Like Home

Nine

When Harry pulled up outside of Kit's building, he immediately felt bad that he'd judged her neighbourhood before even seeing it. The small, three story apartment building was located on a quiet, dead-end avenue. Two little old ladies sat on a bench across the street, and there were no gang members in sight. This wasn't the Tower Hamlets he'd seen on the news, and he was relieved. Thinking of Kit living among drugs and gun fights was enough to make him want to kidnap her – of course, he wanted to anyway.

He climbed out of his car, clutching Kit's scarf in his hand as he made his way up the chipped cement stairs. His stomach was twisting around erratically, something Harry wished would cease. There was no reason for it, he tried to convince his mind. He silently scolded himself as he pressed the buzzer for unit six, telling himself he was being ridiculous.

He shifted his weight as he waited to hear Kit's voice come through the intercom. He was just about to press the button again – like the obsessive nut you are – when he heard the window above him open, and a cheery voice call down, "hello!"

Harry looked up, seeing a grinning Kit leaning out the second story window, her messy hair blowing in the light wind. Seeing her bright, cheeky smile caused a wide grin to spread across Harry's face, and it took him a moment to remember to reply to Kit.

"Hello, you," Harry called back, beaming at Kit. She was incredibly adorable. "Erm... Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair?" He asked questioningly, feeling a bit silly reciting fairy tale quotes to Kit, though the grin remained on his face.

Kit laughed loudly, the old ladies across the road looking up at the sudden noise. Any thoughts of feeling silly instantly vanished with the sound of her laugh. Harry realised then that he would do anything to hear that giggle. "Well, we could give it a whirl," she mused teasingly. "Or you could just use this key instead," she added, holding up a small silver key on an obnoxiously large, fluffy pink keychain. "The buzzer lock is broken... Ready?" she asked him, dangling the key out the window.

"Sure," Harry laughed, easily catching the massive keychain. He fumbled with it for a moment at the sticky front door before the latch gave way and allowed him to enter. His nerves were still giving him a hard time as he took the stairs to the second level, and seeing Kit waiting at the open door for him didn't lessen the jittery feeling.

"Hi!" Kit greeted again, her voice sounding overly chipper. She had been anxiously awaiting Harry's arrival all afternoon, and was unable to hide her excitement at seeing him. She leaned against the door jamb as he walked down the narrow hallway towards her. She had been apprehensive about her invite to him, wondering whether or not it was a good idea. Deep down, she knew it wasn't. But as Harry stepped down the hall, all of her thoughts disappeared. He had a hold of her, something she couldn't resist.

"Hi," Harry echoed Kit's greeting, stopping in front of her door and offering her a wide smile, sprinkled with a hint of bashfulness. Kit matched his smile, though the bashfulness apparent in Harry's smile wasn't present in hers. Without a second thought, she threw her arms around his waist as soon as he was close enough, pulling his body tightly against hers. Hugging him felt incredibly right, two pieces of a puzzle magnetized to one another, though with the lingering thought of her boyfriend in the back of her mind, her closeness to Harry also felt terribly wrong. But he'd insisted they were friends – though she found herself struggling with the insipidness of the word – and Kit never let a friend cross her path without receiving a hug.

Especially when that friend was Harry Styles.

To say he was taken aback by Kit's greeting would be an understatement. For as awkward as he was feeling seeing Kit, he assumed she would be feeling comparable. Knowing he wouldn't have initiated a hug – as much as he wanted to – he was thrilled Kit had done so.