Dealing With Absence » h. styles au

24ᵀᴴ CHAPTER

                                                   24ᵀᴴ CHAPTER               

        “Sometimes we focus so much on what we don't have that we fail to see, appreciate, and use what we do have”

 

When Friday night arrives, Harry’s already worth a whole week of exhaustion. The carwash had been a fuss; a huge group of teenage travellers showing up around whilst pushing a broken car, ending up spending the whole entire day in the carwash messing around and being loud in all possible ways as they waited for repair.

The convenience store has most of its shelves empty now, for one because they bought so much to eat and simply spend money it’s ridiculous. For two, they also dropped a lot, which had Harry bent down for about forty-five minutes, and thanks to that, his back aches ridiculously bad. Adding to that, he’s all on his own, taking Luke’s shift once more since he’s going to be gone for this weekend too.

Damn it those teenagers. And, oh, how Harry misses his teenage years. He used to be just as messy – maybe even messier – and just as reckless, ready and full of hormones and energy to destroy everything that came across him. Probably not that rebel, but something alike.

“Bridgit is going to throw your food aw- Oh,” Elisha stops by the door and looks at Harry amusedly as he finishes setting the last bottle of orange soda back into the fridge, sighing out in relief at the sight of the store back to its normal. It’ll need reposition soon, but that’s not his job. Edwin personally likes to do it himself.

“Aw oh?” Harry questions, deadpan. When he finally turns to look at her, she’s got her arms crossed hidden by the tissue of an old, grey jacket. Her hair is tucked underneath a black beanie and the tip of her nose seems a bit red. Harry’s sure if he touches it he’s going to feel its cold.

“You look terrific, you know,” she replies instead, daring a step closer and grinning evilly; a dark smile way bigger than her own frame. Elisha is simply pathetic.

“Yeah,” he says thoughtfully, glancing down at his dirty clothes and then up at the glass and analysing his reflection. He feigns a casual shrug. “’m thinking of adopting this look daily. D’you think it suits me?”

Leesh snorts out a laugh as she taps her chin and pretends to consider it, sliding her hands up his shirt until she reaches the hem around his neck, fixing it. “What? The dead-hobo look? Perfectly. It was made for you.”

Harry grabs her wrists and pulls it up until her fingers untangle from the tissue of his shirt, which is not particularly hard since she doesn’t force their stay, and then he holds them there on each side of his face, keeping her close daringly.

And thing is, they’re sort of competitive sometimes. Or always.

Since Zayn’s party, he’s been glancing down suspiciously at Elisha’s lips from time to time, seeming fragile and so, so kissable. And then, somehow after their deal, the desire has turned into more of a challenge than anything. They kissed a couple of times, at most, but usually, they’re just doing this mutual thing where they keep teasing without actually making a move.

And it’s a silent agreement, somehow suitable to both ends, and despite frustrating, it’s fun, too. They’re the weirdest people in the world, and by now Harry knows most of their friends are aware of this weird thing. Probably thanks to weird kicks on the shin under the table during lunch or dinner; or the way they keep weirdly glancing at each other from around the room, when they share one, and also how they move incredibly close until only inches of thin air separate their bodies, but it doesn’t go beyond that.