10 HOURS AWAY | Harry Styles AU

chapter 06 - the morning after

10 HOURS AWAY | Harry Styles AU

chapter 06 - the morning after

I blushed furiously and looked at my mug. I hadn't expected him to ask me that question so bluntly.

"That wasn't my intention." I mumbled and touched the rim of the mug with my thumb.

We kept steady eye contact as I heard him tapping his foot on the ground quietly.

Silently, I cleared my throat. "But I wouldn't mind you telling me why." Maybe this was the only chance I was given to ask him such thing, even if it wasn't any of my business.

Harry leaned with his elbows on the table. Whenever we looked at each other, I was reminded of how magnetic his stare was. It wouldn't surprise me if I drowned in the beauty of his eyes. I asked myself if someone ever gave him a compliment. Did he even like to receive a compliment about his appearance?

I was pulled out of my thoughts when he opened his mouth to speak. "It's going to sound silly." he warned me. "But my best friend, who's also my roommate, has the exact same phone. So when I got back from your place, I borrowed his charger and then left to get some groceries. Dylan left thirty minutes later for his flight and accidentally took my phone with him, because he assumed my phone was his work phone." Harry explained. "I wasn't able to make it to the airport on time to get it back, so I simply had to live without my phone for a few days. It felt like I was detoxing."

"That must've sucked." I stated airily.

"Yup. I never knew how badly I needed my phone until it was nowhere to be found." he said, a smile tugging at his lips.

He looked down for a moment, suddenly there was minimal eye contact. Harry forced his lips into a thin line before telling me what happened once Dylan returned from his trip.

"When I got my phone back, I saw you had texted me. I replied immediately." he lifted his face upwards and a muscle in his jaw twitched. "It doesn't surprise me you gave me the silent treatment, too." Harry pointed out.

"I didn't think you'd text me back." I said.

"You didn't?" his expression softened.

"I mean, days passed by and you responded out of nowhere. I didn't know what to say."

"I'm honestly sorry about that." Harry spoke truthfully. "I bet you thought I was a douchebag for a second."

"Maybe I thought you were a douchebag for more than a second." I joked and it made me happy he laughed.

I wrapped my hands around the mug and felt the heat radiate through the ceramic.

"One time I had to live without technology for twenty-four hours. I bet living without it for days is horrible." I declared.

"Why couldn't you use it?"

"My professor wanted us to keep a journal and write down how we felt every hour." I told him and brushed the palms of my hands together. "As much as I wanted to write and kill time, I wasn't allowed to use my laptop."

"Couldn't you cheat and still use it?" Harry asked.

"I definitely could. No one was watching me, but I thought that living without a device for hours wouldn't be a problem." I replied. "I was absolutely wrong." I admitted as I shook my head and stifled a laugh. "But then I left the house and came back with a typewriter."

Harry's eyes widened. "Really?"

"I never spend so much money without thinking twice." I sighed afterward. "It was totally worth it."