Shelter 《H.S.》

Chapter 005

When Harry woke up the following morning, he felt as though a bus had ran him over. He hadn't slept well (drawbacks for coming down off the Xanax he usually swallowed down to force himself into a dreamless sleep) on top of Skylar coming in every four hours with that loud damn machine. Not to mention the God awful nightmares that haunted him frequently.

He coughed, his chest rattling and eyes watering. His throat was sore and burn and his chest physically ached. Harry felt like death warmed over with a pounding head and aching body as he slowly sat up, snuffling. With a sigh, he scooted to the edge of the bed, knuckling at his tired eyes as he stood up.

After trudging to the bathroom, he found himself making his way to the kitchen. As soon as he made it to the mouth of the hallway, he heard her. His chest filled with warmth as he listened to her softly singing along to a song on the radio. Stepping further into the living room, he snuck a glance around the bar to where she stood in the kitchen at the stove.

Her hips shook subtly as she flipped what looked like a pancake on the griddle in front of her, head bobbing along to the beat. She was dressed similarly as she had been the last time he'd woken up (still half drunk and coming down off a trip) in her home. An oversized tee shirt hung off her small frame, the hem of a pair of black shorts peeking out just beneath them with her hair tied back messily and a pair of thick-rimmed glasses adorning her delicate face.

He cleared his throat as he stepped around the bar, watching in amusement as she jumped slightly, whipping around to face him with wide eyes and one small hand placed on her chest. He gave her a lopsided grin as he took a seat at the end of the counter, perching carefully on the stool as he clasped his hands together and sat them on the marble countertop.

"You scared the absolute piss out of me!" She finally said, her light voice breathy as her posture finally relaxed as she shot him a grin of her own.

Harry's heart stopped at the sight of her, all wide eyes and big, cheesy grins. He felt as if the world had momentarily stopped as he watched her, so lost in her own little world.

She turned back to the griddle placed in the stove, flipping the pancakes one last time. There was a few moments of silence between the pair before she spoke again, "So, I figured we could go pick you up a few things today since you'll be staying here."

Harry opened his mouth, fully ready to protest. He didn't want to stay. Didn't want to burden her with his past and all his problems.

"I'm not taking no for an answer on any of it either, so don't even try," she said sternly, not bothering to turn around as she waved the spatula in one hand while her free one scooped more batter out onto the griddle.

It wasn't long before she was placing a large stack of pancakes in front of Harry, a bottle of syrup being placed next to it. He eyed it carefully, trying to determine whether the rolling in his abdomen was because he was just that hungry or it the smell of freshly cooked food was making him naseaus. With a sigh, Harry reluctantly picked up the fork after drizzling a hefty serving of syrup over his pancakes and dug in.

Skylar stood across from him, her own plate with a much smaller stack situated on front of her as she watched him shovel down his own pancakes. She fought to hide her smile from him as she took in his stuffed cheeks, daintily sticking another forkful in her mouth.

"We're going to Selfridges to pick some things up for you. You need more clothes than that one ratty pair of jeans and frayed shirt. Don't think your coat is going to hold up through next winter either, even with proper care." She said as she placed their now empty plates in the sink.

A deep frown settled over Harry's features as Skylar stepped around to his side of the bar, placing her hand on his shoulder as she paused to speak, "there are a pair of jeans in the dresser. You're not much taller than Zayn is so I reckon his trousers will fit you."