Let's Pretend It's Love

After her mishap with Harry, all Elise wanted to do was get drunk. She didn’t care that her body would reject the alcohol, that it was cause her to lose her inhibitions, or that she might not remember anything the next morning. Elise didn’t care anymore; she just wanted to drink.

She dragged Lola to the party next door, not caring that it was very likely she’d see Harry there. It was the best place she knew for an endless supply of alcohol, and she could always do her best to avoid seeing him.

Three shots in and Elise was already feeling tipsy, with her head spinning and laughs continuously pouring from her mouth. It was an extremely freeing feeling (being drunk) and Elise had never felt anything like it. It was as though everything that mattered suddenly didn’t anymore, and she didn’t think about Harry once until she heard his voice behind her.

“Elise?” Harry said her name, causing her to spin around quickly. “What are you doing here?”

Elise’s mouth went slack and his and her eyes met, her stomach already reeling. Harry looked just as shocked to see her as she was him. She was extremely thankful to have another shot in her hand, which she quickly took before speaking again.

“Not that it’s any of your business,” Elise said, cocking her head to one side while she threw her hands on her hips. “But I’m trying to forget about you.”

She reached toward the kitchen counter, grabbing the next shot that was laying there waiting for her so happily, and wrapped her fingers around it. Harry quickly put his hand on top of hers, which prevented her from picking it up, and she glared at him.

“I was about to drink that, thank you very much.”

“Elise,” Harry said, shaking his head as he looked at her. “What’s gotten into you?”

“Nothing, Harry.” Elise pressed her lips together, her eyes turning into slits as the liquid courage she had been downing so easily coursed through her body. “I’m just trying to have a good time. You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?”

Harry said nothing, just grabbed Elise’s hand and pulled her away from the kitchen while her mouth fell open. He dragged her out the door and to the back porch, shutting the door behind them before turning back to look at her.

“What are you doing?” Elise asked, her lip turned up as she looked at him in confusion.

Harry shook his head, letting out an exasperated sigh. “No, Elise, what are you doing?”

“I told you, Harry,” Elise said, her voice low as she looked at him. “I’m trying to forget about you.”

“Elise –”

“Don’t pretend like you care, Harry,” Elise quickly interrupted as she folded her arms across her chest. “Not after what happened.”

Harry let out a long breath, shaking his head as he looked at her. His eyes shut for a moment, several seconds passing before he spoke again.

“God, Elise, for being so smart you can be so stupid sometimes.”

“I’m stupid?” Elise said, pointing to her chest with her mouth open in disbelief.

“Yes!” Harry shouted as he let out a pained laugh. “All I did since I first met you was try to get close to you, Elise, and all you ever did was push me away. I tried. I tried so hard to make you see that I cared, but none of that mattered to you, because all you ever thought about me was what you had heard. All you ever saw me as was a man whore. You said you didn’t want to see me anymore, Elise. You said you wanted nothing to do with me, so I left. Just like you wanted. I left, and then you got mad at me for leaving. You make no sense, Elise. You make no sense at all.”

“You – you weren’t supposed to actually do it,” Elise said, her voice so low that Harry could barely hear.

“What?” Harry took a step closer to her. “What did you just say?”

“You weren’t supposed to do it, Harry!” Elise shouted, throwing her hands to her sides. “You weren’t supposed to actually leave.”

“You – what was I supposed to do then? Did you want me to show up at your door every night and listen to you talk about how wrong I was for you? Please, tell me, Elise, because I clearly have no idea what it is that you want.”

“You were supposed to tell me I was wrong.” Elise paused, letting out a deep breath while her voice went low. “For the first time in my life, all I wanted was for someone to tell me that I was wrong. I wanted you to tell me that I was wrong. That I didn’t need to listen to the rumors. That I didn’t need to worry about anyone else, because you just wanted to be with me as bad as I wanted to be with you –”

“You’re so wrong, Elise,” Harry interrupted, his eyes blinking quickly as he looked at her. “I want you far more than you’ll ever want me.”

Elise froze as Harry looked at her, unable to breathe as his deep eyes warmed up her entire body. She could hardly think until he began to move, reaching his hands out to take hers. His fingers pulled her forward, so they were so close their chests were touching, and soon he was leaning down. Her heart raced as his lips moved towards her, doing a full jump when his warm breath fell against her lips, and she leaned into him completely. Their lips touched with a light spark, causing Elise to melt, and when he pulled away, he smiled.

“You don’t need to worry about anyone else. I just want you, Elise. Just you.”