hometown glory - wroetoshaw [✓]

TWENTY ONE

[first of december 2019]

AFTER A FEW KNOCKS ON THE DOOR, harry was faced with a girl he could barely recognise. she looked confused at the sight of him and raised an eyebrow, "who are you?" she quizzed and wondered why a random man was at the door of her best friends apartment.

harry let out a light chuckle at the awkward encounter between them, "i'm harry, i'm guessing you don't remember halloween?" he knew her friends were very drunk but he was surprised she completely blocked out their first meeting. he was also unsure how to describe his relationship with apollo if she was going to ask, certainly more than a friendship at this point but as this girl was one of her best friends, he didn't want to call himself that.

she smiled and nodded her head, realisation setting in. "oh i'm sorry about that, i was wasted." she laughed, dragging out her words; "i'm leigh, come on in." she stepped aside and let him in the door, before tugging his arm and leaning up to whisper in his ear, "she's in her bedroom and is a bit upset, i said i'd give her some space but she might want to see you." he nodded at the instructions and kicked his shoes off at the door. before heading up the stairs.

the white door lightly creaked open and harry peered in to see apollo cocooned in her duvet, completely ignoring the noise the door made.
sunlight streaked in the room through the opened blinds. striking shadows all across her white carpet and bouncing off the mirror hung on her wall. he walked in and sat on the edge of her bed and she had her back to him.

he was unsure if she knew it was him, "apollo?" he softly whispered. also unsure if she was awake. there was a small grunt as her response and he took it as a symbol of her being asleep. so he climbed into the bed next to her, resting against the headboard. his hands playing with her hair and scratching her scalp in an attempt to calm her thoughts which he knew would be spiralling out of control.

there he stayed for an hour. the minutes ticked by slower than he would've liked but he didn't complain. he was there for apollo and only apollo. leigh walked upstairs with two sandwiches, one for harry and one for apollo. "she hasn't eaten all day." she informed him, knowing that with the amount of admiration she had for harry; he could be the best person to coax her out of her bed and into eating food.

after demolishing his sandwich he placed the plate on the bedside table next to him. before turning to lightly shake apollos shoulders. "apollo, love will you wake up?" he spoke as softly as was possible for him and she stirred again. he didn't think she was asleep all that time but she proved him wrong.

she rolled and looked up at harry and her harsh expression towards whoever disturbed her from her slumber softened and she smiled at him, which he couldn't help but return. "wakey wakey." he laughed, while she sat up and rubbed her eyes. "leigh made some food for you." he informed, gesturing to the plate that hadn't moved from the space in between them.

her eyes widened a the food in front of her as if it was the most amazing meal she'd ever had in front of her, and then turned quizzically at harry, "leigh is still here?" she spoke through a mouth full of bread. she seemed shocked but also glad that her friend stayed with her.

harry smiled and nodded, "she's your friend isn't she."
apollo smiled again with food in her mouth and accepted what he was saying. "how long have you been here?"
he checked his phone, "about an hour and a half, i was with the boys and i got the notification for your blog post and wanted to come round." he sent a slightly apologetic smile for mentioning her writing which probably caused her to become so emotional.

after chewing on her food for sometime in a comfortable silence she finished deliberating her thoughts on the whole situation. she was thankful for harry and for coming to see her, showing that he genuinely cared. yet she also felt guilty for taking him away from his friends and causing him to worry. she wanted to thank him but she also wanted to tell him not to worry without pushing him too far away.
"you didn't have to come and see me." her words sounded almost offended to harry which shocked him, hoping that her tone came across wrong. her hands found his and she grasped them while making eye contact. "i'm so thankful that you did, but you didn't have to leave your friends because little old me was upset."

the faint smile on apollos face made it clear that she wasn't angry, as well as the colour rushing back into her cheeks as she watched his face soften.

apollo was conflicted. she knew she liked harry, their kisses confirmed it. but it felt wrong for her to get into a relationship so quickly, and in the circumstances they met in.
she didn't want to push him away, she wanted to bring him closer - just not too close.

harry lightly shook his head and squeezed her hands, "it was no bother, i just wanted to make sure you were okay." he leant forward and placed a light kiss on her forehead. just to show he cared. "and you know that i'll be there with you, exactly like i am now, when he's on trial. and i'll still be making sure you're okay."

apollo started to choke up. her eyes glossing over with a few short tears as she tried to hold it back. she was unsure what was making her cry now, harrys kind words or the thought of the trial. of course harry noticed this and pushed the now empty plate away, before rushing to move over to her and engulf her in a hug. his comforting hands rubbed her back as she let the tears fall.
"it's okay." he hushed into her ears. as she felt secure in his arms.