hey
alright y'all listen up
so this chapter is gonna seem messy, and by that i mean it's gonna switch POV's a few times. it'll seem choppy but it will all make sense! it just helps tell the story better for this chapter at least!!
ok enjoy.
Elaina Basset
It was me who suggested the bar.
Considering what has happened today with my letter of rejection from the artists program, I needed to get drunk, but I played it off as a way to celebrate mine and Isaac's official engagement.
The wedding is next week.
Next week, I won't be Elaina Basset anymore. I'll be a married woman. Alcohol feels like the most effective way to deal with that at the moment. But, I didn't feel safe drinking anywhere else. At least at Zayn's bar, I know that I'll be protected by the staff.
As we walk through the bar with Finn and Jessie, I'm dressed in a simple white dress with a black jean jacket to cover my shoulder. We walk through sweaty dancing bodies, it's so hot in here—honestly, I'd probably be panicking if I wasn't so set on getting drunk.
Isaac holds my hand as he takes me to the bar, Finn and Jessie behind us conversing but following our lead. It's loud and crowded as we make our way to the counter. Isaac leans against the hardwood and grins at me. "What do ya feel like, babe?"
I shrug as I stand in front of him, "Maybe a couple of tequila shots to start?"
Isaac's brows immediately furrow at my suggestion. He briefly looks over at Finn and Jessie like he was in disbelief, laughing a little. "What? That seems pretty strong for you, honey." he chuckles.
I force a small laugh and step forward so I'm closer to him, the proximity making me have to tilt my head to look up at him and he has to tilt his head down. "I'm in the mood for strong." I tell him. "Vodka sodas won't cut it for me tonight."
He put on his best cologne tonight. For me. He gelled his hair the way that he believes I like it most. He wore a white long sleeve with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow, the way I like it.
On paper, we're just like we were in high school. Made for each other. The perfect couple. Prom king and queen, in love.
On paper.
In my head, though...it's a tornado. My morals are twisted and I feel like a terrible person for putting on this fake smile, showing him fake affection that I'm trying so hard to convince myself is real.
I wonder how our high school peers would react if they knew that their beloved prom queen needs copious amounts of alcohol to love the prom king.
"Well okay." Isaac chuckles under his breath, bringing his hand up to tuck my hair behind my ear. I pull a small smile at the action while he turns to the bartender to order my drink.
My plan tonight is to fake it until I'm drunk enough for it to be real.
Isaac turns to the bartender. He's the same one I've seen before, the one who replaced the old one that drugged me. He gives us both a short nod and I know that he recognized me.
"What can I get for you guys?" he shouts slightly over the music, towel hung over his shoulder as sweat beads his forehead.
"Four tequila shots!" Isaac too shouts over the loudness.
The bartender nods and starts to prepare the shots, lining up four empty shot glasses.
"Do you normally come to this bar, Elaina?" Finn asks me, the four of us grouped around the bar counter.
"It's the only one I'm familiar with here." I answer.
"I was a bit worried the bartenders would only speak Italian." Jessie says with a laugh.
I try to laugh along with them as our tequila shots are poured in front of us.
It's tough to act like I'm having fun with everything going on, but also because of this Jayden Owens guy who could possibly be stalking me. If he's the one who set the paint shop on fire and the one who sent me the pictures, then he could easily be here watching me.
Call it paranoia, but I know that I have a right to be as paranoid as I fucking want.
Isaac takes his shot in his hand and hands me mine with his other. I look at the liquid and swish it around in the little glass.
Time to let go.
Finn raises a glass to make a toast, urging the four of us to clank our shot glasses together.
"Cheers to what will probably be a very...interesting night."
Before I know it, I'm bringing the glass to my mouth and firing the harsh liquid down my throat.
My face scrunches and my lips pucker as I shake my head to get through the burn and the aftertaste of the tequila.
When my eyes open, I see Isaac chuckling at me. "Overestimated yourself, huh?"
I shake my head. "Just gotta get used to it."
He rubs my shoulder with another small laugh. "Maybe you should take it easy."
I open my mouth to speak but I'm cut off. By Jessie.
"Aw, c'mon Isaac. Let her live."
"Yeah, I mean being drunk is always more fun." Finn adds.
I forgot these guys are total college frat boys.
"I just don't want you to feel out of control." Isaac speaks to me rather than to his friends.
I give him a small, reassuring smile. "I have you, don't I?"
He gives me a breathy scuffled laugh as his lips pull, looking down at me with what I think could've been a gaze of endearment.
It's hard to tell now, though.
At my words, Isaac turns and flags down the bartender again, asking for another round of shots. He then starts to converse with Finn and Jessie. I listen in mindlessly as my eyes start to drift around the bar. I take my nail between my teeth, people watching for just a minute while the loud music rattles my bones.
Strobing lights alternate colors. Red, purple, blue. People dance and drink like it's their last night alive. Having a mind like mine, I have to imagine the lives that these people have. Does the girl making out with that guy have an ex out there that she's here to try and get over? Does the group of friends taking shots over at one of the booths talk shit about each other behind their backs?
Sometimes it's just wild to me that everyone here has a separate life.
As my eyes scan the room, I see something across the dance floor that causes me to blink to make sure my eyes aren't deceiving me. I squint, and sure enough, I see Liam and Louis accompanied by Aldo and Bianca.
Oh fuck.
They all stand by an empty booth. Bianca sits on the table, her jean covered legs swinging. Louis stands with his back to the table, leaning with crossed arms. Liam is next to Louis. Aldo is on the other side of Bianca, towering over the booth.
If they're all here...then—
"Red!"
I hear it. My nickname given to me by Niall, being shouted in his voice. I turn, trying to find him until eventually I see him rushing over to me from the direction of the stairs. He's alone, but he looks slightly distressed.
"Niall?" I furrow as Isaac and his friends turn their attention to him as well.
Niall stops and breathes heavily to catch his breath, as if he had sprinted down those steps.
"W-what are you..." he breathes, "...doing here?"
Still confused, I answer, "Partying? Why?"
He leans in and grabs my shoulder, as if to guide me away. "Yes, but...I mean, don't you think it's a little unsafe?" he rushes through his speech. "Zayn probably wouldn't be too happy. I'll call you a cab, have it take you back to the villa."
"Dude, let her go." Isaac steps in but immediately I stop him.
"Isaac, I've got it." I roll my eyes before swatting Niall's hand off of me. "Why are you being so weird?" I look at Niall.
He didn't seem incredibly drunk, and even if he was, he'd probably encourage me more to stay here and get on his level rather than leave.
"I just don't want Zayn to be upset that you're here without him knowing."
I shake my head. "Zayn doesn't need to know what I'm doing all of the time."
And then, like clockwork, I hear my name again.
"El?"
This time, it's Zayn's voice.
I turn yet again and see him dressed up in a white dress shirt, rolled up to his elbows and black dress pants. He's accompanied by Angela, who smiles at me but then her look turns to distaste when she realized who I'm with.
"Hi." I respond, still utterly confused. I feel Isaac move closer to me, and I know that he's not happy with all of this.
"I didn't know you'd be here." he says, his tone not upset in the slightest, only making Niall seem even more suspicious.
"We thought we'd come out and celebrate the wedding." Isaac speaks before I can, throwing his arm over my shoulder. He has two shot glasses in his grasp now, one in each hand.
I give Zayn a closed lip smile as he arches his brow and fakes an understanding nod. "Ah."
Well, this is incredibly awkward.
But it couldn't possibly get worse, right?
...Right?
"Niall, why the fuck did you run off like th—"
Another member of the group stumbles onto the scene, but stops in his tracks when he sees me and my fiancé who he absolutely cannot stand.
Harry.
Everyone looks at him at his entrance, but him and I make dead eye contact. His brows raise when he sees me, Isaac's arm wrapped around my shoulder.
He stops speaking and he just swallows, blinking and looking away to Niall again. And suddenly, I understood why Niall was rushing to get me out...so Harry wouldn't see me.
Feeling my face grow hot, I nudge my hip against Isaac and reach up to take my shot from his hand. I shoot it back, sending the tequila down my throat for the second time before grabbing Isaac's hand.
"Let's go." I say to him, starting to pull him away. "We'll see you guys around." I remark to the group, trying to get out of what could be a disastrous situation.
I pull Isaac away until we're out of sight, leading him deep into the club where other mingling people hide us.
"You got out of that pretty quickly." Isaac observes once we're alone.
"I just wanna spend time with you." I cover.
Isaac swallows and looks to the side, into the distance where we once were—where Harry was standing before he was hidden by a crowd.
"He seems to be everywhere you are." Isaac states, and I immediately know that he's referring to Harry.
I shake my head at his comment. "He's just friends with Zayn, and he's Angela's step brother—"
"He clearly feels somethin' for you, El." Isaac pushes the narrative.
I need to act dumb.
I force a laugh, grabbing Isaac's shoulders as he stands taller than me. "Harry doesn't feel anything for anyone, okay? He's not that kind of person."
It's crazy to me that at one point, I believed that.
Isaac looks at me with uncertainty. I can tell that he's threatened by Harry, but I want to think it's because he loves me.
Apart of me wants to be logical and get out of here with Isaac—go somewhere else where we can party alone.
But, this other part of me...a louder part...knows that I can't leave this bar knowing that Harry is going to be wasted by the end of the night.
I look into Isaac's eyes, pulling a grin as my hands rub his strong shoulders.
"Let's have fun."
No Perspective
It's half past midnight.
In the loud music and the strobing lights of the club tucked into the streets of Milan, the nightlife boomed here. And within it, the group was spread around the interior.
On one end, Elaina and Isaac are multiple drinks in each—both of them drunk with Isaac's two college friends that Elaina had to tolerate.
Finn and Jessie, serving no real purpose tonight, seemed to end up wherever Elaina took Isaac. She was frustrated although, like always, she tried to hide it.
But really, she felt like she had no right to be mad...because the reason she wasn't leaving this club until closing time was because of a completely other person that wasn't her fiancé.
And although she wants to stay away from Harry tonight, she cannot help but catch her wandering eyes searching for him in the hundreds of bodies.
Part of her hopes he hasn't left.
Across the club, by the bar, Niall stumbles around the counter. He walks behind the bar itself like it's nothing, making himself his own shot.
He didn't want to leave Harry, not after what he admitted to him. He knows that Harry plans to get wasted and forget tonight happened, and usually he'd be in full support of this. But it's different this time, because he knows that his childhood best friend is not okay. So, when Niall had the chance to slip away because Harry was accompanied by Bianca and the other guys...he did. He also, wanted to drink.
As he mixes his shot, he smells a familiar perfume from across from him. It makes him raise his vision from the clear glass to the bare collar bones in front of him. Olive skin and a white laced top, Angela stands across from him at the bar, leaning forward with her arms crossed.
"Sweetheart." he nods in greeting.
Angela tilts her head, looking at the drunken blonde boy. "Pretty sure Zayn wouldn't love the idea of you helping yourself to the bar."
Niall shrugs, grabbing another shot glass. "Can't please everybody."
"You would know." Angela retorts with a certain smugness as she watches Niall pour a duplicate shot to the one he had just made himself.
Her eyes raise again to meet his blue ones as he pushes the shot toward her.
He smirks, raising his shot glass.
"Cheers, Angela."
Angela's lips pull at the side as she raises her glass as well, clanking hers with his in the air before tossing it back.
Over at the VIP section of the club, Harry was wasted.
And not the good kind of wasted—where you're having fun and partying. He was the kind of wasted where he didn't even want to open his mouth to speak, only to take sips from his drink.
He sits on one end of the couch, surrounded with the guys and Bianca. There's a group of girls chatting up Liam and Louis and Aldo, even Bianca. Zayn just sits and watches, being more of an observer.
As Harry wallows in whiskey and wasted feelings, he becomes aware of a new presence that sits right beside him. An unfamiliar perfume hits his senses. It's strong, but expensive smelling. He feels hair brush his shoulder. His head turns a little bit, his vision catching a girl sitting next to him...very close to him...in a silver party dress and black heels. She has a head full of blonde, straight hair. Her makeup is done well. A nice, expensive bracelet wraps around her wrist.
"Hi." she tilts her head, smiling at Harry with a set of perfectly white teeth.
Her knees tilt toward him, bringing herself closer.
"I'm Maria." she keeps smiling, an Italian accent thick on her tongue. Harry looks at her pupils, seeing how dilated they were. It indicated to him that she was buzzed, probably off of something expensive if she was in the VIP section.
Harry forces a half smile, acknowledging her but not saying much. He didn't want to be a total dick and just ignore her presence all together, but it was safe to say that he was not interested.
Suddenly, a strong hand grips Harry's shoulder from behind the couch. He peers up to see Aldo's face smiling toward Maria.
"This is Harry." He tells her, making Harry hold back an eye roll. "He's a pleasure."
Harry grits his teeth behind his lips, exhaling deeply through his nose as he has to try not to cuss Aldo out in front of these girls. Aldo notices, of course, being a nuisance on purpose. He smirks and pats Harry on the shoulder with his rough hand and saunters back over to his seat.
Maria leans her head against her own shoulder, her eyes completely entranced by Harry's looks. And Harry knew this.
He knew that to her, he was nothing but a piece of eye candy to satisfy her right now. He knew that she couldn't give less of a fuck about who he is or about anything that lies deeper than his skin.
But maybe, in his drunken mind, there was something nice about that.
Harry's eyes drift over Maria's anatomy, and it's like the alcohol was finally clouding his mind in completeness.
She bites her lip and brings a hand to his hair, fluffing her hand through it. "Harry's a nice name."
In a quick decision that didn't require much thought, he stood up from the couch, and watched as Maria's eyes stayed on him the entire time. Then, he extended out his hand.
"Come dance with me." he says.
Harry didn't like dancing. But, he didn't want to get to know Maria tonight. He didn't want to have a drink with her and talk. He didn't want to tell her anything about him.
What he thought he wanted, was something physical.
Maria smiles again and takes Harry's hand without hesitation. Next, he's leading her down the stairs to the dance floor where sweaty people under the influence danced to the loud music.
God, the music was so fucking loud. It made his teeth ache. It made his ears pound.
Maria holds Harry's hand tightly, so much so that he didn't even need to hold it back. He lets her bring him deep into the dance floor, squishing between bodies.
Hair hanging down his forehead, he watches as Maria looks up at him with seduction. Her eyes are narrowed and full of intent. Her lips are red with desire.
He doesn't feel anything.
Maria runs her hands down his chest. Harry watches her fingers graze his shirt. As the music pounds, Maria's hips sway as she turns around, her backside now against his front. She's so physically close to Harry but he couldn't feel any less emotionally further away.
She flips her hair, her body moving to the rhythm of the music. Harry tries to engage, for her sake. He keeps his hands on her hips. He rubs them.
He knows how to touch a woman. He knows how to make them feel good.
But he feels nothing.
But then, as the songs blast through the speakers and the lights shoot different colors around the club, Harry's eyes catch a sight that suddenly makes him feel everything. It makes his blood freeze. It makes his heart stop. It makes his throat dry.
Just across the dance floor...flaming red hair. It's Elaina. And she's with Isaac.
She's dancing with Isaac.
The first thing Harry feels...is anger. Then, very quickly, he remembers that he has no right to be angry over Elaina dancing with her fiancé.
After that, he feels what he could only pinpoint as a sort of gloomy cloud hanging over him. His chest felt heavy.
She's with Isaac and there's nothing that he can do.
But, among all of the upset, he notices one small detail...and it nearly shifts his thinking entirely.
Much like Maria's position on Harry, which doesn't involve facing each other or being very intimate at all...Elaina is in that very same position with Isaac.
Her back is to his chest. His hands on her hips. Her eyes are closed.
That's how you dance with a random hookup on a night out...not with the guy you're marrying in a week.
Was it just coincidence? Maybe. But, for a moment, Harry just gazed.
He watched her as her hips moved, as her hair fell down her shoulders. He watched as her eyelashes feathered the top of her cheeks.
And he waited. He waited for her to turn around and meet the eyes of the one holding her hips.
But she didn't.
Instead, when Elaina finally decided to open her eyes, they landed on the curly headed boy across the dance floor. Making instant, direct, and burning eye contact.
Elaina Basset
It was like my heart stopped beating in my chest.
I saw him there, looking at me, his hands around another girl. I swallow, my throat tight as my lips part to search for air.
The girl he's dancing with is gorgeous. She looks expensive, dressed head to toe in riches. She made me look like nothing special—and she seemed like the ideal girl for Harry to be seen with.
I cant be mad, I have no place to be mad. But...fuck, I didn't expect it to give me such a pain behind my ribs.
I couldn't look anymore, but with the knowledge that he was still looking...I acted on my drunk intentions.
I gently place my hands atop Isaac's which were resting on my hips. I intertwine our fingers and turn myself around so I'm facing him now. His eyes scope all over me and he grins.
I smile back and wrap my arms around his neck so we're closer.
The whole time, I only hoped that you were watching Dreamboat.
Isaac runs his hands up and down my sides, feeling me up. I start to dance with him more, looking into his eyes as we turn around so now I can look over his shoulder.
I look to where Harry was. The girl he's with now has her head resting against his shoulder with her back still to him. Her arms reach up behind her to hold the sides of his neck in a gentle gesture that only made it harder for me to watch.
I gaze, trying to make it seem to Isaac that I'm present with him, but really I'm so distracted that I can't even focus on the way Isaac's touching me.
I watch Harry. I watch as he brings his fingers up to the girls hair and tucks her blonde locks behind her ear. I couldn't seem to look away.
Then, a shiver is sent up my spine as Harry's eyes suddenly flick to mine...and he smiles.
He knows I'm watching.
Keeping my eyes captive, he brings his mouth to the girls neck and starts to kiss her there. Not even for a second does his vision leave mine, his green eyes stay locked on me as he lays kisses all over her neck.
I feel heat blaring in my chest, thinking back to small moments like the time at Marjorie and Derek's event, where I was so close to giving all of me to him in the bathroom...or after the casino, where I pleasured myself in front of him to the thought of him.
He knows that doing this in front of me is triggering those memories. He knows that he has me in a trance.
But, two can play at that game.
I lower my brows as my eyes narrow in on him. I make sure he's looking while I bring my hands up to Isaac's neck. Slowly, I bring my lips to his jawline, kissing around the area and under his ear. Isaac exhales into the air and his grip on my waist tightens.
I watch as Harry's jaw clenches, and I can't help but smile into Isaac's skin.
It was the most brutal, petty unspoken dialogue.
I haven't spoken to Harry in any significant way since this morning when we argued. We didn't leave things on a good note. Now, here we are on a club dance floor trying to make each other mad.
Where are your fucking morals, Elaina?
A club employee walks through the dance floor. She's got her black hair slicked into a ponytail as she carries a tray of filled shot glasses. When she walks past Harry, he grabs one. Dancing with Isaac still, I keep my focus on what he's going to do.
With the shot glass in his hand, Harry brings it around to the front of the girl's face, right at her mouth.
With his other hand, he grabs her chin from behind and makes her tilt her head up. He doesn't say a word to her as he tugs at her bottom lip with his thumb, cueing her to open her mouth. She smiles at him before obeying, and he pours the alcohol into her open mouth before making her close her lips and swallow.
I couldn't breathe.
When the action is complete, his green eyes avert to me. Through closed pink lips, he smirks at me while wiping the excess alcohol off of the girls lips.
That motherfucker.
Something came over me at that very moment. It was like a tidal wave of anger and built up tension that I had to release.
I push myself closer up against Isaac. I step up onto my tip toes and nibble at his ear before whispering;
"Can we go somewhere private?"
At my words, he pulls back with raised brows to get a look at my face. "You sure?" he asks.
I bite my lip and nod.
His lips lift into a smile while his eyes flick up and down my body and face. "Okay."
With that, I smile back at him and grab his hand, getting ready to whisk him off the dance floor. We walk right in Harry's direction. I make sure not to look at him, knowing he's looking at me.
Was having revenge sex with my literal fiancé immature? Yeah, probably. But Harry has done his share of immature shit and he needs a taste of his own medicine.
I bring Isaac through the club, all the way to the VIP section where we're immediately let in by the bouncer by the red rope.
"How are you allowed back here?" Isaac asks with his hand in mine.
"Don't worry about it." I answer, not in the mood for small talk or questions.
There's a more private section of the club down a hallway, with couches and chairs and tables closed off by curtains. I bring Isaac down that hall, locating an area with an open curtain. Once I find one, I waste no time and neither does he.
He flops onto the bed, sitting at the edge while I climb on top. My hands grip his shoulders while his fingers dig into my hips.
Then, he kisses me. He makes out with me with a roughness I haven't seen since high school. It was pure lust and desire. His tongue is in my mouth before I can even process anything, our kisses messy.
"I don't have a condom." he murmurs into my lips.
I shake my head, keeping my eyes closed while kissing him. "I don't care."
I really didn't care. Not in this moment anyway. I just wanted to do something that would force my mind somewhere else.
I was being so careless but it was because I was hurting.
Isaac just nods, allowing himself to get into it now. He pulls me right against him so there's no space between us. He sloppily starts to tug at my jean jacket. Before I know it, the material is falling off of my shoulders and landing on the ground with a small thud.
I wait for Isaac to keep going, but I look down at his face to realize he's stopped and he's looking at my shoulder.
It only takes a second for me to realize why he's looking there. My tattoo.
My first ever tattoo. My only tattoo. He didn't know about it.
Slowly, he brings his finger up to trace the fine details of the monarch. "When did you get this?" he asks.
I clear my throat, peering down at my bare shoulder. "Not too long ago. I—I was feeling adventurous with Angela one night, I guess." I lie.
His brows pull together and my heart begins to pound as I wait for him to get mad.
But instead, his eyes just flick to mine with more of a look of sorrow.
"I feel like I don't know much about you anymore."
I right away tilt my head and furrow my brows, laughing a bit as I speak because I was in disbelief. "What do you mean?"
He shakes his head. "Back in Denver, you would've never gotten a tattoo."
I watch him with drunk, wary eyes. My body feels light with the alcohol and I know that I'm not taking in what he's saying fully because of it.
I chuckle again. "It's just a small tattoo, Isaac. I'm still me."
"Okay maybe, but it's not just the tattoo." he immediately rejects. My face falls a little as my grip on his shoulders loosens. "Your friends. The way you're able to just walk into the VIP section of a bar. I feel like you've become this new person now and I don't know where my Elaina is."
Even in my drunk state, those words throw me off. My eyes scan his while my stomach sinks. I didn't know what to say or how I should feel. If I were sober, I'd probably just try to reassure him that I'm still his perfect, quiet little fiancé.
But, I'm not sober...
"I'm not the same girl I was in high school, Isaac. Maybe that's not a bad thing." I say.
I know that I have a long ways to go confidence wise, but I've definitely gotten somewhere while being here.
But honestly, this conversation was one that I didn't want to have. In fact, I'd rather fuck him and possibly feel nothing than talk right now.
I lean forward again and bring my mouth to his neck. I kiss him there while his hands run up and down my back. He's hesitant to do anything in return but he doesn't stop me from doing my thing.
This wasn't uncommon though, and that's why I didn't stop right away. I'm used to giving him the pleasure and not expecting a lot in return. It wasn't necessarily a negative thing...there was a point where I enjoyed making him feel good.
But this time is different.
He breathes out into the air as I suck on his neck, lifting his hips against mine subtly. I can tell that he's trying to enjoy this but he's distracted.
And that's when I finally consider how I'm feeling.
Sitting on Isaac's lap, I'm engaging in what's supposed to be a loving and intimate act. But instead, I'm doing this out of jealousy and greed. That's not how it's supposed to be.
And what's worse, is even if I tried to do otherwise, it's not Isaac that I would be picturing as we did this.
And then, it's like everything just comes crashing down on me.
I'm marrying this man next week. I'm going to be his wife. He will be my life soon.
I haven't even accomplished what I wanted. I haven't lived up to my potential. And I don't know if I ever will, but I know I won't as long as I'm with him.
I pull my lips away. "Wait." I shake my head with my eyes closed until I open them to see Isaac looking at me. "I think we should stop."
"No, it's okay. I'm sorry, I was just thinking about—"
I stop him, "N-no, it's not you. Sorry, I just...I don't think it's a good time."
When I expect him to counteract my words and insist we do this, he doesn't. He looks off to the side briefly, then he swallows and nods.
"Okay." he agrees, no spitefulness in his tone. Maybe he didn't think it was a great idea either.
I frown, looking down between us to gather my thoughts. My heart hurt but in some way, I felt relief that we didn't have sex. I know that would hurt more in the long run.
He rubs his hands along my hips, clearing his throat and pulling a small smile. "Why don't we just forget about this and go out there and have some more fun?" he says.
I nod.
He picks me up and sets me on the ground on my feet, then stands up himself and takes my hand to lead me out of the private area.
I felt heavy now. The alcohol wasn't a fun feeling anymore as I walk with Isaac out into the crowded and loud club again...
Harry Styles
Sucking back what remains of a withering cigarette, my back leans against the brick of the back alley behind the bar.
I'm out here alone, it's quiet back here but I can hear the nightlife by the front of the building. The only person who's aware of where I am right now is Niall, who offered to come smoke with me but I told him I'd rather be alone.
He understood, knowing what he knows now.
When Elaina disappeared with Isaac, I didn't have any more reason to dance with Maria so I stopped it. Honestly, a part of me felt bad because I was just using this girl so it was for the best that I put an end to it.
Seeing Elaina with him hurt. And it's taken me a lot of willpower and fighting off my own pride to admit that to myself.
She and I started off as two people who couldn't stand each other. We both had our reasons. Maybe one day we'll talk about it. But, with her wedding fast approaching, I don't see that conversation happening. I don't see anything between us happening, not when she's devoted to someone else. And I just have to get over it. I cant fight her on that anymore.
Maybe it's for the better, though.
Right as I finish my cigarette, the steel back door that I came out of opens up. I prepare to curse Niall out for coming out here when I asked him to leave me alone, but much to my shock, it isn't Niall.
It's Isaac.
Even though I'm extremely caught off guard seeing him out here, I give him one neutral look, then go back to my cigarette. I take the final puff before throwing it to the ground and stepping on it.
He looked at me too, like he knew where to find me.
He steps out of the doorway and closes the door behind him. I honestly don't know what to expect, but I'm not going to give him the satisfaction of anything he wants.
With my back against the wall, he comes and stands across from me—at the other wall.
He has a flask with him, which I didn't see before inside the club.
My guess is that he was hiding it from Elaina.
He looks down at it, and twists it open. Before taking a sip, he holds it out to me, offering me a sip.
I decline. "All yours."
He nods and takes a sip, clenching his teeth as he swallows the tough liquid.
Looking down at his flask, finally, he speaks.
"You know," he starts, "Elaina was the shyest individual I'd ever come across when we met. I had broken my arm, couldn't type up my essays...she helped me. But she was always so quiet."
I don't say anything, just watching him.
He laughs to himself, like he's recalling a memory. "I'd always have to push her to come to parties with me. She used to be so nervous about them."
I hate this. I hate that he's talking to me. I hate that he's talking about her. I hate that I'm listening to it.
"But now, here she is tonight, wanting to come out and party hard. It's so unlike her to have a desire to do that."
"What's your point?" I cut to it, knowing he's not just making small talk.
"Well I was curious as to why she suddenly wanted to go out. She said it was to celebrate our engagement but even that isn't typical of her, to celebrate something by drinking hard liquor." he explains, then his eyes turn into stone. "But then, I realized you were here."
My brows pull together and my back straightens but my physical expression doesn't change much, I don't allow it to.
"What?" I shake my head.
He just scuffles a laugh under his breath and then comes off the opposite wall to step closer to me.
"Look Harry," he says, "I don't know what you think you're doing...or how you're manipulating Elaina, but it stops now. I'm stopping it now."
Oh fuck no.
I think he wants a reaction out of me, but instead I just look to my shoes and chuckle. Looking back up, my tongue runs along the inside of my cheek as I cant help but find his little act of defiance amusing.
Oh how badly I wanted to tell him about what Elaina and I have done. I just wanted to see his face after I tell him that his fiancé touched herself to the thought of me.
But, I digress.
"I really don't know what you're talking about." I say to him.
"Bullshit." he steps closer. "You want her, but you can't have her so you're manipulating her into thinking she wants someone other than me."
My brows raise at the accusation and I almost laugh out loud. "Someone's a little insecure, huh? I'm not manipulating her."
"Don't think I haven't noticed the way you steal glances at her. Or when you invaded our dinner with all of your stupid comments." he spits, then looks down at my chest which was exposed by my half unbuttoned shirt. "And those fucking tattoos." he gestures to my butterfly with the flask in his hand.
I'm very—no, dangerously close to decking him in the mouth.
He thinks he knows everything. He knows nothing.
"I can't control what she does or how she feels. Believe it or not, she's her own person and maybe that person is different than the high school version of her that's stuck in your head. She's grown, accept it." I say, my chest getting internally hot as I speak.
His jaw clenches and his nostrils flare at my words, and it's so satisfying knowing that I've pissed him off even more instead of backing down.
He really doesn't know who he's fucking with right now. Poor guy.
He looks me dead in the eye next, speaking again.
"Doesn't fuckin' matter anyway. I'm taking her back to Denver as soon as we get married."
And suddenly, that neutrality that I've been expressing...it's gone within the blink of an eye.
My face shifts from calmness, my eyes going stone cold as I look at him.
"Why would you take her somewhere you know she doesn't want to be?" I mutter.
He shakes his head. "She'll want to be there if she's with me—"
"No. She won't. She hates it there."
At this point I'm not even saying it because I want her to stay, but because I know she'll be miserable back in that place.
He takes another step.
"Are you gonna stop me?" he challenges, and just like that, I can't restrain myself anymore.
Before I can stop myself, my fist is flying and connecting with the side of his face.
He immediately stumbles back a few steps in shock. I didn't hit him extremely hard, I could've gone harder but I didn't because I don't feel like hiding a body tonight.
"I'll stop you if I have to." I seethe.
I want him to hit me, because if he does then I give myself full permission to absolutely fuck him up.
And, like I wanted, he does.
He swings his fist right at my nose, which was already bruised up from the detective hitting me. Instantly, it aches and I can feel the blood dripping down from my nostrils.
He stumbles back again from hitting me, which I found funny. I bring my fingers to my nose and wipe the blood, my lips parted open as I breathe through them.
As I look at him, I can see the small glimmer of fear in his eyes.
When I tell you I've dreamed of this moment...
I breathe, watching him anxiously await my next move.
Then, I swing at him again. I uppercut him in the jaw this time, knocking him to his feet now. Once he's down, I grab the collar of his shirt and start going at it again, sending punches to his face.
One for manipulating Elaina by proposing to her to make her stay.
Another for cheating on her.
Another for stealing her back to Denver.
And one more just for being a fucking douche.
His nose and mouth are bleeding profusely, and my knuckles hurt. I'm ready to just leave him there bleeding in the alley until either someone helps him or he gets up himself...but then,
I hear voices.
Coming from the darkened far end of the alley, I hear two deep voices.
"Apparently he was last seen in the VIP section."
My head turns in the direction of the sound, my body freezing.
"And what about her?"
"Not sure, but she's in there."
Leo and Marco.
My heart drops suddenly, as I realize they're here and they're looking for me and Elaina.
"We need to grab them quick. Even if it's just one. Don't make a big scene."
Fuck.
I need to do something. I need to fucking do something before they get to her.
For a second, I consider leaving Isaac out here...but then I remember Elaina and how she'd feel if anything happened to him. If I leave him and they find him, they'll kill him no doubt knowing that he overheard them talking.
Fuck sakes, now I have to help this asshat.
I act quickly, grabbing him again and pushing him behind a dumpster. He tries to fight me off with verbal and physical protest but I slap my hand over his mouth to shut him up. His blood soaks my hand as I give him a glare.
"Shut the fuck up, I'm trying to save your life."
For Elaina. Not himself.
His brows furrow but he stays quiet. I keep my hand tight against his mouth as I hear Leo and Marco walk past the dumpster we're hiding behind.
They've gone silent now, ready to do what they came to do. I can't let them.
They get past us, heading for the side door. I question for a second how they'll get in but then I remember, they were once on our side, and they have keys to the club.
They go in, and I know that I don't have a lot of time.
I look at Isaac, pulling my car keys out of my back pocket. I dangle them in front of his face, taking my hand off his mouth.
"Listen to me." I mutter. "My car is parked down the street. Go and get in the drivers seat but do not fucking drive away and I swear if you do, I'll find you and kill you. Do you understand me?"
My dead serious voice must have scared him, or maybe it was the punches to the face.
He just nods, eyes frantic as he takes my keys.
I don't waste any more time, leaving him and bolting around the outside of the club to the front door. I couldn't risk going in through the side door and being seen by the two of them right away, leaving me no chance to get Elaina out.
I push past the long line of people waiting to get in, rushing past the security at the front doors as I re enter the hot club.
Now I need to find her in this sea of people.
I run past the bar to the staircase, rushing up the steps until I'm halfway up them to get a better view. I knew I was risking being seen by being high up, but I need to find Elaina.
My eyes scan all over the floor, looking at the bar and the downstairs VIP lounge and the dance floor.
Then, I see red hair and a short white dress dancing with Angela and Bianca.
And before I can even think, I'm making a run for it.
I run down the stairs and through the dance floor, literally pushing people out of the way until I find her.
Finally, I make it to her. I grab her shoulder to make her stop dancing and open her eyes to see me. Immediately her face falls.
"What are you—"
"Come with me please."
She looks at me with resentful confusion. "I don't want to talk to you."
I have to hold back from rolling my eyes with frustration. "Elaina, let's go—"
"She told you she doesn't want to." Bianca steps in.
"Yeah, Harry. What the hell?" Angela adds.
For fucks sake.
"I need you to trust me." I ignore them and look at Elaina, holding her arm now.
She pulls away, wary. "Why?"
"I don't want to say it here—"
"Tell me." she pushes.
Oh, fucking fuck it.
"Leo and Marco are here!" I whisper shout.
Those words are enough to send terror through her. Her face falls into horror and I can tell her blood has frozen.
"Wait what!" Angela freaks.
"I need to get you out." I tell Elaina, then look at Angela and Bianca. "I need you guys to go tell Zayn and the guys. I'll come back once I get her somewhere safe—"
"No!" Elaina protests right away, "They're looking for you too, you're not coming back here!"
"We will deal with it! You two just need to get the fuck out!" Bianca urges. "Go!"
Before I can protest again, I feel a hand in mine followed by a tug that sends me onto my moving feet.
Elaina is pulling me through the dance floor with my hand death gripped in hers.
She's smart, not going for the side door but instead going for the front where it's crowded. There will be more witnesses.
Once we're out of the club, we get looks from people but it's the least of our worries. She lets go of my hand and starts to run, looking over her shoulder to make sure I'm doing the same.
"My car is down the street." I say as we run.
"Hurry!"
She was at a full on sprint while I was going a little slower to make sure I stay behind her. We keep running until we reach the end of the sidewalk and come to the corner of the street where my car is.
He didn't drive away.
I place my hand on her lower back to get her over to the car, opening the back seat door.
As soon as it's open, she spots Isaac in the drivers seat with a bloody nose and mouth.
"Isaac!?" she blurts with confusion.
"Hi." —is all he thinks to say.
God, I fucking hate that idiot.
I get into the backseat next to her, pissed off and anxious. I look at Isaac's stupid fucking face and shout the only thing I can muster,
"DRIVE!"
//
DRIVE BITCH
he finally got his wish.
missed you. here's a teaser for the next chapter.
if you know, you know...
;)