gravity

magnetism

He peeked at her over the frame of his glasses and the fan of his lashes, swirls of curls flopping over his forehead. "I jus'..." he sighed before trailing off, reclining back in his seat with his hands falling limp in his lap, "I don't want to let y'down again. We only have a few more weeks until your retake and I want y'to feel as prepared as possible."

(Y/N) felt her eyes round out as she listened to him, tilting her head as she traced over his form. A thick black jumper covered his torso, with tan fitted trousers tailored to his hips. The blue paint on his nails was chipped as he plucked at his sweater, finding a loose thread she didn't think had been there before he started toying with the knit.

"You're not going to let me down again, because you haven't even let me down a first time," she countered, "Don't worry about any of that, okay? I failed that exam because of me, not you. You're working yourself harder than I am, and I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be the other way around." She released a breathy laugh, hoping the light-hearted note she ended on would draw the same from him.

"Yeah..." he sighed, mimicking her with a small laugh of his own though his smile was tight. His eyes were pinned on his plucking fingers, unmoving from their position though she was sure he felt her eyes on him. The toes of his Vans kicked at the floor as a beat passed, Harry was clearly still unsure about quitting while he felt like there was so much work to be done.

"Let's just stop for the night, it's okay," she repeated, "We'll come back to this next time, and it'll probably be easier then anyway. We won't be working on two fried brain cells."

Harry sucked in a deep breath, shoulders broadening and chest puffing before he met her eyes. He nodded his head, "Yeah, okay. But only if you're okay with it; I don't want to abandon you."

"Of course, I'm okay with it. It's my idea," she smiled, already shifting in her seat to start packing up.

Following after her, Harry's stress deflated from his shoulders. (Y/N) had her own things tucked away with her bag slung over her shoulder, waiting on him. She knew when he had all of his notes and utensils neatly packed away, he would continue on his routine of asking if he could walk her to her car where he would wait for her to drive away before he would let himself go home. Tonight, she didn't want to leave alone while he went in the opposite direction.

She didn't want their night to be confined to physics talk like it had been every other time they'd seen each other. She figured since it was dinner time already, she hoped to convince him to come along with her for an extra few hours.

"I'll—uh...I'll walk you to your car, if that's okay," Harry recited as they edged out of the library, taking the now familiar route to the first floor.

Sucking in a deep breath, she hoped she wasn't running too far with Ny's small encouragement. "I was actually thinking about getting something to eat before I went home. Would you want to come with me, maybe?" Trying her best to stay casual, (Y/N) feigned nonchalance; she hoped he would accept on the grounds of the impromptu date she was suggesting, but if he took this as a pair of friends getting food before the night ended, she would be able to play along.

Harry stopped dead in his tracks, (Y/N) mimicking his actions when she noticed his lag. She turned on her heel to where he stood with bright red cheeks and raised brows. "Really?" he breathed, green eyes pinned to her face.

"Yeah," she affirmed, nodding her head though she didn't feel very confident anymore, "I was kind of in the mood for pizza, so I was thinking about going to Wanda's."

"And you want me to go with you?"

(Y/N) tried not to feel hurt at the blunt execution of his line of question. If he didn't want to go with her, all he had to do was say so.