don't call me that

2: Hiding

Two days later, I pointedly decided not to visit Harry in the library, and went outside to my favorite sunny spot in the courtyard.

Opening my math textbook, I pulled my focus in and let my pencil hit the paper.

I was four problems in when I heard a familiar voice across the yard. Harry's.

"Niall! See you in class!"

Scrambling to fold my homework papers into my book,  I shoved everything into my backpack and stood up sharply behind the tree.

I heard Harry's sneakers shuffling through fallen leaves only ten feet from me. I held my breath, holding my backpack to my chest.

I wasn't exactly sure why I was hiding from Harry. I loved hearing his voice, his slow, silky accent distorted cheekily by a smile. But there was something inside my head, haunted by Jade's words, 'in love with him', screaming be careful, Indigo. Be very, very careful.

"Indigo?"

Damn it.

"Hey, Harry," I said regretfully, backpack falling from my tight grip.

He came around the tree and took me in with a small grin. Hands deep in his pockets, lip tugged between his teeth.

"Are you hiding from me?" he asked, as though the idea was the funniest thing he'd ever heard.

I bit down on my cheek, preparing a long excuse as to why I was standing flush up against a tree with all my stuff in my arms. Then I sighed. "Yeah."

Harry glanced at the ground and blinked a few times. Then he looked up, eyes so sharp that I struggled to hold his gaze. "Why?"

I took a deep breath, looking at Harry sideways, studying his expression.

"Why do you care?" I asked him, smiling slightly.

For the first time in our short acquaintance, I was seeing Harry uncomfortable. It made my stomach turn over a little, watching him squirm.

"Because," he said, suddenly confident. "I like the way you bite your cheek when you're trying not to smile. Which you do every time you see me. Which you can't do, if you're hiding."

I licked my lips so he wouldn't see me grinning. I was trying so hard to be annoyed at him, for taking away precious homework time, but I couldn't stop smiling.

"Okay," I answered, not sure of what else I could manage to say.

"So," Harry said, leaning forward to nudge my arm with his knuckle. "No more hiding, 'kay Blue?"

I felt the smile drop from my face and my eyes narrow. "Don't call me that," I said. "Look, I'm late, I should go to class."

Harry's eyes went wide. He knew he'd touched a nerve. His lips parted like he wanted to say something, but nothing came out.

"I'm sorry," he said finally. I nodded, eyeing the grass under my feet.

"I gotta go, okay?" I replied emotionlessly, hitching my bag onto my shoulder.

Harry regained his old grin, though it seemed forced. "Alright," he said, "I'll see you later, Indigo."

I met his eyes one last time before making a beeline for my next class. Feebly trying to stop myself, I snuck one last peek at Harry as I rounded the corner. He was still standing under the tree, one arm resting up on its rough bark. His head was tilted as he watched me go, curls moving softly in the breeze.

I walked faster.

Most people, especially Evan, wondered why I was so sensitive about being called nicknames by anyone but Jade. I guess I just felt that a nickname had to be earned, and taking advantage of that was like inserting themselves into a door I hadn't opened yet.