Until We Meet Again // H.S. AU

XXXI. Florence

(song: cardiac arrest by bad suns)

I think back to the picture Harry mentions. The baby picture where a happy couple holds their newborn child, and although the baby is Harry, the parents don't resemble his own at all.

"I-I was adopted too."

"You were?" I had suspected that at first, but always assumed that his parents were his biological ones. It now makes sense why they don't look much like Harry at all.

He nods his head. "I had real parents, the ones in the picture, but when I was about three they put me up for adoption. I always thought it was because they hated me, but everyone else told me it was financial issues. I never believed that though. I always thought that they thought I was a hassle and too much to deal with."

"Oh, Harry," I caress his face with one hand, but stop and stare into his eyes.

"What?"

"Harry..." I say, not to speak to or call out to him, but in memory of the child in my foster home. He stares back at me the same way, and his eyebrows furrow again.

"Ren Smith... Babe, what is Ren short for?"

I get a flashback to the other week when Alex had asked me the same question.

"Florence. It's short for Florence."

An awkward silence falls among us. I don't know how to react. All my life I had resented this kid, the one who bullied me for no reason. I never wanted to see him again, and always thought that if our paths crossed, I would tell him immediately how much I hated him. I never expected to fall in love with him.

Suddenly, his arrogant personality he had when we first met makes sense. Although it was influenced by the people currently in his life, it somehow clicked and matched with how he was when he was younger. I start to feel the hatred I had always felt bubble up inside me.

But then I remember that he's different now. We get along, and I love him. He's not rude anymore, he isn't as egotistical. He's a changed man and I've come to love him.

I can't help but feel uncomfortable in this moment, however. It's indescribable how peculiar and ironic it is to run into someone so randomly. So unknowingly. I hadn't expected to meet this boy ever again in my lifetime. And now here he sat with me on the sidewalk, staring at me like I had been staring at him. The fact that I was sitting in his lap made the situation more awkward. I didn't really know where to go from here, or what to say. Harry seemed just as speechless. At least my tears had dried and my mind was definitely not on the topic of the Smiths.

"Uh, so, you've changed..." Harry said to try to keep some conversation going.

"Yeah, so have you."

"Yup," he said, popping the 'p'.

I nodded my head, again at a loss of words. I worried about what this news would do to our relationship. How much of a mess would this make?

"Um, I should probably go. I have a-a thing, so," Harry said.

"Uh yeah, yeah." I started to stand up but stopped.

"Can you drive me to Steve's house?"

Harry nodded his head and we went into his car. We silently drove to Steve's house.

"I'll see you later," Harry says when we arrive to Steve's place.

"Yeah. Bye," I say, remaining still in my spot for a moment before smiling and getting out of the car. Damn.

I knock on Steve's door a couple times as Harry drives away. Could that have been any more awkward? Why did we act like that?

Steve opens the door, first appearing happy to see me, then making a strange face.

"What happened to you?" He asks, and then I remember everything that happened before the whole thing with Harry. My eyes start to water as I recall what happened with Mr. Smith, along with the situation with Harry. It all adds up to be a terrible day. I walk in and hug Steve, feeling the tears slowly cascade down my face.

"Hey, it's okay," he calmly said, gently rubbing circles on my back and using his foot to close the front door.

After a few minutes, I decided to suck it up and just tell Steve what happened. I told him all the events that followed dinner last night.

"Ren, sweetheart," he pulls me in for another hug and my tears soak the shoulder of his shirt. I can't stand how helpless it makes me feel. It's funny how just as things started to turn around for me, it all came crashing down, trampling me, drowning me into a big mess that I couldn't get out of. Like an avalanche.

"Steve, what do I do?" I asked, my voice quiet and hoarse from all the crying I did today.

"First of all, I just wanna say that I'm so incredibly glad that you're out of that situation with your parents. I wish you had told me sooner that they were abusive, you know I would've helped you out. I'm just thankful you're okay and they can't and won't hurt you anymore."

The sentiment of his little speech brought my tears back, but they weren't so sad this time.

"Thank you, Steve."

"No problem, buddy. Now, as for Harry, I think you're both stupid."

"Wow thanks," I said with sarcasm.

"I mean, I get if you need a little bit of time to soak in the fact that he used to be that annoying little bully, but you wouldn't have fallen in love with him now if he hadn't changed. You know that he's a different person and just because you know about his past doesn't mean that you suddenly don't feel the same. It doesn't happen like that. Not for you, and not for him. I think you should've been reminiscing with him instead of staying here talking to me, to be honest. You need to talk to him, and don't let some irrelevant fact from fifteen years ago stop you from being with your soulmate."

"You believe in soulmates?"

"I never really did, but seeing you and Harry together, it's obvious you guys are soulmates. And soulmates don't let stupid things from the past corrupt their relationship."

"Wow, Steve. I didn't expect to hear that from you. Thanks," I smiled at him.

"You're welcome. So are you gonna talk to him?"

"Can I get a little time to let it all soak in? I'm still shocked."

"Take all the time you need, doll. But talk to him soon, he won't wait forever."

"But I'm the girl, shouldn't he be chasing after me?" I whined, not wanting to be the first one to speak.

"Fine, I'll give him the same speech. I'm keeping my eyes on you two though."

"Thanks, friend," I hugged him tightly.

"No problem. Love you, Rennie-poo."

I laughed, not having heard that nickname in a while.

"Love you too, Stevie-pie."

For the rest of the evening, we watched bad TV and ate all the junk food in Steve's house. He agreed to let me stay here until all my stuff had arrived to my apartment. I was so thankful to have a friend like Steve in my life. I would have been completely and utterly lost without him.