𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐍! | harry styles

𝐗𝐗𝐗

THE sound of Bella fumbling in the kitchen woke Harry from a restless slumber. It felt like he had just closed his eyes, but by the amount of light filling the room, he knew he had been sleeping for a while. The past three nights were hard for him. Bella's apartment was too dark, too quiet. Harry needed to leave the television on just to have something to block out. Although he was still tired, his body was too used to waking up early in the morning, and he didn't think he would find sleep again no matter how hard he tried.

He lay there, listening to Bella move about the kitchen. The smell of coffee filled the room. Harry took a deep breath and closed his eyes. For the first time since being released, he was finally beginning to feel comfortable. Letting his guard down was no easy task. Logically he knew he was safe. Bella was certainly no threat. But after so many years of watching his back, being defensive was second nature.

Not wanting to be alone any longer, Harry got off the couch, put on pants and a shirt, and pulled back the sheet curtain. He tucked it behind the couch to open up the room before joining Bella in the kitchen.

"Good morning." Bella glanced at Harry briefly and smiled before turning her attention back to the bowl of batter in front of her.

"Morning."

"I thought I'd try making pancakes. You want some?"

"Sure," he answered. "Can I help?"

"Do you have any idea how to make pancakes?" She looked up hopefully.

"Um, no."

"Then, no. You sit down. I've got this under control." The sudden seriousness in her expression combined with her appearance—messy bun, fluffy robe, pillow marks on her face—caused Harry to crack a smile. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"You." He helped himself to a cup of coffee before slipping into a folding chair that matched the dining room card table.

Bella narrowed her eyes but said nothing more as she went back to mixing the batter. Her first attempt at making pancakes could only be described as an experiment. She ran into constant problems, and every time she tried to fix one, another would appear in its place. First the skillet was too hot. The batter sizzled and burned as she poured it in the pan. Then it was too cold, and her undercooked pancake broke apart when she tried to flip it. By the time the temperature was perfect, everything stuck to the bottom of the pan. She couldn't form a perfect circle to save her life, and not one of the cakes were cooked evenly on both sides.

Bella placed the pancakes on the table in a lopsided tower. "Dig in."

Harry looked at them apprehensively before stabbing the top two with his fork and transferring them to his plate. He smeared a pad of butter over the top and covered the small stack in a copious amount of syrup. He took a bite. Bella studied his face for a reaction, but his expression gave away nothing.

"Well?"

Harry chewed slowly. The pancakes, although dark brown and seemingly overcooked on the outside, were cold and doughy on the inside. They didn't necessarily taste bad, they just didn't taste like anything. It gave him the overall impression of eating paste.

"Um . . ." Harry didn't know how to answer. He didn't want to insult her, but he didn't want to lie and run the risk of having to choke down another batch one day, either.

Bella didn't wait for an answer. She used her fork to cut a triangle out of the side of her own pancake and popped it in her mouth. It only took a few seconds before her face twisted into a grimace. "These are terrible," she said with a full mouth.

"They're not that bad."

Bella gave him a stern look.

"Okay, they're pretty awful," he admitted.