Convalescence

V.

Lili remained rooted to the spot, unable to move or think.

Since the moment he called her pretty, time had been standing still. 

Her heart continued to hammer against her ribcage as she panted, doing everything she could to calm her breathing. It felt like the more she inhaled, the less oxygen she took in.

Her jaw hung open, brows furrowed with slight confusion as she continued to stare at the spot he had just been occupying. Almost like she could conjure him up again just by watching the floor.

She had been staring for so long that her vision was blurring, making her dizzy. It took a lot of rapid blinking for her to see straight again. 

There was no way that whole exchange happened.

He just winked at her.

Like, winked, winked.

Niall fucking Horan winked at her.

Gorgeous, handsome, confident Niall Horan winked at her.

And, not only did he wink at her, but he called her pretty. Twice.

Was that him flirting with me? she asked herself.

She shook her head, like she was answering someone else's question.

There was no way he had been flirting. He wouldn't possibly flirt with someone like her, because no guy that gorgeous would say something like that to her.

It was more likely that he was just being nice and she mistook it for flirting. Accidents happen. 

No one had ever flirted with Lili before, and her sudden infatuation with him forced her to hyperfixate on this one little thing and blow it way out of proportion. 

That was the only option here. It couldn't have possibly meant anything.

But he winked...

"Keep your mouth open like that any longer and you'll be catching flies." A deep voice rang out from somewhere behind Lili, startling her and distracting her from her thoughts about Niall.

She jumped as she was pulled back to reality.

Lili closed her mouth and looked around for the source of the noise. Harry was leaning against the doorframe of the employee exit once again, a mischievous look in his eye.

He smirked as if he knew a secret about her that he was just dying to share.

Embarrassment flooded her mind once again - she felt like a little kid being shamed by their parents after doing something bad. 

Caught in the act, and ready to be punished.

This honestly couldn't have been a worse moment for Harry to have appeared. Lili would have much rather been alone to deal with the shock of it all.

She sniffled and turned her attention back down, pretending to punch her employee number into the cash register just to do something with her hands. Her fingers shook violently.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked, attempting to sound as casual as possible.

Her voice broke on the last word, giving away her emotional state. Harry chortled.

"How long have you been standing there?" He pushed himself up and strode over to where Lili stood, long arms swishing back and forth alongside his slender figure.

His dark brown curls fell over his eyes and he swiftly pushed them back with his large hands. 

"I heard Niall leave so I came back. Honestly, I was expecting you to be crying hysterically behind the counter or some shit, but you've been standing there for at least 2 whole minutes, not moving."