Tease//h.s au

10

harry: sorry for being an annoying twat last night x

lilou: it's okay, you weren't too bad

harry: good, gemma thinks the world of you

lilou: aw really? she is super awesome

i set my phone back down on the counter, getting out a bowl for my cereal even though it was three pm. i grab apple jacks and open the window so more light flows into the kitchen. it's super hot out today, reaching into the hundreds. too hot to be honest. my phone starts ringing obnoxiously, i pick it up not really caring to check the caller id. probably blair or harry.

"mari?" a voice i hadn't heard in ages asks.

"kate?! oh my god, i miss you so much" i tell her, happy to hear from her. kate is my best friend, she went to high school with me and made me cry when i graduated early. it was so hard to leave her. although she always calls me mari referring to my middle name, marie.

"mari, i missed you so much more. i have so much to tell you but first, guess what" she tells me and i remember always playing this game where i would actually have to guess.

"you and pete are getting married?" i throw out my best guess. they had been dating since junior year so it wouldn't really be out of the realm of possibility. she snorts and tells me they broke up, on her terms.

"no, i am in la!" she tells me with a happy squeal and i feel my heart race as i jump up and down in the kitchen.

"where are you? we are hanging out right right now" i tell her as i put the cereal back into the pantry, grabbing my car keys without a second thought. she tells me the hotel she is at and i tell her she could've just stayed with blair and i, she reminds me that our apartment is nice but there isn't a place for her to sleep and that it wouldn't have been a surprise that way. i get to hotel in no time, not like i went just a bit over the speed limit. i see her blonde hair bouncing towards my toyota, her beautiful smile greeting me faster than her arms could when she opened the door.

"i missed you so much, kate. i have like no friends here" i tell her as we hug tightly in an uncomfortable position over the console. we release and she tells me to not make her cry because she has mascara on. i drive her to a place i had overheard people talking about how good the lunch was.

"so, why are you here? has home changed much?" i ask her as we get settled into the booth our waitress put us in.

"i think i am going to move out here! i just applied for a job here" she informs me and i feel like today can't get any better. i squeal and tell her that is amazing. she continues to tell me home is the same and that is why she wants to move out here for excitement. "what about you, mari? what's new?"

"not too much. blair loves her job and she's getting that cash money, so that's good. you know me, i'm at the local library and i'm pretty happy there. although mom called me a bit ago and pretty much told me she was doing great without us so that is always nice-"

"aw, mari, i love you. i know your mom is kind of a shit, but i love you" kate reminds me and then tells me to finish.

"also, there, uh um, might just be a guy" i tell her and quickly take a sip of my water and look away from her as she gasps and looks at me with wide eyes.

"who? oh my gosh! mari, this is amazing!" she hollers, loud enough for the entire fucking restaurant to her. luckily no one seems to notice or care. as i open my mouth to spill the details about harry and i, but kate sticks her finger up in front of me telling me to wait as her eyes trail past my head. "jesus, help us. okay so i said i applied for that job and i'm pretty sure that some important guy is here from that company" i turn my head to look around the restaurant, sure enough seeing a buzz cut man, stubble growing on his chin and a mole.

"kate, where did you apply?" i ask as i try to swallow the scream that is trying to escape my mouth.

"herfte incorporation. i applied to be an assistant that like sits at the desk and buzz people in. while i was in there i saw the ceo and that guy for a passing second and i died. they are smoking hot and i heard the ceo is twenty three and single so sign me the fuck up. but a girl saw me looking at them for that fleeting second and told me that the ceo guy, mr. styles, like barely even notices girls" she gushes to me. my head only focuses on two parts, she applied at harry's company and that he doesn't talk to girls in the office.

"oh. uh, cool, best of luck with that" i awkwardly say.

"you know what? live once, die young, bad bitches do it right. i am going to introduce myself to him, a girl told me his name was mr. payne" she tells more herself than me but i just nod trying to encourage her. "alright let's get it" she says and pulls me by my wrist out of the booth and i feel anxiety rise in my stomach.

"kate, no. i didn't apply i am not meeting him!" i yell at her as she drags me towards his tablr but we are already standing before him. he looks up at us, confused as to why we are standing in front of his table.

"hi, mr. payne. i am kate ory and i just wanted to say hello. i just applied at herfte, i applied to be your assistant i'm pretty sure" kate tells liam with a laugh as she tries to not make this awkward. although i don't think kate has ever been awkward or nervous in her life. she holds out her hand and he shakes it, saying it is nice to meet her. i see him look over her shoulder at me and i can almost see the wheels turning in his head.

"and you are?" he asks, catching kate off guard as she seemingly forgot about me momentarily. i feel like i am choking on my own tongue.

"oh, this is my best friend. mari, oh i mean lilou" kate answers for me as she scoots aside so i can shake liam's hand. "she didn't apply, just me" kate adds in, as i shake his hand he looks at me with furrowed eyebrows.

"lilou? that sounds really familiar. do i know you from somewhere?" he asks the question i was dreading. i remember back to the day that harry and i went out for lunch and harry said he was with me and when i briefly saw him in the club.

"uh, i don't think so. but it was nice to meet you, l- mr. payne" i lie to him, slightly slipping up at the end but not enough to be noticeable. i scurry back to the table with kate, embarrassed from the encounter.

"ugh he is so hot. while i was applying i heard some girls saying that the ceo was going to be interviewed by like time magazine or someone big like that. isn't that crazy?" she babbles and i just nod listening but still distracted by the entire liam thing. after we finish our meals the waitress comes over to the table, i ask for the bill telling kate it is my treat. the waitress hands me the bill but there is a piece of paper she also gives me. i pick it up looking at messy writing that reads:

you are harry's lilou. bill is on me, nice to meet you.

i physically feel my heart fall out of my ass as i read the note again making sure that i read it correctly. my neck snaps towards liam who seemed to be waiting for me to look at him, he gives me a small wave and a smile and i awkwardly mouth a thank you and give him a smile.

--

a weird kinda filler but it'll play into later -florence