Moon Tower

13.

this chapter has been edited and updated. enjoy!xx

luz

"Luz, this is starting to get pathetic."

"Shut up."

I was laying on Niall's couch in sweatpants and a sweatshirt, despite the September heat. Niall may or may not have had a point. I came over to his house tonight when I was finished with my school work and had nothing to distract me from the fact that I missed Harry. He'd been gone for about a week now, and for the most part, getting back to school kept me busy. Between the texts and the phone calls and the FaceTime, that first week had actually gone by fairly quickly. But now it was Monday night, and my workload was light, so I did what I always do whenever I'm bored: drive over to Niall's and annoy him.

He indulged me with minimal teasing. Well, minimal for us at least. He'd never seen me in any kind of relationship before-I've been pretty much focused on school and work since I'd met him-and he thought it was funny seeing me "mope around," as he said. Niall finally called me out when he came back from the kitchen with popcorn and two beers and caught me looking at my text thread with Harry. I would've texted him in that moment, but I knew it was early in the morning over there, and I didn't want to bother him if he was working, or worse, wake him up.

"Just text him, what's the big deal?" Niall asked when he gave me my beer and offered me the bowl of popcorn. I sat up to take both, taking a sip and leaning back against the couch.

"He's probably asleep, or working, I don't want to bother him," I say against the lip of the glass bottle. I know I was being annoying, but I couldn't help it. I missed seeing Harry almost every day. Now he was on the other side of the world.

"And?" Niall says, raising an eyebrow at me.

"What do you mean 'and'?"

"There is absolutely nothing stopping from texting Harry right now. If he's busy, or if he's asleep, then he'll text you back later. What's really the reason?"

I sighed, taking another sip from my beer, a longer one this time. Niall may or may not have been right, which doesn't really surprise me because of how well he knows me, but that didn't make how I was feeling make me feel any better. But Niall was trying to be a good friend, and I owed him the same, taking me seriously and listening, even when most of our conversations stay pretty light.

"I just..." I start then stop, trying to find the right way to say what I was feeling. "I just don't want to like, suffocate him or anything. I don't know how serious we are, and I don't want to sound clingy if he doesn't miss me as much as I miss him." I finally look up to where Niall is sitting on the other side of the couch. I don't know what I was expecting to see on his face, but his hand attempting to cover up a laugh was not it. "What?"

"You're insane," is all he says, his blue eyes crinkling as he tries to control himself. When I set my bottle down on his coffee table with a huff and lay back down with the bowl of popcorn resting on my stomach, Niall sobers a little.

"All I mean is that he really likes you, Luz. And Harry's an affectionate guy, he responds well to all that stuff. Surely you know that." I did know that, but it didn't make my own insecurities about my feelings disappear. I don't respond to Niall, lost in thought. I think the conversation is over for now, so I take my phone out again, contemplating whether or not to send him a text. Maybe like a good morning text? I think. Is that trying too hard? I usually just send him random stuff until it turns into a full blown conversation. I anxiously bite on my thumb nail trying to figure out the best way to text him. Why is this so hard?

"You know what? How about I call him?" I hear Niall from his side of the couch. I was only half listening to him, my eyes and thoughts still glued to my phone. So I don't see him take his phone out and dial Harry's number. By the time I ask, Call who?, it's too late.