Chasing the Clouds || H.S. [ONGOING]

Fifty-Eight

"And I never wanted anything from you
Except everything you had and what was left after that too.
Happiness hit her like a bullet in the back,
Struck from a great height by someone
Who should know better than that.
The dog days are over. The dog days are done.
Can you hear the horses? 'Cause here they come."

Song: The Dog Days Are Over — Florence + The Machine

++++++

𝓢𝓮𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓶𝓫𝓮𝓻 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟏

Andie's mind was in shambles during the rest of her classes and completely unable to pay even an inkling of attention to her teachers. All she could think about was Harry and Zayn, and how utterly complicated her life just got with Zayn resurfacing in it.

Just before the final bell of the day, Andie's anxiety reached a fever pitch when she realized that at some point she needed to face Harry after all of this. She hadn't talked to him all day and it killed her. But she figured that five minutes of passing time between classes wasn't enough time to explain to Harry what the hell was going on.

But as soon as she made it to her locker at the end of the day, Harry was right there with questions.

"What was that?" Harry asked immediately, causing her cheeks to heat up and her chest to tighten with panic.

"What?" She choked out, feeling caught off guard as she stared back at him wide-eyed. She knew exactly what he was referring to, but she didn't know how to respond.

"Zayn. You and Zayn? You know each other? How?" Harry asked in a quick succession of questions that made her head spin. She knew this conversation was inevitable, but it didn't make it any easier to process.

"It's complicated," she said quietly, her eyes dropping away from his.

"What does that mean?" He asked with a questioning look. He wasn't angry, just curious and she fully understood why.

Andie let out a sigh, feeling the tightness in her chest and the confession stuck in her throat. She had no idea how to form the words in the correct sequence to make it make sense— to make him understand any better than she did.

She supposed maybe it was simpler to explain than she was giving it credit for— she lost her virginity to Zayn at camp two years ago. But the amount of anxiety that was built up inside of her because of the topic was nearly crippling.

"I didn't see you all morning and when I finally do, you blow my mind by somehow knowing one of my best friends, who's been away all summer— someone that you couldn't possibly know," Harry went on to explain.

"Best friend?" Andie squeaked, feeling so completely nauseated. God, she knew it. Fuck.

"Yeah. He's one of my best friends. I've known him since we were kids. He lives right down the road from me," Harry explained.