the moon [h.s.] - EDITING

thirty-seven.

He wakes up in the morning next to Luna, his girlfriend. She's still sleeping and he's watching. Harry didn't plan on asking her to be his girlfriend during their date so soon. It just happened. He didn't think she would agree to be his girlfriend after hearing her sound so unsure about it.

A new relationship is always scary and maybe that's why she seemed hesitant to jump all in with Harry. She was scared and maybe it's because she had her heart broken before. Now that he has her, all he wants to do is prove to her that they are worth sticking around for. There's no way he's messing up again. He doesn't want to be alone anymore.

He gets out of bed quietly and carefully to let her sleep in. He picks up his clothes from the floor and he slowly gets dressed in last night's clothing. He looks at Luna before he exits her room. He slowly closes the door and then he enters the bathroom to freshen up. He left his toothbrush the night before and he brushes his teeth with it.

He hears voices from outside. He hadn't closed the bathroom door all the way so he could hear Zavier talking from the bathroom. He spits out his mouthful of toothpaste then rinses clean. When he's done, he steps out.

"She sent me for her things... trust me, I don't wanna be here."

Harry sees his ex-fiancée talking to Zavier and he sighs. Great. It's too late for him to turn around and hide because she's looking right at him.

"Exactly why I don't want to be here," she mumbles after looking away from Harry.  She turns to Zavier again. "Her things?"

"I don't know! She has her shit everywhere," Zavier slurs. Something about the way he's speaking concerns Harry. Is he drunk? It's only nine in the morning.

"Z?" He walks towards him and puts his arm on his back. From the way he's stumbling across his living room, Harry could tell he was definitely drunk. "Why don't you come sit?" He tries to lead his friend to the couch.

Zavier almost trips over his feet, but Harry catches him. His arm wraps around his shoulder. "Harry! Where'd you come from? Oh, wait never mind..." He laughs and pats his back. "I heard you and Luna all night... Is she alright, man? Because it sounded like you were mur-"

"Z," Harry interrupts. He notices Kristen flinch from what Zavier had said. He doesn't feel bad in the slightest, but he'd rather not have her knowing his business. He leads Zavier to the couch and sits him down. "Just relax... I'll bring you some water."

"Actually, can you bring me a cold one?" Zavier says as the cushions sink him into the couch. "Man, I really missed you... Why'd you cheat on him again?" He's looking at Kristen now.

She scoffs and looks around. She completely ignores Zavier and faces the bookshelf. She collects a few of Madison's books, putting them into a tote bag.

Harry glances over at Kristen after returning from the kitchen with a glass of water. He wants to scoff right back, but he looks away from her to turn his attention back to Zavier instead. He hands him the glass of water. "Drink it... I'm gonna make you some breakfast, yeah? What would you like?"

Zavier is looking at Harry. He takes the glass from him and his eyes are puffy. He probably had been crying all night and now Harry feels bad. "Hey, this isn't what I wanted," he mumbles. "You know what I want?"

Harry presses his lips together. "What?"

"I want to be happy again. I love her, but sometimes I think she doesn't want me to be happy," Zavier says. "I'm not a cheater... Cheaters suck, am I right?"

Harry lets out a small laugh. Kristen is still by the bookshelf and he could feel her look at them. Harry doesn't say anything, but his attention is still towards Zavier.

"But there was this girl... She was cute and so nice to me. I met her while getting coffee and she gave me her number. I took it, but I never called, I swear... What if I could've been happier with her?" Zavier confesses.

Harry takes in a deep breath. "I think things happen for a reason... You may think it's the end of the world now, trust me, but there are great things in store for you. Maybe this is a good thing, for you and Madison. Maybe you need to see what's out there and so does she. Things happen for a reason, Z... maybe that cute girl at the coffee shop is what you need, or not. We never know," he says while sitting on the couch next to him. "Just take it from me. I thought my world was ending at one point, but then I looked up and saw the moon. Literally."

"The moon... Oh, you mean," Zavier says, but he can't finish his sentence. He's laughing.

The sound of books hitting the floor makes Harry look over. "Dammit," Kristen mumbles. She'd been taking an awfully long time collecting books. She looks at Harry and then shakes her head as she kneels down to pick up what she has dropped.

"Shit, I forgot you were here. Hurry up," Zavier tells her and sits up. He spills a bit of water from his glass.

Harry takes the water from Zavier and sighs. He remembers how stubborn he could be when drunk. He won't drink the water. He then looks at Kristen again. He stands up after setting the glass on the coffee table. He walks up to the pile of books on the floor. He helps pick it up.

"Luna!" Zavier says when he spots her in the hall. "We were just talking about you."

She's walking slowly into the living room wearing a hoodie and a pair of shorts. Luna's confused from seeing Zavier in a different state. Her eyes then land on Harry and Kristen. "Uh, what's going on?"

Harry holds onto the books then looks at Luna. He smiles at her. "Good morning, babe... Kristen was just here to collect Madison's things," he tells her. He then looks at his ex who is looking right back at him. He hands her the books. "Um, maybe you should finish up so I can sober up Zavier."

Kristen takes the books and puts them into her heavy tote. She then glances at Luna. She scoffs again. "Babe?" She shakes her head.

"Is there a problem?" Luna asks. She crosses her arms and she walks closer to Harry. She looks straight at his ex.

"I just find it ridiculous," Kristen says.

"Find what ridiculous?"

"Nothing... I should get going," Kristen says. She doesn't look at Luna. Her eyes are still on Harry. She touches his arm lightly. "If you see anything else of Madison's, give me a call." She then walks past Luna and Zavier and heads straight towards the door. There was no way he would give her a call, Harry tells himself.

Zavier scoffs. "I don't want her stuff," he mumbles. He then lays on the couch with his front down and he may just fall asleep.

Harry looks at Luna. "Sorry about that..."

Luna glances at him and she's still crossing his arms. "Yeah... Well, I have to get ready for work so..."

"You're going into work?"

"Yeah, they called. I'll see you later." She walks away from him without giving him another look. She heads straight to the bathroom to get ready for her day and he feels something off.

He wants to check on her and ask what's wrong, but Zavier's calling his name. "Yeah?" Harry steps closer to him.

"Have a drink with me? C'mon, like old times?" He tries to sit up. "Remember the old times?" He mumbles.

"I do, but I don't think it's the time for it," he tells him. He reaches for the throw blanket folded on the armrest of the couch. He unfolds it and covers Zavier's body with it. "Take a nap."

"Okay..."