jealous gravity blurb?
wordcount: 6.5k+
—————
"Bye, Harry!"
(Y/N) watched as Harry tossed a wave over his shoulder before stepping off the staircase onto the second floor of the library. She just barely caught a glance of him through the stacks, but she couldn't miss that bright smile on his lips, dimples deep in his cheeks. The curve only widened when he approached their table in the back of the non-fiction mystery shelves, a cute blush coloring his cheeks when he found her already looking at him.
"Hi, flower," he greeted her, voice quiet before he bent down and pressed a quick kiss to her lips.
"Hi," she smiled at him, her hands folded in her lap as she waited for him to set up all of his supplies and textbooks for their study session. "Who did you come in with today?"
Harry shrugged as he pulled out his textbook. "Someone from one of m'engineering pre-req's. She was on her way here, too, so we walked together."
"Oh, okay," (Y/N) chirped, "What's her name?"
"Analyssa, I think?" he told her, settling in his spot, "She also said she's in our physics class, but I've never seen her there before."
"Wait, is it Analyssa Trevor?" (Y/N) asked with a pinch in her brow, thoughts of studying being pushed to the back of her mind for the time being.
Canting his head to the side, Harry puckered his lips in thought. "Maybe, why?"
"If it is her, she is in our physics class. I was paired up with her for one of the first labs of the semester before you and I got close, and I don't think she likes me very much." (Y/N) breathed out a laugh at the memory Analyssa's name brought up; that lab had not gone the best to say the least.
"What do you mean?" Harry already looked pouty at the idea of someone not liking his flower.
(Y/N) shrugged with a shake of her head. "It's nothing crazy, I'm just pretty sure she thinks I'm really stupid and would have killed to have a different partner. I don't blame her, anyway. I was totally lost that entire time, and had to have her help me with everything, so I get it. She just hasn't been very nice since when I see her around campus."
"Well, I don't like that," Harry murmured, his brows knitting together over the frames of his glasses. "I won't talk to her anymore if she'd being rude to you, flower."
Shaking her head, (Y/N) let out a small laugh. She reached across the table and grabbed for his hand that was prattling with his favorite highlighting pen as he bore holes into his textbook. "H, you don't have to do that, okay? It's not a big deal at all, and it was a while ago so I don't really care. If you like her and want to be her friend, you should be her friend; there's no reason to stop being nice to her just because she doesn't smile at me on campus, okay?"
"Are y'sure, flower?" Harry stressed, dropping his highlighter to lace his fingers with hers, "I thought there was a rule about this kind of stuff; I can't like the people you don't, and the other way around, and all."
(Y/N) shook her head, face creasing as her smile widened. "Some people might feel that way, but it's not a big deal for me. It's not like she tried to ruin my life or hurt me, so I don't care if you want to be her friend, H. I promise it's alright."
Though he didn't look completely eased, Harry took her word for it and gave her a short nod. Raising their joined hands, he pressed a kiss to the back of hers. "Okay," he murmured against her skin, "Jus' know you're my favorite person, okay? If it turns into a problem, please tell me and I'll stop."
Of course, he would, (Y/N) thought with a smile. But, she wasn't going to tell him who he could and couldn't be friends with. Besides, she couldn't see any reason she would ever have to set some rule like that. Analyssa probably barely remembered her, just that lingering yuck feeling she had when she saw (Y/N).
It's not going to be a problem.
—————
"Hold on, I need to answer this," Harry murmured, standing up from where he was cuddling (Y/N) on his couch, a furrow in his brow as he looked at his ringing phone.
"Okay," (Y/N) chirped, huddling herself in the corner cushion before he started down the hall.
Her eyes followed him as he pressed his phone to his ear. "Hey Ana, what's up?" he muttered as he went down the hall, the sound of his bedroom door creaking behind him as he went somewhere quiet.
(Y/N) couldn't help the sour look that plucked at her features. This was the fourth time in only the last few days that she'd called him asking about something or other. From what she gathered, Analyssa only seemed to call him when Harry was with her, whether they were out on an actual date or playing around at one of their apartments. She even called when they were in the middle of something! Harry had to decline the call twice before she texted him instead.
While she still had no problem with Ana being Harry's friend, she was beginning to get a little annoyed. Not at Harry of course—he was only being a good friend, picking up the phone when someone needed him—but at Analyssa. She couldn't even text him first to see if it was a good time to call before she had his phone buzzing?
Taking a deep breath, (Y/N) wrapped her arms around herself as she tried not to eavesdrop on the muffled conversation filtering through the crack Harry left in his door. She was sure if she bothered to tune in, she would hear engineering jargon she had no business ever understanding, and the sound of Harry's quiet laughter as Analyssa no doubt shared an inside joke with him about some neuron or particle exelerator or whatever goes on in those engineering courses.
(Y/N) rolled her eyes at herself as she caught herself allowing inky jealousy to creep into her mind. Rationally, she knew there was no reason for her to be jealous, especially recalling the conversation they had a couple of weeks ago with Harry basically offering to cut Analyssa out of his life for her. It was just something about the way Analyssa was going about this friendship that was beginning to rub (Y/N) the wrong way. All the relentless calling was just the beginning of the constant texts that came through and the fact she had to walk with him between any class they had together, including physics, though (Y/N) was never early enough to spot them.
And maybe, just maybe, there was something that bothered (Y/N) about the fact they had inside jokes and a bond over subjects (Y/N) could only hope to somewhat understand someday. While she was happy for Harry in some respects; she knew she wasn't the best sounding board when he went off about some of his projects for other classes or research papers he was interested in, so she was happy he had someone now that could indulge him in those conversations and spur him on in those aspects. But, along with that, she now had to see Harry grow closer to someone who was just as invested in his passions. And it just had to be someone (Y/N) didn't have a stellar history with.
The sound of Harry's voice sending out his goodbyes to Ana knocked (Y/N) out of her head, forcing herself to focus on the film that was playing on the television so it didn't look like she was moping the whole time he was gone. By the time Harry reentered the living room, he had run his hand through his hair a handful of times leaving the curls a mess on his head and he had rubbed the sleep from his eyes that had him dozing off as he laid with his head on her chest.
"Everything okay?" (Y/N) asked as she welcomed him back with open arms.
A slow smile spread across his face as he climbed back on the couch, crowding around her until she stretched out with her legs lining the length of the couch and Harry fitting himself between. With his head cushioned by the soft of her tummy, Harry wrapped his arms around (Y/N)'s middle. "Yeah, Ana jus' had some questions about the research project we have due in Phillips' class this week."
"Oh," (Y/N) sounded, nodding her head as she began running her fingers through his hair, detangling the ringlets, "And—uh—what was the project about again?"
This was something else she found herself doing now that Analyssa was nudging herself into the picture: trying to make sense of his far-above-her-paygrade projects and courses.
She could feel the sweet smile that spread across his face with the way his cheek smushed into her tummy. "Don't worry about it, flower, 's not that fun even for me to do."
Swallowing, she pinched her lips as she tried to find another way to crack at him. "Do you want to talk about it at all? What you're doing for the project, anyway? I always complain about my English classes, so..."
Harry delivered a squeeze of his arms around her waist in a quiet hug before he shook his head. "It's really alright, love. 'S jus' a bunch of boring reference checks and journal stuff, nothing exciting. Ana picked a much better subject than I did, but one of the rules was that we all had to do different subjects with no repeats, otherwise I would have stolen hers."
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes at the mention of Ana, (Y/N) only nodded her head and continued playing with Harry's hair. "Okay," she sighed, "Let me know if you change your mind."
"I will, flower, thank you," he said, craning his neck to press a kiss to the bare of her hip that was revealed by her rucked up shirt. "So what did I miss of the movie?"
—————
With much effort required and a skipped coffee and snack trip before class, (Y/N) got to the physics hall before Harry. Trudging up the stairs and not seeing him up there waiting for her in their predetermined seats threw her off immediately. But, there was a method to her madness—though the longer (Y/N) went without the warmth of a chai in her hand, though, the method was beginning to lose its sparkle—, she wanted to see Analyssa walking in with Harry.
It wasn't like she was expecting to catch them in the act—Harry would never—but she wanted to see how Analyssa behaved around him. Better than anyone, (Y/N) knew what it was like to fall under Harry's charmingly cute, shy spell, so she wouldn't be surprised if Ana fell victim to it as well. At least that would explain the phone call she made to him last night that had him standing in his bedroom for twenty minutes while their pizza grew cold.
Only a few others were in the lecture hall with her as she took out her laptop and other supplies in wait of Harry's arrival, leaving the space quiet enough to hear the chatter from the hallway. Once he was close enough, (Y/N) pinged up at the sound of Harry's muffled tone making an appearance over the residual chatter.
Her gaze was pinned to the doorway as she anticipated him walking through the heavy double doors. The first glimpse of his hand had (Y/N) sitting up straight in her spot until she realized he was holding the door open for Analyssa, her long black hair shining in the light as she shook her head in laughter at whatever Harry had said. Her wire framed glasses fit snug on the slope of her nose with her lips painted over with a coffee colored gloss that accentuated the curve of her smile. Her book bag hung over her shoulder, the mass of which nudged at Harry's side as he came through to fall in line beside her. (Y/N) watched as Analyssa flipped her hair over her shoulder before nudging at Harry with her fist, her fingers tugging at the material of his knitted sweater as he shook his head with his own smile on his face.
All that stopped as soon as Analyssa spotted (Y/N) up the staircase. Suddenly, she went reserved, pulling back from Harry as her expression flattened. From his profile, (Y/N) caught the way his brows furrowed and a question hovered over his pursed lips until he followed her gaze to see his girlfriend patiently waiting for him. In the polar opposite to Analyssa, Harry's face brightened at the sight of (Y/N); dimples denting his cheeks with a bunny-toothed grin molding his features and creasing his eyes.
(Y/N) gave him a soft wave with which Harry reciprocated with a flash of his navy blue nails that matched his sweater. While Harry stepped in the direction of the staircase, he murmured something to Analyssa over his shoulder. Jerking his thumb in (Y/N)'s direction, Analyssa only shook her head with a pleasant smile on her face, nodding her head towards the other end of the room.
With that, Harry gave her a short nod before waving a goodbye to her, most likely with a promise to talk to her later. Splitting off in opposite directions, Harry scaled the staircase to the back of the auditorium where (Y/N) sat while Analyssa only spared them a half glance before she was going to her own seat.
"Hi, flower," he greeted her quietly, ducking his head and pressing a kiss to her cheek, "You're here early."
"Yeah, wanted to surprise you," she smiled, only half-lying, "I've missed you."
"We've been together almost everyday, love, what do you mean?" Harry teased her, settling in his spot beside her before reaching for his plethora of notebooks and utensils.
It was true. With midterms approaching, she and Harry had spent majority of their time together trying to study and do other things before they were too busy with their class blocks and exhausted from all the brain power to see one another for a couple of weeks. Still, it seemed Analyssa was monopolizing that time as best she could without being present.
"I know. I just feel like we haven't been able to talk a lot since you've been helping out with other people's projects and all. Only wanted to see you a little extra today," (Y/N) sighed, hoping she didn't sound as jealous as she felt in her head.
"Flower," Harry cooed, twisting his features into he same expression he had when one of the sad animal commercials played on T.V. "I'm sorry, you know I don't mean to not pay attention to you, right?" he asked, reaching out and grabbing for her hand that was sat in her lap.
"I know, I know. You're being a good friend, I get it." Really, she did, she just didn't understand why Analyssa had to do the things she did in the first place.
"I promise, this weekend, after everything for Phillips' class is all turned in, you're going to have all of m'attention. Doesn't matter how many times she calls, 'm all yours. No exceptions." To drive his point home, Harry pressed his lips against hers in a telling kiss. Just a peek of his tongue was felt against her lips before he was pulling back, aware of the slowly filling lecture hall around them.
"Okay," she sighed with a dream in her tone, more than happy with his answer and commitment. Besides, who knows? Maybe Analyssa really wanted to do well on this project and would back off after it was turned in and she could no longer edit or consult with Harry. Still, a doubt lingered in the back of her mind when she recalled the way Analyssa's face dropped when she caught sight of (Y/N) in the back of the room.
With Harry's attention diverted back to his utensils, his current task at hand being the organization of all of his highlighters and pens, (Y/N) rolled around the best way to ask her next question. Of course, Harry noticed the way her eyes lingered over his profile and she'd grown a little too quiet, especially since she had supposedly shown up to class early just to see him.
"What's going on in that head of yours, flower? I can almost hear y'thinking," Harry teased, coordinating his highlighters by color and size before he was happy with the arrangement.
"Nothing, nothing," she rushed out, internally cringing at the way she deflected in the most obvious way, "I mean... I was wondering if something happened when you and Analyssa came in. She looked upset all of the sudden when she looked up here."
Harry's brow furrowed at her avenue of conversation. "I noticed that, too," he murmured, aware of the fact Analyssa was in the same room despite being on the other side, "I asked her if she wanted to come up and say hi, and she said no and almost ran to her spot to set up."
(Y/N) fought to school her expression. None of this evidence was favoring Analyssa the more Harry shared. If (Y/N) really felt like torturing herself, she would let herself run down the more than likely possibility that this was going further than Analyssa needing help in a shared class and moving into the territory of the girl having a crush on Harry and hating that he had a girlfriend, especially one that she considered to be less than.
Instead, (Y/N) tried to laugh it off, huffing out a breath that lacked humor. "I knew she didn't care for me, but she really doesn't like me."
Harry deflated at her words. "(Y/N), I'm sorry, if y'don—"
"H, no," she cut him off, shaking her head before he even finished, "I want you to be friends with whoever makes you happy. If she doesn't like me, that's fine. As long as she doesn't convince you I'm some crazy bitch or something, I don't care what she thinks of me. As long as she's a good friend to you, it's none of my business."
With his green eyes wide and rounded out, he looked to her with a short smile on his lips. "You know I love you the most, right? No one could convince me that you're anything less than wonderful."
"I know, and I trust you, Harry. If something bothered you, I know you would tell me," (Y/N) gentled her tone, slipping a sweet smile on her face as she spoke, "I love you, more."
"I don't know, love, I think I love you mo—"
"We are not doing this in the middle of class. We are not going to be those people," (Y/N) cut him off with a laugh. Settling with a kiss pressed to his cheek, (Y/N) decided she won that argument.
With flushed cheeks, Harry relented with a quiet okay just before Stanfill exited his office and into the lecture hall.
—————
"Naomi, you know I don't care that you brought a bunny home, but I'm telling you that the leasing office is going to find out and kick us out if it keeps thumping and bothering the neighbors."
(Y/N) sighed into her phone as she made her way through the hallway to Stanfill's room. She was running late as is, and this conversation was slowing her down.
"I know, I know," Naomi bubbled off, (Y/N) able to see the fluff of her blonde shag fluttering around her face without having to see her, "But all the bunny blogs I've checked said that when they thump it means they're scared, and I don't want to scare Cheese anymore by running after her."
"Ny, I thought we agreed that we can't name her since she needs to go back outside when her foot is healed."
"But, (Y/N)..."
She already knew what her roommate was going to say the second she started that. And Naomi wasn't wrong; the bunny was very cute and (Y/N) was getting attached to having a little rabbit pad into to the kitchen when they were chopping up vegetables for dinner.
"I know," (Y/N) sighed, seeing Stanfill's door approach, "I'm about to go to class, but I'll call you after. I'll ask Harry if he has any ideas to get her to calm down."
"Alright, thanks for talking to him. It's like he knows everything," Naomi said, (Y/N) not needing to see her to know she was shaking her head, "But I'll talk to you later. Love you."
"Love you, too. Bye."
(Y/N) hung up just before she walked through the heavy double doors. Her head was down as she slid her phone into her back pocket, thoughts of her almost-pet bunny on her mind. They really couldn't keep her; not only could they not afford the lifestyle of an indoor bunny, but they would eventually have to find a pet friendly apartment, which would be even more expensive and who knows how they feel about bu—
Why is Analyssa sitting in her spot?
As soon as (Y/N) spotted the black flick of hair and wire-frame glasses, she knew she had no chance of schooling her features into staying neutral. With her eyes wide, she watched as Analyssa had her hand draped over Harry's shoulder, telling him something despite the obvious discomfort on his face. His cheeks pinkened as soon as he caught sight of (Y/N), his expression going apologetic as he tried to shrug out of Analyssa's grip without making a scene. Analyssa followed his line of sight, her entire expression dropping into something much more sour the second she realized it was (Y/N).
In a split second, (Y/N) did her best to nuetralize her features and resumed her steps up the stairs. Giving their new seatmate a pleasant smile, she greeted Ana with a quiet Hello, before she rounded the desk to Harry's other side. As expected, Analyssa didn't bother to reciprocate her greeting as she just barely managed to intwist the sneer from her lips by the time (Y/N) was close enough.
"Hi, H," (Y/N) murmured, dropping her bag to sit next to Harry on his opposing side. Only a flick of Analyssa's black hair was seen over the barrier of Harry's body.
"Hi," he whispered, sounding much-too-guilty for someone who did nothing wrong. With his voice quiet enough for only her to hear, Harry ducked down to hover his lips by her ear, "I'm sorry, (Y/N). I told her that I was saving that seat for you and she didn't listen, and I—I don't know, I got too nervous to tell her to mo—"
Settling her hand on his shoulder, (Y/N) cut him off with a quiet squeeze. "It's okay, I'm not mad. I'm a little annoyed maybe, but I know it's not your fault. Don't worry, okay?"
Harry didn't seem even slightly convinced, but with Stanfill setting up his ancient projector at the front of the room, there wasn't much room to argue. In his act of solidarity, Harry made a quiet movement to scoot his chair closer to hers before settling his hand on her thigh. Peering down the line, (Y/N) caught the way Analyssa didn't seem too impressed with the gap Harry created between their seats, but didn't do anything to change it before Professor Stanfill's monotone voice filled the lecture hall.
The ever-dutiful physics expert, Harry was quick to start jotting down notes as soon as the subject for the day was introduced. Though her laptop was still getting fired up, (Y/N) didn't worry as she knew she could still look off Harry's page if it came down to it, especially with the way he angled his page just right so she got the perfect view of his blocky writing.
But, as much as (Y/N) wanted to distract herself with whatever subject Stanfill planned on torturing her with for the next hour, there was something even more unpleasant that just wouldn't leave her mind.
Last Friday had been the due date of that project Analyssa had been so adamant about getting Harry's help on, and after a weekend free of any phone calls (though she definitely did still text), (Y/N) had assumed the worst of it was done. Analyssa didn't have an excuse to seek him out all the time. She never would have expected Analyssa to make a move this bold and steal the spot next to Harry that she knew was always reserved for her. She wasn't even trying to hide it anymore—her crush on Harry or her distain for (Y/N).
As much as (Y/N) didn't want to be that girlfriend, she had a feeling she was going to have to have a talk with Harry about his friend. She wouldn't be surprised if Harry hadn't picked up the fact that Analyssa was trying to make a move on him, but that didn't mean (Y/N) hadn't noticed. At the very least some boundaries needed to be made.
—————
"All assessments much be turned in by the end of the week, no excuses or exceptions. Class is dismissed."
(Y/N) had never been more relieved to hear those three words, Stanfill's voice bringing joy for the first time. Not a single word of lecture had penetrated her brain, keeping her muddled in her fuming thoughts the longer she had to stew in them. She couldn't help but steal a glance down at Analyssa every few minutes, always catching her dutifully paying attention to the front of the room, which only served to annoy (Y/N) more for some reason. She had effectively ruined (Y/N)'s afternoon and she didn't even care to look smug? Look annoyed that (Y/N) had shown up and taken Harry's other side? Look like she had feelings at all?
Stopping herself before she went further down a childish spiral, (Y/N) focussed on packing up all her things. A barren page of notes lit up her laptop screen, even with the help of Harry's angled notes. She'd just have to grab them later when she had more room in her brain to process anything but annoyance.
Just as she slung her bag over her shoulder, Harry stopped her with a nervous pinch to his features. "I—uh—I need to talk to Stanfill about that extra assignment I wanted to do. Will y'wait for me? I think we need to talk a little before y'go home."
"I do, too," (Y/N) sighed, aware of Analyssa's presence as she slowly packed up behind Harry, "I'll wait for you in the hall, okay?"
"Okay," Harry affirmed, eyes not meeting hers as the slope of his shoulders declined.
Rising to the tips of her toes, (Y/N) pressed a kiss to Harry's cheek, feeling the dent of his dimple rise to his skin the longer she lingered. "Make it quick. I miss you already."
(Y/N) knew it was cheesy, the way she sent him off, but she didn't care. She couldn't care when she saw him get blushy with a small smile on his face as he nodded at her. She just wanted him to know that she wasn't upset with him, and there was nothing detrimental about the talk they needed to have.
By the time Harry had his hand laced in hers as they scaled the stairs, Analyssa had gone; only a flash of her black hair could be seen as she exited through the double doors. Breaking off, Harry started towards Stanfill's office with a promise to be right back while (Y/N) nodded her head, already slipping out her phone so she could call her roommate back while she waited on Harry.
The corridor was quiet as (Y/N) exited the lecture hall, finding a bench adjacent to Stanfill's room that she made her home for the next few minutes at least. Pulling up Naomi's contact, (Y/N) found herself happy to have the distraction of something as easy to deal with as an unruly rabbit in her apartment as opposed to what filled the last hour of her life.
Just as she went to press the dial button, (Y/N) spotted Analyssa lingering a little too close to Stanfill's door to be considered a coincidence. It wouldn't be a surprise if she had overheard Harry talk about staying back for a minute, and now she was planning on getting a minute with him before he was busy with his actual girlfriend. In the same moment, Analyssa seems to notice (Y/N) waiting on her bench, a bitter expression pinching her brows before she openly rolled her eyes and turned away with a flick of her hair.
Oh? So, that's how its going to be?
In a flare of anger, (Y/N) slipped her phone into her pocket before she blasted off with pure adrenaline and called out to Analyssa. "Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?"
It was automatic the way she responded without turning: "I'm busy."
"Okay, well this shouldn't take too long," (Y/N) told her, rising from her spot on the bench and joining Analyssa by the double doors.
"What do you want, then?" Analyssa snarked, turning on her heel to face (Y/N).
Sighing, (Y/N) did everything she could to not lose the gumption she had grown at the sight of Analyssa's eyeroll. "I just want to know why you have such a problem with me."
Analyssa's eyes turned hard at (Y/N)'s words, the gleam in the brown color matching the edge to her tone. "You know why."
"If it's about that project, I'm sorry, okay?" (Y/N) exasperated, tugging harshly on the strap to her bag, "I didn't realize it was such a big deal to you, especially since I know you talked to Stanfill after and told him I didn't do any of the work so my grade was lowered. I tried my best, and I'm sorry you got stuck with me."
(Y/N) watched as Analyssa's features switched, looking moments way from laughing out loud. "You really think it's over that?"
"I don't know what else it could be, b—"
"You use him! That's why!"
Stunned by the outburst, (Y/N) took a step back. "Excuse me?"
"Everyone knows you're using Harry to get a good grade. Everyone sees you copying off his notes all the time, and I know he made you a study packet one time. It's not hard to put together why you suddenly wanted to fuck him after ignoring him for months."
(Y/N) was speechless as she watched the way a fire burned behind Analyssa's eyes and her tone spit venom at her feet. When she stood up, (Y/N) had been completely prepared to spar with Analyssa about the stupid lab, assuming that had been what had stemmed all this dislike, but she had not ever considered something like this would leave her mouth.
Sure, it wasn't not like they had ever tried to make it a secret that (Y/N) took notes off of Harry's pages or that they had grown close after setting up those tutoring sessions, but there was no place in her mind that she fathomed it would translate into her using him for a grade. And, (Y/N) wanted to point out, she didn't ignore Harry for those months, she was just trying not to drop dead out of boredom every time she set foot into the lecture hall.
"Analyssa, you know that's not true. I can't believe you would ever even sa—"
"Please," she cut her off, "I know how useless you are with this class, (Y/N); you told me how much you hated physics and had no reason to be taking it after your roommate dropped it. But suddenly, Harry's following you around like a puppy, going to parties, skipping class to go hang out with you, I'm sure, and you're now passing with a B? Everyone knows what that means."
"Yes, Harry helped me, but I worked hard for that grad—"
"Sure," Analyssa spat, continuing the trend of cutting (Y/N) off with her superior tone, "Because you completely understand every unit we go over, right? You understand what kind of degree Harry's working towards and the kind of job he wants to go after after he graduates, right?"
Now, (Y/N) just felt embarrassed. She had been the one to start this confrontation and now she was getting degraded in the middle of the hallway, her intelligence called into a ruthless line of question.
Of course, she didn't understand every unit in their physics course. If she did, she would be doing a lot better then the high C average she had managed (though she wasn't going to correct Analyssa on the B judgment she had given her). If she understood exactly what field Harry wanted to go into with his degree, she'd probably switch her major the second he told her the salary he could make. If she understood any of that, maybe she wouldn't feel like crumbling in the middle of the corridor. Karma, she figured—don't start an argument you can't finish.
"See?" Analyssa continued, "It's not fair to Harry, what you're doing do him. He deserves someone who can actually hold a conversation with him about more than reality TV and magaz—"
"Analyssa?"
(Y/N) perked up at the sound of Harry's voice just before she deflated again, knowing he had to have heard at least the tail end of what Analyssa had to say about (Y/N)'s intelligence.
"Harry!" she chirped, faint color filling her cheeks as she realized she had been caught, "I thought you were still inside, sorry—"
"No. What were you just saying?" Harry's tone was hard, edged in a way (Y/N) had never heard before.
Analyssa floundered as she tried to come up with an explanation. "(Y/N) and I—We were just..."
When nothing followed what she had to say, Harry gave a slow nod of his head. Disappointment flooded his features as he moved around Analyssa's stock-still form. As soon as he was close enough, he wrapped his arm around (Y/N)'s waist, tugging her to his side though he didn't once pull his gaze from the dark-haired girl.
"(Y/N) is jus' as smart as you and I. Don't ever talk to her like that," he told her, voice quiet but stern and uncompromising, "She's a better person than you will ever be, even if you pass this class with a higher grade, only because I know she would never talk to you like that. Even though you would deserve it."
Watching the way Analyssa's body completely deflated, her eyes going dark, (Y/N) almost felt for her. She knew she would be heartbroken if Harry had so outrightly rejected her, but (Y/N) also never would have acted the way she did.
"Harry, c—"
With a shake of his head, Harry cut her off. "I don't want you trying to sit with us again, and I don't want to talk to you, anymore. I'm not interested."
That was all Harry had to say before he had his arm tight around (Y/N)'s waist, leading her away.
The walk to her car was silent, save for a pair of times Harry had to keep (Y/N) from running into someone or going the wrong direction with the way she had her eyes pinned to the floor. Each time he whispered for her to be careful with his arm around her waist before he righted her. By the time her car came into view, she has expected him to do as he usually did: open the door for her before he sat in the passenger seat and passed the time with her before he had to go to his next class. Instead, Harry pulled her to the back set of doors. He climbed in first, dropping his bag to the front seat before he tugged (Y/N) in to follow him, her own supplies joining the heap.
"C'mere," he cooed, wrapping his arms around her in a sealing hug that settled her bones in a way that made her feel like she was coming home.
Tucking her face in his neck, (Y/N) took in deep breaths of his scent, surrounding herself with everything Harry in an attempt to calm herself from the rush of tears that clogged her throat. There was no reason to cry, she told herself, Analyssa is a bitch but that's no reason to cry on Harry's sweater and exhaust herself before she went home to deal with Naomi and the bunny.
"'S alright, flower, 's alright," Harry crooned, running his hand down her back in a soothing circuit. "You know nothing she said was true, right? You're the smartest person I know, and she's a bitch for telling you otherwise."
That managed to get a tiny smile cracking (Y/N)'s features; she'd never heard him talk like that before, but now was as good a time as any she figured. Nonetheless, the pure faith she heard in his voice as he told her that she was the smartest person he knew was enough to keep tears flooding to her eyes. She definitely didn't feel very smart right then, but it was nice knowing that Harry held that conviction for her intelligence.
"I started it," (Y/N) peeped against his neck, "I talked to her first, and I shouldn't have."
Harry sighed, his chest puffing against hers as she kept her cradled to him. "Probably not, but I understand why y'did. She pushed too far today."
"I asked her what her problem was with me, and I assumed it was because of that lab from forever ago, but she looked at me like I was stupid when I brought that up," she laughed humorlessly, voice going nasally, "She started going off about how everyone knows I'm using you to pass physics, and that you do everything for me, pretty much."
Though his hands on her stayed gentle, (Y/N) could feel the way Harry's body tensed and his corded muscles began to wind tightly over his body.
"You work hard for your grade, (Y/N), and I couldn't be more proud of you, you know that?" he cemented, his tone deep and grumbling as she figured he was trying to quell his own anger over the frustration in favor of comforting her.
"Thank you," she peeped, a small smile molding her features at his words, "I tried to tell her that, but she wouldn't let me speak. She just kept going off about how its not fair to you that I don't understand all of your engineering and physics stuff. I think she was in the middle of telling me I was too stupid to be with you when you came out."
"Yeah, I think I caught that part," Harry grumbled, his hand over her back stuttering as he held her close to his chest. "But, you know that's not true, right, (Y/N)?"
"I think so." She wished she could offer more conviction, but now wasn't her most confident moment.
"No, no," Harry shook his head, his neck stretching under her lips, "You know so. Y'trust me, right?"
"Of course I do," (Y/N) blurted out, no second-thoughts or hesitation.
"Then, I need you to believe me when I say that you are more than smart enough for me, and I'm lucky that you want to spend time with me. We don't have to have the same interests, or hobbies, or majors to be in love. I love you the way you are, and I know you love me the way I am. That's enough."
"I know," she whispered, voice wavering as the lump in her throat grew larger as tears spilled over her waterline.
"Don't let her bother you, (Y/N). She doesn't mean anything to us." Harry's strong arms only rivaled the strong conviction in his voice, and (Y/N) had never felt safer than in that moment.
"I love you," she breathed out, trying her best to keep her breathing in check before sobs took over. He was right, Analyssa didn't deserve to live in her head over this, so she would be granted only one good cry, then this situation was over.
"I love you, too, m'smart girl. So, so much."
(Y/N) didn't know how long they spent cuddling in the back of her car, only noting the way her eyes felt heavy by the time she finally stopped crying. When she glanced at the clock on her dashboard, she made a move to pull away form his chest.
"Hey, where are y'going? 'M warm," Harry complained, never lessening his hold on her.
"Your next class starts in five minutes," she explained, reluctantly falling back against his chest, "You need to go if you want to make it."
"'M not going today," he told her simply.
"Really?" (Y/N) breathed, not realizing just how relieving it was that he wouldn't be leaving her for the afternoon.
"Really," he affirmed, pulsing his arms around her, "Barely even want to go to m'car so I can follow you to your place, but I guess sacrifices must be made if I want to cuddle you properly in bed."
For a split second, (Y/N) recalled the way Analyssa spit out the fact Harry had started to skip a class here and there to hang out with her. But as soon as the thought came, (Y/N) crumpled it into a ball and pushed it out of her mind. There was no space for her in their relationship.
Even though she wanted Harry, (Y/N) was the one that had him and that wasn't going to be changing anytime soon.
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eeepp first gravity blurb to be seeing tumblr im so excited! thank u sm for reading and sorry for any mistakes! if you have any ideas or requests of your own please send them in:)
