feeling safe || zarry stylik

Day 148

Harry is awakened by Ollie kicking the couch cushion next to his face. He sits up quickly, and rubs the sleep and tears out of his eyes. He looks up at Ollie, who's scowling. "You didn't make me breakfast."

"I'm sorry, I must have slept in. My alarm is in our room and you locked the door-"

"Oh, quit whining. I'll just have to go to work hungry. It's whatever." Ollie rolls his eyes, and Harry frowns.

Ollie is the master of passive aggression. He's manipulative and conniving, and Harry is completely blind to it. Ollie slams the door behind him, and Harry cringes a bit. "Bye!"

He lays back down, and lets out a sigh. He might just about lay here for the whole day. Before he can fall asleep, his phone buzzes in his pocket. A text from Niall.

Nialler: hiya buddy !  we haven't had a good chat in a while.  Wanna go for a drink ? 

Harry knows he shouldn't respond; Ollie doesn't like Niall and has banned Harry from speaking with him. But Ollie's been so mean lately. Would it hurt that much to break the rules just this once?

Haz: Sure !  Go round to Churchill's in 10 ?

Nialler: great !  See ya then :-))

Harry somehow gets himself up off the couch, and pours himself a tall glass of water. After he's finished it, he puts on his boots and coat, grabs his wallet and phone, and heads down the stairs to the street. Churchill's is only a few blocks away, so Harry figures he'll walk.

The walk is pleasant, he supposes. The air is never exactly fresh, and there's always some honking and yelling coming from somewhere in the city, but it feels nice for him to get out of the apartment, just to have a few minutes alone.

Alas, all good things must come to an end. He shrugs, and pulls the door open to Churchill's. Niall spots him immediately, and waves his arm conspicuously. "Harry! Mate, I'm over here!"

Harry laughs a bit, and makes his way past a what seems to be a bachelorette party, and over to Niall's table. He gives Niall a quick hug, and slumps down across the table from him. He sighs heavily, but tries to keep his face bright. "Hey, Ni. How's it going?"

Niall grins widely, as always, and chuckles. "It's going well! How about you? How's ol' Ollie treatin' ya?"

Harry tries not to frown, but apparently, not hard enough. Niall scowls. "What's goin' on, mate? Everything okay with you two?"

Harry's brows furrow, and he fiddled with the cuff of his coat. "Uh, I'm not sure, honestly. I don't even know where to start."

Niall rustles my hair, and smiles sadly. "Okay, well, lets get you a drink, and then we can talk it out. Okay?"

Harry nods bleakly, and tunes in and out of the conversation as Niall orders them a round of drinks. Once the waiter brings them round, Harry sits up a little straighter and takes a big sip of his pint. "Alright. What's up with Ollie? It's certainly got you in quite a tizzy."

"Um, well. He hasn't exactly been super nice lately. I dunno, I've probably done something to provoke him. Anyway, uh, just forget I said anything."

Niall scowls. "No, no. Harry, does he hurt you? Because if that dickhead's abusing you, I'll fuck him up-"

Harry is close to tears. "No, Niall! God, no. He'd never hurt me. He's just... very direct about the things he doesn't like about me."

Niall furrows his brows. This isn't sounding good. "What do you mean? What could he possibly not like about you? You're swell."

Harry blushes, and smiles a bit. "Thanks, Ni. I don't know, I guess he just wishes I'd lose some weight, and exercise more and stop dressing the way I do. Nothing huge."

"Uh, Harry, that actually is huge. He's practically asking you to change all the things that make you you. How is that okay? Besides, your weight is fine and you work out, what, four times a week? What more does he want? And what's wrong with the way you dress? I like your style. It's fun. I like those gold boots you have."

Harry blushes, and a ghost of a smile creeps onto his face. "Thanks, bub. I like my gold boots, too. But anyway, it's not a big deal. I think Ollie is just going through a rough patch or something."

"Well, even so, it's never okay to treat you like shit just because he's in a bad place. He still has to show some semblance of human decency. Do you understand that, Harry?"

"Yeah! I do. I just-"

"No, no. I don't think you do, Harry. Maybe you feel like you've done something wrong, so you deserve to be treated badly. But that's not true, H. You've done nothing wrong. He's just being a real twat. You deserve to be treated nicely, like the king you are."

Harry blushes, and smiles widely. "Aw, thanks, Nialler. That's so sweet."

Niall nods, and finishes off his beer. "Yeah, well, it's true. Harry, don't let him treat you badly, okay? You deserve better."