Detrimental

Episode 24

I follow the police as they bring Harry to the elevator. My mind drifts to what could have possibly brought him to kill someone. The thought of Harry murdering someone is just so impossible. He'd never do that. Harry would never do that. Never. Not even to save his own life.

"They're not real police, they're professional strippers," Harry turns around to look at me before I step into the elevator.

"It was not a good joke," I scold him and the officers laugh.

We reach the common room of Harry's floor and I easily spot Niall drinking beer from a red cup. He was looking out the window and he was talking to Zayn. What was Zayn doing here?

"Harry, I thought this was a 'gay people only' party?"

"Well, it's a party." he shrugs. "People show up,"

"Rae!" Louis hugs me. "You poor little thing." he whispers to me and I smell the alcohol in his breath. "You guys are right on time, we were just about to play spin the bottle." he says as he winks at Harry.

"Spin the bottle?" I looked at Louis and shake my head. "I think I'll pass."

"Come on, it'll be loads of fun." Louis begs.

"It's childish," I laugh.

"What kind of games should we play then?" he asks Harry.

"How about strip poker?" Harry smirks.

"Great idea!" Louis exclaims as he gives Harry a quick kiss on the lips. "That's genius, Harry."

"That's lame," I sigh.

"How is strip poker lame?" Harry scoffs at me.

"Because it's a game built for men's advantage,"

"But we're gay," Harry laughs.

"What game do you suggest then?" Louis asks me.

"Truth or dare?"

"That's so...what's the term for it um...overly used and highly expected." Louis murmurs as he takes a sip from his cup.

"And spin the bottle is not?"

"Let's play seven minutes in hell." Harry decides as he gathers some people around in one giant circle.

"Did he mean seven minutes in heaven?"

"Nope," Louis whispers as he leads me to sit between him and Harry. "This is way more intense,"

"How so?" I ask Louis and he just smirks.

There must be around fifty people in the party. Most couples chose to keep to themselves but after some persuasion from Harry, some ended up joining in. We ended up with roughly twenty people in one big circle and it felt like one of those huge camp activities they do at camps. I was sat across from Niall and I could see him staring at me. He sat next to Zayn and Zayn waves his hand at me as he notices me looking at them. "Where's Stella?" I shout at Zayn.

"She went to visit your dad." he shouts back.

Harry gestures for everyone to keep quiet and after he asks everyone in the circle to introduce themselves, he starts discussing the mechanics of the game. It was like spin the bottle except the first person the bottle landed on would be blindfolded and the next person it lands on will have to kiss the first person. After two minutes, the first person has to guess who the second person was. If he guesses right, the second person has to strip down for the rest of the night. If he guesses wrong, he has to strip down for the rest of the night. The last one with clothing wins.

"Ready?" Harry asks as he spins the bottle.

"Why is it called 'seven minutes in hell' if the kisses only last for two minutes?" I ask Harry.

"The winner gets to choose who will be his slave for the next seven minutes," he smirks.

The bottle lands on Steve, some guy from Harry's frat, and for the second time, the bottle lands on Zayn. The guy from Harry's frat guesses right and Zayn strips off his clothes. He has a lean but built body filled with tattoos and everyone in the circle, even the straight men and lesbians, check him out.

"It must be hard for you to look at him since he's your sister's boyfriend," Louis whispers and I just laugh. "Good Lord, he is so fit."

The game goes on until we are only twelve in the circle. The bottle points at me and Harry wraps the blindfold around my head. I close my eyes as I wait for my partner. Soft lips touch mine and I feel the scent of a woman's perfume. So it's a girl. My next clue was that this girl was taller than me. Figured. It's either Tanya Howard or Chloe Dwart. Two minutes were up and I go with Tanya. I was right and I secure my spot for another round in the game.

Niall looks at me with a devilish grin and I smile proudly. He is so turned on right now. Shit. Why does it make me feel so happy that he is? I should be over him. He doesn't even like me enough if he's out going on dates with the slutty Ms. Ainsworth. What was he doing over at Kennedy's grandmother's birthday party anyway?

The game continues and the bottle lands on Harry. Louis spins the bottle and it lands on Chloe Dwart. She goes up to Harry and kisses him passionately. I look at Louis but he seemed okay with it.

"Aren't you the slightest bit bothered?" I ask Louis.

"Nah, it's just a game."

Harry guesses right and Chloe removes her shirt and her skirt. The funny thing was she wasn't wearing underwear underneath. This made some of the guys who were in their boxers howl and Chloe just walks to the couch as though it was completely normal to wear her birthday suit in public. I'd rather die than shred my dignity to do something like that.

"Looks like you're up again," Louis whispers and I stand up. It was Niall. I kiss him and I run my hands through his hair. My tongue plays with his and I taste the alcohol from his mouth. I feel his hands on my neck and I just know he knew it was me. He tugs on my lower lip and the burning sensation within me was like an insatiable beast. When the timer for two minutes rings, I don't pull away and neither does he. Steve cuts between us and jokes how we could continue it somewhere else after the game finished. Niall removes his blindfold and he says my name gently. "I guess you have to take yer clothes off, Rachel." he smiles like a kid. He really is drunk. It's funny how being drunk suited him. In a way, he was more beautiful. More fragile.

"I guess I'm out of the game." I take off my dress and I'm left with nothing but my bra and knickers. I notice everyone in the circle staring at me and that's when I realize my cuts on my inner thighs were visible.

I want to run down the stairs and get away from the eyes filled with pity but my feet wouldn't move. I stood there like a scared bird with broken wings and just when I thought I was going to black out, a hand grabs mine and leads me up to the roof.