Habit

4

Harry woke the next morning at 5.30, his usual time, as he had to help bring in the delivery of newspapers in the shop.

Dusty was curled up on his left side, Molly was virtually sat on his head. When she felt Harry move as he woke up, she began purring, sending nice vibrations over Harry's skull. He smiled.

Quite often he would wake up in this situation, his beloved cats cuddled up close, making him calm.

"Hello m-my pussy c-cats." He said quietly. "T-Time to get up." He sighed, wishing he could stay in bed a while longer. It was still dark outside, and quite cold inside his flat. But he managed to pull himself out of the warmth of his bed. Thoughts of last night came back to him. "Louis." He whispered to himself.

His heart skipped a beat and he smiled. He turned his phone on and it beeped. There was a message.

'Just wanted to say it was great meeting you. I'd love to see you again. Soon. Sleep well. Night night. Boo bear. X'

He grinned and his heart skipped again.

He was smitten.

He had a quick shower, got dressed and ate a bowl of coco pops, before heading down to the shop, just as his boss, Simon turned up, unlocking the shop.

"Morning Harry. Ready for another day?"

"Hello Simon. Y-Yes I am." He replied, trying to supress a yawn.

Simon unlocked the door as a van stopped outside and dumped a load of fresh newspapers on the cold pavement.

Once they were taken inside,  they untied them and stacked the shelves. It wasn't a long or hard job and was done quite quickly.

"Good job." Simon said. He was an OK boss, but not so good as a landlord. Harry had told him before of a few issues in his flat, but nothing had been fixed yet, and Harry was too shy to keep asking, so he put up with the dripping taps, damp walls and mouse droppings.

Harry made them both tea and he started tidying up the shelves, wishing customers would put things back in the right place, and tidily. His OCD in overdrive had him completely clearing shelves and restocking them. Simon just sat watching him whilst flicking through the Daily Mirror, tutting at stories of so called 'celebrities' having affairs or going bankrupt.

Simon trusted Harry in the shop. He'd worked there for the past two years, after he was thrown out by his Dad. Harry was a good employee, never complained, hardworking and loyal. Simon took advantage of his character, often leaving him alone for hours while he sat in the back room on his phone.

There was a problem he knew nothing about though...

At 8.30, while Simon had his usual hour at the coffee shop across the road, a group of boys would enter the shop. They were Harry's 'friends'.

"Alright Haz." One of the group, Michael, said, patting Harry's back.

Harry nodded.

It was a month ago when the boys first noticed Harry....

He was crouched on the ground filling up bags of crisps when two of the group came in. They were noisy and laughing loudly when they went in.

Harry looked up at the boys as they approached him.

"Aright mate." One of them said. "We need some fags."

"H-How old are y-you?" He asked.

The boys grinned at each other. "18 mate."

Harry was dubious. "You h-have ID?" He stood up,  the boys were taller than him.

"Nah. Sorry. Don't carry it. Please mate, we're gonna be late for work."

Harry believed them. They did look old enough, so he got them what they wanted. The boys paid and left, laughing as they walked out the door.

The next day, there was 3 of them. Harry was behind the counter.

"Hey mate."

Harry looked up and smiled. They seemed OK.

"Can we have a bottle of vodka please?"

Harry put the bottle on the counter and told them the price.

"What's your name?" One asked.

"H-Harry."

They laughed.

"Harry? Look. We've been talking. We like you. Do you wanna be our friend?"

Harry smiled. He didn't have any friends. "Ok."

"Great. So we were thinking, as you're now our friend, you could buy this for us. That's what friends do, right?"

Harry wasn't sure. Maybe this was what friends did, he wouldn't know. So he said yes. He gave them the bottle.

"Cheers mate. See ya tomorrow!" They called out as they left the shop laughing.

Harry had to rush up to his flat to get money to pay for the alcohol before Simon returned.

This continued. Day after day at least one of the boys would come in, wanting something and making Harry pay for it.

So this morning Harry's four 'friends' came in as usual.

"Alright Haz?" Michael said leaning against the counter where Harry stood behind.

Harry nodded.

"So...we're having a party tonight and need lots of booze." Luke said, grinning.

They were always grinning or laughing. That made Harry nervous.

"So we'll take some bottles and cans if that's ok?" Ashton said, as the boys went round to the alcohol shelves. Harry moved from behind the counter.

"Um....you a-are paying aren't y-you?" He stuttered, his heart pounding, praying they didn't expect him to pay. He had £5 to last him the rest of the week until he got paid.

"Of course mate." Calum said, his hands holding boxes of lager.

They dumped it on the counter and Harry went back and put it through the til. "It's £70.45 p-please", putting it all in bags.

The boys took the bags, while Michael got his wallet out. "Damn it. Sorry Haz we only have £10. Can we owe you the rest?"

"Um...no you n-need to pay now p-please." Harry was starting to panic.

"We don't have it."  

"You n-need to put it b-back then."

They all laughed. "Can't do that. Sorry. We'll be back tomorrow."

They started walking away.

"N-NO! C-COME BACK!" Harry yelled. Running from behind the counter.

Three of the boys rushed outside by the time Harry got to the door. Michael blocked his way. "Stop being such a pussy Harry. Your a good friend. Let us have it. Don't tell your boss. He won't notice."

"H-he will." Harry was shaking badly. "Please p-pay."

"Can't do that. See ya."

Harry grabbed at the bag Michael was holding and pulled at it. Michael got angry and struck out a hand, smacking Harry's face, sending him backwards, hitting his head on a shelf.

Michael ran away, leaving Harry bloodied and dazed on the floor.

******

Hi...

Sorry its been a while. Been too tired to write.

Thoughts on the chapter?

Hope you're all OK. All the love. L. Xx

💕💕💕