QUARTER-LIFE | HS

SUNDAY

"And she still agreed to go?" Zayn's voice rings through the living room as Niall eats breakfast on the couch. His laptop is on the coffee table in front of him and Zayn's face is magnified on the screen.

"Can you believe it?" Niall says as he spoons cereal into his mouth.

"Typical," Zayn adjusts his glasses with a chuckle. "Maybe she's one of those birds who like to fight as foreplay."

"That's what I was thinking, but D says it's definitely the brogue and the hair."

"There's no way she's going to let that slide because he's got a cute accent and a greaseball on his head."

Harry is standing against the door to the balcony with Rhiannon on his shoulder, feeding her blueberries from the bowl in his hand and listening to Niall recount Friday night's disaster. They're supposed to be getting ready for a free movie night at the park with Daisy and Anna, but because Zayn rarely has the time for a face-to-face chat anymore (he's a third-year medical student), Niall's put his shower off for a little while.

"I'm thinking if he gets a couple of shots in him, he'll be fine," Niall reasons before drinking the milk out of his bowl. "He's just a little sad now, but he's wicked cool when he's shitfaced."

"He's the coolest guy in the room when he's shitfaced!" Zayn's tone makes Harry rolls his eyes. He sounds too keen on Niall's idea.

"So, we agree; he should get shitfaced."

"I'm right here, and I will not get shitfaced," Harry deadpans. He's eager to show Anna that he's not a moody asshole, and Romeo + Juliet doesn't seem like a good movie to watch while drunk.

He thought Niall would stay cross with him after his stunt at Birdy's on Friday, and it appeared to be that way because he didn't make a single snarky, elitist comment about Harry's decision to watch Lifetime movies all day yesterday as he worked on his lesson plan.

As it turns out, however, he was just having trouble coming up with a pity-based plan to force Harry into Anna's good graces. A movie at the park seemed like the perfect thing; it isn't four blocks from the flat like Birdy's, so Harry can't leave easily, and he knows watching movies at the park is one of Harry's favorite things to do. If it were earlier in the day and he could bring Rhiannon with him, it would be the perfect Sunday activity.

"What about tipsy?" Zayn asks.

"He should do something because so far, he's an arse when he's sober."

"Can you believe these pricks, Rhi? They talk about me like I'm not even here." Harry turns to kiss the cat on his shoulder and lets her nuzzle the top of his damp head as he finishes the last of the blueberries.

"Wait, has he even agreed to go?"

"I have," Harry answers before making his way into the flat's impossibly small kitchen behind Niall, taking the laptop and handing his empty bowl to Niall so he can wash it.

"Maybe he's not so off, then," Zayn says. "Shit."

He watches Zayn scramble on his end for a moment and he smiles to himself, slightly content that something's gone wrong. His lunch break is only twenty-five minutes long this evening, yet he's spent the whole time gossiping with Niall and neglecting his meal, so he quickly says his goodbyes and wishes Harry luck before Niall heads off to shower.

Harry decides to go out on the balcony for a cigarette, and he takes his time with it as he's already dressed in his black 'dates only' jeans and a Rolling Stones t-shirt, playing with Rhiannon's ears and scrolling through his email inbox while he sits on the floor.