love & hate | wroetoshaw

f i v e

this morning i woke up feeling sheepish, embarrassed from the events that took place the night before. as soon as i woke up i took a quick shower and carried on unpacking the majority of my things, finally being satisfied. i hadn't left the spare room yet, scared that i would see harry and it would be awkward, but as it was now reaching noon i was getting increasingly hungry.

i stand up from my spot on the floor, where i was organising some of my makeup, and look at myself in the mirror. i give my hair a quick brush and make my way to the kitchen, almost running so i could get there as quickly as i can in fear of bumping into the blonde haired man. as i get into the living room i stop in my tracks, hearing roars of laughter coming from the balcony outside. i try to peek at what was going on, failing due to the curtains still being closed making the room slightly dark.

i choose to mind my own business and carry on into the kitchen, flicking the kettle on and grabbing some bread out of the cupboard. i begin rummaging through the fridge for anything that i could put in a sandwich, but the fridge is practically empty. i sigh and turn back around to the slices of bread sitting on the countertop, picking them up and putting them into the toaster.

a loud noise startles me, causing me to whip my head around to the kitchen door. just as i am about to close it, the laughter from outside gets increasingly louder, followed by six boys piling into the living room. i quickly hide behind the door and begin to panic, not having met most of the friend group yet. i slowly try to close the door with no one noticing, but to my dismay, the door lets out a small creek. i freeze in my position as i hear silence come across the room next door.

"ey, there's a ghost, fam," i hear someone say, recognising the voice as jj, who i had met briefly a few times when i came to visit, "we're gonna die."

"it's not a ghost, jj," simon says, "it's probably the wind."

i slowly creep back and let out a small breath, thanking the lord that they didn't see me. just as i think i'm safe from any encounters, the toaster pops up, causing me to swear internally. i hear a high pitched squeal and a few voices.

"jj, calm down, mate." simon says again.

i stop hiding and come out from behind the door. i slowly pull the door back, revealing myself to the six men. jj is hidden behind the couch, his eyes poking out above it, clearly scared for his life. i give a small wave and a quiet hello as they all stare at me. i notice harry perched on the end of the couch, sending me a glare.

"bella, mate," cal says, "you scared the shit out of us."

"sorry." i smile at them, finding humour in the situation.

"isobella, long time no see," jj smiles, coming out from behind the couch and giving me a tight hug, "how have you been, bro."

"i'm okay, jj. how are you?" i hug him back, missing his goofiness.

"guys," cal says, clapping his hands together, "this is bella." he turns to two other lads, who i recognise as tobi and ethan. they both give me a smile and say hello, making me feel less nervous, but i can still feel harry's eyes on me.

"bella is a very good friend of ours, so be nice to her," simon laughs, "but not too nice, she can take the banter."

i get dragged over to the sofa, being wedged between cal and tobi. conversations spark up between everyone, talking about filming and video ideas the boys had. by the time everyone had quietened down, it was nearing 11pm. tobi had left not that long ago, going back to his own place and simon, jj and ethan were getting ready to leave. we all bid our goodbyes and i made my way back to the spare room, after giving a quick hug to cal and a smile to harry, who just looked away immediately. once i get into the room, i sit on the bed and feel myself begin to overthink the situation with harry, getting pissed off at him for being so rude. me being my petty self, i feel the competitive side of me begin to come out. if harry wanted to hate me, i could hate him just as much.