Beating For Two

Chapter 12

A lot of snow fell one weekend late in January, but, in typical England-style, it didn't remain snow for very long before it melted. Unfortunately, it got cold again before the snow had disappeared completely, so it froze up, which lead to icy roads. Me being me and me being pregnant, I was genuinely scared I'd fall and harm the baby when I walked to school in the mornings, so I wound up walking so slowly and carefully that I managed to come in late to my first class more or less every day.

That whole week was an exhausting and boring one, filled with homework and sleepless nights. More often than not, I woke up in the middle of the night because the baby was kicking, and no matter how annoyed I was at first, I always wound up talking to it soothingly, sometimes even sing, until he stopped. When I woke up the next morning, I felt like an absolute idiot, but nevertheless I kept doing it, night after night, and at some point it had become part of a routine.

I'd forgotten to schedule a new appointment with Dr. Hayes when Harry and I were there the last time, and so I gave her a call myself and asked when I should come in again. She put me up for Wednesday, February 9th at four thirty, and I figured that I should probably tell Harry in case he wanted to come with. And that's why I, the day before the appointment, found myself walking over to the table in the cafeteria where Harry, Liam, Niall, Zayn and Lauren were seated.

Tuesday, February 8th

Twenty-one weeks and one day

I didn't feel as nervous now as I had the last time I had to approach that very same table, back in the good old days when I needed to talk to Harry to tell him that I was pregnant. Even on a few metres distance, I saw that Niall, Liam and Zayn kept sending Lauren slightly annoyed looks, and I couldn't help but wonder if she really acted like the bitch she was when she was with Harry and the rest of them. If so, I couldn't do much but to ask myself why Harry kept her around. There was no doubt in my mind that there had to be something other than the fact that she had a pretty face; judging by what Liam and Zayn had told me about Harry, and by my own impressions of him, he didn't seem like the type of guy to keep a girl just for a nice physical appearance.

Then again, what did I know, right?

When I'd gotten over to the table, I coughed a little to get Harry's attention. Liam and Zayn looked up and their annoyed expressions morphed into smiles and Niall waved. Lauren, on the other hand, didn't look too happy. Go figure. She didn't say anything, but I noted the arm she snaked around Harry's waist in an almost possessive way and the condescending look she sent me. I shifted my eyes to Harry instead, expecting to get a friendlier welcome from him. But to my surprise, Harry only looked up for a short second and didn't acknowledge my presence at all before he concentrated on his food again.

Somewhat taken aback by his lack of acknowledgement of my presence, I bit my lip. “Harry?” I said tentatively, “Can I talk to you for a sec?”

“No,” came the reply, curt and cold, and he still didn't look at me.

My heart fell and I looked to the floor for a moment. “Why not?”

“Because I said so.”

“Harry, what the hell?” Zayn hissed.

I swallowed and attempted to smile at Liam and Niall who were both sending glares in Harry's direction. “It's okay, it wasn't important,” I said before I, without waiting for an answer, turned around and wandered off, biting the insides of my cheeks.

Why had he acted like that? Had I done something to him? Was he weirded out by what had happened right after Christmas, with me falling asleep with my head in his lap? As I walked through the hallways on my way to my locker, I sighed. It had been stupid of me to approach him like that, I should have just texted him and told him about the appointment. But then again, didn't we qualify as friends by now? Acquaintances at least, and friends slash acquaintances should be able to talk to each other, right? Apparently not in Harry's world. He didn't have to be so rude, though; if he didn't want to talk to me, he could have just said so with a smile instead of treating me like I'd done something to personally offend him.