Burn

The sun was radiant, as the two girls walked through the park, both of them keeping their eyes focused on the six year old walking in front of them. Lilly was Rae’s little cousin, and the little girl was her world. Rae did everything for Lilly, often viewing the younger girl as a sister.

Trystan giggled as Lilly turned to face them, her bright blue eyes smiling as she ate the last bit of her ice cream cone, a satisfying crunch sounding in their ears. Rae smiled at Lilly, not really sure what she would do without the little girl in her life; she brought Rae joy when no one else could.

It was early in the morning the day after waking up to having Harry in her house, and Rae was trying to shake the images of the boy from her mind. No matter how hard she tried, she was always thinking of him, whether it was in scorn, or wonder at his beauty. She simply hated it.

After telling Trystan what had happened, Trystan also had a hard time understanding what was going on, after she had apologized for being a bad friend and not coming home with her the second night in a row. Though she didn’t tell her, Rae was beginning to guess that her best friend had a crush on Louis, resulting in her behavior as of late.

A drip of ice cream ran down Lilly’s face, making Trystan laugh and pull a napkin out of her purse, calling over Rae’s cousin to clean her face. “So have you heard from him at all today?” she asked Rae, dapping at the sweets on the youngest girl’s face. “An apology for practically bruising you?”

Rae bit her lip, letting Lilly slide her hand into her own. Lilly’s hand was so small compared to hers, which was funny, seeing as Rae had tiny hands. “No, and I believe I prefer it that way. Never in my life has someone become so relevant. I’m not sure what to make of it.”

“Coincidence or fate, but whatever you chose, the fact that he scares me remains.”

Rae nodded and then smirked, sliding her eyes at her friend. “And Louis doesn’t scare you, I presume?”

Whereas Rae would have blushed at that sort of accusation, Trystan smirked slightly, looking at Rae, knowing where she was going with this. Trystan was normally very up front about boys, not having anything to hide. She had always been that way. “Well he’s hot, for one thing,” she commented, nodding her head. “But he wasn’t exactly what we made him out to be. I’m not sure what that is yet… but I may want to find out.”

“As long as you’re careful….”

Trystan smiled, placing a hand on Rae’s shoulder to comfort her. Rae was relieved to see understanding in Trystan’s face, thankful it wouldn’t result in an argument. “I know why you’re worried about him. We don’t really know him and the things w do know, we don’t understand. I swear I’m treading lightly, and if I mess up, you can give me a right proper beating.”

Rae laughed. “I’ll hold you to that. Now how about we take you home, Lils? Mummy will be expecting you soon.”

Lilly frowned, swinging her pigtails as she shook her head. “But I want to spend the day with you!”

Rae leaned over, scooping the girl up in her arms as they made their way towards the car. Lilly nuzzled into Rae’s neck, making Rae smile. “I wish you could spend all day with me, but I have to get ready for work, Lils.”

“Why do you work?”

Rae couldn’t fathom how the mind of a six year old made up questions. “I work because I need responsibilities, silly.”

The words of Rae were very true. She didn’t really need to work, seeing that her father could provide her with all that she needed. After graduating, Rae had failed to decide what she wanted to do, and she didn’t want to waste money on school until she knew what she wanted to do.

Surprisingly, her father was not angered by her lack of want for schooling; he saw the sense in not wasting the money, but he also did imply she needed to attend university eventually. So she began working at a music store not far from her home, and decided to take a year to discover what it was she wanted to do.

Dr. Bastian had insisted she didn’t need to work at first, saying there was no sense in it. But Rae was the type of girl who enjoyed working, looking forward to having responsibilities. It also made sure that she wasn’t wasting her year of doing absolutely nothing.

Dropping off Lilly to her mother with a kiss and a wave, Rae and Trystan head back home. Trystan also had work that evening hostessing at a prestigious restaurant. Though she didn’t pay rent, Trys used the money to buy herself things and make sure that she saved money for University the next year.

On the way home, Dani California by the Red Hot Chili Peppers came on the radio station, making Rae smile and drum her fingers on the wheel. There was nothing better than having the windows down with good music playing, nodding your head to the beat.

Though Trystan said nothing, she rolled her eyes. The difference in music that they both had been astounding, and Rae would never understand how all Trystan could listen to be Lady Gaga, Kanye West and Justin Bieber.

Back at home, they dressed for work, Trystan blaring her top 40 music while, Rae roamed around her room, cracking open the cover to Siddhartha while she got dressed. There was nothing like reading a good book in her mind, and the story of finding yourself really touched her to her core, cause she sometimes understood.

Within the next hour, the two flat mates went their separate ways, Rae going happily off to work, Trystan complaining about her work. Trystan was an extremely free spirit, so it was often hard for her to take orders from someone. Rae swore one day Trystan would be the boss of something just because it was all she was good at.

The first few hours of work went by as usual, Rae wandering around the store and selling music. As it got slower, she put on her own music, humming along as Pink Floyd and Rolling Stones flooded through the speakers, filling her ears.

Glancing at her watch, she saw that she had about an hour left of work. She hoped that no one would walk into the shop, meaning she could lock up and leave early. Closing was never fun, seeing as there was a bar down the street, and during the night shifts, it wasn’t strange to get a drunk idiot in the store, which she never had fun with.

Sitting behind the counter, she pulled out her book and picked up where she left off, the pages already yellowed by oxidation and so many of the pages dog-eared after countless use. Rae always found that she discovered something knew, some sort of truth every time she read that particular novel over again.

Not long into her reading, noise drew her attention. Her brows knit together as she strained upwards to look over the shelves through the glass, attempting to see what noise was coming from outside. But her lack of height prohibited her from seeing anything.

Folding the top of the page, she set the novel down, hurrying towards the front of the store when the noise increased. Walking around the shelves, her head tilted in curiosity, she saw three men standing on the sidewalk, their backs facing her store as they hollered across the street at something.

Rae watched with little interest, her eyes rolling. It was just a bunch of drunks picking a fight with someone, and she didn’t have the patience for them to holler. Just as she turned, she saw them move away from the window and across the street, where a reply could faintly be heard through the window.

Something stayed her movement, both her curiosity at what was going on and at not wanting to walk away from a situation that could become increasingly bad. Both elements are what made her pause in the window long enough to see a brawl break out in the street.

Now, Rae was a smart girl. She had passed all her classes in schools with A’s, and excelled with resilience in anything that she learned. But one thing she had always struggled with, was learning not to stick her nose where it didn’t belong, and as she bolted out of the store to intervene in the fight, her lack of thinking prevailed once again.

“Stop it!” she hollered, realizing that it was three people verse one, though she could not see the victim. She ripped away the outermost man, who snarled at her but stumbled away. “OI! Get off or I’m going to call the bloody police, do you hear me? GO HOME.”

Rae was ripping more of them apart and though she was slight of height, she was strong for a little thing, pulling the last remaining man off of his punching back and turning to push him towards his friends. She stood between the victim and the three men, and realized maybe they had been the victims, seeing their wounds.

“Shove off, before I call someone, yeah?” she demanded, putting her hands on her hips. She could hear someone behind her chuckle, though she had yet to face who ever she save. “Go on, you lot!”

The men cursed and spat at her but moved on nonetheless, calling insults behind them. Ignoring them, she turned around, a question of worry on her lips when she cocked her head to the side, not believing what she saw. “Seriously?” she deadpanned, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m honestly getting really annoyed with seeing you everywhere.”

Harry laughed and then winced, holding his rib cage. Biting her lip, Rae did a quick assessment, seeing that his nose was bloodied and his eye was starting to swell. He was also holding his stomach, which obviously took a beating. All in all, he looked like absolute shit, and smelled like a bar.

“Well don’t mind me,” he grunted, face twisting as he tried to hide his pain, wobbling off. By his swaggering walk and unlaced shoes, Rae assessment was that he was definitely intoxicated. “Run along now and do whatever it is you do.”

Rae was making to turn around when he tripped on his shoelace then, falling forward and landing on all fours with an extremely loud curse. His hands braced himself on the concrete, and she knew they would be stinging with broken skin, gravel and dirt now in them.

“Oh for the love of God!” she called out, throwing her hands up and walking over to him, leaning down and helping him stand. He tried to shove her off, but she held fast to his arms and began leading him towards her work. “I’m doing this because you helped me.”

“I don’t need help,” he growled, pulling away from her. She snatched his arm again and held on tighter, pulling him into the shop. “Let go of me.”

“Shut up, Styles!” she snapped, leading him behind the counter and putting him roughly on the stool. She shoved a towel on his nose and made him hold it. “Now sit there and try not to get on my nerves for five seconds while I lock up. If you so much as move, I’m going to put my foot up your arse.”

“You’d be pretty talented.”

Moving quickly, Rae finished putting everything up, the drunken boy swaying on the stool lightly as he watched her. She was surprised when he made no move at attempting to get away for her, which she was both thankful and annoyed at. She was hoping he would get away from her so she wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore.

Done, she fisted the sleeve of his shirt in her hands and dragged him out of the back, shutting off the lights and practically tossing him in her car. He said nothing, but he switched between glaring at her and just watching her curiously, which she didn’t get.

The ride home was silent as she drove home, watching as he trying not to grimace in pain when she hit bumps. She had to admit she hit some on purpose just to see him twitch.

Arriving at her home, she dragged him to her room and instructed him to sit on the edge of her large bath. He did so without argument, which she was thankful for. It seemed he wasn’t in the mood for arguing with her today either.

Harry’s nose was still bloody when he took away the towel she had given him, but it wasn’t broken, which was a good thing. Wetting a rag, Rae knelt on the ground in front of him, earning a chuckle from his lips. “A lot of girls have gotten on their knees for me,” he commented, looking down at her. “I didn’t think you’d be one of them.”

Sneering, she pressed the cloth to his nose hard, causing him to snarl and grab her hand, glaring at her full force. The anger that had been in his eyes the day before was there, though dimmer. “That hurt.”

“Then stop being an ass.”

Gently, she wiped the blood that was marring his beautiful face, returning it to it’s clean exterior. His eye was bruised, so she filled a small bag with ice, handing it to him and instructing him to place it on his eye.

Next, she wiped clean his hands, having to hold on tight to his wrists as he hissed in pain and cursed when she cleaned them with peroxide. While mending his scraps on his palms, she realized just how large his hands were, and found them strangely beautiful, like the rest of him. Rae couldn’t fathom how someone could possibly be made so perfectly.

“Take off your shirt,” she sighed, standing up. Harry looked up at her, raising his brows at her. Rolling her eyes, she gestured for him to take it off. “Well if it’s money you’re waiting for, you’re not getting it. Come along now.”

Harry grinned at her and stripped clean his shirt, and once again Rae had to struggle to not focus on his perfect skin, though bruised in places, and toned muscles that called for her eyes attention. “You actually made a joke.”

“Who would’ve know,” she muttered sarcastically, placing more packs of ice on his abs. He twitched away from her and giggled slightly, making her look at him strangely. She had never heard him giggle, but decided it was adorable. “Did you just giggle?”

“I’m ticklish.”

“Right.”

When she stood up, she decided that she had tended to all his battle wounds. How she had managed to do that without him fussing, she had absolutely no idea, but she wasn’t going to question it. the longer he was silent, the better.

“You know,” he called from the bathroom as she walked into her bedroom, depositing his dirty and ripped shirt in the trash. “I would have enjoyed this whole show a lot better if you had been dressed as a naughty nurse.”

“And I would have enjoyed it if you were a mute.” Fishing around in her drawers, she found an old t-shirt from an ex, deciding it was the best fit for Harry’s frame. The boy currently in her home wasn’t far off from the prick that had left ages ago. “Here, wear this.”

He examined it before putting it on, the black fabric fitting him perfectly. “Have men stay over often?”

“No. It may be a foreign concept to you, but there is this thing called a ‘relationship.’ That is the remnant of an old one.”

The boy followed her from her bathroom, not noticing just how tired she was with his comments. “For someone who reads Siddhartha, you would think you get rid of this shirt, seeing as it’s a piece of past you don’t like.”

Rae stopped putting her supplies away, turning to look at him. He stood in the middle of her room, his drunken but intelligent eyes focused on her. He still leaned strangely in his stance, the only sign that he was highly under the influence. “What do you know about Siddhartha?”

“That he gave up his past to move forward… which you don’t seem to be doing.”

Rae stared at him. In her entire life, she had never met someone who was such confusion, such a mystery to her. it seemed that many of the things she had learned about him were true; he was a drunk, he was aggressive, and there was a side to him that was very dangerous, though she had not met that part of him. And yet Harry seemed to have the wit and intelligence of special value. Rae simply didn’t understand his complexity.

“I suppose I’ve offended you, but even you can forgive a drunk, I’m sure?” he gave her a smile and waltzed over to her bed, plopping down on the edge. His smiled made it clear he was antagonizing her; he couldn’t care less if she gave him an apology of not.

“You’re right,” she replied, voice quiet. “But you’re not just some dumb drunk, are you? I could forgive a drunk.”