Dark (Harry Styles Fanfic)

Chapter 53

"Do you guys want to come and sit by the pool?" Hayley suggested.

I nodded, eager to explore more of her house. We became linked, a necessary attachment as we once again struggled through the dense groups. Upon travelling down the hall, I could make out a total of five rooms leading off, most of which were occupied.

The air in the garden was a welcome atmosphere, music continued to blast but with the freedom of the outdoors. The boys followed out behind us, lightly shoving each other in playful banter.

"And this is the pool." Hayley gestured.

"Wow. Everything is so big." I laughed.

The swimming pool was of a decent size, ringed with paving slabs and grass beyond. A cluster of people were already making splashes, dive-bombing into the clear water.

"It's not much fun on your own though."

It was hard not to detect the underlying tone of unhappiness, not just her words but in her body language. And I couldn't help but feel pity for her, no wonder she spent so much time around her friends' houses. I wouldn't want to be here on my own either.

"My uncle is away a lot."

"Harry said."

The conversation came to a close when I was introduced to a small group sat around on stripy garden furniture. I came to learn that they were girlfriends of the males I had met earlier. (Goodness knows how Louis had gotten a girlfriend.) Harry kept close by, occasionally drifting between clusters of people still with a beer in hand.

***

Louis' POV

"I think it's all the cute little things that make a difference." Nicole spoke.

Why had she never told me this? My collection of brownie points could have been stacked way higher if I'd have known about this earlier.

"Really?" I asked.

"Of course!"

There was a universal agreement among the girls as multiple heads nodded. Hmm, this was proving to be of valuable information. I cursed myself for not bringing a pen and paper with me. I wonder if I could get away with typing vital points down onto my phone. The idea was brushed aside as the attention soon turned to Bo, having stayed a little quiet during the conversation. This would be interesting.

"Bo, what do you and Harry do?"

It didn't matter which one of the girls had asked. I sniggered, knowing Harry wasn't really into the whole cute relationship stuff.

"That's not really Haz's area of expertise."

The girls gave me a disapproving look before waiting for the dark-haired female to speak.

"Umm." She looked a little hesitant to start off with, picking at the nail polish on her fingers. "We like to hold hands, Harry likes having his hair played with," Bo bit the inside of her cheek, peering over to where Harry stood with a group. "He gives me butterfly kisses and sometimes we stay up and just talk under the covers."

The chorus of "awws" caught Harry's awareness, turning to smile and walk over. He took a seat on the arm next to Bo and I noticed just how comfortable they looked with each other.

"What are butterfly kisses?"

Yet another thing I had never heard of. I guessed girls just made stuff up, surely it couldn't be a real thing. An image of a butterfly with lips floated into my mind.

"It's when you flutter your lashes against someone's skin. It's really cute." Hayley spoke up.

"That's not Harry's thing." I defended.

I could sense my friend's anxiousness rise as eyes turned to him. Bo tugged at his hand for him to sit down on the cushions closely to her right. Her whispers were undistinguishable to the rest of the group, Harry and Bo having their own little private conversation as she spoke secrets into his ear.

"Are you trying to ruin my reputation?" He frowned.

I knew he wasn't into it and this knowledge had me feeling a bit smug.

"No," she reassured.

"Don't pout."

A finger was tapped to her pleading lips in order to reduce the size of them. Bo's eyes drifted to mine for a second.

"Please. Louis doesn't believe me."

My friend released a defeated sigh. I witnessed, in somewhat surprise as Harry leant forward. Bo cupped the side of his face before he blinked his eyelids upon her cheek. She giggled, turning so their eyes could meet. Bo had transformed Harry into some soppy idiot. He'd have never have done that to any girl before. What the hell was going on?

"Why don't you ever do that with me?" Ruby huffed at Zayn.

I blocked out her whining to stare at the couple in disbelief. Bo and Harry held hands, his thumb rubbing back and forth over her knuckles. There were obvious size comparisons to be made, Harry towered above most people. That became more apparent when an arm was casually slung over her shoulders. She was small in height, a characteristic I'd taken note of when we were first introduced, but she certainly wasn't all that skinny. Not that that was a bad thing. Harry had never been particularly picky, as long as they were hot, he'd take them home. I bet after few drinks he'd spill, tell me how much he loved her. And then after a couple more beers it would get bit dirtier. I was bound to be privileged with the information concerning their romantic moments and just how well Bo's thighs were equipped for wrapping around Harry's hea...

"Haz, you're becoming a dork," Zayn jokingly pointed out.

I had to agree with him. The Harry I knew would have smashed your face in for knocking his elbow at the bar. Well, maybe not quite to that extreme.

"Well, I don't think you're a dork." Bo reassured, squeezing his hand.

She remained hugged against him, her arm now curled around his back.

"Bo, you have no standing in this discussion."

"Why?" She countered.

Wasn't it obvious?

"Because you're obviously going to think Harry is amazing regardless. You're biased because you're shagging him."

I expected her to retreat further into Harry, my comment embarrassing her. But it surprised me when I only got a slight speckle of pink. Instead she clasped her hand to Harry's thigh, squeezing the top of his leg. It was beyond weird to see him as someone's boyfriend.

"He's a pretty good shag as well." She replied quietly, eyes intently fixed on his face.

"Oi, oi!" Niall shouted.