Illicit [Harry Styles]

Chapter 16

To avoid an awkward situation, I waited a few minutes so that the conversation previously at hand could possibly be forgotten, before I took it upon myself to make my presence known and stroll into the kitchen to join them.

"Speak of the devil!" Louis snickered and Harry's lips pressed into a tight line as he avoided eye contact and sipped his coffee.

"Um... What?" I mumbled, pretending I had no idea what he meant.

"Don't worry, darlin'."

I nodded warily and Louis turned his attention to Mckenzie and they started talking with each other, Harry still stood with a sour expression as he now ignored everyone and stared into his cup. I stepped over and stood beside him casually in the hopes that maybe he'd actually talk to me to assure me I hadn't píssed him off.

"Hi," I acknowledged him quietly without looking at him, as to not draw the unwanted attention of Louis and Mckenzie to myself.

"Hi."

"Have I... are you annoyed with me?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders lazily, "No."

"Okay..." I replied with uncertainty whilst allowing my eyes to glance around the kitchen. I thought about how talking to Harry was like handling a bomb; you had to be careful and make sure you didn't do anything to set him off because he was always just waiting to explode.

"Do you want to leave?"

I guess I wasn't careful enough. Now I looked at him, his head was down but his eyes peered up to meet mine whilst his hands fiddled with the mug he held at his chest, leaning effortlessly against the counter his tall frame looked even lankier and his eyes appeared larger than usual. "Um... okay, I guess if you want us to..."

"I didn't say that. I asked you a question." Everything about him was just so... neutral. His facial expressions, his body language, his voice; I couldn't read whether he was annoyed or whether he just didn't realise he was coming across as rude all the time. I almost felt stupid a lot of the time because he would say something that I took as him being annoyed with me, but it usually turned out he wasn't and it made me nervous.

"Oh, uh... well I guess we should get going pretty soon," I suggested. Harry nodded in response, a nod so small that you would've missed it if you weren't paying close attention.

"Louis," Harry spoke loudly, "I'm going to take Jessica and her friend home and you are not going anywhere while I'm gone. Understood? I've got shít to clean up and you're helping."

Louis grumbled exaggeratedly and began to throw a tantrum like a twelve year old but I took no notice and I shook my head quickly in response to what Harry said, "You don't have to take us home."

"You're wearing heels and a dress, and she-" Harry gestured to Mckenzie with a limp hand, "-may as well not be wearing anything at all. You can't stumble home like that."

All of us ignored his rather offensive comment and I continued to be stubborn in an attempt to be polite so he didn't have to go out of his way for us, "We walked here in heels, honestly, it's fi-"

"Why do you always have to argue with me on this?" he raised his voice a little and closed his eyes whilst pinching the bridge of his nose before throwing his hand up and letting it fall to his side all out of frustration, "Just take the god damn ride."

I nodded timidly, obediently, and when I looked back over to our friends they were staring wide-eyed like they'd just witnessed a full-blown domestic or something. Mckenzie noticed my slight embarrassment and immediately took the attention off of us by saying in a spritely voice, "Right, are we heading off now then?"