"better to leave it unsaid, why can't i
leave it unsaid?"
- talk too much, coin
𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐓𝐘𝐋𝐄𝐒
Another day, another dollar.
It was always the same fucking routine.
Wake up. Go to work. Go home. Sleep. I was starting to go crazy.
The only thing in my life recently that had been keeping me on my toes was a certain black haired girl who seemed to only be happy for show.
After she brought me to get a couch- at her parent's store, might I add, that was the last time we spoke. Looking back, I realized I was a bit of a dick to her and her mum, but...the entire situation was just a little...unexpected. I was the exact opposite of a good guy and definitely every parent's worst nightmare...I had never even met a girl's parents before intentionally so how was I meant to react when Joyce's mum was standing right in front of me.
Either way, I felt bad the second I saw her eyes water up slightly which immediately made me soften up a bit.
What the fuck was she doing to me?
I couldn't deny that I was curious about her. Her very presence piqued my interest in many ways that just wouldn't allow me to let go of her completely...and stay away from her like I first intended to.
Part of me knew it was because of Max because she reminded me of him. It made me feel connected to him...in a weird way.
The other part of me knew he had nothing to do with me wanting to be around her. I knew that I acted as if I didn't care but that was just how I was on a daily basis. She set camp in my mind and it didn't look like she was going anywhere. I couldn't stop thinking about her last week.
I wasn't doing it on purpose...being an ass, my instincts just kicked in and I automatically reverted to my regular old self whenever I found myself getting too comfortable around her.
The fact that she saw me drunk out of my mind and that didn't phase me one bit, was proof that I was starting to let my guard down here. And I couldn't allow that. I needed to be more careful around her from now on. I would say I would avoid her at all costs but with her being my neighbour, and from what I know now with her being one of Alex's best friends, that would prove to be difficult.
"Hey Harry!" a chipper little voice said from beside me as I was stocking the records.
I turned around to see Charlie, smiling at me holding some sheet music in his hand. You would think he would stop talking to me after I never gave him the time of day but that seemed to only encourage him more.
I internally groaned and offered a nod to the boy, hoping it would be enough for him to leave me alone.
Of course, it did not.
"I'm learning how to play Let it Be now! Do you know who The Beatles are? My dad listens to them all the time!" he spewed out quickly.
I took a deep breath in, "Yeah I know who they are," I simply responded.
Charlie's eyes lit up at me actually responding for once, "Cool! Do you know any of their songs on the guitar? Wait- can you even play the guitar? I've never seen you-"
"No" I responded harshly, "I can't play,"
Charlie shrugged, opening his mouth and talking once more, but I tuned it out and continued stocking the shelves.
"So that's how I ended up-"
"Isn't your dad waiting outside," I interrupted him when I heard the sound of an irritating car horn beeping. Sure enough, Charlie glanced over his shoulder, looking through the clear glass door and nodding his head, "Yeah you're right! Thanks Harry! See you next week!" he shouted as he left the store.
I rolled my eyes at the annoying encounter. Nothing annoyed me more on this planet than children.
The only good thing about Charlie is that he reminded me that my shift was almost over, he was always the last lesson for today, meaning it was around six-thirty.
I continued mindlessly stocking the records, making sure they were in alphabetical order or else Alex would have a fit. The low hum of the new record by LANY was playing throughout the shop, the one I had chosen for the day. Alex and I switched off playing the music in the shop for the day and today the cover of this one intrigued me, but I was not disappointed with what I was listening to.
"Here you go Alex! Brand new and completely sealed!" a female voice that had been stuck in my head spoke from somewhere around the shop. My head darted around the room to spot the familiar girl, her long black hair hanging down her back freely as she handed Alex something that looked to be a record.
"This is sick Joy! I can't believe they found this!" he said in awe.
Joyce nodded her head and went around the counter, where Alex was standing, "I know! Guess my dad saw it at a garage sale he was scouting a few days ago and gave it to me to give to you when I went up with Nel the other day! My dad knows you collect vintage ones and he said he'd give it to you as long as you visited soon" she told him.
Alex nodded, too enamoured with whatever record he managed to get his hands on, "I'll give them a call later and sorry again I couldn't head up with you the other day, things have been picking up a lot lately around here"
Joyce shook her head, "Don't worry about it, they understood. Are you closing soon?" she questioned.
He nodded, "Yeah, just had my last lesson, and I think Harry's almost done stocking the shelves but after that...we should be good to close," he said and when my name was mentioned, I saw Joyce dart her eyes around the room until they found my own, her giving me a small smile the minute they did.
I looked away immediately, already embarrassed that I had now been caught staring and eavesdropping on them.
The sound of a phone ringing interrupts us all and knowing it wasn't mine, I didn't bother checking to get it from behind the counter.
"Hey baby," Alex picked up, the pet name indicating it was the fiery redhead who accused me of robbing the store, Nellie. "Nel, calm down, I'll be home in an hour- can't it wait? Who else is going to close? Yeah he's here..." he said lowly, "I mean I'm sure he can but Joy's here too and it's dark, I was going to drive her home- yes. Okay, I'm leaving now, bye baby,"
I heard Alex sigh and I turned around as I watched him place his phone down on the counter, "Nellie said there was an emergency with the painters that were coming in today at our house...I don't know she said it's urgent...Harry, can I get you to close tonight? I know it's short notice but you'd really be helping me out" he asked me.
"Yeah that's fine," I responded.
Alex smiled and then grabbed his phone once again, along with his coat and car keys, "Great! Thank you so much!" he said, now turning onwards Joyce, "I'm sorry, I can't bring you home tonight, do you want to take a cab, I can give you some money? I just don't feel safe letting you walk home alone now" he said as he rushed putting on his coat.
Joyce offered a smile, one that I knew was fake, "It's ok, um- I have money don't worry about it,"
"Joyce just take it," he said, handing her a few bills he grabbed from his wallet and also using her full name, something I had never heard any of her friends use while with her.
Joyce shook her head once more, "No, it's fine. I have cash, besides I'm the one who came out here, you didn't ask me to,"
Alex sighed, "Yeah but-"
"I can walk her home" I blurted out, not even realizing what I said until it was too late. Both friends looked over at me but neither of them said a thing, "We live in the same building and I walk home anyways..." I trailed off.
"Joy, are you ok with that?" Alex asked her.
Joyce looked over at me and nodded, "Yeah, I don't mind,"
Alex seemed satisfied enough with that answer and as he was on his way over to the door, making sure he had all of his things as he padded his coat with his hands. "Harry, the keys are under the cash register and so is the code for the alarm...I owe you one," he said and gave me a small smile as I nodded in response and watched him walk out the door.
I looked over at the cart with the leftover records I needed to stock and realized there was only one box left, which would take me less than ten minutes. I looked over to where Joyce was, she was standing still, awkwardly looking around the shop silently.
"You're gonna have to wait a bit, I have a few more records to stock," I told her.
I watched as she found my eyes and nodded, "No worries, I don't have anywhere to be anyways,"
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"Thanks for walking me home," Joyce said as we walked alongside one another for the second time, in silence.
"It's not a big deal," I shrugged.
"I guess not...but it was still nice of you," she said softly.
The dark sky and the strong winds contributed to the chilly weather outside tonight and the thought of a nice warm shower was more pleasing than ever.
My thoughts about my plans for later were interrupted by the small voice beside me, "Did you know that sea otters hold hands while they sleep, so they don't drift apart on water," she voiced.
I chuckled because honestly, it was amusing to me, "No, I didn't..." I paused, "Do you just have an entire repertoire of random animal facts," I joked.
I saw Joyce shrug from the corner of my eye, and this time I turned my head slightly as we walked to look down at her, "Yeah actually..." she laughed alongside me, "I apparently had a lot of free time in high school, I think I've read every animal encyclopedia that was offered at my school library at least once,"
I widened my eyes in surprise. Joyce was smart, I knew that, but she was a lot smarter than I pegged her to be, "Give me another," I asked.
"What?"
"Another fact,"
Joyce simply smiled up at me, "Ok um...did you know that cats can't taste sugar because they don't have taste buds"
"Another," I asked.
"Birds are immune to the heat of chilli peppers,"
I laughed at this one, finding it rather interesting that she knew all of these at the top of her head, "You have any more?"
She nodded, "I have a dictionaries worth of facts up here," she said and knocked on her head, "Here's another cat fact for you, depending on the cat, some of them can be allergic to humans,"
I furrowed my eyebrows, utterly fascinated and confused at the same time by this knowledge, "How?" I asked.
"From what I read, the symptoms are similar to those of humans when they're allergic to something. Stuffy nose, coughing, hives or itching and sneezing. Usually, it's because of the perfumes we use," she stated.
"Hm," I said, "That's actually pretty impressive...you knowing all of these," I told her.
She looked up at me, her eyes telling me she was unsure if I was being truthful or not, "I'm serious,"
"Thanks," she smiled and looked back down in front of her.
A big wind blew by suddenly, causing Joyce to shiver. I didn't know what compelled me to do this because I shrugged off my own jacket and handed it over to her. When Joyce caught sight of what I was doing she shook her head profusely, "No, Harry, I'm fine. We're almost home anyway,"
"Take it," I insisted, "You're cold,"
"You'll be cold though," she argued.
"We're almost there," I said, using her own words against her, "No ones getting any warmer here, just put it on," I told her, "Please" I then added.
Joyce reluctantly agreed, grabbing my jacket and putting it on. The black material nearly engulfed her whole as I watched it come down past her knees and her hands disappearing in the sleeves completely.
"Thank you," she said.
The silence between us was comfortable, no longer awkward and I hated to admit that I liked it.
The streets were quiet at this time, the only sounds were the few cars that passed by, otherwise, it was quiet. That was until I felt Joyce tense beside me and her breathing picked up.
I was going to ask her if she was ok until I looked straight ahead and made direct eye contact with the person who had been tormenting her for who knows how long now.
"Elliot?" she whispered underneath her breath, but I caught it. Joyce's footsteps started to slow down as did my own. With us stopping, it allowed Elliot to catch up with us and as he did, I knew tonight was going to take an unexpected turn for the worst.
"Missed me, sweetheart?"
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a/n
told you it wasn't the last time :0
i'm working on the next update asap and i'm hoping to have it up as soon as possible!!! hope you enjoyed the wholesome harryxjoyce content it won't be like that for too long :)
anyways vote n comment!!! thanks for reading <33