Ink || h.s [sequel to grapite]

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Hey."

Without tearing my eyes away from the laptop screen, I had a slight idea of who had seated themselves in the chair opposite. The voice held it's usual confidence, with it's velvety undertones. I didn't even have to look up to identify the occupant of the empty chair at my table.

"Go away." I muttered, impatiently tapping my fingernails against the surface of the laptop. From the corner of my eye, I could see him scratching the back of his neck and leaning forwards so that our faces were inches apart. It was hard to ignore him when there was little to no proximity between us.

"I know you don't mean that," His eyes latched onto mine, and I found myself staring into two deep, green abysses.

"Oh but I do." I responded. I sunk back into the uncomfortable metal of the chair and folded my arms. Even now, I felt as though I were staring at a stranger. This wasn't the boy I had come to love. He was different. No more dimples, no more sappy grins, no more Harry as I knew him.

He was long gone.

"See, if I were to go, then I wouldn't be able to help you with whatever's troubling you." He justified, but I saw straight through his words. The arched eyebrow and the hint of a smirk told me otherwise.

"And why would I ever need your help?" Second by second, I was beginning to wish I'd never come down to the coffee shop. I thought it might be the silent escape I needed to help me find a job, find a town, find anything but once again, I made the wrong judgment.

"Well, I guess I just won't tell you about the job that I found for you then," He frowned, his face full of fallacy. I didn't buy into it, instead I just sat stubbornly.

"I don't need you, or your 'job'." I bit back in a hiss. A few of the regular shop visitors were turning round to see what the commotion was about. I hadn't wanted to cause a scene, but I should've guessed that we might.

"Oh really, well, I'd love to see what you have lined up for yourself." He finally said, casually leaning back and slinging his arm over the back of his chair.

"Oh, you will." I winced inwardly at my words. I had nothing. Not one job. Here I was making promises that I couldn't keep. It was the same old story, as always. I'd make a promise and I'd break it sooner or later.

"Well, I best be off. Places to be, crowds to see. You know the stuff." He stood up from his chair, tugging at the sunglasses that sat in his curls. The sunglasses broke free easily and he pushed them onto the bridge of his nose so that I could no longer see his eyes.

"Good. Bye." I replied shortly, already retraining my focus onto the laptop screen.

"You'll miss me when I'm gone," He shrugged, sloping out of the coffee shop and leaving me in peace at last. I concentrated on the website before me, figuring out anything that could help to specify my search.

"I thought he'd never go." The boy who helped out sometimes in the coffee shop, Finn I think his name was, laughed. He cleared away my empty cup and wiped down the half of the table that I wasn't using. I smiled appreciatively, and he reciprocated my actions.

I clicked the power button on the keyboard of my laptop and the bright screen dimmed to black. I gave up and slumped over the table, watching out onto the street that lay outside of the window.

There were so many people out there - most of them buried deep within their macs and scarves. They clutched to the edges of their coats or struggled to keep their hair from flying out behind them in the wind. It made me glad to be indoors, where there was heating and warmth from the steaming coffee.

Sooner or later I'd have to face the winds though.