TWO GHOSTS

Chapter Twenty Eight / Camping! (PART 1)

You stepped onto school grounds, looking up at the building you were familiar with. You were nervous about your plan to drop out. You walked into the school office, talked with your counselor, and before you knew it, you were outside again with a form. The form needed your signature, deeming you were out of school. You hesitated, but signed it right away. After turning it in, all your future classes dropped. For some reason, you felt a heavy weight off your shoulders. No more grades, no more paying for over priced books, no more stressing about exams. As soon as you walked out of the office, you spotted a familiar face.

Mr. Tomlinson spotted you as well. He called to you, "(Y/N), how are ya?"

"I'm good, Mr. Tomlinson. And yourself?" You spoke with such high praise and a different tone, you didn't recognize this formal version of yourself. 

He smiled gently, "I'm good. Checking in with yourcounselor, I see. Did ya mention about my class? Last I checked you were off my wait-list and registered." 

"Oh, well..." You hesitated, "I dropped out. Completely."

He rose his brows, "Why'd you go off and do that?" He shifted to face you, "Was it because I failed you? You have to know I couldn't give ya special treatment--"

"No, it wasn't because of you." You said, "I just...feel like I need to find myself. I'm not sure what life has in store for me, and I want to find it instead of waiting around for it to come." 

Tomlinson nodded slowly, "I hope you find it. You wouldn't want to drop out for nothin'." He paused, "I wish the best for you, (Y/N), I really do." You and him both stared for a moment, as if you were waiting for movement. Tomlinson walked up to you, slowly opening his arms but stopped. He instead dropped them and gave a hand out toward you. You took it, shaking his hand. He smiled sweetly, his grin closing up his bright blue eyes. He let go, waving goodbye as he walked off.

You waved too, trying not to giggle from the bizarre and awkward moment.

. . .

You met with Harry outside a shop. He was dropping apple into a bag, picking out varies of fruits. You casually walked up next to him, picking up a banana and dropping it into his bag. Harry looked up at you and grinned, "You've done it?"

You nodded, "And honestly, I feel...free."

Harry smiled, "College isn't for everyone."

You helped him pick out fruits before saying, "We should go out somewhere. Maybe even ask Tyler to join...haven't seen him in almost two weeks." You said the last part quietly, as if you weren't sure you wanted Harry to hear. He did, but didn't mention it. Instead he replied, "The last time we went to a club, there was a fight. The last time we went to a party, there was a fight. Where else would we go that doesn't end in a fight?"

"We went to a beach and there wasn't a fight."

"So you want to go back?"

"No, I want to do something different." You paused. With a swift motion you picked up a mango and exclaimed, "Camping!" Harry chuckled at your excitement as you exclaimed, "I love camping. The tall trees, the barbecues, the hikes, and best of all, it's summer! Perfect weather." Your eyes brightened, "We can invite as many people as we want! You, me, Ruth, Niall, Zayn, and Tyler! How about it?" 

Harry was still grinning, "You are absolutely adorable when you're excited about something." As if he weren't supposed to, he looked around before reeling you in by your waist and kissing you deeply. Your arm was still up holding a mango inside the shop,  the other rested on his shoulder and you both shared lips. Harry pulled away, "I'll go anywhere you want to go."

You blushed, your eyes looking down.

. . .

You scurried around your apartment, looking in drawers, cracked spaces inbetween the walls and furniture, and dug inside your old purse. You exhaled deeply, tossing your head back and groaning, "I can't find the key to my storage unit." You jogged into the living room, "Have you found it? It's a silver key." 

Harry got up from the ground, "It's not under the sofa. Are you sure you still have it?"

"I know I do. I wouldn't throw it away, I have a bunch of stuff I couldn't keep in this apartment so I put it away in storage--" You paused. You quickly walked half way down the corridor and opened up the small closet. You reached up the top shelf, grabbing a small shoe box. It had small memories inside. To pins, concert tickets, and old gift cards. You cheered as you grabbed the key, "I knew I'd keep it in here." 

Harry teased, "Was that before or after looking around the apartment?"

You chuckled, shutting the closet door. You grabbed Harry's car keys, "Let's go on a little drive, love." 

Harry grinned as he walked out after you, "I like the way that sounds."

After a short drive, you and Harry walked onto the property. There were a bunch of storage units, but you knew exactly where yours were. You jogged over to unit 34A, unlocked the lock, and opened the door. You smiled with Harry by your side, "My old camping equipment." You walked inside the large unit, picking up boxes and loading them in Harry's car, "We may have to take a few trips." 

Harry picked up a box, "Is all of this camping stuff?"

"I have a few blankets stuffed in here, but other than that, yep." You grinned.

Harry loaded the box in the back and looked up at you. He couldn't help but notice how happy you were. He said, "I've never seen you smile this much before."

You put a box in the back, "Well...before moving to the U.K. I always went camping with my family back in California. I grew up being in the outdoors, being around people I love. As soon as I moved here, my parents didn't make time to go out anymore. Even after I moved out, nothing changed. I was too busy with school and work to do anything...and well, I didn't know anyone else but you and Tyler. I love you both, don't get me wrong, but having more friends to care about is fulfilling...and having more friends to do stuff with is exciting." You walked back inside the storage, grabbing another box.

Harry watched you before helping.

The trips back and forth were exhausting. It took even longer due to traffic, but as day turned into night, you were both finally heading back from the last trip. It was a quiet ride, no words spoken. Harry drove, occasionally looking over to you. He asked, "You mentioned having more friends is exciting...does that mean you'll get bored of me? Because I've known you so long and am basically around you 24/7?"

You shook your head, "No, Harry, of course not. I didn't mean for it to come out the way it did. I just mean having new friends is great, but nothing can take away from being around the people who have always been there for you." You leaned over the middle, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before sitting back down.

Harry relaxed and smiled gently. He kept a hand on the steering wheel, while the other reached for yours.

Author's Note:

You are all amazing. Over 3k reads. I'm so happy and really thankful. I'm really glad you're all enjoying this story. x