Robbers - The 1975

ISABELLA

Not once do his eyes falter away from me. The green becoming masked by a dark cloud. I suddenly feel self-conscious. I find myself constantly pulling at my dress and scratching the back of my arm. His stare is hard, almost cold. They stay trained on me, even when we sit down for dinner. 

I finally look up at him and our eyes meet. His once cold stare softens and his panty-dropping smirk resurfaces. He lets out a small chuckle but quickly looks down at his plate. 

"This looks great, Izzy." Chase comments. He sends me a warm smile, hoping to cut the awkward tension that has filtered into the room. 

"You made this?" Harry asks. His tone is surprised, almost impressed. "Our own Rachel Ray. Aren't we lucky." He jokes, winking at me. I try to fight the ferocious blush that tries to surface, failing miserably at doing so. 

"Wait a sec," Jaz's voice is high and breaks through the silence. "Your name is Harry?" Her eyes widen as they begin to process everything. Her mind begins to click, everything making sense. 

"That's my name." Harry says, his eyes not once leaving me. 

"Well then." She lets out a giggle. Ben raises an eyebrow at his girlfriend, not getting the joke of the situation. 

"Am I missing something?" He questions. Jaz is about to speak but I am quick to interrupt. I'm not sure if Harry wants everyone to know about what he does during the day. Judging by what Jaz has said about Ben's lack of knowledge on his brothers whereabouts, it was easy to guess that Harry didn't want him to know. 

"No. It's nothing. Did everyone get wine?" I quickly stand up from my spot. Harry's eyes not leaving me still. 

"I'd love a glass," Chase says. He stands up and grabs my glass from my hands. "I'll get it for you love." I smile shyly at him as he walks over to the kitchen. I can hear Harry scoff, but he doesn't say anything. I look at him, questioning, but he just smirks once again. 

"Harry," Tiff speaks up. Her eyes sparkling as she looks at him. Keep it in your pants, Tiff. My little subconscious scolds her. "Is Harry your real name?" I cough up my lasagna. Jaz tries hard not to laugh. Tiff looks absolutely curious. 

"Yes."

"Do you like it?" She asks once again. 

"It's fine."

"It's not Harold?" 

"Nope." He looks around the room, his eyes screaming Is this chick serious. I giggle quietly, taking a small sip from my wine. Oh Tiff, your blonde highlights are showing. 

"Interesting." She giggles like a little school girl, taking a big bite from her salad. My eyes make contact with Harry's. He rolls his eyes, clearly directing it towards Tiff. I give him a small smile in return. "Do you work?" 

Ben snickered to himself. "Please, I'll be dead by the time Harry boy here get's a fucking job." 

"Benny!" Jaz sent a stern look towards her boyfriend, jabbing his side with her elbow. 

"I work." Harry answered. His voice flat, his facial expression blank. 

"Really? Doing what?" Chase snickered to himself. I rose my brows at him, confused to why he sounded so rude. 

"Better than working at a grocery store. Right bag boy?" 

"I'm a cashier, dick." 

"And I'm a bartender. Pretty sure my job is better." Harry smirked. "Bag boy." 

"Shut the fuck up, asshole. At least I'm working there to pay for school and make something out of my life. Not like you who has moved down here to live off of his brother."

"Oh please. You're majoring in fucking philosophy. And living there is fucking temporary. Shut the fuck up." Harry's nostrils began to flare. We all remained silent as the two began to throw daggers at one another in a hard stare. 

"Ben, stop them." Jaz whispered. 

"Chase, thanks man but it's fine." Ben looked at his best friend and gave him a thankful nod in which Chase returned. 

"Who want's dessert?" Tiff asked. 

-

Dinner had grown less awkward once dessert was served. Harry had remained quiet after his outburst with Ben. While Ben and Chase went on to discuss some football game they had both watched. To be honest, I had stopped paying attention to them, my focus solely on the green eyed man in front of me. Not once did his eyes leave me, only now they were darkened. It had brought a bit of uneasiness to me. When we were at the bookstore, Harry would always keep to himself. His eyes focused on the book before him. Sure he'd flirt with me here and there, or give me that all too familiar smirk, but other than that, his eyes would never remain on me. It was always the other way around; my eyes always focused on him. 

I couldn't help but wonder what that was all about. Why did Chase not like Harry so much?

"Do you have a balcony or some shit?" Harry asked me, his voice low. Irritation clear in his voice.

We were now seated in the living room. Conversations had become dispersed; everyone talking except for Harry and I. Chase was sitting beside me, his arm slipped behind the couch and around me. I wasn't sure why he felt the need to be so close to me. Granted, I didn't tell him to move away. Harry was seated on a chair beside me. I looked over at him and shook my head no. I then remembered what Jaz had told me earlier. The rooftop. 

"We have a rooftop?" My statement seemingly coming out as a question. 

"That'll work." Harry moved out of his chair, getting up slowly. "Are you coming with me or not." I looked over at Chase, whose attention was far from me and on Chase, and decided to go with Harry. 

We got up from where we sat in the living room and made our way over to the door. I looked over to where Tiff and Jaz were seated, still at the kitchen table, where they wiggled their brows suggestively at me (only to have me give them the bird in response). 

"Um, this way." Harry followed me out the door, shutting it behind him. We walked towards the end of the hall and out the fire exit. "I'm pretty sure this leads to it."

"You've never been up there?" 

"Not exactly." I let out a light laugh and continued up the stairs. 

-

The night was clear. The buzzing from the traffic below being the only sounds that could be heard. We were seated on two fold up chairs that overlooked the city. My breath hitched as I watched the flickering lights below. It was absolutely breathtaking. 

Harry lit a cigarette and took a long drag from it's stem. His lips curled around it, catalyzing an air of sensuality but still reckless. His eyes were darkened completely, his irises dilated completely. His leather jacket was hugging his upper torso. His unruly curls were pulled back in a headband that seemed to resemble an American flag. Ironic. His scuffed black boots were perched on top of the edge of the roof, his long legs accentuated by his tight fitting black jeans. 

He was the complete embodiment of a troubled bad boy. 

We remained silent. Our breathing being the only sounds being made. A cold breeze brushed through the rooftop, creating a new skin of goosebumps to appear on my arms. 

Harry looked at me, taking notice of my violent shiver. "Here," He shrugged his leather jacket off, passing it to me. 

"No, you'll be cold." I protested. 

"It's fine, Isabella. I'm a big boy." He smirked. 

"Are you sure?"

"Just take the damn jacket." He laughed. 

"Alright." 

I pulled the warm leather around my small body. Automatically my senses engulfed his scent; a musk of cigarette smoke, cologne and a hint of mint. A new wave of goosebumps making its way to my skin- but this time, the cold air not being the cause. I quietly whisper a small, "Thank you," and continue to look out. Harry only nods in response. He pulls down the sleeves of his red flannel shirt and takes another drag from his cigarette. 

"Want one?" He asks. 

"I only smoke the herbal kind."

"That's for wussies." He jokes lightly. "Here, take one." I hesitate before I give in and take one. It has been a while since I've smoked a real cigarette. Ever since Ty had introduced me to herbal smokes, those had become the only things I'd smoke. 

The initial hit of nicotine is always the hardest one to handle. The smoke invades my lung, causing a fit of coughs to escape my lips. "Shit," I gasp for air. I take another hit of the cigarette, this time only coughing once. A few more times and I get used to it. 

"What was up with you and Chase?" I ask. He doesn't look at me, only shifting slightly in the uncomfortable plastic underneath us. 

"He's a fucking asshole." 

"He's not bad." 

"What, you fucking him or something?" He asks me bluntly. I am taken back by his words. 

"No." I quickly answer. "We're friends." 

"Doesn't look like it." 

"I don't know what you mean." 

Harry takes another drag from his cigarette. He smashes the butt against the concrete of the ground, throwing it to the side soon after. "The way he looks at you. It's fucking annoying." 

I laugh, "What are you talking about?" 

"It's like you're his fucking sunshine. It's disgusting, actually. You look like him the same damn way." His voice is flat. It's hard to decipher his mood or where he is going with this.

"Well, we're nothing."

"Whatever you say." He scoffs. "How's that whole discovering the world thing going?" 

I look at him completely, slightly taken back by his sudden interest in me. My heart flutters slightly at the idea of Harry taking interest in me. A feeling that has not once showed up with Chase. "It's going, I guess."

"Oh? You don't sound too thrilled about it." He observes. Harry takes another cigarette from his pack and lights it. I am still slowly making my way through the first one. 

"I don't know. I kinda just got up and left New York. I didn't really plan anything."

"Real adventures aren't planned. Then it's not an adventure." He points out. 

"I guess. I've kinda fallen into a routine. I mean don't get me wrong, I love the bookstore. But, I just, I feel like I need to do something more. I'm in a foreign country. I want to live." 

"Slow down there, Gertrude Bell."

"Who?" I laughed lightly. 

"Female world traveller and explorer." 

"How the hell do you know that?" I laugh once again. 

"I read." He uncomfortably shifts in his chair, taking another drag. "What's stopping you then?" 

"I wouldn't know where to start." I take another drag from the dying cigarette. I pull his jacket closer to my body, curling my body towards the chair. 

"What scares you," he asks. His raspy voice breaking through the buzz of the traffic below. 

"Spiders?" I wasn't sure what scared me, that seemed like a safe enough option. 

"No. What scares you, not spiders, not fucking heights. What makes your heart race, your knees shaking, your palms sweating?" 

You, I think to myself. Falling in love with you, the pesky voice in the back of my head adds. I swat her away with my hand, not wanting to even flirt with that idea. 

"I- I don't know." 

"There's gotta be something that scares you, Izzy." The way he says my nickname sends a shiver down my spine. The way his husky accent sounds out each syllable. 

"Not being who I'm supposed to be. Not being good enough." I admit quietly. "Death. Not falling in love. Falling in love." 

"Maybe your adventure is hitting those fears in the face and overcoming them." He says to me, his eyes not leaving the buildings before him. "The biggest adventure of all is doing something that scares the shit out of you. Risking your fucking life, falling in love, getting your heartbroken, doing what your parents don't want you to do. That's a fucking adventure, Iz. Figure out what scares you and go after them."

I look at him in awe. Out of all the things that Harry could have said to me, that was not what I had expected to hear. Harry was mysterious. He was a complete asshole to the people I claimed to be friends, smoked, and was absolutely dangerous. But when he spoke, everything that he was went away. His mind was a beautiful thing. Each word that he spoke, each thought that he had, completely took me surprise. 

"Help me?" I ask quietly. 

Harry finally turns around, his body facing me fully now. His brows are furrowed, his cigarette butt hanging from his mouth. "I'm not going to help you, Isabella."

"But you're the one who told me to do this. It only makes sense." I dispute. 

"I'm bad news. We should keep our relationship at the bookstore and the bookstore only."

"Maybe that's what I need." I scoot closer towards him, my hand reaching out for his. I grab it lightly, his hand stiffening beneath my touch. "You said to face my biggest fear in the face," I say quietly, "From the moment that I first met you, you've intrigued me. You scare the shit out of me Harry but in the best way." 

He looks at me, his eyes not once leaving mine. 

"No." He says, getting up and walking towards the door. "I'll see you at the bookstore tomorrow, Isabella."

"Wait! Don't go."

"Ask Chase to help you." He doesn't look back after that only to walk out the door. He leaves me outside in the cold air, the only comfort being his leather jacket and the burning cigarette that sits in between my fingers."