MY GIRL // Harry Styles

Paper Love

Thirteen days.

It'd been thirteen days since Harry last saw Thea. And frankly, he hadn't been doing so well. He tried to distract himself with parties and work, but as soon as he crawled back to bed at night, his mind would wander back to her. For the same reason, he couldn't get close to any other girls and didn't see the point in trying to, because if a beauty like Madeline Grey couldn't even take her place, then he was already beyond repair.

He thought about driving past Thea's block hoping he might meet her again, yet the fear of not knowing what to say if that actually happened got him turning his car every time he got close to her street. He'd rather waste his own time by taking a longer route than come knocking on her door and talk it over like two adults. Needless to say, Harry was miserable.

But Thea wasn't the only one he couldn't face. There was also Isaac, who hadn't spoken a word to him since the Italy trip, so of course, he had no idea about Isaac coming back until he saw him with Thea. All that aside, Harry still cared about his best friend like a brother and loved Isaac's family as if they were his own.

A couple of days ago, Isaac's mother called Harry to ask about him and his family, then from her, he found out about Isaac's little brother Tony staying in the hospital after his surgery. Harry was more worried about the kid than mad at his best friend for not telling him about it. So he rearranged his schedule to get a day free and come visit Tony.

But the funny thing about life was that you could never guess what was going to happen. The moment Harry stepped into the hospital room to surprise Tony, it was him who ended up getting surprised. His feet were glued to the floor when those lovely brown eyes stared right back at him. They sparked with astonishment as Thea parted her lips, probably trying to figure out if she should say hello, but then she kept quiet, like he did.

"Harry!"

Tony's happy shout made Isaac, who was sitting on the edge of the bed with his back facing the door, turn to look at the unexpected visitor.

Pressing his lips into a smile, Harry lifted the paper bag in his hand and said, "I got you food, little man."

"Is that from Billy's?!"

"Yes! The best sandwiches in town!"

Harry's answer got the boy all excited as he punched the air, causing his brother and even Thea to laugh out loud.

"Your mum told me," Harry said before his best friend could ask, and Isaac flashed him a grin.

"I figured," said the blue-eyed man as he nodded. "Thanks for coming, H."

"Hey Harry," Tony spoke fast. "Have you met Thea?"

There was no way Harry had missed that question, because the only sound in the room other than Tony's voice was the beeping of a random machine somewhere by the bed. But he pretended like he hadn't heard the boy and walked in to set the paper bag down on the table, just a step away from where Thea was standing with her arms crossed, eyes on her feet.

When a female nurse showed up at the front door, it was a sigh of relief for the three adults who'd just been saved from the overwhelming awkwardness surrounding them. However, the woman wasn't there to check on Tony; instead, she asked to speak to Isaac in private. Harry and Thea flinched at the same time, for they knew they would be left alone with the kid if Isaac left. Even though on the outside they couldn't look less unbothered, their inner voices were screaming for objection.

Isaac told them that he would be right back, then followed the woman out of the door which was soon closed as they were gone.

And now, the silence battle finally began.