hate & other words || h.s au

thirteen

After my little meltdown about Sarah Turner (truly an embarrassing moment for me but it was also needed because otherwise I wouldn't have known where I stood in Harry's life and where he stood in mine), we stayed at the party for another hour. I didn't expect to enjoy the rest of the evening there but then again, I didn't expect that Harry would introduce me to a few of his colleagues whom he considers his friends. I had preconceived ideas that he doesn't have friends at work so I was pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong and I was also more than happy to hear stories from his friends who didn't hold back at all.

So, to say that things picked up after that would be the right way to describe the evening.

I got to see how he's like at work and how he's like when he's with his friends who aren't Adam. For the record, I was shocked to find out that he's not at all annoying with his colleagues/friends. Turns out, his annoyingness is reserved for me and only me, and I don't know if I should feel honoured or insulted. But what I do know is that I enjoy learning more and more about Harry, seeing the sides of him that I didn't get the chance to see before because I was so focused on seeing him as my enemy.

I was caught up with getting to know this new version of Harry, asking questions after questions -- first to his friends because they're more than willing to share information about Harry and then personally to him once his friends had started to leave -- that we didn't even realise we had lost track of time.

When we did take a look at the time, it was already too late. We did not make it to our reservation, which means we still haven't gone on our first date. He promised that he'll make up for it and I assured him (again and again) that he shouldn't sweat over it. Although I was the one who brought up our first date when we talked a couple of days ago, the prospect of actually going on a date with Harry makes me feel nervous. So the longer I could put it off, the better.

A text message from Adam pulls me from my thoughts. Picking up my phone, I read the message on the screen.

Are you sure you don't want me to come in?

I roll my eyes at his text. This is his third time asking me if he should come to work and since my answer remains the same, I decide to not reply. But just as I put down my phone, two more messages come in.

You're not answering. Is it a yes??

I'm coming

I let out a groan, my fingers moving across the screen of my phone quickly as I type my replies, knowing full well that if I don't reply he might show up at the bookstore in a few minutes: you know it's a no and stay in bed!

It's Adam's day off today because he's feeling under the weather (he looked pale all day yesterday and I assumed that it has something to do with the fact that his skin hasn't seen the sun lately but I found out from Daisy and Harry later on that he has actually caught a cold) and like the good friend that I am, I told him to stay at home and rest. He's also not supposed to come to work until he's one hundred percent sure that he's not sick anymore.

However, unlike other people, when given the chance to stay at home and do nothing, he doesn't want to take full advantage of it. I have a sneaking suspicion that he's bored because he's at home alone but I'm not going to be inconsiderate and tell him to come to work even when he's sick. My parents would not approve of that behaviour.

Without Adam around, the bookstore is quiet -- peaceful, even. In fact, I manage to finish the book I've been trying to finish in the last two weeks and that's all because he's not around to interrupt me, forcing me to reread the same line over and over again until I eventually give up on reading altogether.