It was Wednesday - work orientation day.
It had been a few days since Harry and I got my dining table and then I practically burned his chest off with scalding hot tea. Even though he insisted that it was just an accident and that I needed to stop apologizing, I still texted him when he got home that night.
Me: Again. So sorry I practically melted your chest off with tea. My bad, friend.
Harry: Again. It was just an accident. Night, friend.
I smiled at his response for the rest of the night and I haven't talked to him since. I was mainly waiting for him to reach out to me, waiting to see if maybe our quick friendship was worth his free time, but I hadn't gotten so lucky.
I climbed out of my comfortable, warm bed and trudged to the bathroom in order to get ready for the most dreaded thing amongst the population; work. Not to mention work with your step father. Nepotism doesn't really count when your step father doesn't like you much which in turn means your boss won't like you much.
I took a quick shower and began to get ready. I blow dried my hair and did a bit of makeup before heading to my closet and tossing what I was going to wear onto my bed. I grabbed a to-go mug and set it next to my stove as I waited for the water to boil for tea, of course. I tangled two tea bags into the mug and clicked the lid on after pouring the water in.
I thought about how I hadn't drank tea since Sunday night, after burning Harry's skin right off. It really wasn't that bad. But by the time he left, it was a little blotchy but he said he'd put a cold compress on it and some cream when he got home and it would be fine.
I sighed and jogged into my room to change into my dress pants and white blouse. I slipped on my heels, grabbed my purse, tea, and keys before heading out the door and locking it behind me. I rode the elevator down to the lobby and walked out, passing Kevin at the front desk.
"G'mornin', Opal!" Kevin exclaimed. I sipped on my drink and moved my sunglasses onto the bridge of my nose as I waved. I thought the conversation was over, but he continued. "How'd you sleep?"
His cheery tone annoyed me to my tired core, but I bit back my groan and put on a smile. "Fine," I said. I think he felt the resentment in my voice and he nodded once with a smile and turned back to the computer in front of him. I felt bad for a moment, but knew eventually Kev would get over it.
"Have a good one," I called out to him as I pushed the door open with my back. Kevin's head snapped up and his grin grew even wider. I waved one last time and finally made it onto the sidewalk to start my commute to the best job ever... Sarcastically.
**
"How was your first day?" My mom asked me. I had my phone pinned between my shoulder and cheek again as I ran some hot water into the sink so I could do the few dishes I had used. "Did you see Paul?"
"No, I guess he had some meetings. I trained with some David guy. All I do is answer calls and organize paperwork. It's super duper exciting," I explained. We chatted about a few other things before my mom finally brought up Harry. It took her 15 minutes - longer than I thought it would take.
"Don't you think it's a bit naive to have let in some stranger to your home while you know nothing about him?" She asked.
I sighed deeply. "He's not a stranger," I mumbled and turned the water off after placing the last dish onto the drying mat next to the sink. "He's a friend," I added.
"Then have him come to dinner. I think Paul was going to make tomorrow night work instead of this weekend," she explained. I could practically see my mother's smirk at the thought.
"Oh how nice of Paul," I grumbled. "Mom, he's just a friend. He doesn't have to come to dinner."
"Well, friend or not, I want to meet him," she insisted. Paul had just walked into the house and I could hear his voice faintly in the background. My mom called out to him, "Paul, don't you want to meet this Harry boy that Opal is talking about!...Well, what do you know!"
I smirked.
"Well, sweetie, I should get going. Paul brought home some groceries so we could grill some steak and have the new neighbors over for dinner," she explained.
"Aren't they strangers?" I questioned.
"Shush," my mother tutted me. "Love you."
"Love you, too," I said in response and slid my phone into my sweatpants pocket. I ventured over to my couch and plopped down to start reading a new book I hadn't gotten to read yet. What I thought was only an hour was actually two and a half when suddenly my phone started to vibrate in my pocket again. I groaned thinking it was my mother again, but saw Harry's name on the screen. I furrowed my brows and answered.
"Hi literal stranger," I greeted and it was silent on the other end. "Harry?"
"Hey, um - Opal," he said slowly. "Can I...can I come over? Are you home? I need - I can't..."
I sat up straight and set the book on the coffee table. "Harry, what's wrong?" I hurriedly asked.
"I called the cops, but-" he muttered. I felt my heart drop to my stomach. "I pulled in after work and I saw...I saw someone in my house."
"Where are you now?" I asked quickly. I stood up and bit at my nails.
"Driving back to the city."
"Come over"
He muttered a thank you but before he hung up, I thought of something my dad would always say to me to comfort me when I was sad while he was on work trips. "Hey, Harry?"
"Hm?" He mumbled and it was quiet again.
"Do you see the moon in front of you?" I asked. It was quiet and I took the chance to continue. "We're looking at the same moon."
"Yeah, we are..." Harry answered and trailed off. He said he was going to be here in a few minutes and hung up. I put my phone back into my pocket as I paced in front of my intercom.
My dad told me that no matter where I was or where he was, we would always be looking at the same moon at some point. We'd be seeing the same stars at some point. The last time he said it to me was when I was being dragged out of the courtroom after the family trials. It was the last time I saw him. I had no intention of ever telling anyone that - it was my place to go when I was scared or sad. But Harry needed something to calm him down.
My intercom buzzing pulled me out of my thoughts and I quickly pressed the button to let him up. I waited by the door for his knocks and as soon as he knocked, my heart skipped a beat and I immediately opened it. Harry's shoulders were wet. I didn't realize it was raining and I looked out the window to a light post and saw rain through the haze of the light.
I stepped to the side and shut the door behind him as he walked in. He kicked off his boots and stood there, staring out the window. I pushed him towards the couch and gestured for him to sit down.
"You look cold," I said quietly and wrapped a blanket around his shoulders. He grabbed it gratefully and nodded once. He was shivering a bit so I rubbed my hand on his arm closest to me. "I would say let's change into something, but that would mean I'd see you half naked for a second time and I'm not sure how you'd feel about that," I joked.
He smiled and cuddled into the couch. It was silent.
"Would you hate me if I said I may have found a very oversized hoodie of mine that might fit you the day after you had to sit in my apartment without a shirt?" I asked and peeked at him. He nodded once and I got up to grab it. As I walked out of the bedroom, I stopped and leaned against my door frame to take in the sight in front of me. What once was a large, muscular man had become a scared, wide eyed boy sitting on my couch. I didn't like what I saw. It made my stomach drop and my chest ache a bit.
Maybe I did have feelings for him.
I started walking towards him again and handed him the grey hoodie that has an old band logo on it. I tossed it onto his lap and said, "here, you unproportioned freak." I tried to see if he'd smile but his eyes haven't broken away from the flame of the candle on the coffee table.
He stood up and smiled softly before pulling off his own sweatshirt from the button up. I stopped myself from watching him undress and looked down at the floor. I offered to take his wet clothes to put in the laundry, again, and tossed it into the washer.
"Do you want to talk?" I asked as we sat back down on the couch. He shook his head. "I could start a movie on my computer?" I suggested. I stood up to grab my computer from my room but I stopped when he didn't react. His eyes still hadn't moved from the candle flame. "Do you want a drink? Something to eat? I have leftover-"
I was cut off by a low whimper and Harry's head finally dropped to his hands. I hurried over to his side and sat so close to Harry that our thighs brushed.
"Harry?" I whispered. I placed my hand in between his shoulder blades. I rubbed my hand up and down lightly when suddenly I felt his arms wrap around my waist and he tried to relax his breathing against my chest. Though I had no idea what was happening in his head, I continued to comfort him.
"There was someone in my house...Looking through my things, breaking everything..." He whispered so quietly I barely heard him. I thought about how he said he teaches self defense classes and that he probably could have defended himself, but I suppose I wouldn't know how I would respond if I too saw someone snooping through my house. I was proven wrong as Harry spoke his next sentence so slow, so quietly, I had to lean down.
"There was... so much blood," he said. "Just draining from his nose - so much, it was broken." He nuzzled his head deeper into my chest and I subconsciously ran my hand over his hair. He sighed deeply and I just tightened my grip on him. I tried to keep from gasping at his words.
We sat in silence, like usual, and I kept a gentle hand running over his wet curls. I had so many questions and any other situation I'd ask those questions, but right now I figured it was best that we allowed the silence to blanket us and see if it would warm us like blankets that fell from his shoulders.
He snaked his arms out from behind me and sat up, lightly brushing away a few tears that managed to fall. He sat back against the couch and signed deeply. He ran his hands over his face and that's when I noticed a few bruises on his knuckles. He felt me staring at his hands and he inspected them himself. He rubbed his hands together before laying them in his lap.
"You probably shouldn't have left without seeing the cops, Harry," I said to him softly. He nodded in agreement. "They could have found..."
He shook his head. "I saw him run off as I pulled out of my driveway. The cops were going to take too long, I just- I reacted," he explained and hung his head in shame. "I know I should have stayed. None of my neighbors saw, I didn't know what to do."
"Hindsight," I softly replied.
"Thank you," Harry said. I patted his knee to comfort him a bit more. He didn't say anything else, just kept his eyes closed as he tipped his head back onto the couch. He pulled up the hood on the sweatshirt at some point and he crossed his arms tightly against his chest. I watched as his chest moved up and down with his slow breaths.
"Hey, you go and sleep in my room. I can sleep out here," I insisted and shook his shoulder a bit, just in case he was already asleep. Harry raised his head a bit and gave me a sideways glance. "I mean, if you want," I nervously add. I realized that him staying probably wasn't exactly a step in our friendship Harry ever wanted to take, but after the night he had...I didn't think he'd want to go home.
"I can sleep on the couch," he said. He sat up straight and looked over at me. "You look tired anyways and I'll probably be up. I'd feel bad."
"Let's watch a movie for now, then," I suggested and quickly went to my room to grab my computer. I walked back out and sat down, our thighs brushing yet again. I didn't move my leg away from his and neither did he, I thought maybe he just needed that comfort still. I set up the computer on my coffee table and I put on The Breakfast Club. We watched quietly together, sharing a chuckle every now and then as the characters interacted. I thought back to the phone call I had with my mom and her insisting on having Harry join. It didn't feel like the best time, but how would I even know for sure without just asking.
"Hey, Harry?" I whispered and peered over him and then back to the screen.
"Hm?" He hummed back. He was unintentionally closer to my ear. I looked back over to him and watched how the screen danced in the reflections of his green eyes. His cheeks were rosey and puffy, suddenly making him seem much younger than he was.
"Probably not the best time, but my mom and step dad are coming into town for dinner tomorrow. My mom insisted you come with us," I explained. "Since you're my first friend in the city."
He was still caught up watching the movie as I asked. I curled my lips in and sighed deeply. He looked over at me and didn't say anything. "So... will you come?"
I finally let my eyes keep contact with him as he began to smile a bit. His arms were wrapped around a pillow that was being held tight to his stomach and he adjusted so he could look at me better. He slowly blinked and through his eyelashes, his eyes twinkled a bit more.
"Of course," he said softly. "Just tell me when."
I smiled and looked back at the movie, biting my lip to keep my smile from getting too big. We both went back to watching the movie when suddenly Harry was throwing the blanket over my legs, too. My feet were perched against the coffee table and I tucked my arms under the blanket. After a while, I struggled to keep my eyes open and suddenly I couldn't keep it from happening any longer and laid my head back and drifted to sleep. At one point, I felt my head lull to Harry's hard shoulder and eventually felt something heavy lean against the top of my head, too.
**
The next morning, I woke up and I was in my own bed. I don't recall moving from the couch to my bedroom, so I took it upon myself to put two and two together - Harry probably carried me in. And my stomach fluttered.
I looked over at my clock and it was still early. I had enough time to get up and slowly get ready for work rather than rush. All of the memories from the night before came flooding back and I quietly scurried out to the living room. I peered over the back of the couch to see Harry sleeping soundly on his side, facing the back of the couch. He had his chin tucked down and the hood of the sweatshirt still covering his head. He looked exhausted.
He looked so sad and scared. All I wanted to do was run the lines away from his forehead and push on his pouty lip. Of course, I decided against that and wanted him to keep sleeping. I decided to pour myself a bowl of cereal and sat down at the table. I hummed a song I heard the day before as I scrolled on my phone and scooped cereal into my mouth.
"Opal?" Harry mumbled from the couch in a low, raspy voice.
"Shit, did I wake you?" I asked in a panic. I dropped my spoon into my leftover milk and caused a little bit of a loud clatter. I smiled sheepishly at him as he peeked over the back of the couch.
"Yeagh, but it's alright. Your humming is nice," he said softly and made his way over to me. He sat down on the chair across from me and looked out the window. He sighed and looked back at me with tired eyes. "I'm sorry for last night," he mumbled.
I shook my head and pushed myself away from the table to bring my bowl to the sink. "For what?" I asked. I looked back at him and held up the box of cereal to offer him some.
He shook his head. "For just coming here and unloading all of that on you," he said.
I walked back to the table and stood behind the chair, gripping the back tightly. "You don't have to be sorry for that," I said quietly.
"Then thank you," he said, correcting himself. I sighed, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips as I sat down on the chair next to him. "Thank you," he repeated.
"What're friends for?" I said with a smile. "Besides, you're my only friend here. What kind of friend would I be to not help?"
A soft smile graced those damn pink lips and I watched as he looked down at mine, too. We both sat in comfortable silence, again, and he peered up at me with his green eyes.
"You're about all I have, Miss Opal Nicks," he whispered. He picked up a lock of my curly hair and played with it between his thumb and finger before dropping it and pulling his hand back. A blush crept to both of our faces.
I don't know what took over me, but I raised one of my hands and touched the side of his face softly. "You'll always have me, Mr Styles," I replied. He stood up quickly, pulling me up with him and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. He pulled me in right and I wrapped my arms around his torso, my face leaning on the top of his chest. I breathed in deeply to relish in this intimate moment between us.
I looked back at the clock and saw I had about an hour before I had to leave for work. I told him to hang out while I meandered around the apartment to get ready for the day and he complied. He got himself a cup of tea, poured me some after asking where I decided to hide the travel mugs he strategically put away the first day he helped.
I walked out of my room in a pair of black and grey plaid work pants and a black dress shirt. I pulled my hair up into a bun and went light with makeup yet again. I walked out of my bathroom and into my kitchen to see Harry leaning against the counter, sipping on his tea.
"Thanks," I mumbled and set my bag on the island. "Are you worried about going back?" I asked Harry regarding heading back home once we leave.
He shook his head, some of his hair falling onto his forehead. "I can handle it," he said. I didn't realize he was joking until I looked over at him and he smirked. "Really, though. I can handle it. I just didn't expect to...I didn't think I'd have to fight last night."
I looked at the watch on my wrist. "I could probably come with you," I offered with a shrug. "I might end up being a bit late but the boss already hates me."
He laughed softly and shook his head. "Thanks, but you should get to work on time."
We were both slipping on our shoes as I realized he was still wearing the hoodie I gave him to wear. "Damn it, your clothes-" I went to run over to the washer and dryer to switch the load over but he stopped me.
"I'll grab them tonight. When should I be here?" He asked. I sighed in relief thinking that maybe he forgot. I wasn't about to ask him again. I asked him while he was in a very vulnerable state and I thought he said yes simply because of that.
"Can you be here at 6:30? My parents will be here about 7," I explained.
"Why would I come before your parents?" He asked, confused. I opened the door and we both walked out. I shut it behind me and locked it with my keys before we went walking towards the elevator.
"Just in case I need to completely spiral prior to them getting here," I innocently explained with a smile. I nudged him with my elbow. "Be here at 6:30 - please?"
Harry laughed softly and we made our way out of the elevator once we got to the front door. Neither of us saw Benny or Kevin so we both walked out on to the sidewalk and before we went our separate ways, he nodded.
"Fine, I'll be here," he said.
"Good," I said. I smiled up at the tall man. Just as he waved and began to walk down the sidewalk to where I assumed his SUV was parked, I called out his name. He turned around and raised an eyebrow. "Be safe!" I called out.
He nodded once and turned back around. I began my journey to the office and all I could think about was if whoever it was that Harry had to fight last night, if he was still hiding at Harry's cabin, I hope Harry beats the shit out of him.