BILLS, BOOZE & BETRAYAL | CHAPTER 03
"No cigarettes today?" I muse as I walk closer to Zayn, who is standing out front, as always, only today to take me to the airport instead of the office.
"Nah." He says simply and I frown at his distant disposition but get into the car nonetheless when he opens up the door to the backseat for me. It's been this way for a week now and I have no clue as to what is bothering this guy. Not to mention that he keeps making some or the other excuse and denying me sex. I mean honestly, a man's got needs.
We reach the airport with a considerable amount of time left on our hands before we have to go and as Zayn and I stand there in the hangar waiting for Liam and Harry to show up, I decide to finally face the music.
"Alright, what's going on with you? Why have you been shutting me out?"
"How kind of you to notice." He deadpans as he pulls out a cigarette and I huff in annoyance as he blows the smoke away.
"Zayn, for God's sake. Stop being an ass."
"Stop being a slut."
"Excuse me?" I nearly shout, my voice definitely a few octaves higher than usual.
Where the fuck did that come from?
"You heard me." He says, puffing out smoke yet again and I take the cigarette out of his mouth and crush it in my fist before throwing it away. I ignore the slight pain of the burn on my hand and grab his chin to make him look me in the eyes.
"What the fuck are you on about?"
"I saw you, Louis. Last week at the pub. I thought I'd catch you and help you get home at a reasonable hour so that Mark didn't give you a hard time but all I saw was you kissing that bloke you say you hate so much on the fucking dance floor. Then, I stumble upon that drunk boss of yours and help him get into a cab and get home safe, and when I come back, what do I see? I see you at the bar kissing a whole other set of lips. Even after all that, you have the fucking balls to try and have sex with me all week long so, yeah, I said what I said. Stop being a slut. Or, if you're so hell-bent on being one, you could've just told me so that I wouldn't have had to turn down some perfectly good specimens of men and women for your annoying little ass."
"Zayn, I -"
Before I can even begin to justify myself and my actions or defend myself, I hear the distinct voice of wheels on gravel and turn around to see Harry's car swerving to a stop in the hangar a moment later.
He, unlike me, doesn't step out of his car. All he does is send me a stoic look, Zayn a judgemental one and then turns away to fumble with the buttons on his dashboard. I figure he's turning on the music because the next minute, he simply closes his eyes and rests his head against the head-rest, completely ignoring our presence.
I turn back to Zayn to say something but he cuts me to it.
"What is it about him, anyway? Don't you like, hate him?"
"I do, I mean, hate would be a strong word. We've been sort of on this banter-y, frenemies term for the past 5 years and I guess it's sort of -" I rant out but stop when I realise that I'm doing the same. "Doesn't matter right now. The point is, I was drunk and I wasn't thinking and I'm sorry. Plus, I didn't sleep with both of them. The kiss with Harry was sort of a misunderstanding. Also, I'm not annoying!"
"Whatever." He mutters but I can tell that he isn't angry anymore.
"Don't 'whatever' me." I say with a chuckle and he laughs, too.
"Make up with your boyfriend then?" I hear Harry say as he finally steps out of his car, mostly because we see Liam driving in as well. Late, as per usual, but he's the boss so I can't do much about it.
"He's not my boyfriend."
"I'm not his boyfriend." We both deadpan at him at the same time, making him quirk an eyebrow at me and drawl suspiciously.
"Right, sure."
"Morning, lads. Ready for a week of fun?" Liam says as he gets out and all of us head inside the private plane. Finally.
"We're going there for work, Liam." I say with a chuckle and he rolls his eyes.
"Aren't you the life of the party?"
I simply roll my eyes and settle down in one of the seats and much to my dismay, Liam sits down on the seat next to me and his assistant across from him, leaving Harry to sit across from me.
About twenty minutes after take off and I am still sitting across from Harry, who is occasionally sending me glares while Liam is drinking his champagne one glass after the other and his assistant, poor her, keeps eyeing him worriedly and when I notice him do that again, I huff in annoyance and stand up to grab the champagne away from Liam.
"That's it, I'm cutting you off. We have a fucking meeting with the company's MD one hour after we get there. Sarah, please. No more alcohol, make sure of it."
The new assistant nods promptly, mostly scared at my tone and I give her a small smile before settling back into my seat. I put the two glasses on the small table between us and fill them up halfway with the champagne. I notice Harry glancing at my actions but then turning away when I meet his eyes, making me smile just a little bit. The guy can sure as hell be charming when he wants to be.
Attractive little shit.
"Alright, cut it out. I'm sorry for what I said, I forgive you for what you said. We're gonna be here for four days, let's not be kids about this."
"Oh, so now I'm being juvenile?" He turns suddenly and glares at me in the most childish manner ever, and I barely keep in my laughter.
"No, I was. Now you need not be. Just take the champagne as sorry and get over it. We're both grown ups, let's not ruin work because of personal feuds."
"I suppose." He says and takes the glass flute from my hand, swirling the contents in a circle and thinking hard. I clear my throat and his eyes snap back to mine in a second, making me feel short of breath all of a sudden for some reason. I repeat the action and pull the glass in the air.
"To being annoying colleagues and frenemies?" I question despite my mind reminding me just how much I sound like my step-father. I do my best to ignore it and the dimpled smile on Mr. greasy-head's face helps a little bit.
"To being annoying colleagues and frenemies, again."
I roll my eyes at the addition and sip my champagne before both of us wordlessly get back to our own business.
Well, that's one burden off of my chest, I think to myself with a small smile and the rest of the three-something hours pass by surprisingly well, aided hugely by the calm and peace in the atmosphere around me.
~~
A/N. SO, WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK ABOUT THIS ONE? I HAVE TO ADMIT, I AM LOVING THIS BOOK. MOSTLY BECAUSE I GET TO WRITE FROM LOUIS' POV, BUT I ALSO LOVE HOW MUCH THERE'S GOING ON.
ALSO, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF LOUIS AND HARRY'S CURRENT RELATIONSHIP? THINK HE'S SOFTENING UP TO HAZZA JUST A TAD BIT, MAYBE? ;)
ALSO-ALSO (yeah, like there's a term like that, T) I REALIZE THAT IT'S QUITE LATE IN THE NIGHT, IT'S PAST MIDNIGHT, BUT I WAS WRITING ANOTHER CHAPTER OF B3 AND I SIMPLY DIDN'T NOTICE HOW FAST THE TIME PASSED AWAY. SORRY. :')
BUT I STILL POSTED, DIDN'T I? SO PLEASE DON'T BE MAD AT ME.
PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO VOTE, COMMENT AND SHARE. I'D REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT.
STAY SAFE, TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES, LOVELY PEOPLE! I HOPE YOU HAVE HAD/ARE HAVING A LOVELY DAY!!!
~ Love, T.
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BILLS, BOOZE & BETRAYAL | LARRY AU
FanfictionTo be known as and considered one of the wealthy socialites of New York City is what everyone in the world wishes for. That is, everyone but Louis Tomlinson who is just a scandal waiting to happen.
