Note To Self (Harry Styles AU)

Chapter Twenty Five.

The next day was a miserable one for Harry. He was exhausted, had hardly gotten any sleep at all the night before, and as a result he was grumpy yet again. He struggled to stay awake in his classes, and even managed to doze off in Anatomy class while the remainder of the project presentations were done that hadn't gotten a chance to the day before. He woke up to everyone staring at him with his cheek resting against his folded arms like a pillow on the desk. He quickly sat up and pretended as if he wasn't just sleeping, even though everyone saw him and laughed. He was embarrassed.

The teacher told him not to rest his head on the desk after that, because apparently falling asleep in the middle of someone's presentation was impolite. Being forced to sit up didn't really make a difference because he still struggled to keep his eyelids open and his head felt heavy as he tried to stay sitting normally. Listening in on the facts about Lyme Disease wasn't enough to keep him awake, he didn't really care very much about what he was hearing and he fell asleep with his head being supported by his hand. He used lunch as a nap time in the back of the library where he wouldn't be seen or disturbed.

After school, he was accompanied by Aubry as they walked down the streets of their neighborhood together, his eyes glued to the sidewalk and no sounds between them other than the pitter patter of the soles of their shoes against the pavement. She glanced over at him from time to time, seeing the frown that had been permanently etched onto his features since his alarm went off that morning each time she did. "You seem glum," she spoke, pulling him out of his spaced out stare at the ground. He briefly looked over at her for hardly a second before his eyes fell back down to his feet as he walked. His shoulders raised in a halfhearted shrug. "What's wrong?"

He shrugged a second time and looked ahead to see they were nearing the opening in the woods the normally went through together.

"You've been acting weird lately, did something happen?" she prodded, and he shook his head no.

Nothing had happened, and he didn't exactly know what was wrong, but she was right about him being less cheerful than his usual self. He was frustrated and moody, far more than he normally was and it was beginning to show through on a day to day basis. He blamed it on his lack of sleep, but not getting enough sleep was something he'd been dealing with for years and he knew it couldn't have been the full reason for his bad mood.

She dropped the subject as they entered into the woods, getting the hint that he didn't want to talk. They took their usual places as soon as they made it to the clearing, Aubry on top of the boulder and Harry in the grass. He laid down, using his bag to prop his head up off the ground. He didn't say a word, and Aubry got straight to work with her writing.

It wasn't as peaceful as it normally was. Harry spent his time thinking, over analyzing, just about everything under the sun that annoyed him. He got annoyed when he could feel the moisture the ground still held from the rain the day before through the grass, making his clothes feel damp, and he thought it was stupid that it still hadn't evaporated completely nearly an entire day later. The sun was hardly visible through the thick veil of clouds that hung overhead, making the sky look dark and didn't allow the rays through to dry the soil.

Aubry tried to ignore the sour mood that radiated off of Harry, but it was difficult to do when she could see the unhappy expression on his face any time she peeked at him from the corner of her eye. It was distracting, especially not knowing what was wrong. It made the entire experience a rather unpleasant one, and Aubry found herself struggling to focus on her journal the longer time drew on. She had to ask. "Did I do something to make you mad?"

He shook his head.

"Then what's your deal?" she prodded, and it irritated him even further.

All day long he'd been getting asked the same questions. Are you okay? What's wrong? What happened? It was annoying to be asked over and over again, because he didn't have a reason to feel the way he did, he was irritable and he didn't need a reason to be. He just was. So he snapped at her, his tone harsh when he spat, "I don't know."