You Looked Lost (Narry Lifeguard AU)

Chapter 7: Part 2

Part 2! Hope it's good, I spent a lot of time thinking out this plot :)

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By the time everyone had arrived, dinner was ready, Payton was shut in her room, and Miles and his friends were chatting in the family room.

“Dinner’s ready, everyone,” my mom yelled.

I was sure Payton probably hadn’t heard, but I didn’t feel like going up to her room and checking.  I never did.  In fact, it might make this dinner better if she didn’t come downstairs.

Sadly, nothing ever goes my way, so in the next five minutes, all seven of us were sitting around the table.  I frowned when I noticed Payton’s blatant interest in Harry.  My mom had made me introduce him to the table, and Payton had gone from looking completely bored to looking pathetically lovestruck.  I was sure Payton tended to use the word ‘pathetic’ more on me than the other way around, but she was being really obvious in her attraction.

“So, Harry, how do you like working at Waterworld?” my mom asked him.

Harry swallowed his food before responding.

“Oh, I love it there.  It’s my third year, but this summer has definitely been my favorite,” Harry smiled and looked sideways at me.

I blushed and looked away.  Who knew if he really meant that?

“Yeah, Niall says he loves it there too-”

My mom was cut off by a loud laugh coming from Miles’ end of the table.  It was like they were having their own conversation down there, which they must have been.

“Are you gonna be a senior, like Niall?” my mom continued, as if nothing had happened.

“Actually, I graduated last May.  I’ll be a freshman in college next year,” Harry said smoothly, without a trace of the uncertainty in his eyes from yesterday.

“Oh, have you decided where you’re going?” my mom asked.

I could barely hear Harry and my mom over Miles and his friends’ obnoxious laughter.  That and I could practically hear Payton purring across the table from Harry, her chin resting in her hand and a dreamy expression on her face.

“I’m enrolled at Duke for next semester,” Harry said, but he’d paused, as if he was unsure.

My mom gasped in surprise.

“Duke? Wow, that’s an amazing school,” she said, her eyes wide.

“That’s what I’ve heard,” Harry said, looking down at his food uncomfortably.

I decided to change the subject because it was obviously a hard one for Harry, for some reason.  Duke?  Why hadn’t he told me that?  It was kind of a big deal.

“Maura, listen to this!” Miles called from the other end of the table.

Dean launched into some story about something that had happened on his boat the other day with Miles and Piper.  I looked over at my mom, who appeared to be listening, but the strained expression on her face told me she didn’t really want to be.  Apparently the story was funny, if Miles’ laughs throughout were anything to go by.

“So, Harry, what are your like, hobbies and stuff?” Payton asked him.

I turned my attention to her.

“I like playing soccer, but I’m pretty terrible at it,” Harry smiled to himself, and I couldn’t blame Payton for her swooning at this point.