Till Dawn (HS)

xvi

I'm thinking that you're going to hate Clara after this hahaha

~

Clara felt Harry nudge his head in the direction of the door, so she carefully lifted her face from the nook of his shoulder and craned her neck to follow the direction of his gaze to where her friend stood in the doorway, wearing a nervous smile and carrying a bag of takeout. Liam lifted the bag and took small steps away from the wall, his eyes flickering between the two of them. Clara felt her cheeks inflame and she quickly unlatched herself from the broad shoulders she had been clinging to, standing up on her feet.

"I hope you're hungry," Liam smiled while padding over to her. His smile was forced and Harry noticed the way it contrasted with the pools of envy in his brown eyes. Clara was oblivious, as usual, and returned a tired smile to her friend, grateful for his kind gestures that he seemed to endlessly supply. "They gave me ten spring rolls for the price of five. Isn't that wild?"

"Yeah," Clara said lamely, wiping her cheeks and taking the bag from him. The savory scent invaded her nostrils and her stomach responded with an eager growl. It felt like it had been ages since she had eaten something.

Clara's gaze flickered between the boy she had known her whole life, and the boy who was laying in a hospital- the one who owned her heart as well as every other aspect of her. She never wanted the two of them to intertwine, but here she was, acting as a buffer between them, soaking in the tension. She smiled and shifted her weight on her feet.

"Liam, this is my friend, Harry. The one I've been telling you about," her voice was hoarse from all the crying she had done in the past few hours. She watched her friend glance at Harry, but failed to notice the way his hands were clenching and flattening behind his back. Harry noticed, though. Through his hazy vision and tired state of mind, he noticed every little thing about Clara's friend.

"It's nice to finally meet you," Liam greeted kindly, giving a short nod of his head. His eyes meandered to Harry's leg, seeing that his thigh was covered in bandages and the the white sheet seemed to cave in where his calf should have been. Liam cleared his throat. "Well, I better go wait in the waiting room," he kept his voice steady and looked to the brunette girl who was suddenly more concerned with the containers of Chinese food as she sat down on the edge of Harry's bed and dived into them. "Tell me when you're ready to leave, Clara. I'll take you home with me."

"Mhm," Clara hummed through her mouthful of the spring roll which she had practically shoved in all at once. She chewed and watched as Liam left the room.

Clara ate her food within minutes. She had asked the nurse if Harry was allowed to share it with her, but her request was denied since he wasn't supposed to ingest any solids for a the next three days. As she neared the bottom of the container, Harry began to feel the effects of whatever drugs they had pumped into him take its toll- his eyes felt heavy and a wave of drowsiness flooded through his numbed body. Clara swallowed the last bite of chow mein and looked over at him, watching as he struggled to keep his eyes open. She frowned.

"Harry, you should rest," she mumbled softly.

"Yeah."

"Do you want me to leave now?"

By the way he leaned his head back against the pillow and flattened his hands against his stomach, she could tell that he did. Clara stuffed the empty food containers into the bag and then leaned down to plant a kiss to the apex of his forehead, his baby hairs tickling her lips.

"I'll see you in the morning," she murmured.

"My dad," Harry managed to say with a frown. "Have you seen him?"