Prove It (H.S)

Chapter Thirty Six

Harry's POV~

I wait impatiently for Claire to arrive to philosophy. Grant will begin his lecture any minute and she still isn't here. Bringing my bottom lip between my teeth, I stare at the door, hoping I'll see her walk in.

Sure enough, the door swings open, revealing that long blonde hair and ocean blue eyes. Her eyes have bags under them, her mouth set in an emotionless line.

When we make eye contact, she immediately plasters on a small smile that doesn't meet her eyes, before waving and sitting down. "Morning," she says softly, taking her bag off her shoulder and setting her notebook on the table.

"Morning," I say, kissing her cheek, causing her smile to grow slightly. Professor Grant begins to speak again, and I force my attention away from Claire. Every so often, I'll look at her. She won't be tapping her pencil like she usually does, there won't be a crease of interest and concentration in her forehead. She just stares blankly ahead of her, occasionally jotting down a note.

As the lecture continues, I look away from Claire, daydreaming about how I want to take her to England. She would meet my family, and I just know Gemma and her would hit it off. She would be so happy there, we would be so happy.

Dragging my eyes back to her, I don't see the girl in my daydream. She's lost somewhere, somewhere that I can't seem to find her. All I want is that one piece of reassurance that comes with her genuine, bright smile, the one that causes crinkles to form at her eyes.

Class ends with a few closing lines from professor Grant, and I stand up, stretching my arms out. Claire swings her bag over her shoulder and begins to walk away.

"Claire! Wait!" She turns around, brushing a loose piece of hair behind her ear. "I just wanted to walk with you," I say, searching for that embarrassed smile that would normally come with a remark like that.

She just nods, turning again as I walk beside her. My heart twists and the feeling becomes unbearable. As we walk out into the sun, I swing my arm over her shoulder in another attempt to catch a glimpse of the old Claire.

Her hand reaches up and touches mine, getting me to smile. I look at her face, her lips are turned up ever so slightly at the corners, the color of her eyes a dreary gray-blue.

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I walk her to her dorm, and we share a short kiss before she goes inside. Tugging at my hair, I swiftly walk back to my dorm where Louis is, working on some assignment.

"What's wrong?" He asks, noticing my obvious emotional break down. I sit on my bed, running my hands up and down my face. "I'm losing her, mate,"I say, surprised when a cry escapes my lips. Louis rushes to my side, his brown hair falling over his eyes.

"What do you mean?" He asks, rubbing his knees. "She's not the same Claire, Lou. And I can't bear the thought of that." Each of my words comes out more pathetic than the next, muffled under my sobs. "It's going to be okay, Harry. You love each other, you'll work it out, you always do!" He says in a typical cheerful Louis voice.

I spring off the mattress, pounding my fists against the wall before crying/yelling,"When you love someone, it isn't supposed to hurt so fucking bad!" I slowly remove my hand from the wall, letting the pain sink into me, knowing it doesn't hurt as bad as watching Claire fade away.

Louis gets up, slowly and cautiously walking over to me. "Harry, remember when I found out Christine cheated on me? How I was a drunken mess? How you helped me out?" He asks, his arms in front of him, trying to relax me. No, I cannot be calmed. The pain and fear inside of me is too much.

"You know," I begin, turning around to face him and wiping away the tears,"maybe you weren't too wrong to get drunk that night," I say, pushing past my friend and leaving for the bar.