Falling Fast - L.S

8

I spent the rest of the weekend reliving what had happened in the coffee shop. Thinking about Harry.
I could feel myself falling for him. It was the weirdest sensation, like the thought of him was sucking me in - taking up all my energy.

I couldn't believe I still knew so little about him. OK, so i was pretty sure he wasn't well off and I knew he had a couple of sisters, but that was about it. Discovering those things had only thrown up far more interesting questions, none of which I had satisfactory answers to.

Why was he so angry about being poor? Loads of people don't have much money, but Harry acted like it was.... I dunno... somehow shameful.

And why was he so protective of his sister? It struck me when I thought about it that it was extremely odd for him to pick her up after work.

I mean, she was older than him, and he was in the sixth-form: one year older than me. That meant she must be at least eighteen. Surely she could get herself home after work on her own?

I tossed and turned, unable to sleep on Sunday night. If only I'd been able to stay longer at the café, I might have worked some of it out. We could have talked about the play too. I could have found out why Harry had said it was great that I wasn't Catholic.

I could have given him the chance to ask for my phone number.

Jeez. I could have asked him for his.

Instead, I'd met up with Taylor and Gigi and had another coffee with them, then we'd set off for town, where - true to form - Taylor had spent her allowance on three pairs of outrageously sexy heels and Gigi had deliberated for half an hour over a new pair of trainers.

Part of me wanted to talk to them about Harry. I knew if it was either of them, they would have gone on and on about him. In fact, Gigi did go on and on about Joe.

While Taylor let slip - very casually, as if she wasn't that bothered - that Luke had asked her to some party a week next Saturday.

But I couldn't do it. Not just because of how uncertain everything was with Harry, but because of how powerfully I felt about him.

How deep my wanting him went.

~

I approached Monday's rehearsal in a state of high excitement. Surely Harry was bound to say something to me today?

But he wasn't there. And this time Niall had no reason to offer up.

Bitterly disappointed, I schlepped moodily home with Taylor and Gigi afterwards. They were both buzzing from the rehearsal, which had gone well, despite Harry's absence.

"Wasn't it funny when Mr Nichols got Luke to do that sword fight with a folded-up piece of paper?" That was Tay.

Gigi giggled. "Yeah. His face when it flopped over that time." She and Taylor clutched their mouths, remembering.

"I thought it was stupid doing the fight without Romeo being there," I said grumpily.

Taylor and Gigi exchanged glances.

"I thought it was better without him," Taylor said, looking at me strangely. "He's a bit weird if you ask me. You know. Intense."

I shrugged. "I guess," i said.

"And he always looks so angry," Gigi added. "To be honest, sometimes he frightens me."

"Oh for goodness sake, Gi," Taylor laughed. "You get scared over nothing. He's just a bit weird. He's not even that good-looking."

I sat back, more glad than ever that I hadn't said anything to them about my feelings for Harry.

~