Ignorance ➵ h.s. au

sixtieth

"Danielle?" He calls.

"Hmm?"

"Are you alright? Is something wrong?"

Dani frantically pulls herself away from her thoughts, "N-No, No, I was just--" She chokes on her own words, running out of things to say as she caressed his forearm. "Thinking about Carter . . that's all."

"What about him?"

What about him? A lot was about him nowadays, and she was beginning to feel left out, like the tables have turned between him and Harry. He was the stranger now, and her neighbor was the one to take his place. It was wrong even thinking about it, but the truth was scaring her to considering it might be the case. "He's just been really busy lately with the tours." She justifies, "I guess I'm just not used to having him gone."

Harry looks down at her, eyes watching all the lines on her face change. Dani knew she shouldn't be complaining. She should just be happy for her brother, and she was. She couldn't even express how proud she is of Carter. Nevertheless, the price for his accomplishments seemed to be their closeness, and she was having second thoughts.

"Well everything's going to be alright." Harry assures, kissing her forehead. "You have me, don't you?"

Dani tilts her head to look up at him. She didn't know how many times today he made her heart melt, but this was definitely one of them. It was so beautiful hearing them come out of his mouth. If only it were true forever. If only no one else owned him, and then she would believe him. She should just stop asking why he's nice. He had always been like that since they met. He didn't change and he was still the Harry she knew from day one. Maybe they were a bit closer now, but nothing really changed other than the fact they shared intimate moments now. "Yeah, I guess I do." She sighs, squeezing his forearm.

Nonetheless, no. As much as she wanted to believe him and hold onto his word, she didn't even know what they are anymore, and Carter was her brother. It was ungrateful of her to think of him that way; he wasn't supposed to be someone she could replace. He used to be the only person she could trust and cry to when things got tough, and now she doesn't even know about that anymore. Perhaps Harry's right. She's over thinking about all of this, and everything's going to be alright. Her brother was the last person she should doubt, and she shouldn't put the blame on his shoulders when she's at fault herself.

"And that's just going to be for a little bit." He adds, shifting from his position, noticing the lingering glum in her eyes. "After that you'll have him around all the time again. I promise."

"You think so?" A sense of hope lights up inside her. She didn't want to lose her connection with Carter. She didn't want to lose her connection with anyone and maybe that is a bit too selfish. She wasn't like that a year ago. She used to give everyone the benefit of the doubt and didn't hold any lasting stakes. Was that what she was doing? Was it wrong to hate the loneliness she felt when it was just the two of them against Milla? No Harry, No Louis, just her and her brother. She just didn't want to lose him. However, when it was just the two of them, he was constantly ignored while she was showered with attention she didn't want. If the penalty for having him get recognized is her demise, then maybe it was worth it.

"Yes I think so." He nods with a smile, gaze gravitating towards Milla's white jacket she was wearing. "And I also think that jacket is hiding you too much, let's get it off." Before Dani could protest, Harry takes off the jacket, situating her properly so he could remove it more easily, peeling the sleeves off her arms and pulling it off, revealing her bare shoulders. He throws it onto the driver's seat, "See, that's better. You don't look like an egg roll."

Dani's face heat up, "I looked like an egg roll?"

"I was just kidding!" He bursts into a series of chuckles, his thighs shaking along with his shoulders. Danielle doesn't stop herself from laughing too, the entirety of the car filled with both of their laughter. She's known for a long time now how beautiful his laugh sounded, but she didn't know it could get more beautiful with the sun passing through the windshields and reflecting off his face, all flaws visible to the naked eye, but it didn't change one bit of her love for him. Hell, he could fall asleep with disastrous hair and snore and she would still love him more than she could take.