The corridors were humming with life. Students busy heading to therapy sessions, catching up with friends and to the canteen. Harley found himself walking into the canteen, his eyes searching for girl dressed in black and contrasting orange hair.
His eyes narrowed on the girl who was stood in the queue. He grabbed a grey tray and joined the queue behind Cassie. His stomach rumbled reminding him that he hadn't eaten for almost twenty-four hours. He knew it was unhealthy, but when your mind is spinning and you have other things to worry about, food just wasn't a priority.
Although, he knew that Mr. Matton would be asking about his eating and sleeping habits tomorrow at his personal and intensive therapy session.
"How are you?" Harley asked Cassie as he placed the tray on the counter.
"I'm okay, thank you," she smiled, avoiding eye contact.
Harley noticed how her eyes looked sunken in. The makeup on her face was so natural that her vibrant freckles poked through.
"I'm just glad you're alright," Harley noted before turning his attention to the food in front of them.
He could feel his mouth water at the sight and smell of cottage pie, a meal he had loved when he was a child. He noticed Cassie looking between the different options on the list and wondered if she was a fussy eater.
"The food here is actually really good, their cottage pie is incredible," he added, hoping that reassuring her that the food was nice would be comforting. Then it dawned on him, she was working out what options were safe for her to eat.
"I think that's about the only thing, besides the vegetables that I can eat. At least I'm not a vegetarian or a vegan," she laughed.
"What can I get you?" The monotonous voice which belonged to one of the dinner ladies muttered.
It was clear that she hated her job or more than likely, the students she had to work with. Harley couldn't blame her at all, most of the students were rude. Didn't thank the dinner ladies when they gave them the food or complained that the portion sizes were too big or too small. Whatever they did, just didn't seem to be enough for some of the students.
"The cottage pie doesn't contain any nuts, eggs or fish does it?" Cassie queried.
Harley felt sorry for her, he knew from their encounter yesterday that she had allergies, but it never occurred to him how it impacted her day to day life. The dinner lady slapped some vegetables and the cottage pie onto the plate and passed it to Cassie, who thanked her.
"Can I have the same please," Harley smiled at her.
"How are you Harley? You didn't eat yesterday," the dinner lady noted. She had always been pleasant to him and he knew it was simply down to his manners towards her and the rest of the dinner staff.
"I wasn't hungry, but I'm starving now," he laughed as she added a second spoonful of the cottage pie.
"Well remember, you need to eat."
Harley took the plate and thanked her and slid the tray next to Cassie. He reached over her and grabbed a bottle of orange juice and a golden delicious apple – the only variety of apple that he ate. Cassie repeated his actions and grabbed an orange juice and an apple.
"Are you copying me?" Harley asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'd die if I ate anything else," She deadpanned.
Harley's eyes widened and sucked in a breath. He was unsure on how to react or reply to her comment and it was evidently painted on his face. Cassie just laughed and nudge him with her elbow.
"I'm joking, sort of," she laughed, her eyes crinkling at the corners.
"Good to know,"
They scanned their cards at the end after the dinner lady had inputted the food they had on their tray. It was a system which kept a track of people's eating habits. But Harley knew that you could just get the food and not eat it, he was certain that several students did that.
He spotted Jared and made a beeline for him. He plonked his tray down and sat down on the bench next to Jared, who had his arm wrapped around the waist of the blond girl, Chantelle, who was apparently too clingy. Harley noticed Cassie scanning the room for a place to sit and caught her gaze. He smiled and waved his hand, calling her over to the table. He felt a sigh of relief when she began to make her way towards the table.
"Is Dawson coming to sit with us?" Jared asked, nudging his best friend in the ribs.
"Yeah, so you better be nice," Harley muttered.
Cassie placed her tray down and sat down on the bench opposite Harley. Crimson graced her cheeks and Harley felt his own warm up. Harley picked up his fork and shoved the cottage pie into his mouth. The warmth danced in his mouth and he felt in a place of euphoria.
"I'm Jared, this is Chantelle," Jared said pointing to the blonde on his left, "that's Greg, Hayley and Simon." Jared introduced.
"I'm Cassie," she smiled.
"So, I hear that Harley was with you last night," Jared questioned, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Ignore him, he's a dick," Harley said to Cassie, wishing that his best friend wasn't such a dick at times.
"I hear you were with Olivia last night," she countered, watching his façade fall every so slightly before the table burst out laughing.
"You're going to fit in just fine," Chantelle laughed. "Cassie, what are you up to tonight? We're having a little get together and you're more than welcome to join,"
Cassie bit her lip and shifted in her seat. She pushed the carrots and peas around her plate with her fork, "I can't, I've already got plans. Thanks though, maybe next time?"
Harley found himself listening and hanging onto every word Cassie said. Although he didn't contribute with the conversations the table was having, he was more than happy to sit back and listen. Something about big groups made him nervous, perhaps it was living at Bispham Academy where everyone had a past, some more serious than others. Or maybe it was his past, how he was treated by his family and friends. How people spoke about him behind his back after that night.
He pressed his lips together as he found the thoughts getting louder. Running freer and more rampant than usual. Breathe Harley... Shit... I can't help him anymore... I should have done something... just not what I did... Cassie's laugh broke through his intrusive and debilitating thoughts.
"I've got to get on with that paper anyway," Cassie smiled, staring at Harley. "Which way's the library again? I haven't exactly been there yet..."
Jared kicked Harley's foot under the table. Harley sent a scowl to his best friend and stood up. "I'll show you, I needed to start that assignment too,"
Cassie bit her lip, trying not to let the smile find its way onto her face. She picked up her tray and followed Harley in silence. They placed their empty plates on the side and slipped their cutlery into the cold soapy water. The hallways were quiet. It was evident that most of the students were in the canteen that was buzzing with life.
The sound of Cassie's block heeled boots echoed throughout the empty corridor. She fiddled with the ends of her voluminous, curly hair. Wafts of honey and coconut invaded Harley's nostrils and he welcomed the smell.
"A penny for your thoughts?" Cassie asked as they took a left at the end of the hallway.
"What novel are you thinking?" He questioned, his hazel eyes focused on the floor.
"Umm, perhaps The Perks of Being a Wallflower, what about you?"
"That's a good choice. A Malorie Blackman novel for sure, probably Noughts and Crosses," he pondered as they continued walking.
Harley scanned his card as they reached the library, with Cassie repeating his actions. "You're a lot different to how I thought you'd be."
He furrowed his eyebrows and faced her. "How do you mean?"
"I mean, when I first met you, you were sat in Mrs. Barlows office. I thought you were a bit of a... a bit of a dick really, but that's not you. Is it?" she asked, her eyes searching his face for an indication of what he was thinking.
"I suppose you weren't how I thought, you were escorted in," he lightly laughed, unsure on how sensitive she was surrounding the topic.
She let out a sharp breath, before covering it with a chuckle. Harley silently wished he hadn't said anything after all, h barely knew her.
"Sorry," he spoke, his arm reaching out to touch her shoulder. Cassie recoiled and quickly took a step back. "I didn't mean to upset you," Harley's hand fell to his side.
She sent him a small smile and shrugged. Cassie's footsteps retreated into the depths of the Library. Harley stared after the girl, confused at her recent outburst. He bit his lip and ran a hand through his black hair. A sigh escaped his lips and he left the library.
If he knew anything, it was that sometimes you just needed to be by yourself. That's what Cassie needed.