five
he wore his hair down, tucked behind his ears. a grey sweater fit loosely over his torso, black skinny jeans once again suffocating his thighs. harry sat down at the counter across from her, giving her a small smile. "astrid." he nodded.
"w-what are you doing here?" she asked, stumbling for words. an unfamiliar feeling started in her gut - she was happy and overwhelmed to see him. she didn't know why she was so excited that he was here, maybe it was because it proved she wasn't crazy and that night actually did happen, the night where a boy who was famous stayed at her house and helped her make a meal, where he joked about paprika.
he licked his lips, his eyes never leaving hers. that was another thing astrid picked up from him - harry stared into your eyes whilst you were talking. "when i left, i traveled north, up the coast a bit. but i couldn't get..this place, out of mind." he shrugged, a smile playing on his lips. "so i came back."
she furrowed her eyebrows together. "don't you have a job? aren't you in a band?"
harry glanced down at the table, a humorless chuckle leaving his lips. "nice song," he commented, referring to 'right now' playing in the back. astrid would have blushed, but she knew something was behind harry's whereabouts, and he was acting quite strange. "it's complicated." he finally said, looking back up at her.
silence sat between them. astrid knew it was none of her business about harry's personal life - he probably thought she was a delusional fan, trying to get to know his secrets. the thought made astrid snicker. "well, do you need something?" she finally said, breaking the tension between them.
harry's eyes crinkled and he looked around the shack. "what about a tea?"
"we only have iced tea." astrid said, and harry shrugged.
"perfect." he replied, and astrid went through the swingy door to the kitchen. she retrieved the tea in silence.
"so, how long do you plan on staying?" astrid tried to strike up a conversation - she did not just spend two weeks hungover a random boy for nothing. she would at least try to get to know him.
harry shrugged. "a few weeks, maybe."
she took in the information with a nod. "do you have anywhere to stay?"
he looked up at her, a smirk on his face. she couldn't help but stare at the parenthese dimples bordering his curved lips. they were perfectly placed, accenting his smile. "well.."
she soon caught on to what he was saying, her eyes bugging out of her face. "harry!"
a low laugh rumbled through him, and he took a sip of his iced tea. "you even said so yourself, there's not a hotel for miles. and i'll pay you the same amount i'd pay them."
she rolled her eyes, mulling over the thought of having harry stay with her. she remembered the alone feeling she had had for the past few weeks, the calming feeling that had entered her mind. after harry coming back, she knew it'd be near impossible to go back to the place she had been in. in two short visits harry had almost changed her completely, making her do things she never would've done. "i'll think about it," she finally said.
harry's smile didn't falter, if anything he seemed more amused. "do you guys have alcohol?" he asked, which made astrid sharply look at him.
"harry! this is a family diner," she scolded.
"and?" he winked, making that funny feeling in astrid's stomach come back.
she heaved a sigh. "we have some whiskey, but that's jean's private stash."
he just gave her a smirk. he knew she would cave in, without him even needing to say anything.
"fiiiine," she rolled her eyes again, walking to the back. she opened a cabinent that was hidden beside the fridge, receiving the nearly full bottle of whiskey and two shot glasses.
it felt good to surprise harry once she came back. he eyed the two shot glasses with an amused glint in his eye. "you drink?" he asked.
"do you?" she questioned back, to which he chuckled.
astrid poured the whiskey into the glasses hesitantly. she had never drank before, and in books she had read terrifying first time stories. girls had spit it out or even vomitted. both seemed humiliating to astrid, so she swore that whatever happened she would swallow the substance.
"1..2...3!" she counted down, and they threw the shot glass back at the same time. the whiskey was like liquid fire - it hit the back of astrid's throat like a flame was licking her tongue. her eyes clamped shut as she forced herself to swallow, her cheeks turning a shade of pink as she willed herself not to cough or spit it out.
and then it was over.
she almost wallowed in pride at making herself swallow the gross liquid. she could feel it in her esophagus, slowly traveling down to her stomach - filling her with warmth. astrid opened her eyes to harry's eyes clamped shut to, and she watched his adam's apple bob up and down as he gulped down the alcohol.
"that was.." she trailed off.
"..strong." harry finished, finally opening his eyes. they both erupted into laughter, astrid soon clutching her sides as she felt light headed.
for over the next hour, they took three more shots and played a game similar to "20 questions." they'd take turns asking each other questions, ones as simple as the her favorite color. astrid had started feeling loopy around her fourth shot, standing upright proving to be difficult.
"you should sit," harry inquired, and astrid nodded.
"suure," she stretched the word, putting one foot in front of the other and using all of her concentration to carry her shot glass and the bottle of whiskey to a booth. harry soon caught up to her, grabbing her elbow and helping her along.
soon they were both sat across from each other. it was astrid's turn to ask a question, and since she was slightly drunk she presented no filter. "what's the worst thing to ever happen to you?" she asked.
harry's eyebrows scrunched together as he thought about it, his lean fingers messing with his shotglass. she noticed the few rings he wore, all silver bands hugging his pointer and middle fingers.
"a person." he finally replied.
"who?" astrid couldn't stop herself; she was curious.
harry glanced up at her, his face in deep concentration. a wrinkle formed between his eyebrows as they came together and his lips formed a frown. she suddenly felt bad - she had caused this pained look on his face. "my turn," harry finally said, the concentrated look gone. astrid blinked, wondering what had just happened. "why don't you talk about your family?"
astrid was taken back. she drew her eyebrows together and looked at him. "why don't you?" she backfired, but he just raised his eyebrows. she looked at him for another moment before grabbing the bottle of whiskey and pouring another shot into the glass. "they're dead." astrid finally said, the two syllables forming easily on her tongue, emotionlessly. "who is the worst thing that has happened to you?" astrid questioned again, having no problem this time. in her drunken state it was logical that she asked harry an equally personal question.
harry sighed, pouring another shot for himself. he drank it in a gulp, his eyes clamping shut. astrid couldn't help but find herself staring - he was so beautiful, so graceful. "his name is louis." he finally said.
she was shocked - she had expected harry to say a girl, an ex girlfriend or the like. not a boy. and definitely not - "wait, as in your bandmate, louis?"
harry didn't answer, he just bit his lip and studied over astrid's features. she felt self consious all the sudden, like she shouldn't have crossed this line with harry. instead of pondering over it, she filled the silence: "do you wanna go back to my place?"
he look surprised, but nodded nonetheless. astrid had completely forgotten about "working" and how the shack was supposed to close twenty minutes ago. she also remembered how she wasn't supposed to be drunk, but the fact didn't matter now. she was officially off and had the rest of the night to sober back up for her morning shift.
