Mini Mart » Harry Styles

eight

[art by hxrnyharold]

eight

Fire came in the next day, eyes tired and bloodshot. Harry greeted her in his usual way, grinning. His smile faded when Fire didn't smile back at him.

"Fire? What's wrong?"

She sighed, pushing loose strands of hair away from her face. "Nothing. I'm not in the mood to talk today."

She went off towards the aisle of drinks and came back two minutes later, holding a can of Red Bull and a bag of Hot Cheetos. Harry looked at her items in surprise before beginning to scan them.

When he was done, she handed him her money and began to walk away without another word. "Fire, wait."

Harry made his way around the lane hurriedly and caught up to her, grabbing her arm. "Fire, look at me." He spun her around slowly without hearing her answer. He searched her eyes, trying to find a hint of what was wrong.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

"Nothing happened, Harry. God, fuck off. Leave me alone," she snapped and turned, walking away from Harry with a sigh of exasperation.

~

After his shift, Harry drove to Fire's house. Thankfully, he still had her address in his GPS from the night before.

He pulled to the curb and stared at the small, cozy-looking home. The lights were all off but Harry could see Fire's car in the driveway, signaling to him that she was home. He got out of his car and walked up to her front door, knocking and ringing the doorbell.

When nobody came, he sighed, then looked around. He saw a gate by the side of the house and walked over, gently unlatching the lock.

The gate opened to a pathway to the backyard. As Harry reached the backyard, he found a treehouse. There was a light shining through the small window and Harry made his way to the tree, resting a hand on the trunk.

Steadily, he began to climb up the ladder and into the treehouse. He found Fire sitting on the edge of the treehouse's "porch," her legs dangling off the side.

"Fire," Harry breathed, standing in the middle of the only room. Fire turned, startled, before standing up and walking towards Harry.

"Why are you here?" Fire asked, not harshly, just curious.

"I wanted to check on you," Harry said softly. "I was worried."

"I'm fine," Fire said, tensing.

"You're not," Harry said. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I'll be here to listen."

A lump grew in Fire's throat. She was getting emotional, something that usually didn't happen. Harry was looking at her, his green eyes full of concern, and it made her feel like someone really did care.

"I..." She was going to tell him. Then at least she'd have somebody to lean on. "My brother got hurt today, badly, and I don't know if he's going to live."

Her bottom lip trembled and Harry pulled her close. "He's the only close family I have left." She pressed her face into the front part of his shoulder as his arms wrapped around her shoulders.

One of his hands went to the back of her head, holding it gently, smoothing her hair, as the other hand pressed against her back, pushing her into him. She started crying into his shirt and Harry felt his heart break. Fire, his feisty, confident, smart-ass Fire, was crying into him.

"Shh," he murmured as their bodies began swaying back and forth slightly. "I'm here, it's okay. I'm here."