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My Heart Skips A Beat

Chapter 5

ANNA’S POV:
“You told me it was just gonna be the three of us for a while! I would’ve changed, or at least put makeup on!” I whisper-scolded Danielle as we went into the kitchen to get some snacks.
“I know, I’m sorry! They just showed up right before you got here. But seriously, there is NOTHING to worry about. Harry was practically hyperventilating before you got here.”
“What? Really?” I was honestly shocked. I didn’t think guys, especially famous ones, got nervous the way girls did.
“Yes, Really!” Eleanor but in, “He LIKES you, how can you not see that?!” She grabbed a bag of chips and whatever else they could find in the nearly empty pantry and went back into the living room.
“I don’t-“
“Just be yourself.” Danielle said quickly before leaving me alone in the tiny kitchen. I turned around to reach for a glass for some water to try and calm myself down when I suddenly heard footsteps behind me. I turned around to see Harry standing right in front of me.
“Hey.” I said, self consciously pulling down the bottom of my t-shirt that had risen up a little.
“Hi. So, sorry if there was a bit of a miscommunication. We didn’t know the girls were gonna be here, so…”
“No, its fine! I just- Well, If I had known-“
“Don’t say that. It doesn’t matter what you wear. I’m glad you’re here. So, that test wnet well today?” He leaned against the counter right next to me, his hand brushing against mine for a second.
“Yeah, pretty well. But honestly, I don’t really want to talk about school. It’s insanely boring.” I laughed uncomfortably as he just looked at me. “What?” my hand shot up to my face, wondering what was wrong.
“Nothing. Uh, sorry.” He quickly snapped out of it and grabbed a glass for me. “Has anyone ever told you you’re sort of extremely short?” He laughed.
“No, no one has EVER told me that before. Thanks for mentioning it.” My sarcasm was obvious and he just shrugged. At 5’2’’, there was no arguing that I was below average height. Especially next to Harry who was a good 8 inches taller than me.
“No problem.” He said, that adorable dimpled grin on his face. I felt my heart beating as we stood there and if I was being completely honest, I was just dying to kiss him. Seriously, it was like the only thing I could think about.
“So uh, this party…?”
“Yeah, Danny’s one of Zayn’s really good mates. He has this massive loft so it’s perfect for parties. It should be fun.”
“Yeah…” I nodded as I filled the cup with tap water and sipped it nervously.
“Anna! We’re gonna go get ready!” I heard Eleanor yell from the hallway.
“Coming!” I said, pouring the rest of the water into the sink and running to get my bag.


“Is this too much?” Danielle asked, modeling a sheer white top, black bandage skirt, and electric blue suede heels.
“Not if you want Liam to drool the entire night.” Eleanor giggled, applying eyeliner to her waterline. I hadn’t been sure what kind of party this was, so I brought a bunch of options when Danielle texted me and ask if I wanted to get ready here.
“Okay, this or this?” I asked, holding up two different options. One was a simple black tank top with a slit down the back that I would end up wearing with skinny jeans, while the other was a red bodycon dress with cutouts down the back.
“Oh my god, the dress!” They both exclaimed.
“Isn’t a little well…uslutty?”
“Well, isn’t that what you should be going for?” Eleanor asked jokingly. I pulled a fake-shocked face and threw the dress at her.
“Okay, next!”
“Here, wear the black top with your skinny jeans, these heels, and… this!” She handed me a pair of her hot pink platform heels and a sparkly necklace that actually looked perfect. I quickly pulled my hair out, attempting to fluff it up.
“Ugh, I’m so jealous of your hair.” Danielle sighed.
“Are you kidding? I would kill for curls like yours!”
“Yeah, but you have that hair that looks amazing no matter what you do with it. And you can make it all sexy and messy. When I do that it just looks like a slept on it wrong.” I looked in the mirror at my reflection and decided to just take her compliment and leave my hair in the slightly wild state it was currently in. A few swipes of mascara and a spray of perfume later, we were ready to go.
I filed out after Eleanor into the living room where all the boys were sitting around waiting for us, watching a soccer game on the big TV.
“Ready to go?” Louis asked, taking Eleanor’s hand. I felt extremely self-conscious as I felt several gazes fall on me. But the only one I really cared about was Harry. I watched as he turned off the TV, stood up, and turned towards me. His expression immediately changed. I’m not sure what it was, something between surprise and…something else. I felt my cheeks redden as a wide devilish smile spread across his face.
“Wow. You look, like, um, really good.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously and I couldn’t help but feel successful. I had caused Harry Styles to have a loss for words. Go me!!
“Alright, Haz, get a hold of yourself. Lets GO!” Zayn yelled, slapping Harry on the back.
We managed to fit all 8 of us into one of the larger van cabs. Ironically, I was sitting next to Harry. And when I say ‘sitting’, I mean ’pretty much sitting on his lap’.
“Sorry.” I said, trying to readjust myself so I wasn’t attacking him.
“It’s okay,” he said in my ear above the others yelling and joking around. As soon as the car moved, I went lunging forward, thankfully saved me by wrapping his arms around my waist and holding my in place.
“Thanks”, I said, leaning back so I could look at him.
He kept his arms just like that for the rest of the drive to this guy Danny’s apartment. And when we finally got there, as everyone piled out, I let Harry go first. Then, when it was my turn to get out of the car, he reached his hand out to help me.
“Thank you”, I said, taking his hand as I attempted to step over the curb and onto the sidewalk in heels.
“ There’s no goddamn lift!” I heard someone yell, the other two girls and I giving each other a look of terror as we stared at our feet, all in at least 4 inch heels.
“Well THIS should be interesting.” Eleanor nodded as we walked into the building and began the trek to the 5th floor.


HARRY’S POV:
The party was massive, at least 100 people crammed into this one big empty room, plus the 360 degree wraparound terrace surrounding Danny’s flat. There was loud thumping music and drinks and people. Tons. Of. People.
Thankfully, it wasn’t really the type of crowd that would really care that One Direction was here, so we could mingle and go around pretty much unnoticed. Which I had to admit, was really nice. I had lost Anna a little while ago when Danielle and Eleanor had pulled her onto the makeshift dance floor when some particularly girly song came on. The three of them were quickly becoming best friends.
So now I was outside, leaning against the railing of the porch with Zayn and Niall.
“So, you gonna try and get some numbers tonight, Nailler?” Zayn joked.
“I don’t know man, I think you’ve snogged every girl here.” Niall responded under his breath so only the two of us could here.
“Well we know what Harry’s goal is for tonight!” Zayn moved his attention to me, putting his hand on my shoulder.
“Zayn, c’mon.”
“Just tell me if your gonna try and kiss her!”
“I’ve only known her a week!”
“And that is 6 days too many to not at least TRY.”
“Okay, well.. Maybe I want her for more than a snog.”
“I never said you didn’t. That much is obvious. I’m just trying to help you out here.”
“I think I’m good.”
“Don’t get testy with me, you’re the one who practically falls over your own feet every time she walks in the room.” God, was I really that obvious?
“Do you think she knows? Really.” They could tell by my tone that I wasn’t just messing around anymore.
“We can all see it. But I honestly don’t think she knows for sure. But, to be honest, the sexual tension between you two is massive.”
“I need another drink.”

Half an hour and another beer later I was feeling a lot more relaxed about the Anna situation. I was going to just be honest with her. That is, if I could find her…
Have you seen Anna?!” I yelled into Louis ear, trying to allow him to hear me over the loud music. He shook his head and then held up a finger, turning to ask Eleanor. She whispered something to him, then Louis turned to me and said, “El said last she saw her was in the kitchen.” I made a motion explaining that I was going to go find her and Louis gave me this look as if to say “best of luck”.


ANNA’S POV:
Somewhere between dancing spastically to the Spice Girls and dying of thirst, I managed to lose both Danielle and Eleanor. But I was way too thirsty to go looking for them. Also, I’m pretty sure I was way too drunk to find them. It was kind of embarrassing; I could barely walk in a straight line. I stumbled into the overcrowded kitchen, trying to find something to drink besides hard liqueur. I grabbed for a bottle of water, only after taking a sip, realizing it was vodka.
“Dammit.” I cursed under my breath.
“Can I help you with something?” I heard an unfamiliar voice say. I turned around and saw a complete stranger staring back at me. He had short dark blonde hair and a lip ring.
“I was just looking for some water.” I mumbled.
“Well I don’t think your going to find any of that in here.” He said, grabbing my arm. “C’mon, I’ll help.” He grabbed me sort of harshly which I was startled by.
“No, it’s fine.”
“Aww, come on. Lets have a little fun.” He pulled me towards him and slid one hand down my arm and to my exposed waist.
“Seriously. Please just let me go. I don’t feel well.”
“I can help you.” He breathed in my ear, causing my skin to crawl. I looked around frantically for someone who might be paying attention. But everyone was completely engrossed in their own world.
“Lets go somewhere else. It’s far too crowded here to have any fun whatsoever.” He pushed me forward which I tried to stop, failing miserably.
“Ow! You’re hurting me! Please, just leave me alone.”
“You American girls are always so sexy. And easy.” He smirked at me, pushing me against the wall of a hallway. I turned my head so I wasn’t looking straight at him. But I could still smell the alcohol on his breath, his grip tight around my wrist. He was leaning in as I tried as hard as I could to get away.
“Stop!” I managed to scream, attempting to push him away. But before I could do anything else, he was gone. But it wasn’t thanks to me.

HARRY’S POV:
I saw Anna making her way into the kitchen, but lost her in the crowds of people. When I finally made my way over there I saw her struggling against the grip of some guy. He had her up against this wall, his hands wrapped around her tiny wrists, pinning them to her sides. Without giving it a second thought I lifted my fist and punched his as hard as I could. He went flying, leaving Anna looking both confused and petrified.
“Are you alright?” I said, rushing over to her side. She looked up at me and nodded, I noticed tears in her eyes.
“Come on.” I took her hand gently and she tried to stand up, stumbling as she attempted to take a step.
“I’m so sorry, Harry.” She said, sniffling.
“It’s okay. Come here, I’ll help you.” I wrapped my arm around her waist, pressing herself against me as we quickly made our way out and into the abandoned hallway.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked again once we were alone.
“Yeah… I just feel so stupid. I should know better-“
“You don’t need to explain yourself, Anna. We’ve all been here. Some of us even worse.”
“I know. I just wanted everything to be perfect tonight.” She signed, covering her face with her hands. I had to work so hard to not ask her what she meant by that, and why.
“Do you want to go? I can take you back to my place?” In any other situation it would seem like I was trying to use this situation, but I wasn’t. I really was just worried about her. She nodded weakly.
“Hmm, I don’t, however, think you’re going to be able to make it down those stairs.”
“I would have to agree”, she mumbled. As swiftly as I could, I lifted her up in my arms and carefully carried her down the steps. Now, I wasn’t the strongest or most athletic guy in the world, but maybe it was the adrenaline or something that made the decent almost bearable.
Thankfully, finding a cab wasn’t too hard. I gently slid Anna in the back seat and got in next to her,
“Shit. I- I need to call Molly.” She fumbled with her bag, trying to find her phone.
“Shhh. It’s Okay, I’ll do it.”
“Ugh, she’s going to love that.” She said, smiling a little. “You’re about to make her year.”
“Well that’s good I suppose. What should I tell her?”
“Just- cover for me, I don’t know, she’ll figure something out. She’s smart, Molly’s really smart.” She was just sort of going on and on and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Don’t laugh at me!’ She pouted.
“I’m not.” I said, trying to keep a straight face.
“Yes, you are! But you know what? I don’t care. Just, dial the phone.” She was trying to be authoritative, but it wasn’t working. But I still dialed the phone number for her friend Molly.
“Hello?” A groggy voice answered after several rings.
“Hello? Is this Molly?”
“Yeah… who’s this? Why are you on Anna- Oh. My. God.”
“Yeah, uh, this is Harry- Styles. Um, Anna’s a little well, drunk. More like pissed. So I was going to let her just sleep it off. Seeing that tomorrow’s Saturday, she wanted to know if you could try to cover for her? I can’t see her making it back to her room tonight without causing quite a scene so…”
“Yeah, of course! Happy to!”
“Lovely. Perfect. Thank you.”
“No problem!”
“Bye then.” I chuckled a little and then hung up.
“Did she profess her undying love?”
“Nah, she was very accommodating though.”
“I’m sure.”
“You a bit of a mean drunk, you know that?”
“I am not!” She sat up, throwing her arms around my neck.
“Funny…” She mumbled, playing with one of my curls.
“What’s that?” I said, trying to respond normally, while the only thing I could think about was how close we were right now, how easily I could just lean in and…
“It’s only been a week since we met in a cab just like this. One week… it feels like longer…”
“It does.”
“I’m sorry I ruined your night”.
“You didn’t, you made the night.”
Her arms were still wrapped around my neck as she laid her head down on my chest, moving closer to me. I didn’t dare move as her eyes fluttered closed and she tightened her grip around me. I looked down at her, mesmerized at how incredible she looked. Even now, after a night of dancing and partying and drunken assholes hitting on her, she still managed to look so innocent and perfect.
This night hadn’t turned out like I had thought it would. But it is quite possible that it was even better than I could have hoped for.

Comments

@notarealhipster Who do you imagine anna as?

@iceskatez

I'm from the US, outside of Philly :)
Where are you from? My side of the pond (United States) or the other one?
I love this story it's my favorite one I've read so far! :)