roses so red [harry lewis]

spring in the air

CHAPTER 9: spring in the air

"What do you do for work?" Harry asked, pushing the remnants of his food around his plate. The other guys were all engaged in a video game as they talked, shouted, and shoved with their controllers in their hands. The group was filling up the living room in front of the huge TV setup, and Freya was laughing on the other armchair with Josh using her legs as a backrest.

Rosalie had her legs curled under her and a plate of Thai takeout on her lap, Harry beside her trying to convince himself that he'd get ill if he tried to finish the last few noodles on his plate. "I'm in accounting at a law firm. I'm studying business at uni, and it's been a great job to test how I feel about it in the real world." She explained, spearing some mushrooms and taking a bite.

"Do you like it, then?" Harry asked, pulling his eyes away from the screen where the boys' characters were bombarding each other. 

Rosalie nodded, but then shrugged. "Yeah, I do, but they want me to sign on to work a proper workday five days a week next year, and if I do that then I'm pushing off graduation another year." She explained, nodding towards her bag on the floor. "That was one of the documents I was looking over, and I don't think I want to sign my life away for a job I enjoy when I'm only working a few meetings a week and a lot of outsourced stuff at home."

"I know what you mean... well, no, I don't." Harry conceded, then shrugging himself. "I mean I was never much of a fan of school myself, and the idea of working from nine to five in a cubical is what wakes me up at night."

Rosalie laughed, shrugging as she slid her fork around on her plate, gathering some noodles. "I mean, I like learning, and I like having routine and balance in my life to an extent, but I don't know that I want to be in school any longer than I have to be, and I don't think I want to work in accounting forever. I want a little more freedom than what that offers to me."

Harry nodded, although he didn't look convinced. "Even that sounds terrible to me. I can't even maintain a schedule for uploading videos, which doesn't really require an education. I get distracted, and there are other things I end up doing with my time, and then I've forgotten about my obligations and responsibilities."

Rose sort of understood where he was coming from, but she'd never wanted a lifestyle without something to regulate what she did from day to day, something that gave her purpose and a schedule to encourage her to get ready, meet people, accomplish things. "We're a little different, aren't we?"

Harry held up his beer, lifting it towards her. Rosalie rolled her eyes, picking up her own glass of wine and knocking it against his anyway. "Cheers to that."

They both sipped, letting the conversation lull for a moment as JJ's character was sent from the screen in an explosion of flames. They laughed, the boy throwing his controller down and standing up, screaming in mock rage. "Hey, he didn't break the TV, though." Rose pointed out, biting her lip when she saw the look Harry gave her.

"If you ever want a different job, something to fill your time and account while you're finishing school, I'm sure Freya and Lewis wouldn't mind a little more help running the business end of things for us." Harry offered. Rose gave him an appreciative look, but shook her head as she lifted her glass to her lips once more.

They let the discussion lull as Simon won another round, Ethan starting a quarrel and another round beginning just as quickly.

"I thought you said I was the one always picking fights." Harry noted finally, but with a joking look on his face as he opted instead to nudge his shoulder into hers, shoving her gently for her little comment. "I was, though, before."

"I fed it." Rosalie reasoned, but Harry shook his head, lifting his beer to his lips and taking a sip as she watched him, looking his face over swiftly before she glanced down at her hands. He was handsome in a disheveled kind of way, like he'd brushed his hair but had missed one spot, or he'd shaved but not close enough, a little bit clean cut but with a tiny bit more to it.

"I was wrong about you, in probably every conceivable way." Harry continued, looking over at her. Rose pushed her fiery hair over her shoulder and gave him what he wanted by meeting his pale eyes, letting him have his moment. "Forgive me?"

Her eye twitched for a second, her mind pushing for the right words to say. She'd not expected this sincerety from Harry Lewis, not since the day she first met him, and hadn't prepared for a moment quite like this particular one. But it was the moment, on the spot, and she couldn't just not answer.

So she opted for the easiest words her mouth could do with. "I mean, I don't see why not." Rosalie gave him a sly smile, and this time she was the one that gave his shoulder a nudge as he grinned and cheersed her again, throwing back the last of his beer.

And, in yet another moment of Harry Lewis action - for he always seemed to keep her guessing - Harry got to his feet and held the can over his head, crushing it in his fist with a scream. Rosalie laughed, shaking her head at him as the rest of the lads laughed and shouted in response, Simon throwing another beer at Harry as he plopped back down on the couch beside Rosalie, throwing a hand around the back of the couch.

Harry nodded his head at the TV, his eyes on Rosalie with a tough look. "Alright, Rosie, you up to challenge me in the next round?"