Just Friends || h.s.

32

Without thinking, I reached over and took it between my fingers, twirling it around to fix it. Her eyes were on my face the entire time, and I couldn't help but look up at her, my heart beating out my chest when I saw her smiling.

"Thank you." She grinned. When I dropped my hand and she turned back to the screen, I felt my face flush and I was so close to biting my entire bottom lip off.

I watched as she picked up her buzzing phone from the table and looked at it for a moment before turning back to me.

"Nick needs help killing a spider. I'll be right back." She sighs before getting up and waking to the door.

As the door closed behind her, I watched as Gemma walked out of her room with a slight smirk on her face.

"What's that look for?" I questioned suspiciously.

"You two are so in love, it's ridiculous." She retorted, sitting down on the couch next to me with her phone in her hand.

"Calm down, Gemma. She's just a friend." I tried to tell her, but saying it out loud made me frown because that's all Maddie and I ever will be - friends.

"Friends my ass, Harry. You two have been hanging out everyday for the past month we've been in Canada."

"Maybe because she's the first and only friend I made since we moved here." I argued back. I don't know why I was defending my friendship with Maddie so badly despite how much I wanted it to be more. Gemma was right about one thing; I like Madison a lot.

She tapped around on her phone for a few seconds before showing me the screen, revealing a picture of Maddie and I from a minute ago where I was twirling her hair around my finger while we smiled at each other.

Instead of being mad that she took that picture without us knowing, I smiled. The look on Maddie's face when she stared at me was enough to hope that maybe she might feel the same way about me the way that I do about her.

Gemma watched me smile instead of continuing to defend myself, and she shook her head with a satisfied smirk.

"Friends, huh?"

• • •
Present

"You and I both know you aren't just friends. Just tell her how you feel because I can guarantee she feels the same." My mum's suggestive tone switched into a more motherly supportive one, but her words just couldn't sink into my head. I wouldn't believe anyone if they told me Maddie would feel the same way. The only person I'd want to hear those words from is Maddie herself.

"You don't know that. I can't ruin what we have." I mumbled, not looking away from the sink of dishes I was cleaning.

"Is it not worth the risk, Harry?"

"Not if part of the risk is being rejected and ruining our friendship." I countered in a mumble.

I heard my mum let out a deep sigh and from the corner of my eye, I saw her pinch the bridge of her nose. "She's going to kill me for telling you this..." She says to herself before placing her hand back on the counter to grab my attention. "You know how I told you we said we weren't coming so we could surprise you?"