seraphic [h.s]

chapter fifty three.

"Hey, man." Eli greeted Harry from beside me, he shifted upwards and I took that cue, as well as my own, to push myself up from his lap and stand a good distance away from the both of them.

It was like placing two animals in the same vicinity and waiting to see how they'd react, to see how they'd handle the situation of being face to face. Eli knew of Harry, of all the things that had happened in between, and Harry knew of Eli briefly because he had been the one to host his infamous Halloween parties.

It was very clear that both Dee and I were unsure of how things would play out. If we should approach with care or if we should take a step back and let things unfold naturally. We bore into each other's eyes long and hard enough for us to understand that we were going to see how things played out on their own.

Harry held a smile on his face that looked genuine. Which scared me slightly. He also held a plastic bag of some sought in his right hand. "Hey." Harry said with a grin. He approached Eli, both men closing in on each other, he stuck out his hand and Eli clasped onto it, the both of them greeting one another in a handshake.

I almost couldn't believe what I was seeing, and I was truly trying to take in the scene before me. As they casually addressed each other with niceties and looked around as if things weren't weird. Were they? Things certainly felt weird to me. They definitely were. Or maybe, things didn't have to be weird if I didn't make them weird.

"You're here early." I blurted, clasping my hands together as if I were about to start some presentation. All three sets of eyes turned to me and I internally scolded myself for choosing to turn the speakers off before. Something melodically soft would be a nice background noise to all of this.

Harry's hair had a dampness to it, almost like he had literally taken a shower and then bolted here. It wasn't raining outside surprisingly, so that option was ruled out. And sadly, I still remembered vividly the way Harry's hair dried after he showered. All soft and luscious and tempting.

"You never actually gave me a time, I uh, I hope this suits? I can come back later if you want me to?" Harry said, starting off jokingly but ending far too sweetly for my cheeks to not slightly heat. I shook my head, "No, no it's okay. It's just a consultation we've got, nothing that will take hours."

Harry nodded like everything was totally cool, totally calm, totally casual. Was it? Was I the only one making this weird? Why was I always the one to make things weird? I took a deep breath and then held it as Eli spoke.

"How've you been? I feel like you dropped off the face of the earth for a bit there." Dee widened her eyes, matching mine, as Eli laughed along with Harry. Although if anything, I could tell by the small faltering of Harry's lips that maybe he also felt the same as me.

I couldn't help but internally wince at Eli's words. He was a man of very few, and so it felt strange to me that he'd chosen upon those. I wasn't sure whether he was playing the slightly protective role or if he genuinely wanted to point out the obvious.

Harry shifted his stance and switched the plastic bag to hold in his other hand. "Probably cause I did, yeah," He nodded, "Been quiet but that's alright." His lips formed a line, the usual half-assed-smile-because-you're-making-me-kinda-uncomfortable look. And honestly, I didn't blame him for it.

"Quiet without the other three," Eli chuckled, "It's about time you did your own thing, anybody could have seen their path of destruction from a mile away." I felt another wince at that. I was trying to reign Eli in with a simple glance but he wasn't looking my way.

"It's just been quiet because I've made it quiet. Don't really wanna give them more thought time than they've already had." Harry answered.

It was obvious they were addressing the rest of the band— or lack there of— without directly having to name them each. Another thing I understood completely. I eyed Eli wearily, worried he'd blurt something out that would make this situation even stranger. "Well, should we get going then?" I said too suspiciously. Harry looked my way, a thankful smile finding him.