"Truly, I'd do anything for him. If he really wanted me to, I'd do anything for him. If he asked me to walk away from the chance of a lifetime, I would...I'd probably even be happy about it." Fifteen years prior, Elizabeth waltzed into Harry's life...
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As much as I truly intended on going out on the town with my friends, I opted to finish my first essay that was due in a few days for my History class. The coffee shop that I frequented wasn't terribly busy, so I snagged a cozy table in the corner and got down to business. An hour or so in, my eyes burned from staring at my laptop screen and the caffeine I'd indulged was beginning to wear off. Wearily, I stand up to refill and I catch a glimpse of a familiar face.
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Upon meeting her, less than a week ago, her pretty green eyes were immediately fetching, and tonight, they're the first thing I notice. As she steps in line, I smile at her and she flashes me a quick one back. "Mary, right?" She turns to me and nods.
"And your name is Harry, yeah?"
"Yeah," I answer, "How are you?"
"Exhausted." Her reply matches her tone. "I came in to work on that stupid essay..."
"That's exactly what I'm doing...it's proving to be rather difficult."
"Oh, great. I haven't even started it yet." She quickly orders a latte and then I hand the barista my empty mug and she hands it right back, after filling it with black coffee.
"Actually, I managed to get quite a bit done."
"Lucky you." She smirks and I motion towards my half empty table.
"I could help you, if you want?" Much to my dismay, she shakes her head.
"I'm okay, thanks though." I sit down as she moves towards the table beside me, but before she puts her things down, she eyes me and then she walks back. "Um...so I can be unintentionally stand-offish and my therapist says I should learn to let people help me instead of doing everything on my own...do you mind?" My smile has returned and I pull the seat out for her.
"Please." I look at her, not too obviously, but I find time in between our chats and smiles to observe her...she's absolutely lovely. Not, like, the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, but she's so pretty. I begin to compare her to my best friend...Elizabeth being this stunning blonde, tall and slender with these full lips and warm, chocolate irises. Men truly stare at her wherever she goes. Mary is different, she's shorter, kind of tomboyish—but in a really endearing way. She seems like the type who is so comfortable with just blending in. Her beanie has little worn-in balls stuck to it, and her flannel looks terribly cozy. As the hour ticks by, I find myself becoming more and more enamored by her...all of her. She's clearly very intelligent, she's funny and kind. Somehow, I can see myself spending more time with her...getting to know her and really liking her. The ding of my phone brings me back to reality and I see her eyes, unmeaningly, drift to my lit up screen. Elizabeth. I know that some women tend to find the dreaded best girl-friend to be annoyingly threatening, but that couldn't be further from the truth. However, this girl doesn't even know me well enough to know that she's just that. My best friend. "M'sorry..." I begin, as my thumb slides over the unlock button.
