Your Addictive Heart || l.s

Smells Like Teen Rejection

"So, I think Zayn is planning something special for my birthday. He's been acting kind of weird. I mean it's gotta be that, right?" Olivia leaned against the locker next to Harry's as she pondered the thought. She held both their drinks in her hands as she waited for Harry to finish going through his things.

Harry laughed it off. "I don't know, Liv! What's so weird about Zayn being quiet and mysterious?"

"It's different. I can feel it." She bit the inside of her cheek as she thought it over.

"Well, your birthday is in a couple days. If he's still acting weird this weekend just ask him." Harry didn't mean to brush her concerns off but it seemed a little silly to him. She was with the boy she wanted, how could it get any better than that?

She nodded in agreement as he zipped his bag and shut his locker with a swift motion.

He stared at the metal door in front of him for a moment longer. Olivia picked out the sourness on his face right away. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He shook his head. "It's stupid." He took his drink back from her hand as they walked down the hall. "I'd usually get a note from Louis every morning." He wasn't trying to sulk, but things were different now and he was allowed to need time to adjust, right?

"Oh, right." She sympathized. "If it makes you feel better I'll write you little notes on your drink from now on." She smiled optimistically as she pulled a sharpie from her bag. She took his cup and wrote 'my best friend is cooler than yours' and added a smiley face for good measure.

"Thanks. That's perfect, Liv." He smiled at the cup with admiration.

"If it helps, I think you did the right thing. It was overdue." She stuffed her writing utensil back into her bag.

"I think I did the right thing too." Harry agreed softly.

"I mean, I feel like you guys just sort of jumped back into things without even really talking it out." She used her hands to illustrate Harry's naivety. "Now that you guys finally talked everything out you can walk away from it with a clear head and know you made the right choice. I'm proud of you." She put an arm around him and squeezed tight.

What she said made sense, but it wasn't the case. He didn't have a clear head. He wasn't even completely sure he made the right choice. He knew they hadn't talked everything out. But would it have made a difference?

"Where's Niall?" They stopped in front of his locker.

Harry fumbled for an excuse. "We were up late last night. He probably just slept in..."

The disappointment fell over her face like darkness from a passing cloud. "Oh."

"Yeah." He felt out of place.

"I just feel like..." She ran her fingers through her hair. "You know what? It's probably nothing. I need to stop reading into everything." She laughed nervously. "I'm going to find Zayn and head to Bio. Are you guys going to be at lunch?"

"We were planning on going out again for lunch. I'm just not really ready to jump back into things." Harry fidgeted with his rings, thankful they were back on his hands.

She tilted her head and pursed her lips at him. "What's your plan? Avoid him till graduation?" She crossed her arms.

"No, I just need a few days. Promise." He nodded his head.

"Do you want Zayn and I to join you guys? We don't mind." She raised her eyebrows.

"No, seriously. It's fine. I don't want to make a big deal out of it or anything. I promise I'll be good by Friday. We're all still on for your birthday! It's going to be good." Harry put on his most brave face. He knew this was going to be harder to pull off than he was leading on, especially if he was still going to be around this weekend.