Different (5) (Patreon)

Author's note: this is the last chapter of the month! I can't believe I posted FIVE chapters in less than a month! Don't worry other pieces will be posted for you to enjoy! I hope you enjoy it! 

"Holy shit," Mitch screamed as they all got into the car. "What the fuck is happening?" He punched the steering wheel. "Did she really invite us over?!" Jeff and Liam laughed in the back as they buckled themselves in.

"She is so attractive," Liam added as he scrolled through his phone. Harry only wished he was in the car, riding with her.

"Are you done?" he asked as Mitch started following her toward her apartment.

"Fuck no!" Mitch exclaimed as they stopped at the red light. "Are you sleeping with her tonight?"

"What do you mean?"

"The only reason she is letting us sleep over is that she wants to be around you," Liam emphasized, slapping his shoulder.

"Are you sleeping with her, then?" Jeff asked again with a chuckle. Harry suddenly felt nervous and didn’t even want to attend. However, it wasn’t because he didn’t desire to be around her, but because he wouldn’t know what to do if the occasion arose. He was a man. He had seen porn before, but he knew all of that was fake. Most importantly, he had feelings for her and genuinely wanted to make her feel good. Harry had always placed girls on the back burner. He had never been one of those guys who desperately desired to get laid. His main priority had always been education so that he could have a stable future, provide for his future family, and have better opportunities than he had. Now, Y/N had come into his life and had quickly become the only swarming thought in his head: in his sleep, in class, and at every single moment. He was constantly thinking of her and how she was doing.

"She is just being nice," he shrugged, brushing off their comments.

"You have to sleep with her, H," Mitch advised as he drove. Harry didn’t respond; he just kept his thoughts to himself. He started playing out, in his head, every outcome or scenario that could develop in her apartment. "And don’t you dare start stuttering and get all shy in front of her." Harry wanted to punch him, but he held himself back and swallowed his words.

A few minutes later, they arrived at Y/N’s. The apartment was stunning. Sure, it was big for only one person, but Y/N had made sure that it felt cozy with the help of lots of carpets and cushions and pillows and warm light.

“What does her dad do again? Jeff asked, under his breath as she closed the door and slipped off her shoes in the foyer. Harry shrugged his shoulders not sure.

“Welcome! Make yourselves at home” She smiled and hung her coat in the closet beside the front door. Y/N stood back and watched how they all scrammed to take off their shoes and hang their coats.

Meanwhile, she wrapped her arms around his torso. Y/N detached herself and waited until they all pushed each other around trying to place their shoes in order.

“There are two bedrooms upstairs and one down here. So, it’s up to you where you want to sleep tonight!”

“Shotgun upstairs! Sarah yelled, right before the rest of the guys tried to interrupt her. Y/N giggled as Jeff and Liam pushed each other, she covered her ears, shaking her head at Harry’s silly friends.

“I am sleeping upstairs and ON MY OWN!” She yelled after everyone had quieted down a bit.

“Makes sense. You are the only girl”

“So, who is sleeping with who? Does Mitch sleep with Liam or with Jeff?”

“Rock, papers, scissors?” Liam suggested as he turned to look at his other friends with his hands on his hips.

“Deal” All three started playing, ending with Mitch winning the last room upstairs.

“Where are your parents?” Jeff asked as he sat down on the living room couch.

“Business trip. They've been gone for four months” She acted like it didn’t bother her, but Harry could tell it did. Everyone nodded and continued scanning their living room.

“Do you guys want to get into the pool?” She asked, trying to change the subject and not seem too obvious.

“There is a pool?!” Mitch sat up, surprised that there was one. Y/N nodded and walked up to the slide doors. She rose the blinds and opened the doors, revealing the heated pool.

“Oh my god! Get the fuck out of here!”

“It’s fall. It’s too cold” Liam pointed out as he stepped out into the terrace.

“It’s heated”

“We have no bathing suits” Sarah reminded them as everyone tested the pool’s water temperature.

“You can borrow one of mine and I think my stepbrother might have left some of his clothes upstairs”

“You have a stepbrother?” Harry was confused, he had never heard about him, nor had he seen him in any family picture. On top of it, Y/N had failed to mention him ever.

“I do. He had a fallout with my father and doesn’t come around anymore. He is an ass” She confessed as they both watched Mitch trying to pick Sarah up and throw her in the pool. “I’ll go get them”. Y/N could still remember all the distress that he had brought to her father. Her father wasn't perfect, but he was brother was far from it.

“I’ll go with you” Harry offered and followed her upstairs. The upstairs was just as decorated as the downstairs. There were quite a lot of paintings on the walls and plants decorating different corners. He could see that she had decorated the place as opposed to the other house that he had gone to. The place felt warmer, and it was less modern. They walked down to the last room down the hall. Her room was painted in a warm cream color. Her bed was huge, and it took up most of the space of the bedroom. Everything was very neat and strategically placed.

“Let me change really quick” She disappeared into her closet which was bigger than his dorm room., leaving Harry with his own thoughts.

Harry walked around the room noticing the numerous picture frames on every single piece of furniture. He noticed the small towers of books beside her bed and desk and on her nightstands. He could see that they had lots of books in common. Harry had never guessed her to read so much in her leisure time. He could hear the rest of his friends laughing from upstairs, it made his heart and mind feel at ease.

“I am ready” she startled him. She decided to go with a lime green bikini that she had gotten a few years ago on a trip to Mallorca. It left little for imagination and Harry could help his wondering eyes. “I’ll be right back!” Y/N walked into her the guest bedroom where her stepbrother had stayed the last time. She had been at school when he arrived. He had been waiting for her in the lobby of the apartment, demanding she allow him to stay.

Y/N’s father arrived the next day and forced him to leave immediately. He promised to send him his clothes, but he never did. Not because her father didn’t want to, but because he never heard from him anymore.

“Do you want to change here or downstairs?” She asked as he walked back into her bedroom.

“Here is fine” He chose the navy-blue shorts. Meanwhile, she went through her own bikinis and chose a few for Sarah to choose from assorted colors and types.

“Are they comfortable? she asked him as soon as he stepped out. “Are you okay? You have been far too quiet” her head hung to the side, confused, and intrigued. He didn't feel prepared to handle her bare skin against his fingertips.

“I guess I am in my head too much” he frowned. Mitch and Liam’s comments had gotten into his head and had impeded him from having an enjoyable time.

“Ok,” she breathed, he then noticed how close her lips were to his. He smiled and kissed her. It was chaste and innocent but sweet enough to make her smile through it. “Let’s go downstairs before Sarah gets thrown into the pool,” she said in between giggles when they pulled away.

As they walked downstairs with hands intertwined and lazy smiles smeared across their faces, Harry could already tell the type of comments and reactions that were going to be thrown his way as soon as they saw her. He walked in front of her trying to block his friend's prying eyes from her, feeling protective of her.

“Here,” Harry threw them the trunks.

“The bathroom is at the end of the hall at your right” She instructed, and the boys were too excited to get into the pool to ever notice her appearance. She had unconsciously wrapped her arms around Harry's torso, hiding her almost naked body from the crowd. She unwrapped herself and walked up to Sarah, but not before planting a kiss on the nape of his neck. “I brought you a few options because I wasn’t sure what you preferred. This one is just like mine but white”.

“Absolutely not. I don’t have to confidence to pull that off or the body”

“You don’t” Harry confirmed, earning a glare from Sarah and an elbow to the ribs from Y/N.

“Yes, you do! It’s 2024. Anyone can pull it off and don’t listen to him” She encouraged, but Sarah turned it down again. Therefore, she continued showing her different options until she settled on one of them. “You are a dick” she pouted, turning her attention towards him after Sarah had disappeared to change. Y/N proceeded to take some towels out of one of the closets for them to dry off after. She placed them on the three tanning beds outside, by the edge of the pool.

“I was being honest” He shrugged and walked up to the steps of the pool and got in. The water was warm. It felt more like a jacuzzi than an actual pool, but he didn’t mind. It helped him relax. Y/N connected her phone to the speakers and started playing music, setting the ambiance for everyone. Meanwhile, Harry swam around trying to get his mind off things. When he came back up to the surface for some air, he noticed that she had also submerged and was staring at the starry night.

“Beautiful, huh?”

“Kiss me” she demanded, Harry reached out and cupped her face into his hands then pressed her lips and bodies against one another. Even though he had her pressed up against him, it still didn’t feel enough. He wrapped his arm around her waist and just like he had deduced her skin felt like silk under his touch.

She was surprised by his sudden burst of confidence. That was until he pulled away and his cheeks got hot. Y/N pecked her lips a few more times before the moment was cut short by Mitch, Liam, and Jeff running out and jumping into the pool.

“It’s so nice” Mitch smiled as he came up for air.

Sarah walked out also wearing a two-piece, but a bit less revealing than Y/N’s. Harry had made her feel self-conscious and had reminded her of her insecurities. Harry made a mental note to personally apologize to her. It had been a joke, but he had accidentally taken it too far. They swam around for hours and joked around. They even managed to make fun of Y/N. To which she laughed and even made fun of herself. Harry watched yawned as she argued with Mitch and so he swam up to her and wrapped himself around her.

“Tired?” He whispered to her as Mitch started another argument with Liam. Meanwhile, Jeff was floating around while looking at the dark sky and Sarah was just sitting by the steps with the water up to her neck, laughing at Mitch.

“A bit” Harry was also starting to get tired. “I think I am going to head upstairs and get into bed” she announced, “You guys stay in here if you like. Just make sure to close the doors and turn off the lights” Everyone muttered and waved goodbye.

“I am going to go as well” He confessed and followed her. Liam winked at her as he swam past him. She slicked her hair back as she stepped out, leaving Mitch and Liam with their mouths open wide. She was unbelievably irresistible, and Harry couldn’t blame them. She had curves in all the right places.

“It’s freezing” she complained as she quickly wrapped a towel around her body. Harry followed her around and closed the door behind them as they tiptoed, dripping water up the stairs.