Tokyo Drift || HS

25 || F Is For Friends

I HEAR HIM CALL my name, but my body is on a programmed mission to disappear from his sight. 

I can't deal with this right now. 

All of the thoughts surrounding him begin to swirl back up into my mind. My brain immediately flashes with the picture of him and the unknown woman that appeared on the television just the night before.

I turn down a smaller hallway to the side, but I hear his steps following behind me.

"What are you doing?" His low voice echoes close enough to send a shiver down my spine.

I scan the area to make sure there's no one near us. When I'm content, I finally turn around to meet his face.

His eyebrows are creased with confusion. His green eyes squint as he takes in my flustered appearance. The strong, intimidating presence that I had once grown so used to feels unfamiliar in this new light.

My sense of foreboding is almost outweighed by how startling I forgot he is to look at.

He stands tall in a graphic white t-shirt and corduroy trousers. The thick rings still coat his fingers, while his tattoos snake up his arm and under the sleeve – making it difficult for me to not think about all the ink that dots his torso underneath.

Our staring match is promptly interrupted by voices approaching from down the hall, walking toward where Harry and I now stand locked in a draw.

"Crap." I begin to panic as Anne's multiple warnings pop up in my mind. Here I was just minutes ago thinking her plea was going to be easy to follow – and now the problem is standing right in front of me.

I look around the hallway and note a door to a different room a few feet away.

I grab Harry's arm and begin dragging him with me. I try to ignore how warm his skin feels under my touch. The confusion on his face only increases as I open the door and shove both of us inside, closing the space behind us.

The room is dark and much smaller than I expected.

I can't even see an inch in front of me.

"Ow," Harry whispers. "Was that your elbow?"

I refuse to make a sound in fear of the co-workers outside.

In the silence, I'm reminded of the time we were hidden in a much similar space. 

Back in Tokyo where we shared a secret joint in the break between the exhibit rooms. When he guided me through the psychedelic scenes with his hands on my waist. When things had previously seemed much easier.

I feel around for the light switch, but find that I'm having a much more difficult time due to the closeness of Harry's muscular body and the sound of his breathing near my ear.

My body tenses.

"India...Why are we in a closet?"

"Sh," I murmur as I hear steps walk past the door.

I continue to feel around, running my fingertips along the wall until I finally feel the plastic of the light switch under my hand. I flip the switch and light floods the small room. My eyes squint with the onslaught of the bright fluorescent glow. I wait for a moment as my blurry vision adjusts.

Harry's tall frame is pressed against several winter coats. I reach behind me to move the broom that's uncomfortably poking into my back.

"Hey." He steps forward while he reaches out to touch me, placing his strong hand along my jaw. "What's wrong?"

His thumb grazes against the hill of my cheekbone. The rest of his fingers wrap firmly behind my neck and below my ear – the cold metal of his rings press against my skin.