PARKER | Dark H.S. AU

xxxix. whywouldyoueven

Copyright © zylgnagnaba 2014

Charlie bites on her fried prawn, closing her eyes as she nibbles on it slowly to savour the taste. Harry, on the other hand, rolls his eyes at the gesture, knowing that it's way out of her character. He knows Charlie's just doing it to tease him. If they were somewhere else, the blonde would have had swallowed the food immediately without chewing it. It's one of her bad habits that Harry had so many times scolded her about.

She opens her eyes after hearing him sigh, smirking while continuing to chew.

"What's wrong now? I am taking my time on eating like you said. Shouldn't you be proud of me?" Her brows are raised, urging for Harry to speak.

He swallows the food down his throat before speaking, "And I also told you not to talk while your mouth is full. It's disgraceful."

"You're so uptight." She pouts, looking down at her food as she slices another piece.

Harry shakes his head in disbelief. He's not convinced that Charlie's upset. He's certain that the blonde girl is thriving off the fact that he continuously scolds her, because it means he cares for her. That couldn't be farther from the truth. He truly does care for her. The satisfied smile etched on Charlie's face that she tries to hide by looking down her food tells him so.

What a brat, Harry thinks inwardly, shaking his head and smiling.

"Mr. Styles?" The pair momentarily stops from what they are doing and instinctively look up to follow the sound of the deep voice.

A lean man, probably on his thirties walks up to them. He's wearing an expensive tuxedo with a gold watch to match around his wrist. Even the simple way he stands firmly and effortlessly screams money and great importance. A bright smile is swirling on his lips as his sight glued on Harry's face.

Charlie's eyes narrow on him. He doesn't look familiar to her, but the worried look on Harry's face tells her that somehow, he knows the stranger.

Harry pushes his chair backwards, standing up from his seat once the man nears their table. The expression on their faces contrast each other. While the man is obviously delighted to see the green-eyed young man, Harry looks otherwise. He looks so tense, but Charlie takes no notice of this as she's busy racking her brains off of the instances of where she could have possibly seen the person before. Finding none, she just assumes that Harry might have met the guy at the Autumn Banquet. There were so many people in the event and she was too overwhelmed and caught in the moment to even pay attention to anyone that Harry was talking with, least, remember their faces.

The two men shake hands.

"Mr. Styles. I knew it's you. How have you been doing?" The man in the tuxedo laughs and he eventually looks over Harry's get-up with disapproving eyes.

By the look on his face, he couldn't believe he'd see the day when Harry would wear a casual ensemble that only includes a plaid shirt under his brown sweater, tight black jeans with holes on them and his usual scuffed boots.

Harry brushes these away by shrugging his shoulder. "Great, great." He quips, refraining his self from mentioning his name. Mentioning his name in front of Charlie would mean he knows the man -- which, indeed, is the truth.

The man's gaze darts away from Harry and to the blonde girl that's still sitting across the table. The man smiles down at her and she politely reciprocates the action. He stares back at Harry.

"Well, I'm not going to hold you off from your date any longer. Have a good night, you two." There is a playful tone in his voice as he smirks at them both.