the favor (a Harry Styles fanfic)

23. in the element

Mandys POV:

"You eat weird." I tell Harry as I watch him slowly place a fork full of macaroni salad to his lips. His eyes shift to my plate, which is empty.

"You eat fast." He tells me, before swallowing a large gulp of water. I shake my head, uncomplying.

"No, you eat slow. And weird. You make this odd face where your nose scrunches up and you kind of look in pain. And why do you chew to the left side of your mouth? Are you in pain? Do you need to go see a dentist?" I fold my hands beneath my chin, observing him. He squirms uncomfortably, setting his form down and wiping his mouth.

"No, I just... I don't know. Force of habit, I guess. Why are my eating habits suddenly so amusing to you?"

"Because you're a dork." I say with a large, toothy grin. Harry rolls his eyes and goes back to playing with his food.

"It's not nice to call people names, you know." Harry tells me.

"It hurts peoples feelings."

"How would it hurt your feelings if its the truth? You are a dork, therefore I will tell you that you are. I'm not lying."

"Have you ever heard of selective honesty?" Harry raises a brow. I shrug.

"That's bull." I tell him. He rolls his eyes.

"No, it's called being nice. That's what I strive to be everyday."

"In other words, you strive to lie. Or withhold the truth from people. That's a federal crime, you know? That's a big no-no. You could be jailed up for that. As much as I would love to see you in a bright orange jumpsuit, I'm afraid you'd drop the soap one too many times."

"What? What does that even mean?" Harry eyes me with clear amusement.

"Meaning, you've had it up the butt before. Without having me there, you'd get lonely. The hormones would build up; you wouldn't be able to help yourself. The temptation would become too much. That that scene in Shawshank Redemption. You'd take it anywhere you could get-"

"Alright, thats enough." Harry shakes his head, holding a hand up.

"You think I'm really that desperate for a little... Social interaction? I'll have you know, I could get just about any man, or woman in this place."

"Oh, and Zayn was really telling his girlfriend the truth about being abstinent, Harry." I sarcastically comment and he widens his eyes.

"Hey, we don't know them well enough. Don't judge." Harry scolds me and gathers my plate on top of his own. Before he could get up, I grab his wrist.

"So you're really going to sit here and tell me that you think that Zayn doesn't screw around? At all? That man is fifty shades of beautiful, Harry. I was having to restrain myself from jumping into his lap. Women probably constantly throw themselves at him. And he's just going to ignore them?"

"Well, I don't know. But, that's really none of my concern, so yes, I will. We just met these people today, so we can't make assumptions. We don't know them well enough to."

"She was close to hyperventilating and he didn't even flinch! He doesn't care!" I can't believe Harry right now. Is he blind?

"Whether he does or not, it's not our place to judge, Mandy. You know that. Why do you even care?"

I remain frozen for a moment; why do I care? Harry's right; I don't know them. I don't even know their last names. I hate to think I am wrong, but I let it go.