I'm Not Fine At All

Chapter 22

That evening, after Harry and Zayn arrived back home from their shopping with aching legs and sunburnt shoulders, Harry decided to shoot coffee shop Luke a text. He made sure he was alone when he did it, mostly because he didn't want Liam asking him who he was texting, but he also wanted to think the whole message through in private. Zayn had left after helping Harry carry all of his new stuff into his room, and thankfully Liam wasn't supposed to get home from work for another couple of hours, so Harry had the whole apartment to himself for a little while.

He went to his bedroom and sat on his bed, his phone in his hands. His thumbs paused over the keyboard after he put in Luke's number, trying to think of something good to say. The boy didn't want to sound too suggestive or anything, but he didn't want to sound too posh, either. Luke seemed sort of rugged, like he wasn't a fan of formality, with his messy, dirty-blonde hair and his peeling, sunburned nose. Harry just decided on a simple text telling him who it was. He sent the text and set his phone next to him on the bed.

Harry:

hey, it's harry from the coffee shop. hope this is the right number. this is luke, right? if not, i'm really sorry for bothering you

The boy sat waiting for a long time. He knew that it was probably just because Luke was busy or he was still at work, but his head was still filled with anxiety. His hands fiddled with a few loose strings on his frayed shirt, his eyes darting all over the room. He decided to try and watch something to distract himself. That way he wouldn't check his phone every two seconds to see if the boy had texted back. He took his computer off of his floor and set it in front of him, turning it on. The boy typed the password in and logged onto Netflix so he could watch something until either Luke texted back or Liam came home.

Finally, after about an hour, the boy's phone pinged next to him on the bedside table. Harry picked up the phone and his heart fluttered a little bit when he saw the name 'Australian Giant' on his screen. He had already given the boy a funny name so he would always know who it was, just in case he met any other Lukes. He unlocked his phone and read the text, smiling as he thought about how cute Luke was.

Australian Giant:

hey, harry! yeah, this is luke. i was hoping you would text me

i was really excited when i got your text

i had to wait to reply, tho. i saw your text but my friends were over

Harry:

i just got home, so that's why it took me so long to text you. i was out shopping with my friend

Australian Giant:

did you have fun with your friend today? he seems cool

Harry:

yeah, he's great. don't tell him this, but i'm glad he got your number for me. he would never let me live it down if he knew i appreciated something he did

he's really cocky

Australian Giant:

my lips are sealed. so, did you buy anything good today?

Harry:

i got a brand new pair of mary janes. they're pretty cute

Australian Giant:

that's cool. tbh, i'm not really sure what mary janes are. are they a sex thing or sumthin?

Harry:

NO!!

THEY'RE FUCKING SHOES!!

JESUS CHRIST!!

Australian Giant:

geez, sorry. i didn't know. i'm not really well-educated in types of shoes. guess i just have a dirty mind lol

Harry:

haha, yeah. i'm a little too innocent for that kind of talk.

Australian Giant:

oh. you're innocent?

Harry:

yeah

Australian Giant:

how innocent?

Harry:
idk. very, i guess

Australian Giant:

are you a virgin

Harry:

ummm...

Australian Giant:

sorry, that was probably too much to ask, since we just started talking and all.

Harry:

yeahhh

Australian Giant:

sooo

wanna hang out some time?

Harry:

yeah, that sounds great. tomorrow?

Australian Giant:
yeah, i'm off tmrw. is 12 good for you?

Harry:

yeah. i don't really have a ride anywhere, so maybe you could come to my place and we could have coffee

Australian Giant:

sure, that sounds great. you can just text me the address tmrw

Harry:
okie. bye bye

Australian Giant:

bye. see you tomorrow

Harry giggled to himself as he and Luke chatted, biting his lip when Luke asked if he wanted to hang out. Liam wasn't going to be home the next day, but he wasn't sure if he wanted Liam to know about Luke anyway. He thought it might be a bit risky to have Luke come to the apartment, with Liam not being there to supervise and all, but he wanted to take that risk and be a big boy. Maybe he would actually enjoy spending time with Luke and just stop thinking about everything that was going on in his busy life. Harry just needed something to distract him from all thoughts of a certain blue-eyed, feather-haired, nineteen-year-old brunette. He set his phone back down and started up his show once again, settling back in his bed to wait for his older brother to come back.