chemistry ➸ hallie

iii. || lonely nights

They don't talk about the party on Monday, but it still feels different. Harry sits closer to her, his leg or his shoulder occasionally brushing against her own, and he actually lets her do some of the lab work. To both of their surprises, she doesn't fuck it up.

"You're becoming a chemist yet," says Harry, half-mocking and half-impressed.

"Yeah, must be your amazing teaching," Allie quips sarcastically. Harry smiles.

He does that around her more, too. Smile. It's kinda nice.

She still feels kinda weird about everything, the fact that she's becoming friends with Cassandra's rival. As far as Allie knows, Cassandra is none the wiser. There's no reason for her sister to suspect anything; Harry and Allie don't really talk outside of chemistry. Allie hasn't been joining in as much when Cassandra complains about Harry—in fact, it's actually begun to get on her nerves—but otherwise nothing seems to have changed on the surface.

Maybe she's just paranoid.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧

On Wednesday, Cassandra is sick.

Cassandra really hates getting sick. It's probably because she's already spent more time in hospitals and doctors offices than most people will in a lifetime, or because their parents take everything—even a head cold—extremely seriously when it comes to Cassandra.

It's one of the few things about her sister that Allie doesn't envy. Cassandra never complains about her heart or her medical visits, though. Most people at school don't even know. She's strong like that.

Still, Cassandra being sick, even with it just being a stomach bug, meant that Allie needed to find a new ride to school. She somehow convinced Sam to convince Campbell to pick her up, and she never wants to get in a car with Campbell again. She doesn't know how Sam manages it every day.

Cassandra being sick also means that she isn't there for rehearsal after school. The play is next weekend, so the director really isn't happy about it, but when Allie tells her that it's medical, she understands. The teachers and staff always know. They have to.

Harry is a bit less understanding. He approaches Allie backstage as she's gathering her clipboard and headset, calling out to her. "Where's the queen?" he asks, not even bothering to hide the mocking from his voice.

Allie and Harry may be getting closer, but Cassandra is still Allie's sister, so she won't tolerate Harry's jibes. "Sick, Harry," she says, almost impatiently. "Cassandra wouldn't miss rehearsal if she didn't have to, and I think you know that."

"Yeah, well," Harry says, rolling his eyes. "It's just gonna suck talking to myself up there."

"Not my problem," Allie replies.

He seems to sense the slight aggression in her tone, pursing his lips and backing off without another word, crossing the room to approach Jason. For a moment his eyes flash with something akin to hurt, and Allie almost feels bad. But Cassandra is sick, and it's not her fault, and Harry needs to learn that if he wants to be friends with Allie, he can't be mean to Cassandra 24/7.

Ugh, this situation is beyond frustrating.

The rest of rehearsal goes by more-or-less without a hitch. Harry does fine with his scenes, Cassandra's lines being read by the director, and overall it's not terrible. Without Cassandra there, though, Allie is forced to watch Harry the entire time.