Rain | Harry Styles

5.5

'but i took hope in half-desire; you are wildfire and i'm standing in the rain.'

(everything - MUNA)

-

H.

With only a week, now, before we would return again to Manchester for my mum's wedding, we didn't have much time to make graduation plans - but fuck, her wedding. That was something I certainly hadn't expected, nor had I been too chuffed about it, either.. I'd yet to wrap my head around it. Don't get me wrong, seeing Mum so happy with somebody after Ken was miraculous, and that made me happy - I was happy for her, finding somebody who kept her so content; but I wasn't so keen on the man himself.

Ben seemed like a bit of a dick to me. I wasn't sure what I'd done to piss him off, other than have his little girl swear repeatedly at him, but-? Who cares about that type of thing? Not me. Idiot.

I hadn't dared to even think about the night Ken had shown up - those words didn't seem literal, that my supposed father, after almost a decade decided to show up, and I'd yet to know what for. Money, I'd presumed - but the mere sight of his face had flicked a switch within me, struck a match and lit a fuse that I'd tried to keep under wraps for bloody years - he'd shown up. And I'd beaten the shit right out of him. 'No regrets, though.

I also knew there was something wrong with Ana. She'd been acting off since Sunday morning, and though she continued to blatantly deny it to my face - I knew when she was hiding something. I wasn't sure what, but she'd left my bed on Sunday morning with a smile on her face, and returned on Sunday afternoon with a frown deeper than I could've expected. She kept refusing to tell me why, and so I dropped the matter, and I didn't bring it up with her any further. But I wouldn't forget it - it lingered in the back of my mind, and it surprised me that my girlfriend didn't think I would easily uncover the fact she was hiding something; but she didn't suspect a thing. Ana thought I'd moved on and forgotten about it, but a day didn't pass where my concern didn't cloud my mind.

I hadn't seen Ana for a few days now; her irritating mother and slightly more tolerable father had kept her restricted to the house after she'd been allowed to come away with me for a few days, which I sort of understood. But I missed her, and I was now stuck with Liam.

"Liam!" I called, scowling at the ground as I dropped some kitchen towel onto it, pressing it into the soaking tiles with my bare foot, "Why the fuck is there water all over the goddamn floor?"

Liam walked into the kitchen, audibly huffing in my direction, "I turned on the tap earlier, and it splashed all over the tiles, duh." He sat down at the kitchen table in his mother's kitchen, resting his chin in his hand. "And will you stop being so loud? Dad's asleep."

"Your dad would go ballistic if he saw this," I retorted, rolling my eyes while scooping up the wet paper on my foot and shoving it into the bin, "Why couldn't you just mop it up?"

"I tried," he whined, while all I did was shake my head.

"How is your dad, anyways?" I asked, and he shrugged sadly.

"Better, I think - I dunno. He doesn't want to talk much, but chemo is definitely helping. Definitely."

"Well, that's good," I nodded, not sure what else to say, "Y'want tea?" 

"Yeah," he responded simply, as I flicked the switch on the kettle.

"You look wrecked," I told him, observing his tired eyes and messy hair, a grin tugging on my lips, "Is Niall here?"

"Do I really look wrecked?" Liam asked with wide eyes all of a sudden, "Fuck, I knew it would show when I ran out of my eye cream last week, and-"