Lone [MATURE HS]

Chapter 5.

"Nothing...he's kinda weird but it's like...cute?" I ask myself more than I made a statement to Charlie. "He's sort of really sweet...but I don't know."

"Well at least it's not fidgety Keth."

"I attract weird guys, don't I?"

"Yeah. Thankfully I'm not attracted to you so that rules me out, right?"

"Fuck off." We both laugh.

"But seriously," he says, "You haven't had dick in your life forever so just go with it."

"How do you even know this information?"

"I can tell when a woman needs assistance," he says lowly, sending me a wink.

"Okay, you knock off Zorro."

"Bye."

. . .

Sunday night, I had to help my mom move things from the factory to the state house. She's quit her factory job and is now full time. Her promotion made a sufficient push for her to quit doing double the work. On my way inside her little office, I look around the nicely decorated walls and dark printed carpets, in my arms three small boxes stacked one on top of the other up to my chin.

I had tied my hair up today, but unfortunately a loose strand fell over my eye, making me blink repeatedly. I've already opened the door of her office prior to getting the boxes, so I quickly turn the corner to fix the irritating mess that is that one single strand of hair. When I've reached her office, I place the boxes down and quickly turn around.

My backside hits the desk entirely when I turn to see Harry there. Baseball pants hugging his thighs and a white t-shirt along. The signature golden cross necklace glistening there, a grey cloth hanging out the pocket of his pants. Hair hanging down to his cheeks as usual, this time a thin black headband pushes them away from his face.

"You need to stop doing that."

"I'm sorry."

His pale green eyes watch me as he does usually, but this time I don't really mind since I've come to understand he'll do that. "You look pretty with your hair like that," he adds then.

My eyes stay firmly onto his as I respond, "Thanks."

Harry crosses his arms over his chest, eyes falling down my figure for a quick moment before he looks back at me. "Your mum works here...."

"Yeah," I murmur. "Got promoted."

"That's nice."

"Yeah...h-how's everything?" I then question, feeling an awkward tension fill between us both. And it's like solid colors, constant and endless. The old green of my jacket becomes interesting as I start pulling at the strings falling from the seams. I stand there l, leaned against the desk, black fabric of my jeans rubbing together when I shift my weight from one hip to the other. It was so quiet I could even hear it. I could listen to the normal and steady sound of his breathing.

Harry shrugs and raises a ring clad hand to pull at the head band pushing his hair back. Once he does, the loose curls fall beside his cheeks and a strand falls above his forehead to right above his green eyes. "I should ask you that--- you look like you've seen a ghost."