PULSE [H.S]

044

"Attention is like oxygen for the soul. We all crave it, and without it, we wither." — Unknown

Clove invited me to brunch.

She messaged me a few days ago, wanting to catch up since it's been a while. I met her at a cute brunch place downtown that I've never been to before.

She claims that they have the best waffles here. Apparently, she and Zayn used to come here every year on her birthday and get waffles and ice cream for breakfast. It sounds delicious to me, but I can picture Harry having a heart attack thinking about all the sugar.

I order waffles with strawberries and chocolate chips, and Clove gets waffles with blueberries.

After we order, she says, "So, how have you been since you left my place? Are you doing better?"

"Yeah, I'm good. You were right, I just needed to hear Harry out," I say. "Thanks for letting me stay with you and for snapping me back to my senses."

Clove was right to force me to talk to him. I needed someone to force my hand, and she did it at the right time. I don't know how much longer I would have waited before reaching out to Harry myself.

Clove smirks at me. "Speaking of Harry... I heard you two had a little fun at your tattoo shop."

"Oh my God," I say, covering my face with my hands. "I am going to kill Louis."

Clove laughs, "I already had a feeling about you two. I remember that one night at the bar, you both disappeared for a good twenty minutes or so. I thought that was suspicious, and I guess I was right."

My face burns even more. I say, "Alright, yeah. We've hooked up a few times."

Clove asks, "Just hooking up? That's all?"

"I don't think he'd want it to go further than that."

She frowns, "But you guys would make such hot babies."

"Clove!" I yell at her. "I don't want to scare him away. And I'm trying not to get too attached to him, you know? I don't want to complicate things when everything is already so messy."

Our waffles come, and they look amazing. It looks like there's more whipped cream on my waffle than there is actual waffle itself.

Clove asks, "How's that working out for you?"

"Not so great," I admit. I'm already too attached to him. He has me hooked, even if I try to deny it. Desperate to change the subject, I ask, "But what's going on with you and Louis?"

Her face lights up, and she smiles. She says, "We are dating. Well, not officially, but he took me on a few dates, and we've been spending a lot of time together."

I smile at her. "It's about time, you guys are so cute."

"We are, aren't we?" Clove smiles. "I think Zayn might kill him when he finds out, though. Oh, we should go on double dates!"

"Harry and I are not dating. Please don't ever say anything like that around him, okay?" I say, seriously. One comment like that, and Harry would ice me out of his life entirely.

She frowns again, a knowing look filling her eyes. "I know. Be careful. He might not be able to give you what you're looking for."

"I know," I nod.

She says, "I'm glad you came into our lives, Kiz. We are all better for it. Especially him."

We finished our waffles, and I think that was one of the best waffles I've ever had. It was nice hanging out with Clove. She's a good friend to have around.