Nothing Good Gets Away

Chapter 12

HARRY STYLES

"I really don't think I wanna do this, Zayn," I mutter to my phone resting on the bathroom counter.

"Mate, you need to at least attempt to get back out there. If you're not gonna fuck Rowan, then you need to dip outside the hallway in your flat."

I wince at his blunt choice of words, and it reminds me of when Sienna bombarded me the other day and asked me if I'm fucking her best friend. "Sure, but a blind date? Isn't that a bit of a cliche? And I already feel like shit that she has to pick me up."

"It's not a blind date, I sent you a picture of her, and Nicky mostly vouches for her anyway."

My hand falters in my hair as I blink back at myself in the mirror. "What do you mean she 'mostly' vouches for her?"

Zayn laughs. "Well, you know that she's still getting to know you, so she's not incredibly positive that the two of you are going to hit it off, but she's a nice girl and she's pretty. That's a start."

I hum in frustration as I see the girl's name lighting up on the screen with a call on the other line. "I gotta go, this better not be a waste of my Friday night."

"Have fun, be yourself, try to get it in."

"Jesus," I switch calls to answer Sophia. "Hello?"

"Hey, Harry! It's Sophia. I think I'm outside your apartment complex?"

"Oh, okay great. I'm coming down right now, so I'll see you in a second."

"K! See you in a minute."

"Alright," I hang up and shake my head at myself in the mirror, stuffing my phone in my back pocket as I slap my palm on the wall to flip the light switch.

I step into my pair of old-school Vans and pat my pocket to make sure I have my wallet on my way to the front door. Keys in hand, I let out one last dramatic sigh as I swing the door open to see Rowan coming down the hallway with Scout. A smile forms on my lips, and it's not forced.

"Hey," she smiles right back at me. "Heading out?"

For some reason, I consider lying to her even though I am, obviously, going out. "Yeah."

"Where to?" She sounds more curious than nosey.

"Uh," I breathe a laugh. "Zayn sort of agreed for me to go on a date thing without asking me. So...that's what I'm doing."

It's so subtle, but I don't miss the way her smile fades for just half a second. "Wow! That's so great. Probably about time right? I mean, you've been here for a while, so...yeah, it's good to get out and go on dates."

I nod, taking in her more nervous demeanor. When she's anxious, her eyes tend to shift around wildly, and she swallows more. "Yeah, that's what he was telling me."

"Mhm," she laughs, sort of. "Well, have a nice time. I hope you have fun."

"Thanks," I give her something of a half smile. "I'll see you later."

"Okay," she fumbles with her keys, and I glance over my shoulder when I hear her drop them in the process of trying to get the right one into her door.

I rub the back of my neck as I carry on to the lift, all but dragging my feet. On the way down, I try to perk up so the poor girl doesn't notice how much I don't feel like spending my Friday night off with a complete and total stranger. But briefly, I did consider that maybe it'll be great, and maybe she's the one. There's always that chance.

I step outside and see the girl from the pictures Zayn sent me from her Instagram account, and she looks the same. Her hair is a dark brown color and falls halfway down the back of her little pink dress, and she smiles wide with an enthusiastic smile. She's pretty, but that's all I know so far.