All of Me (Harry Styles) - Book 2

Chapter 34: A Strike and A Lie

-Ava's POV-

"Strike!"

I shake my head as I take another sip of my drink, watching Louie fist pump in victory.

"You can't count it with the bumpers up mate!" Zayn yells.

"Ah let em have it!" Niall laughs as Louie does the strangest victory dance I've ever seen.

Zayn chuckles, giving in to Niall's plea as he grabs his bowling ball off the rack and steps onto the lane.

"So you've made a honest man out of Harry have you?"

I smile at the sound of Liam's voice, looking to my left as he takes a seat next to me.

"Appears so."

"Well, it's about bloody time." He smiles at me. "You do realize our tawdry affair will have to end now right?"

"Ah, yes." I roll my eyes as I think about the numerous rumors that were spread about Liam and I, the largest one being he is who I cheated on Harry with. Pure crap. What pissed me off the most about it was how it affected Liam and Harry's relationship. Obviously Harry knew it wasn't true, but there's only so much gossip and complete bullshit you can take from the media before it affects your relationship. And being that Harry already went through that with Louie, it broke my heart that I was the reason he was going through it again.

"I really hope all that doesn't come up again." I think out loud.

"Don't worry. It all blew over ages ago." Liam tries to reassure me. "Besides, you know if anything else is said about it, Harry will set the record straight. He did before, he would again."

"Yeah." My mind wanders back to Freya showing me several tweets from Harry after everything went down. He not only outright said the breakup was his fault, he fussed and unfollowed several fans who wouldn't let it go.

"Well it pains to me to say, but my heart belongs to another now." I feign sadness as Liam chuckles.

"As if it never belonged to Harry." He laughs, "Thankfully I have a girlfriend..."

"You what?!" I gape, shocked that I'm just now hearing this news.

"Well I hope she will be. We've been seeing each other for a bit now. She lives in London. I'm planning on asking her properly when I get home." He smiles.

"That's awesome!"

"I think so." He nods as his cheeks flush. "I really do fancy her."

"I can see that." I nudge him in the arm, "I'm happy for you."

"I'm happy for you. And my best mate." He smiles at me, "I feel like my job is done here."

"And what job is that?"

"Getting you two together obviously. Hard task, being you're so stubborn and Harry's a proper wanker." He laughs.

"Oh well then I guess I owe you a thank you." I say sarcastically.

"Believe me, Harry being back to his normal self is thank you enough. He was driving us all mad."

"Liam! You're up!" Louie calls, grabbing a shirt for him out of the box.

I chuckle at Liam shaking his head as Louie whines about how he has to wear one. The only ones excited about the league shirts were Louie, Niall, and El. The rest of us were goaded and coerced into putting one on as the night progressed.

I check the clock on the wall for what feels like the fiftieth time, wondering what is taking Harry so long.

We sadly didn't get to spend the afternoon together as planned. Harry received a phone call on the way back to my house, and he had to immediately go into the studio to re-record a few verses for the album. I was disappointed, but Harry seemed especially perturbed at having to leave at the drop of a hat.

I convinced him I really needed to go into work anyway, so it was probably for the best. My absence this morning really needed to be explained to Jenna and I did have quite a few phone calls I needed to return. No matter how much I would love to just disappear with Harry for as long as possible, the real world had to much a hold on us both, neither of us being able to steal away from it for more than a few hours. For now anyway. I had every intention of taking a step back from work while Harry had some free time.

"Staring at it won't make it move any faster." El states as she plops herself down in the seat Liam just vacated.

"I know." I shrug, "I just figured he would be done by now."

"They always seem to drag those meetings out endlessly. But I don't think Kevin or Ben will be to rough on him."

I look at her, confused. "What?"

"I'm just saying don't worry. Harry is a big boy. He can handle a little reaming from management."

"Right..." I reply, my mind catching up to the fact that I was lied to.

"I mean, they do tend to be a bit tougher when it comes to Harry and dating, but no way will he take their crap. They've tried to get Louie and me apart several times before. Said it was better for the band and the fans. Louie told them to shove it up their arse." She laughs to herself at the memory.

"I'm sure he did." I nod along as my mind runs over everything Harry said about this afternoon, hoping I somehow misunderstood what he said.

My thoughts are a blur as El is grabbed up by Louie and pulled across the bowling alley toward Niall and Finn.

I shoot the rest of my drink down as I come to the conclusion I didn't misunderstand anything, I just wasn't told the truth.

I make my way over to the bar, in desperate need for another drink. I place my cup down on the counter and order a refill, thanking Stan or whatever the hell his name is for quickly doing so.

I take a long gulp as two arms are placed on the counter on either side of me, a strong chest pressing against my back.

"I missed you." Harry's voice is deep and slow as I feel his breath hit the back of my neck, sending shivers down my body.

"I missed you." I reply honestly but quietly, still trying to decide how to handle the situation. No matter how hard I try to tell myself he must of had a good reason, my mind always goes back to the fact he lied about what he was doing. But why?

He turns me around, immediately cupping my face in his hands and pressing a kiss to my lips. He pulls away quickly when I don't respond to him.

"You alright?" He questions, looking into my eyes.

"How did it go?"

"Ummm. Good. It went good. You alright though?" He furrows his eyebrows.

"You get the song finished?"

"Yeeeeah?" He responds, it sounding more like a question then an answer.

"And how are Kevin and Ben?"

His face falls and a worried expression overtakes it as realization hits him.

He lied. And I know he lied.

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