Priory // h.s.

chapter thirty-six

The only redeeming quality this Monday has is that Maura isn't here. Apparently all the supervisors are having a mandatory meeting to discuss the progress and merits of PCOS. Which means Lab 1 is witch-free.

When I point this out to Reyna, she only rolls her eyes and shakes her head at me. "Maura isn't a witch, Amber. If you wouldn't get yourself into trouble so often, she might like you."

I gawk at her. Maura and I getting along? Maura liking me--or vice versa, for that matter? Does she know how insane she is to even suggest that?

No, she doesn't. She doesn't know about Project Invect.

I try to tell my brain that I've gotten the point, but it continues on.

No one else was supposed to know. Just you and Harry.

Yes, I know that too.

But you ruined everything and told Gerald. Now Harry hates you. 

Biting down on my lower lip, I duck my head to avoid Reyna's solemn gaze. Guilt charges through me like an electric current. Why, why am I so stupid? Why is Harry so angry about this? Why does he have to take it so personally?

For once in my life, I have a lot of questions and no means of finding the answers. The scientific method won't get me anywhere in trying to make amends with Harry. And you know, for a boy I used to claim to hate, fighting with Harry sure hurts like hell.

 —

Jillian texts me five minutes after work gets out, telling me to wait for her outside the Main Hall, where she and her labmates were attending some sort of conference. I idle by the exit, watching as the other Lab Twos filter out. Some of them cast me strange looks, as if wondering what a punny Lab One like me is doing near them. Cade glares at me as he walks past, but apart from noting that his nose is still an ugly shade of eggplant, I ignore him.

Harry is not so easy to ignore.

He's talking to another intern, a lanky brunette man with stubbled cheeks and a cute smile. Harry doesn't see me at first, but his companion does. Approaching me, he says, "Hey. You're Amber, right?"

Beside him, Harry freezes as he finally glimpses me. I lick my lips nervously, trying not to hyperventilate.

"Um. Yeah?"

"Sorry, that was random," the brunette chuckles, seeming unaware of the tension. "I'm Liam--but that's not really relevant either. I just thought that I'd tell you that your friend is looking for you, and I think she's going to kill someone if she doesn't find you right away."

"Jillian?" I sigh in exasperation. "She said she'd meet me out here."

Liam shrugs good-naturedly. "Guess she miscommunicated, because last I saw her, she was heading the opposite direction. Here, want me to go get her?"

I hesitate, surprised by his friendliness. "I-"

With considerable insistence, Liam shoves Harry into me. "Here, Styles, keep her company. I'll be right back with Jillian."

I frown as Harry springs away from me, glaring after Liam. Something weird is going on here.

Giving a soft snort, Harry turns to head towards the elevator, clearly not interested in taking Liam's advice. Before I can think things through, I reach out and grab onto his sleeve. "Harry, wait!"

He pauses, remaining silent. I gulp. "I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry, okay?"

"No, you're not," he says. I open my mouth to respond, but he continues, "You're not sorry because you don't even get it. You don't get what you've done. Which I guess I should've known would happen. But like the idiot I am, I told you everything. I told you what Gerald's done to our family, how he's abandoned us for so long. I basically, like, poured out my stupid freaking heart to you. And then what do you do?"

I falter. "Harry, I-"

"You fucking stab me in the back. No explanation, no nothing. You just ignore me and walk away with Gerald. Do you have any idea how I felt?"

"You didn't let me explain!" I retort, raising my voice to match his. "You never gave me a chance-"

"No, you're wrong. I gave you a chance." He steps away from me, and cold air fills the space he occupied, sending shivers down my spine.

He gave me a chance. And now... we're done.

The thought of losing Harry's friendship makes me sick to my stomach. Naturally, instead of saying that, I let my anger take over. "Why are you being so overdramatic about this? I didn't mean to hurt you. I wanted to help."

For a second, he looks taken aback. Then he recovers himself. "Wow," he says softly. "You really don't get it."

I feel my heart snap itself in two as he turns his back to me.

It's at that point that Liam arrives, Jillian in tow. She's beaming happily, but as soon as she catches sight of my troubled expression and Harry's angry posture, the smile slips.

Things slowly fall into place. Of course. This was a set-up, and she got Liam--whoever he was and however she knew him--in on it, too. She figured out that Harry and I were fighting(again) and thought if she could get us together for a few minutes, we would make up and everything would be okay again.

I hate my friend almost as much as I love her.

Gritting my teeth, I nod at Liam, force myself to avoid Harry, and grab her arm. "Let's go, Jill," I hiss.

As soon as the two of us are alone in the elevator, I turn to her. "Seriously? Seriously?"

"I thought it would work!" she yelps. "How was I supposed to know that both you and Harry are incorrigible, stubborn numbskulls?"

I cross my arms over my chest. "I tried, Jillian," I mutter. "I apologized, but he wouldn't listen."

Jillian sighs and walks over to me, sympathy filling her expression. "Why did we both pick such shit guys to fall for, Amber?"

"I haven't fallen for- Harry's not-" I don't bother finishing either sentence, shaking my head as I hug her gently. "We need to forget about all of this. Girls' night today? Just the two of us?"

She smiles widely. "Only if you let me do your hair."

I giggle. "Fine. Nothing too ridiculous, though."

"Pfft, you have nothing to worry about."

"The last time you tried curlers on yourself, you wound up looking like a poodle. Not letting you do that to me."

We reach room 142 and let ourselves in. "Hush, Amber, or I'll tie your hair into knots on your head."

Laughing, I flop down on the couch. "You get the hair accessories. I'll get the junk food. Deal?"

Jillian nods happily. "Deal."

We get to work: Jillian heats the curling iron, and I shove two bags of popcorn in the microwave. While I wait for them, I lean on the counter, thinking of the time Harry and I had an ice-cream themed food fight in his kitchen. That was the day I'd been sick, and he'd carried me back to my apartment, and we'd danced and-

The microwave beeper goes off. I sigh and collect the food with a considerably smaller appetite, heading back to the living room and trying to put Project Invect and Harry out of my mind.