Artwork [h.s]

fifty-two

I opened the French window, quickly stepping out on the patio and closing it behind myself to keep the cold from going inside. I'd come to the conclusion that I truly disliked parties. Harry's presence certainly made everything better, but I couldn't help but feel as if I wasn't supposed to be there when I was surrounded by people getting drunk and making their inhibitions fly out of the window.

I sighed, closing my grey wool coat to keep some of my warmth and leant against the fence, glancing at the moon in the sky. Surprisingly enough, it was one of the clearer nights I'd ever seen in the last few months. I wished I had my phone with me to take a picture of it, but I'd left it in my handbag, that I'd left in the boot of Harry's car for safekeeping.

I turned around quickly when I heard the French window being opened, smiling slightly when I realised that it was just Harry.

"I went to the loo for a minute and you disappeared" he said quietly, a slight pinkness taking over his cheeks at the freezing air surrounding us.

I glanced at him as he reached me, leaning against the fence next to me. "Parties aren't really my thing" I simply said with a little shrug, glancing from him to the sky again.

"Do you regret coming?" He asked, and I looked at him. It was dark outside, but his eyes still managed to twinkle in the dim golden light coming from the window in front of us.

"Nah" I replied, starting to wish that I hadn't put a dress on. "It is New Year's Eve, after all." I knew I couldn't have possibly asked someone like Harry to stay at home with me on such an important day. He seemed completely in his element when it came to parties, and it was being held at his own house, after all.

"It'll be the new year in fifteen minutes" he commented, glancing at the time on his phone before putting it in his back pocket again, wrapping his arms around his middle to fend himself from the cold. "Want to go inside?"

"Are you asking me if I want to go in a room full of shouting drunk people dancing to mainstream music?" I asked, and he laughed.

"If you put it like that, the answer is kind of obvious" he said, pushing his dark curls back and taking his phone out again to check the time. "Ten minutes to go."

I nodded, glancing inside through the window and seeing Ella talking to a boy I didn't know. I shrugged, glancing back at Harry. "Do you have any new year resolutions?" I asked him.

He shook his head, glancing down, the light making his hair shine of golden highlights. "I prefer not to disappoint myself and everybody around me." He glanced up to the sky. "It's nice out here" he commented, easily changing the topic of our conversation.

I nodded, sliding closer to him and leaning against him, looking up to the sky as well.

"What are you doing?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows at my actions, as if he couldn't understand the meaning behind them.

I shrugged. "I'm keeping you warm" I replied. "You forgot your coat inside" I added, making him smile slightly. I looked up at the sky again. "I wish I'd brought my notepad." More than the sky, I would've liked to keep that moment with me forever. Harry and I, outside, talking to each other while everyone else partied inside the house. It seemed something worth remembering.

"Five minutes" he said, and I nodded at his words, starting to feel a hint of nervousness. Were we supposed to kiss at the midnight? It was what couples did after all, but then again, we weren't a couple, so should've I expected it to happen or not? The simple thought made me incredibly nervous. I hated not knowing what I was supposed to do, it made me extremely uneasy.