Niall
I sit with a pair of glasses perched on my nose, one leg crossed over the other as I read a book. Well, it's not actually a book. I've borrowed a few comics from Zayn that he asked me to check out and now I'm sitting at Costa, alone. I haven't seen Ben yet, which is a plus. My phone is sitting on silent, my arms folded by my lap as I read the cartoon drawings and captions. The place is full of chatter around me but in a way, it's nice to get some peace and quiet. I've been back from Ireland for two days now and I've avoided Harry since that night — or he's been avoiding me, whichever.
I look up and my eyes fall over a doe-eyed couple two seats away from me. The girl had just taken a sip of a cappuccino and when she removes the drink from her lips, she has a foam mustache. I smile a little and watch as the guy laughs teasingly, reaching over to the wipe foam off of her face. My smile disappears and I sigh deeply, going back to Zayn's book.
But I find my eyes drifting to the couple again, watching them laugh and giggle at each other. Why can't I have that? With Harry? Someone who I can laugh and have fun with? Why does Harry have to be so damn reserved? I think about something that Louis once said. That there was a time when Harry was actually fun. Because I know the Harry he is now, I can't seem to imagine it. Did he laugh and giggle with Louis? Did he take him on dates, to Costa cafés where he can wipe the foam off of Louis' lips?
Despite the fact that I've long given up hope with Harry, I still worry about him. I worry about what kind of deal he made with Cassandra. I just don't get it. I was this close to finally having what I wanted, I was this close to Harry actually caring about me and just like that, after a visit to Cassandra, he's gone. It's almost like Cassandra's controlling him, like a remote-control. It's as if she can chose when to switch Harry on and off.
Sighing heavily, I fold the comic books up and head out to my car, away from the loved-up couple. I drive to Louis' flat and when I get there, I hear music blaring. Which can only mean one thing. Harry's not here. Instead of knocking, I push open the door and inside. The place is exactly where I left it from last time, except there's no trace or sign of Harry. I go to where the loud, blaring music is coming from and find Louis in his bedroom, working on a laptop. I attempt to knock on the door but as predicted, he doesn't hear me.
I walk toward him and shake his shoulders. He jumps a little and turns round, closing all the tabs on his laptop as he does so. Next to his laptop, are two adjoining computers on sleep mode. The pen drive is clicked into the laptop and next to the laptop on the other side of the desk, are a bunch of files and paperwork.
Louis turns the volume of the music right down and says to me, "Bloody hell, are you trying to give me a heart attack?!"
"I did knock." I answer sheepishly and his shoulders unclench, his expression softening.
"What are you working on?" I ask curiously, gesturing to the pen drive.
"Not much, just a few updates on the pen drive." Louis shrugs.
"Right, so top secret government work then?" I tease and he laughs a little.
"Suppose so." He sighs, closing his laptop down.
"What can I do for you?" He asks, folding his arms across his chest.
"It's about Harry. I'm worried about him." I admit and Louis sighs. He stands up from his chair, reaches for a hoodie and slips it over his head before brushing past me and heading out into the kitchen. Before I turn to follow him, I notice a picture frame on the bedside table, of Louis and Harry. I exhale and follow Louis out of the room.
"Please, Louis. I really am worried about him." I repeat.
"Aren't we all." He mumbles back and I frown, glancing around the small place.
"Where is he anyway?" I press and he shrugs again.
"Dunno, running some errands I suppose. Hooking up with the next girl he sees, perhaps? I dunno. I haven't seen him since last Friday." He replies. Last Friday...that was almost a week ago.
"What do you mean, hooking up with the next girl he sees?" I ask.
"Well, let's just say he's been bringing a girl home every night these past few days and let's just say, they aren't the quietest in the bedroom." He says, looking infuriated at something.
"Look, we need to do something, Lou. I'm really worried about him, I mean he's completely -"
"No, Niall. We don't need to do anything. We need to butt out. This is Harry's life, he can do what he wants. It's probably just a phase, y'know, this isn't the first time this has happened. Just leave him be and -"
"Wait. You mean, this has happened before?" I gasp and he groans, running a frustrated hand down the side of his face.
"You shouldn't even be here in the first place, Niall. Didn't Cassandra tell you to stay away?" he frowns, crossing his arms over his chest again.
"Yeah, but she isn't the boss of me, Lou. She can't tell me what to do." I shake my head, determined to stand up for myself.
"Yeah, well, she's Harry's boss, so - "
"What?! Cassandra is Harry's boss?!" I snap and Louis murmurs under his breath, looking defeated.
"I'm gonna get my ass kicked now." he says sheepishly, his shoulders hung loose.
"Louis, you need to help me." I demand, strolling over to him.
"Why?! Why do I need to help you, why do you care so much?!" he shouts and I gulp, taking a couple of steps back.
"Because...I think Harry's hurt." I breath and he looks round to face me.
"What do you mean, hurt?" he repeats softly.
"I mean...I saw him, Louis. He has bruises, along his hips and his wrists. I can't help but wonder if - if Cassandra's part of it." I admit quietly. Louis stares at me, his expression impassive and blank. He's studying me carefully, wondering what to do. His eyes have gone distant. The doorbell rings suddenly, interrupting Louis from his thoughts. He walks over to the door and opens it, which reveals a tall, overweight man with a bald head. He's wearing a gray uniform and he's holding a black clipboard in one hand, with a cardboard box in the other.
"Delivery for Mr. Styles?" he asks, his voice deep.
"He's not here, but...I can sign." Louis suggests warily, taking the pen and clipboard off the man. Once he's signed, he takes the package and bids the man good-bye.
"What is it?" I ask curiously as Louis perches the box on the kitchen counter.
"We'll find out." Louis sighs, grunting as he grabs a pen knife from one of the drawers and tears the package open. The package is filled with styrofoam when Louis opens the box and when it's finally open, he pulls out a stuffed teddy bear, with a little pink heart attached to its paws. Louis stares at it, his look impassive and blank, like before.
"Lou...? Who's it for?" I press, leaning next to him but he ignores me completely. Instead, he stuffs the bear back inside the box and tapes the box back together and stuffs the knife back in the drawer. He walks past me and over to the front door and I follow after him.
"I think you should leave," he sighs and he opens the door. I'm about to reply to him when the door reveals Harry standing in the doorway, about to open the door himself. Wow. Harry looks different. He looks tired, exhausted. Dark circles lay under his eyes, his hair tousled and messy. Half of his shirt is hanging out his jeans and he's pale. His nose scrunches up when he sees me, his eyes narrowed together.
"What's he doing here?" he asks groggily, glancing at Louis.
"He's just about to leave. Weren't you, Niall?" Louis adds, encouraging me to agree with him.
I open my mouth then close it again. I stare at Harry, taking in his tired appearance and I give Louis a helpless look.
"Louis, can I talk to you for a sec?" Harry mumbles suddenly, brushing past me, causing me to get a whiff of the alcohol he'd probably been drowning in the previous night. Louis nods curtly, shuts the door and follows Harry into Louis' bedroom. When the door closes I tiptoe forward so I can eavesdrop on their conversation.
"What's he doing here, Lou?"
"He's just worried about you, Harry. We both are."
"Why is he worried about me?"
"Well, maybe because he hasn't seen you in over a week and when he does see you, you look like shit. You're not dressed right, you have bags under your eyes, you're as pale as a ghost and not to mention you reek of alcohol." Louis explains, sounding disgusted.
"It's just how I'm dealing with things, Lou." Harry mumbles back and I frown.
"It's Cassandra, isn't it? She's controlling you again, just like after what happened with Nadine -"
"So what if she is?! You nor Niall have the right to interfere with my life." Harry snaps and Louis scoffs.
"I can't believe you don't see it."
"See what?"
"The fact that there's a guy right outside this door - probably listening to this entire conversation - who cares so much about you. You don't realize how lucky you are. Quite frankly, I don't know what the hell he sees in you when you're like this but you're throwing all that away, Harry. You're throwing away a special guy, someone who is willing to risk their lives for you." Louis remarks and I smile thankfully at Louis defending me. He's a good guy.
"I didn't ask him to do any of this." Harry says softly.
"You kind of did the minute you put that pen drive in his pocket." Louis replies, his tone even.
"What do you want me to do?" Harry asks, sounding impatient.
"I want you to take him to Nadine. Do what Cassandra says. She's right, Harry. It's make or break now. This could be your chance to open up to him just a teeny little bit." Louis encourages.
There's a short pause and I tell that Harry is considering it.
"What if he doesn't want to go? What if he hates me after he finds out what happened?"
"If you truly don't have feelings for him like you say you don't, then that won't matter." Louis replies.
"All right, but you're coming too." Harry demands.
"What?! Harry, this has nothing to do with me. Besides, you know I can't stand Nadine -"
"You're in on this just as much as Cassandra is. Anyway, I kind of need you there to keep you safe."
"I'm safe here as it is -"
"I know, but I'd like to keep an eye on you all the same." Harry admits and Louis heaves a deep sigh.
"Fine, I'll go." Louis huffs. They end the conversation on that note and I pull away from the door, heading into the living room.
"Niall, I want you to-"
"To see Nadine, I know." I interrupt him and he purses his lips at me. Louis chuckles behind him.
"Well? Are you coming?" Harry presses and I bite my lip.
"I don't suppose I have a choice, do I?" I sigh and Harry's eyes widen.
"Actually, you do -" Louis wacks him on his back before he could continue so Harry adds, "But it's best if you see for yourself." In defeat so I give a little nod.
"Where am I going?" I ask.
Harry and Louis exchange glances. "She lives in France." Harry admits and I give him a blank look.
"Don't look at me like that, Cassandra wanted a safe house for her."
"Why would she need-"
"You coming or not?" Louis counters, interrupting me. I scowl at him. He really doesn't like her, does she?
That night, I find myself packing for Heathrow Airport. Apparently, I still have some holidays left over from Ireland which I was able to take. Zayn and Liam are watching me from my door, both of them leaning against the doorway as I shove random t-shirts into a suitcase.
"So, tell me, why are you doing this again?" Liam asks suspiciously. He's been pestering ever since I told him I was leaving. He's being an over-protective big brother, as always. And Zayn, well...he's the good cop in this. He's trying to persuade Liam that I can do whatever the hell I want, which I'm thankful for.
"It's just for Harry, so he can open up a little bit. You know how self-centred he is." I sigh.
"Yeah." They both reply in unison, glancing at each other. I look up and glare at them. I deliberately failed to mention the part about Nadine, as I don't want them to be more judgemental than they already are. Nevertheless, I only know part of the story anyway.
Zayn and Liam drive me to the airport - well, act Zayn does, Liam just wants to tag along. Harry and Louis are already waiting outside the entrance. Louis is smoking a fag, while Harry glowers at his nasty habit but Louis doesn't seem to care.
"Why is the ex boyfriend going?" Liam asks curiously, staring at Louis.
"Harry has his reasons." I tell him simply and Liam purses his lips. He's not liking this idea at all. I don't blame him though.
"You do realize, that Paris is the most romantic city in the World?" Zayn grins, pulling out my suitcase from the back boot.
"Yeah, so?" I ask innocently and he wiggles his eyebrows at me.
"Do you think you and Harry will finally get to...y'know...?" Zayn smirks, nudging my elbow knowingly. Liam's standing behind Zayn, closing the boot shut.
"Don't encourage him, Z." Liam frowns but Zayn only rolls his eyes.
When Liam is out of earshot, Zayn pulls me aside and hands me my suitcase and whispers in my ear, "If you do get lucky though, I've placed a mini package in the front of your suitcase." And I chuckle, nudging him in the ribs while I blush a furious red, knowing that he's referred to condoms. Zayn clears his throat and we follow Liam over to Louis and Harry. When Louis sees us, he puts his cigarette out on the ashtray on top of the nearest bin and comes back to greet us.
"Take care, Ni." Liam sighs, pulling me into a hug and Zayn hugs me soon after.
Liam turns to Harry. "If anything happens to him, I swear-"
"We'll make sure that won't happen." Louis replies. Liam stares long and hard at Louis before Zayn pulls at Liam's arm and I wave at them as they drive off.
We head in to put or luggage on and then we head for the departure lounges, waiting for our flight to be called out. We end up having lunch at one of the Costa stalls and we're quiet, unsure of what to say to each other. Harry's in CIA mode, I can tell. His eyes are wide and he's alert, looking out for any intruders. His phone is clutched tightly in his hands, his eyes hard and expression cold. Louis is chatting away, not at all fussed that Harry hasn't relaxed since we arrived. It's probably not the first time this has happened.
"Have you been to France before?" Louis asks and I shake my head, taking a sip of coffee.
"It's lovely, really romantic. Isn't it, Harry?" Louis encourages, glancing at Harry who doesn't seem to be listening. His eyes are fixed on a loved up couple on one of the arcade machines, their hands linked together.
"Harry." I say, touching my hand to his stiff one. Harry jumps and pulls away from me, his expression softening.
"Harry, relax. We're okay." I assure him. He doesn't say anything but his expression softens completely as he stares into my eyes and I know he's back to normal - well, as normal as Harry can be.
It's a couple of hours before we're finally called on board and when we're on, I realize it's a two-seater plane, meaning that one of us will be on the edge. I also notice that Harry managed to book us in first class. Sly git.
"Who's going on the end?" I ask curiously.
"I'll take the end." Louis automatically demands, snatching my ticket out my hand and swapping it for his own. I gulp and glance nervously at Harry, who's already stuffing his bag luggage up on the upper cabinet, his shirt riding up a little. I glare at Louis, who's flashing me an innocent grin as he sits down in the middle row, next to Harry and I. I take the window seat and Harry sits in the middle of Louis and I, exhaling a little. As the plane takes off, I glance warily at Harry. He's watching the plane leave the airport from the window, his eyes watching with fascination. His are a gleaming emerald, his lips a soft pink. He's beautiful.
It's not long for us to get there but when we do, I wake up on Harry's shoulder. It's the captain over the PA telling us that we've landed that wakes me up. I grunt and stand up, waiting for Louis and Harry. Harry pays for a cab fair once we've received our luggage and it's night time by the time we've arrived in Paris. The stars are shining up above and I get a clear view of the Eiffel Tower, a few miles away.
The cab driver drives out into the center of Paris, not far from Notre Dame. Harry thanks the driver and pays him a generous tip and we unload our luggage from the back. We're parked outside an old-fashioned looking flat, with a brown stone-brick wall and a black iron gate fence with a matching balcony. The curtains of the window are white lace and the garden is filled with wild flowers and the windows have a clear view of the Eiffel Tower. Harry opens the gate to the flat and leads us up to the apartment that Nadine is in. He knocks before entering and we follow in after him. The flat itself is clean and modern; with white gleaming kitchen cabinets and tiling and leather sofas in the living room. A bouquet of red roses sit in the center of a wooden round table and a few fluffy cushions litter the sofas.
A door closes in one of the rooms at the far and end a girl appears in the wall way. She's petite, pretty and blonde. Her eyes are blue, her skin pale and all I can think about is that Harry has a thing for blondes. She's wearing a band tee - The Beatles - that is undoubtedly Harry's as a it's a few sizes too big for her. But that's not what catches my attention. What does, is the small but indubitably round, clear baby bump underneath it. My heart sinks at the sight of her. She's pregnant.
I can't help but scoff a little as I watch her wrap a protective hand under the bump. I look away from her and stare at anything but her, my jaw clenching with fury.
"Hello, Harry." Her voice loud and clear, as she smiles at him.
"Hello, Nadine." Harry replies, a warm look on his face.
Louis clears his throat and steps forward. "Niall, Nadine, Nadine, Niall."
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*Cue evil laughter* You guys have no idea how long I've been waiting to write this, I am so excited for this story! I have so much planned! How about this. If I get at least ten comments on this chapter, I shall update? I promise I will! Can't wait to hear what you guys think :) xxx