Priory // h.s.

chapter seven

Jillian doesn't understand why I feel the need to wake up at eight 'o clock on a Saturday morning, and she has no problem vocalizing her annoyance, even feeling the need to chuck a book at me--the nearest projectile she could find, as it was lying on her nightstand.

Ducking the flying pages, I grin, too cheerful to be affected in anyway by her morning grumpiness. "Rise and shine," I tease, parroting the words she'd woken me up with a few days ago.

"Not funny, Amber," she mumbles into her pillow, flipping over with her back to me. "So not funny."

Smiling affectionately at my roommate--in the course of a week, I've come to love her funny, friendly personality--I slip out of our dorm room and lock the door behind me, humming a merry little tune as I make a beeline for the stairs.

Harry is already there, his lanky frame emphasized as he leans against the wall. Now that he's out of his lab coat and in nothing but a white t-shirt and jeans, I can see that he has tattoos; inky black designs swirl across his biceps, drawing my eyes to his muscles almost unfairly. Through the thin fabric of his shirt, I can make out two shapes just beneath his collarbones; I wonder what they are. Swallows? Doves?

Catching me watching him, Harry smirks and tips his chin cockily. "Checking me out?"

Face going red, I mumble something dumb and pull out my iPod. "In your dreams."

"You actually brought your iPod." He shakes his head. "You actually remembered."

"Well, so did you. Don't see what the big deal is," I return, joining him against the wall and handing him one earbud. "Me first."

As I turn on the music, Harry peers over my shoulder at the screen of my iPod, feathery breath tickling my neck. "What's it called?"

"All About Us, by He Is We. Featuring Owl City," I add, beaming proudly, as if I take personal pride in the song.

Harry merely nods, his expression remaining unreadable throughout the entire song. As the last chorus plays, I hum along, closing my eyes and losing myself in the folds of the music for a second. When I reopen my eyes, Harry isn't looking at the iPod anymore; he's watching me again. Feeling self-conscious, I mutter, "What? I really like the song." No reply. "What did you think?"

He cringes. "Honestly? Way too sappy."

I pooch out my bottom lip in a pout. "Rudeness."

"No, I'm only being truthful."

I sigh, slipping my iPod back into my pocket. "Fine, then. Let's hear one of your songs."

Happily, Harry hands me one of his own earbuds and begins automatically bobbing his head to the beat pulsing out of it. By the time the tune is over, I'm sure I've gone deaf. "What the hell was that?"

"A Little Faster, by There For Tomorrow."

I study him for a long time. Then, "What, is that some kind of sex song or...?"

Harry blinks at me. "No."

Holding my hands up in surrender, I mutter, "Could've fooled me."

Teasing tone returning, he says, "What, is everything about sex with you, Amber?"

I roll my eyes and sigh. "So anyway, the conclusion of this entire thing is that we still don't like each other's music tastes."

"Wait. I've got one more song, and I'm almost positive this one'll change your opinion," he says. I'm about to deny it, but then I see the look in his green eyes; it's dead serious. 

Deciding it can't hurt, I nod, and put the earbud back in my ear. Harry quickly scrolls through his iPod till he locates the song he's looking for.