Nothing Good Gets Away

Chapter 51

HARRY STYLES

Zayn and I have been through quite a bit together when it comes to relationships. We've always had each other's backs, and we've always told each other when one of us was being an idiot. He was there for me when the whole Ivy situation went south, so it's only fair for me to try and be here for him now, while Nicky fights for their relationship...and the two of us are stoned.

We didn't mean to get so high, but it also wasn't our fault. We were smoking before we knew Jenna and Kristin were going to show up at Zayn's and Nicky's to try and talk this whole thing out. Now, we're just observing.

"What I'm saying is that I don't appreciate you being a shady fucking bitch, and going behind my back to text my boyfriend that you have feelings for him," Nicky explains for the millionth time.

"And I said that I'm sorry," Jenna groans in exasperation. "Why can't you just get over it and move on?"

"Because I don't trust you!" She yells back.

"Okay, let's just try to keep our tones level," Kristin chimes in.

"Shut the fuck up, Kristin," Nicky scoffs. "You knew this whole thing was going to happen before it actually happened, and you didn't say a fucking thing to me about it."

"I didn't know what I was supposed to say!" Kristin defends herself. "You're both my friends, and I was trying to decide how I was going to handle everything."

"You pretty much handle it by being honest, not a lying, backstabbing, two-faced bitch."

"Okay, well are we going to even discuss that Zayn was always flirting back with me?" Jenna suddenly accuses, forcing both mine and Zayn's eyes to widen in shock.

"I didn't," Zayn shakes his head. "I love Nicky, she knows that."

"Please," she scoffs, "you're just trying to save your ass right now, but I wouldn't have sent that text if I didn't think there's a chance you would reciprocate."

"Why would I have shown the text to my girlfriend the second you sent it to me if I was interested in you?" He retorts, and I nod to myself because that's a good point. "Obviously if I were interested, I would have hidden it from Nick."

"You know what?" Jenna seems to be shifting gears as she faces Nicky again. "I didn't think you would even care that much, considering you replaced both me and Kristin with Rowan."

My ears perk up like a pathetic dog hearing Rowan's name unexpectedly.

"What the fuck does Rowan have to do with this?" Nicky makes a face. "And besides, I barely get to see her because you guys always want to do things I know she won't enjoy, like going out to nightclubs in LA and getting fucking high on ecstasy like a bunch of idiots."

"Well, I'm sorry that we don't wanna bake cupcakes and sip from expensive wine that we can't afford like she does," Jenna gestures vaguely.

"I think you're getting off-topic," I mumble.

Jenna blinks at me. "What the fuck are you even doing here? You have nothing to do with this."

"You're so right," Zayn nods and drops his hand on my knee. "We're gonna go have a smoke."

Gratefully, I stand and follow Zayn out of the whole complex. He pulls his cigarettes from his back pocket to light one up for himself, and I let him lead the way aimlessly on the sidewalk. If I have to make a guess, I'd say we're going to end up stopping for food somewhere nearby.

"So what do you think is going to happen back there?" I ask.

"Honestly? I sort of hope that Nicky just decides that she doesn't want to be friends with Jenna anymore because I don't want it to be a constant thing of, like... Nicky waiting to accuse both of us for carrying on together anytime she sees us talking or anything. I can't even believe that she's hearing her out right now, and I have no desire to be her friend anymore."