Sunnyvale H.S

9

-
They sat in the car at the back of Sunnyvale. It was a warm day, the cold yet to come. The weather was constantly going up and down.

"Are we ever going to have a proper meeting Harry?"

He looked over at her and un-clipped his seat belt.
"I don't think so Miss Lancaster. We can if you ever needed to speak about anything but it's highly unlikely at this point."

She smiled and nodded, repeating the same actions as Harry just did.
"I think having company is making me feel better too."

"You'll always have company Grace."

They both climbed out of the car, and Harry locked it behind them as they walked towards the centre.
-
Harry's room was warm and cosy. He had blankets laid out across his couch and pillows scattered along the armchairs. The white glow from the fairy-lights made Grace feel tired and hazy when she looked at them.

"I love this room."
Harry smiled and sat down on the chair facing Grace.
"Why's that?"
She looked around again before replying.
"It's homely. Warm."
"And that brings you comfort?"
"Yeah. I guess so. I just like the look of it."
She stood up and walked to the left corner of the room. A bookshelf sat there stacked with various books in all shapes and sizes.
"I wouldn't take you to be a classical book fan."
"What can I say, I'm an intellectual."
He smiled and she rolled her eyes, taking a book from the shelf.
"Romeo and Juliet. Have you read it all?"
"Of course I have. I had to do a course on that in college."
"I learnt about Macbeth until I dropped out."

Harry shook his head and stood beside her. He scanned his finger along the books, stopping at a certain section.
"Here. Macbeth."
He handed her the book and she took it into her palm, looking at the front cover.
"This is a pretty old copy."
Its spine was bashed and the corners of the page were tattered and worn.
It had a vintage look to it.
"1970 copy. It was my dads."
She carefully placed it back on the bookshelf and slotted it where it had been.
"I don't want to damage it."
Harry took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles.
"Grace you couldn't damage anything."
He walked back to where they had sat and she smiled to herself and continued to look at the bookshelf.

He was always too sweet, and it made her head go wild. But Avery always said love was never true. Grace hadn't been in love so she had no clue what she was supposed to do. She hadn't felt proper love. Not even from her own dad.
-
The weather outside hadn't cleared up much and the cold air had started to nip at Graces arms.
She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself to keep warm as they walked towards the car.

It was almost 4pm, Harry had a projector in his office and they had decided to watch a movie together instead of talking.
They had spoken briefly and decided it that they didn't need to speak so seriously all the time. Grace was more than happy to speak to Harry about any of her problems and he was of course happy to listen. But it made her feel special that he ignored her problems. Of course that wasn't always the best option, but the fact he was willing to take into consideration the way she felt; and give her what she wanted, makes her feel good enough.

"Cold?" He asked and she nodded quickly.
She slid into the passenger seat in the car.
"It's almost November, I can imagine you're freezing, your shirt looks thin."
She tugged at the bottom of her shirt and pulled it towards her knees.
"It's freezing regardless of how thin my shirt is."

He twisted the keys into the ignition and gripped the steering wheel.
"Make sure you wrap up in the next few weeks then. You'll catch a cold."

"You sound like my dad."
They both paused, unsure of what to do or say next.
Harry started the engine, thinking it was probably best to just drive.
"Hey."