The Prince's Tutor

As soon as the words left her mouth, Callie confirmed her decision. Somehow, in the back of her mind she knew that this was the decision she had to make. She had to stand up to Harry and tie whatever loose strings they’ve let slip the past couple weeks.

And she couldn’t be weak about it.

“Andy, I know what I have to do. I’ll call you when it’s over.”

She heard her sister’s voice fade and the long, buzzing dial tone replace it. Callie stared at the “call ended” message on her screen, when she heard a knock at her door.

Rising from her chair she quickly gathered the candy wrappers and brushed them off of her desk, straight into the trash bin.

She then quickly approached the door and wasn’t at all surprised when she saw Harry’s face looking back at her, a hint of a smile engraved in his lips.

“Harry,” she spoke softly, trying her best to stay aloof.

‘Calm and collected, just like Kate.’ She reminded herself.

“How are you?”

His voice was soft, his features relaxed. Of course they were- he was always relaxed.

Callie was the one desperately trying to hold it together while Harry always managed to hide what he was thinking behind his apathetic mask.

“F-fine, thanks.”

Too late. Her voice got caught in her throat as she was speaking and he noticed.

He tilted his head to the side and leaned in, his hand resting on the door frame.

“Are you sure?”

If she could only capture the moment right now and lock it away in her memories forever, she would. He was staring at her with such intensity that all her remaining confidence withered away. His blue eyes held such raw emotion that she felt her insides squirm underneath his stare.

He leaned in for just a moment- his head still tilted to the side, and analyzed her features.

His eyes held concern, like he was asking a million questions in his mind. All the while Callie felt her heart grow heavy, but remained silent and statuesque.

“Do you mind coming with me somewhere?” he asked, his eyes narrowing slightly as he examined her expression.

“W-what?” For god’s sake, pull yourself together, woman. “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea, Harry.”

Harry remained quiet for a moment, his expression still unreadable. She felt her stomach grow weak as his eyes focused on her, weighing her down. He was doing that thing again. That horribly annoying thing where he looked straight into everything Callie kept hidden away, gathering his information.

And then, his lips formed a smile and he laughed quietly.

“How long are you going to keep avoiding me?”

This was it. The moment had come. She felt that she had built up enough courage to finally face him. If she could just avoid his eyes, she could say it. And then she’d end whatever fiasco he had created.

“I’m not avoiding you,” she said carefully, her lips ready to force out the rest of her speech.

But it never came.

“Yes you are,” he stated bluntly.

His expression was calm and indifferent. If it weren’t for the intensity of his eyes, Callie would have assumed he was just having a conversation about the weather.

“You’re avoiding me because I kissed you.”

There it was. Everything Callie was desperately trying to get rid of. Every thought, every emotion she had been feeling and thinking was there. And Callie hated him for it. She hated him for how easily he could just say it while here she was, struggling to forget it ever happened.

“Harry-” the words were there, all she had to do was say them.

“Just come with me,” he interrupted “just an hour and then I’ll do whatever it is you want. I’ll leave you alone, never kiss you again- just come with me right now.”

And if you’ve ever had that feeling, that feeling where your whole life could be defined by one moment, you would understand why she did it. She could have closed the door, and walked away from him- but instead she reached out and grabbed his hand. Because sometimes in life, we have to take a risk- a small leap of faith that reminds us why this life is worth living.

In that moment the outside world ceased to exist. The second she touched his hand, Callie could feel herself become immersed into an alternate universe. It was a parallel world that existed solely on the idea of possibilities, of what could be. Right or wrong simply didn’t matter.

So she followed her instinct. For the first time in her life, Callie did what she desperately wanted to do. She ran away.

The pair had walked through the hallways, their fingers intertwined. Neither of them had spoken a word to each other, and there wasn’t a need to. It was a peaceful silence, rooted deeply with understanding. When they reached the hotel lobby, they began to run.

Before she knew it they were running on fresh snow, leaving the hotel and everything else behind. The snow crunched beneath their feet, but they didn’t stop. They kept running until all of a sudden they weren’t running anymore.

Callie stood clutching her stomach as Harry held her hand, his breathing rapid.

Her eyes locked onto his in the dark and for a moment they just stared, amazed by what they had just done. And then, suddenly, they both started laughing. Softly at first, and then hysterically until the laughter ceased altogether.

Callie ran her fingers through her curls, shaking her head in amazement.

“What did we just do, Harry?” She said softly, a shy smile highlighting her small features.

Harry’s smile brightened and then he tugged her arm gently, pulling her towards him.

“Come on, there’s something I want to do.”

They walked on the snow banks until they came to a frozen lake, vacant and forgotten.

Harry tugged her hand again to make her follow and reached the edge of the frozen water. He looked down at the layer of ice, and then slowly pressed his shoe onto the surface. Harry nodded his head in approval and turned back around.

“Let’s skate.”

His eyes were alive in the darkness. Callie looked out to the sleeping lake, and scanned for any signs of danger.

“Is it safe?”

Harry chuckled softly, his eyes fueled by an enigmatic force. He was a thrill seeker. He lived in a world filled with danger and mystery, a world extremely foreign to Callie.

“Do you trust me, Callie?” he said softly. He had noticed her hesitation and without warning, gently grabbed her face in his hands.

He held an air of confidence about him and when Callie looked him in the eyes, she felt safe. As long as he was here, nothing could touch her.

“Yes,” she mumbled, nodding her head in the process.

“Good.”

Harry took her hand and began leading her out to the ice. Slowly, he pressed his shoe onto the surface once more, and then the other. He turned to face Callie, who was still eyeing the lake doubtfully.

“But we don’t have skates!” she cried, once she realized she was being pulled onto the slippery platform.

Harry grabbed her by the waist and picked her up. Callie didn’t have any time to object, when she felt her feet planted on the ice.

She maintained still for a moment, too fearful to move. She turned her face to look at him and saw him smiling in amusement.

“Have some imagination, Callie. Not everything in life is done by the rules,” he laughed.

Harry began to skate slowly, Callie clumsily trailing behind. After about an hour, Callie had learned how to maintain her balance on her sneakers.

“See, it’s not too hard.”

“Easy for you to say, you’ve spent half your life doing these things,” Callie laughed.

Harry stopped suddenly, his eyes latching onto hers. He didn’t say anything, and Callie again felt the intensity of his stare. He grabbed her hands and pulled her closer to him, her body skating towards his.

“What?” she laughed. Something rustled in the pit of her stomach.

Harry’s eyes held a familiar hunger, probing and passionate. He smiled at her gently, his eyes dancing around her features.

Callie began to feel nervous again. She felt her stomach grow weaker, everything inside seemed to be moving.

Callie averted her gaze for a moment, trying to calm down her nerves.

“Don’t do that,” she said quietly, her voice barely a whisper.

Harry tilted his head to the side again, his red mane becoming wild with the wind.

“Do what?”

“That,” Callie repeated, her voice failing her again. “The way you're looking at me, touching me...”she trailed off, “Don’t do that again.”

Harry leaned his head towards hers, his eyes were smiling.

“What, you mean, don’t kiss you again?” he said, his voice held amusement.

“Yes! Don’t kiss me again,” Callie remarked, her insides were squirming with discomfort. Those weren’t butterflies in her stomach, they were bees.

Harry remained silent for a moment, his eyes examining her face. After a moment, he spoke. His voice sounded pained, like he had been suppressing everything far too long.

“Why not?”

Callie looked up at his eyes and she saw it. It was hurt. He was hurting.

“Because it’s not right, Harry. This can’t happen between us.”

She swallowed the lump forming in her throat and forced the words out. The words she had been practicing.

“I’m your tutor, Harry. Your father hired me. I can’t do this behind his back- I can’t do this behind everyone’s back. This has to stop right now, before we hurt anyone.”

“What if I can’t?” he said suddenly, his words rushing together. “What if I can’t stop?”

The bees in her stomach were hysteric. With every moment, every word they were getting angrier.

“We have to. I’m not going to risk it.”

Harry looked at her for a long time and for a second Callie thought that the conversation was over, and then he spoke suddenly.

“For the first time in my life, something makes sense,” he said, his voice ragged. Harry reached out his fingers and grabbed hold of Callie’s face. He cupped his hands around her cheeks and spoke, slowly, with purpose.

“And that only happens when I’m around you,” he said, his eyes held so much pain that Callie felt her heart become heavy with burden. “I’m not going to let that go, Callie. I’m not going to let you go.”

Before she had a chance to say anything, she felt his lips on hers. Something inside of her sparked and she felt the bees grow calmer with every movement. She parted her lips slightly and felt his tongue cascade into her mouth. Each moment their tongues met it tasted sweeter and soon she was digging her fingers into his hair.

After a moment they pulled apart, the realization of what they just did dawned on them.

“We’re in trouble, aren’t we?” Callie mouthed to him, her body locked in his grasp.

Harry reached out a hand and gently touched her cheek, his smile broadening.

He leaned in and gave her a soft, sweet kiss. When he pulled away he looked at her green eyes with intense affection.

“I don’t care.”