CHAPTER XXIV. PRETTY IN PINK
'Don't do anything stupid.' I warn Harry silently as we carefully step down the staircase of my home. Once we enter my living area, I move straight to the front door and peer through its peep hole. Sure enough, Kian was stood there. My eyes glance down to his notebook in the palm of my hand before returning back to Harry's stare. 'I'm scared.'

His hand reaches out to my arm and gives it a small squeeze. 'I'm going to be right here, behind this wall. If he tries anything, I will be onto him so fast.' He whispers his reassuring words and I take a deep breath. Harry always looked so good, even in such a scary situation. He stood with his back against the wall, right beside the front door and me. It looked as though he was keeping me hostage, like he was meant to be the enemy; maybe he was. I still had my doubts when it came to Harry but I was too exhausted to explore them. Besides, if he were the killer, he sure enough would have ended my life by now.

A loud knock booms through my home once again, and this time, I actually pull down the handle of the door. It promptly reveals Kian, his arm frozen in the air from knocking. I scan his eyes warily but his mouth just pulls into a smile, his arm falling beside his body. He didn't seem like a harmful person, so why did his notebook indicate otherwise?

'Hey.' He breathes out, nervousness flooding the air between us, and I find myself stepping from one foot to the other.

'Hello.'

'I see you have my notebook.' He states and I force a smile onto my face, but it disappears in seconds. His eyes scan my face eagerly, only now realising that something was off.

'Is this what you came for?'

'Yeah.' An awkward chuckle rolls from his tongue as his arm reaches out for the notebook. But I merely hold it closer to my body, and he raises an eyebrow.

'You know, it's weird. I've never seen somebody return so quickly for a notebook, it's almost like there could be something inside that you don't want anybody to see.' I say, peering at the notebook in my hands. From the corner of my eye, I see Harry gulp and I can tell that he wants this exchange to be over.

'What?' Kian falters slightly, his arm dipping but coming back up just as swiftly. His stare searches mine with what looked like panic.

'But, what do I know, hey? Here's the notebook.' I put it in the air between us and he carefully takes it, his arm falling to his side again. I glance at his face, but all I can find across his features is confusion. Nico flashes into my mind and I am temporarily flooded with hurt, the possibility of the man standing before me being his killer only extending that hurt.

'Actually, Adriana, I didn't come here just for the notebook.' Kian states and I immediately feel threatened. What else did he come for? To murder me too? My hand reaches out to grab the door, and hold it ready to shut if he moves any closer.

'Huh?'

'It's the Snow Ball next Friday, I don't know if you knew that.' I can see Harry tense but I revert my eyes back to Kian's, in order to keep him disguised. 'It's this party-thing but it's really formal. Everyone dresses up and we just have a good time. I was - I was wondering if you wanted to be my date?'

There's silence for a few seconds and I can practically hear my heart beat in my ears. 'Kian, that's really nice of you to offer, but - but I'm not sure -'

'What Andy is trying to say is that she'll be my date.' Harry's voice booms from beside me and he steps closer to me, finally in the view of Kian. 'Not yours.' Kian's eyes are wide, his eyebrows furrowed, and I find myself wanting to crawl into a hole. The two boys stare at each other intensely and I notice Kian gulp.

'Look, I don't want any trouble. I just wanted to ask; no harm in that.' Kian glances to the floor, then back to me again, before turning and stepping back to the sidewalk. As he moves further away, Harry takes the door from my hold and closes it himself.

'Damn, that was awkward.' He says with a small chuckle, but it's laced with nervousness.

'You're the one who made it awkward.' I state with a giggle, falling back onto the sofa. I rub my eyes with my hands as I feel Harry fall beside me. His arm automatically snakes around my shoulders, pulling me into him, and I welcome the embrace. My head falls onto his neck and my fingers touch the collar of his long coat, tracing the hem. 'You're still wearing your coat.'

'Thanks, Captain Obvious. I forgot to take it off.' He says, his hand running up and down my forearm. I imagine how Lana would feel if she saw Harry and I right now. She would be beyond frustrated. 'We should go somewhere.'

'Anywhere in mind?'

'Actually, I saw some movie posters for Pretty In Pink; have you ever watched it?'

'Didn't that come out in April?'

'They're showing it again at a local cinema. We can do something else if you want to?'

'No, it's a good idea. I've always wanted to see it but never had the chance too.'

'It's a date.' He states and I immediately feel the blush spreading over my cheeks. He notices and begins to laugh, I cover my face with my hands in an effort to shorten the embarrassment. But, this causes his hands to fly to my waist and poke. I'm soon laughing harder and begging him to stop, standing up and running to my room.

Harry drives his car to the cinema, with me in the passenger seat. He concentrates on the road, his hands holding tightly onto the steering wheel, as he pushes the gas. I had changed my outfit to jeans and another one of my sweatshirts. My hair was up in a messy bun and I had applied only a small amount of mascara to my eyes. White sneakers were on my feet and I felt comfortable, as comfortable as I could feel in our situation. I watch the surroundings of Bridgemont Valley fly past us as the car's heating soon spreads through the car's interior.

'This cinema better be warm, I haven't even brought a jacket.' I state.

'You can borrow mine.'

'Do you really want me to be your date to the Snow Ball?' I ask, peering over to him. I watch as a smile stretches across his lips at my question.

His hand reaches over to my thigh, giving it a loving squeeze, before it returns back to the wheel. I find myself wishing it had stayed at my thigh. 'Of course, as long as it's fine with you.'

'Do you think Lana will be annoyed with us going together?' I think aloud and hear Harry instantly sigh.

'You really need to stop with the whole Lana thing. Don't worry about her, worry about yourself.' He replies, pulling the car into a parking space. 'We're here.'

We step from the car to the cinema entrance and I am already shivering. For December, Maine sure was cold. Our winters in Pennsylvania usually began in February, possibly January, but never as early as December. Harry's arm pulls me closer to him as we walk, his coat being pulled as far around me as it could. Harry pays for the tickets, I pay for a large popcorn and two Coca-Cola's. He carries the drinks as I lead the way into Screen 3; where Pretty in Pink was being shown.

The usual childhood excitement hadn't left me as I perch in the seat, feeling overwhelmingly eager for the movie to begin. Harry takes his coat from his body and throws it over the back of his seat. I search the room and find that it's barely empty, only seven people inside. Harry was wearing a grey sweater, the first sweater I had seen him wear. Usually, he was wearing dress shirts or t-shirts; it was a nice change and he suited it.

'I like your sweater.' I tell him and he grins again, a dimple popping from his cheek.

'Thanks. I figured it's too cold for anything else.' He replies and I nod, feeling him grab a handful of popcorn. He drops a piece and I see it roll away from our seats.

'You dropped popcorn, you litter-bug.' I playfully poke him and he raises an eyebrow.

'I can do more than just drop popcorn.' He says before throwing a piece at me, I retaliate by throwing another and soon we're in our own small popcorn war.

'Wait, there's a steward there.' I say, pointing at the empty space behind Harry. He turns and I throw a handful over his head.

'Oh, real funny.' He shakes his hair, the popcorn flying from his locks, and I hold my hand up to stop it from hitting me.

'Nothing is stopping me from doing that again, Styles.' I warn, the playful tone still laced through my voice.

'Oh, really?' He raises another eyebrow, a smirk falling over his face, as he leans towards me and crashes his lips against mine. It isn't a heavy kiss, but instead full of care and gentleness. His fingers reach up to my face and softly caress, as he lovingly embraces my lips. I reach out to hold his sweater in my hands, as though I was scared of him pulling away. Soon, a noise fills the air and we pull away to see our surroundings now in darkness. We both gaze at each other amused, the screen then taking our attention, and my head falls against Harry's shoulder as I watch. I feel his hand stay in the air, as though he wasn't sure what to do, before it falls against my arm. The whole encounter was romantic, especially for somebody like me.

We watch the screen as the advertisements soon fade, and Pretty in Pink begins to play. I focus on the life of Andie, a working-class teenager, and her friend Duckie. I immediately like Duckie, his quirky character making me laugh at times. But when Blane arrives into the picture, I find myself liking him just as much. He is a higher-class student at Andie's school who falls for her, and I begin to find comparisons between Blane and Harry. I peer towards Harry to find him already looking at me, both of us swiftly turning back to the screen. The ending of the movie comes sooner than expected and I find myself hoping that Andie and Blane work out; like Harry and I could. I can't help the smile that stretches across my face as I watch their final embrace, both of them confessing their feelings, before the credits begin to roll and the lights turn back on.

'What did you think?' Harry asks as we step out of the room. He finds a trashcan and throws the empty popcorn packet, plus the two empty Coca-Cola bottles, into it.

'I loved it. I'm happy Andie was with Blane in the end.'

'I don't know; I quite like Duckie, he really cared about Andie. I feel like he deserved better.' He explains and I get where he is coming from. 'Where to now?'

'Let's go home and have some hot cocoa.' I offer as we both escape the cinema, the bitter cold air hitting us like bullets. As we leave, I notice a group of teenagers moving our way and immediately recognise them as students from our school; more specifically, from Harry's parties. They look at me, then at Harry, with surprise. I find myself moving away from Harry, not wanting to cramp his style, but he swiftly notices.

I feel his hand reach for my wrist, pulling me closer to him, and his arm falls over my shoulders. The group look confused. His other hand gently reaches for my face and I wonder what he is doing, or trying to do. My thoughts are answered as his face leans in and his lips leave a soft peck over mine. I'm just as surprised as the group of teenagers, their eyes as wide as mine.

A sense of belonging floods over me as we pass their group; and I feel drunk with happiness. I just hoped that the feeling would last for a long time.