hate & other words || h.s au

drabble: in which harry gets jealous

The Anchor is full of office people whom I'm sure are blowing off some steam after a stressful and long day at work. I suppose it shouldn't come as a surprise since it is located near office buildings and it is happy hour -- possibly the worst time to go to a pub and wait for your boyfriend.

Alas, here I am, checking on my phone every now and then, hoping that Harry would be here soon.

When Harry told me that I could either come over to his office or wait for him at The Anchor before we have our dinner together later tonight, I didn't hesitate to choose the latter because I didn't want to distract him when he has work to finish. He has, after all, told me on multiple occasions that I'm a distraction so I wanted to be a good girlfriend this time and not be the reason why his work is delayed.

But now I wish that I opt for the former option because at least in his office, I wouldn't be surrounded by strangers.

Where are you?? I type and send that text message to Harry when fifteen minutes have passed and he still hasn't shown up. He told me ten minutes ago that he's finished his work and he should be here by now because this pub is only five minutes away from his office.

My boss wanted to see me just now

I'll be there as soon as I can, promise!

"Got stood up, huh?"

"Excuse me?" I turn to my left and find that the empty stool that I was supposed to reserve for Harry has been occupied by a man in dark blue shirt with the first button unbuttoned and his tie hanging loose from his neck. He looks like he's seen better days.

"Whoever he is, it's his loss." I kink an eyebrow at him, utterly confused by his implication. But then he points at my phone and adds, "Can I buy you your next drink? What'd you like to have?"

"I--That's okay--"

My protest falls on my tongue as the stranger speaks up again, "Come on. It's my treat. A pretty girl like you shouldn't be out drinking alone. "

"Good thing she's not alone then."

Startled, I turn around and, lo and behold, I find Harry standing behind me.

"Hey." He smiles down at me and places a hand on the small of my back before he touches my chin and gently tilts my head back, turning my face upward to his. Then, before I could form a reply, he captures my lips for a kiss that sends electricity down my spine and makes my toes curl. It's easy to get lost in Harry's kiss and it's even easier to forget that we're not alone when his lips are on mine.

When we break away because unfortunately we need to breathe, I notice that the stranger has left. And when my eyes find Harry once more, there's the slightest hint of a grin on his mouth.

"You did that on purpose."

Harry shrugs as he occupies the stranger's seat. "Can't let him buy you a drink."

I raise an eyebrow at him, nudging his foot with mine. "Are you jealous, Harry Styles?" Scoffing, Harry takes my beer and finishes it in one gulp. "Oh my God, you are. C'mon. Just admit it."

Harry gives me an exasperated look. "Okay fine. So what if I'm jealous? You get jealous too sometimes."

I shake my head. "No, we're not talking about me right now. We're talking about you and how cute it is that you got jealous. I mean it's hot but it's mostly cute."

That explains the heated kiss. We're not exactly big fans of public display of affection and whenever we're in public our kisses usually last five seconds at most or he'd only kiss me on my cheeks or my forehead or the top of my head. It's only when we're behind closed doors or when there aren't people around us that he kisses me like his life depends on it.

"You act like this is the first time I got jealous."

"It is the first time."

"No it isn't."

"It is."

"Then you must've forgotten all about Dev."

Realisation dawns on me. "Wait, you were jealous of Dev?"

"Of course I was," Harry says it like it's obvious. It's not. At least not for me.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because you'd only make fun of me."

I open my mouth to argue but shut it when I realise that he's right. If he were to tell me that he's jealous of Dev back then, I would tease the hell out of him. 

"Okay fair," I reply. "But if you think for a second that I'm not gonna make fun of you now then you clearly don't know me."

Harry rolls his eyes, though there's a smile on the edges of his mouth. He takes my hand in his and laces our fingers. "I expect nothing less from my Cleo."