be there for you

twelve .

An hour later, Harry finds himself at Tobi and Jj's house, eating pancakes that Tobi had freshly made. He always loves coming over to visit, especially for the homemade meals.

Tobi owns a bakery down the street from their house, and they used to cook a lot with their family, so they obviously have a lot of expertise in the cooking area. Jj, on the other hand, has learned quite a bit from his partner, and occasionally takes shifts at the bakery. He tends to be talented at everything he tries, cooking not being an exception.

Not only is Jj gifted, but he's also a menace.

"So, Harry, how's your yearning for Simon going?" Jj asks casually, mouth full of strawberry sweets that Tobi had put out on the table.

Jj's remark gets a wince from Harry and a smack upside the head from Tobi. "Don't speak with food in your mouth, Jide, and be nice to Harry." Tobi says, and Jj just rolls his eyes in response.

Harry pushes his hair away from his forehead, his appetite suddenly lost as he stares at the stack of half eaten pancakes on his plate. Simon doesn't like sweet breakfast foods, Harry's brain supplies. He ignores it.

"Ever since I told you about my feelings for Simon, all you've done is make fun of me." Harry says, getting up from the table to get a glass of water. His throat is uncharacteristically dry.

Jj just snorts, annoyingly chewing the sweets in his mouth before swallowing it to talk. "Coming to me about that was a bad idea. You could've told Vikk or Chris."

Harry sighs. "Chris would've told you anyway, and he's Simon's brother. And Vikk is too busy thinking about Tobi to form a coherent thought, let alone give me advice."

Tobi hums amusedly. "Well, at least you told somebody, right?" He supplies, pulling the bowl of sweets away from Jj when he tries to reach for more.

"I was hoping to not have Jj laugh in my face, but yeah, I guess you're right." Harry says, walking back to the table with his water and sitting next to Jj. He takes a long sip.

Jj giggles. "If it makes you feel any better, I didn't tell anyone."

"That's literally just being a decent human being." Tobi says, leaning against the doorframe and giving Jj a pointed look. "If you're done, take care of your plate. Take care of Harry's too, actually, since you're being a dick."

Jj whines but complies anyway, taking Harry's plate and bringing it into the kitchen. Tobi walks over and steals Jj's seat, resting their elbow on the table. "You okay?" They ask softly.

Harry breathes out slowly, tapping his foot against the leg of his chair. "I'll be fine. It's only a week. I shouldn't be so dependent on Simon anyway." He says, trying not to let his voice waver.

Tobi reaches up and runs their hand through Harry's hair, ruffling it gently. "It's okay to be worried about the whole thing, you know. He's always been around, you're not used to him being gone. It's normal to feel a bit lost." Tobi's always been good at reassuring him.

Harry nods, letting the elder pull him into a tight hug. He takes a few deep breaths, burying his face in Tobi's shoulder. As much as he absolutely loves the warmth of his friends hugs, it's nothing in comparison to Simon's, but he pushes the thought aside and hugs them tighter anyway.

After a minute or so, he feels a weight on his back and an extra set of arms around his waist, being hugged on both sides. "You know even though I make fun of you, I really do care about you, right Haz?" Jj says, and Harry smiles.

They stay like that for a bit, but eventually Jj accidentally knocks his head against Harry's and it ruins the whole mood, so they finish cleaning the kitchen and end up in Jj's room.

The elder flops onto Harry, curling around him like a koala. "Normally I do this to Vikk, but he's not here yet, so I guess you'll have to do for now." Jj says, sighing.

Harry's thoughts are immediately brought back to Simon, and it feels like cold water was dumped over him. His muscles tense up and he inhales, closing his eyes.

"Vikk is actually coming over in a little bit, if you wanna stay." Tobi's voice interrupts Harry's thought process and he exhales.

Tobi, Vikk and Jj are boyfriends, all three of them having met in their senior year. They were always a package deal, you wouldn't see two alone without the other and that's how it would always be. Harry always enjoys hanging out with them.

Honestly, when Tobi first introduced him to the two of them, Harry was surprised. Vikk wasn't much of a surprise, he matched Tobi's calm and comforting nature pretty well, but was definitely a bit more fun loving and out there than Tobi.

Jj, however, was definitely a shock.

Jj is pretty much the exact opposite of Tobi. Stubborn, talkative, fiery, making himself known in many ways and not taking shit from anyone. His style differs a lot from the other two, but when they're together, somehow it just fits. Harry has always found that interesting.

He makes the conscious decision that he's going to skip class, and he sighs, opening his eyes again. "I'll stay." Harry answers, playing with Jj's hair as a way to distract himself.

Tobi hums. "Do you wanna sleep here tonight? We can make plans for a movie night or something." They say, joining Jj and Harry on the bed.

"I don't know. Maybe." Harry says, feeling his thoughts wander with every passing second.