365 Days | H.S (ON HOLD)

365 Days | Chapter 2

~song for this chapter: look after you, by the fray~

"Oh man, I'm tired!" Louis sighed before collapsing down at the couch.

I laughed at him, before putting down my bags in my room next to the living room. I looked around, and couldn't stop myself from walking to the window, and admire the view. God, Seattle was great. Thank god Louis uncle could give us his old apartment that was close both to work and city.

"I'm going to take a nap, is that okay, Harry? We can unpack all the shit later" I heard Louis yawn from the living room, and without turning around I answered him with a quick okay, before laying down in my own bed.

I sighed in relief, and took a deep breath of the new smell in my new home. It smelled new, and fresh. I looked at the gray boring walls that surrounded me, thinking about what color I should paint them. I laid down in my bed, looking around in my room for a couple more minutes, taking everything in. Every corner, every new sight, every part of my small room. It felt good, having my own place. It felt good, remembering what hope felt like as the thought of becoming someone big reached my mind.

A low and grumpy sound left my stomach, and I placed my hand over it before I stood up from the bed. Damn, I was hungry. With that, I quickly left my room and putted on my shoes before leaving the apartment, trying to ignore Louis loud snoring from his room. When I left the building, I smiled lightly as the warm wind pushed my hair back. The August weather was still warm, and not a single leaf on the tree was yet falling.
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"Thank you" I quickly said before giving the sweet girl behind the desk a smile, and then walked out of the small shop with the grocery bag in my right hand.

I was back at my new home only five minutes later, and I placed the keys and money that I got over on the table, before taking everything I bought in to the fridge. After that I took a quick stare at the food, before deciding what to cook.

I wasn't a good cooker. Never was, and probably never would be. Cooking was definitely not something I liked, neither something I was made for. But before I even could start, a light voice speaked from behind me.

"Leave the cooking to me.." I turned around and saw Louis leaning against the wall, while he yawned.

"What happened with taking a nap?" I asked, laughing, as I stepped away from the food.

"I took a quick one" he answered while he pushed me out from the kitchen, "now out, buddy. A man needs a kitchen alone" he laughed and I joined him, "unpack some things or something" he finally said as he returned to the food.

I did as he said. I threw the clothes into my closet, then placed my laptop and books at the desk I had to carry from where we left it in the stairwell. I then moved the bed from the other side of the room, closer to the window.

A moment later I decided to take a look at the room, crossing my arms over my chest as I did so, slowly walking backwards while my eyes scanned the room. Before I could tell, a felt how I accidentally pushed something with my elbow.

And then a loud sound of something colliding with the wooden floor reached me from behind.

"You okay over there?" I heard Louis call from the kitchen only a second after the big moving box fell to the floor.

"Yeah.." I answered with a sigh before kneeling down and picking up the random stuff back to the box.

Suddenly, my heart stopped for a second as my eyes caught a familiar book, lying on the floor among all the other stuff. I slowly picked it up. 'Tender is the night. F. Scott. Fitzgerald', the book i read in the army, while I was in Iraq. I loved this book, and with the second I started to flip the pages I couldn't help but smile a bit.

But something fell from the book as soon as I switched sides. A piece of paper, slowly fell down to the floor. And I lost my breath, as every other time I saw this picture. I remembered the feeling it brought to me, the weird feeling of being so alive. The blonde hair and gorgeous smile was back, in the photograph at the floor.

"Hey, you need help, buddy?"

I knew Louis was behind me, but I couldn't face him. I was stuck, hypnotized by the picture.

"Look.." I managed to say as I picked up the photography.

"What is it you ha-" Louis knelt down beside me, and also he froze, "Holy shit, isn't that your lucky charm?"

Flashback
The day was January twelve, when I looked down at the picture for surely the thousandth time, and smiled once again.

''Admiring the beauty, again?'' Louis laughed and patted my back.

I looked at him and smiled big before I putted the picture back down in the pocket, just where my heart was still beating.

''I might be, yes'' I answered.

''Hopefully she will be your lucky charm'' Louis said.

''She is, I believe'' I answered, and putted my hand at the pocket.

Louis nodded his head, as he lifted his black big gun to his lap and and putted on his big brown green helmet over his head. We both jumped into the air from the seat together with the five other soilders as the car drove over the ditches that were in the street.

''Do you have one?'' I asked my friend.

''Have what?'' he asked.

''Lucky charm''

Louis laughed and twitched lightly on his shoulders as he looked over the dry ground we drove at, through the bombed-out buildings.

''Harry boy'' he sighed and putted his arm over my shoulders, ''You are mine lucky charm. Because if I didn't kneel down to help you, I would probaly die'' he laughed.

I laughed and pushed his head away.

As that, the car stopped and someone shouted. All of the soilders at the truck carefully looked from behind the truck to see who was yelling. A man, cried as he had his arms over his head. He begged, but none of us could understand what he said. I watched him, and as I saw it, another soilder screamed.

''He has a bomb!''

And just like that, the man opened up his jacket, and soon everything was gone. Once again, howling was heard in my ears and I couldn't see anything. I knew I was hiding behind something, but I didn't see what. But I rememberd I managed to jump off the car and roll quickly toward the nearest building. As the sand and howling slowly started to fade away, I saw only the weels left of the car, and two soilders lying next to some metall. In panic I quickly raised up from the ground and runned to them. I shaked them both, yelling at them but none of them was showing any sign of life. And as that, I thanked my lucky charm for saving my life, and that none of the soilders was Louis, lying dead in my arms.