After Dark

Chapter 24

Put on as many clothes as you can because this is gonna be a shocker. (What even?)

*Tessa's POV*

After days of Harry ignoring me, he came home tonight and asked me out to dinner. Knowing Harry, he doesn't just ask you out to dinner. My heart swelled like the Grinch's when he asked, so, of course, I said "yes."

And here I am, rummaging through my closet, looking for the perfect dress for the perfect night with Harry. The only problem: nothing is perfect enough! God, I wish Jess was still here to help me pick one out.

After throwing half my closet on the floor, I find a nice black dress. Its body accents my curves perfectly. It ends just below the knees and drops it's tight hug against my legs. The back criss-crosses with shiny black ribbon and the ends droop along my back. I grab some dark red heels and make my way to the bathroom.

What to do with my hair? I run my fingers through it and shove the front out of my face. I pick up a hair tie and hold my hair up, putting it back into a ponytail. I slightly grimace at myself in the mirror, but I guess it will have to do because I padded footsteps walking into my room.

A nicely dressed Harry joins me in our bathroom, and I swoon at the sight. His long legs are covered by dark black jeans, his feet with his black converse. A dress shirt adorns his chest, but his sleeves are rolled up to half way up his forearm. His curly hair has grown long-- almost like he doesn't have curls any more. He sure looks more mature right now, I must say.

Harry's arms wrap around my torso from behind, some flowers presented to me as I look in the mirror. I can't help the smile that grows on my face when I notice the red roses. His lips meet my neck as my hands wrap around the bunch, and our eyes meet in the mirror.

His hands reach up and take my hair out of my messy ponytail, causing it to fall gently on my shoulders. "I like your hair better when it's down," he whispers, followed by his lips kissing my neck. Chills run down my spine-- the good kind.

He takes my hand, and we walk down to his car. In the elevator, he kisses me softly and quickly, like he doesn't want to ruin it with a longer kiss. Butterflies erupt in my stomach and stay until we get in the range rover. Harry helps me climb inside (it isn't easy to do in a dress), and makes his way to the driver's side.

My stomach swirls again, and I'm almost afraid I can't eat dinner as we arrive in front of the restaurant. I've heard of CJ's, but I've never actually been to it. They have great food, but it's also really expensive.

"Harry, you didn't have to take me here. I know this will make a dent in your wallet," I tell him, nervously allowing him to help me out of the rover-- very contradictory to my statement, I know.

"But, I want to." His voice is soft, and a small smirk is present on his face. His eyes are twinkling, and how can someone say no to that?

"Okay," I reply quietly. He guides me inside, never letting go of my hand once.

Harry's made reservations and, given the name "Styles," we're escorted to the table in the back of the restaurant. The lighting is low, but there's enough for me to see his face.

After ordering our drinks, Harry picks up his menu and blocks his face, making no room for conversation. Granted, it is a pretty big menu. I sigh and look at my own, not knowing what to expect. I find out there's all sorts of foods: pasta, chicken, steak, sandwiches, and a plethora of appetizers and desserts.

When the waiter returns, I give him my order of steak and vegetables. As my uncle from Indiana (whom my mother forbids me to speak to, but I do anyway) says, "Got me some good eatin'." My mouth waters from even thinking about a big, juicy steak.

Although this is an expensive restaurant, and he's spent all this time away from me, the conversation is kind of dull. In fact, Harry's not said one word to me since the car ride over when I asked him where we were going and he replied, "Surprise."

His hand fidgets against the table, and he picks up his fork, twirling it in his hand. I look at him questionably and ask, "Are you nervous?" His hand stops twitching, and he puts down his fork.

He looks up at me and says simply, "No." Then, he looks around the restaurant boredly as if he doesn't want to be here. My heart drops to my stomach, and I take a sip from my diet coke.

Harry's phone goes off, and I'm excited to hear The Fray blast from the device. I'm just so proud that I'm the one who introduced him to them. He looks at the screen and rolls his eyes. I watch him ignore the call and place the phone back in his pocket.

When our food arrives, we still haven't talked much, but I'm sure the good will help. I take a bite of my steak and close my eyes at the taste. "This is delicious," I tell Harry, who is smiling at me with his fork half way to his mouth. I look at his food when he takes a bite, and my mouth waters again. He has a plate of penne pasta in bolognaise sauce, which looks absolutely appetizing. "I'll trade you a bite," I offer, not wanting to pass a good bite of penne up.

"Sure," he drawls out, stabbing a few pieces with his fork. His hand extends to me and meets my lips. I take the pasta in my mouth and repeat the eyelid-closing process with the pasta. God, I just love food.

I pick up my own fork and cut off a bite of steak, holding it out to him. I giggle as I feel him pull against the fork, taking the meat with him as he pulls away. His eyebrows raise and he nods, swallows, and informs me, "That was really good."

"I know." I smile and take another bite of my steak.

Harry clears his throat, causing me to look up at him. "Tessa," he starts, biting his lip nervously. Ha! So he is nervous. "You-"

His phone goes off again, and he sighs in annoyance. He looks at the caller ID, puts the call on ignore, and turns back to me.

"Tessa," he tries again. "You are beautiful, smart, kind, and a little bit sarcastic." He smiles widely, but I can still see the nervousness in his hands. "I've only known you for a year, but I'm in love with you."

"Harry, why are you saying this?"

He ignores my question. "I'm in love with you, and-"

His phone rings again, and I can see how agitated he is as he ignores it like he's on autopilot. He looks back up at me and continues.

"I'm in love with you, and I want to-"

For the fourth time, his phone goes off. His annoyance is on his face as he finally answers the phone, quite rudely, might I add. "What the fuck do you want? You know I'm on a date with Tessa and I'm about to-"

Harry's shocked face soon gets replaced with worry, and it's clear that his monologue is over. "Oh my god. Bo."

And that's when I start to go a little insane. What's wrong with Bo? Why is he worried about her? Who's calling him? Is it Bo? How does Bo have his number? Why did he answer the phone? What's wrong with me? Why doesn't he pay attention to me anymore? Why-

"Tessa, I've got to go."

And that's when my world came crashing down as I watched the love of my life walk through the restaurant doors to find his ex girlfriend.

(A/N: Phew! I think there's gonna be an even bigger shock next chapter, but you guys can guess what it is. (;

I'm SO sorry I didn't update yesterday. I was FaceTiming my boyfriend for a few hours, and I actually fell asleep at 8:45 pm because of a huge migraine. On a scale of 1-10, I'd rate my migraine an 8.

Prompt questions to get you to comment: What do you think is the big shocker in the next chapter? Why was Harry telling Tessa all of that? Who do you think called Harry [this answer is easy lol]?

QOTD: Who's your favorite superhero?

AOTD: Spider-Man!

Sincerely wanting to be Mary Jane [sorry Zach, you knew this was coming],

cheesysammy.)