The Darings

Two days had passed and Ash was still waking up with the high of doing something dangerous.

It was this feeling that crept up her spine and hung around the base of her heart, flirting with its strings before kissing its way up her neck, tugging at her nerve endings and sending her brain into an effervescing frenzy. It made her pulse race, her limbs airy, her thoughts unable to still. It made her feel alive and it was addicting. It was a feeling she never wanted to let go. Just like the feeling of Harry’s lips on hers that night in Niall’s living room, even if it was only a dare.

She rolled out of bed and threw the blinds of her window open, the warm, autumn sunlight flowing across every surface of her room. Finally, the hangover had subsided – after Finn had come over with another bottle of wine to keep it at bay as they gossiped the night before. They lay in Ash’s bed for hours, retelling the tales of the night before. Well, it was more of Ash excitedly recounting everything and Finn nodding along with a small smirk as she sipped wine from her glass. But she didn’t seem to mind.

It wasn’t until Ash’s feet hit the bedroom floor the next morning that she realized – she’d entirely forgotten about Harry’s mix.

Before she could do anything else, she ran to her bag, extracting the jewel case from the pocket and inserting the CD into her computer, the sheen of the disc catching that sunlight from the window and scattering shards of color across the ceiling. Her fingers stumbled to press play, heart warm with the glow of excitement, and as she did, those first telltale drum beats of ‘Campus’ came through the speakers. With a happy sigh, she collapsed onto her bed, smile unmovable from her lips.

How was it possible for things to be this perfect?

As Vampire Weekend blended into Arctic Monkeys blended into Sidney Bechet blended into Fleetwood Mac, Ash wondered how it was possible that Harry’s musical tastes match hers so perfectly. The same way his lips matched hers so perfectly when they kissed. The way their words matched so perfectly when they talked, just the two of them, the way their eyes caught each other from across the room. He had to feel it too, he had to – why else would he have made her that mix that happened to have all her favorite music?

Then, suddenly, the strains of a song she didn’t recognize came on, catching her off guard. Just the longing voice of a woman with a heavy, gritty guitar riff, singing right to her. “The world is lazy, but you and me, we’re just crazy… so when I’m with you, I have fun…”

Ash’s heart fluttered in her chest as the song came to an end, leaving the space empty with the mix’s end. When she was with Harry, she had fun. She had more fun than she had ever had – Ash was sure of that. With Harry, Ash was spontaneous. With Harry, Ash was ridiculous. With Harry, Ash was herself. That was something she had never expected.

She reached for her phone and dialed in Harry’s number, perching up on her bed with her knees tucked beneath her. Waiting through the rings was torture and her mind raced to collect all the right things to say, the best way to thank him nonchalantly but, on the same token, enough to let him know how much it really meant to her. No one had ever made anything for her before. Much less Harry.

“Hey, this is Harry,” the voicemail finally came, Ash’s heart sinking a bit. “I’m busy right now but leave a note and I’ll get back to you. Cheers.”

The beep came sooner than she expected, leaving Ash sputtering awkwardly as she tried to get some words, any words, out of her damn mouth. “Hey Harry! It’s, uh, it’s Ash.”

Off to a good start.

“Hey, I just wanted to let you know I listened to the mix and, Christ, it’s pretty awesome.”

Pretty awesome? Ash mentally pinched herself for that one.

“You have really good taste, but I guess I could have guessed that. I probably should make you one now, huh? God, I’m rambling, I’m sorry. Basically I just called to say thanks for thinking of me, and, uh, yeah.”

Could she be more awkward? She pressed her face into her knees, trying to figure out a way to recover from the mess she’d just spewed into the receiver.

“Oh, and I was thinking, maybe we could go do something sometime, if you’re free later. It doesn’t have to be today or anything! But uh, yeah, I was thinking we could maybe go to the Portabello Market if you wanted, or something like that. We don’t have to do that if you don’t want, but yeah, just let me know okay? Okay, well, brill. See you.”

No sooner had Ash hung up the phone than her face was buried in her pillow, her head bashing against it in frustration and embarrassment. What had she been thinking leaving a voicemail? And when did she get so damn awkward? How was it possible to have done something so terribly mortifying so early into her day?

“Only me,” she grumbled into the fabric, letting out an ugly groan of frustration.

Ash, however, was not left to her wallowing for long – in moments there was a knock on her door. And before she could even get up to answer it, she heard the door slide open and the person enter the room.

“What on Earth are you doing? Feeling squiffy?”

It was Finn.

“Don’t mind me,” Ash replied, turning her head slightly to see her redheaded friend standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. “Only dying over here.”

Finn piqued her eyebrows, as though she would be interested in any other situation. “I’d love to hear about it, chummy, but I’m afraid I’ve come to be the bearer of bad news.”

Ash sat straight up in bed at that, a chill running down her spine. The day just seemed to be mounting into more and more trouble. “What happened?”

“I’ve recently been informed that we are scheduled to have a meeting with the Dean,” Finn stated matter-of-factly, seeming rather not phased at all. “He seems to think we’re responsible for the bubbly fountains on campus a few nights ago.”

Ash leaned forward, her stomach churning. “We are responsible for the bubbly fountains on campus a few nights ago. Oh my god.”

The pair stared at each other for a beat, not knowing exactly what to say. Finn was the levelheaded one of the two, already at-terms with the situation, while Ash could feel the panic rising inside her. The Dean wanted to meet with them regarding the fountains. There had to be cameras around campus that had caught them; they should have known better.

“What are we going to do?”

Finn shrugged. “We don’t know what proof he has yet. I guess we’ll have to see what he has for us and see how we can get our way out of it. We do have Harry and Niall on our side, and those two seem to be able to get themselves out of anything.”

Ash groaned. “Well, shit. If we’re relying on those two…”

“Relax Ash, there’s nothing we can do about it for now,” Finn asserted. “The meeting isn’t for a few days, so we have some time to gather our defenses. I just wanted to let you know so you weren’t the only one out of the loop.”

It was Ash’s turn to quirk her eyebrows in surprise. “Who told you?”

“Harry was just here a minute ago. He didn’t stop by?”

Ash felt like she’d received a swift punch to the gut. “No. No, he didn’t.” He also didn’t answer her phone call, though he had to have been right across the hall when he got it.

He was ignoring her.

“Weird,” Finn murmured. The cogs in her head were visibly turning, the same way that Ash’s were turning in her own. They were very clearly wondering the same thing – was this because of what happened that night? Was it because of the kiss?

“Bloody hell,” Ash grumbled before flipping back over, face down in her pillow.