1Dentity (One Direction Affection: Book 1) [Watty Awards 2012]

19: Sore Loser

☆ 19: Sore Loser ★  

"Paige!"

I feel my shoulder be shaken violently and for a second, I thought it was Harry waking me up from another bad dream. I pry my eyes open and see Zayn looking down at me. I have to rub my eyes to make sure that I wasn't seeing things.

"Uh, Zayn?" I say groggily as I become fully aware that Zayn is half naked, standing next to my bed, hair wet. I'm half tempted to pull back my curtain, but I decide against it. "Why are you only in your towel? Did you just get out of the shower?"

"Hold it, Paige, I'm asking the questions here," Zayn says narrowing his eyes at me. "Now, did you use my conditioner?"

He woke me up from my sleep to ask me if I used his conditioner?

"Are you kidding me, Zayn?" I ask him, shaking my head at him in bewilderment. "You woke me up for that?"

"Just answer the question, Carter!" He says. He used my last name, he must be serious. 

"No, I didn't," I say, shaking my head. "Why would I use your conditioner?"

"Because you want my luscious locks," he answers as if it weren't already obvious.

I can't help but laugh at how outrageous Zayn is being right now. "Well, Zayn, as much as I want a six centimeter quiff, I don't think I could pull it off."

Zayn pauses for a moment, thinking about what I said. "You're right. You'd look funny."

"Well, thanks, Zayn," I say sarcastically, then add. "Maybe you should ask the other boys."

"Well, I can't ask Louis or Niall," He says thinking out loud.

"And why not?"

"Because they already left for the airport to go get-"

"Eleanor! Oh my god," I say getting up from my bed, forcing Zayn to back up to give me room. "I completely forgot! Why didn't they wake me up?"

"Calm down, Paige. Louis was going to wake you but Harry told him not to," Zayn explains. "He said you were up late."

I pause. It's weird hearing that Harry openly did something nice for me. After our late night trip to McDonalds, Harry and I were on good terms. Yes, part of me was still getting used to seeing him smile around me, but another part of me was enjoying every minute of this new Harry. Just last night we managed to stay up past four in the morning just talking about anything and everything. It was nice to actually have a good conversation with him. It reminded me that Harry isn't the same guy that I've witnessed over the past couple of weeks. The guy that I met on the beach has resurfaced and I couldn't be more happy.

"Oh," I say sitting back down on the edge of my bed. 

"Don't worry, Niall volunteered to go once Louis mentioned breakfast," Zayn says reassuringly. "But, seriously, you didn't use my hair product?"

"No, Zayn," I repeat, looking back up at him. "I'm perfectly content with my not-so-lucious locks. Now, can you please go put some clothes on?"

"Not until I find out who took my conditioner. And I will find them!" he announces as he walks away from me, yelling, "Liam! You better not have been lying to me!"

I laugh to myself as I decide to get up. Figuring that Zayn probably won't be taking a shower for a while, I decide to take advantage of that. Grabbing a change of clothes, I make my way to the bathroom. 

As the warm water ran down my body, waking me up, I thought of my parents. Recently, I've grown nervous about going back to them. I mean, what if they don't want to see me? They never called me, they never sent birthday cards, they never even sent an email. Two years of no contact and suddenly here I am, traveling all across the country to see them. My best friend tried keeping contact and my parent couldn't even manage that? What happens when I finally face them? Will they have an excuse? Will they apologize? Or will they just ignore me like they've always done? 

I turn off the water and step out of the shower. After I fully change I make my way to the front of the bus where I find Harry sitting at the table, eating a bowl of cereal. I pour a cup of coffee and take a seat across from him.

"How'd you sleep?" He asks, taking a bite.

"Alright, except Niall kept tossing all night," I complain. Niall had the bunk above me so every noise he made, I am fully aware of. "How about you?"

"Best sleep I've had in a long time," He says with a smile.

Seeing him smile, made me smile as well. I don't know what it was. It is just so different now that the air is finally cleared between us. Being his friend was a lot easier than being his coworker. 

"So, are you ready for today?" He asks, raising his eyebrow.

"Uh, what's today?" I ask cocking my head. 

"Didn't Zayn tell you?" He asks. I shake my head in response. "Oh, well Paul knows a guy who owns a Go-Kart track outside of Vegas and they booked the track for a couple of hours this afternoon."

The boys are currently between shows and they have a small break before their concert in Las Vegas. I figured they were going to spend their break relaxing, rejuvenating, not racing go karts. But they never cease to surprise me.

"Awesome, I haven't driven one of those in a long time," I say suddenly getting excited.

"Are you any good?" He asks curiously.

"Well, I don't wanna brag," I say with a shrug. "But back in the day, no one could beat me."

And that was the truth. I'm actually really good. I can't even count the times Dylan and I would spend at one of the local race tracks in Orlando. We would go there so much that we were on a first name basis with the janitor, Georgie. 

"Well, I think I know who my racing partner is," Harry says slyly.



~*~



"Woo!" I shout as I pull the go kart to a stop after Harry and I pass the finish line.

One by one the other go karts pull in. Harry and I step out, ready to rub our win in their faces. Liam and Zayn are the first to come in, followed by Niall and then Louis and Eleanor in last.

I felt bad that Niall had to ride alone, but it was a given that Louis and Eleanor would ride together. And since Harry had already called being my partner, that left Liam, Zayn, and Niall. Considering that Zayn found out that Niall accidentally threw away Zayn's hair conditioner last night, Zayn quickly claimed Liam, saying he couldn't ride in the same kart as a 'Conditioner Killer'.

"Hey, you guys," Harry says casually, leaning against the kart as the rest of our group got out of their go-karts. "Took you all long enough."

"And guess what?" I say as casually as I can. "We won!" I turn to Harry, giving him a high-five.

"I think I liked you two better when you weren't friends,," Zayn says grumpily.

I wasn't sure if that was supposed to be an insult, or what. However, I took it as a sign that mine and Harry's efforts to 'start over' were really paying off. We are becoming friends and that all I wanted from this.

"Don't be jealous, Zayn," Harry says leaning off of the kart.

"Besides, you guys only beat us by like two seconds," Liam informs us. Although Liam is probably right, Harry and I won't admit that.  

"Don't be a sore loser, Liam," I say sticking my tongue out at him.

"Very mature, Paige," Liam says with a laugh.

"At least we aren't sore winners," Niall jokes.

"Hey, don't diss my partner," Harry says pulling me into him. "We won fair and square. You just have to embrace your inner loser."

"Hate to break it to you, Harry. But, Paige won," Eleanor says as Louis wraps his arms around her from behind. "You were passenger."

"She was the one driving," Louis says laughing into Eleanor's hair.

I smile as I see Eleanor and Louis. Louis' whole being is now ten times brighter thanks to Eleanor. It was so good to have another girl here. Although, I haven't really had time to talk to her since we've been racing all afternoon. I couldn't wait until we did get to talk. 

"Excuse me, but we are a team," Harry says defensively. "Win together, lose together."

"You sat in the passenger seat the whole time, Haz. That's not teamwork," Zayn jokes, punching Harry's shoulder playfully.

"Paige? Are you going to defend your teammate?" Harry asks putting his hand against his chest, feigning hurt.

"Okay, you guys, that's enough," I say putting my hand on Harry's shoulder reassuringly. "It's not Harry's fault that he can't win on his own."

Harry steps away from me, his jaw drops in shock. "I can win on my own."

"Oh, don't worry, Harry you don't have to prove anything to us," Niall laughs. 

"Yeah, I still love you," Louis adds.

"Hey, I can win," Harry says defensively. "Need I remind you that I'm a licensed driver now."

"Whoa! Big boy, right here, back up, everyone! Harry has a license," I say holding my hands up in defense.

Harry looks at me, narrowing his green eyes at me. "Okay, Paige, you wanna do this?"

"Oh, I think I sense a challenge coming up," Zayn announces clapping his hands in excitement.

I cross my arms over my chest. "I'm listening."

"Well, let's just see who is really the winner," Harry challenges. "Me, you, racing. Right now."

"Are you sure you want to do that? You're setting yourself up for failure," I joke.

"Oh? Is that you being scared?" Harry asks with a devious smile. "Are you too scared to race me?"

"Scared? No. I just don't want to embarrass you," I say sadly. "But, I'm sure losing to a girl would make a nice story, dontcha think?"

"I'm not going to lose," he says confidently.

"Don't be too sure."

"Okay, let's do this then."

"This is going to be good," Liam says laughing. "I can't wait to see Harry crash."

"Thanks for the confidence boost, Liam," Harry says as he walks over to the kart Liam and Zayn had used. "I'll take this one."

"Go Paige! Take him down," Niall cheers as he and the rest of the group make their way to the bleachers, cheering for me as they went.

I hop back into my go-kart, ready to get this started. The sooner we get going, the sooner Harry will be put out of his misery. I pull my hair up into a high ponytail as I look over at Harry who was already situated.

"So? Are you ready to lose?" I ask him.

"Well, if you are so confident, why don't we make this a little more interesting."

I narrow my eyes at him. "How so?"

"Loser does whatever the winner wants?" He offers up.

I pause, taking into consideration what Harry actually might make me do if I were to lose. I wasn't really sure what to expect, to be perfectly honest. Harry and I haven't had that much time to get to know each other. I mean, we barely started talking a few hours ago. However, if I didn't agree to the bet, then that would be a sure sign that I thought I was going to lose; and there was no way that I was going to give Harry that satisfaction.

"You're on."

"Alright, prepare to do my laundry for the remainder of the tour." He says, adjusting his grip on the steering wheel. "Are you ready?"

"Ready."

"On my count."

"I don't think so. We'll let them count it off. I don't want you cheating."

"Really? How can I cheat with a count off?"

"I don't know but I know you'll figure something out," I look back at the group and yell. "Can we have have a countdown, please?"

Without hesitation, they all began counting off and just like that Harry and I were off. The sounds of our engines fills the track. I pull ahead of Harry, taking every curve and turn with precision. I have to admit, Harry is doing a decent job at keeping up. The wind hits against my face causing my ponytail to occasionally hit me across the face. But I don't let that stop me. I press down on the gas pedal, putting more distance between Harry and I.

I don't slow down until I don't hear the roar of the second engine. Confused, I look over my shoulder. I quickly caught sight of Harry's kart in the side of the track, crashed against the haystacks. 

I quickly hit the breaks and turn the kart, making my way back to Harry. Once I reach him, I turn my go-kart off. I look at his kart, which was halfway through the stack of hay that outlined the race track. Lucky for Harry, he looked to be alright. 

"Um, Harry?" I say, getting out of my go-kart. "I don't know if you know this, but the object is to not crash into anything. It'll make you go faster."

"Did I ever tell you how funny you are?" Harry says sarcastically as he crawls out of the kart. Hay is sticking to him like glue and his head looked like a bird had just made a nest. I couldn't help but laugh at the sight.

"No, actually, but I value your opinion," I say, using just as much sarcasm. "But for the record, you probably didn't last ten seconds on the track."

"I did, too," he argues as he brushes himself off.

"Okay, eleven seconds," I correct myself with a laugh.

"Geez, the hay is all over me," He complains, trying to pick off all of the hay.

"Here, let me help," I say, deciding two sets of hands are better than one.

I help him brush off his shoulders and arms. Running my hands over his exposed arms, I can't help but notice his strong muscles. Anyone in my position wouldn't be able to ignore them. They were so tone. They weren't body builder big, but the muscles were there. There is no denying that.

By the time Harry was almost completely patted off, everyone had made their way to us. 

"Well, Harry," Louis says as I pick hay out of Harry's thick hair. "You sure showed Paige what a great driver you are, huh?"

Harry purses his lips, clearly not happy about losing. "It's not my fault. The steering wheel was on the wrong side. Everything felt backwards."

"Excuses, excuses," I say as I got the last of the hay. 

"Yeah, I was able to do it," Liam brags. "But didn't I tell you guys that he was going to crash?"

"Yeah, Liam. You're psychic," Harry says giving Liam a dead look.

"Oh, come off it, Harry," Eleanor says with a laugh.

"Yeah, you should embrace your inner loser, right?" Niall says quoting Harry from earlier. 

Suddenly, I turn towards Harry, realizing something. Harry lost and that means I won the wager. I had no idea what I was going to make him do, but I'll eventually think of something.

"I didn't lose," Harry says stubbornly.

"Yes, you did," I laugh.

"But you didn't even cross the finish line. So, technically, no one won," He argues.

"Well, if we are going with technicalities, you technically forfeited." 

"But-"

"It's alright, Harry," Louis says, cutting him off as he wraps his arm around Harry's shoulder. "You know, the First Step is admitting it. Once you get past that, it'll be smooth sailing."

"But, I di-"

"Harry, you lost. It's time to accept that," Niall says. "Now, come on, all this racing is making me hungry. I think I saw a snack bar inside."

Niall makes his way back to the main building with everyone following behind. I hear Liam make a comment about informing the workers about the crashed go-kart before I slow down my pace to match Harry's.

"So, I guess this means I won't be doing your laundry," I say with a smirk.

A look of realization settles on his face. He probably forgot all about our little wager. But I'm sure if roles were reversed, he wouldn't forget.

"You know, we didn't really shake on it s-"

"Don't give me that first grade excuse," I cut him off. "I won and you know it."

Harry sighs, sticking his hands deep into his pockets. "Fine, what do I have to do?"

"I don't know yet," I say shrugging. "I'll let you know when I think of something."  

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A/N: Not the most interesting chapter but it showed Paige and Harry getting along! Next chapter will include more Eleanor and Louis :P 

I liked Zayn in this... so he gets side pic/gif! yay for Zayn! :D

----------> ZAYN!!! Nothing unusal... just Zayn being a ninja and finding out that Niall took his conditioner. Zayn is a great detective :P

Vote for Niall being the Conditoner Killer... or Vote for Harry and Paige getting along! ....Or just vote becuase you are just plain awesome! (Which every single one of you are!!)

I'm trying to dedicate chapters to everyone who comments on the chapters, so if i haven't dedicated one to you, I will soon! Don't worry! :D

I'm excited! This story is #116 in Teen Fiction and #290 in Fan Fiction! I literally peed in my pants... okay not really but you guys catch my drift! :P Please keep it up! I appreciate all the votes and comments and reads and Fans! I'm almost at 50 fans! :D Yay!