Harrison Avenue // H.S.

Tea

[Harry]

I'm in a city filled with beautiful things and even then I'm positive that Ellison is the more beautiful than all of it. Granted I probably shouldn't be the judge of this considering I've only been here a few hours and I haven't left my spot in the corner of this restaurant. But I have a feeling even if I did scour every inch of this city I'd still come to the same conclusion.

My heart beats faster when I see her walking to my table with her apron no longer wrapped around her waist and a coat over her shoulders, hinting that her shift is finally over. I'm not complaining that I spent the last few hours watching her attempts to interact with customers. I ordered food for myself just at the right time so they wouldn't try to push me out simply so I could be with her in a way that I haven't been able to in months. But it was torturous sitting here, waiting, seeing her longing glances at me because she wanted to be with me and only me, rather than serving people coffee and sandwiches.

"Are you ready?" she asks quietly as she reaches my seat, taking her hair out of the bun it was in at the top of her head. She shakes it out, running her fingers through her hair and gives me a half a smile, like she's trying to hold it together.

I nod my head, quickly standing up and pulling out my wallet. I slap a few bills down, enough for a decent tip and everything, and then I put my coat on too moving as fast as I possibly can. Elle offers to carry something of mine but I tell her it's okay because I really don't have that much stuff and she says her flat isn't far.

As soon as we push through the café doors, stepping outside to the cold air I notice Ellison shiver and pull her coat in closer. It's still snowing, although it isn't coming down very heavily. She looks at me for a moment as we start walking down the sidewalk, me following her lead, and I notice the snowflakes sticking to her hair and eyelashes when she blinks.

"I'm glad you're here," she whispers. It feels like it's more of a confession to herself rather than an attempt to start a conversation but I know it's the best she can probably give me right now.

"Me too," I nod at her, hoping that she'll understand just how glad I really am.

I wouldn't say I felt lost without her. I got along just fine the last few months as long I gave myself plenty of opportunities for distractions. I was able to see Gemma a lot when I was living in London which helped and my mum was always there if I really needed someone to tell me everything would be okay. But even then it felt like this piece of me was missing.

Ellison came into my life quickly and she temporarily left it at that same pace, but she's made a bigger impact than I think she'll ever understand.

It wasn't an automatic thing because it took a little bit of time for it to really sink in, but it was pretty damn close. I don't think she even knew she was doing it while it was happening because I sure didn't realize it at first. It was as though one day I woke up, I think only a few days after knowing her, and I knew she was it. At the time though I couldn't tell if she'd be one break my heart with barely a sign of remorse or the one to glue it back together and make me forget about the reasons it was cracked into the first place.

It's funny how she managed to do both... more than once too.

We don't say anything else as we continue our walk to her flat. There's a different feeling between us than the one I felt when she first saw I was here. That moment was filled with so much joy, so much relief and so many other wild, raw emotions neither of us could really hold in. Now though, there's a little bit of uncertainty, like we're both silently trying figure out what the next step is supposed to be.

It isn't awkward. I can't remember a time that it felt awkward with Ellison, ever. Maybe it was awkward at times for her. Maybe she felt strange hanging out with some weird foreign boy she barely knew who stared at her with googly eyes, but I always felt a little more whole around her even with her pissy moods.