad start.

“Addy, you alright?”

She drug a towel over her face and cracked the bathroom door open. “Harry?”

“Hi, petal.”

“What are you doing here?”

He sniffled, clutching a box of tissues to his sweatshirt covered chest with one hand and the other stuffed into the pocket of his pajamas.

“You wanna help deliver my mom’s magazine next weekend?”

She flicked the light off and stepped out into the hall, pulling him towards her room. “Why would I do that?”

He plopped down on her bed, sneezing into his arm half a dozen times. “Because, s’your fault I got in trouble. Only fair you take half the punishment.”

“My fault?”

“Yeah,” he coughed out. “ If you hadn’t gotten sick in the first place, I wouldn’t of skipped school to cater to you, wouldn’t have gotten caught, and wouldn’t have gotten a lecture ‘bout how I need to ‘be more responsible.’”

“How’d she find out?”

A round of sneezing followed by a spell of wheezing left his face flushed and his voice a raspy shrill. “Take a guess.”