Deserve [H.S.]

Chapter 3

ENDEARING

This time, Harry wasn't questioning why he was there. He knew why. Normally, he came to the bar and had a bottle of beer, people watching while he drank it, simply because he had nothing better to do. Tonight, however, his presence at the bar had a whole new meaning and purpose. It was Thursday and he was frantically, yet discreetly, looking around the bar for Noah.

He knew there was no guarantee that she would actually show up. She could have been joking or genuinely talking in hypotheticals when she mentioned being there. After all, Harry was still shocked that she even showed a hint of interest in him. He didn't think he had anything appealing to bring to the table, yet Noah somehow seemed interested.

Nevertheless, he still saved the stool next to him for her in case she did show up. He felt a little silly constantly denying people from sitting there as quite some time had passed and the person he claimed he was saving the seat for still hadn't shown up.

He was sat in his usual spot, still dressed somewhat casually with plain blue jeans that were loose in the leg, but he ditched his normal hoodie attire for a simple black jacket undone over a white graphic tee. Once again, on his feet were his black vans.

He didn't necessarily want to wear what he was wearing. He didn't dislike it or anything, but his sense of fashion didn't match the clothes he currently had on. He preferred brighter colors, wider pants, vintage sweaters: clothes that weren't exactly trendy or in tune with his job. He didn't want to draw attention to himself and he didn't have the full confidence to wear what he wanted to wear, so he stuck to plain clothing.

As he glanced toward the entrance of the bar once again, he noticed her immediately and couldn't recognize the strong thump his heart made at first sight of her. This time, her hair was straight again, but completely down. She was wearing a pair of vintage looking plaid pants. They were different shades of brown and fitted around the waist, hips, and thighs, but flared out around the knee. Tucked into them was a long sleeved burnt orange knitted turtleneck. The sleeves were so long on her that she had to push them up her arms constantly, causing random rolls to form. He couldn't see what shoes she had on as she made her way through the crowd.

Harry could tell Noah was looking for him, as her eyes were moving around all of the patrons before they caught his. A smile so wide it was nearly contagious spread across her face as she then started to determinedly move in his direction. He felt his palms get sweaty as she drew nearer and the smile on her face would forever be ingrained into his mind. How was it that she was that happy to see him? It didn't make any sense. They had barely even talked and yet she already seemed to really enjoy his presence and he felt immediately drawn to her.

When she approached him, her entire excitable demeanor was obvious, "hey, Harry! It's good to see you. Can I hug you?" She was hovering next to his bar stool, not yet sitting on the open one next to him, as she waited for his answer.

Taken off guard by her forwardness, he simply nodded and slightly opened up his arm to make space for her. She stepped closer and leaned into him, wrapping both of her arms around his shoulders. One of his arms wrapped around her waist, but the other was resting on the bar top with his beer bottle in his hand. She stood on her tiptoes and moved her head to rest alongside his, hovering above his shoulder.

Mid-hug, he replied into her hair with, "good to see you too."

Harry hadn't been hugged in quite a while, so the feeling was very foreign to him. He liked it though. It was comforting and made him feel soft for a moment. It wasn't a major hug or anything, so he could only imagine what a real, full-body bear hug from Noah would feel like.

The hug didn't last long, no more than a few seconds, as she didn't want to make him uncomfortable so she pulled away after an appropriate amount of time. She situated herself onto the free bar stool and angled her body to be mainly facing him.