"Shit!" I cried, "I am never playing this with you again!" I restrained myself from clearing the stupid little letters off of the board laid out before me. We were stuck in the hotel today. The crowd out loud was huge and the weather was so hot. Harry's brilliant suggestion had been scrabble. His current self satisfied smile explained a thing or twelve to me.

"Haha! Look at you pout! Go on, cross your arms, that's a treat for me anytime," he pii texcto me as his face turned red from his over the top laughter.

"Fuck off, I think half of your shit aren't even words."

"Keep having your strop if you want, I'll go grab my scrabble dictionary, I promise I'm not cheating.he opened his arms and extednwsd them at me. I'd watched him the day before when we'd "accidentally" been at the gym at the same time. Mark had held his hands in the same manner while Harry punched away at them. I was tempted to turn his calming gesture on its head and start using his palms as targets for my fury.

And furious I was. Though I knew I was overeacting. It's not that I thought that Harry was stupid. I knew that he was really intelligent, that he loved reading and art. We had had discussion until the wee hours about the. 3am Harry waxing pretty about poetry was my favorite. Swollen tired eyes, see thru t shirt if he was dressed at all, his words slow but true. A weird mix of cuss words and praise. Awe for the way people could string words together. So as I sat there sulking while he fetched his stupid dictionary, it wasn't because I thought he was dim. He had a love affair with language, that much was clear. And something we had in common. I knew he was smart, my ego was smarting because I did not expect him to be smarter than me. I was strangely insulted that the boy who hadn't gone to college in favor of superstardom was able to easily best me at a word game.

When he had suggested scrabble, I must have been so busy hiding my own secret smile I missed him CheSchroeder grin. I was thinking of my youthful habit of reading the dictionary on days so muggy that the outdoors were out of question. It made me smug. All those words In my back pocket made me sit a little taller, like I was sat in a booster seat of knowledge. My head, apaparemtky was the only thing that was fat.

By the time that he made it back to me, looking less self satisfied and more timid, my arms were at my side and I was thinking about whether I would have to stomach my own bed to cope from embarrassment tonight.

"See Melly," ah, the big guns, "they do count re as a word." His finger ran down the spine of the little book and I usuallyvwould be distracted by the length of the digitC but instead I was feeling humbled by the contrition in his mien.

I let my eyes wander to his exhibit A. "Yeah, Yeah, I see that." There were times when my place as the baby and only girl in my family hampered me and I was aware of it. This was one of them. I was so used to getting my way. I was also used to winning. This was the first time Harry had beaten me at anything.
"Nice job, Harry!" I was gonna put on my big girl panties, "you are really good at scrabble. How'd you get so good?"

He at down by the board on the couch we had occupied before my fit. I followed him down. "Um, Yeah, my family is a really big fan. We play all the time, have, like, tournaments." I watched his lips form that word and didn't care as much about winning.

"Is that why you have a dictionary and a board with you?"

"Yeah, it was my going away present when I left for the fisratvtime. For tour. My, um, my mum," his mouth turned down, "my mum, she wanted me to have a little bit of home with me. When she comes out—"

"Yeah, I'm surprised I haven't seen her."

"Well, she was at the local shows, like Manchester, and I was just home. She's coming out for the big ones like MSG," his eyes bulged out at that, "god, Madison square garden!" He looked so cute, awed and homesick and excited that I was Fine if won every scrabble game we ever played together. I told myself this, but knew I'd be googling a list of two letter words.

"That is so exciting! I can't wait for that. Do you guys play when she sees you on the road?"

"We don't really have habits yet, like, for tour?" He adjusted a letter that was askew on the board. Askew, I mentally filled away. That had some points in it.

"It looks like you have some scrabble habits though?" I reached or my tea and wrapped my hand around the boring white mug, frowning a little at it while I brought it to my chest.

"Yeah, we have, um, like traditions. You get a nice board for your first place on your own. New dictionary is usually in my stocking and Gem's every year so we keep current. Winner of the tournament gets to pick dinner. My mum is a great cook.." he trailed off.

I really loved when he talked about home, so I prompted him to do it more. I hoped that it would make him feel better. He was more homesick that he let on. It had been a month gone since he'd been near his mum, and he had left so young. Before he was supposed to, really. Now he was back so little, and the sincere affection on his face and voice when he talked about his mum moved me. I loved my mum, but not like he adored his own.

So I said, "do you ever win?" The snide might shake off enough of the gloom to get a better answer, I hoped.

He scoffed and narrowed his brow, mouth slacking, "course I win. Bested you, and your smarty pants didn't I?"

"Yeah, but I'm not an avid, scrabble player, scrabbler?" I pondered.

"Scrabble player." He assures, "no, but you like words," he gestured to my best go on the boArd, ethereally, which he had inspired with his ridiculous coloring. "So you are naturally good. And you're gonna get better quick. You might have already googled the two letter words while I was getting the book." He pointed knowingly to my caughtvout face. "See! You'll beat me soon. But I'll still get you sometimes. I win, not as often as Gem, but..."

"What do you pick to eat?"

"I always pick pudding." He sat back on the couch, right next to me, and I sighed when his body warmed mine, goosebumps had broken out. The air conditioner was strong in here. "My mom makes this cinnamon cake, and I just love when the house smells of it." His neck stretched over the back of the couch, and I watched the large bump in his throat move when he swallowed thickly. "So, I ask for that. Gem asks for roasted potatoes, um," he tilted his head to me while he thought, "my step dad like pub food, and my mum nags him bout it, but she fries him something when he wins."

"What does your mum pick?" I really wanted to meet her. How does a woman inspire such devotion I. Her grown son.

He grinned big at me and picked up his head so he didn't have to crick his neck. She picks a takeaway, usually a Chinese!"

We laughed together over it!

"So the best meal for a cook is one they do t have to cook?" I giggled.

"Reckon so, think that is how I learned to cook—"

"You cook?" My eyebrows climbed my forehead.

He stuck his finger in my open mouth. "Don't look so surprised. I'd have cooked for you by now, I'm sure, but there are no proper kitchens."

"You'd cook for me?" I sang.

"Course, goose, you're like my best friend. Deserve at least a meal."

My heart sped up and stopped. His best friend. God, that made so much sense. We spent lots of time together. If he was awake and not working, he was with me. If he was sleeping, he was definitely with me. We were inseparable, secretly at this point. Harry was definitely my best friend to. I should be elated.

For a moment I was.

I didn't consider relationships a spectrum. There was not some progression between friend and lover that I imagined. There was no hierarchy in my being that said being a friend ranked rungs below girlfriend. The friends that I did have, Many of them were boys, I'd consider my brother a friend really. When they called me buddy, or little sister, or even shithead, I smiled. I liked being a friend. Friend's were a loved one, a support, a bedrock of one's life.

After my elation, the sting that came. It was so unfamiliar I had to take a second to parse it out.

When I looked up, he was grinning at me, like he'd said something he knew I would love. "Yeah?" I was breathless, like I'd been kicked in the gut.

"Yeah!" He triumphed and rubbed some salt into the gash he'd just opened up. "The other day, when we found out, about that reward?"

I nodded in response.

"I wanted to tell you first thing! Before I even thought about, like, calling my mum. And I realized that I like talking to you so much. That, um, I'm really thankful that Michael kicked you out that night." He laughed goofily.

I wanted to keep the smile on his face. "I'm really happy you opened your door that night, too. I pushed my lips up and bore my teeth and hoped it resembled a smile.

It must have. His spidery arms wrapped me up and the lemon juice that squeezed in my new wound wasn't enough for me. Because instead of protecting g myself and pulling away, I leaned in and inhaled. The crook of his neck always smelled the most Harry of any of his body parts of encountered. It was a distillation of him. He loved to squish his face against me and I loved that I could nuzzle my face into the space between his ears and collarbones.

He held me against the long hard planes of his body and rocked me back and forth. I'm not sure how long we would have stayed in each other's arms, but his phone rang.

"Be right back," he murmured against my skin and I hoped that he didn't feel me tremble with the hurried motion as he pulled away.

I watched him walk away and stared at the door until he re-crossed the threshold.

"You want the good news or the bad news first?" He looked up from his phone, his eyebrows up.

"Bad news first." I sat down. He didn't look distraught, so...

He rolled his eyes affectionately and I felt better anoutbwhatevef he was about to tell me. "Why and I not surprised?" He moved towards me and dropped onto the couch I was leaning on the arm of. His arm brushed mine on his way down. He Continued texting but stopped chewing his lip to share. "They've cleared the lobby and streets."

"That sounds like the good news, " I frowned in confusion.

"Well, as usual, the bad news and good news are bedfellows—"

I interrupted him to laugh at his word choice, "bedfellows, huh? Have you been watching Sherlock or something?"

"Listen, my dear Melly, I am full of words, as I've just shown you," he gestured at his winning board, "you do not know the expansive reaches of my vocabulary-/"

"Oh god, stop, you haven't even won yet!"

"I was about to, thetecis no way you were gonna make up 60 points." He tweaked my nose. "Keep tgecoffebse from your face. That's actually your good news, I do t have time to vestvyou, because I have to go to some press thing now that they've got security under control. You get to leave. The bad news is that you don't get to hang out with me anymore."

"Ah, See, that's where you are wrong. My day just greatly improved."

"Heeeey!" He looked so offended I laughed and pushed his face away. "I was trying to be nice and I found you some compAny, not as thrilling as mine, but..." he trailed off and swept his long arm away from his chest grandly.

"Well, big head, who have you decided to plan my day with."

"Didn't actually, you are going to 'accidentally' run into Lou after you put some clean clothes on—

"Hey," I echoed.

"And go shopping with her and Lottie. That way when you work for her you know her better." He crosse.md his arms in self satisfaction.

"That actually sounds really good."

"Don't act so surprised!" He motioned to his head, "full of ideAs, this." He quirked the side of his mouth.

"I thought it was full of words only used on wooden boards?" I thought I'd slipped out of his reach until I got an arm length away from him and was yanked back. He had ahold of my belt loop. I yelped and he grabbed me around the waist and lifted me.

"I'm the smartest," he tickled my sides and I squirmed and squeaked.

"Harry! No! I hate it!" I got my feet under me but he continued dancing his fingers on my ribs.

"I know!" He sped up and I screamed. "Tell me I'm smarter, no the smartest and I'll stop!"

I buttoned my lips up. But after another minute I was ready to give in. I was just about to scream he was smart when I got away. I had just reached the bedroom when he tackled me down. He tickled me more, and I would have conceded, had I had breath to.

"Say it!"'re

"Ca—can't!"

So he stopped, and his face was above me and I didn't want to be his friend.

"You're the smartest," I breathed.

His eyes drifted down to my lips and I wasn't sure he wanted to be my friend either.

He leaned in and I felt a buzz.

A literal buzz, against my thigh where his phone was in his front Jean pocket.

He stood spasmodically and answered the phone.

"Yeah," he said and offered his hand to help me up without looking at me. "I'll be right there."

I was still thinking about his lips and the way he looked at mine when I wandered down to the lobby. I clumsily made myself available and wound up in the Uber to the shops. Lou and Lottie talked a lot and filled the silence happily. I was with it enough to answer questions, though my mind stayed on vacation most of the trip.

I didn't even remember buying the cinnamon candle for him, but I'll always remember the look on his face when I gave it to him.

If it was all I got, I'd be the best friend he'd ever have.