Under This Roof

Chapter 16

10 August 2014.

I wake up late. Today is my lazy day.

I read a little bit of my book 'The Power of Now' while sipping my coffee in the kitchen. Every now and then, my mind wanders away from the book to the events of the last few days, always ends up thinking about last night and Harry's comment, gets me mad, goes back to the book.

And I feel so angry with Harry but I could not ignore that his words were partly true. That was making it harder for me to forget about it. I kept thinking what if last night went actually good. What would happen then? I am not looking for a fling. And how many dates will I have the chance to have with one person before I need to leave? With the tough few weeks that are coming, I would say five. Ten, if it was so good.

I hate Harry.

After I finish my coffee, I go to the living room and put on Netflix. I find a limited docuseries about a serial killer. That is exactly what I need for my lazy day.

I stop watching before lunch and go into the kitchen. I'm preparing myself a sandwich for lunch. But for dinner, today I decided to cook myself a dish that I really love: Fettuccine Alfredo. Oh the Italian cuisine. I will always be a fan. And although I do not always have time to make myself my favorite dishes, on a lazy day like this one when I have all day to myself, I really enjoy doing so.

After I finish my lunch, I go back into the living room and see Harry -who it seems came in very gently that I did not notice- glaring at the TV.

"Seriously? This is what you watch for fun?" He asks. That disgusted face. Again.

"Why do you care what I watch for fun?"

"Because, Lauren, let me tell you. The world has so, so many attractions and temptations. And you're missing on them by watching .. this."

"Okay, Harry. No need to be a drama queen."

I reach out for the remote and give it to him. I am seriously curious to see what he will suggest.

He gets out of Netflix and opens Youtube. I get a bad feeling right away.

He searches for 'soapbox race' and clicks on the first video. Many similar videos appear. Let's see what this is about.

For the next couple of hours, I watch the soapbox races going from one video to the next. I laugh at it every now and then and Harry comes in to check what was so funny when he hears me. Sometimes, he sits down for a while. Then he would get up and go back to his room, probably remembering that we are not friends and have never been together in the living room at the same time.

Claire calls me and we briefly discuss how good and nice meeting Liam was. And how bad my date was. I share what happened with Harry and how I feel about it and she says 'Don't overthink it Lauren.' So I try not to. It is not like I have a date who's waiting for me to decide on whether I feel good about going out or not.

Harry leaves the house at around 5pm to play football. You can tell how I guessed; the uniform.

I write a little bit in my journal and video call my parents and Louis for a while.

At round 7pm, I am entering the kitchen to start preparing my delicious dinner. Harry comes in all sweaty and Conall is with him.

"Hey Lauren."

"Hi Conall. All right?"

"Yes. What is cooking?"

"Oh. Haven't started yet but ultimately, this should be Fettuccine Alfredo."

Harry is watching the both of us have a nice talk. I wonder if he's learning anything about a nice good talk. I hope he is.

"You know, I lived in Italy for a year. I love their dishes." Conall says.

"No way. How nice! How comes?"

Harry is now raising his eyebrows. Yes Harry, people can be so friendly. It does not hurt.

"It was an exchange program."

"I see. Well you might want to stay for this one."

Harry's eyes widen. I can hear him think: when did you two become so good friends?

"Thank you Lauren but I need to get back home. I actually have a date in a couple of hours so... need to rush."

"Off you go!"

I loved that Conall had a date after what happened on our last encounter. I feel like if I had a date, it would be nice to go out together. But I don't have a date. And I don't want a date. Remember Lauren?

Here I am overthinking it again.

****

I finish preparing dinner and put the salad and the fettuccine small bowls on the table. I made extra for tomorrow.

I am still eating the salad when Harry comes into the house.

"Hey Lauren. What's cooking? Oh please don't invite me. I have a date." He recites.

"No please sit if you'd like."

"I actually would like. You kept talking about how good the dish is."

"Especially if I made it."

Harry does not find that funny.

He sits across from me and puts some in a plate. I am waiting for his reaction because I did not try the pasta yet. Still eating a little bit of salad.

He hums and moves his head around as he's tasting. After he swallows, he brings his fingers together and to his mouth, kisses them 'mwah'. And continues his platter.

I feel proud that Harry liked it. But I am very aware of his abrupt and straight forward personality which have been putting me in very strange situations every since I got here.

I look at Harry as he eats. How can someone explain you, Harry?