Artwork [h.s]

fifty-one

// I added the second half of the chapter, check it out //

From Harry: Are you awake?

I furrowed my eyebrows at the text that had suddenly appeared on the lock screen of my phone. It wasn't like Harry to text me at half past midnight. A slight worry came over me as I tried to think of a reason why he'd asked such a thing, and I picked the phone up, unlocking it quickly and typing in a reply.

To Harry: I am

I stared at it for a couple of seconds, wondering if I should've asked the reason behind his question, but knowing Harry, I knew for a fact that he wouldn't have replied, so it seemed kind of pointless to do so. I sighed, sending it and staring at the screen, a surprised look in my eyes when I saw the three dots appear just a matter of seconds after. I put the phone down, but I kept it unlocked, waiting for his reply, that came not too long after.

From Harry: Can you come to the door?

I widened my eyes as soon as I read what he'd sent. Harry was outside my house? I slowly sat up, taking the hoodie that had been forgotten over my white couch and putting it over my long sleeved shirt before quietly opening the door of my bedroom, my fingers tightly wrapped around my phone. I tiptoed down the stairs, careful not to make a single sound not to wake anybody up, taking a deep breath when I finally reached the ground floor.

I turned the flashlight of my phone on just in time not to crash against a misplaced pair of shoes, and made my way towards the front door, slowly opening it when I reached it.

In the dim light of the moon I was able to see Harry's figure, that was leaning against the wall next to the door, evidently waiting for me to open the door. He looked up as soon as he heard the sound of the front door being opened, and I gave him a shy look in return, while I tried to understand if something was wrong. The only other time he'd come to my house in the middle of the night he'd been drunk, and I couldn't help but wonder if that was the case again.

"Harry? What are you doing here?" I whispered to him, confusion laced in my words as I kept my gaze on him, trying to make sense of the situation, a slight nervousness making its way through me as I took in the possibility of him not being in his right mind in that moment. I'd managed to get away with him sleeping his drunkenness away in my bedroom once, but I was quite sure I wouldn't have managed to do it twice.

He gave me a little shrug, detaching his back from the wall, his balance not faltering as he slid his phone back into his pocket. "You said I could come" he said quietly, understanding that he had to be silent from my hushed tone, a hint of hesitation in his voice.

I stared at him for a couple of seconds, trying to wonder what he was on about, before the conversation we'd had before Christmas flashed back to me. "Yes, of course" I said, uncertainty in my voice. If I had to be honest, I would've never expected Harry to actually come to me, instead of going out to get drunk. I couldn't possibly be that great of a distraction, could I?

"Wanna come in?" I asked all of sudden, realising just in that moment that I'd been staring at him in silence, not making a move to actually invite him in.

He nodded, and I stepped to the side, a little shiver running down my spine when he walked inside, taking a bit of the cold air of winter with him.

"Take off your shoes, and be quiet" I whispered to him, shutting the door and observing him as he did as I asked. "My parents are sleeping" I added, trying to justify my odd request, even though I was quite sure he'd already understood that.

When he was done I turned on the flashlight again, and we made our way upstairs in the deep silence of the house.

I took a deep breath when we finally arrived into my room, relief washing through me almost instantly. I closed the door and turned around, glancing at Harry. He was sitting down on my bed, looking at me, seeming even more silent than usual. I wondered if something bad had happened again, or if he was just having a bad moment.