Artwork [h.s]

thirty-four

"You didn't have to buy mine too" I whispered to him. "I could've paid for it myself."

He shrugged. "I didn't mind." He looked past me and out of the window, in silence for a couple of seconds. "Are you hungry?"

I bit my lower lip, thinking about the question. It was ten past twelve, and I usually ate an hour or so later than that, but I supposed I could eat a bit earlier than usual, considering that it was pretty obvious that day wouldn't have gone by like usual. "Sure" I replied.

He nodded. "Alright." He gave another glance outside, before standing up and inviting me to do the same. "Come on" he said, pressing on the button and waiting for the bus to stop before getting off, turning around and waiting for me to do the same.

I got off too, closing my coat fast when a sudden cold wind blew through the streets. "Where are we?" I asked, not recognising the buildings around me. I would've got concerned if it wasn't that I rarely got out of my house, so I didn't know the majority of my city. For all I knew, we could've been a couple of streets away from my house.

"Somewhere" he replied, a hint of mischievousness in his voice as he started walking with me by his side.

My heart skipped a beat when, a couple of seconds after, I felt the slight pressure of Harry's fingers against my hip. I tried my best not to snuggle into his coat and drown in his scent, and kept walking, pretending to be completely untouched by how close we were. The truth was, I could've felt him next to me even if his arm hadn't been around my waist, his presence sparkling through me like a firecracker.

"Why won't you tell me?" I asked him, leaning against his side just a tiny bit as we walked.

"Why do you want to know?" He asked back, completely avoiding my question, his fingers squeezing my side just a bit tighter.

I looked at the street we were walking on, in search of clues that could tell me where we were. It was big, with shops on each side, which made me suppose that we were in the city centre. "If you take me somewhere weird I'll never trust you again" I deadpanned.

He let out a little chuckle. "You never trusted me in the first place, Sierra."

I widened my eyes at the bluntness of his words, that took a few seconds to sink in. Once they did, I couldn't help but realise how accurate they truly were. "That's... actually true" I said, surprise held in my voice.

All of sudden he opened a glass door, making the little bell above it dangle quietly. I looked inside, realising that we'd just walked into some kind of fast food, a really homey feeling to it.

"Have you already been here?" I asked, taking a better look around, and he nodded.

"I hope you like fish and chips, because there isn't much else here" he said, making sure that the queue wasn't too long before turning to look at me.

I opened my coat, starting to feel the warmth of the place. "I do."

"Find somewhere to sit, then" he said, and I gave him a little glance, about to complain about not wanting him to pay for my lunch too. "It was my idea, I'm paying" he added predicting my words, his tone firm enough for me to know that he wouldn't have changed his mind.

I sighed, and went to sit at a small table in the corner and in front of the large window, taking off my coat and putting it on the back of the chair before sitting down, leaning my head on my hand and looking outside. I couldn't resist but checking my phone, the time telling me that my art class had probably just started. I looked out again with a little smile on my lips, enjoying the feeling of carelessness that pervaded me at the realisation that I had, indeed, skipped my last classes for the second time in my life. There was something of so liberating in not doing what I was supposed to do for once, in not having to worry about people wondering where I was. It almost felt like a little adventure, secluded in the small amount of hours held in a day. For once, I didn't really feel like myself, but like someone freer, that didn't have to worry about anything and anyone. That's what being around Harry did to me, and I couldn't help but love it and hate it at the same time. I hated it, because I felt like I wasn't truly acting like myself, but I loved it, because it made me feel like I was discovering a side of me that I didn't even truly know existed.