Artwork [h.s]

forty-five

It was cold, and Harry and I were waiting for Niall to arrive, sitting on the bench he used to occupy with his friends at the start of the school year.

I glanced at the tree in front of it, all the leaves were gone, the times I spent drawing the ones that had fallen on the floor seeming centuries away. So many things had changed since then.

I widened my eyes when Harry lay down, putting his head on my legs. I looked down at the sudden touch, discovering that he didn't seem to be minimally phased by what he'd just done. It was evident, in his closed eyes and in the relaxed expression on his face, that he hadn't overthought the action like I had, and that he'd done such a thing in a completely spontaneous way. It was weird, considering the way he usually acted, but not in a negative way. I just would've never expected him to willingly get that close to me in such a way.

I hesitantly put one of my hand on his chest, the other firmly gripping the wooden bench on the opposite side, watching him as he let out a deep breath as soon as he felt my touch on him.  I let go of the bench and dubiously brushed a strand of dark hair that was resting on his forehead, nervousness pervading me when his eyes shot open, his green irises piercing into mine.

"Are you tired?" I asked him as I put my hand back on the cold bench, the tone of my voice nonchalant as I tried my best to act as if he hadn't just caught me touching his hair.

He shrugged, as much as he could while he was in that position, not moving to sit up again and closing his eyes. "I haven't slept much lately" he replied quietly, the relaxed look finding its way back into his face and proving how tired he truly was. I was sure that in a normal occasion he would've never took down his guard like that while we were still on school ground.

I nodded, even though he couldn't see me, gathering the little bit of bravery that hadn't been destroyed by his initially cold gaze and lifting my hand to brush his hair again. His features softened when I intertwined my fingers with his dark curls, letting me know that what I was doing was okay. "Why?" I whispered back to him, temporarily stopping the motion of my hand.

"Just haven't" he replied quickly, but as faintly as me, making it clear that he had no intention of continuing that conversation. He let out another sigh, bending his knees over the bench, proving that he wasn't as relaxed as he seemed to be.

I leant back against the not so comfortable wooden surface, taking my hand out of Harry's hair as I glanced up, hoping to see Niall walking towards us. I let out a stressed sigh when I realised that the person that was walking towards us wasn't the blue eyed boy, but it was Zayn.

"I leave you alone for twenty-four hours and when I come back you're lying your head on her legs?" The raven-haired boy asked as he neared us, making some people that were hanging out in front of the building glance in our direction.

Harry sat up in the second he registered the comment, taking his legs off the bench and passing his fingers through his hair as he gave Zayn a half-tired, half-annoyed look. "Hi Zayn" he said quietly in the end, clearly deciding to completely ignore what he'd said.

"Free for hanging out today? Maybe getting a pizza too while we're at it" the dark-haired boy suggested while putting a cigarette between his lips and searching into his bag for something. After a few seconds he seemed to be able to find what he was searching for, that turned out to be a lighter. He brought it up, lighting the cigarette in a seemingly fast move before throwing it back where he'd found it.

Harry finally leaned against the back of the bench, feigning some of his usual nonchalance. Or at least, trying to, the task turning out to be way more complicated that he'd probably expected because of the tiredness in his eyes. "Sorry, but I'm taking Niall home and then I'm with her" he replied, his index slightly raising to point in my general direction as he spoke.