Paper Airplane

34

                It took him longer than I expected to snap out of it.  But when he finally did, his mood had shifted completely, so much so that I really began to question if something was actually wrong with him this morning.  Had he taken some kind of painkillers last night?  Did someone slip something in his coffee?  It was that weird.

                “Get dressed, then.  We’re going out for breakfast, and I’ve not just decided that because there’s nothing here to eat.”  He was promptly on his feet, heading toward the bathroom.  “Don’t worry about showering.”

                I took a swig of my orange juice.

                “You’ll probably get wet enough the way it is,” he continued.

                If he had been standing in front of me in a white shirt, my following spit-take would have been outright hilarious.  But I guess it’s better that I ruined the magazine and made a mess all over the table than another article of clothing belonging to Harry.  My hand flew up to cover my mouth; had he really just said that?  I stared wide-eyed at the damp, glossy magazine pages and the variously sized pools of yellow liquid now dotting the table.

                And though I thought he’d left to get ready, Harry poked his head back into the kitchen, his lips quirked into a smug half-smile.  “Get it?”

                “Yeah, I got it,” I said quickly.  “And you’re an idiot.”

                “A funny idiot.”

                “A stupid idiot.”

                He disappeared again, but from down the short hall, he called back, “You don’t mean it!”

                Maybe not always, but right now, after that one, I most definitely did mean it.

                I still didn’t understand Harry’s abrupt mood swing – he’d gone from hating his life this morning to uplifted and enlightened – but I wasn’t going to fight it, because at least we weren’t going to be trapped in our hotel room all day. 

                He took me to IHOP for breakfast, which hadn’t originally been his plan, but he couldn’t pass up an opportunity to introduce me to “the heaven that is their Strawberry Banana Pancakes.”  He was right, of course; they were fantastic.  I’d never been there before, and it was the perfect introduction to a place I was sure to frequent in the future.

                As soon as we were finished there, Harry got a phone call from Liam.  The rest of the boys were doing a last minute Skype interview and asked if Harry could meet them back at their hotel for a few minutes to join them. 

                “I’m sorry,” he sighed, tapping his hand against the steering wheel.  We were sitting in the parking lot at IHOP still; he hadn’t started the car yet. 

                I raised a brow.  “Why?  It’s fine.  What are you apologizing for?”

                The back of his head was pressed against his head rest, and he tilted his head just slightly so that he could look over at me.  He seemed genuinely remorseful.  “I told them I needed the week off.  I told them not to make any plans like this.”

                I didn’t understand what the big deal was.  “Harry, it’s seriously fine.  You’re worse than a girl, apologizing all the time for everything lately.  Let’s go.”