Beneath Your Beautiful (H.S. AU)

Chapter 9

It was mid October, and Harry and I hadn't spoken since we met at the cemetery. We both tried to avoid each other at all costs and though part of me still wanted to know more about him, I was sure keeping him out of my life was a good thing. There was one bad thing about it though, my nightmares now occurred more often than ever and I no longer dreamt of those illuminating, green eyes.

A rapid knock on the front door took me by surprise, and I wondered whom it could be. I surely never had people over and whenever Maya was actually here she was mostly sleeping which meant she rarely had guests over either.

I tiptoed out in the hallway to open the front door only to be met by a middle-aged woman. She had long, dyed hair, most likely because it was grey underneath, and blue eyes, like Maya's. "Hi," I tried to sound polite, but after what Maya had told me about her mom she didn't seem like the nicest person in the world. "Can I help you?

She gave me the elevator look and scrunched her nose and I avoided eye contact with her. She was quite intimidating actually. She hadn't even said one word to me, and I already didn't like her and without a word she scurried past me and started searching for her daughter without my permission. What a nice lady. I thought to myself and rolled my eyes. There wasn't anything decent about her, and I wondered if Maya's dad had only taken her for her looks because I had to admit it, she was quite pretty considering her age.

She soon found Maya and started yelling. At first, it was a one-way conversation since Maya had been sleeping, but now they were both throwing with fire. I couldn't place out all of their conversation and to be honest it wasn't my business, but when her mom left, Maya looked sad and mad, and the look on her mom's face was definitely anything but happy.

"You okay?" I asked biting my lip unsure if she wanted to talk about it. The only thing I managed to hear was the fact that Maya was being lazy and something about uni besides that I wasn't sure, but I wasn't dumb enough not to know what this was about. Maya's parents had been contacted about her absence and though Maya was sure Colombia wouldn't do anything about, it apparently she had been wrong. I just hoped they wouldn't kick her out.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she wiped her eyes. "I just need to go see Harry." She told me and took my hand and leaded me out of the apartment. I wasn't sure why she needed to see Harry, and I wasn't sure what she needed me for, but I didn't protest figuring now wasn't the time to argue. Part of me felt guilty for opening the door to her mom.

We arrived at a gym down tow, and I wondered what the hell we were doing here, but to be honest I wasn't sure I wanted to know. Maya headed directly to the person standing by the punching bags and I realised it was Harry. Maybe he was a boxer? I thought remembering the excuse he had given me for his black eye over a month ago. Harry met my gaze, and then he looked back at Maya. He seemed mad at her, but I stood still not wanting to intrude on their conversation. Harry then grabbed Maya's wrist, and they disappeared out of sight. What were they doing? I turned my head around seeing if anyone had noticed my presence as I stood there awkwardly but the gym was almost empty except for a fake, blond haired boy. Niall. Without thinking I walked over to him. "What are you doing here?" I asked. He looked up and met my eyes, and I realized how much I had actually missed him. Staring into his beautiful, baby blue eyes was something I could do all day. "I see your curiosity hasn't left you," he smiled and got off the treadmill. "I could ask you the same thing.

"I'm here with a friend," I spoke honestly, and he wrapped a towel over his shoulders. Seeing him like this was definitely not helping me with the moving on part.

"You don't have friends," he said and regretted it as soon as he did. I knew he hadn't meant it like that, but it still felt like a punch in the stomach. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that," he apologized, and I nodded.