chapter nineteen.

                                    

                                          
I was so thankful when Dr. Alexander started teaching. 
                          
Zayn and I had made gentle conversation, Harry butting in with his own words and comments. And the worst part was, he and Zayn were getting along. The two tattooed men were getting along perfectly, chatting like old buds, all the while I was stuck in the middle. 
                          
But when the teacher began discussing the novel, things quieted down, and all talking eventually ceased. I didn't listen to what he had to say about the novel - A Scarlett Letter, which I'd already had to read in high school - just focused on my own thoughts. It was like there was a tornado whizzing through my mind, tossing all my thoughts around and making in impossible to form a coherent fact in my head. So I began making a list to discern between what was true and what was false. 
                          
Harry Styles was the Masked Man. Fact. 
                          
Harry Styles had slept with Rory this morning. Fact. 
                          
Harry and Zayn both now shared an English class with me. Fact. 
                          
But everything else? It was fuzzy. Harry was following me around, he'd touched me in a way that had made my entire body run hot, he was a criminal, he was friends with Zayn now- it was all too much. 
                          
I wanted to lean over and tell Zayn exactly what was happening, but something stopped me. Some pull at my gut that told me that I should try and keep others out of this, keep them from being sucked into this problem I was facing. So I kept my mouth shut. 
                          
The hour and fifteen minutes that the class lasted seemed to have flown by in less than ten, and soon we were given our homework reading assignment and were dismissed. Harry stretched in his seat beside me, his shirt lifting to show his muscles flexing along his sides as he moved. I glanced up to his face to find him watching me smugly, his eyebrows arched as if asking me, 'you like what you see?'
                          
I immediately looked away and turned to look at Zayn with a blank expression. "You ready to go?"
                          
The raven-haired man stood up from his chair and nodded his head, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "Yeah. You need to go back by your room to grab more clothes, right?"
                          
"Oh, Bluebell, where ya headed?" And yet again, I was stopped short by the sound of Harry's voice. 
                          
"I'm staying with Zayn and Sebastian for a few days, I thought you already knew that," I told him with narrowed eyes, to which he nodded. He was an excellent actor, I would give him that. He was playing the 'friend' role extremely well. 
                          
"Well, why don't you go out somewhere with me tonight?"
                          
I frowned. 
                          
Thankfully, before I was forced to answer, Zayn cut in with a shake of his head. "Actually, mate, she's got a pretty good reason for staying with us. I think it's best she stick to the plan," he said as vaguely as he could. 
                          
But Harry was one step ahead. He nodded his head with a wide-eyed expression, taking a step closer to where Zayn stood. "Oh, no, no- Bella told me all about what happened. That man showing up at the office, that criminal? It's just awful," he drawled out with a shake of his head. Damn, he was good. "I promise she'd be safe with me, I mean- I'm a boxer, so, it's not like I can't defend her if I need to." He let out a laugh after this horribly well-crafted lie, looking to Zayn.
                          
Zayn, however, was still wary. He looked to me. "Well- I dunno, Arabella... don't you think you should stay with me and Bash?"
                          
I immediately nodded and parted my lips to speak before I felt Harry's hand rest on my back, causing me to stop. I looked over at him with furrowed brows to find his expression very pointed. This motion, this action, it was a threat. He was blackmailing me to agree. 
                          
"I... well- how about I go with Harry, and then later on tonight he'll drop me off at your house? Compromise," I suggested, to which Harry looked a little bit annoyed, but didn't argue. He simply looked to Zayn, who seemed a bit more pleased with that suggestion. 
                          
"Well... yeah, alright. Just be careful please, Bella?" He hummed with genuine concern flashing across his face as he looked at me earnestly. I don't know what Sebastian was talking about, Zayn seemed absolutely perfect. Kind, caring, chivalrous, protective. Yeah, a bit flirty to begin with, but so?
                          
"I will, yeah. I'll see you tonight."
                          
And with that, Zayn was off. He left the classroom with one last glance towards me and a wave of goodbye to Harry. I soon grabbed my own bag and headed from the room as well. As expected, Harry was swift behind me. 
                          
"If you actually think I'm going anywhere with you tonight, you're insane," I told him as I headed out of the building, back towards the street that lead towards my dorm building.
                          
"D'you fancy him?"
                          
I tilted my head in confusion as once again, Harry completely ignored everything that I had said to focus on his own thoughts.
                          
"What?" I asked as I turned around to face him, people behind him walking around us where we had stopped in the middle of the walkway. 
                          
"Zayn. D'you fancy him?" His voice was smooth, no emotion behind it as he spoke. 
                          
"What? Well- no. I mean he's definitely pretty to look at. But no, I only just met him yesterday. Then again, I don't really see how that's any of your business, even if I did fancy him."
                          
Harry seemed pleased with my answer, at least for the most part. His lips quirked a bit at my last statement, shaking his head. "Arabella, you'll soon come to find that everything about you is now, indeed, my business."
                          
I just listened, didn't respond yet. I wasn't sure how to. And once I finally had thought up an adequate reply, Harry turned and began walking again, speaking before I got the chance. 
                          
"And as far as tonight goes, you don't exactly have a choice," he hummed pleasantly, glancing over his shoulder at where I had begun to follow him, simply because he was heading in the direction of my dorm. 
                          
"And why not?"
                          
Harry stopped suddenly, turning back to face me again and grabbing the wrist of my hand, pulling my forward. We weren't as close this time, still at arm's length. He had only grabbed ahold of me to let his statement be given with more impact. 
                          
"Sweetheart, it seems you've forgotten who I am." Harry stated first, and I wanted to immediately laugh in his face and let him know I knew exactly who he was, but he continued before I had the chance. "You seem to have forgotten what I can do, what I have done, what position I'm in, and that I definitely hold the upper hand."
                          
I was silent. 
                          
"You're blackmailing me into a date?" 
                          
Harry's lips spread into a grin as he let out a soft chuckle, nodding his head. "That's exactly what I'm doing."
                          
I gritted my teeth, letting out a huff of breath through my slightly parted lips. Christ, this was all so confusing. 
                          
"Okay, Harry. I want to know right now what you want. No more cute little remarks, no more threats or following me around, I want to know. What the fuck do you want?" My voice was harsh, snappy, and had gained enough volume to draw the attention of a few passerby's. 
                          
Harry was unmoved, though, lips curled as his grip grew just a bit tighter around my wrist, leaning his face towards mine. 
                          
"You."