quarantine // h.s.

part 12 // until the end of time

authors note: hi friends <3 i hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season. welcome to part 12, thank you so much for waiting as i was STRUGGLING hard with writers block. i hope ya love the chapter xx -violet

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i pick up my phone in my hand, brushing the granules of sand off of the screen. my wet mess of ocean-soaked hair leaves little droplets on the screen as i used my head as a shield from the blazing sun. my eyes graze over the few notifications from instagram and twitter, before carefully reading the notification from apple news.

the W.H.O. updates guidelines on statewide travel in the U.S. statewide travel resumes may 1st with extended safety precautions. open for more.

my jaw drops and my eyes grow wide. i click on the article, quickly searching through the information on my screen. my brain buzzes as i take in the contents of the article, and i nearly drop my phone as i scream for harry to come over. he runs through the waves as they break upon the shore and joins me on the sand. his arms wrap around my shoulders from behind as he places a soft kiss on my temples.

"what's going on?" he asks nonchalantly. i hand him my phone in response and he glances over my screen. "oh my god." he exclaims.

alex, claire, penelope, michael, jess, and ashton all make their way over to us from the ocean after we wave them over.

i clear my throat and read an excerpt carefully from my phone. "as of may 1st, 2020, all statewide travel within the united states will resume with extended safety precautions. all airlines will begin flights and state-wide travel by car will no longer be regulated. check in with your states implemented safety guidelines for further details on what to expect."

gasps and exclamations all erupt from the group. we smile a bit before pulling each other into a group hug. "god, i love you guys so much but i cannot wait to get out of here." ashton says and we giggle in agreement. we quickly dry off before heading inside to break the news to the others.

after ashton loudly announces the news to the room, the group cheers and i head to the kitchen to greet kaleb.

"did you hear the news?" i ask, raising a brow. kaleb nods and grins.

"in more important news, saw that little display last night." kaleb says with a hint of sarcasm. my cheeks tinge pink and i seal my lips into a smirk. i let out a little mmhmm and turn around to grab a drink out of the fridge.

kaleb and i always had a bit of banter. as he was best friends with harry, he also fell into the trap of being a mysterious presence at times- however he was a sweet soul and always had a joke up his sleeve. we shared a sense of humor which always allowed me to feel easiness around him.

"you know, that doesn't happen very much." he continues and i nod. my intuition and ego holds onto this statement, as it provided me with a feeling of security and specialty.

"i can only assume that he's gotten to this point because he has no option to leave before i woke up after a one night stand." i joke and kaleb's eyes go wide and let's out a laugh.

"i would've thought so... but i don't know!" he says, having a bit of influx at the end of the sentence to tease a bit.

"what do you think? truly?" i inquire, with a more serious and genuine tone.

"i mean, i've known the guy for years. i haven't seen him like this since his ex. even with sierra- i don't know how to explain it- there was just nothing there of substance. this though... he's different. he looks at you with this look that i haven't seen in a long time."

"why hasn't he really been with anyone since his ex?" i question in attempts to dig into his history, as he rarely opens up about his past.

"what happened with anna really ruined him. i mean, all he did for months was go box and get shitfaced. i think since that, he hasn't really allowed himself to be all in on someone. i think you kind of allowed him to do it on his own terms. and besides, you don't take any shit either which throws him in for a loop i'm sure." he reveals, hinting at his dark history with his ex that i know little about.