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Oh, 'cause they will run you down, down 'til the dark
Yes and they will run you down, down 'til you fall
And they will run you down, down 'til you go
Yeah, so you can't crawl no more
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Harry Styles
What idiot decides to meet in a dark car park in the afternoon? Daniel fucking Kennedy that's who. It couldn't have been at the field or the old casino because where is he supposed to hide his men?
I'm not stupid. I don't know what this is but I know we're not gonna be alone, hence the fact I had all four boys following me, fully aware of what to look for and when to pounce. I have backup, my backup has backup, and even my backups backup has backup. I am not getting outsmarted by Daniel, not again.
There's just something about that feeling I get when I'm driving through the city, knowing I'm about to have a face to face conversation with my enemy that fills me with adrenaline. That adrenaline doubles when the reason for this little meeting of ours is unexpected.
When I pull into the car park he's stood leaning against his motorbike wearing his blue tinted sunglasses, which makes him look absolutely ridiculous considering it's dark as shit. The second hand embarrassment I'm greeted with each time I'm faced with him is so overwhelming that I literally have to take a minute to collect myself before actually going out and talking to him, otherwise I'll not be able to take in a word he says without laughing at him.
"Harry, nice to-"
"None of that. What'd you want?" I interrupt, leaning against the front of a car and lighting a cigarette to calm the deep frustration I'm already feeling.
He must think I'm brain dead, I saw the two motorbikes hidden in the corner, I know we're not alone. Whether these guys are here to protect Daniel or not I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me considering the man can't fight for himself.
"Things have been a bit tense lately, don't you think? Especially with you and Harlow becoming a thing." He states, pacing in front of his bike with his hands behind his back. "I'm not falling for it."
Of course he's not.
"Well Daniel I'm not proving my relationship status to you." I sigh, chuckling slightly at the thought of actually explaining myself to this dickhead.
"I'm not asking you to prove it, I'm just saying it's a little strange how you find out some things and suddenly you're with her." Scoffs Daniel in disbelief.
Now I've got to defend Harlow like she's my actual girlfriend, great.
That being said, I do feel bad for the stunt I pulled this morning looking at it in hindsight. She looked worried, stressed even and I probably shouldn't have been a dick towards her if this fake relationship is going to be going on for as long as I think it will.
Usually I wouldn't care about hurting someone's feelings but knowing Harlow it'll only make her act more bitter towards me and I really don't want to deal with her being all bitchy.
"Tell me styles, do you love her?" Daniel asks, stopping in his tracks to look me in the eye.
I can lie about a lot of things, but I won't lie about loving someone I don't.
"I don't know, still in the early stages but things are going well. Don't suppose you'd know how relationships work though, Danny boy? Especially if you're anything like your father."
Danny boy, I love calling him that. It makes him seem like a small little child. It matches his personality.
The mention of his father was enough to change the expression on his face, and I'm glad. His father is a monster, an absolute freak of nature and Daniel refuses to acknowledge that. Mainly because deep down he's the same and proud of it.
He's the weaker version of his dad.
"I want to sort this little quarrel of ours like men, like old times." He says, without even realising the stupidity of his statement.
"You want to fight us?" I chuckle.
"I do."
I can't help but laugh, I really can't help it. Daniel asking to fight us is like a mouse asking to fight a cat, he's bound to lose. When his dad was still around things would've been close, it would've been a good fight however now Daniels the boss everything's gone to shit.
Of course I'm not going to say no though, why would I? It's an excuse to beat the crap out of The Vultures.
"You give me the time and place and we'll be there, your wish is my command." I smile sarcastically.
"No, I want a proper fight like the ones when my father was here. You don't get a time or a place."
Interesting offer from him, but one I'll gladly accept. Our younger guys have been in training for unexpected attacks, everyone else knows how to deal with them, we got new guns and things last week and we're all looking for a little excitement. Why would I ever decline?
"Great." I smirk, tossing my cigarette to the ground and putting it out with my foot. "See you whenever you're brave enough."
I turn to head back into the car however he calls my name as he hops back on to the bike. "We're gonna surprise you. Don't get too big for your boots."
Yeah, that'll be right.
I don't even reply, it's not worth feeding into his bullshit. I'll be surprised when he does something that's actually surprising.
Driving out of the car park I'm met with the four guys parked across the road in their own cars but for some reason, right now my mind is elsewhere. I don't give them the signal to follow me, instead I just call all four of them and wait for them to answer.
I did feel somewhat guilty for dragging them all here for nothing, but on the other hand it's their jobs. They can go back to whatever criminal activities they were getting up to now, or in liams case he can go back to his so-called girlfriend.
"What happened?" Liam asks through the phone.
"We've got an old school fight. Not sure when, not sure where but it's happening and Daniels is convinced he's gonna shock as all." I tell them.
All four of them burst out into laughter and it actually has me chuckling to myself too. It just goes to show the reputation Daniel has, everybody knows he's an idiot who can't fight and that just makes this more exciting.
"Louis you need to prepare everyone else for this, Niall and Zayn you're gonna go to the scrapyard and make sure everyone's kitted out, and Liam you're off the hook for now but we're gonna talk later."
I bet they're all rolling their eyes at me because I'm giving them orders on a sunday. Not my problem, they can suck it up.
"What about you?" Louis asks.
I don't like being questioned.
"I have apologies to make and shit to sort out. Don't question me, I'm doing my fucking job." I shout into the car speakers, gripping the steering wheel a little tighter as I did so.
There wasn't much conversation that followed, just clearing things up and making sure everyone is prepared. There's not even much preparation to be done, we're always on top of our game but now it's time to put it to the test. That's all this is for us, a test for the guys who've never experienced this yet because I know we'll be fine as a gang.
Where am I headed now? To apologise to Harlow.
Why? Because the guilt in the back of my mind is something I've never felt before and I want to get rid of it and I want to get rid of it now.
I don't deal with my emotions very well and whatever emotion has me feeling sorry for being a dick needs to be gone as soon as possible. I even drove through the coffee shop to get two coffees because maybe if she's caffeinated she won't start screaming at me like a crazy woman.
You've got to be prepared for these things. Women with cats are scary and Harlow is a woman with a cat who also owns a club. That's worse.
To be honest, the whole gender is scary. I think I've romantically liked one girl in my whole life but she was too confusing I just stopped talking to her. In hindsight I realise that was bad but I was 17 and desperate to get rid of the virgin label. Now women are banging at my door for a quick fuck and that's all they want, which is absolutely fine by me.
It's almost like a coping mechanism, it's either that or drugs.
I don't even fucking like black coffee, how does she drink this shit? It tastes like how I imagine sandpaper would taste - disgusting. Although If I turn up to her house with some caramel drink she'd probably judge me and I just can't be arsed with her silent judging.
Her house is very nice, I'll give her that. It's so open and unique looking which I didn't expect from her. That piano definitely wasn't a cheap one either but at least she's using her money on fancy pianos instead of drugs and weapons.
Now that I've actually got to being myself to knock on her door, I'm regretting coming here. I could just leave and drink both of these, or pour them down the drain. The temptation to just leave is too much.
I can fight multiple men at once, I can do heavy drugs and come out okay, but I can't fucking knock on someone's door to apologise, I just don't have it in me apparently.
Fuck it, I'm not being defeated by two words. 'I'm sorry', it's not that hard right?
Oh fuck, I hear the door unlocking, shit.
"Harry?" Her quiet, confused voice speaks, knitting her brows together as she looks at me.
No it's Leonardo DiCaprio. Who the fuck does it look like?
"I came to apologise for being a dick earlier and I got you a coffee because I was passing the shop." I sigh, handing her the coffee which reluctantly she accepts.
Jesus that was difficult.
"Nothing I'm not used to by now." Harlow says, disappointment coating her words and that alone was provoking even more guilt. "Thank you,"
I went to Liams after I left here but I left there within half an hour because his new friend Josie was annoying me. I went home and I read, but I didn't just read a fiction book, I read a non-fiction feminist one and now I do feel bad for nagging her about sleeping with me.
It's actually very interesting to learn about, makes me realise I'm actually a much more awful person that I realised. I'm self aware, at least I can acknowledge that I'm a twat.
A little confidence never hurt anybody and I think it's time for us to become friends, so I squeeze by her and let myself in so we can do whatever people do to become friends. It's a nice living room, inviting myself in only felt appropriate. The logic behind that I'm not sure but we won't get anywhere if I didn't.
"Harry, you can't just storm in here. What if I had guests?" She sighs, looking at me with the same frustrated glare she always does.
"And what guests would that be?" I ask her, wandering to tower over her as her confused expression begins to fade into one I know is masking her real emotions. "Drink your coffee birdy."
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