Artwork [h.s]

thirty-eight

I looked out of the window, at the line of houses passing by the glass fast. Soon we would've reached my house, and the thought saddened me. I didn't want to leave Harry. Despite the fact that we'd spent together the entire afternoon, it felt too soon to say goodbye. It made me feel weird to think that soon he would've parked in front of my house, and I wouldn't have heard from him again until the day after - because it was quite clear he wasn't a fan of using his phone to text, let alone call someone. "I don't feel like going home" I said in a faint whisper before I could even realise it. I looked down, thinking of how to cover up my words - if he'd heard them at all, that is. Maybe I would've been lucky and the low humming of the engine of the car would've been enough to hide what I'd said. I turned my head slightly, spying his reaction from the corner of my eye not to catch his attention in case my words hadn't reached his ears.

Harry turned his head towards me slightly, sending me a fast glance and making me realise he'd heard me. "Why?" He asked quietly, the vibration in his voice almost as deep as the one of the car.

I looked down, a flash of awkwardness hitting me. "I don't know" I replied, my mind working fast to find a reason for my words that wouldn't have been what was already obvious. "It's... empty." I said in the end with a shrug, trying to play off my words as less important than they were.

Harry hummed, turning to look out of the windshield again, not saying anything.

As the silence filled the car again, I went back to looking out of the window, wanting to seem distracted even though all my thoughts were driven to the boy next to me. Given that it was almost evening, his cologne had faded, but there was still a faint scent lingering in the air, probably due to the fact that we were in his car, just slightly empowered by the closeness and the small space, that was just enough not to let me forget who was next to me, not even for a second.

I pulled at the hair tie in my hair, allowing it to fall on my shoulders, taking advantage of the action to send him a fast glance, unseen. I looked away again, a wave of uncertainty hitting me. Every time I looked at him, I wondered what someone like him found in someone like me. It wasn't that I thought particularly low of myself, I just knew that someone like him could've easily gone for the best - and it wasn't me. I wanted to enjoy at best every single second of his day he decided to share with me, but I couldn't help but wonder what would've happened after. I felt as if there was some kind of finality pending above us, as if everything that was going on was simply too wonderful to be true. I knew that one day he would've got bored of me, and would've moved on without a second thought. And who knows, maybe I would've too, but it seemed too unreal to believe in that moment.

I was so caught in my thoughts that I didn't realise we'd arrived to our destination until the car stopped and was turned off.

I looked up, furrowing my eyebrows when I realised we were in front of Harry's house. "Why are we here?" I asked confusedly, not understanding why he'd taken me there. I would've expected him to take me to many places aside from my house, but his surely wasn't one of them.

"Niall would never believe me if I said I was with you" he replied. "He's been on my case recently." He opened his door and got out in a fast move, shutting it and waiting for me to do the same.

I exited the car as well and followed him as he walked past the gate and towards the front door with a fast but silent step. He took out a set of keys from the pocket of his coat, inadvertently making them dangle against the doorknob as he searched for the right one. When he did, he opened the door, allowing me to walk in and following me inside.

He took off his coat and put it on the hanger next to the door. "Here" he said quietly, taking mine from my hands and hanging it over his, before walking into what I supposed was the living room. I followed him up the stairs, widening my eyes when I unexpectedly heard a voice.