perpetual

07 | pepperoni

"WHAT DID YOU do when you got off work?" I tried to ask calmly.

"What?" Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "I waited for you t-"

"No, I meant, what did you smoke?"

Harry's face fell before he regained his composure and hopped off the motorbike to approach me. He raised his hand a bit as if to tell me to calm down.

"I didn't-" He started.

"Don't," I gave him a look, "even try to lie to me."

"Why would I lie?" He raised an eyebrow at me.

"I'm not doing this," I shook my head and turned my back to him, only to have him grab my arm to stop me. But I wriggle out of his hold and stomp up to the elevator in the building, basically punching the call button as I wrap my coat around myself tighter.

"Fiorella-"

"You smoked shit, Harry." I deadpanned, still giving him my back.

"It was only one cigarette," he reasoned.

"So you did!" I turned around, blood boiling under my skin. I made a face and tried to mock his low voice as I said, "Why would you lie, right?"

Harry raised both his eyebrows. "Get your damn voice down."

The elevator dinged and I hurriedly got in, of course followed by the one and only. I'm so mad at him right now I can't be in the same space as him.

Back in college, there were some pretty dark days, where Harry was a reckless give-it-all maniac. He smoked pot, took drugs, smoked cigarettes as if he was inhaling oxygen. I guess I'd be exaggerating if I said he was a druggie or a junkie, but he was close. He was on his way there.

We'd met during that phase of his life and I hated him for it. And the fact that he was constantly trying to get with me...most of the time.

••

I had just finished my workout at the gym near campus and was heading out when Harry Styles, the uni's bad boy, stepped into my line of vision.

To say he was attractive would be seriously understating his ravishing good looks. He was clad in a tank top and some shorts, his tanned skin glistening with little beads of sweat. He'd tied his hair back with a bandana to tame his large curls.

"Like what you see?" His husky voice had caught me off guard that I flinched from being caught red-handed, checking him out.

"Don't flatter yourself, showoff." I muttered under my breath as I rolled my eyes.

Harry raised his eyebrows. "I'd have to let it slide, because I was doing the exact same thing."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What exact same thing?"

"Well," he mused dramatically. "Let's call it appreciating art."

My cheeks flamed, more than they already were. I brushed by him to get out of the gym, feeling like I needed fresh oxygen.

"Pervert," I had muttered as I passed by him, at which he heartily chortled, amused.

••

"I just said that because I didn't want you to flip out," he paused, "even though you still did."

"That is no excuse for you to lie," I tried to contain my anger.

"Hey, I never lie to you,"

"Until fucking now, apparently."

"What the hell is wrong with one cigarette, Fiorella? It was just for the heck of it with a couple of my pals with me," he tried to reason as the lift dinged its arrival.

"I don't care. You know what? It's none of my business," I said with a knowing tone as I fumbled with my keys to open the goddamn door.

"Don't do that," Harry pleaded, still stern.

Once I'm inside the flat, I try to close the door behind me but, come to no surprise, Harry sticks his boot between the door and its frame. I groan and give up, heading for my room. That door, however, I
manage to close and lock fast enough.

"I'm not talking to you!" I call out from inside my room as I hear him huff from the other side.

"Oh, come on!" He sighed. "I'm sorry I lied to you."

"Sorry my ass." I rolled my eyes at the door as I slipped off my heels. My phone dinged from my purse that was thrown on the bed mattress. I lied down and got my phone to see that I had a text from Harry.

it was only 1 cigarette...

Mike insisted i had one with him and i couldn't say no to the guy, okay?

I rolled my eyes again.

i'm sorryyyy

we had a deal.

i know, i'm sorry

it was only 1 cigarette

"Stop saying that!" I angrily called out to Harry. My phone dinged.

can i come in?

Heaven knows I can't stay mad at him forever. I pursed my lips and stood up from the bed, going to open the door to reveal Harry leaning against the door frame with his thumbs hovering over the keyboard of his phone. He looked up at me and his lips deliberately spread into a childish smile.

"Oh, fuck off." I turned around when I heard him laugh before he engulfed me in a hug from behind that I tried to wriggle away from. He sighed and tightened his grip on my shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Flower,"

"Don't apologize to me, Harry, apologize to yourself."

"Sorry, Yourself."

My eyes rolled and I kicked back my elbow to his stomach. "Such as arse, you are."

"I know," he said, letting me go and throwing himself on the bed. "You know I get a smoke every now and then."

"You said you do only when you're stressed!" I frowned. "And you promised you would work on lowering that rate."

"I am working on it!"

"Doesn't look like it," I said.

Harry sat up on the bed and pushed his long fingers through his hair before he looked up at me with serious, promising eyes. "Alright, okay... I'll work on it harder from now on. Okay?"

I nodded. "Whatever, it's for you, not me."

"I know that. Now shut up about it, I'm ordering you pizza." He looked at me knowingly as I narrowed my eyes at him, a smile fighting to take over my lips.

"Harry Styles, are you bribing me with pizza?"

"Yes." He shrugged innocently. "Is it working?"

"Only if it's Pepperoni."