Mute // hs.

Chapter 1

I watched intently as I saw her from the opposite end of the bar. 

She twisted the straw around her drink, the ice cubes making a small clinking noise every time they hit the glass. Her right elbow was resting on the bar, her chin sitting in her open palm and her curled fingers sprawled upon her pink tinted cheeks. 

Her piercing blue eyes were swamped with boredom, and her eyelids fell heavily over the tops of them. She had long blond hair that was swept back behind her shoulders, some escaping strands tumbling down her front. 

She looked so innocent, yet so beautiful. 

My eyes followed her every movement, scanning quickly as her fingers made small twitches on her cheek and staring as she changed the direction of the straw. 

Unexpectedly, she looked up from her drink and her eyes caught mine almost immediately. I broke my gaze and quickly looked for something other to look at then the eyes that seemed to burn into the back of my neck. I inwardly scolded myself. 

Great, now she's gonna think I was staring. It was true of course, but I didn't want her to know that. It definitely wasn't a perverted stare. 

Or was it? No.

But what about when I accidentally slipped a peek at her bum? Does that count as a perverted stare? It was bound to happen somehow, she's goddamn fit.

Idiot!

I mentally slapped my forehead. I really need to pull it together before she comes over her and yells at me for being a pervert. 

Slowly, I dared myself to turn around again to stare at her table. She had looked back down at her drink, slowly turning it around with the straw. Suddenly, her eyes snapped up at me, a small smirk playing at the edge of her lips. 

My breath hitched in my throat and I whirled around in my seat again, leaning over the bar. 

Oh god, I think she saw me. Be. Cool. Taking a deep breath, I jumped from my bar stool and picked up my drink to go sit by the girl. But to my surprise, she was no longer there. Her drink was still untouched, and was soon cleaned up by a waitress as she put it on her tray. 

Grumbling, I sank back into the stool. Good job mate, you've just lost her. 

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"Harry, where the hell are you?" Louis shouted into the phone. I flinched at the sound of his shrill voice and walked faster down the sidewalk, eager to get home. 

"God calm down, Lou! I'm at a bar," I said. I quickly slipped my arms through my black trench coat. I heard a deep sigh on the other end of the phone.  

"Which bar, Harry?" Louis said slowly. Frowning, I spun on my heel and stared up at the neon glowing sign. 

"It's called 'The Flame'," I said. I heard Louis snicker for a moment before sighing once more. "Lou?" 

"Yeah, Harry, I'm here. I'll come pick you up, stay where you are okay? I don't feel like driving all over town like the last time." 

"Hey, it wasn't my-" 

"AH! I don't wanna talk about this right now. Just stay put, can you do that for me? Gotta go, love, bye!" Louis said finally. I opened my mouth to say something but I realised Louis had already hung up. 

Groaning, I shoved the phone into the pocket of my coat and leaned against the brick wall of the building. The low thump of the pounding music inside immediately made me push my sunglasses further up the bridge of my nose. Shivering, I tugged my coat tighter around my chest and crossed my arms.  It was scary around here at night, and I really didn't know why.  

I didn't like many things about this place. The clammy feeling in the air, the bitter cold that seemed freeze every bone in your body, and the utter darkness that loomed over the entire place. That's the thing, there wasn't a single street light down this road, and the closet thing to one was the neon sign that hung by the bar.  

I'm so tired. Slowly my eyes started to droop.

Maybe if I just...

Suddenly, I jolted up from my position against the wall, shuddering, eyes wide and shocked. A blood curdling scream pierced the air, making me draw in a sharp breath, a sudden sick feeling rising to my stomach. 

"Hello?" I called weakly, running down the sidewalk towards where the scream came from. Slowly, the scream died down and fell into weak whimpers and cries. My eyes wide with fear, I forced myself to stop at an alleyway. 

There were two figures rustling around in the dark, one of them a girl for I recognized the hair that flew back behind her shoulders. One was a man, judging by his larger, more muscular size. The girl ran from the alleyway, black mascara trailing down her cheeks.  She quickly whipped her head around to glance back at the man who was cursing to himself angrily. 

Before I could open my mouth to warn her, she had already slammed into me, sending us both down to the ground. 

"Jesus," I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut. The girl hissed and immediately peeled herself off of me, allowing me to finally breathe. As I snapped my head up to stare back down the alleyway to see if the man was still after her, I let out a shaky sigh of relief. 

The man had disappeared, leaving the hazy alleyway deserted. Biting my lip, I frantically dug in pockets to pull out my phone. But I immediately stopped as I realised the girl was huddled against the wall, sobbing into her hands. 

I froze, my mouth falling open a bit. What? Blond hair that cascaded down her back...manicured nails...black dress that brushed against her knees, oh my god.

It was the girl from the bar.