Five Little Liars (One Direction/ Pretty Little Liars)

17: Flat Pack

HARRY

"Okay, where does this piece go?" Caroline asked, holding up a long piece of wood.

"I think that goes on the side," I said. I turned the instructions around in my hands, trying to make sense of the pictures. "No, it goes on the bottom. Good call, babe."

Caroline giggled and set it down on the floor in front of me. "What next?"

"We need six of these little pegs," I told her, pointing to the picture. 

"Thanks for helping me out with this, Harry," Caroline said, crawling over to the box everything came in and retrieving a little bag full of pegs and screws and whatnot.

"Of course," I told her with a smile. 

"Oh, I think your phone's gone off," Caroline laughed, picking it up from the floor. "Zayn says something about the logbooks?"

"Shit," I muttered, taking the phone from her. 

"What is Zayn doing with the logbooks?" Caroline asked, still sounding amused. Okay, Harry. Think of something smart. How do you evade this? What would Louis say? 

"He's helping Miss Kelsey in the office today," I said, as calmly as I could. "Hand me a hammer, please?"

"Sure," Caroline said. She picked up a hammer and handed it over. "You seem sort of stressed. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, of course," I told her. "Everything's fine."

"I'm not convinced. Are you sure there's nothing you want to tell me?"

"Positive," I said. I tried to focus on building this bookshelf for her, but the way she was watching me, like she wanted to be sure I was okay... I just couldn't keep my mind on task. "I hear the circus is coming this week. Everyone's bought tickets."

"The circus?" Caroline laughed.

"Yeah," I told her. "I know you're new in town, so I'll explain. Bath is terribly boring. The circus in autumn and the carnival in the spring and summer are the only things we have to look forward to around here. People tend to go to the circus every night when it comes."

"Maybe we should go," Caroline suggested.

"That's what I was thinking," I laughed. "You'll love it! A lot of it is pretty amazing."

"Are there elephants?"

"But of course. What kind of shitty circus doesn't have elephants? I'd never take you to a circus without elephants."

"Monkeys?" Caroline asked. "Tell me there are monkeys."

"By the barrel," I joked. Caroline giggled. A loud, sporadic giggle that satisfied me. Without realizing it, I began crawling across Caroline's empty living room to where she sat.

"Barrel of monkeys," Caroline snorts. "You've always been such a character."

"You love that about me, yeah?"

"Love it," she agreed. I reached over and pulled her onto my lap. "Harry, your phone."

"Hm?" I asked. I brushed our noses together.

"Your phone is ringing," she laughed. She reached around and pulled it out of my back pocket. With a laugh, I took it from her and pressed it to my ear.

"Yes?"

"Haz! Thank goodness. We need you at HQ this instant!" 

"HQ... meaning Liam's house?" I asked in the flattest tone I could muster.