Summer

Four.

The night air was by no means chilly, but Summer still rubbed her hands over her arms. She was eagerly awaiting Harry's arrival, looking around past the hedges and trees that surrounded her home. She clutched a pair of sandals in one hand by the rubber that went over the top of the foot, determined to stay barefoot until he arrived. The cooled stone of her patio felt nice for her soles.

And then there was the sound of shoes hitting pavement and gravel, a dark silhouette in the distance getting closer. Harry ran up from the left, out of the darkness and into the faltering light from Summer's porch. He slowed to a stop a few feet away from her, only slightly winded, and ran a hand over his curls. He had a plain white t-shirt on now instead of the shirt from earlier.

"Whoo, I should take that guy up on his offer to train me on how to run," he said with a shake of his head. His curls bounced about his face. Summer burst into laughter and raised a brow.

"What guy?" she asked. Harry smiled back at her and gave a shrug.

"Oh, just this man," he shrugged. "Bit cute. Short brown hair with bits of blonde in it. Kind of buff looking."

"Bit cute?" Summer asked, both eyebrows raised now. "Anyway, he sounds like my friend Liam. He seem full of an impossible amount of confidence, but still somehow shy?"

"Yup," Harry said, popping the 'p'. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and shrugged his shoulders. "What's wrong with me finding him cute? I can find anyone I want cute."

"There's nothing wrong with it," Summer said. Both were grinning ear to ear. "But he's my friend. Like a brother to me. So, that's kind of gross. Can't you find someone else cute?"

"I find you cute," Harry quipped. Summer rolled her eyes. "Anyway, are we going on this walk, or not?"

"Yes," Summer nodded. She slipped her sandals onto her feet, leaning onto the fence near her. "Okay, let's go."

Harry waited for her to make her way over to him, before he turned and began to lead the way. Summer followed closely, eventually managing to fall into step behind him. Gods, that man had quite a pair of legs. She looked over them out of the corner of her eye.

"Are you checking me out?" Harry chuckled, eying her back. Summer snorted at that and pointedly looked away from him.

"So what if I am?" she said. She bit her lower lip for a moment. "You're a pretty attractive guy."

"Pretty and attractive?" Harry said. He waggled his eyebrows at her when she turned to him.

"Boy, don't make me smack you!" Summer said, forcing herself to sound irritated. She glared at him to really add to it. Harry laughed and Summer broke into a smile.

"You wouldn't dare, this face is too beautiful to damage," Harry said, running his hand over his face. Summer rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"So, you just, walk around like this?" Summer asked. "In the dark? At 3 in the morning?"

"Yes," it was Harry's turn to chuckle. "The world during the day is certainly quite beautiful, but there's a different kind of beauty and serenity to it at night."

Summer looked ahead and nodded. She looked around her; at the trees and houses lit by the moon and the occasional porch light, taking it all in. She listened to the sounds of crickets and frogs, the sounds of their feet on gravel or grass as they passed over it. He wasn't wrong.

They turned on a path that lead through one of the parks around the town. Summer sucked in a breath at how pretty the lights strung up over the tables looked. She'd never been out much at night, except to work or drive to the city for a night out. Suddenly she felt a bit of loss at what she had been missing the whole time.

"Lovely, isn't it?" Harry's quiet voice right by her ear made her jump. He leaned away as she looked up at him.

"Yeah," she breathed just as quietly. Harry smiled warmly down at her. "I can't believe I've never done this before. But what do you do out here, all by yourself?"

Harry looked away from her, clenched and unclenched his jaw, and shrugged. He drew in a breath and let it out again.

"Mostly I just think," he said. Summer nodded when he looked at her again. "Sometimes I brainstorm."

"Brainstorm for what?" Summer asked. Her eyebrows knitted together, deep lines creasing her brow. Harry smiled again, a bit more subtly then.

"I write songs," he said. The corners of his mouth twitched upward more when Summer's face lit up. "I'm in a band. It's why I'm gone a lot."