Vinous {H.S AU}

One.

Harry Styles.

"Our brain is wired up with so many hormones and pheromones, we just want to experience the feel-good neurochemicals flood our brain, a way of getting in touch basis terms with euphoria. It's practically impossible not to fall in love. We are attracted to genetic diversity. We can't help how we're wired."

"Oh wow Romeo, keep going, you know how to make a lass fall in love with you." Meliora teases, looking at me with her eyebrows furrowed so close together it looked like she has a unibrow. I roll my eyes over her sarcasm and ask, "can I continue?" She raises both her hands in surrender. "Hey, don't shoot the messenger I was just giving you my opinion as you asked."

I scan the page and found the last sentence I read, discouraged from reading considering I didn't even want to write this essay in the first place. I continue; "Your brain habituates the chemicals that make you 'feel in love. Oxytocin and vasopressin - a pair of bonding endorphins that take over your brain, your head.  Scientifically speaking, all that love is, is a feeling you become too attached to, addicted to even caused by a person meeting your needs that you're genetically wired to be attracted to. As for the person, they need to be special. It's easy to fall in love, the challenge is staying in love."

I peek above the top of the paper I am reading from at Meliora. "That." She starts to say and claps her hands, "that speaks volumes to me." I perk up slightly at her tone and go to open my mouth to reply but she holds two fingers up to shush me. "I'm not done. That speaks volumes to me, on the fact you really need to get laid Brae like what the hell dude? You've been told your assignment is to write a poetic love story and that's what you've got?" Now it's her turn to peek over the top of the crumpled paper. "That's all you've got?!" She exclaims as she leans heavily back in her chair.

I shrug, feeling defensive over my assignment that's oh-so-clearly not an assignment but just a paragraph. "I can't write about something I don't believe in." Right as Meliora was about to chime in with some witty retort, Pablo ran up to our table with our orders.

"The skinny fries for the skinny boy and the side salad for this beautiful one," he says, his accent thick as he places the two plates in front of us. We thank him as he hands us the condiments and rushes away to the door to seat a family of four who seemingly looked as if they enjoyed a day at the beach judging by their tan lines and the worn-out look on the parents' faces.

"As I was saying," Meliora was off again. I hold up my hand to her in motion for her to shut up. "What?" She asks. "Hear that?" I say.

"No?"

"It's the sound of silence. Beautiful really."

She huffs and throws a lettuce leaf at me which I crunch down on open-mouthed to annoy her. "Gross!"

I grin. "You love me really."

We sit and eat and I take in the scenery around us. The wheelhouse was mine and M's number one spot to stop by if the weather was too hot outside, plus the food was pretty decent for the price and Pablo seemed to love us and let us stay until close, even if we never buy anything.

The interior looks like an old houseboat or tinker shop with its wooden floors, driftwood made shelves with photos of boats on and long white candles on every table from the 1900s, but it was cosy and homely and that's why I liked it mostly.

My watch tells me it's 7:47 pm. "Aren't you meant to be meeting loverboy at 8 or did he ditch you again?" M looks up at me with a mouthful of salad hanging from her mouth. She chews it, swallows it, before answering me. "Yes I was supposed to be, but his plans changed and he said we can do tomorrow instead." The disappointment in her voice was there even though she tried to shadow it like she wasn't bothered.