Detrimental

Episode 9

Time stops for a moment and I rush to Harry's side as fast as I could. I hold his wrist and search for his pulse.

He seems normal.

Other than the coldness of his skin, he was like a little baby who was tucked away into another world where no demons could be found nor seen. His skin is cold and I feel my fingers tremble as I touch his. I can feel the cold sweat on my palms as I clasp his face. My hands shook harder as I remember the time I had found my mother on the floor just a few years ago.

I never really noticed how pink Harry's lips were. Or how long his eyelashes are. Or how long his legs were. Or how good he smelled. Or how attractive he is when he is sleeping. He's a very attractive man. He'd probably make an even more attractive woman.

"Rae?" he eyes me with confused green eyes. "Why are you squishing my face?" Harry gets up from the floor and gets his coat. "Come on, I wanna drop by the drug store before going to the party." he says as he exits the room.

Had he been awake the whole time? The smell of his perfume lingers in the room and I am left in an unusual stupor. I take a step towards the door and just as I leave the common room, I catch a glimpse of Liam's black beanie. I ignore it and just follow Harry to the drug store a block away from the dormitory.

"Harry, are you sure you're okay?"

"I just dozed off for a bit,"

"Why did you sleep on the floor and not the couch?"

"It just kinda happened." Harry walked faster. I follow his pacing and we reach the drug store. We see Ms. Ainsworth buying what seems to be a heap of condoms. Ms. Ainsworth is just around two years older than I am but she has Albert Einstein's intelligence quotient. To sum it up, she's been teaching since she was nineteen and hooking up with students here and there. She dodges us and leaves the establishment.

"There goes the slut machine." Harry comments. "She's hot, but she's not that hot. I seriously don't get how she gets to lure all men to her desk."

"What guys would do for good test scores,"

"She's made a move on me once, you know."

"Can't see why she wouldn't." I laugh and Harry stares at me.

"What?"

"Nothing." Harry's dimples deepen as he flashes a wide smile. "You fancy me,"

"You're so full of yourself," I lightly punch his shoulder.

"Tell me something I don't know." Harry giggles.

"So, what's Niall like?" I ask. "He's not what he's like on his videos, is he?"

"I'm afraid not," Harry's eyes are filled with sympathy as he grabs a box of sweets. He heads to the counter and the counter girl flirts with him. He plays along politely and she twirls her hair over and over again until she sees me. He pays for the sweets and we stop by his room. Harry belonged to the most infamous frat in the campus. It's funny how Harry reeked rainbows yet manages to get along well with the punk kids. A man with dragon tattoos and piercings asks Harry if he was going to the party and Harry just nods and smiles.

"How do you do it?" I ask.

"Do what?"

"Every guy in this fraternity must have at least ten tattoos and here you are, tattooless, successfully fitting in."

"Actually, I have tattoos." Harry puts the box of sweets he bought at the drawer beside the trash can. "They're just hidden."

"Oh," I laugh. "Come to think of it, you've always worn long sleeve shirts."

"I can show you, if you'd like."

"Sure," I smile. Harry pulls off his shirt in one quick maneuver. He had beautiful tattoos. He had two swallows on his chest and a butterfly on his stomach. But his tattoos on his arm was what amazed me the most. They were a match to Louis Tomlinson's on his. If they held hands, it would be like two puzzle pieces merging into one map of stories to tell and unfold. Birdcage. Birds. Ship. Compass. Anchor. Rope. Quote. Quotation marks.

"Feel special, Rachel." Harry puts his shirt back on. "Aside from Louis, you're the only one who knows they exist." It did make me feel special.

"I'm so happy I happened to pass by that alley today."

"I feel the same." he smiles.

"So, where is Niall staying?"

"I have no idea,"

"Harry, are you there?" It was Niall's voice. Harry opens the door and Niall comes in. He had messy hair and sleepy blue eyes. "I hope ya don't mind but I'm gonna have to bunk in with ye for a few days, yeah?" he says as he places his bags on the bed. "The rest of me stuff's coming tomorrow."

"There wasn't any rooms left?"

"There was but they're all spread out away from the main campus so I told 'em I could stay with you anyway."

"They usually don't approve two people to a room," I say in confusion.

"I'm an exception, I guess." Niall looks at me with so much intensity I had never felt ever before.

"So, we're heading to the party." Harry gestures to the door. "You coming?"

"Nuh I amn't in the mood."

"But they've planned this party for you. It's only polite to go." I say without thinking.

"I've got jet lag."

"The travel time from Mullingar to Bradford is less than two hours for fuck's sake!" I yell at him. I. Yelled. At. Him. What the hell is wrong with me?

"How did you know I'm from Mullingar?" Niall looked intrigued. "Are ye a fan of mine?"

"I told her you were from Mullingar." Harry butts in. "Let's leave, Rae."

"You know what, don't come." I smile. "That's your choice, yeah?"

Niall looked stunned.

Harry and I leave and we don't talk on the way to the party. After what seemed like ten years of walking, we finally arrive the place and I spot Liam and Kelly as we enter. Kelly waved her hand and I wave back. She raises her eyebrows in approval of my escort. If I remember correctly, Kelly thought Harry was proper fit the first time we saw him at the Admissions Office and even vowed she'd make out with him at least once during her stay in college. What makes it funnier is the fact that she said the same thing about Louis.

"Hey," Louis approaches us. "I'm Louis, I think we've never been introduced before." he says as he looks at me. "Harry, you never told me you've got a pretty girlfriend."

"This is Rae." Harry smiles as he notices how affected Louis is by my presence. "She's not my girlfriend yet."

"We're not together but we're getting there." I say as I put an arm around Harry's waist. It was nice seeing Louis get jealous so I play along. Louis literally looked like he was ready to pull my hair any moment from now.

"Aw you two look adorable and cute." Louis takes a sip from his red cup. "Excuse me for a moment. I gotta meet some of the boys to talk strategy for tomorrow's game."

"He's pissed," Harry whispers as Louis leaves.

"But I thought you guys were officially together? Why would he be jealous if he knows he's already got you locked in?"

"We used to be together. Now we're kinda just friends with benefits."

"But you both obviously love each other."

"But that's how it is, I can't change anything." Harry looks at Louis as he squeezes his way through a throng of people with red cups.

His eyes were filled with longing and wonder.