Songs:  Learning To Fall - Midnight Youth
Below My Feet - Mumford & Sons
Hold On, We’re Going Home - Drake 

*Disclaimer* I’ve already said this before, but I will say it again. There will be content in this story that is on the more sexual side. If you are not comfortable with it, then don’t read. But note that I’m super awkward writing it (because I have no idea what I’m writing, ha!), so I make it tasteful. Okay. Good! 

| fifty-one |

He could feel his palms sweat as they made the long journey up the elevator. Her fingers were laced in between his and just as sweaty as his. He looked over at Ava. Her eyes were glued to the ground. Her right foot twisting side to side nervously. He could see her biting her cheek nervously and her forehead furrowed. 

Moving slowly, Harry turns over to face her completely. Hey looks at her. Her usual bright hazel eyes are clouded with anxiety. He leans in and leaves a chaste, yet soft, kiss to her forehead hoping to smooth out the creases. He wraps his arms around her body and pulls her into his - bringing her indefinitely closer. “It’s going to be fine.” His voice is firm but gentle. Ava looks up at his soft green eyes and every ounce of anxiety and nerves seems to drift away. “I will be there with you and if you need me to step in, I will. I am not going to let him hurt you. Not again. You know that, right baby?” 

She gives him a small nod. A small smile creeps up to her lips. She bashfully looks up through her eyelashes. “I love you.” Is all she says before she leans in closer and closes the small distance between them. 

The kiss is short but sweet. It was the extra boost that she needed before she stepped out those elevator doors and became face to face with her father. 

The elevator bell rings. She takes in a deep breath and slowly exhales, “This is it.” Harry interlocks their fingers together and gives it a slight squeeze. 

“It will be fine baby. It will be fine.” He whispers in her ear. Regardless of the situation and what was about to happen, she still feels her body reacting to his husky voice and hot breath. A small shiver runs down her spine. But it was the last ounce of confidence that she needed to push her past those elevator doors. 

“Where is he?” Ava asks quietly. She looks up at Harry to see him looking around the office. 

His eyes are concentrated as they scout out the small office space. “This way.” He speaks gently before  he leads her down the small hallway. “So this is where you’ve been working?” She asks hoping to distract herself from what was about to happen. 

“Yeah. I’ll show you my office after.” He smirks, “And the couch that’s in there too.” He gives her a cheeky wink. Automatically, she feels heat rushing to her cheeks. 

They walk a few more feet before they reach the end of the hallway. “I’m pretty sure they were doing the book signings in this conference room.” Harry says. He opens the door but is surprised to find it dark and empty. 

“Thats weird.” He turns the light on, hoping it would help them find Adam or Flint. “They’re not in here.” Harry turns around looking all over the room just incase they were in the adjacent room. He stops at the door. His eyes are deep in concentration. He brings his pointer finger and thumb to his bottom lip as he begins to think. A crease forms against his usual smooth forehead as he thinks. 

“Maybe they are in Adam’s office.” He grabs Ava’s hand once again and leads her outside of the conference room. He shuts off the lights and closes the door. They walk back down the hallway towards the main lobby of the floor. He makes a quick right and leads her down a shorter hallway where only one door lays. Outside of the frosted glass window reads Adam’s name in bold. He gives a swift knock and hears a faint come in. 

Harry opens the door hoping to see Flint sitting in front of Adam talking about Flint’s new upcoming novel. But he is surprised to see Adam sitting at his desk alone. “Oh, Harry!” Adam gives him a bright smile and nods to come in. Harry hesitantly walks in and Ava follows close behind. “Who do you got there?” 

Ava peeks her head from behind him. “Hi,” she greets meekly. 

“Ava Hastings, right?” Adam asks with a big smile. 

“That’s me. Yeah.” She looks down awkwardly at her hands. She can feel her heart breaking at the realization: her father wasn’t here. 

Harry walks up to the desk. He has a confused expression plastered on. His hands are stuffed into his jeans but brings one up to scratch the side of his neck. “Uh, where’s Flint Hastings?” 

Adam looks up at Harry with a confused face. “He left already.”  Harry could feel his blood begin to boil. The anger that he had been placing aside this whole time begins to seep up through his veins. He consciously pushes it back down not wanting to say or do anything stupid. “What do you mean he left?” His voice clipped. 

“He left about a half hour ago.” He answers confused. “Did you guys not already see him?” 

Harry could hear the small gasp from behind him. “No.” He says flatly, “We didn’t.” 

“But he said he talked to Ava about a half hour before hand.” Once again, he states bewildered. “That doesn’t make sense.” 

Ava grabs a hold of Harry’s hand and pulls him towards her. He looks over at her, his eyes burning with fury. But it quickly drifts away once he looks at her demeanor. Her shoulders are slumped and her eyes downcast. “It’s fine, Harry.” Her words coming out just above a whisper. “Let’s just go.” 

She doesn’t bother to look him in the eye. In fact, she can’t seem to do it. Her heart hurts too much. She knew that Harry was right. That wanting to meet up with her father to talk was a bad idea. He obviously had not wanted to be in her life when she was two and refused to talk to her before, what would make him want to do it now. It was clear to her that he did not want to have anything to do with her. The more that she thought about that the more she could feel the tears pooling in her eyes. 

Her own father didn’t want to talk to her. He lied and left. That’s what hurt her the most. The fact that he knew that she was going to come here today to talk to him, but chose to leave before she even arrived. “Please Harry,” she says once more, “Let’s just go.” 

-

Harry again remains still. He can’t seem to move. The anger that is dwelling inside of him  has created him immobile. All he wanted to do was find Flint Hastings and punch him until he was unconscious.

I warned him, he thinks to himself. I fucking warned him. The thoughts inside of his head are yelling. They keep replaying their previous conversation and the warning that he had made with him. He had told him that if he had hurt her once again he would find him and kill him. He knew what would happen and he still deliberately chose to not listen.  That fucking bastard. 

“Please Harry?” Her small voice brings him back out of his thoughts and back to reality. He looks down at her quivering body. Her eyes were beginning to turn red and glossy. He broke out of his trance and brought her into his arms. He gives her a soft kiss to her forehead while tracing patterns across her back. 

“I’m confused,” Adam speaks up once again. “Did you guys not meet with Flint?” Harry’s muscles tense up once again at the mention of him. Ava whispers a simple “it’s okay” into his ear and kisses just below. The muscles in his back automatically begin to relax. 

“No,” He spoke up, his voice managing to sound even. “He lied. We were supposed to see him now.” 

“Oh.” 

“Do you know where he is flying back to? Where he lives?” Ava speaks up. This surprises Harry. The words surprise her too. She didn’t know why she asked this but she still wanted to talk to him. Regardless of what her father may feel about her, she needed answers. Even if it meant that she could get hurt once again. 

“He just moved to Portland, Oregon actually. He was just in Ohio for a few years.” Adam answers tentatively, ignoring the death glares that Harry was giving him. 

“Do you, um, have his number or e-mail? That I could contact him with?” 

“No.” Harry’s voice is harsh but stern. “You are no way in hell contacting him.” 

“Harry, he’s my dad. I need to talk to him.”

“No, you don’t. He clearly doesn’t want to talk to you.” Harry counters back. 

As much as the reality of the situation hurt her, and how much she knew that he was saying the truth, she didn’t care. She needed this - for closure. “I know Harry but... I need this.” 

Adam scratches the back of his neck awkwardly as he looks between the two. He speaks up. “Yeah, I have his details. I can give you a print out copy of it.” He excuses himself out of the office leaving Harry and Ava alone. 

Once he shuts the door, Harry turns to Ava. His eyes are enraged. She is a taken back by the look in his eyes. “There is no way in hell that I’m letting you talk to him.” She looks at him in disbelief. She didn’t need his permission to talk to her father. She was old enough to make her own decisions. She was a grown woman. If she wanted to talk to her dad she was going to do it. 

“I’m going to do this Harry. That’s final.” 

“Please don’t do this. Please.” His voice growing increasingly softer. He grabs her hands into his and pulls her close. “I can’t handle seeing you cry again.” He whispers. 

As much as that brought butterflies to her heart, she couldn’t back down from this. She needed this. She takes another step closer and pulls him to her. Her fingers are playing with his bigger ones. She looks down at the way her small hand fits against his own. The contrast between the two almost humorous. 

“I get where you’re coming from,” her voice gentle. “But please see where I am coming from too. This is my dad. I hate what he did and I hate that I didn’t know he was alive. I hate even more that he left without talking to me. It really, really sucks that he left.” She pushes the tears down before she continues. She looks up at him, his green eyes softening with each word that she speaks. “But I have so many questions that need answers. And he is my only way of getting those answers.” 

Harry doesn’t say anything back. He just looks at her. Their eye contact not breaking. It isn’t until Adam returns that the bond between their eyes break apart. “Here Ava,” he hands her a small envelope. “Inside is all of his information. We are technically not supposed to give out our authors information, but considering the circumstances I can make an exception.” He smiles kindly at her. 

“Thank you.” She returns his smile and places the small envelope into her bag. “I should go.” 

Harry turns to Adam who gives him an understanding nod. “I’ll drive you home.” 

“Oh no, that’s fine. I can walk.” 

“Don’t be ridiculous, Ava. I will drive you.” He gives her a stern (yet playful) look in which she rolls her eyes in return. 

“Fine.” 

They say goodbye to Adam and walk towards Harry’s office. “I just need to lock up.”

“Does this mean I get to see your office?” Her voice picks up enthusiastically. No longer is it down which relieves Harry from his anger. The more he saw her heartbroken and sad, the more angry he was. To see her laugh, genuinely laugh, right in this moment let go of all of the rising tension from his body. 

“Yes it does. And that couch.” He winks back. 

- 

The drive back to Ava’s apartment is quiet. Harry’s eyes are locked to the road in concentration; he being too deep into his own thoughts to make conversation. The silence wasn’t awkward however.  The only sounds that were made, was the soft music from the radio and the car horns from the on coming traffic. Ava pulls out the envelope from her purse and plays with it in her fingers. 

She stares at the envelope. For something that was so small and harmless was by far the most intimidating and scariest things she could ever hold. Inside was all of the information that she needed to have. And it all belonged to her father. She still couldn’t shake the feeling that he was alive. He was alive. He was alive,  were the three words that had not stopped repeating in her mind since the moment she found out. 

Her eyes travel away from the small envelope in her fingers and towards Harry. His fingers were gripping the wheel and his eyes were locked on the road. His eyes reflected the battle that was possibly raging inside of his head. She knew that he was very protective of her. She also knew that he had every right to be. With everything that had happened in his life, plus his own insecurities, she didn’t blame him for wanting to stop her from seeking her father out. But regardless of his own need to protect her from the outside world and the evils that it possessed, she had to do this. For her. 

She leans over the console that sits between them and leaves a quick kiss on his cheek. He brakes out of his trance and looks over at her. A small smile creep up towards his lips. He looks at her quickly before he looks back at the road. 

“What was that for, love?” He asks. The way that his accent said that one simple word, love, brought an immense amount of chills down her spine. 

“Just because.” She says. His smiles widens at her response. 

“Well thank you.” He looks over at her briefly and gives her a small wink. She feels her cheeks blush once again. 

His hand releases from the wheel and reaches over to her thigh. He places it on top and gives her a small squeeze. He looks at her again and smiles. She returns the smile, her face just as red. He leaves his hands on top of her thigh not bringing it back to the wheel. She stares at it not knowing what to do. 

It was funny - every time that he would touch her, it still felt like the first time. Not once did it start to feel “normal”. It still brought the butterflies and goosebumps. Her heart still beat rapidly against her chest, not once slowing down. She could feel herself becoming a giggly school girl every time he touched her. Not once did it change. But she loved that. It was a simple reminder that what they had wasn’t going to be boring. It wasn’t going to feel routine or the same. It was always exciting. It still brought the giggly feelings that it did from the first moment. Not once did it change. A small reminder that what they had was going to last. It wasn’t boring - but, she didn’t think it ever could. It was Harry for crying out loud. 

His hand begins to roam up her thigh. Her body grows still. It begins to move downwards to her inner thigh. With each movement, heat begins to grow within. A fire is lit inside her. He doesn’t look at her once, but a cheeky smirk is plastered on his lips. She can feel her heart begin to race as it begins to shift downwards in between her thighs and closer to her spot. 

Her body freezes. Not that she wanted to move, however. 

His long fingers begin to inch its way upwards closer to the hem of her jeans. She doesn’t stop his traveling hand. With one skillful motion, his eyes still on the road, he unbottons the top. A small gasp escapes her lips, yet she is still incapable of moving. But yet again, she didn’t want it to end. She was too curious to know what he was going to do next. 

Skillfully, he unzips the zipper. “Down.” He says lustfully, his voice low, causing a ripple of nerves to rush through her. She doesn’t quite understand what he means so she doesn’t move. “Push your jeans down, baby.”

She finally finds her voice. “We’re in public!” She exclaims. Yet she still doesn’t button her jean button back up. 

“The windows are tinted babe. Nobody can see in.”

“You’re driving, it’s dangerous.” 

He lets out a low chuckle. “Don’t worry baby. I know what I’m doing.” She gives him one more look and moves her jeans down. She looks out her window, hoping that the car on the other side doesn’t see what they are doing. The light is red creating the perfect time for someone to look and catch them. But as Harry had said, their windows were too dark for them to notice. 

The breath that she was exhaling catches in her throat as a cold finger slips into her panties. She gasps as he begins to pull her closer to him. He brings one of her legs up so that it is laying across his. “Is this safe?” She manages to ask. 

“Yup.” He smirks at her concern but continues. He slips a cold finger inside of her causing a small moan to slip through her lips. Not once do Harry’s eyes look away from the road. His left hand remains on the wheel with a firm grasp. Another finger slips inside and begins to work. She looks around anxiously. The thrill of the moment getting to her. Anyone could catch her, the possibility was high. Yet here she was, allowing Harry to work at her. 

With each movement of his hand, she could feel a building inside of her. Her breathing grows rigid with each rough movement bringing her over the edge. “Haz,” She breathes out. 

“Fuck, Ave.” They are now stopped at a stop sign, only a few blocks away from her apartment. He pulls over inside a parking lot and stops at the farthest spot. He pulls her onto his lap and kisses her feverishly. He pulls down her jeans and slips it off of her with her panties not far behind. 

Ava’s hands are shaking as she begins to unbutton his own zipper. “The pill,” he manages to say, his voice raspy with lust. “Are you still on it?”

She nods quickly, “Y-yes.” 

“Fuck. Good. Because I don’t have anything with me and I can’t fucking wait.” She gives him a forceful kiss before she positions herself above him. The moment their bodies collide with the other, a loud moan escapes Harry’s lips. “Ava,”  he drags out as they begin to move together. Their bodies are sloppy as they move up and down. The windows fog up with the rising heat. 

It is a chorus of moans and grunts as they both reach their high. His head leans back as she begins to suck just below his ear as they ride their highs out. A jumble of curse words escape his mouth as they come back down. 

They knew that this was what they needed. The stress of Ava’s dad fleeing and the emotions that came with had become increasingly stressful for them both. His fingers are still holding her hips tightly. They are still connected as he pulls her closer to him. She gasps at the sudden movement but doesn’t bother to pull out. He gives her a slow and passionate kiss. Her hands trail up his chest and entangle at the base of his neck. 

He pulls away slowly and leans his forehead against hers. “Whatever you do, I will support your decision.” He says. She is surprised at his words but is thankful. She knew that she needed him. 

“I know.”

She kisses him once more before she pulls away and moves back to her seat. She grabs her jeans and panties and pulls it back on. The smell of sex lingers inside the car  but neither one bothers to open the window to air it out. She looks at him once she is back in her seat and gives him a warm smile. 

“I love you.”

He smiles back and places his hands on her knee. “I love you,” he replies. 

- 

A/N: Big things are to come regarding Ava’s dad and Harry+Ava’s relationship. Stay tuned! I will update on Thursday/Friday.  

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