olivia [zarry]

chapter eleven| and to be in love

His head bobs from side to side with each footfall as his feet pound the tarmac with all the grace of a sack of wet cement. He wheezes as his burning lungs gasp for air. His throat feels dry, and his legs numb, unsteady, and painfully sore, but he keeps on running. He has to.

"Where is he?" Harry bolts out of his seat, standing so quickly he gets a head rush. He drags his fingers through his hair before charging to the door to throw his jacket on. In his rush, he pulls it on the wrong way at first, but eventually, he gets it right.

He pats fervently at his pockets, wild eyes surveying every inch of the floor. Keys. Where are his keys? Dammit. He's sure they're around here somewhere. Along with his jacket, he tossed them to the side as soon as he was through the door last night. He drops down to his knees and starts pushing aside this and digging underneath that because where the frick are they?

A snort coming from Olivia's general direction cuts his thoughts short. He glances back over at her to find her looking at him now, apparently amused by his sudden eagerness to get out of here and head to wherever Zayn is. "Probably well on his way to Bradford by now."

Harry's heart stops. He deflates, ceasing his actions completely. "He's... What?"

"Ah, I'm just kidding." Olivia waves her hand dismissively, hopping off the couch as well. "Though kind of not. When I left him, he was packing to head to home with his sisters. His actual birthday's tomorrow, remember?"

She says it so nonchalantly that he wants to squeeze her. "Then why didn't you lead with that?" He desperately cries.

She narrows her eyes In incredulity. "Harry, so help me-"

"I know, I know," he tells her, sighing. "You had to talk some sense into me first." He tugs on his bottom lip, and his eyes instantly light up as he finally spots the metallic shine of his kitty keychain near the entrance to the kitchen. He crawls over and grabs it before triumphantly pulling himself off the floor. "And I appreciate that." He shoots her a charming smile, already feeling a little lighter now that he knows that he can leave without the fear of not knowing when he'll be able to get back in. "What would I do without you?"

Olivia rolls her eyes at him, walking over to him with her arms crossed. "I assume you and Zayn would still be dancing around each other's feelings, completely ignorant to the fact that you're made for each other, but who can say, right?"

His heart thrums exuberantly at her words. Made for each other. Harry and Zayn. He shakes his head and takes both her hands in his. "Liv, I seriously can't thank you enough for this." He means it with all his heart. He'll never be able to tell her how much all this means to him, how much he appreciates all her love and constant support.

"But I'm sure you'll find a way to." She smiles and strokes his cheek. "Now go! Go to him like you would if this was the end of one those cheesy movies you like so much."

Harry nods with purpose, steeling himself. "Yeah, you're right. It's time. I'm going to do it. I'm finally going to do it, and there's nothing that anyone or anything can do to stop me now."

"That's the spirit," she cheers him on as he turns to the door.

He takes a deep breath and positively beams. "I'm going to do it," he repeats, more to himself this time, his hand on the doorknob. "I'm going to do it. I'm going after him... I'm going after Zayn."

He never thought that this moment would come. To even think that his feelings would one day be validated, that all those months and weeks and days and nights he'd spent longing for whom he thought was the love of his best friend's life would be worth something in the end, that he was being longed for too- he couldn't have imagined any of it.