I strode into work the next day with more confidence than ever before. For some reason that talk with Harry really helped me. It's weird because other people have tried to help me before and it never worked. But things with Harry have been a bit different. Right as I walked in the door, my heart stopped and I stared in shock. Harry was standing there talking to Alice behind the counter.
"Morning Jane." Harry said smugly, waving at me.
"You two have already met I see..?" Alice questioned, smiling a bit awkwardly.
"Um yeah.. we're.." I wasn't sure what to call my relationship with Harry. Friends? Acquaintances?
"Good friends." Harry finished for me, and I blushed a bit.
"Well that's great news because you have the same shift as each other." Alice said.
"Wait, what?" I asked in confusion.
"It's Harry's first day on the job." Alice said.
"Wait, you work here now?" I asked, processing the news rather slowly.
"Yep." Harry said, smiling brightly. "I applied about a week ago and today's my first day."
"Harry that's.. that's great to hear." I said, smiling and walking towards him. This meant more time with Harry, which made me extremely happy.
"Turns out he knows the shop up & down, back to front, left & right and backwards." Alice said, smirking.
"Of course he does, he only comes here every day." I said, grinning. Harry nodded with a smile on his face.
"What a devoted customer." Alice said, smiling. "Well, have fun you two. Harry, if you have any questions just ask Jane."
"Will do, Alice. Thank you." Harry said, smiling politely.
"No problem. See you guys later." Alice said, and left the shop. We waited in silence for a moment as Alice got in her car.
"Well that was a surprise." I said, laughing a bit. "You never told me you applied for a job here!"
"I wanted to surprise you if I got the job." He said, smiling.
"Well I'm surprised." I said, standing next to him behind the counter.
"Good." He said with a smile. "Oh, by the way, this is for you." He said, sliding a coffee from Starbucks towards me. The side of the cup had 'Jane' written in Sharpie on it.
"Oh, thanks." I said, smiling.
"Everyone can always use a good coffee in the morning." Harry said, smiling cutely and taking a sip of his own coffee drink.
"That's true." I said, laughing. "Thanks Harry, I appreciate it."
"No problem. So, I was thinking.." He said, taking a long drink of his coffee then looking at me. "Since we have the same shift, I could just drive you to and from work everyday, that way your friend can use your car."
"That'd be great, oh my gosh." I said, opening my eyes wide at the great idea.
"Sounds like a plan?" Harry said, chuckling a bit at my expression.
"It's a plan." I said, laughing and blushing.
"Great." Harry smiled and turned to the computer. "Now show me how to work this thing." I laughed and stood behind him, teaching him the different keys and buttons.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Harry?" I said quietly, as we finished messing with the computer and took a seat on the floor behind the counter.
"Hmmm?" Harry asked, sitting to face me, his back against the wall.
"So.. this may sound weird, but that first week we really talked, you were off your schedule." I said, a bit shy. I wondered if I was going to regret bringing this up.
"Off my schedule?" He asked curiously.
"Yeah, like.. you seemed all sad and you weren't coming in when you usually did and it wasn't Tuesday and you bought a CD and you just.. weren't yourself." I explained, babbling a bit.
"You noticed all that about me, huh?" Harry asked, grinning. I blushed.
"Maybe. Now explain, if you don't mind." I said, wrapping my arms around my knees.
"I was just having a rough few days." He said. I looked up into his eyes for a split second, and he decided to continue. "My best friend died that day, one year ago." Harry explained.
"Oh my god. Harry, I'm so so sorry." I said, my eyes wide with shock.
"It's alright, babe. You didn't know." He said, but I could see that cloudy color taking over his eyes again. I moved across the carpet and sat next to him, my back against the wall, and our shoulders and knees touching.
"I shouldn't have asked." I said, mentally slapping myself.
"No, actually, I'm glad you did. I had to tell you eventually anyway, and now's a better time than later. I don't really get to talk about it much anyway.." He said, trailing off, a bit quieter at the end.
"Tell me about him." I said quietly.
"His name was Louis Tomlinson, and he was the funniest person I'd met in my life. He was the best friend I could ask for. No matter what was wrong, he could cheer me up somehow. His death was the hardest thing I had to deal with in my life, and for once he wasn't there to cheer me up. I was a wreck for months, and I didn't know who to turn to. My mom and sister tried to comfort me, but it wasn't the same as the way Louis would make me laugh. He would make me laugh so, so hard. I haven't laughed that hard since the last time I was with him. After a few months, I just became numb to it all. My mom claims I'm "shutting her out", but I'm just trying to go through the motions of life, you know? It's hard not having your best friend when you need them. I miss him.. a lot." On the last word, his voice cracked and a tear rolled off my eyelashes. I brushed it away quickly, and turned to hug him tight.
"I'm so so so sorry. He sounds like such a great person, Harry, he really does." I whispered into his shoulder.
"He was, Jane. I wish you could've met him." He said, and I felt a tear of his drop onto my shoulder.
"Me too." I whispered, pulling back and wiping the tears gently from his face.
"I'm sorry." He whispered, running his tongue over his dark pink lips.
"Sorry for what?" I asked, clueless and taken aback by the apology.
"Crying." He said simply.
"Don't apologize Harry." I said, pulling him into another hug. "You can talk to me about anything whenever you want, no matter what emotion you feel."
"Thank you so much." He whispered, squeezing me tight.
"What are friends for?" I asked, and pulled back, smiling a bit. He smiled, and sniffled, wiping the last bits of wetness from his eyes. I stood then, and held my hand out to him, pulling him up from the floor.
"You're a really cool guy, Harry." I said, smiling.
"You're an even cooler girl, Jane." He smiled back, and shifted on his feet so our shoulders were touching. I smiled, as his warm shoulder pressed against mine. One thought was strong in my mind. I can't believe I'm getting paid for this.
