habits of my heart (h.s.)

twenty-seven

friends just sleep in another bed
and friends don't treat me like you do

"Alyson?"

I froze in the doorway at the sound of Harry's voice. He stared at me for a moment, confused, before crossing over to me. I immediately jumped away, thinking that he was going to go in to kiss me again, but to my humiliation, he was just helping me with my bags.

"Harry," I smiled tightly, trying to pretend like nothing had just happened. "I didn't know you were going to be home."

"I didn't know you were coming home," he retorted. "Why didn't you tell me? You know I would've come to pick you up."

"It's no worries, really. I got a taxi," I told him. I followed him into my room, where he left both of my suitcases. Once he had stood up again, he glanced at me nervously, unsure what to do next.

"So, um, how was your break?" I asked, sitting down on my bed.

Harry's shoulders relaxed when he realized that I wasn't going to kick him out. He hesitantly sat on the other side of the bed before saying, "Yeah, it was good. I went back home to England for a couple of weeks. It was nice to see my family again."

"That's really sweet," I smiled. "Do you have any pictures?"

"Uh—yeah. One sec." He pulled his phone out of his pocket, before sliding down the bed to move closer to me. "This is a picture of me and my sister, Gemma."

"Oh my God, you look like twins," I gasped. I was trying very hard not to act like the close proximity of our bodies was having any effect on me. I was also trying very hard not to think about how the last time we had been this close to each other, I had kissed him. Other than that text thread right after it had happened, we had yet to discuss it. I definitely wasn't going to be the one to bring it up.

Harry scrunched his nose. It was quite possibly the cutest thing I had ever seen, and I groaned internally. He was making this really difficult. "Everyone always says that, but I never see it."

"Adam and I look nothing alike. He actually had me convinced I was adopted for two years."

Harry laughed. "That sounds like something your brother would do."

I nodded aimlessly. "Right."

For a second, I could've sworn that his gaze flickered down to my lips, but his eyes returned to his screen so quickly that I was sure I had been imagining it. "And, uh, how was your Christmas?"

"It was good. My mom and my stepdad threw their annual New Year's party, which was fun. It was nice to dress up—I haven't done that in a while."

"Fun, fun, mhm."

Oh my God, this was so awkward. I couldn't stand it anymore, and so, ignoring everything I had just promised myself, I blurted out, "So, the kiss...."

His head practically jerked up from his phone. "Right. The kiss."

"I....I think it was instinct?" I said weakly. "I mean, I wasn't thinking. We were saying goodbye. I guess that's what you do when you say goodbye."

Harry frowned slightly, but I could see his eyebrows wiggling in amusement. "So, did you also kiss Niall goodbye, then?"

"No!" I exclaimed. "You're nothing like Niall."

He was full-on grinning now. "I'm not?"

"Harry."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he apologized, holding his hands up in mock defense. "It was a nice kiss. I'm glad you did it. But if you want to forget about it, that's fine with me. Whatever makes you comfortable."