Ebony & Ivory [H.S]

Eight

"'Cause all that's left has gone away, and there's nothing there for you to prove."

"Ess... hello?" I hear my name being said slowly and clearly, and I now direct my attention to Ollie, instead of the files scattered untidily over my desk.

"What is it?" I ask, tapping a pen over and over on the arm of my computer chair.

"Oh nothing, only I've been sitting here calling your name for the past thirty seconds while you've been sitting there, staring off into space. What's going on?" he enquires, taking a seat on the only clean portion of the desk.

"I just have a lot on my mind," I answer.

He scoffs, "Oh please, that comes with the job. There's obviously more to it than that. Tell Ollie all about it," he says, slapping his knee encouragingly.

"It's Harry," I sigh.

"Oh I'm so sorry," he replies sarcastically. "I can't hear you over your perfect life, with your perfect boyfriend, with your perfectness that's all so perfect!"

I roll my eyes and turn my computer chair around so my back is facing him, until he stops me. He doesn't know my life, and things are never really what they appear to be from the outside.

"Okay, I'm sorry, go on," he apologises, urging me to continue.

"Our two year anniversary is coming up really soon, and he wants me to take off a few days from work so we can get away."

"Does he understand what time of year it is for us?" he asks, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You can't just take off a few days! That's ludicrous!"

"I know," I agree. "But you know things haven't been the best lately... and I see him putting in all this effort. I don't know how to let him down gently, because he doesn't understand."

"I see," he contributes, holding his chin in deep thought.

"I know if I take even a couple of days off, you'll be sharing an office with a snooty intern who still has her daddy paying for her rent," I laugh. "I'm not going to just throw everything away when I've worked so hard to get here."