Strawberries || H.S.

T W E N T Y O N E

Mia awoke that same morning, still wrapped in Harry's sheets, pondering why the sun shone so brightly through the curtains. She smiled to herself as she stretched sleepily, deciding that she should get up and go help Barbra at the bakery. Even though Harry had gone off to work, she wanted to go put the final touches on the display she and Barbra had been working on. She had promised Barbra that she would bring some seashells to finish off the ocean-themed display in order to celebrate the nearing end of the summer.

Mia got up lazily from the bed and pulled on some clothes she had brought over last night. She goes through the same motions she does every morning, brushing her teeth and splashing water upon her face, except that when she goes to drink her cup of coffee she makes sure to make two.

"Niall? Are you up yet?"

She hears a groan and knows that Niall was still relatively asleep, but that within two minutes he would realize that he would be late if he didn't get a move on.

She proceeds to mix in extra creamer into Niall's and five packets of sugar. She shook her head calculating how much sugar it took to wake Niall up every morning, and took notice to start cutting down his intake. Although she herself loved sweets like no other, she knew better than to eat the amount Niall did every day.

"Fucking shit." He yells, and she could hear him bumping into his wall. She knew that he would be putting on his clothes haphazardly, his balance off because he couldn't get both legs into his jeans at the same time.

"One leg at a time." Mia says loudly.

"I know how to put pants on." Niall retorts.

Mia chuckles to herself, knowing that the moment Niall came out of his room, he would chug the coffee and be on his way. She packs up her bag and decides to walk with him up until the crossroads.

"Is that for me?" Niall asks, drinking it before Mia answers.

"Obviously." She replies.

"Well, I'm out of here."

"I'll walk with you."

"I thought Harry was going to work today."

"He did, I just need to go drop off a few things for Barbra."

"Can't spend an hour without him, can you?" Niall says smilingly.

"Shut up." Mia says, walking towards the door.

"You love him don't you?"

"I'm going to leave you behind." Mia warns, already more than ten steps in front of Niall.

He closes the door to the flat, locks it, and runs to catch up with her. They walk side by side in the sunny mid morning, talking and laughing until they reach the street that divides them.

"Send my regards to Barbra." Niall says, wrapping an arm around Mia in farewell.

"I will." She says, relishing Niall's hug and smiling into the crook of his neck. Mia was a hugger, she loved physical contact. She yearned for it, really. That's why she didn't find it alarming that she needed Harry there to be able to sleep, or that the only way she could ever say farewell was with a hug. She needed to reassure people that she loved them constantly, and she knew the best way to do that was to hold them close to her and tell them things like, "Have a good day. Be safe." Which was exactly which she said to Niall.

He looked at her and couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. No one ever told him to have a good day other than his mum or Mia.

"Bye, Mia."

"Bye, Niall!"

Mia turned and began walked in the opposite direction, never turning back. She walked along the cobbled street, the sun shining brightly upon her. She felt the breeze gently caressing her face, the warmth of summer upon her back. She tilts her head upwards, as if attempting to kiss the sky. She attempts to take in the scent of the beautiful day, but her small nose crinkled when she breathed in. The smell of smoke protruded the air around her.