After Life

15

One thing I had noticed during our little outing so far, was the looks he garnered as we passed others on the street. More than once, a girl would turn her head as he passed, looking at him with obvious appreciation. I was surprised, to say the least. Not because Harry wasn't attractive, mind you. He was, so I completely understood their desire. But I had never, ever, actually turned and watched a man, attractive or not, walk down the street so blatantly. It caused me to feel on edge just walking beside him, being under such a stare. When I would glance at Harry, his eyes would still be forward, or down to the ground. Completely oblivious to the looks he warranted without any effort at all.

Our walk found us at the library, a suggestion from Harry after our mindless wandering was leading us nowhere. He commented it was somewhere he felt comfortable, and that it might help him relax a bit if he wasn't so 'on display'. Since it was also a place I found myself to be more comfortable, and a setting that would heighten the air of mystery and topic theme around him, I thought it was a perfect suggestion.

Reaching the steps leading up to the entrance, Harry paused.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, brushing his air from his eyes with his finger tips.

I hadn't even thought about food yet so far that day. I was one of those people who when stressed out or anxious, my stomach was too busy filling itself with knots and worry to be bothered with food. But now that Harry mentioned it, I felt a little rumble in my abdomen.

"A little," I admitted with a shy smile.

"Good, because I'm starving." He smiled, turning to lead me towards a hot dog vendor on the corner.

Once we were weighted down with our meals, and more napkins than I thought anyone would need but Harry insisted on, we perched ourselves to the side on the steps to the library. The first few bites of hot dog were done in silence, before Harry spoke.

"So, what is it that you look for someone?"

I almost choked on the piece of bun I had just popped into my mouth, causing him to snicker, handing me one of his hundreds of napkins.  I sputtered into the paper, my eyes tearing slightly.

What was he asking me? What I looked for in a guy? Surely he wasn't trying to gain insight into my preferences in the opposite sex, especially considering our rather tumultuous relationship thus far.

Looking up to him, I found him looking outward towards people as they passed us.  His expression was calm and peaceful, the only movement being his chewing. Finally after a moment he looked back to me.

"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to keep my composure.

He smirked. "I mean, when you are looking to photograph someone," he clarified. "What is it that makes you want to shoot a certain person over another?"

I felt the breath leave my lungs, the tension in my shoulders following suit. I mentally shook my head at myself for considering he was asking my thoughts on guys in a romantic sense. We clearly weren't in a position to be asking each other that sort of question, so I felt foolish for entertaining the thought even for a moment.