Haven • H.S.

25. Be With Me

She sighed, looking dejected and my heart sort of cracked for her. She was a genuine person-- the kind of soul that cared deeply for those around her. And I may not have known her for long, but I did have a hunch that Louis would just taint that within her, eventually leaving her as dark as him. Her spirit and the ability to see good in people she holds inside her would vanish. I wouldn't allow that.

"Maybe I should text him," she mumbled tentatively, "and tell him we should stop hanging out."

"No!" I said quickly. "I mean, no, that's not really the right way to go about things with that kind of person. Just try ignoring him for the time being and if he never contacts you again, you'll know you did the right thing."

She mulled over my words for a moment. "You're right," she said quietly.

I leaned over carefully, and wrapped my arms around her small shoulders. "I'm always here for you, okay? You have my number. And even if I'm not here specifically, you can always text me."

She nodded into my shoulder. "Thank you, El."

"My pleasure." I smiled, extracting the embrace. I didn't know what I would've done if she'd been in too deep with Louis, and had taken my words the wrong way. I didn't want to admit it, but I probably would've gone to Harry for advice or given up. But the former sounded far too sensitive and the latter sounded far too cowardly. I was just really fucking glad Abby listened.

"So what do you say we have a girls' night tonight?" I asked when Abby walked back into the bathroom to change. The door was thin though, and her answer was clear.

"You're not going over to loverboy's?"

I had to laugh at that. "No, I'm not going to loverboy's," I replied. "He has a name, though."

"He does indeed," she snickered, coming back out and plopping down on my bed again. "But, yeah, a girls' night sounds freaking awesome."

"Great," I sang. But then I realized I had no clue what the particular term even entailed. Was it movies and popcorn? Nails and hair? Gossip and indulging in sex stories? All of the above?

"Um," I coughed awkwardly. "What do we do now?"

Abby's head bent back in a fit of laughs. "You really didn't have much friends back in the Big Apple, did you?" she inquired.

The question could've been offensive to some, but I only found it comical. I shrugged, "I really didn't."

She rubbed her hands together conspiratorially, and watched me with excited brown eyes. "Oh, man, Mason. We're gonna have some fun tonight."

________________

Harry.

I didn't know what to do with myself-- and that was putting it lightly.

It'd been hours since Ella left me to my own devices and I couldn't count on one hand the amount of times I'd tried occupying myself with something that wasted time. I'd raided my fridge, cleaned my room, and folded my clothes four times over.

Did she miss me as much as I missed her? I doubted it almost as much as I craved it. Because maybe if she missed me at the caliber I missed her I wouldn't have to tell myself I was successfully losing my mind.

When Kane walked in after what I could've only assumed was a long class, he found me sitting on the couch, staring at an app on my phone. He'd asked if I wanted to go and hang out with him. Hanging out with someone other than Ella didn't exactly sound appealing, but I'd agreed anyways. Ella was sleeping without me tonight, and I had nothing better to do to spend my night. I was one lonely bastard.