Change // H.S.

21. Follow Your Heart

*Harry's POV*

I admit that I like working at the bakery. The owners and my co-workers are nice people. Customers haven't been too difficult so far--except for Tom of course, who stopped by to give me trouble.

The day Tom stopped by, he came in half an hour before closing time, causing a scene. My co-workers were surprised that there was a customer so late in the day. And of course, I was behind the cashier that day and was supposed to help him.

Tom walked in all smug, looking at what was left which was not much to be honest. We were out on a lot of items. First, Tom had to complain that there was nothing left and I had to explain to him that if he wanted a greater variety of baked goods, he had to come in earlier. Then he had to constantly change his mind on what he wanted. He would say he wanted a cream cheese danish, and once that was packed up all nice, he'd change his mind and say he wanted a slice of German chocolate cake instead. He did this a couple times and my co-workers just watched in silence, wondering if this was a joke or if he was really that indecisive. He was really testing my patience at that point but that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was when he ordered coffee at 8:50 PM. Who drinks coffee that late?! He had so many specific orders regarding how many shots, what toppings he wanted, etc. that it absolutely drove me crazy. The list of stuff he wanted was at six bullet points. I was sweating trying to satisfy him. I just wanted to be done with the day, but no, he had to come in and make things difficult.

I finally gave him his coffee. Luckily, to make it all worth it, he tipped me $20. I was almost going to snap at him because he was taking it too far but luckily I didn't. I shook my head after Tom left and collapsed on the chair from exhaustion.

Work isn't mentally exhausting but it is physically. I'm basically on my feet all day with little time to sit down. The only time I had a break was to eat lunch or go to the toilet. Mel's Bakery is a busy place with a lot of customers.

At 9:34 PM, I left the bakery to head back to the hotel which I have been staying at for a while now. It's expensive so I'm looking for an apartment to rent with the money I saved up. It's a shame that housing in Seattle is so expensive.

The streets were dark and I made my way silently home, occasionally passing a student or two. And then that was when it happened.

"Harry?" I thought I was hearing things so I just ignored it and kept walking on but the person called my name again, and this time, I recognized the voice. There were chills down my spine and I didn't know whether I should turn around and greet the person or continue walking away. After much debate, I stopped walking and let the person catch up to me.

"Hey Harry," Josh whispered, creeping up to my side. Josh is a person that I am never comfortable around. He's mentally unstable and he's a ticking time bomb who goes off at the smallest things. I didn't like how I was sharing my "job" with him and he felt the same way about me. I would just do my job and minimize the amount of time spent talking to him.

"Hi Josh," I said briskly. I was hoping he'd understand that I wasn't in the mood to talk.

"What are you doing?" he continued.

"Going home," I replied.

"You have a house? Where?"

"I'm staying at a hotel."

"Oh." The silence was unbearable. I wanted to walk away but I couldn't leave him like that. Luckily, he spoke up again. "Have you seen Dani lately?" My eyes widened in shock. How does he know her?

"No, I haven't. It's been weeks. Have you?" I asked. Josh's composure changed immediately. At first, he was timid, but now, he was smiling from ear to ear.

"I saw her yesterday and today."

"How is she doing?"

"She's good. She's happy."

"Oh." She was happy. I should be happy but why did that make me sad? Does she miss me? Does she even remember me? But then again, it's all my fault. I was the one who ran away and hid from her. Josh noticed my sudden change in mood.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"I've known her for a while. Before, she wasn't happy. I don't know what happened recently but she's much happier now." Josh's words really hit me. I was the source of her unhappiness. To prevent myself from thinking too much, I decided it was time to leave.

"I need to go. I have stuff to do. I'll talk to you later," I said in a rushed voice. Josh simply nodded and waved goodbye. After walking away from him for a minute, I turned around to see if he was still there but he wasn't. He was gone. I just continued walking home, trying so hard not to think too much about what he said but failing miserably.

She's good. She's happy.

.

.

The next day was even worse. We finally crossed paths.

I saw her. She was standing outside the bakery with Rachel. Watching through the window, it seemed like Rachel really wanted to go in but Dani wasn't having it. I felt the need to run away. My first thought was to go to the bathroom but that didn't work because a female customer just walked in. Time was ticking and I didn't have much time. I wanted to hide in the kitchen but I'm not allowed to enter the kitchen. I just pretended to be busy by doing the dumbest thing I could think of--straighten the pictures of the owners on the wall. I quickly looked over my shoulder and saw that after much pleading, Dani finally gave him and they both walked into the bakery. I just stared blankly at the wall and pretended I was having trouble straightening the picture. I could hear Rachel's voice.

"Why are you so against coming in here? I just want a little snack is all...." Rachel's voice dragged on. I didn't need to turn around to know that she was perusing what was in the display case. Suddenly, my co-worker John, tapped my shoulder.

"A customer needs help," he said, pointing to Rachel. I gulped. Well here goes nothing. I slowly walked up to Rachel who didn't notice me because she was too busy looking at what she wanted to buy. Dani on the other hand stood on the other side of the bakery stealing glances at me. She knew that I was here and she knew that I knew she was here.

"Can I help you?" I finally gathered the courage to ask. Rachel looked up and saw me. At first, she was shocked, but then her face lit up.

"Harry! I haven't seen you in a while. How are you doing?" she then turned to face Dani. "Dani! Look who it is! It's Harry!" She was so naive. Can't she tell that something happened between us? That we're no longer on speaking terms? Dani awkwardly walked up to Rachel.

"Hi," she said softly. She sounded like she was out of breath.

"Hi," I simply responded. Rachel noticed our awkward exchange and then realized what she had done.

"Oh," she simply stated. "I didn't know...sorry." To prevent things from getting worse, I tried to strike a conversation.

"How are you guys doing?" I asked.

"Good," Rachel replied carefully. "How are you doing?"

"Good."

"Can I get some macarons?" Rachel asked. She wasn't being rude by reminding me of why she was here in the first place. I think she was doing this to relieve the awkwardness of this situation. I went to help her by gathering the flavors she wanted. She then paid for the macarons and left with Dani silently following her.

I watched them walk out the door. Watching them walk away seemed like an eternity. In my mind, everything was slowed down.

And then I did the unthinkable. I ran after her.