Just Friends || h.s.

35

***Song: Devil's Advocate by The Neighbourhood

• • •
Madison

It was one in the morning when there was a knock on the front door.

Brandon wasn't even here so I had to be the one get up and answer it, even though I wasn't necessarily in bed yet. The party had ended a couple hours ago so I showered when I got home and got ready for bed.

I was in the middle of drying my hair when I heard the knock, so I turned off my blow dryer and walked out of my room, unlocked the front door, and swung it open.

I stood there, not at all expecting to see Harry on the other side with a cutely sheepish smile on his face, his hands behind his back.

"Hi?" I greeted, sounding a little confused.

He didn't say anything. Instead, I he revealed his hands and held up his car keys along with a small cheesecake from Walmart. He remembered.

Ever since Brandon got his license, he made it a tradition to drive me around at midnight on my birthday and we would sit in a parking garage eating cheesecake instead of birthday cake. We didn't get to do it this year since we were both visiting our Nonna in Italy, and didn't really have time to celebrate my birthday. I also didn't get to do it on my twenty-first since I had bronchitis and couldn't leave the apartment for a week.

"Wanna go for a drive?"

I stared at Harry in surprise before smiling with a nod. He waited patiently for me while I threw on a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie, giving up on drying my hair and just letting it rest around my shoulders. I lock the door behind me and the both of us go down to his car. I don't know what is going to happen during the time we are going to be spending alone together, but I can't say I am not looking forward to it.

I am still a little shocked that he remembered I used to do this for my birthday. The year he lived here was the first and only time I drove around with him instead of Brandon, but I was excited to do it again.

"The birthday woman gets to pick our cruising music." Harry offers me, handing me his phone that was connected to the car.

"You know it's not actually my birthday, right?" I say as I take it from him and without hesitation I search up my alternative playlist on Apple Music, hitting shuffle.

"I know."

One for the Road by Arctic Monkeys starts playing from the speakers, and Harry nodded in approval.

"I always listen to this playlist when I drive at night. It's therapeutic." I tell him with no shame. Nick used to make fun of me for my music taste, so I never played it around him. I'm pretty sure Harry is the only person I share my taste in music with.

"I get why. It's like having an eargasm."

I couldn't help but laugh a little too loudly at his comment and I saw him smile at my reaction. "I agree, but never say that word again." I say through my laughs that were dying down, looking out the window and seeing we were already out of the parking garage and driving down the empty road.

I don't know how we were acting so normal, as if we didn't just risk our friendship last week with that kiss. Neither of us seemed to care at all at the moment, just enjoying the rest of the night.