..."alright, well if you go to the only door up the stairs, you'll find the bathroom. first door to the right." i say, trying to explain the location of the bathroom.
"thank you!" he laughs, genuine happiness in his words...
*
i shove the boy's child-sized, stained clothes into the washer, putting plenty of laundry detergent before closing it and pressing start on deep clean and dry.
"harry" i hear the boy call a while later, and i jump to alert, walking up the staircase and to the outside of the bathroom slowly.
"yes, lad?" i answer, knocking the door so he knows i'm just outside.
"do you have a shirt i can borrow until the morning? you're washing my only clothes" he asks, and i nod, walking to my closet and picking out the smallest shirt i could find, that would probably fit him.
i pass it through the door and he thanks me, i hear shuffling and then i hear him come out, hair towel dried and my shirt half way down his thighs.
"i thought that shirt would fit" i laugh, breaking the nervous tension in the air.
"yeah- hah. i'm quite small" he says, looking down at himself, his feet beating against the floor in a rhythm.
i can see his anxiety through the fear in his eyes while he looks at me, and that upsets me. i know we have only known eachother for an hour or two, but i feel a connection to him.
"are there any toiletries you'd like to use? i have spare toothbrushes that i keep for guests." i nod at him, and he nods.
"that would be great, thank you." he answers, and i walk into the bathroom, opening up the furthest drawer from the door and pulling out a sealed PAW patrol toothbrush. it was childish, but he shouldn't mind. a toothbrush is a toothbrush.
"here, luka. it's a bit childish but it works" i shrug, handing it to him, studying him as he looks down at it and smiles.
"thank you" he looks up at me and blushes, pointing to the bathroom door awkwardly and walking inside to brush his teeth.
after he'd brushed them, he finishes up by swilling the brush and placing it to the side of the sink, looking at me awkwardly, his hands stimming as he rocks side-to-side.
"wanna watch a movie?" i ask, breaking the silence and looking down at my apple watch that read 9.32pm.
"sure" he smiles widely, his eyes scrunching up in excitement. he's definitely feeling more confident already. i would feel the same if i just had a shower in god-knows how long.
*
i laugh to myself softly as i follow the curly-haired man down the steep staircase, watching my step. i'm so grateful for what he's done tonight, but to be honest, i'm exhausted.
this is the most human interaction i've experienced since i'd been kicked out, and it's kicking my butt. ironically, i should get out more.
we reach the bottom of the staircase, the smell of warm wood burning greeting my senses as i see the fireplace in the corner of the open-plan living room.
it's a beautiful house, to be honest. not too big, but not too small, it felt and looked cosy.
"what would you like to watch?" harry nears the fireplace, throwing a piece of firewood in it, i observe, flinching back as the fire burns brighter.
"ah- i've not watched a movie in a while. do you have any disney movies?" i ask, looking to see if there's a dvd cabinet, in which i cannot find.
"of course, i actually have a disney+ subscription for when my friend niall's boyfriend comes over. he loves disney" he explains himself, and i tilt my head in confusion.
"disney+?" i ask, never having heard of it. a service of some sort possibly?
"oh- sorry, i thought you'd know what it was. it's a streaming subscription, like netflix, with every single disney movie there is." he explains to me, and my eyes widen, i feel my hands start flapping in excitement.
i am high-functioning autistic, diagnosed young at the age of 6, i can keep myself contained but it's noticeable sometimes.
"c-can i pick a movie?" i ask, rushing to the couch and sitting down next to where harry has gotten comfortable.
"of course." he hands me a remote and i switch through the movies, eyes widening again when i see peter pan.
"p-peter pan!" i squeal, my mind simplifying and becoming fuzzy as excitement takes over.
growing up, peter pan was my comfort movie. it was always so magical to me, and there were so many peter pan and captain hook movies.
i wished i could fly away to never land with peter, away from my unconventional family to be happy.
"okay, peter pan it is" harry chuckles at me, and i smile his way.
