flowers and showers and stuff || h.s, z.m, l.t au || on hiatus

3.

Disclaimer: this chapter may or may not have been written under the influence of an alcoholic beverage(s). It's Friday, okay? Sue me.

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Though the first week of knowing each other was spent practically joined at the hip, Mae and Harry both still had completely different lives. So it was Thursday night and Harry had a study group but he didn't like anyone in the study group. They were kind of stiffs actually. Mae was sat in her favorite hole-in-the-wall pub and the tattooed bartender with jet black hair that she'd come to know quite well was moving back and forth between her, an old bearded drunk and his spunky blue-eyed best friend, who was actually a massive troublemaker and always present. "What'll it be tonight, love?" She didn't have to think much, even with the handsome man's caramel eyes boring into her blue ones.

"Same."

"One Scotch, comin' up." As Zayn poured her glass, she watched as Louis scooted across every single bar stool until he was in the one next to hers. An inked arm snuck around her shoulders and he gulped his beer.

"Where ya been, babe? We haven't seen ya in a week!"

"I've been...around." Louis and Zayn were both kind of stoners and she definitely would admit that many times she'd been with them as they hot-boxed their small two bedroom apartment in Chelsea. She also would admit that a drunken hook up may or may not have happened between the three of them, like...they were more than a little bit cross-faded, okay? Past the brink of any coherent decision making, obviously.

"M'sensin' a bit of hesitation, my love." Okay, so maybe it happened more than once. 

"Just don't think it's anything that concerns either of you." Zayn held up his hands after placing her glass on a coaster in front of her. 

"Hey, wasn't me who was askin'."

"You spineless wanker." Louis snickered at his friend while Mae laughed. The fat drunk waved Zayn over for yet another drink. Mae thought it may have been his eighth. "So when are you comin' around again?" 

"Whenever."

"Tonight, yeah? Just got some new shit...s'top notch, babe."

"Um..." Mae thought of Harry. They were just friends, right? I mean...they only kissed to be two in billions, it probably didn't mean anything, right? "Yeah. Sure, tonight's good."

"Siiick." There was like, this feeling in the pit of her stomach though and she couldn't really tell what it was exactly? It almost felt like guilt but it couldn't be...they were just friends. Friends that kissed once, but it didn't mean anything. It was just a kiss. It was almost as though Harry read her mind. The simple H appeared on her phone screen and she quickly answered it before any questions could be asked by a very curious Louis.

"Hi Harry!" 

"Hello, Mae!"

"How was study group?"

"The girl with green hair told me to stop talking because, and I quote, 'not everybody likes Brits.' It was mean, so I left."

"That is mean. Everybody loves Brits." Says the girl ready to go home with two of them.

"Thank you, that's what I thought too. I'm nice."

"You are nice."

"Yeah. So. How's your night?" She looked around the dingy bar that felt sort of like a second home.

"It's good. I'm having a good night."

"That's good. Makes me happy to hear."

"Yeah." A bit of silence went by and Mae couldn't stop the weird feeling from reappearing. "Hey Harry?"