Aquarelle [h.s]

thirty-six

I opened my eyes to the whiteness of my ceiling staring down at me, brightly enlightened by the sunlight coming from the half opened window, that was drawing a line on the ceiling and blanket alike.

I sighed and turned to lie on my side, widening my eyes when I realised that Harry was next to me.

Liam and Violet had stayed at my house until well after midnight, which had resulted in me asking Harry if he wanted to sleep over, considering that it was already late. He'd agreed, to my surprise, and now there he was, in my bed, asleep.

I held my breath and slowly sat up, looking down at him from my newly elevated position.

His eyes were closed, his eyelashes long and resting right above his high cheekbones, his lips slightly parted and as red as ever, giving him a soft and angelic look. I would've never got over how beautiful he was, even when his guard was down. It was as if beauty came so natural to him, as if he just couldn't help it, and it was something that drove me a little more insane every single time I saw him.

The warmth of the sun only reached his neck, leaving him to sleep with his head in the shadow, not bothered by the coming morning. I kind of wished I'd been so lucky not to get woken up by the sun, but at the same time, I wouldn't have got to observe that wondrous view if I hadn't, so I couldn't really be upset about it.

I furrowed my eyebrows when I let my eyes travel down the line of his jawline to his chest, the sparkly metal of his usual necklace suddenly catching my attention.

I bit my lower lip, trying my best to talk myself out of it, but miserably failed and slowly reached out with my hand, carefully pulling his necklace out from under his shirt, trying my best not to tug at it as I did so, as it was around his neck.

The pendant slipped out of the fabric, and my heart skipped a beat as soon as I saw it.

It was his mother's necklace - there was no way I could've ever forgotten that cross. But that wasn't what had surprised me.

There was a second pendant tied to Harry's necklace. It was a circular aventurine stone, of a green that reminded me of his eyes way too much, encased in a silver ring. It was the one I'd gifted him on Christmas, all those years before.

I didn't know how long I sat there for, staring at it, but I must've gently pulled it at some point, because Harry let out a little whimper and turned his head towards me, taking a deep breath before opening his eyes and meeting my shocked ones.

"What?" He asked, as confused as ever, his voice sounding deeper and a bit muffled due to his recent waking from his sleep.

"It slipped out of your shirt..." I said, not letting it go, hiding my actions behind a little white lie.

He looked at what I was holding in my hand, a spark of recognition flashing through his eyes when he saw what it was. "I broke its necklace some days ago, so I put it there" he said, speaking slowly, as if he was trying to evaluate my reaction.

"I.." I started to say, interrupting my sentence when my voice died in my throat. "I don't understand."

He looked up at me. "What's there to understand?"

"Why are you still wearing it?" I asked him, trying to make sense of it. Why was he going around with my pendant around his neck, five years after we'd broken up?

"You gave it to me when we were together" he just replied, as if that alone should've been enough of an explanation.

I frowned, looking down at it again before letting it fall back onto his chest. "But it's over now."