#like she's just a genuinely unwell person and it's been hell dealing with her shit this past year

[unknown-limes]

I know like, legally, I shouldn't open other people's mail, but my current roommate's ex who stalked me for like a year still gets mail delivered and I REALLY want to be nosy.

[butterbeeryuta]

the ikea guy

ikea employee!yangyang x uni student!reader | oneshot series | fluff, CRACK| 1.9 k

Fuck Kim Doyoung. Fuck his boyfriend. Fuck the weak ass tv rack you bought. Fuck the human’s Id taking control over people. Fuck humanity.

The last thing you wanted to see was your roommate and his boyfriend, who were both barely clothed by the way, trying to fix the already broken tv rack you bought 2 years ago when you moved out of the dorms to a new apartment 8 minutes away from your university. Short story short, the two men were busy doing their shit— which you honestly did not mind since you yourself bring home some guys to, you know, have fun with. But what you could not understand was why they had to do in your living room, against the tv rack. All you could remember was screaming at Doyoung, while Taeyong was there apologising, but you knew that the little devil was internally laughing, finding the entire situation hilarious. Your roommate, on the other hand, was not giving a shit about what you were saying, which was normal for the two of you. Ever since he moved in with you in your second year, both of you had an interesting relationship. Despite your arguments with one another and ‘uncaringness,’ assuming that is a word, the two of you still looked after another. A month or so ago, Doyoung kept you up all night since he was busy having a little drinking party in his room, and his friends were loud. Especially that Jaehyun guy; his laugh alone could honestly wake up the entire neighbourhood. Then again, Doyoung’s laugh is pretty ugly too considering he literally laughs like, ‘ha ha ha ha ha ha.’ I swear, you love Doyoung. Anyways, Doyoung nicely mailed all of your professors the next day that you were feeling unwell, allowing you to stay in and sleep a bit more. Except, he told you about it while you were rushing to the door to run to your lessons. You two were interesting.

Eventually, Doyoung apologised and gave you the money to purchase a better tv rack. You were expecting him to buy it for you, then again, he was Kim fucking Doyoung. He just ain’t like that. So here you were, at motherfucking Ikea. Every child’s nightmare, including yours. Your aim was to find the cheapest tv rack, yet still pretty good in quality. You were not the type to give a damn about the aesthetics and things; if it’s going to help you store your shit, that’s all you needed. Which is probably why you hated furniture shopping, you could never appreciate the so-called ‘beauty’ of it. Following the arrows printed on the grey floor, buying the tv rack was more complex than you thought. There was black, white, yellow, brown, wooden, grey— more colours than you could have ever imagined. You honestly just wanted the cheapest one at this point, forget quality. Everything else was giving you a headache. Without wanting to use more of your brain cells, perhaps for now, socialising will make it less painful, even if you really hated people as of this moment. Looking around for a person wearing the yellow and blue striped shirt with a name tag on, you eventually found the person you were looking for. Not too tall, but he wasn’t short either. Well, at least he won’t be intimidating.

‘Um, excuse me—‘

‘Ma’am the hotdogs and ice cream are available after you purchase your materials at the cashier.’

What. What the fuck?

‘What?’ The guy turned to look towards you, unamused with whatever you currently had to say. Your eyes slightly widened by his appearance, but you swear to your kneecaps if he remains to be like this, you’re going to bite.

‘You’re looking for the food right? Just pay for whatever stuff you have now and—‘

‘Why the hell would I want to buy food here, I just want to know the cheapest tv rack you have in this store’ you interrupted, not willing to hear any of his bullshit, despite him having a pretty face. Now it was his turn to be taken back by what you said. Goodness, how long has this imbecile been working here?

‘Oh um… yeah I don’t know. Maybe if you’ll look around you’ll know?’ Oh you’ve got to be kidding. Not wanting to waste more time on this pretty idiot, you looked at his name-tag to tell off to another Ikea employee. You were not having it today. See you later Yangyang.

—————————————————————————————————

Okay. Apparently people who work in this nightmare of a furniture store take their shit seriously. You just went to another person to complain about Yangyang, and here you are, at the manager’s office. Literally, what the fuck.

‘I would like to apologise on his behalf again, he’s new here. He does not know what exactly he is doing, but I can assure you the rest of the staff here are kind and willing to help. I sincerely apologise that you had to experience such unacceptable behaviour from our staff’ the manager said, bowing his head for the nth time. You honestly wanted to leave and just purchase the tv rack online; you wanted that Ikea guy to not be a dick— that’s why you complained. What you didn’t want is the poor guy to be fired from his job.

‘No, no, please don’t worry. I’m pretty sure he is a good natured person, probably just had a bad day—‘

‘No, that is utter nonsense! We will get this settled now. Please take a seat Ms. ________’ he said, moving his rather puffy face towards the black microphone, pressing the green button with his stubby fingers. Oh no.

‘Liu Yangyang please come to Mr. Park Yoobin’s office. Liu Yangyang please come to Mr. Park Yoobin’s office, now.’ What have I done.

—————————————————————————————————

You were annoyed that you put yourself into this mess. But the guy beside you, if looks could kill, you would have probably woken up in hell by now. You felt bad, you didn’t want this to happen at all. Like you said, you just complained about Yangyang being ‘not helpful’ when you asked him a question to another man that was slightly shorter than you. You expected no reaction at all, you just did it cause you were in a bad mood thanks to Doyoung and his boyfriend. That was of course, until the older man gasped loudly, shocked to hear the words that came out of your mouth. Today was a really bad day.

‘Mr. Liu, I know that this is your second week working here, but that gives no excuse to treat a lovely customer like Ms. ________ poorly. Even if you didn’t know where a certain furniture piece is, you could have made the effort to look for it with her.’ Mr. Park said, his eyebrows furrowing even more as he spoke. It was quite a funny sight from where you were sitting. Then again, this was not a funny situation, you hated every minute of it because not only is it wasting your time, but you could possibly be the reason why this Ikea guy will lose his job.

Yangyang felt pretty guilty for assuming in an instance that you were wanting to ask for food, when you actually had a pretty genuine question. He also felt useless for not helping you effectively, but he didn’t want this job at all. He wanted to work at the cafe near his university, instead of travelling for another 30 minutes just to be in the corner and see people search for furniture to build their so-called ‘dream home.’ Although he did not exactly have anything against an aesthetic appeal or such, he did judge people like that. And little did he know, so were you. Then again, he didn’t exactly care about that at this point. He wanted to stay away from you as soon as possible for putting him in such a position. He already felt bad for not helping you properly, and maybe he somewhat understood why he was sitting in the manager’s office, but literally, what the fuck.

‘Mr. Park, I honestly did not mean to show such disrespect to the customer. I do admit that I was being a know-it-all, thinking that she— what’s your name again?’ He asks me, actually talking to me for the first time since he walked into the room.

‘Um, ________—‘

‘Ms. ________ wanted to go to the food court. And as you said, I have only been here for 2 weeks. I am still unsure of where certain things are, and I perhaps should have helped Ms. ________, so yes, I do sincerely apologise.’ My, my, was he good at saying bullshit.

‘Mr. Liu I appreciate your honesty, and you should really be grateful for Ms. ________ for being so kind, wanting to make sure that nothing happens to you’ the man in front of you said, both his hands interlocking one another as he looks at his employee. And although you were looking at Mr. Park, you certainly did not miss the widening of Yangyang’s eyes. He must be thinking that I was a hypocritical psycho bitch. He isn’t wrong with that at all though.

‘Um, Mr. Park. If you really want to make it up for me, I just really need the tv rack. My roommate is paying for it, so considering that, it really urgent for me to go soon. I’m sure Yangyang was just having a bad day, so please, give the boy a second chance.’ You began packing your things, eventually standing up, not wanting to hear any more rebuttals from the Ikea manager. You had enough.

‘Ms. ________ hold on—‘ And you closed the door. Fucking rat, why couldn’t he leave me alone and deal with his employee privately?

—————————————————————————————————

You finally got the cheapest tv rack available from Ikea, completely contradicting yourself earlier when you said you would’ve rather shopped online. With the amount of cash Doyoung gave you, Ikea was probably a better choice.

‘Hey, you!’ What the fuck?

You turned around, and of course, it was the Ikea guy, but he wasn’t wearing his uniform. And he looked so much more attractive, no matter how much you didn’t want to admit it. With his dyed hair swept to the side and his oversized knit turtle neck, he looked so much… softer and calmer. Well that contrasted with his character. You crossed your arms, waiting for the man to come closer.

‘What was that about? Look, I know I didn’t help you and I do feel quite guilty about it, but was it really that necessary to—‘

‘Before you act like a dick again, I didn’t want it to happen either. I’m a petty ass person, and though it wasn’t mandatory to tell on you, which I’m sorry for by the way, you annoyed me despite how pretty you look. I’m pretty sure you still have your job, and I got my tv rack. So let’s just forget all of this happened, and move on with our petty lives— are you okay? Did I say something wrong’ Why is he looking at me like that?  He just smiled at me, tilting his head slightly, and it’s making you feel warm for some reason.

‘Well since you said that we both live petty lives, and called me pretty so thank you for that, let me take this—‘ he says, tearing the tv rack box open, grabbing one of the rack’s legs, which only made you stand in complete astonishment; what the mcfucking hell was he doing? ‘—and well, somehow find me babe!’ Yangyang shouts, walking away from you quicker and quicker.

‘GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE, AND RETURN MY FUCKING LEG!’

‘By the way, I also think you look pretty!’ He’s worse than Kim Doyoung. He is actually so much worse than Kim Doyoung.

[heyyyharry]

Chapter 2: Castles In The Air

(from the My Girl Trilogy: Be My Only)

…in which Y/N can’t stop worrying about Harry, but she isn’t the only one.

AU: actor!Harry, older!Harry, younger!Y/N, (4-year age gap).

Word count: 5k

Wattpad link

Chapter 1: Fire And Rain - Harry and Y/N go back to where it ended.

A/N: Welcome back to emotional hell. Listen to What If I Never Get Over Your? by Lady Antebellum for full experience. - Allie.

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Isaac thought he had done a great job. Y/N had trusted him enough to reveal why she'd gone back to Holmes Chapel last year, not because of her father's wedding, but because of Harry. He knew everything, from how they'd got together to how they'd ended. Though the truth was evidently unpleasant, it also made him sigh in relief, for he was sure she had officially moved on.

But last night he'd seen for himself, how she had freaked out at the party and later broken down in the hospital. He'd seen the way she'd held Harry, how she'd cried, thinking something bad had happened to him. She was usually talkative when they were alone, but had been awfully quiet on the drive back to her place. It didn't take a mind-reader to figure out what was bothering her. It was that hug they had shared, what he had whispered into her ear that nobody else would ever know. And in that moment Isaac realized, there was a place in her heart that he could never reach.

It'd been a rough night, and his loud thoughts had kept him awake until 3AM, with fear that the girl in his arms could leave him any minute. But when the morning came, everything seemed to have fallen back into place. Stepping into the kitchen with sleep in his eyes, he was greeted by his girlfriend's gleeful "good morning!" and the delicious smell of sizzling bacon and eggs. Maybe he had over-exaggerated the situation yesterday, because Y/N was still here, and she was...making breakfast?

"Y/N! The eggs!"

"Shit!" The girl nearly knocked everything off the table as she fled across the room to turn off the stove. Clouds of dark smoke erupted from the frying pan, causing the couple to start coughing uncontrollably.

"My eggs..." She mumbled with a frown when he stroked her head and burst out laughing.

"I thought my girl was possessed, but I'm glad she's still herself." His joke made her snort as she tossed the burnt egg into the bin and told him she would try again. But after what he had just witnessed, he thought he should do all the cooking from now on, for their own safety.

"Step aside. I'll manage," he said with a smirk, nudging her with his hip to steal her spot as they both giggled together.

"Okay, so you take care of our breakfast. I'm gonna finish this."

Curious, Isaac stole a glance at his girlfriend, and saw her put the tuna salad she'd made into a lunch box. It wasn't like her to wake up early, make breakfast and lunch for herself. She hated cooking more than she hated children crying on the bus, and she'd rather starve than turn on her stove.

"Hey," she spoke before he could ask. "Can you bring this to Harry later?"

"Did he ask you to cook for him?"

"No." Y/N shook her head. "Niall said he wasn't allowed to go anywhere, so I decided to make him food."

Her naive response made Isaac cackle. He told her not to worry, that Harry's team would make sure he had the healthiest, and most expensive meals, while laying in bed. But that didn't ease the wrinkles between her brows.

"These foods will help his wounds heal faster." She met his thoughtful stare. "Besides, you two have to talk to each other at one point. This is your chance to make up."

"We're fine."

"How 'fine' exactly?" She arched an eyebrow at him. "I know everything is my fault, and I'm trying to—"

Isaac didn't let her finish. He grabbed her chin, kissing her full on the mouth, and slightly pushing her backward until her back bumped into the desk. His kiss became more urgent as his hands moved to hold her cheeks. She kissed him back, fingertips resting on his face. Neither of them knew what had gotten into him, yet both went with it because, what else would they do?

Reassurance. He needed reassurance.

But this kiss wasn't it.

Slowly, he pulled away, tucking a loose strand behind her ear as his heart started racing faster. With a smile to cover up the fact that he was on tenterhooks, he said in hushed tones, "why don't you ask Niall to bring him the food? They live very near each other."

The truth dawned on Y/N as her eyes shifted away from his. She thought for a couple seconds before nodding her head, and Isaac hoped she didn't think he hated Harry. How could he? He loved Harry like his own brother, and had sacrificed a lot for him since they became friends; like his top bunk in the dorm because Harry wanted it, his 20th birthday party because Harry had failed a movie audition that same day, his first magazine cover deal because Harry's hateful ex was the model, and many other times he couldn't recall. He'd done everything, no questions asked, because he believed Harry would do the same for him.

But Y/N wasn't something they could take and give whenever they wanted. She was a person, someone Isaac truly cared about. And he'd known from the start once he'd fallen for her he could never step back, which was why he'd asked Harry if he'd had feelings for her too. If only the answer had been 'yes' since the beginning, he would've walked away for them to be together. Would Harry have done the same? Would Harry have respected Isaac's feelings for Y/N and stepped aside, instead of going after her while Isaac was in Rome? No. Harry had done the opposite. And even so, even now, Isaac would still walk away. But things weren't as simple as it used to be. He was in too deep to undo how he felt about her for someone who'd broken her heart again and again.

There were certain things in his life that he was always in control of. Feelings, just weren't one of them.

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"What do you mean you're in LA?!"

"I got on the plane as soon as I dropped Harry off last night." Niall sounded so casual, as if it wasn't a big deal to fly to a different country every time he was bored. A normal person like Y/N could never relate to it, though she guessed nothing could be too much for someone with excessive fame and fortune like Niall Horan.

As Niall rambled on about his second birthday party in LA, Y/N had missed most of it while busy sorting the books on the shelves. She would get in so much trouble if her manager caught her on the phone while at work again.

"That sounds super cool, Niall. But I really gotta go," she told him, holding the phone between her ear and shoulder. "Have fun at your party."

"Thanks! Have a nice day, Y/N!"

I wish, Y/N thought, as she hung up and headed back to the reception counter. There hadn't been a single customer that morning, so her friend and co-worker Alice was sitting behind the counter, filing her nails instead of doing whatever she was supposed to do. Sometimes Y/N truly felt bad for their boss. He had only two employees, but neither one was hardworking or at least responsible.

Alice actually got fired from her job in their university library for never showing up on time, and Y/N couldn't stay there either. Without Alice, no one would make sure she got to read as much as she wanted without getting caught. So the girls ended up finding this new job, and apparently hadn't learnt any lesson from their previous one.

"Al, I need back up," said Y/N as she threw on her jacket and grabbed her bag and lunchbox. "If Eddie comes back before me, tell him I've got some 'lady issues' and had to leave, yeah?"

"Lady issues? Wow, we've really run out of excuses, haven't we?" Alice seemed quite amused.

"He'll believe anything." Y/N rolled her eyes as she scoffed. "Once I told him my cat was sick, and he gave me a weekend off."

"You have a cat?"

"No, but he has three."

Alice giggled as she gave the older girl a high-five. They could only be mean to Eddie when he wasn't around. After all, he was the one who paid them, so the least they could do was treat him with respect...when he was around.

"You're meeting up with Isaac?" Alice asked with a massive grin, but Y/N only shook her head and said, "a friend."

Waving Alice goodbye, she left the store and walked to her car which she'd recently bought from a man living in the same building. Though it ran out of fuel pretty fast, and once left her stuck on an empty highway in the middle of the night, it was still good for a used Vauxhall. To be honest, she'd made a lot of questionable buying decisions ever since she moved to London, but that car wasn't one of them.

As Y/N buckled up her seat belt and started the engine, she only had one thing on her mind. Maybe she should leave the lunchbox at his door, ring the bells, and run away before he saw her. That way she wouldn't have to talk to him and still make sure he got her food. But on second thought, wouldn't it make her a coward? If she was so sure that she was completely over him, she should act like an adult and face him at some point. Besides, she'd said it herself, Harry was mentally and physically unwell. What he needed most at this point was someone to look after him. If not Niall or Isaac, that someone had to be her.

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When the doorbell rang, Harry didn't expect it to be Y/N.

He had too many 'friends' here in London. But ever since his accident made the news, the only person who'd come to visit him was his manager Jeff, which said a lot about working in this industry. The cameras might stop rolling but the people never stopped acting. His Bambi, however, was different from all the others. She showed up here because she genuinely cared about him, and even though he didn't deserve that kindness, he was very thankful she'd decided to come.

"I brought you lunch." Y/N showed Harry the pink lunchbox and a wide grin that made his heart leap in content. 

As she walked in and politely asked to use the bathroom, he played along, saying "you're welcome" in response to her humble "thank you". They thought it would be less awkward if they pretended that she was a stranger to this place. Pretending was easy, forgetting was hard. The memories of their last night together were still vivid as if it was yesterday. She had stood right there in the middle of his living room, in his shirt, with tears running down her red cheeks. The look she'd given him was utterly heartbreaking. And if he could go back in time, he would tell her those three words again and again until she agreed to stay.

"I guess I'm leaving now."

But he couldn't go back in time. And this was reality. He watched the smile fade from her lips as she walked right past him, straight towards the door. On spur of the moment, he said aloud what he should've said a year ago.

"Stay."

She stopped dead in her track, turning to look at him like he'd committed a crime. The last thing he wanted was to make her feel uncomfortable, so he plastered a smile on his face. "Stay for a cup of tea?"

"I have to get back to work," she replied with a sense of reluctance.

"Since when do you care about work?"

"Excuse me! I'm very responsible, alright?" She pointed to herself as they both cracked up in unison.

Harry guessed he must've looked like a fool for smiling this much, still he couldn't help it. Her presence made him feel alive. He shouldn't have spent a fortune on a therapist while he could've just gone to her instead.

"It won't take long," he insisted, this time giving her a pout. Y/N tossed her head back as she rolled her eyes, knowing for sure there was no way to deny him when he looked at her like that. So she shrugged off her jacket and hung it up by the door, making him sigh in relief.

"Only for a cup of tea," she emphasized the word, more like a reminder for herself than for him. But even so, once they had finished their tea and the discussion about how those doctors had stitched up Harry's wounds, they switched on Netflix. And that was how hours had gone to waste, only for a cup of tea. Well, it wasn't actually a waste, at least for Harry, who needed an excuse to spend as much time with his Bambi as possible. He was like a teenager on his first date, stealing glances at the girl he fancied, hoping she wouldn't notice, though he wouldn't mind if she did.

Judging by her many different facial expressions, Harry believed he might've missed a whole lot of what was happening on the screen. But he was too far gone to keep on watching while she was right here. When the last episode ended, they sat in silence, staring at the rolling credits. He was waiting for her to suggest watching something else so they didn't have to talk. But apparently, she also felt like a conversation was necessary. She turned to him, both of them parted their lips and quickly looked away at the same time. He caught a glimpse of her hands rubbing onto her thighs. She was nervous. And he was too.

"You've...changed your wallpapers." Her little discovery made him laugh a little bit. As it turned out, he wasn't the only who sucked at starting a conversation.

"I did. Thank you for noticing."

She met his eyes and they were beaming at one another. Now that the unwelcoming awkwardness had passed, Harry thought he should say something. Tell a joke, maybe. No, that poor attempt would be suicide. But what should he say? Everything that he wanted to say was all wrong. He couldn't tell her that he'd been thinking about kissing her since she walked in. That he missed her so much his body ached. That he could still feel her in his arms after last night, and now he began to wonder if she could feel it as well. Most of all, he couldn't tell her he loved her. He thought he might've missed the only chance to say it, and now his life sentence was to live with it as a secret until the day he died.

As he kept on fidgeting, Y/N's eyes wandered around the room, and spotted his new movie script lying on the desk opposite from them. "Castles In The Air," she read the title aloud, catching his full attention.

"That's not for you! It's confidential," he said quickly as she attempted to go get it.

Y/N breathed out a laugh, rolling her eyes. "What's the point of having an actor as a friend, if you still have to wait for the movie to come out like everyone else?"

Harry didn't know why he started beaming at the word 'friend'. Just yesterday they were nothing, and now she called him a friend, which meant he was gradually gaining back her trust. And that was enough to keep him happy for the rest of the day.

"You know," she began, resting her chin on her palm. "When I was little I used to think that 'castles in the air' were actual castles floating in the air. I got so fed up when I learnt the real meaning of it. Desires, ideas, or plans that are unlikely to be realized. How disappointing is that?"

He nodded to agree. "It sucks to grow up and find out not everything is possible."

His remark made her chuckle. Her eyebrows knitted together as she told him, "our 'castles in the air' are all built out of fear. They're like...our coping mechanism."

"How so?" He asked, smiling while studying her expression. He loved the way her eyes twinkled when she came up with something smart, which was almost everything that she said. The way she observed the world was different from everyone else, and he adored her for that, he could listen to her talk forever.

She began with a little smile. "We create these unrealistic ideas and believe in them to distract ourselves from our disappointing reality. For example, we talk about inhabiting on Mars, so we don't have to worry about our planet dying. We tell ourselves that something big is gonna happen to us tomorrow, because we don't wanna roll out of bed and repeat the same boring day. We believe the person we love will also love us back, because we can't stand the fear of rejection."

Harry knew she didn't include the last example on purpose, and only realized how ironic it sounded until after. As she paused to make sure he wasn't upset, he gave her a reassuring smile. "So...tell me yours?"

Y/N held his eye contact as she spent some time thinking before answering his question. "Don't have one. I already have everything I need."

Even herself didn't fully believe in those words. How could he? But he wasn't going to force her to give him the truth. He accepted that answer, and let it go, allowing the silence to sink back in. This time it only lasted for about five seconds.

"Give me your motorcycle key," Y/N said as she opened her right hand, looking dead serious at him.

"Why?" He lifted one eyebrow in confusion, at the same time, slightly amused.

"Because I don't trust you with it after last night. Come on, hand it over."

Sighing, Harry grabbed his coat on the backrest of the couch. He pulled out the key from the pocket then put it in her hand. She gave him a questioning look, chuckling nervously.

"I was only kidding."

"I wasn't," he answered to her surprise. "I already told you, I don't want you to worry again. So you can have the key."

She stared at him as if he'd said something wrong. He watched her lips tremble, not knowing what to expect while the look in her eyes was eating away at him.

"At the hospital..." His entire body stiffened once he heard those words. "You said something about...the fireplace. What did you mean by that?"

"You know what I meant..." Harry said under his breath.

"I don't. That's why I'm asking." Her voice was soft, yet stern and direct, letting him know she wasn't going to let him off that easily.

But he didn't believe her. Y/N would never forget her mother's words. She must've had figured out what he meant right when he said it. Thus there was only one good explanation.

Fear.

She was fearful of hearing those three words now that she'd moved on. So she hoped he had misunderstood the metaphor, or at least remembered it differently. It'd be easier for her if he didn't love her. Then they could pretend like nothing had ever happened. And she wouldn't have to feel guilty for being with Isaac. Harry wouldn't know for sure, but it didn't matter. Right now, he must make up his mind. He could either tell her what she wanted to hear, which would make him a liar; or tell her what he wanted her to hear, and never spoke to her again. Either way he would lose.

The sound of doorbell shot Harry right out of his seat as he took it as the universe throwing him a lifeline. Despite his injured knee, he dashed towards the front door, praying it was Niall, or Jeff, Gemma or even Isaac. Nevertheless, he was out of luck.

"Rubes..."

His gruff voice immediately washed off the beam on the woman's face. She released a faint gasp, cupping his cheeks and observing the scratches from the accident.

"I wish you'd called me," she uttered before pulling him in.

Harry didn't expect that hug. His first instinct was to push her away and turn to his Bambi, whose eyes widened in shock as she rose up from the couch. The way Ruby looked at her was far from courteous, so Harry guessed she had assumed only the worst about them. There was no possible way this encounter could end with smiles and handshakes.

"This is Ruby," he spoke, unable to look into those eyes when he was introducing her to the cause of their last goodbye. "Ruby, this is—"

"Y/N, Harry and I were neighbors in Holmes Chapel," she said, stepping forward to shake the woman's hand. 

"How long are you gonna be in London?" Ruby asked, throwing on a grin. It was scary for most people how fast she could switch from one emotion to another, but Harry had grown used to it. It was only with him that she showed how she really felt.

"Actually...I live here in London. Harry and I knew each other when we were kids, then we separated for a long time," Y/N said, still Ruby wouldn't leave her alone.

"And how did you meet again? He's never mentioned you, not even once."

"Rubes," Harry cautiously lowered his voice as a warning, but neither of the girls paid attention to him.

"It's a long story, Harry can tell you later," Y/N calmly said before picking up her handbag and placing Harry's key on the glass table. He thought she would just head out of the door without turning back, but instead she stopped right in front of him. She was expecting something, and he knew exactly what it was.

He ignored the look Ruby was giving them and pulled Y/N into his arms like he'd done the previous night. He made sure no space was left between them, and that she would have something to remember when she walked out of here. But Y/N knew Ruby was watching, so she just put her hands on his back, barely touching him though it was all she wanted to do.

"Text me when you get home safe, alright?" He whispered.

Without another word, she gave him a nod before pulling away. Then she was gone, leaving so fast he could barely finished the word "goodbye". And now he was scared to guess what she might think of him after today. The man who kept running back to the ex he said he didn't love anymore, the same man who'd broken her heart and let her run out in the pouring rain, not the man who had changed and deserved a second chance to make her happy. So much for closure and sincerity, he thought.

With a heavy heart, he shut the door and turned back to Ruby, who was waiting for him, lips slightly parted.

"Have you been sleeping with her?" She asked immediately.

"No," was his answer as he walked back to the couch. Her big cat eyes observed his every move, like she was the predator and he was her prey. In silence, she came to sit by his side and watched him open Y/N's lunchbox while acting like she didn't exist. Now she couldn't take it anymore. She pulled the lunchbox away from Harry, leaving him flabbergasted. If only he would snarl at her, or at least show any kind of emotion to prove that he cared, but all that she got in return was silence. And Ruby hated meaningless silence more than anything in the world.

"She wasn't just a friend, was she?" That wasn't a question, this was, "are you in love with her?"

"She's got a boyfriend. Are you happy to hear that?"

"No." She bit her bottom lip. "If you don't look happy to say it."

"Fuck, Rubes." Harry exhaled, causing the older woman to flinch in surprise. "What else do you want me to say? She's dating Isaac. My best friend. Can you just give me a break?"

Not a single part of that answer stated that he wasn't in love with Y/N, but that was the last thing Ruby cared about at this point. She was so hopeless that she would accept any answer showing a possibility for her to win him back. Taking a deep breath, she forced a smile, forgetting he could always tell when her happiness was fake.

"I'm sorry...I overreacted." She said quietly. He hoped she would stop there, but he knew her well enough to be sure that she wouldn't.

"I have every right to worry though," she began as expected. "You promised to give me a chance, but stopped talking to me since you came back from Holmes Chapel. Then this girl was in your house, and you started acting weird towards me. How am I supposed to feel?"

"I'm sorry...I've had a terrible week." He sighed, turning back to her. There was no reason for him to be sorry, but if it could stop Ruby from giving him a hard time, he didn't mind saying it.

"I forgive you," she whispered, laying her head on his shoulder. Harry swallowed hard when he felt her lips at his ear and soon on his neck. They used their mouths a lot when they were together alone, just never for talking. This was the only way for her to get close to him, and Harry knew exactly how this would end. The only thing on his mind when he kissed her lips, was the look of disappointment Y/N had given him before she walked out. He was also disappointed in himself, yet did nothing to stop Ruby from getting down on her knees and undoing his pants. His head tossed back, and his eyes fell shut. He just wanted to feel something other than a heartache, anything.

.

.

.

The tension in the room had escalated to the point of no return. Something had gone wrong, and Y/N could only wish she knew what it was.

It was probably a bad idea to tell Isaac about her going to Harry's place, but from her own experience, every failed relationship began with a secret, no matter how small. And they were doing so well, she didn't want to mess this up by keeping a secret from him. However, his reaction left her confused. His smile dimmed slowly before fading out, and the blue in his eyes turned ice cold.

"I thought Niall was gonna bring him the food?" He mumbled, not looking at her, even though she was sitting right by his side on the bed.

"Niall was in LA. I called him," she tried to explain, tugging harder at his sleeve to gain back his attention. "But does it matter? I was trying to tell you about—"

"Ruby. I get it." He breathed.

No, he doesn't get it, not at all. "Harry is in a bad place right now, and the last thing he needs is going back to her. I'm worried about him."

"Aren't you always?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked, withdrawing her hands at once.

Isaac rose up and started pacing back and forth, until he was calm enough to stop and point a finger at her. "You're worried about him and Ruby, not because Ruby is toxic for him. But because you cannot accept that he's still the same person who hurt you before."

"No—"

"Don't." He took a step back when she got up and reached for him. Her heart was pounding, and her eyes watered in a second.

"You still love him, right?" Isaac's breathy voice was mixed with a tired laugh that made his body shake slightly.

Without a second thought, she surged forward to seize his arm. "I don't. I'm with you now," she whispered, sounding so desperate, but it wasn't enough to convince him to stay. He took her hands and pinned them to her chest. In that instant, her heart wrenched as the lump in her throat grew bigger.

"Lie to yourself all you want, but don't lie to me." His voice was dangerously low, as if even himself couldn't believe he was saying those words. "You cannot love me, or anyone else for that matter, at least not as much as you love him. But wake up, Y/N. He loves Ruby. He's always gonna love Ruby, he's not gonna change for you. I wish you could just see that...Why can't you see that?" Isaac voice went weaker towards the end, until he had nothing left to say to her, so he reached for the door handle. He told her they could continue their talk in the morning, when they were in their right mind to think this through. However, Y/N had a feeling that nothing was going to change.

Once he had left, she sat alone on her bedroom floor, contemplating his last words over and over again until her mind became numb and she couldn't continue. That was when a text lit up her phone.

⌲ H: Are you home yet?

She almost ignored him. Almost.

⌲ I am. Sorry, forgot to let you know.

⌲ H: It's okay :)

Three dots popped up to show that he was typing, only to disappear right afterwards, leaving Y/N heartbroken. She wasn't thinking straight when she wrote 'Had a fight with Isaac. I don't know what to do.' But right before pressing send, it occurred to her that having him involved might be a bad idea, so she deleted it all and put her phone on airplane mode.

At that same moment, Harry was sitting fully-naked on his bed, patiently waiting for those three dots to reappear. One minute. Two minutes. Now it'd been five, and his heart slowed down for he knew it was not going to happen. He put his device back on the nightstand, just as Ruby pulled him back under the covers. He let her snuggle into his bare chest, while all he wanted was to get out of this room because it didn't feel right. In the darkness, he imagined the girl he loved lying in the arms of his best friend, and his heart wilted to the unpleasant thought.

Little did he knew, Y/N was on her own, trying to fall asleep so she would wake up to a message from Isaac that said everything was fine. But was it really? Or was it just another one of those unrealistic fantasies she'd created for herself — her coping mechanism? Building castles in the air was easier than accepting reality. Having a perfect relationship, a perfect boyfriend, a perfect life, were certainly better than facing the same ending twice.