Prove It (H.S)

Chapter Forty Four

Harry's POV~

Claire switched her philosophy class. She said it would be easier for both of us if we didn't have to see each other very often. I didn't argue.

I find it difficult not to call her, check up on her, ask her how her day was. The last time we spoke was days ago, when she told me we would no longer have class together. She asked me to please try and understand that it's only because she doesn't want either of us to hurt anymore, but I'm still hurting.

I walk into the dining hall towards Louis, Niall, Liam and Zayn. When I approach the table, I here Niall say,"Yeah, I heard she'll be somewhere in Mexico." I take a seat next to Louis and say,"Who?" My friends stare blankly at me and I raise my eyebrows at them. "Uh, what?" Niall asks quickly. "Who is going to be in Mexico?" I can hear Louis gulp next to me. "Okay, why the fuck is everyone acting like you all are planning a murder and I wasn't supposed to know?" I exclaim, crossing my arms.

"Sorry, Harry, it's just...," Zayn begins and trails off. "We...we were talking about Claire. I heard she's studying abroad for part of the semester in Mexico somewhere," Niall finally says. I laugh at his absurd statement. "Yeah, I don't think so. We may have broken up, but there is no way that Claire would be planning to go to school in another country and not tell me."

My friends all stare at the ground and I begin to panic. Would Claire really do that? Is she really leaving, and not telling me? I collect myself, taking a deep breath. I've been trying really hard to act tough around the lads, hoping that they don't see how broken I actually feel. It's harder than is seems.

My friends stay silent, picking at their food. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Louis glancing at me. "I'm sorry, mate," he whispers. I pretend I didn't hear him and get up from my seat. Clearing my throat, I say,"Uh, I'll see you all later." My feet carry me out of the dining hall and all the way to Claire's dorm. All I want to do is ask her if this is true. All I want to do is ask a question.

So much for not seeing eachother.

Standing in front of her door, I raise my fist to the surface and just before I knock, I hear a voice. "Harry?" I turn my head to see Claire standing a few feet away from me, her key in one hand and an orange juice in the other. "Oh, hey, I was just..." I begin and she nods, walking in front of me to turn her key into the door. I follow beind her, brushing my long hair back with my fingers.

She sets her orange juice bottle on her desk along with her keys. Her body is clothed in a pair of light washed skinny jeans and a white, lacey tank top. Her hair sits upon her head in a beautiful, effortless bun.

"So, uh, what's up?" She asks, awkwardly. I rub my hands togther, standing in the middle of the room. "I just...I heard that you were going to study in Mexico. Is that true?" Claire looks at the ground and pushes her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. "Yeah, it is true. There's this amazing opportunity down there for me to take classes with one of the greatest living philosophy professors, like ever. I'd be crazy to pass it up." When she finishes talking, her pink bottom lip slips between her teeth like it does when she's nervous.

A sudden pang shoots through my chest, an unidentifiable emotion. "When were you planning on telling me?" I ask, crossing my arms. Her blue eyes float up to meet mine and I can see a slight look of guilt. "I...I don't know, I didn't think it was that urgent." I raise my eyebrows at her in surprise. "Well, when are you leaving?"

"In a week and half. I'll be there for just short of a month,"she says softly. I take my bottom lip between my finger tips, just standing still. I don't make a sound, worried that I may say something I'll regret.

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Claire's POV~

I keep my head down, my heart beating fast. He's just standing there. It's impossible to know if he's angry or not. His eyes are glued to the ground and his pink lips are stuck between his thumb and index finger.

"Claire," he finally speaks and I look up, slowly. "Were you going to tell me at all?" My heart sinks and I think about my response. Was I going to pack up my things and fly to a different country for almost a month and not tell Harry? No, of course not. But I didn't want to tell him. I didn't want to feel guilty, and now I do.

"Harry, of course I was. But I just didn't know how. This is a really big opportunity." He nods. "I know it is, and I'm happy for you, it's just...I don't know," he says, rubbing his hand over his tattooed arm. I sigh, taking my hair down out of it's bun. "Harry, we can't do this. We don't need to know everything about eachother's lives anymore," I say.

His green eyes dart at me and narrow. "I didn't think that asking if you were fucking leaving for Mexico for a month was knowing everything about your life. Goodness, Claire. You can really be so selfish sometimes," he spits. I take a deep breath. "Okay, Harry. We aren't going to be like this. You can go." I hold my arm out towards the door. "Be like what?"

I roll my eyes. "Like you being rude and ridiculous just because we broke up!" I say, annoyed and slightly hurt by how difficult this has been. "I didn't want to break up!" He yells, not extremely loud, but loud enough to make me uncomfortable. "You cheated on me," I say softly. Harry's silent.

I shake my head and say,"We've talked about all of this already. I'm tired." He sniffles and nods. I sigh and run my fingers through my hair. This is what I wanted to avoid. This is exactly why I said we shouldn't see each other. It's too hard for us to be face to face and not rewind back to old conversations and recollect on old feelings.

"Well, goodbye," Harry says as he turns to walk away. His long legs stride to the door and he leaves without another word. He leaves without giving me a chance to say goodbye.

I lay down on my bed. My head is spinning and my heart has an aching feeling. I know it's because I miss him. I know it's because I love him, but I made the decision to let him go, or have him let me go, rather. It's easier to say you were the bird set free rather than the one who let it go.

Author's Note:
Hey readers! I know that I haven't updated is the longest time, and I'm so sorry! I hope this chapter makes up for it! I just want to say thank you to those who have continued to stick with me through out this book. It means everything. Please leave comments and tell me what you think!
~Lila