CHAPTER XXIII. KNOCKING
I wake up at 5am, pushing myself up on my bed and scanning my pitch-black room. I rapidly notice the silhouette of Kian fast asleep on the sofa under my bay window, his hand under his head and one of his legs hanging out from the top of it. Panic floods my mind, having no memory of what had happened the night before. But it soon hits me like a bullet; the argument with Harry, Harry kissing Lana and my embrace with Kian. The memories cause me to fall back against the pillow and exhaustedly try to catch sleep once more. I'm successful.

The next time I wake up is several hours later, the bright dawn sunlight casting rays across my room. It's too bright for my eyes, so I turn around to face the darker side of my bed. But, my hand falls onto a piece of paper which causes my eyes to open. I sit up, my hands bringing the page closer to my eyes to read, 'I let myself out, thank you for the night and I hope you're feeling better soon. Kian.'

I check the time on my alarm clock to see it reading 10am. My hands fly up to my face to rub my eyes as I stand from the bed, moving to the bathroom and having a shower. Once I'm done, I search for aspirin in the medical cabinet and thankfully find two capsules. My head felt like it had it's own heartbeat. Stepping back into the bedroom, I change my clothes into a fresh oversized shirt and pants combination. I throw the red dress into my to-be-washed basket, and something on the surface of my desk catches my eye. It was Kian's notebook. I roll my eyes, realising that he could have just taken it with him the night before.

What was so important about the notebook anyway? Was there something majorly important inside?

Curiosity grabs the best of me as I reach out and take the notebook into my grip. I sit on the edge of my bed, my fingers tracing the cover of the notebook and lift it to reveal the first page. Huh? It was all just scribbles, homework due dates and school-related writing. It wasn't anything important. I turn the next few pages and it strikes me that this notebook was new for Kian, only five pages filled with black ink. It was then that I found the fifth page, bare with only a few scribbles and I scanned them carefully. I came to the final few words of the book and my eyebrows furrowed, my eyes soon widening.

'Monson Maine, USA 45.335057, -69.547851'.

I dropped the book and threw my head into my hands, my breathing growing faster and stronger by the second. Why did he have that in his notebook? I knew it was only the burial of Nico's dead cat, but why did Kian - of all people - know the coordinates? Unless, there was something more to the location after all. I was crying after merely a minute of contemplating, and I knew what I had to do. I had to call Harry. However awkward it would be, he needed to know about this.

My feet pad down the steps of my staircase in no time and I hurry towards the phone. I find Harry's number listed in the recent caller log and instantly dial it. My hand shakes as I hold the phone to my ear, the cracking of the speaker sounding more haunting than ever.

'Hello, you've reached Mr Style's residence of Danver Estate. Who is calling?' A female greets the line and I recognise it as one of their maids.

'It's Adriana Loomer, I'm calling to speak to Harry Styles - please.' I tell her, my voice wavering.

'I will be just a minute, please hold.' She tells me, the line suddenly growing silent. It takes merely ten seconds before the line is picked up again, but there is a moment of silence. The silence seemed to last hours and I could hear the beating of my heart in my ears.

'What do you want?' Harry's voice booms into the line, and he didn't sound as aggravated as I expected. He just sounded exhausted. At least I wasn't alone in that.

'Harry, it's about Kian. His notebook - I - I found Nico's coordinates in it.' I reveal and hear a sigh come from his end. 'There's no reason for him to have them, unless - unless -'

'Unless he's the killer.' He says plainly, with regret, and my other hand reaches up to desperately clutch the telephone cord. 'I'll be right there.'

The phone hangs up and I place it back onto it's stand, but I don't move for a while. I stare at the phone, trying to build up the courage to see Harry again. I didn't know how to react, or act around him after our confrontation the night before. It doesn't take long for his vehicle to arrive outside, pulling onto the sidewalk, and I instantly hear his footsteps as he moves towards the door. I take the deepest breath I can as I move to open it for him.

My eyes fall directly onto him from the doorway of my home, to see him still travelling across the paving stones. His mouth was straight, his eyebrows furrowed as though they were permanently that way, and a long dark coat draped over his figure. As soon as his eyes hit mine, they flew elsewhere and I peered to the ground, feeling awkward. Once he was beside me, I let him inside and closed the door. He towered over me, his delicious scent flooding the living room, and I could almost feel myself shrink. There was silence for a small while, as we both glanced at different objects inside the room. Harry was the first to speak, his voice cracking slightly and his eyes hesitantly finding mine.

'So, the notebook?'

'Shit, yeah, it's in my room.' I hurry to the stairs and beckon him to follow me. I return to my bedroom to find the notebook in scattered pieces on the floor, my hands quickly go to picking them up and placing them onto the fabric surface of my bed. I find the piece with Nico's coordinates written over and pass it to Harry. 'I only noticed it because I actually looked inside of it. He dropped it the other day in school, I thought nothing of it - it was only because he didn't take it with him this morning, I wondered what was inside of it.'

Something I say halts Harry from scanning the piece, and his eyes find mine with a disappointed stare. This is the first moment that I actually indulged his eyes, their grass-green colour brought some pleasure to me, but their shine had disappeared long before he had arrived.

'What?'

'What you just said.'

'What about it?'

'Kian stayed over?' His voice deepens, and his eyes strain as though just saying the words was difficult.

'Yeah, we didn't do anything though.' I reply with a shrug, regretting even letting him know the details. He looks somewhat relieved, but only a little bit.

'You move on quickly.' He has the audacity to state, and I feel my fists clench.

'Oh, I move on quickly? I didn't realise you liked Lana so much to be sticking your tongue down her throat. But hey, I guess I don't know everything about you after all.' I fire back and he drops his arms, the page now hanging from his right hand.

'You don't know me.'

'Yeah, well, I thought I did. It's a shame, really.'

'I wasn't the one to deny you, you denied me!'

'Oh, god forbid that Andy denies Harry! I forgot that we don't have anything else going on, it isn't like a kid died on halloween right next to us or that our friend died in your house! No, it isn't like anything else was on my mind! How dare I!'

'You never liked me! You just wasted my time!'

'I didn't waste your time at all! It wasn't like I had a choice in the matter, I was thrown into your life whether you liked it or not! And, how the hell do you know that I never liked you?! I have always liked you, Harry, I've always had feelings for you - the whole reason I went into the garden was to tell you! But there you were, with Lana, so don't tell me that I move on quickly!'

'You do like me?' His hand lets go of the paper and it floats, with a swaying motion, to the floor.

'You're so silly, Harry.' I peer to the floor, feeling a melancholy tug at my chest and wanting nothing more than to head back to bed. Harry's tattered black converse come into view and I wonder why he didn't just buy a new pair, it wasn't like he didn't have the money. I instantly feel his finger gently touch my chin, pushing it upwards for my eyes to meet his now-shining ones. He moves even closer, his sight intensely set on mine, before it moves to my lips with care. I'm the one to step closer and push my lips against his, not wanting to endure another of his pauses. His lips ignite a spark immediately within me, and I feel as though I may fall from such a strong feeling. I swiftly feel his arms snaking around my waist, pulling me to him so close that I was nearly inside his coat. My arms automatically fly up to his shoulders and my hand reaches up to the back of his head, holding his short coffee locks in my palm and fingers.

The memorable embrace soon ends but he doesn't step away, merely positioning his forehead against mine. My gaze burn into his olive irises, now enlarging by the millisecond, and I suddenly feel a comfortable sensation flood my body. I suddenly feel at home.

'I'm sorry.' He whispers, his eyes now holding a sympathetic shine that I welcomed over his previously harsh glare.

'I'm sorry too.' I reply and he sighs in relief, disconnecting his head from mine.

'But wait. Back to the Kian thing, if Kian - one of the closest people to me - is the killer, does that mean -' He freezes in his spot, observing the floor in deep thought and I reach my hand out to his arm.

'What? Mean what?'

'That I'm next?'

We both jump, our hearts sinking to our stomachs, as we hear a vicious-sounding knock at my front door.

(Thank you so much for all of your kind comments! I hope this story is still engaging, it's definitely the most enjoyable book I've written and I'm loving every second of it. x)