The Fairest Stars

Chapter Twenty Eight: 'My love.'

Isis stopped short. Harry had never shouted at her before, not in all the years they’d been friends.

‘What are you trying to say?’ she asked, her voice sounding weak and pathetic after his shout.

‘Isis… you know I feel more than friendship for you,’ said Harry, wearily.

Isis’s jaw dropped. ‘What?!’

He snapped his head up to look at her. ‘Is… isn’t it obvious?’

‘No!’ breathed Isis, in utter shock. ‘What about the girl you like?’

He sighed, with a rueful smile. ‘Isis, you’re the girl.’

‘But-’

‘I thought you knew! Maybe I should have been more obvious.’

‘It never crossed my mind.’ Her every thought reeling with surprise, Isis rubbed her forehead. She knew what she had to say but she felt physically sick with the news. How to word it? Oh god, how to word it? Her heart was beating too fast for her to think straight. She'd never wanted this. ‘Oh Harry, you know I love you… just not like that.’

There was a terrifying pause. Isis raised her eyes to his face, and saw that he was deathly pale, his eyes filled with an expression she couldn’t name. It made her feel ill with worry.

‘That won’t ever change?’ he inquired, in a stiff, wooden voice she barely recognised.

Isis shook her head. ‘Sorry, Harry, I-’

‘Don’t worry.’ He briskly got up. Isis noticed he was still pale, and looked strained.

‘Are… are you okay?’ she asked tentatively.

‘Yeah,’ he murmured. ‘Just an headache.’

He didn’t look as if he was quite telling the truth as he said this, and Isis frowned. ‘Are you sure?’

He sighed. ‘Isis, I’m fine,’ he insisted, his tone angry. ‘See you tomorrow.’

‘I-’

He walked off, leaving her with tears brimming in her eyes. She’d never forget that expression on his face, those emotions so prevalent in his eyes. She couldn’t believe it.

The shock caused tears to pour out of her eyes, streaking down her face… but she couldn’t cry. She didn’t make a noise, merely sitting there with droplets of salty water dribbling down her cheeks, falling from her chin. Not an attractive sight.

She ran through it all in her mind. With the benefit of hindsight, Harry's words to her she'd dismissed as platonic took on a new weight, and thinking back to her responses, she felt nauseous. Had she given him hope where there had been none to give? Had she accidentally led him on? Her heart hurt.

The tears continued to spill down her face as the sound of him shouting at her echoed in her ears. Her best friend. Oh god, how could she have been so bloody blind.

‘Isis?’ Oh snaps. She recognised that voice immediately. Kael.

She covered her face with her hands. ’I’m fine.’

‘No you’re not!’ Sitting down beside her, pulling her into his arms, Kael held her tightly to his chest, letting her sob into his chest as he stroked her soft, soft hair, wondering what on earth had happened.

Rubbing little circles with his other hand, in a way that was hopefully soothing, Kael kept on holding her for an amount of time he couldn’t measure.  All that mattered was that he held her as tight as he could, arms wrapped protectively around her. Eventually, she pulled back, her eyes red rimmed, her cheeks shining with tears.