Aquarelle [h.s]

thirty-one

I was woken up by the loud, insisting ringing of an alarm and I sat up.

The room all around me was completely black, and I couldn't see anything or even remember where I was. All of a sudden the alarm clock was turned off and a warm yellowish light illuminated the room right after.

It was only in the moment that I realised I was on Harry's bed, that it was his alarm that had just rang and, most importantly, that it was his chest under my hand.

I removed my hand from his chest, blushing wildly even though there was at least a layer of fabric separating our skin and I hadn't put it there on purpose. "Sorry" I mumbled, not daring to look at his face as I spoke.

He hummed, moving to lie on his side, his back to me, covering his mouth with his hand as he yawned. He was still wearing the same clothes of the day before and his cream white shirt was all crumpled up on his back, his hair a complete mess after the night, his rings still on his fingers.

I tilted my head, observing him as he seemed to be concentrated on the time that was showing on the clock on his nightstand, blinking a few times as he tried to wake up. He seemed to still be a bit tired, but I couldn't tell if it was because he'd just woken up, or because he could've done with sleeping some more. Aside from that, though, he was as stunning as ever.

It didn't matter how many years went by, I'd never understood how he managed to look so good in the mornings - it was something that almost made no sense to me. In the morning, I was pale and my hair was a mess and I looked like I'd just come back from the dead. He, on the other hand, looked like he belonged on a catwalk. It wasn't fair.

"I think I'll have a shower, if you don't mind?" Harry asked, his voice a bit deeper than usual because he'd just woken up.

I nodded, passing my fingers through my hair, trying to comb it at best and make it look acceptable. "Sure... I mean, you can" I told him, still feeling a bit confused after having just woken up.

It was so weird to wake up in Harry's bed - it made me realise that the day before truly had happened, and I hadn't just dreamed about it. Harry really had decided to drive for many hours just to take me back to a place we'd been to over five years before. It was still incredibly odd to think about.

Harry nodded, standing up and slowly making his way out of the room, looking down at the floor not to trip over his own feet.

I stared at the doorway for some seconds after he'd disappeared, still trying to come to terms with the events of that morning. I sighed, finally standing up and walking out of the bedroom.

As he showered I went to the kitchen and made some coffee for the both of us, leaning back against the counter and sipping mine as I thought about everything that had happened the day before again.

Harry came into the room about fifteen minutes after, with different clothes and slightly damp hair.

"I made coffee" I told him, pointing at the cup I'd left for him on the counter and putting down my empty one. "Can I use your bathroom?"

He only nodded and I went out of the room, getting into the bathroom.

I closed the door behind myself and moved to stand in front of the mirror, staring at myself for a few seconds before getting to work. I combed my hair with my fingers at best so that it would've been acceptable instead of looking like a dark reddish-brown mass on my head, making sure to fix the smudged lines of mascara that had ended up under my eyes when I'd inadvertently touched my eyes at some point during my night and morning.

I pinched my cheeks a couple of times to look more alive, and looked down, pausing when my gaze fell on Harry's toothpaste. Not having a better option, I put some on my index finger and I cleaned my teeth at best in that way to get rid of the uncomfortable taste on my tongue, opening the tap and washing my finger attentively before rinsing my mouth.