1996 [harry au]

XI. Grounded

I'm inside, hearing the familiar tune that is loud enough to make the elderly complain. I lean against the counter, pressing my finger against the stereo and the music pauses. They're immediately curious and look up to see me.

I smile, trying to seem like I was not jealous whatsoever, which in fact I was definitely getting upset over it. Alexis let's go of Zayn's hand and I gaze at her briefly, she sends me one of her pretty smiles, but I don't send one back, far too upset to scold myself. 

She notices and begins to frown a bit. Niall's the first to question me. 

"Hey, Haz. Thought you were grounded?" He asks. 

"I am. I'm just in town because I need to get a spare tire for my dad," I explain dryly, shrugging my shoulders. 

Zayn then says, "We're sorry about getting you into trouble. It was most definitely our fault for bringing the alcohol. It shouldn't have ended that way."

"Yeah, it was stupid of us," Louis adds. "We're sorry, mate. Really."

I shake my head, scoffing and waving as if to put aside any differences here. "It's fine. I have to get back, though. So you guys just have fun." I press my finger to the pause button on the stereo and the music comes back on. 

They're silent as I turn around, and Max is waves to them quietly, sensing tension. I'm sighing and frowning by the time we're outside in front of the auto parts shop. I seriously can't get my mind off how he was holding her hand and I might be an idiot, but I'm a jealous one, which makes it worse.

Max opens the door and goes inside. I'm about to follow, but a hand grabs my wrist and I'm forced to look behind me. Alexis stands there with a concerned expression, her beautiful eyes looking up at me. Shit, I'm not going to be mad too long. 

"Hey," she starts out softly. "Are you okay?"

I rub my hand to my temple and sigh. "Yeah, I'm fine," I respond with a shrug of my shoulders.

"I'm opposed to that," she says.

"Well..." I start, dragging out the word. "I don't know why you're opposed to it. I'm more than fine. I'm great, actually. And there's no reason to be so concerned. I've been grounded lots of times. Not a big deal and --"

"You're rambling," she points out, shaking her head. "Look, I'm sorry that you got into trouble. I really feel bad about it and I wish I could change that."

My lips pressed together tightly as I process her words. "It's not that," I grumble, crossing my arms over my chest, but she grabs my hands and entwines her fingers with mine. I'm almost rethinking entirely why I was jealous to begin with, but I don't.

Our eyes lock. She asks, "What is it then? Is it that I was dancing with Zayn?" Shit, she's caught on. I'm silent, though. So, she's quick to understand. With a sigh, she says, "Harry, we were just dancing."

"I know that," I stubbornly reply. "I got jealous," I confess. 

Alexis looks up at me, faint smile forming on her lips. "Don't be. He was joking when he said I'd fall for him and he was joking around with me when we were dancing. And...you are my boyfriend. You are the one I want," she said, leaning on her toes to peck my lips. 

I wanted to hold her there and kiss her much more, but we're in public so I refrained. I'm frowning when I mutter, "I'm sorry. It was stupid to get jealous."

She shakes her head and smiles. "It's okay. It shows me that you care. And I would have done the same." 

"Then I probably shouldn't tell you that a few girls stopped by my house just to watch me wash a truck while shirtless," I casually tease her, grinning when she rolls her eyes. I lean down to kiss her once more. "But, I have to go because my dad's going to have a fit if I'm late. He's counting."

Alexis sadly pouts, and I have the urge to kiss her again. I'm returning the pout just to tease her, and I place a quick peck on her lips. 

"Harry, are you coming?" Max says as he stands by the store's door. "Hi, Alexis," he waves when she looks down at him. 

She greets him back and I wrap my arms around her tightly. She accepts my hug as I whisper to her, "I'll see you around, baby." Unable to stop myself, I kiss her one more time.

Max groans. "You guys are gross. And annoying."

When he says that, Alexis moves away from me, turns around and bends to his height. She places a kiss on his cheek and he immediately flushes bright red. I laugh as she begins to walk away, waving at me for a moment.

I look down and see Max wiping his cheek. I smirk and tease, "I think my girlfriend's falling for you."

He glares. "I hope not. Sally's going to be mad."

note: 

wondering why my little brother isn't max tbh