The Assistant || H.S. [COMPLETE]

T W E N T Y - O N E

Nora woke up to Harry roaming around her hotel room. Well, he wasn't so much as roaming as he was pacing... in only his boxer briefs. She couldn't quite gather why he was doing it. He didn't seem upset. He wasn't tugging at his hair in anger or anything. He was just pacing. And every so often, his index finger and thumb would come up and tug at his bottom lip like he was really thinking hard about something. It was actually kind of sexy in a way.

Nora almost felt semi-voyeuristic watching him. He didn't know she was awake and she didn't make it known. She kind of liked just seeing him in a real moment. He almost seemed like a pleasant person. Like if she tried hard enough to block out the shit he pulled in the past two months, then maybe—just maybe, she could see the good in him... the good her heart hoped was there.

"Shit," she heard him breathe, stopping his pacing. And she was convinced she was caught, that he saw her watching him. But when he sat down in the desk chair, she was sure she was in the clear.

She couldn't see him as well as when he was standing up, but she was certain he was looking out the window. Slowly, she pulled herself into the sitting position, watching him the whole time. He didn't move, he didn't even notice her.

"Hi," she said quietly.

His eyes flickered toward her, his facial features even, yet a part of her thought he might be upset at her for disrupting his private time. If he was, he did a good job of holding it in. His face didn't even twitch with a hint of emotion. He just stared at her, right in the eyes. And she felt her own emotions began to fluctuate inside of her. She just sat there staring back, willing him to say something, anything.

What the hell was he thinking? What was he doing? The questions were gnawing at her.

"What," she said finally. It fell out of her mouth in a flat sonance, no hint of a question at the end. His eyes finally dropped from hers as he shook his head.

"Are you okay?" She asked him hesitantly.

"I'll be fine," he said quietly. He speaks!

"I've never seen you like this before," she said quietly, feeling concerned over the mood he was in.

"Like what?" He asked, looking back up at her, his brow knit tightly.

"So... introverted," she breathed, feeling her cheeks blush. He scoffed lightly, his eyes falling away from hers again.

"I've got a lot on my mind," he said finally.

"Oh," she murmured, looking away from him too.

They sat in silence for longer than she cared to. But she couldn't think of anything to say. His mood was just so unlike him.

"This is weird. Why is this weird?" Nora said finally, her voice ringing bold, although she was kind of frightened of what his answer might be. He looked over at her again, pausing as he let her question settle.

She didn't like this. She didn't like that his mood made her long for the spontaneous, egotistical, self-centered little boy she knew him to be. Anything was better than melancholy Harry. This Harry made her heart sputter and wrench for him in ways she didn't know it could. What was eating him? What was on his mind? She wanted to know so badly, but she didn't dare ask.

He quickly stood on his feet, disregarding her question altogether as he pulled his sweatpants up from the floor, stepping into them. Nora furrowed her eyebrows, wondering what the hell was going on. It was starting to make her incredibly self-conscious, like it was something she did. And that was making her angry.