Hyacinth ▷ Sam Uley

TWO

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TWO; BLAME IT ON FATE

     HYACINTH IS SURPRISED when Harry shows up on her doorstep, looking at her as if she had done something so terribly wrong.

     It had been a few days since the bonfire, and Hyacinth still didn't understand what happened with Sam and Leah. Rumors were flying that they were breaking up, and Leah refused to say a word about it.

     Hyacinth remembered watching Sam run from the bonfire like he couldn't breathe all of a sudden. She noticed how different he looked — his physique was incredible and his height caused him to tower over everyone else. Like Hyacinth herself, Sam was not the twelve year old boy she seemed to remember. He was immensely different, and Hyacinth still couldn't say if it was the good or bad kind.

     "Hi, Harry," she greeted, eyebrows furrowed together to symbolize her confusion. "How are you?"

     "Good," he responded curtly. "May I come inside?"

     "Sure, but it's still messy around this place."

     Hyacinth and her mother had managed to get most of the unpacking done, but now there were just stray boxes around the living room and miscellaneous items around the house that needed to be put in their proper place. Harry didn't say a word about the untidiness of the home, taking a seat on the living room couch.

     There was definitely something off about him. He looked surprised — shocked, even — as he stared at the blank television before him. Hyacinth didn't know what he was here for, but she concluded it had to be far from good.

     "You alright, Harry? Why did you want to see me today?"

     "Tell me the story about you and Sam. I'd like to hear it, please."

     She is amused by the request. She doesn't deny him, taking a seat next to him on the couch. She rubs her hands together, wondering where she should start with the story.

     "I met Sam in our preschool class. Some idiot kid was teasing me about my pigtails, which my mother worked very hard on to get right in the morning, and Sam stepped up to defend me. He told the kid that I had to be the prettiest sight he had ever seen, and that the kid was the ugliest. He was my hero back then," Hyacinth paused to laugh, remembering how bashful she was when she returned home after that day. "We just started to hang out after that. I was constantly annoying him and following him around wherever he went, but he didn't seem to mind."

     "You were each other's first partners," Harry noted. She glanced at him, but he kept his eyes focused on the television.

     "Yeah. Sam asked me out when we were eleven. As you can imagine, having a boyfriend when you're eleven will make you the most popular girl in class. Everyone started asking me these questions about Sam and I, but nothing was different for us. We were still best friends, but this time, we held hands whenever we were together. Nothing taboo about it."

     "Then you broke up," he prodded again. Hyacinth began to wonder why he needed to know all of this information. She and Sam were ancient history. However, maybe Harry was just digging up on Sam's past to ensure he was the right guy for Leah.