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Chapter Thirteen - Stole My Heart

Harry knocked Niall’s outstretched foot as he reached for his jacket. “Barbara’s asked me to come help until closing, I’ll see you later.”

“Sure, mate.” Niall mumbled from half-asleep attention.

Harry chuckled lightly at Niall’s inability to stay awake, even on a Saturday. Not much of a party animal, that one.

He pulled on his jacket and trotted down the stairwell, glad for the opportunity to get out. To be honest, he didn’t mind his job at the bakery-- in fact, he quite liked it, seeing as Barbara was the closest thing he had to a mother-figure away from home. And there were enough free scones to keep him happy for the rest of his life. And… and Diana. He quite liked the possibility of getting to see her. He smiled to himself as he met the brisk air with a brisk walk.

The walk across campus always proved to stir up his mind, and as he took in the sun setting in a beautiful array of orange and pinks, he thought it was a nice accompaniment to his thoughts. He’d been thinking about what Zayn had said about Bridgette, and he’d known even before Zayn had said it that he was right. Even if in some twisted way his relationship with Bridgette had been beautiful, it was time to let it set.

Harry shoved his hands in his coat pockets and kept walking. Just like the horizon as it met the burning sun, his heart felt seared-- no matter how right the decision had been. As the darkness had set around him, his only hope was fixing his thoughts on the break of day. Because he knew no matter how dark the night got, eventually dawn always brought a new day.

“Hey, Barbara, how are ya, love?” Harry spoke as he yanked his apron off the rack and continued in from the back door.

“Aye, Harry, thanks for coming in.” Barbara smiled, but Harry could tell she was exhausted.

“Can I fix you a cuppa?” He asked and gave her a quick peck to the cheek. He didn’t wait for an answer to keep moving towards the front of the shop, intent on taking over so Barbara could have a break.

“Good lad.” She called affectionately as he pushed through the door to the cafe proper.

His hands immediately busied themselves, mind on autopilot as he snagged one of Barbara’s favorite teas and reached for the hot water. He only paused when he looked up briefly to check the line and found himself staring at Diana instead. She’s here! He bubbled on the inside, confused at his equal responses of excitement and terror. The spoon in his hand slowly slid into the steeping tea as a smile slid onto his face. His fingers swirled the utensil in slow circles, but his mind moved much more quickly.

Unlike usual, she appeared to be out with friends-- still studying, but with a lot more laughing and poking and general girliness. He liked to see her interacting with others-- mainly because it meant he got to see her smile and giggle and throw her face into her hands every few minutes. Based on the amount of chortles coming from their table, he wasn’t sure how much studying was actually transpiring, but at least they had their textbooks open. It was more than he could say for his weekend.

Her eyes danced from friend to friend, just like his mind did from thought to thought. It wasn’t so hard for him to imagine her laughing at him that way, or to imagine her wrapped up in his arms under the stars. Maybe it was just his own cheesiness coming out, but he couldn’t help but think she looked like the kind of girl that would enjoy stargazing until the wee hours of the morning with enough words to fill a lifetime of novels and nothing for warmth except each other. In fact, he thought he’d quite like to find out if she really was that kind of girl or not, because it’d be a shame to waste the opportunity of such a perfectly chilly night. He thought for a moment about where the best place on campus to stargaze might be, but then decided they’d be better off leaving to find somewhere with less light pollution. Otherwise, their chances of seeing a shooting star would be pretty low and that wouldn’t be any good. Unless, of course, they managed to get on a rooftop somewhere, but he was pretty sure they were all locked. Except maybe the Coxwell building because--