You//H.S

1.

{song; riptide by jasmine thompson (cover)}

it was cold, for it was winter.

winter was alice's favorite season. she loved the snow and the way the cold air nipped at her soft, pale skin.

it was a bright, yet chilly, tuesday morning when she met harry.

alice worked in a little hardware store on the corner of main and fifth. it wasn't exactly the most popular store ever, but it did have a little crowd that kept it in business.

alice had worked at the store since she was 15, and now at the age of 20, she knew almost every single person who walked through the doors.

that is why when a tall man with curly hair and a dimpled smile walked into the small shop, alice was fairly confused, for she had never seen this man before.

he looked no older than 20, and his hands were balled up into little fists.

"who's that?" alice asked one of his coworkers, jenna.

"his name is harry. he is 19 years old and he has a high functioning form of autism i think...aspergers syndrome? he just moved here with his mother anne, i met her yesterday. he loves building things, but has a tough time with it."

alice smiled to herself, for she had a cousin in her family with asperger's syndrome, and knew exactly how to handle it.

alice walked over to harry very slowly, not wanting to scare him or make him nervous.

"hi!" she said softly and quietly, though harry still jumped at her words.

"h-hello." he said, slowly backing away from the girl.

"i'm sorry, am i too close?" alice questioned while walking a few steps from him.

"that...that good there." harry said softly, giving alice a small smile. alice returned a warm smile to him. "what are you looking for today?" she asked, curious of what the man wanted within the store.

"build...b-build...ugh!" harry groaned in frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose.

alice immediately noticed that he was becoming frustrated with the fact that he couldn't say what he wanted to build. "do you want to build...a table?" she asked, trying to help him remember what he wanted.

"i'm...good...no, thank you." harry said while rolling his eyes.

alice couldn't help but laugh at the sass she had just received from him.

"car!" harry yelled suddenly.

"oh, you want to build a car?"

"toy." he said carefully, slowly nodding his head.

"a toy car! we have a whole section of those, follow me." alice said with a wink.

"i'm very s-smart." harry said randomly to alice, causing a smile to creep up onto her face. "i bet you are!" she said with a chuckle.

the way harry spoke was so smooth, and he most definitely wasn't shy. alice guessed that he had a more advanced and high functioning case of asperger's syndrome than her cousin did.

"what this one is?" harry said, picking up a bag of parts for a toy car. his face immediately turned red when he realized the vocal mistake he had made. "i mean--what is--ugh, nevermind, t-thank you." he said with yet another eye roll.

"i know what you mean, it's okay. that's a race car, and all of the parts and tools to build it come within the package." alice said softly with a small chuckle.

"this one!" harry said enthusiastically, pumping his fist into the air, and smiling brightly at alice.

"that one it is!" she said, walking up to the register to scan harry's item.

alice was fairly surprised when harry pulled out his wallet and handed her a 100 dollar bill. she wasn't exactly sure why she was surprised he had so much money, but she was.

"please, do...m-math for me, than--k you." harry stuttered, shyly looking down at his boots. alice nodded in response and handed harry his change. "i hope to see you again soon!" she said to him.

"also, s-so you know...i am h-harry." he said quietly, using his index finger to point at himself.

"it's very nice to meet you harry. i'm alice."

harry smiled, causing his dimple to show. "very pretty, a-alice." he commented, his cheeks immediately becoming red after he said it.

"thank you harry. will you show me your toy car when you're done?" alice questioned.

harry couldn't find many more words to say, for he had talked a lot in the store already, and it was getting very tiring. so instead he just nodded in response.

"okay harry! i'll be waiting." alice said to him holding her thumb up.

harry tried to think of what to say next. he wanted to plan a day to come see alice, for he liked her a lot. she was pretty, and sweet, and didn't seem to care that he stuttered.

"m-mon...monday?" harry said with a huge breath, getting tired of talking, but willing to do it for the pretty blonde haired girl in front of him.

"i'll be here. i work monday through friday, so make sure you don't come on the weekend if you want to see me." alice said to him. she wasn't exactly sure why she was telling him all of this.

"monday i c-can come." harry said with a nod, holding his thumb up to alice.

"harry, its tuesday, are you sure you'll have the car done by then?" she asked, surprised.

"mhm." is all harry said, he was sick of talking.

"okay, i'll be looking forward to it." alice replied.

harry nodded yet again, for saying okay wasn't even an option to him.

he began to walk to the door so he could go get in his mums car, but before he reached the door of the store, he turned around slowly.

"bye, alice!" harry said, using all of his energy to say the two words. he said it as smoothly as possible, and he was very proud that he didn't stutter at all.

"bye, harry!" alice said with a wave.