I turn off the shower, the warm water stopping from then rain head spout. I ring out my hair and open up the fogged glass shower door, grabbing the white towel hanging to my left.
I left Harry's room a half hour ago, and I'm suppose to meet him again to go on a walk for lunch.
The things that have happened since the moment I opened my eyes today were too much to handle. My whole shower was just me deep in thought about so many different aspects of today and yesterday.
I couldn't go anywhere in my clothes from last night, I had to bathe. So he told me to meet him at his room in an hour so we could go.
I have no idea what to expect today, and a huge part of me didn't want to go with him anywhere. I don't know why he wanted me to come along, we do not like each other and frankly I'm still terrified of his natural being. The only reason I was going was from the innocence of my curious brain telling me maybe something good will come from this.
Maybe he'll tolerate my existence more, and maybe I won't be so scared of him.
We did hold up a whole conversation without him threatening me. I didn't appreciate his invasive body language but at least I now understand the man can control himself and I don't need to fear him actually assaulting me.
I believe him when he says he didn't take advantage of me last night. After thinking long and hard, I narrowed down reasons we didn't have sex.
My clothes were still on and intact.
I wouldn't of woken up with him by my side, he would've probably left me somewhere where I wouldn't suspect him at all.
And I'm sure I would've felt some sort of discomfort waking up today if I was assaulted.
All these reasons are convincing me to believe he was telling the truth. I know I could be one hundred percent wrong on this, but I was trusting my instinct. I don't think anyone got in my pants last night, it just doesn't add up.
Plus he told me to go to a doctor and check if I didn't believe him. It could just be him bluffing, but I honestly think I wasn't touched last night.
With the towel tucked over my chest, I walk over to the sink and start brushing my teeth. My hand runs across the sink mirror to rid the condensation. Once I cleared a visible patch, the first thing I come to see was my dark under eyes from mascara residue that didn't come off in the shower.
While my toothbrush was lodged in my cheek, I grabbed the makeup wipes with just free hand. My nimble fingers fiddling with the seal, trying and struggling to peel it open to retrieve a wipe.
"Fucking—" I cuss to myself through toothpaste, struggling to get one out with one hand.
I finally retrieved the damp wipe, bringing it to my under eyes to erase any of the cosmetic affliction on my face.
I get what I could off, tossing it to the side while still brushing my teeth. I bend down and spit, beginning to brush my tongue. As I reach the back I gag, knowing that always happens when I go to far. If I gag twice brushing then it's game over and I'm puking.
I spit and finish, rinsing out my mouth while putting my toothbrush down. I head to the door in my towel, opening it up to feel the gust of cold air as I left the steamed filled room.
"I didn't know I was in your portfol—"
I screamed in startle, turning my head and turning to the left and seeing Harry laying against the headboard of my bed with a sucker in my mouth. He turns his head to me at my scream, my portfolio open in his hands.
I gripped my towel tight around my chest, my breath being robbed from my lungs as he once again somehow got in my room.
"Christ you have pitch." He rubs his ear from my startled scream.
I was breathing heavily, trying to calm down but I couldn't believe he was laying in my room. I was caught so off guard being in just a towel. The vulnerability of the situation made the startle so much worse, I couldn't catch my breath.
"What are yo—" I couldn't finish my sentence due to the fact I couldn't breathe. "What—"
I needed my inhaler.
I waddled over to my suitcase while holding up my towel, crouching down very strategically in a way that wouldn't expose any part of my naked body.
I shuffle through my stuff with my one hand, my other occupied with hold the towel firm at the crease. Eventually I grab the hard plastic, pulling it out and popping off the cap. I bring it to my mouth, puffing the medicated air into my throat.
Once I take in the cold air I pop the cap back on and stand back up, turning to face him.
"What are you doing here!" I finally had the words to speak.
"Do you have asthma?" He says with my portfolio still open, speaking through the lollipop.
"How did you get in my room?"
"Your housecleaning lady was in here with the door open so I let myself in." He furrowed his brows like I was asking a stupid question.
"Why are you here? I said I would meet you after I showered and got dressed." I couldn't help but be pissed off, he knows no privacy.
"You were taking too long." He shakes his head back as if I'm the wrong one.
"Well can you leave please?"
He looks back at the portfolio, back leaned against the headboard and his long legs extended out and crossed over one another.
"I'm in your book." He turns it around to show the picture I have of him in the portfolio. It was the photo I took of him a few years back at the concert I went to with Marissa.
I stride over to the bed and snatch it from his hands.
"I've been meaning to change that." I murmur under my breath, putting the plastic book back on my suitcase. I don't even wanna know what else we went through in order to get his hands on that.
"You're feisty today." I could hear the smirk from behind me.
"I woke up cuffed to a bed." I grab out a random handful of clothes from my suitcase, needing to get into materials as quickly as I can so I won't be naked under a towel with him in the same viscidity.
"Well your birth control box says moodiness could be a side effect." He murmurs.
I shoot my head back over my shoulder and see he was still in the same spot but with my birth control packet now in his hand, literally reading the fine print like it was his business.
I stomped back over and snapped that out of his hands too, holding my towel firm still. I forgot I left them on my nightstand.
He grins up at me, knowing he riled me up as I snatched it from his large hands.
"You also missed Saturday fyi." He points out, sucking on his lollipop with cockiness.
"Can you please leave so I can get ready?" I toss the packet back to my suitcase, trying to be as polite as possible with my words.
"Ms. Brooks are you having unprotected sex?" He talks to me like a disappointed parent, ignoring my request for him to leave yet again.
"It's for periods." I lower my eyebrows.
"That's what they all say." He shakes his head in tease, really annoying me for the first time.
I'm usually terrified of this man, but today he's just pissing me off and it was getting harder to hide it. I didn't want to snap because I don't know what the repercussions would be from it. And even without Harry I don't like to loose my cool with people, I hate confrontation so I'm used to swallowing my tongue.
I walk back away and grab my random assortment of clothes, realizing he wasn't going to leave like I wanted and I wasn't going to physically get him out myself.
I head to the bathroom again, not sharing another world while shutting the door behind me.
"I wasn't going to look you know." I hear him say through the wall.
I don't answer because I didn't want to say something mean back. As if he thinks I would just get naked in the same room as him like he's someone I would trust at all.
I lock to door and quickly get changed into a pair of jean shorts and a loose white t-shirt, really not putting any efforts in my clothing today.
I kept hearing a repetitive banging against the wall, not sure if it was the wall against the bathroom or another wall in the hotel room but he was definitely doing something in there.
Once I got dressed I combed out my wet hair, hoping when it air dries it won't become a frizzy mess. After that I apply some deodorant and a body spray, finally ready to go.
I open the door back up and see him still laying on the bed I've yet to sleep in. The sucker sat seamlessly in his mouth while he was bouncing a dirty tennis ball off the wall opposite from the bed.
I guess what was the banging I heard.
He threw it to the floor, causing it to bounce to the far wall and back to him over on the bed. I walked out and grabbed my small bag, throwing the strap on my shoulder so it levels to my hip.
"Ready?" I murmur.
He gets up off the bed, sucker in his mouth and ripped up green tennis ball in his palm.
I stomp on my green sneakers, immediately regretting it because they were a little damp at the souls. I scrunched my face up the minute I felt the moisture.
"Shoes wet?" He asks, sensing my reaction.
"A bit yeah." I murmur in disappointment.
"Don't you own other shoes?" He looks down at my sneakers that have definitely been worn in for a long time.
"No." I shake my head.
"Why are they green?" He keeps his stare down at my feet.
"Cause I like the colour green..."
"Oh!" He widens his eyes, looking up at my face for a second before back the the shoes. "You bought them like that?"
My face drops and I couldn't help but roll my eyes, I don't know if he was being serious or was making a joke.
"Let's just go and hope they dry with the heat outside." I ignore his insult.
He grins and opens the door, gesturing me with his arm to walk through. The smile was a smile I don't think I'll ever trust, it still looked fake.
I walked through as he trailed behind me, shutting the door. I didn't know what to expect from this walk to lunch, I didn't know how to talk to him like a normal person. I still didn't feel secure around him, at least we were going to be in public.
We walked silently to the elevator, my stomach telling me I was nervous. I feel like my stomach was always turning lately, it needed a vacation.
I clicked the button for the elevator, intertwining my fingers together in front of me. He leans on the wall behind me, throwing the tennis ball on the ground next to me so it launches against the elevator and flys back over my shoulder to him.
I shut my eyes, waiting patiently for the elevator to just get here as quickly as it could. Maybe I should say a quick prayer?
He repeatedly bounced the ball, really starting to make me annoyed but once again I kept it to myself. I tried to think of other things to make this dead silence go faster.
It opened up and I quickly paced in it, turning around and watching him leisurely stride in with no rush. I click the lobby button, the gold doors shutting. My back leans against one of the mirrored walls, looking at Harry who was leaning on the wall across from mine.
"Where are we going?" I asked to fill the dead void.
"Lunch." He murmurs between the sucker, bouncing the ball on the ground.
"But why am I coming with you?" I ask.
"I don't know, you tell me." He keeps it vague, the elevator flying down tens of floors to reach the bottom. "Don't you want to get out of the hotel?"
"Well yeah... but I didn't think you'd want me around." I state quietly.
I needed to mention the elephant in the room.
He grins and parts his lips to answer, but immediately the elevator chimes open. We turn our head and see a stranger in a grey suit walk in, briefcase in his hand. He stands right between our line of vision, facing the doors in the middle of the elevator.
The door shuts as the elevator goes dead silent. I peer at Harry leaning against the wall across from me, watching him shuffle the stick in his mouth from the right cheek to left. Even with someone else in here he continues bouncing the tennis ball on the marble floor, tossing his head back and shutting his eyes. He didn't need to look when bouncing the ball back and forth between the floor and his large hand.
The business man peered his eyes down to Harry bouncing the ball, finding it peculiar but not saying anything about it. The silence in here was deafening.
"Oh! Aven did you take your birth control?" Harry opens his eyes and shoot his head up straight, blurting out.
My heart dropped and I could feel how red my face went as the stranger flicked his eye to me for a half second.
I fake laugh like it was a joke, knowing he was trying embarrass me for no reason.
"No I have to pick up the subscription today when I go get your viagra." I fire back.
His face drops and the man between us peer over at Harry this time, more surprised with that one. They make eye contact and Harry gives him a little pissy fake smile, bouncing the ball extra hard on the floor so it fired to his open palm.
I dipped my head down and grinned to myself, trying to contain my laughter. Maybe I went too far but it was the first thing that came to my mind.
The elevator opened and the business man wasted no time speeding out of there. I made eye contact with Harry before walking out of the elevator, leaving him in my pace as I started striding down the elegant lobby.
It wasn't long until I felt his presence again, his arm slinging around my shoulder as he leaned into the side of my head. I was quick to smell cherry.
"You're very funny." He says sarcastically.
"You started it." I point out as we walk down the lobby together.
"All I stated back there was that you are a fertile woman with desires, but you decided to say I have bloody erectile disfunction." He states but he didn't sound mad, just annoyed and a bit amused I even said that.
I laugh to myself, taking his arm off of me so we weren't touching.
"Serves you right." I chuckle as we got to the revolving doors.
I go ahead of him in the tight slot, thinking he'd had the decency to get in the next one. But of course he was right after me in the same small space, pushing his body against mine.
His front pressed to my back, hands pressing to the glass next to my head as he walked toes to my heels through the revolving door. I felt his warm chest hard against my shoulders, his hips pressed to my backside which threw me off guard.
I shook my head to myself as he got out on the other side, heat hitting me from the June weather. I turned around and faced him, seeing he had a smirk on his face with the childish sucker in his mouth.
"Is there a reason you had to go in the same slot as me?"
He grins.
"Oops." He starts walking down the velvet steps of the fancy hotel, leaving me in his path.
I cross my arms and follow him, his long legs made him a lot quicker then me with even the act of walking. Naturally I hurried to catch up to him as he strides down the grand steps.
I get up next to him as we meet the sidewalk, the sun burning down on us. He finished his sucker, tossing the bare white stick out on the ground as we made our way downtown Atlantic City. He bounced the tennis ball as we walked.
"Aren't you afraid to get noticed just walking down a street?" I murmur.
He shrugs, his height seeming so much taller when we were standing shoulder to shoulder.
"Rather that then be the dick that walks around with five body guards like I'm royalty." He murmurs, squinting his eyes from the sun.
I noticed he wasn't wearing sunglasses for once which was a total shock for me. I've seen him wear sunglasses everywhere, including inside. Today was a really sunny day and his eyes were just naked.
"Did you forget your sunglasses?" I asked.
"Mmm." He hummed in disappointment.
"We can go back." I propose, we weren't that far yet.
"No." He declines solidly, continuing to bounce the ball as we walked further down the Atlantic City strip right near the beach. There were open shops all around, many with outdoor displays. The streets were crawling with people, hopefully no one would notice him because that only means I'm spotted with him.
I still didn't know why we were out together, but like usual I just went along with most things in my life. I was always attracted to the art of getting by, and if going to lunch with Harry gets him and his psychotic tendencies off my back a bit— than that's what I'll do.
"Where are we going for lunch?" I asked, trying to avoid the silence.
"I guess we'll find out along the way." He states, meaning he didn't have an exact destination. "Give your shoes time to dry."
I nearly forgot my shoes were damp in the souls.
"I don't know how they'll dry when I'm wearing them." I chuckle.
Without warning he stops in front of a store that has a sunglasses rack outside. Immediately his feet pulled him there to the circular rack of many different types of cheap beach sunglasses.
"So," he starts spinning the rotating rack of sunglasses. "Tell me about this boyfriend you have."
I froze from the other side of the rack, furrowing my brows and wondering when I told him about my ex boyfriend.
"How do you—"
"Last night I made a snide remark about your virginity and you were very quick to tell me you aren't one." He answers before I finished.
Good job Aven.
"I can't believe I said that to you.." I murmur in slight embarrassment.
"Why? It's the truth innit?" His accent spoke.
"Well...yeah but that's personal stuff." I murmur, my cheeks burning a bit.
He grins and pulls out a pair of black sunglasses like the ones he owns, but a cheaper version. These one also has red arms rather then just all black.
"So who's the boyfriend?" He continues to ask anyway.
"How'd you know it was with a boyfriend?" I glance at the same glasses rack but from the other side.
"You don't come off as a one night stand virginity loosing type of girl." He bluntly states with a shrug.
I walk over to the stand of keychains, looking at them in front of the store as he was behind me still at the glasses.
"Yes it was with my boyfriend." I murmur, picking up a little Atlantic City keychain that had a drawing of the beach on it.
I felt hands suddenly grab my hips from behind, a built frame against my back. He leans down into my ear uninvitedly.
"Would he be mad if I was doing this?" Harry gravels into my ear through my damp hair.
I squirmed out of his hold and continued to walk around the rotating display, looking at him from the other side. He has a playful smirk on his face, still wearing the sunglasses.
"We broke up." I state, ignoring the fact he just grabbed my waist. It sucks I've become normalized to him touching me whenever he pleases.
"And?"
"And what?" I arch my brow.
"Would he be mad?" He repeats his earlier question, making me reiterate it in my head.
"He was the jealous type, yeah." I nod.
"How long were you together? Because I distinctly remember you underneath me in my dressing room two years back." He brings up the things I've tried to avoid, smirking sadistically.
I try to block that night out of my head so often, every time I think of it my chest gets heavy and my anxieties rise. It wasn't because of Harry being an ass when we met, it was because Quincy attacked me.
"I don't want to talk about that night please." I say softly, hoping he for once respects my decision.
His face falls from the smirk, eye hidden behind the shades. It went silent between us for a second, my eyes forcing elsewhere so I just glanced at the keychains again.
"We started dating a few months after that." I murmur, hoping to move on from that night at the concert. "Broke up right after graduation last year."
"And why is that?" He plays with some of the keychains.
I paused and continued to scope.
"We wanted different things, had to let each other go." I exhale under my breath.
He chuckles, shakes his head.
"Ah love—the most poisonous form of self destruction." He grins, I didn't expect to hear anything more then a hopeless statement like that when he discussed the definition of love.
"Yep." I murmur, partially agreeing.
He starts to walk away, back onto the sidewalk with the sunglasses still on his face. I furrowed my eyebrows and followed him, crossing my arms over my stomach.
"You're um...wearing the sunglasses still." I murmur while getting up next to him, he didn't seemed phased.
"I'm aware."
"You didn't pay for them."
"Because I'm just borrowing them." He shakes his head like I was the dumb one.
"Harry you can't do th—"
He stops walking and turns to face me in the middle of the sidewalk, height towered above mine as I kept my arms crossed over my stomach.
"You want to tell me what I can and can't do princess?" He says in a much more serious tone, my heart thrashing against my chest.
I glance around to see we were standing in the middle of public, hoping no one was looking as all the sudden he got stern with me.
"Don't look at them, look at me when I'm talking to you." He says just as strict, like I was a child.
I swallowed the lump in my throat, staring up at his solid face as he seemed to not like what I said.
"I—I was just saying th—"
"Well don't." He cuts me off with strictness, making me feel small as we stood in the middle of public.
"Okay." I whisper in defeat, a small park of my little confidence dying again.
He turns back and continues to walk, bouncing the tennis ball as he did it. I kept my arms crossed because even that little negative interaction made me feel nauseous. I'm not trying to got on his bad side, I thought we were making slight progress with having normal conversation.
We walk silently for a second, the sun scorching down on us. I was a few steps behind him and to his left, watching how his jagged shoulder muscles contracted a bit when he walked. He had really broad shoulders, his waist a tad narrower. The stripped t-shirt hugged his body in all the right places, tighter on his shoulders but looser at the torso. His jeans were tight on his long legs, material around the ankles being the strictest. His outfit was surprisingly very coordinated; black jeans, black stripped shirt, black converse with white shoe laces.
His tattoos littered his exposed arms, going all the way down his hands. Some ink was even sprinkled on his fingers but his rings covered them mainly. I could see some of the ink poking out on the side of his fingers. His nails were black and chipped of the paint, I wonder when he ever paints his nails?
Since we were walking in silence, I just occupied myself with his appearance. He couldn't notice my stare because I was still trialing a step or so behind him as he bounced the tennis ball up and down. I couldn't get over how many tattoos he had, there was barely any clear skin. I wondered how much was under this shirt, maybe his entire chest and torso was covered too. His back was probably covered.
Realizing I've never looked this close at his arms—I saw something strange. The tattoos were so small yet littered his arms, and when I kept my hard glance closer I realize I could finally see what some of them said.
Emily
Vanessa
There were these girls names on his arm, very small names done in sloppy ink like he did it himself with that needle. The closer I examined the back of his arm, I kept seeing more and more names.
Eliana
Cassidy
The more I looked the more I saw more and more small names all in black ink, covering his arm with a few art pieces mixed in. All the names looked like they were done himself, some in capital letters, come lowercase, some faded in some spots, some bolder then others.
It was hard to focus on what other names were there because we were walking and his arm naturally sways as he walks. But I kept discovering more and more names weaved in through his tattoos; there were so many.
Because I was staring at his arm I didn't realize he turned a hard right into a restaurant until his arm went with him. I turned behind him, following his steps up to a diner I didn't even get to read the name of until I was inside it.
The minute we stepped in I felt like I jumped back in time. The black checkered floors, red leather booths, jukebox, teal walls, silver breakfast nook and table—this was a 50's diner.
Music drowned out the restaurant mixed with the sounds of people's daytime conversation and clicking of glasses. Waitresses weave through with huge trays of food, baby blue dresses with white collars and a red apron on top.
Harry walls over to an empty booth near the window, seating himself where I followed behind him. It seemed pretty busy in here, I'm not sure if we're suppose to wait for someone to seat us or not but I don't think Harry waits for anyone to let him do anything.
I slide into the red leather booth, him directly across from me. Immediately I felt his ankles on either side of mine. I looked down discreetly, seeing how my feet were folded together and tucked under my booth, but his legs were extended out so his feet were on either side of mine.
I glance up at him and see how he was watching me as I noticed the invasive foot placement.
"I have long legs." He states with a shoulder shrug, slouched back in his seat with the clear sunglasses still on.
My bet those will stay on all day.
He rests his inked arms on the table, hands in fists. I narrow my eyes down to them, looking at the ink that he didn't realize I was examining on the way in here.
"Vanessa." I murmur, looking at his arm and pretending it was the first time I've noticed the name tattooed on him.
He looks down at his arm, eyes landing on the name I read out to him.
"Mhmm." He flips his arms over so his inner forearms were facing up, displaying more of the mass amounts of ink littering his skin.
There were so many names, including the fresh one he just gave himself today.
Ellery
Natasha
Amelia
My mind got lost through all the women names littering his arms. I've never noticed because I've never looked this closely. I couldn't even begin to count how many there were, hundreds.
"Who are all these women?"
He looks down at his forearms with me, sunglasses on his eyes but I knew he was weaving his pupils through the ink trails.
"Women I've fucke—"
"Hello, welcome to Thompson Diner, my names Amanda and I'll be your server today." She arrived right as Harry confesses something that made my mouth go dry in shock. "Here are some menus, can I get you drink to start?" She smiles down and hands us each a laminated menu.
She looked right at me, my mind swimming in what we were just talking about so I had no time to answer her question.
"Erm...I—" her simple question was so hard to answer at a time like this.
I glanced at Harry who grinned behind his shades, watching my struggle to answer such a simple question under pressure.
"Just water please." I spit out.
She nods and looks over at Harry.
"I'll have coffee." He rasps. "Do you have any herbal teas?"
"We have peppermint, green, earl grey and chamomile." She lists.
"She'll have a chamomile tea as well." He says, causing me confusion.
"Okay sounds good." She nods before walking off, leaving us alone again.
"Why are you ordering me a chamomile tea?" I ask.
"To calm your fucking nerves." He murmurs under his breath before lifting his menu up so it covers his face. "You're so on edge all the time."
Well being surrounded by psychopaths like yourself tends to make me a little frantic, my apologies.
Don't say that Aven.
"Can we go back to talking about your arm." I switch gears.
"What about it?" He says into the menu, all I could see was his black painted finger tips.
"How you have all the girls you've slept with tatted on your skin for life." I reiterated.
"It's not all the girls I've fucked, just the ones worth remembering." He clarifies.
Oh my gosh that's what Liam meant yesterday at the pool when he asked about Harry's hookup.
"Who was it then?" Niall continues the conversation that I was gladly not involved in anymore.
"Just a random groupie from the bar." Harry's rugged voice actually answered.
"Worthy enough to get her name?" Liam chuckles.
"Natasha." He mumbles as my back was to them and I tried to just focus on taking the landscape pictures.
Makes so much sense now.
"But why?" I was so confused on why anyone would want to do that.
He placed his menu down so I could see his face again, slouched back in his seat.
"Started as a drunk mistake, then kept doing it as a joke." He acts like it was no big deal. "Now I have sleeves."
"And you do them all yourself?"
"Names? Yeah. Or else I'd be going to a parlour every day." He chuckles, cockiness in his voice when he spoke.
"You sleep with all these women but aren't you kinda... nervous..to like..."
"Get anything?" He finishes my sentence.
I nod.
"It's called condoms baby." He shakes his head. "Why? Hard to believe I'm responsible?"
"N–no I'm just saying, things happen in the moment."
"Not with me. I get asked a lot to skip a condom but I think it's just because these chicks want me to 'accidentally' get them pregnant just so they can be 'Harry Styles baby momma' and have me send them huge checks every month." He states in honesty.
"Why do you sleep with people that you obviously know are just trying to use you for something like that?" I arch my brow.
"Because I'm using them just as much, so I can't be hypocritical."
"I guess if you look at it that way." I murmur, feeling his inner ankles graze the outside of my legs here and there. I wish he'd keep his legs in his own side.
I look down at the menu, reading some of the things they had on it. I knew she was gonna come back any second so I needed to figure out what I was getting quick.
And lucky me our waitress came strolling back with our drinks, placing them on the table in front of us.
"Okay, a coffee, chamomile tea, and a water. Have we decided what we're getting?" She turns to Harry this time as I try to read the menu as fast as I can.
"I'll just have the burger and fries. Oh and a sprite," He states, adding another drink.
"Wouldn't that be chips for you." She makes the playful joke with the fries, picking up on the fact he was english.
Bad idea lady.
I peer my eyes up and look how he gives her a really fake smile, very condescending.
"You know what, you're very funny Amanda." He smiles but speaks in heavy sarcasm that anyone would pick up for miles.
Her face falls a bit, her eyes quickly turning to mine.
"And for you?" She speaks a bit quieter now, embarrassed a bit.
"The same thing please." I murmur politely, trying to make up for his attitude.
She nods and grabs the menus, walking off without saying another word. I think she was a little hurt by Harry's sarcasm, I felt a bit bad for her.
"She was just being friendly." I state in her defence.
"I don't want her to be friendly." He slides his black coffee over, grabbing the sugar packets next to him.
"But I think you made her upset..." I murmur in guilt.
He shrugs like he didn't care, pinching five sugar packets together and shaking them. My eyes watched as he ripped opened all five of them, pouring it all into his coffee and stirring it gently with the spoon.
"You like sugar." I murmur.
He nods.
"And you're nosy."
"I'm just trying to make conversation." I murmur in defence, last thing I want is to be nosy.
"Okay, then tell me something you want me to know." He bluntly states.
Oh jeez I don't know, I honestly don't want him to know anything about me. I'm scared that any valid info about my life is something he'll use against me in the future.
"My favourite colour is yellow." I go very vague, something that doesn't matter.
"Worst colour." He instantly fired back.
"What? How is it the worst colour?" I lower my eyebrows, showing him my nails and how they were in fact painted a pastel yellow.
"So obnoxious." He peers at them and shakes his head.
"Well what's your favourite colour then?" I cross my arms, offended but holding back.
"I don't have one." He shrugs, sipping his hot coffee that made my teeth shake just knowing how sweet it was.
"Everyone has one."
"No, not really." He forms his lips into a line.
"Nothing comes to mind if you think of a favourite colour?" I didn't believe him.
"Let see..." he tilts his head back on the booth, causing me to see under his sunglasses at his eyes. They were shut like he was thinking of something. "All I see is black."
"Don't you like blue or something?"
He sits back up again, shaking his head.
"Not really. Do I look like a colourful guy Aven?" He looks down at is clothes, knowing all he wears is black.
"You hate a lot if things don't you?" I slouch back in my seat like him, crossing my arms.
He smirks and grabs the bowl of milk and cream pods, dumping them out on the table.
"Not a big fan of society and the things that belong to it baby." He starts laying a few of the white cups in a line upside down, stacking them up on top of each other.
"Well tell me something you do like then." I watch his long fingers delicately stack the cream and milk cups in a pyramid.
"What's the term? Drugs, sex, rock and roll?" He murmurs while concentrating on the tower he was creating.
"Murder, robbery, insanity." I respond back with a playful smile, making him look at me again.
He seems confused, but intrigued from my words.
"Sorry?"
"I did a school report on that term." I murmur, remembering like it was yesterday. "Drugs, sex, rock and roll. Murder, robbery, insanity. What's the difference, right?"
He froze staring at me through his dark sunglasses, his face unreadable before he looked at the tower of pods again.
"Little far fetched." He rasps Jude this breath.
"Don't agree?"
"No, I don't." His jaw clenches slightly as he spoke under his breath.
"Rockstars murdering the people they used to be with drugs that change who they ever were. Sex being an exchange that robs each other of intimate spirit. Rock and roll being a way of loud expression to the insanity going on in someone mind." I explain in clarity, remembering the key details to my old report.
He suddenly whacks the small tower down aggressively so all the cups fly against the window and scatter all over the table. I jumped at the sudden action, my stomach clenching.
He smacks his open hands on the table and clenches his teeth, leaning closer to me. His ankles locked around mine now, sunglasses hiding the darkness in his eyes.
"Do you think you have any idea what it's like to be someone in this industry Aven?" He whispered a mutter angrily through his teeth, catching me completely off guard.
My mouth went dry and my throat grew a lump.
"I–Wha–No–No I was just saying th—"
"Do you think writing a stupid paper for your english class means you know exactly how this all works?" He spits just as angry, making me feel physically ill just from how much he's snapping at me.
"I wasn't trying to offend you, I just wanted to make conversation." I spoke quietly, startled by his flip of behaviour.
"You think it's so easy right? Go home, write an assignment about people you have no fucking clue about? Musicians are a bunch of lowlifes with mental instability who use things like sex and narcotics to get through life right?"
"I didn't say that at all." I shake my head quickly.
"You were implying it." He whispers through his teeth.
"I wasn't directing my statement to you, I was just talking about the symbolism between the classic term. I–I don't know anything about the music industry itself, I was just exploring the old quote on a metaphorical level in a literary term." I put my hands in my lap because I was a little shaky, feeling sick to my stomach.
"You know some of us didn't choose to—" he stops himself, taking a breather before he gets more riled up. He dips his head down and shakes it, the space between us going silent within this lively diner. "Forget it, you'll never understand."
"Never understand what?"
"We will never be in the same level. Our life problems are very different." He calms himself down a bit, but spoke with a dead end tone.
"What's that suppose to mean?" I murmur because I was lost.
"You have your problems, I have mine. People like you love to think they understand people like me, but they really have no fucking idea. Everyone like you has got their heads so far up their asses that they think all lives are easy to understand." He spoke monotone but with a few angered mutters here and there, putting all the cream packets back in the bowl.
"Harry I'm not trying to imply any of that, you've got it all wrong. I'm sorry I offended you, I didn't mean to direct anything toward you I was just trying to converse common topics."
"But the topic isn't common between you and me, that's why you're in the wrong." He spits, "The term drugs, sex, rock and roll isn't a metaphoric term for you to dissect, it's lifestyle for some people." He cleans up all the packets and looked at me with that clenched jaw.
"Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't want to offend you. I get what your saying, let's please just move on."
"You're life must be been so fucking perfect..." He shakes his head and murmurs under his breath.
"Harry please stop, I really want to move on." I murmur, not wanting to discuss this any further.
Right in the nick of time Amanda comes up with two plates, causing both him and I to lean back in our seats and not be slouching on the table. She places the identical orders down and Harry's sprite in a class bottle, giving us a small smile.
"Thank you." I murmur, Harry not saying anything.
"Enjoy." She nods before walking off, me kinda wishing she'd stay a little longer.
The table goes silent, Harry taking off his sunglasses for once. He places them down on the table, exposing his green eyes that seemed a little agitated still. I looked at the food, wondering if I should just eat it rather then make conversation. Pure silence between two people eating is always a little awkward, but at this rate I rather just be silent then argue.
But I couldn't let things go until he did.
"Hey.." I leaned forward and reach out to grab his wrist on the table, getting his attention. His green eyes shoot up at me, caught off guard. I realized touching him was weird, so I immediately pulled away before continuing. "I'm sorry if I came off like I know what you go through as a musician, it wasn't my intention. I'm serious when I say I was just speaking in metaphorical terms."
He pulls his eyes from mine and grabs the glass soda bottle, trying to unscrew it with the palm of his hand.
"Just stay in your lane princess." He murmurs, struggling to open the bottle.
"What do you think my lane is?" I asked out of curiosity.
"Pictures." He glares in a condescending tone, obviously trying to offend me back by making fun of my profession.
I look down at the bottle he was trying to unscrew but didn't have a bottle opener to do it. I watched him struggle for a few more seconds, making it frustrating to watch.
I reach forward and place my hand on the bottle, causing him to freeze. He looks up at me and loosens his grip on the glass, letting me slip it out of his hands and bring it over to me.
He watches me quietly as I bring it up to my mouth, sticking the edge of the bottle cap in against my sharp molar. His eyes fall to my mouth right before I pinch my eyes shut and pop the metal cap off with a jolt.
When I opened my eyes, I saw how his lips were just slightly parted now. He still gazed at my mouth as I spit out the cap on the table and slide the glass bottle back over to him.
I grab the red plastic bottle of ketchup on the table and flip it upside down to squeeze a bit on my plate. Once I got some on there I grabbed a fry and dipped it, popping it in my mouth to where I looked back up at Harry who was still staring at me.
I furrow my brows and shake my head.
"You're welcome."
He brings the bottle to his pink lips, tilting it up and take a leisurely sip while staring at me. During the sip I noticed the smaller smirk on his face as he did so.
The smirk gave me the comfort that he was maybe cooled down now and we wouldn't argue anymore. The last thing I need is to get on his bad side more then I already probably am.
"I loosened it." He murmurs under his breath while looking down at his plate to start eating.
//