My Little Bird

Brighton was a two hour trip from Eleanor's flat with the Saturday traffic. Harry drove his Range Rover because neither Louis or Eleanor had a vehicle big enough to transport the four of them. Since they had decided to eat lunch before they left (and Louis took forever to finish his meal), that put them arriving at their hotel around 3:30, so by the time they'd gotten settled into their rooms, it was time to start getting ready for the wedding.

Eleanor sorted through her dresses while Asher was showering and she laid out her favorite one for her cousin to wear. She dropped some heels onto the bed next to the dress and went back to her suitcase to pick something out for herself. She went into the bathroom as soon as Asher came out and Asher hurried to dry her hair and apply her makeup.

She pulled on her dress just as Eleanor hurried out of the bathroom, grumbling to herself about being in a rush to get ready. While she dried her hair, Asher slid her feet into the heels her cousin was letting her borrow and stood up, teetering a little as she took a few steps to get used to them. She didn't own a single pair of heels herself, so she definitely wasn't used to walking in them.

By the time she'd walked around the hotel room in circles enough to get used to the heels, Eleanor was finishing her makeup and beckoning her over to where she was standing by the bed. "Come on. Time to do your hair!"

Eleanor had insisted on it when they were first talking about their choices of wedding attire and even though she had complained about being in a rush, she was determined to do her cousin's hair. Asher sat down on the edge of the bed in front of her and she quickly got to work while Asher replied to a text from Harry, asking if they were nearly ready to go.

"Done!" Eleanor announced happily after less than ten minutes. "You look so pretty!"

Asher brushed off the compliment, mumbling a half-hearted thanks before reminding her that she needed to change into her dress immediately. While Eleanor got dressed, Asher went over to the bathroom mirror to check her appearance. Her cousin had done an excellent job with the hairstyle, but that left her with no time to do her own hair. By the time she had pulled on her shoes, the boys were knocking on the door, leaving her with no option but to give it a simple tousle with her fingers.

While she checked herself in the mirror, Asher went over to open the heavy beige door. Louis and Harry were both standing there, their arms folded behind their backs and smiles on their faces. "Well, don't you two look handsome," she cooed, flashing them a grin. Louis moved past her to go further into the room, but Harry stayed where he was.

"You look beautiful, Ash," he said softly.

She could feel herself blushing but she managed a thank you before Eleanor gave an exasperated sigh behind her. "Okay, okay, we can go now." She quickly stepped out into the hallway and Eleanor and Louis followed right behind, the four of them walking down to the elevator together. The venue where everything was taking place was about 400 meters from their hotel so they walked instead of wasting gasoline to drive there.

The Lovelace Rhodes Conservatory was gorgeous to say the least. As soon as they stepped inside, Asher was in awe of the architecture of the building, the various plants scattered about, and the twinkle lights hanging from the ceiling. The tables were decorated in a dark red color with small trees covered in lights as the centerpieces. The room was obviously already decorated for the reception. The actual marriage had taken place earlier in the day, with only the bride and groom's parents and siblings in attendance. They wanted a private ceremony and a huge party to follow with all their extended family and friends.

Asher's eyes scanned the room for familiar faces and she immediately picked out Sarah, her cousin William, Eleanor's parents, Sarah's parents, and her grandmother from the crowd. What threw her off was the two faces at the table in the back row that she never expected to see.

"What the hell?"

She hadn't realized that she'd said it out loud until Harry looked over at her with knitted eyebrows, leaning in closer to her. "What's wrong?"

She stared at the people for another long second before shaking her head and glancing up at him. "Nothing. Just-.....I wasn't expecting my parents to be here."

"Your parents are here?" he repeated, immediately standing up straighter. For reasons unknown to him, her suddenly felt nervousness creeping into his bones.

"Yeah. I guess I should go say hi," she sighed, pulling her arm out of his and patting his chest. "I'll be right back."

She walked away from the three of them and approached the table where her father was sitting and her mother was chatting with another guest. Neither of them even noticed her until she spoke. "Mom? Dad?"

"Asher, sweetheart! You look wonderful!" her mother exclaimed, reaching out to pull her into a hug. "Still wearing that necklace, I see. Darling, it doesn't even go with your dress." She'd always hated the dainty gold chain hanging from her daughter's neck for some reason. She even said it was tacky at one point, and she asked Asher not to wear it, especially to events like hospital banquets or weddings where she had to dress up.

"Doesn't matter," she replied. "You know I don't take it off." The necklace had been there since Dane fastened it around her neck as they sat in their back booth at Lulu's Diner on Christmas Eve, only four months before his death. It was important to her because it was her little piece of him-- the crescent moon had been his part of the tattoo trio and that was the reason he had picked the necklace for her.

Her mother shrugged it off, knowing that she wasn't going to change Asher's mind. "How is your holiday going? Are you having a good time in London?"

"It's fine, Mom. What are you guys doing here?"

"Well we both had some vacation time so when we got Sarah's invite we figured why not come back home for a visit? We stayed here in Brighton for the week-- a family vacation!"

Asher tried to ignore the hurt she felt at her mother's words. It definitely wasn't the whole family. She hadn't even known they were coming at all; she felt like that was definitely something she should have been informed of. She couldn't believe none of her sisters had mentioned it to her in all the times that she had skyped with them.

"O-oh. That's, um, good."

"You're here with Eleanor then?"

"Yeah, she's back there," she sighed, motioning to where her cousin and two friends were standing a few meters back. She watched as her mother's face twisted into a look of contempt and she just waited because she knew it was coming.

"Is that your boyfriend? Oh, Asher, darling." She was disappointed, that much was obvious just from the tone of her voice. She shook her head in disapproval as she eyed the boy Eleanor wasn't hugging. Just with a ten second look, she had decided that his hair was too long and he wasn't dressed up enough (because really she just expected everyone to wear a tuxedo, which was ridiculous). To her, that meant that he obviously wasn't wealthy enough to buy proper wedding attire and he didn't look like a future doctor; therefore, he wasn't good enough.

Asher was just glad that he hadn't come over with her because she'd never forgive her mother if she'd put Harry down while he was standing right there. She was also glad that the outfit he was wearing covered up all of his tattoos, because that would have just been another reason for her mother to make a snide comment about him.

"He's not my boyfriend, Mom. He's just a friend. I met him through El's boyfriend."

"Oh thank goodness," she sighed in relief, placing her hand on her chest for dramatic effect. "Because Eleanor's boyfriend doesn't look like the type you need to be looking at for a future husband."

"I'm nineteen year old. I'm not even thinking about future husbands yet."

"Well, you should be. Look at your cousin Sarah! Only twenty-two and she's found herself a lad from a nice family who's studying to become a lawyer!" Asher knew that nice family in her mother's language translated to wealthy as fuck.

She scoffed and shook her head. "I'll see you later, Mom."

Before her mother could protest, Asher was already walking back toward her friends, trying her best to hide the anger flaring up inside her. It didn't do much good though because as soon as she reached them, Harry's arm slid around her shoulders as he looked down at her, obviously concerned. "What's that face for?"

"Nothing. Just my mother being herself."

"Well, don't worry about her. We're going to have a great time tonight, yeah?" She wasn't so sure of that, but she agreed for his sake just before Eleanor suggested they go and find their table. They had barely taken their seats when a rush of light blonde hair came flying toward her, almost knocking her out of her seat.

"Asher, you're here!" Asher laughed as her youngest sister Flora let go of her and plopped herself in her lap. "I missed you," the child said, grinning up at her.

"I missed you too, kid."

"Flora Grace Maxwell, I am so done with your behavior," grumbled a voice from behind her. Asher craned her neck to look over her shoulder just as another one of her sisters came to a stop behind her chair. "She's been an absolute terror since you left home."

The young blonde hopped down from Asher's lap and ran to the other side of the table, climbing up into Eleanor's lap while she just chuckled. "Hello, sweetie," she cooed at the child. Asher glanced over at her youngest sister with furrowed brows before looking back at the sister standing behind her. "I don't know, Iris. I just can't believe that sweet face could be anything but an angel."

Iris scoffed, plopping down into an empty seat next to Harry. "She's only sweet when you're around. Trust me." She slowly turned to the boy beside her and her eyes widened before glancing back to her sister. Harry's heart dropped into his stomach when he saw the look on the girl's face and he shook his head slightly, giving her a pleading look. She obviously knew who he was.

She quickly stood up from her chair, clearing her throat as she held her hand out to her youngest sister. "Come on, Flora. Let's go find Mom." She shot Harry a 'you're-going-to-explain-yourself-later' look before she and the little girl disappeared from the table and he breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, shit, I didn't even introduce you guys," Asher realized only after the girls had left. "Those were two of my sisters. The youngest, Flora, and the oldest after me, Iris. I'm sure Millie is around here somewhere too."

"Three sisters," Harry said, shaking his head with a laugh. "Wow. One is enough for me."

Asher grinned. "Just imagine how my dad must feel. Five females under one roof."

He was about to respond when they were interrupted by the bride and groom. Sarah squealed excitedly as both Asher and Eleanor rose from their seats and went over to hug her. "I'm so glad you both are here! It's been too long since we've seen each other!"

"It definitely has. Congratulations by the way!"

"Thank you! Oh, this is my husband John," she giggled, looping her arm through the arm of the man standing next to her. He gave the two a polite smile, but he said nothing. That must have been why they were such a good match; she talked nonstop, and he never talked. "Well, you've brought a pair of handsome lads!"

Honestly, Harry wasn't sure how it hadn't dawned on him that just because Asher didn't know who he was, that didn't mean that the rest of her family wouldn't know him when they saw him. Her sister Iris had recognized him right away. He felt like he was going to be sick when the bride's eyes focused on him, carefully sizing him up, before moving on to Louis and doing the same.

"This is my boyfriend, Louis," Eleanor replied, patting his shoulder. "And that's Harry, Asher's date."

"Pleasure to meet you both. Thanks for comin'," Sarah said with a polite smile. Harry was fairly sure that she at least somewhat recognized them as well, but she didn't say anything about it. "Well, we've got to make the rounds. I'll catch up with you girls later, yeah?"

Not long after the bride and groom moved on to another table, they were joined by a young boy and girl. He immediately wrapped Asher in a hug then moved on to Eleanor. "Looks like we're sittin' together," he said as he took the seat next to Eleanor and the girl took the last empty seat next to Harry.

"Lads, this is our cousin William and his girlfriend Rosie. Will, this is Harry and Louis." Eleanor did the mandatory introductions and William shook both boys' hands while Rosie just smiled shyly.

The two made for interesting conversation over dinner, once Rosie started to come out of her shell a bit. She was firing off joke after joke and William was laughing his ass off, all the while looking at her as if she were the only thing in the room. It was sweet.

Flora joined the table again as the wedding cake was being served and she made fast friends with Harry, sitting on Asher's lap as she chattered on about anything and everything she could think of. Harry just humored her, chuckling at her jokes and listening intently to her many stories while everyone ate their cake. Asher had never seen her talk so much at once; usually, she was super quiet, especially around strangers. It was obvious she liked Harry very much.

Eventually, she decided to go and dance with some other little girls her age so she hopped down from Asher's lap and took off running toward the dance floor. Harry and Louis got up from the table and went over to the open bar to get drinks for everyone, while Eleanor and Asher slid their chairs closer to one another so that they could talk about their family members quietly.

Louis returned only a few minutes later with a beer for himself and a cocktail for Eleanor, but Harry wasn't with him. Louis simply pointed behind her as he slid back into his seat and Asher turned her head to see where he'd gone. He was standing in the corner, about a meter from the bar, a guilty look on his face as he nodded along with whatever her sister was saying. Iris looked slightly vexed, her hands on her hips and her eyes narrowed as she spoke. Asher shot Eleanor a confused look before rising from her seat and walking over to the pair.

She noticed that her sister immediately stopped talking when she glanced over and saw her coming toward them. Iris plastered a smile on her face when she reached them and Asher looked between the two suspiciously. "Everything alright over here?"

"Of course," Iris laughed, wrapping one arm around her sister's waist and giving her a side hug. "Just having a nice chat. He's cuter than that guy you went on a date with the other week," she added in a not so subtle whisper.

Any other time, Harry would've smirked at someone saying he was more attractive than Olly, but he was too worried at the moment. Iris was her sister and not fifteen seconds ago, she had been giving him hell for lying about who he was; he didn't know Iris so he didn't know what exactly she might do.

Asher blushed and gave her sister a glare. "Alright well, Harry, how about we get those drinks?"

He nodded in agreement and gave Iris one more nervous look before stepping back over to the bar. Asher jabbed her sister with her elbow, earning a whine from the younger girl. "Ow! What was that for?"

"You're embarrassing," she grumbled, glancing at Harry over her shoulder.

"He's really hot, Ash. He just looks like the type Mom would hate. Has she seen him? Does she hate him?"

"Oh, yeah, she saw him. And yeah, she definitely didn't seem too fond of him. But it doesn't matter because we're just friends."

"Do you say that about all the hot guys you hang around in London? Seriously, if you're not dating, please tell me you've at least hit that."

Asher's mouth dropped open at her sister's words. "Jesus! I can't believe you just said that!" Iris started laughing, which caused Asher to laugh too and they didn't stop until Harry was standing between them again, two drinks in his hands as he looked at the two confused. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," they both answered automatically.

"Okay, gotta go find someone I can dance with who's not related to me. Later!" Iris walked away from them, leaving her sister shaking her head and chuckling to herself. Harry followed Asher back to the table and they both sat down to enjoy their drinks.

Asher wasn't surprised that she didn't know a single song the DJ played but she did her best to listen because she did like quite a few of them. People were constantly coming over to them at their table to see the girls, especially Asher who hadn't been to England since she was twelve and therefore hadn't seen them in a very long time. Her aunt came bustling over to the table excitedly, demanding that Asher, Eleanor, and Sarah all take a photo together. On top of that, she requested photos of all four Maxwell sisters, Asher with William, all seven grandchildren with their grandmother, Eleanor with William, and Asher and Eleanor with their dates. Eleanor made sure to let Iris use her phone to capture the last photo as well.

Finally, they were left alone for some peace and quiet and Asher was able to listen to the music again without interruption. Eleanor got up from her chair, pulling Louis up with her and leading him out to the dance floor. The song changed to yet another one she didn't know and Harry chuckled before sliding out of his seat and standing up next to her. "What are you doing?" she asked suspiciously.

He grinned as he held his hand out to her, the dimples in his cheeks becoming more pronounced. "This is a good song. Dance with me."

"No way," she laughed, shaking her head.

"Why not? You don't know how to slow dance?" he joked.

"I know how. I just don't want to."

"You'd rather sit here all night dwelling on whatever your mum said?" She frowned but didn't respond. "Come on, Ash," he coaxed, wiggling his fingers. "I'm startin' to look stupid here."

"Not my fault," she shot back, taking his hand and rising to her feet. "One dance."

He kept a tight hold on her hand as he led her to the dance floor and once they were in the midst of all the other couples, he gently took hold of her waist with his other hand. She placed her hand on his shoulder as he squeezed their joined hands and grinned. "See? Not so bad."

"Speak for yourself," she grumbled. "I hate weddings."

"I think you're the first bird who's ever said that."

"Well, not all weddings. But definitely this one."

"And why's that?"

"Just....expectations, I guess. Sarah's only a few years older than me so I know my family's all thinking it's about my turn. It's fucking ridiculous. I'm only nineteen years old for Christ's sake!"

Things got quiet between them after that and the song faded out as a new one began to play. Asher dropped her hand from his shoulder, but he didn't let go of her other hand. "You have to dance another with me."

"I said one," she retorted, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Yes, but it took me half the song to get you on the dance floor. Doesn't count." He grinned, pulling her back into him and she shook her head but went along with it anyway. He began singing along softly with the song and she just blinked in surprise.

"What?" he asked, suddenly self conscious.

"Your voice is gorgeous!" she whispered, completely awestruck. His speaking voice was magical so she should have known that his singing voice would be even better.

He laughed, completely caught off guard by her compliment. Sure he'd been told that he had a good voice before; obviously he wouldn't have gotten to where he was if he wasn't at least decent. But the fact that it came from her actually made him blush.

"Hey, no one told you to stop." His eyebrows shot up in question and she chuckled. "Keep singing; I like it."

"Not with you starin' at me," he mumbled. He didn't know what was wrong with him. He'd sung on international television; he'd sung in front of thousands of screaming girls at once, and on a regular basis; he'd sung for fucking Simon Cowell over and over again. But feeling her blue eyes staring at him while he did it made him nervous.

"Alright fine then." She let go of his hand and he started to protest until she wrapped both of her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her so that they were almost cheek to cheek. The heels made her almost as tall as he was. "Now you have no excuse."

He chuckled lowly and she almost shivered as his warm breath hit her cheek. He tightened his arms around her waist, lacing his hands together at the small of her back, and he started singing again. "I'm tripping on words, You got my head spinning, I don't know where to go from here." Her eyes fluttered shut and she rested her cheek against his as he sang softly into her ear.

"Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do, nothing to prove, and it's you and me and all of the people and I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you"

She had goosebumps all over by the time the song went off and he let go of her completely before taking her hand and leading her off the dance floor, back to the table. She was feeling beyond flustered so while Harry laughed at something Louis told him, Asher excused herself from the table to go and get herself a drink. The bartender smiled politely as she blurted out her order and she tapped her fingernails nervously against the bar while she waited.

The bartender had just set her drink in front of her when she heard her dad's voice over to her left. "Your mother tells me that's not your boyfriend?"

She picked up her drink and took a sip before turning toward him. "No, Dad, he's just a friend. In fact, he's the best friend of El's boyfriend Louis."

He gave her a look, telling her he didn't believe it for a second, before nodding toward the dance floor. "Looks like he's getting along well with your sister."

Asher looked over her shoulder where her father had gestured toward and she saw that Harry had gone back out into the middle of the dance floor and was surrounded by her family, holding onto Flora's hand as he twirled her around over and over. He laughed while she just squealed with delight at the fact that her dress flared out at the bottom as she spun. Asher couldn't help the smile that made its way onto her face at the sight but when she turned back to her father, it was wiped off her face by his smirk. "Just a friend," he repeated. "Sure."

"Dad, please-"

He held his hands up in surrender and shook his head. "I just hope you're being smart and using protection."

"Dad!" she gasped in horror. "Can we please not?!" She could feel the blush flooding her cheeks at her dad's implication. Of course she'd had the thought once or twice but hearing her father say it just made her cringe. It was a topic that she never ever ever wanted to discuss with him.

He chuckled and patted her on the shoulder. "Do me a favor and don't tell your mother that I think he seems like an alright kid." She just stood there stunned as he walked away from her and back to a conversation with his brother-in-law. Her father had never been satisfied with anything she did; her grades weren't good enough, her high school friends weren't good enough, her college major wasn't good enough. But he had basically just told her that he was okay with Harry. She wondered what the change of heart was, but she didn't dare question it.

Asher started back toward her table but she didn't make it halfway before she was stopped by her mother and another lady she didn't know. "Emma, this is my oldest daughter. The one I was telling you about," she added in a whisper. "Asher, darling, this is a friend of the family. We've known each other since we were just girls."

She was amazed that even though her mother hadn't lived in England since she was eighteen years old, she could still find someone to gossip to with no problem-- about her own daughter no less. She gave the woman a small smile, already desperate to get away from the conversation.

"That's a handsome lad you brought with you tonight, dear," was the first thing out of the woman's mouth.

"Yes, I know." She didn't mean it to sound rude, but it had anyway, judging by the look her mother was giving her. What else was she supposed to say? Thank you? It wasn't her looks that were being complimented.

"What university does he go to?"

Asher couldn't help but smirk at both the women standing in front of her. She already knew how her answer was going to be received, but at this point, she wanted to do whatever she could to piss off her mother. "He's not in university."

"What?" her mother asked, practically stunned. Her face was turning a nice red color and Asher had to bite down on her bottom lip to keep a laugh from escaping. The other woman, Emma, could also see her friend's embarrassment so she quickly tried to change the subject.

"So, Asher, how's uni for you? What are you studying?"

Her eyes flashed to her mother, who's face had turned up into a scowl. Asher just stayed silent, knowing she was going to jump in. Her daughter's awful major choice was her favorite topic. "Oh, she decided to major in English," she said with a roll of her eyes. "David and I tried to talk her out of it, but she's stubborn. She made up her mind and nothing we did could change it. She could have been a surgeon, but instead she's going to be stuck teaching sentence structure to primary schoolers."

Asher's jaw clenched as she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself before she said something hateful. Emma just stared at her blankly, waiting for her to speak, but her mother prattled on about what a mistake she was making and how foolish she was. She interrupted her mother to excuse herself from the conversation, but she called after Asher before she'd even taken two steps. "That was incredibly rude. We are still talking."

"I think we're done." She looked taken aback by her daughter's attitude, but Asher had already walked away from her and back to her table. Harry and Louis were sitting together at the table, drinking their beers while Eleanor stood behind them, chatting with Rosie. She stopped when she reached Harry, dropping her hand to his shoulder as she leaned down to be close to his ear. "I have to get out of here."

"Okay," he nodded. "I'll come with you."

"No, you don't have to. Stay; enjoy the party. I just have to get away from my family. I can't stand it anymore."

He grabbed her hand and turned his head to look her in the eyes. "Ash, I want to come with you." She just stared at him for a moment before nodding once and turning toward the door as he got up from his chair. His hand found the small of her back as he led her out of the glass doors of the conservatory.

They found themselves roaming the nearly empty streets of the unfamiliar city until they at last ended up standing in front of the dark, deserted beach. Asher sighed as she dropped down onto one of the benches looking out over the ocean and slipped her heels from her feet, setting them down in the empty space next to her. Harry slid into the space on her other side, extremely close, she couldn't help but notice.

"You want to tell me what happened?"

"Nope."

"Come on, Ash," he said, nudging her with his elbow. "You can talk to me."

She frowned as she reached back to pull the bobby pins out of her hair, letting it fall onto her shoulders before she used her hands to shake it out a bit. She tossed the pins into the garbage bin next to the bench they were sitting on, making a mental note to buy Eleanor some more. "My parents," she mumbled. "They're fucking impossible."

"Okay, I'm going to need a little more information."

"The lectures. God, they're always lecturing me about something. Tonight, Mom decides to go after my choice of major again. At my cousin's fucking wedding!" She groaned, tilting her head back slightly to look at the dark sky. "I know they both wanted me to be a doctor like them but I didn't want that. And what I chose just isn't good enough for 'em."

Harry didn't say anything, instead just letting her continue venting as he silently slid his arm around her shoulders comfortingly.

"Nothing about me is ever good enough for them. I didn't participate in fucking extracurricular activities in high school. I didn't have a 4.0 GPA. My major isn't good enough. My choice of college isn't good enough. Boys even! They never liked Dane, even as my friend, so we always had to hide our relationship from them. And when he died, it was like-....like I couldn't be as sad as I felt because nobody knew how much he actually meant to me. And I hated that!"

Her hand automatically went up to grasp the gold moon hanging from the chain around her neck as she stopped for a moment to take a breath and wipe the tears that collected on her cheeks with the back of her other hand. "And to this day, they keep trying to set me up with their friends' stuffy, boring pre-med sons even though they know how mad it makes me. It's like they want me to have exactly zero control over my own life."

When she'd finished her rant, she realized how overdramatic she must have sounded to him and she immediately apologized. "God, I'm sorry. I dragged you all the way down here to come to this stupid wedding, dropped you in the middle of my fucking dysfunctional family, and now I've just dragged you away to bitch about it all. I'm sorry." She dabbed at her eyes and sniffled. "Come on, let's just go back."

She picked up her shoes and stood but he quickly grabbed onto her hand, keeping her from walking away from him. "Hey, hey, hey. Come on," he said, gently pulling her back down beside him. His arm went around her shoulders again and she sank into his side as he leaned down closer to her face. "Don't let them dictate who you are. It's your life."

"What if they're right though? All these decisions they've tried to make for me-- what if I should've listened? Maybe I should've gone to Vanderbilt. Maybe I should've been pre-med. Maybe I should've gone out with one of those assholes."

"Hey, you listen to me," he demanded, grabbing her chin and turning her face toward him. "Don't you dare doubt yourself. And don't for one second think that you aren't good enough. Forget them."

She swallowed hard as his green eyes stared into her blue ones, and she looked down at her lap, her nerves suddenly getting the best of her. She decided she had to move on from that particular conversation. "Today was hell."

"Am I really such bad company?" he joked.

Asher cracked a smile. "No, you were great. You're just always so great." She licked her lips as she ran her hands over her cheeks, wiping away any stray tears. "Have I got raccoon eyes now?"

"Nope," he replied softly, running the pad of his thumb under her eye to remove a small black smudge from her skin. "You're perfect." Once again, she was trapped in his gaze. He didn't lean back like he had been sitting before. In fact, he seemed to move even closer.

It felt like slow motion as he leaned in and gently pressed his lips to hers. She was frozen at first, not really sure how she should react, but then she kissed him back. Obviously him kissing her had been in her mind for awhile now, but a part of her wondered if he was only doing it to make her feel better. Kissing him was much different that kissing Olly. Harry's kiss was tender, soft and somewhat tentative. It was a proper kiss.

He pulled away after a moment, looking nervous as he sunk his teeth into his bottom lip. "I'm sorry. Was that too forward?"

Asher just stared at him in surprise for a moment before laughing. "No. Absolutely not." She grabbed his face with both hands and pulled him toward her again, this time pressing her lips to his instead of the other way around. She felt him smile as his arms slid around her body, pulling her tighter to him.

When they broke apart for the second time, they were both grinning, unable to contain their feelings. "If I'm honest, I've been wanting you to do that for a long time," she whispered, resting her forehead against his.

"I've been wanting to do it for a long time."

She pulled back a bit to look into his eyes. "Really?"

He chewed on his bottom lip nervously, fighting back a smile, and nodded his head then slid his hand into hers, lacing their fingers together. She just stared down at their linked hands, his so much larger than her own, and warmer too. His fingers squeezed hers gently, causing her to look up just as he leaned in to kiss her again.

After a moment, she pushed him away, laughing and he couldn't help but do the same. "Sorry," he apologized. "I've been waiting for awhile and now that I've done it once, I can't seem to stop myself."

He slid his arm around her shoulders once again and she curled into his side, resting her head in the crook of his neck as a comfortable silence settled between the two. He set his attention on the dark ocean before them but she was too preoccupied by listening to his heart, which thumped steadily under her hand.

"Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"Can we go back to the hotel now?"

"Of course. Are you tired?"

She untangled herself from him and stood up from the bench, picking up her shoes with one hand and holding out the other one to him. "No," she replied, a small smirk on her face. His eyebrows shot up in surprise but he grinned as he took her hand and got up from the bench, the two of them heading back across the street to their hotel. The only time he took his eyes off of her was when he slipped his phone out of his pocket with his free hand and sent a quick text to his mate Louis.

Stay in El's room tonight.