It was Christmas break. Finally, winter. My favorite season of all. But for some reason, this year the air felt colder, and not in a good way.
I sank deeper into my huge sweater as Niall eyed me on the couch across from mine. He had his arm around my sister and I swore I saw him wink at me. I cringed and my hands wrapped tighter around my hot chocolate.
I wanted to pour the contents of my streaming mug all over his pretty face but I hadn't seen my sister this happy in a long time. She was nicer when she was like this and I needed a break from all of her unnecessary judgments.
My phone buzzed in my back pocket and I reluctantly pulled it out. I knew it was Zayn before even looking at the lit up screen.
Do you mind if I come over?
My heart skipped a beat. Me and Zayn had been doing better the last couple of months. We still weren't in a proper or official relationship but we should have been. He was learning to respect my innocence and he was growing more and more perfect every day.
Sure
"Was that the Zayn boy?" my sister asked, arching her eyebrow.
I nodded and surprisingly the only thing she did was purse her lips. The doorbell rang.
How had he gotten here so fast?
Niall had scooped up my sister in his arms and they looked pretty comfortable so I got the door. But when I opened it, it wasn't who I was expecting.
"Harry?"
He scratched his forehead.
"Oh I was getting bored and wanted to see how you were doing," he said shyly. This was even more strange. Harry and Emily were dating now. One afternoon after school, Emily made her move and they had been inseparable ever since.
"Don't you have a girlfriend?" I said, not trying to sound rude.
"If you don't want me to stay you can just say so," he said, with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"No, uh, come right on in." He entered my house awkwardly and sat across from my sister and Niall, stealing my favorite seat.
Before I closed the door, I saw Zayn coming up the driveway. He gave me a small wave and ran his fingers through his hair. I sensed he did it on purpose, knowing it would drive me insane. He was wearing a black leather jacket and tight grey jeans. I could tell he hadn't shaved in a couple days but the stubble looked good on his defined chin and cheekbones.
"Hi," I said, leaning against the doorframe as Zayn kissed me on the tip of my nose.
We walked into the living room together, hand in hand. Harry froze and continued to stare straight ahead.
"I like the jacket," Niall complimented. Tess laughed. I didn't know why. It looked great. But I had noticed that recently. Tess laughed at almost everything Niall said, even if it wasn't remotely funny. Niall seemed to appreciate it though.
It made me wonder why we loved people who didn't care about us. Why do people continue to love people who hurt them?
I felt suddenly lucky to have Zayn. I knew he cared about me, he told me so every day.
Harrys POV
When I saw Zayn and Nicole holding hands, I almost got up and left right then. It would have been rude so I forced myself to sit there. I wasn't even sure why I had come to Nicole's house in the first place. I did have a girlfriend, one who I liked very much. But as I looked at Nicole in her red knit sweater, her light brown hair, flowing freely from her head, draping her shoulders, I realized I liked Nicole much more.
