The sound of the bass was loud, thumping through the apartment that was filled with half-sweaty bodies of young adults dancing and drinking the night away. Louis tipped the glass in his hand back, swallowing a copious amount of alcohol that was providing him an excellent buzz. It was the type of buzz that he seriously needed to enjoy the party that Zayn was holding, one where girls were starting to act like drunk and stupid messes, Eleanor wasn’t leaving his side, and Harry was glaring halfway across the room. Those three factors alone were making Louis feel like he was suffocating.
“Louis,” Eleanor said, her hand clutching into Louis’ shirt. “Can we dance?”
Louis looked hesitantly at the center of the room, which was filled with girls who were grinding against extremely pleased guys.
“I dunno,” he said, taking another large swig of his drink.
“Come on,” Eleanor said, leaning to whisper into his ear. “If you want me to act like your ‘girlfriend’, then dancing with me will definitely help,” she said, putting careful emphasis on the word girlfriend.
Louis sighed, knowing that she was right.
“Fine,” he said, placing his drink down since it was near empty anyway.
Eleanor beamed, taking his hand and pulling him to where everyone was dancing. They stood at the side, Eleanor’s arms wrapping around his neck as she faced him and started dancing. His hands moved to her waist, his body trying to move with hers but unable to find the rhythm she was dancing at. Eleanor let out a light laugh, then rolled her eyes and turned around.
“Maybe it’ll help if you don’t see my face. That way you can just pretend I’m your lover-boy,” she said over her shoulder.
“Worth a shot,” he answered, fingers moving to the front of her hips and keeping her body close to his.
He found that it really did help, especially when he closed his eyes and just imagined that it was Harry’s bum grinding into him. They danced for a bit, hips moving in time to the beat of the music. His eyes flickered open and he turned his head to the right, his gaze locking immediately with Harry’s, who was leaning against the wall and watching him with an intense and dizzying stare.
A flash of guilt washed over him, especially as Harry’s eyes moved down to where Eleanor and Louis’ hips were moving in time, but before he could even think of what to do, Eleanor was pulling away from him.
“Got to run to the bathroom,” she said, placing a quick peck on his cheek and then walking off.
Louis wanted to disappear into the crowd of people, hide away from the boy who was stalking towards him, but he knew that there was no use and that Harry would find him.
“Having fun?” Harry asked, standing face to face with him.
“S’alright,” Louis answered nonchalantly. He glanced to his sides, making sure no one was giving them any attention. “Would be better if I was dancing with you,” he said quietly when he was sure that no one was listening or watching them.
“Hmm,” Harry hummed. “I dunno, Eleanor seems to be enjoying herself quite a bit.”
Louis rolled his eyes before saying, “Don’t start tonight Harry. She’s only playing up the part.”
“Looks like she was enjoying herself more than a beard would.”
“You’re wrong,” Louis said firmly.
“Yeah? So she would be just fine then if I came up here and started dancing with you?” Harry asked, shifting closer to Louis’ body.
“Someone’s going to see and blab to the press. I wouldn’t trust the girls here,” he said, pointedly looking at a stumbling girl who was giggling far too loudly.
