be there for you

eight .

Harry hears the click of a camera, and he pauses.

He looks up at Simon, who's standing in front of him, smiling a bit at his camera. "This one's perfect." He comments, sitting down on the couch next to Harry.

They're at Josh's right now, and Harry's been playing with his cat, Tilly, on the couch for the past ten minutes. He was in the middle of petting her when Simon had taken the picture.

"Why?" Harry asks, scratching behind the cats ear, earning a soft purr.

"It's natural. It's just, you being you, if you know what I mean." Simon says, putting his camera on the table next to the couch.

Harry doesn't really know what he means, but he doesn't comment, and he knows Simon doesn't expect an answer.

The front door swings open, startling Tilly off of Harry's lap, and both of them turn to the sound.

Ethan is standing there, bag hanging from one shoulder. His hair is an absolute mess, and Harry tries to hide his laugh, but fails.

Ethan glares at him, kicking his shoes off. "Don't give me that look, Lewis. Today was ass." Ethan grumbles, practically slamming the door behind him.

"Sometimes I wonder how you two are related." Simon muses, and Harry just sighs, laying back against the couch.

Ethan throws his bag somewhere in the room, not caring where it lands. "We're only half siblings for a reason, pretty boy. Where's Josh?"

"He's working on his final thesis for biology. I suggest not bothering him." Harry says, smiling as Tilly returns and climbs back into his lap, the cat nudging her head against Harry's arm.

Ethan groans, flopping down on the chair across from the couch. "Why does he have to be the gifted brother? Why not me?" He complains.

"What's got you in such a mood today?" Simon asks, cuddling closer to Harry and joining him in petting Tilly.

"My mate was out sick today, and I was planning on getting notes from him since I was out yesterday, but I couldn't. On my way home I realized I left my marketing notes in the library, so I had to go all the way back to get them. Then, while I was at the library, you know who I ran into? Fucking Jj Olatunji. As much as I love talking to him, I was not in the mood to hear him talk about his boyfriends for half an hour, yet he did it anyway, and I didn't have the heart to tell him to stop. I ended up missing the bus, and had to call Tobi to bring me home." Ethan finishes his story, huffing and crossing his arms over his chest like a six year old.

"I shouldn't have asked." Simon smirks, and Harry just hums his agreement, keeping his focus on the cat and tuning out Ethan's story.

Harry does that a lot. He likes talking to Ethan, sure, but sometimes his brother can be a bit too much for Harry's brain to handle. It's not Ethan's fault, not in the slightest.

His mind travels from there, shifting from what he did today to what he's going to do tomorrow and everything in between. Ethan's voice is a constant input, and he hears it, but he doesn't listen.

"Harry? You with us?"

Harry jolts, nearly scaring Tilly away again. Simon's voice pulls him out of his thoughts, and he blinks. "Yeah, sorry."

"Wanna head back home?" Simon asks, running his fingers through Harry's hair.

The younger frowns. "We just got here. I haven't seen Luna yet. Plus, Josh said he would be out here soon and I haven't gotten to see him yet either."

Harry gently reaches up and pulls Simon's hand away from his hair, normally he wouldn't mind it, but he's really not in the mood to be touched right now. Simon doesn't question it, instead joining Harry in petting Tilly.

Harry's eyes stay glued to the shiny band of metal on Simon's finger, a promise ring that Harry has a match of that they had gotten together in their second year of high school.

When he looks away from Simon's hand, he meets eyes with Ethan, who is giving him a look that always means trouble. The elder raises one eyebrow, tilting his head in the direction of Simon. Harry doesn't understand whatever Ethan is hinting at, so he ignores it, attempting to make a mental note of it for a later time.