Note To Self (Harry Styles AU)

Chapter Sixty Three.

"You didn't..."

Harry looked up when Liam didn't finish his sentence, and he followed Liam's eyes to his wallet. That gave Harry an idea of what he was getting at. "She had one."

"What was it like?" Liam prodded. "How'd it happen?"

Harry glanced over to his friend out of the corner of his eye, "I'm not going to give you a play by play."

"I don't want a play by play, just tell me how you managed to get laid before me."

Harry laughed a little too loud for three a.m. and he forced himself quiet. "Neck kisses. The flood gates open."

Liam nodded slowly, and his fingers fiddled with the wallet on his lap. "Vagina is truly a godsend."

Harry had to bite his tongue to stop himself from laughing, shaking his head from side to side instead. "You have no idea."

"I know I don't," Harry's own wallet was tossed and hit his shoulder, before it plopped down to the couch cushions. "Dick."

Liam stayed the night over at Harry's, and it wasn't until past four that Harry crawled into bed to sleep after his eyelids refused to stay open. Daylight came too quickly, and so did his mother's offer to take the boys out for breakfast. Harry's inability to wake himself up earned him just another short thirty minutes before he was dragged out of bed, into the rainy weather of a Saturday morning. Water droplets clung to the ends of brown curls, and Liam hid himself away underneath a hood.

Drowsy eyes tried their hardest to stay alert while being squished in a hard wooden booth before ten a.m. even had a chance to display itself on the clock, but the scent of fresh coffee held in the air kept his nose from planting into his plate. Harry's fork poked at his eggs, causing the yolk to burst and ooze into the mess the previous one had already made. He felt eyes on him when he swirled the yellow goop around. "Don't play with your food."

The fork was set down with a clatter against the glass plate, feeling too full for another bite. He reached for a tiny packet of jelly instead. Welches grape, and he fought a grin. She only liked Welches grape. The packet was held onto, fumbled in his hand to keep himself busy.  One last bite of egg was taken into his mouth, even with having no room in his belly left.

Mother announced, "Book club is at our house tonight."

Harry waited patiently to chew and swallow before he spoke. "I'll be leaving then."

It earned a slight chuckle, not quite loud enough to be heard over the clinking silverware filling the small diner, but he could see in the way her shoulders shook. "I wish I could."

"Come to the gym with me," Liam offered. "You haven't in a while."

Harry's stomach twisted at the idea, but if he were to be honest with himself, he knew he needed the exercise. Figuratively chasing Aubry's unobtainable heart didn't exactly count as physical exertion, and it seemed that's where he'd been pouring every ounce of energy he had over the past weeks. Despite being told not to, Harry started to poke his fork at his food again. "Fine."

"Don't sound so excited."

A too-big to be real smile was flashed toward his friend, and Liam laughed. Harry's laziness never failed to amuse him, even later in the day when Harry was extra tired and extra-extra didn't want to go to the gym, but was dragged out of the house anyway. It was just before women of the neighborhood began to show up so he missed out on having to share friendly hellos and small talk, lucky him. His mother was busy scrambling around in the kitchen to throw together the snacks Liam and Harry had been dragged around the grocery store to collect after breakfast. A finger sandwich was swiped off the plate on his way by, and Harry's cheeks were stuffed full when he stepped out on the front stoop behind Liam.