Chasing Empty Spaces

Chapter 2

Harry woke up to the distinctive feeling that he was being watched.

Rubbing sleep from his eyes, Harry blinked open to see an orange tabby cat perched at the end of his bed. Her unwavering gaze surveyed him as if she was already aware of Harry's internal turmoil from the prior evening. She meticulously crept over the thick duvet and sat directly on Harry's chest, honey eyes flickering over his sleep rumpled profile.

"G'morning, Tully," Harry croaked out, earning himself a plaintive mew in response.

He scratched behind her soft ears and felt purrs reverberate into his touch. The sound of pattering footsteps echoed from outside of his bedroom and Harry figured he had roughly five minutes before he had to prepare to join his mother for breakfast. Slumping his head back into a pillow, Harry rolled through everything that had happened at the club. Particularly, his latest acquaintance named, Louis Tomlinson.

Louis Tomlinson was an anomaly. He was blunt, brash, and slightly abrasive in his commentary. Harry knew that he had fully fed into every word that Louis shared, mulling over each sentence to create a mental anthology that he could revisit. It was as if there was an innate conception that all of Louis' thoughts had potential to be tokens of brilliance compared to other's views in their small town. He even toyed with the abstract idea that he could relate to the way Dorian Gray must have felt when he first met Lord Henry Wotton. It was an eye-opening and view shifting kind of meeting that the Dorian experienced when he met Henry. Of course, Harry wasn't focusing on the eternal damning advice and lust-filled life aspects of the characters' relationship.

Regardless, just the few exchanged words between them created one of the most refreshing experiences Harry has had since his short-lived time a naïve kid. Harry hadn't even realized that he had long lost his ability to be a true individual in a conversation between himself and a peer, truly letting go of pretense and formality that came along with his secondary name. Not that his parents would deem Louis as his peer, given social status and general lack of outstanding propriety.

If Harry's parents knew he spent the evening talking to a mechanic instead of the impending joint-heir to the company, they would have flipped their lid. When Louis disappeared for the rest of the evening, Harry quietly nursed the rest of his drink and let his gaze wander around the dancefloor from time to time. He chalked it up to the fact that the conversation between Faye and him was impeccably dull in comparison to Louis'. Even Niall didn't last much longer once the three of them were on their own.

At the end of the evening, being the gentleman he was, Harry drove Faye home. Once he was parked at the end of her drive, he barely managed to evade her attempt at a kiss on his cheek. When she let out an affronted huff, Harry insisted that he wanted to treat her like the lady she was. In all honesty, Harry just wanted to get her out of his truck. But, he also didn't want word to get back to his parents that he was a poorly behaved date. So, he lied.

Tully batted Harry's cheek with her paw, pulling him out of his headspace. He scrubbed a hand over his face and begrudgingly sighed. She cocked her head to the side and swished her tail before she let out a demanding meow.

"Okay, okay, m' getting up," Harry huffed out when the cat impatiently swatted him once more.

Harry took a bath, scrubbing of the night before with lavender scented soap. Once he was clean, Harry tugged on a pair of tan trousers and secured a brown buckle through the belt loops. He pulled an olive colored button-down from the wardrobe and made quick work of shrugging it on. Tucking the hem of his shirt into his trousers, Harry walked across the bedroom towards a pair of discarded shoes. He slipped his sock-covered feet into the polished loafers and then opened his door. Tully kept close to his heels as he descended the staircase towards the dining room.