The Boy Next Door || Harry Styles

chapter six. {melanie}

"How did the interview go?" My father asked as he opened the door for me. I walked deeper into the house and dropped my car keys on the kitchen counter.

"It was great, I got the job!" I grabbed a glass of water and sat down.

"Everyone was nice and super laid back. They offered me the novice composer spot and I'll be shadowing other composers and songwriters before I get to work with artists! I went out to lunch with some of the workers and they showed me around Chester. But the traffic was insane." I continued. All the while, my father was nodding his head up and down. He was always a listener.

"That's great, honey. So," he dragged on, "The Styles invited us tonight." The water currently in my mouth went down the wrong pipe and I began to cough violently.

"Woah," My father laughed and patted my back.

"Sorry, what did you say?" I knew exactly what he said, I just didn't want to believe it.

"The Styles are having a New Years party tonight and I already said 'yes'." My jaw dropped open and I could feel something coming up my throat.

"I-I don't think I want to-," I started to protest, but my dad stopped me.

"You haven't seen them in four years, come on. And Harry is finally back in town, too. Wow, the last time I saw that boy," He trailed off in thought and all I could feel was trepidation tearing at every single part of me.

"He's been around the world, you know? He's doing pretty great things." My father stated, but I could barely focus on what he was saying. How the fuck was I supposed to confront Harry?

"I'll be upstairs." Quickly, I got up from my seat and sprinted up to my room. My mind was swirling and I couldn't contain my emotions. I was panicking about absolutely everything. What was I supposed to do when I saw Harry? What was I supposed to say? Would he recognize me as Melanie?

I threw myself at my bed and groaned. Maybe if I wasn't such a liar, I wouldn't be in this mess. I couldn't hold up this lie any longer, knowing that the real Cassidy was going to the party tonight. Everything would be revealed and a whole bunch of shit was going to go down.

Hopefully, I can just stay low and avoid Harry the whole night. It is a Styles party anyways, there would be tons of people there. I nodded in satisfaction, I would do just that. I would not interact with Harry Styles, at all.

* * *

"Melanie!" Ms. Styles shouted as she opened the front door. Wow, I thought, so much for staying low.

"Hi, how are you Mummy Anne?" I hugged her tightly and she smiled.

"I'm wonderful! Come in, come in!" She ushered everyone inside and picked up Riley.

"How are you, little one?" Riley wrapped his arms around Anne's neck and giggled. My father and Cassidy walked into the living room to greet other people inside the house. The loud chatter added to the music blaring in the background and little kids were screaming and running around. It felt nice to be back, but the anxiety settled in the pit of my stomach could not go unnoticed. I was so paranoid that Harry would be standing right behind me.

"Harry is in the kitchen! He can't wait to see you." My mouth twitched and I tried not to squirm. I was holding a large case of booze and I didn't want to set it down. There was no way I was going to the kitchen.

Walking into the living room, I set the case on the coffee table and turned to greet many familiar faces. I had small conversations, but I couldn't help but look over my shoulder once in a while. An hour passed and I had managed to stay out of trouble, but there was still two more hours until midnight. Leaving the comfort of the living room, I glanced around before walking into the kitchen. A couple of people were sitting at the kitchen table, but the space was very open.