Madness ➮ Harry Styles AU

B10

Harry

My eyes fluttered open lazily, a slow ascent (or descent, if you really liked to look at life that way) from unconsciousness to consciousness.

But the thing that really woke me up was that is was pitch black, significantly darker than my bedroom should be.

And it strangely took me a few moments to realize that I had, apparently, fallen asleep in the Institution. Shortly after Ashley had, in the midst of staring at the ceiling cracks as if they were galaxies.

Blindly, my fingers fumbled and flipped open my phone to check the time.

It was 11:26 at night and I could feel her breath upon the base of my neck, and it was warm and perfect and just honestly inexplicable. It was one of those things that suddenly made you conscious of the fact that you were alive and breathing, and I thought it was beautiful that I could make out the slope of her nose in the compromising darkness, and that I was able to think of thoughts like this.

My arm was removed from being draped over her torso; previously cascaded over her back, and I was wishing that I hadn't moved it by the time that I did. While somehow managing to use my tiny phone as a flashlight, the blanket and pillow cloaking her bed were slid off.

The blanket, I lied delicately on top of her petite form, and the pillow rested under her head, after going through many tribulations of how to place it there without her waking.

"Goodnight." I muttered against her warm forehead, then, sealing a short and simple kiss to it.

With that, I left, stepping out into the cold autumn air like it didn't effect me, even as I didn't have a jacket, and there were very obvious holes in my jeans.

The lack of clothing was ignored as my feet stepped into the vacant parking lot. Well, predominately vacant, if it wasn't for my bike, however, glinting in the moonlight and looking to be the only inhabitant of the it.

And I guess that I wasn't paying attention to anything other than that, considering that the next thing I knew, a taller, definitely more muscular body had crashed unintentionally into mine. I was knocked down to the asphalt immediately, my head spinning.

"Oh fuck! Are you okay?"

There was a slight pause. Not because I was mad or anything, it's just that my head kind of hurt.

"Yeah... yeah, thanks for asking."

"Sorry about that, man."

Vaguely, in the light of the moon, I saw a hand outstretched towards me, palm up. So I accepted it sincerely, while muttering a quick, "thank you."

The stranger simply smiled and nodded kindly in response, then we parted ways unceremoniously, losing each other in the darkness.

I approached my bike as I would have normally, un-clasping my helmet from the chain in somewhat of a monotonous fashion.

My hands proceeded to dismount the bicycle itself, however, after removing the lock that chained it to the rack, I saw that my front tire had a hole in it, and was, reasonably, flat.

It was such a random thing to notice, come to think about it, and I honestly don't know how I did considering the inexorable lighting.

But, now that it was noticed, it was undeniably decided that I would be walking home.

So, illuminated by lonely street lamps, I did exactly that. One foot tracing the others movements until it was just a robotic cycle of right, left, right, left, right, left. The plastic grips ridden upon the handlebars of my bicycle lied encased within my hands, guiding the vehicle to where I willed it to go.