Harry's POV
I park on the side on the road as opposed to the driveway like I normally would because I know that those parking spots tend to get blocked up throughout the night as more people find their way inside and I don't plan on staying long. I step out, shutting the door and clicking the lock button as I make my way to the door of the frat house.
As I near the house I notice the cluster of frat boys at the front of the house, most of which I am acquainted with quite well. On any other occasion I would probably walk right up to the porch and strike up a conversation, maybe even hit on on of the many girls flirting with the group of them right now, but today I'm just not in the mood. I'm here for one thing and one thing only and I'm not going to waste my time small talking with a bunch of shit heads all night. So before I get too close, I strategically duck out of their view and take the back entrance, knowing that the meeting place was set for behind the house anyways.
Making my way around the side of the house, I notice not many people are here yet, which is what I had hoped when I decided to come early for once. I know for a fact that Louis and them are going to be late, which is why I usually arrive at these things late whenever I go with them, so I made it a point to leave earlier so I wouldn't have to run into them or deal with their shit.
When I reach the back of the house I step onto the deck and look out onto the water, not seeing the person I am looking for in sight, so I grab a beer from one of the coolers and lean my elbows on the deck, waiting.
Despite the the pumping of the bass which can be heard from inside and the constant chatter of semi-drunk teens around me, staring at the water, even in the dark, relaxes me. My mind drift and soon I am once again thinking of her.
I wonder what she's doing right now, how she's been taking all of this. Has she been as miserable as I am these past few days? Has she been better or worse? For a moment, my mind holds onto the small hope that she'll be here tonight, but I know that's it's highly unlikely. I'm not even up for coming here tonight, and I actually like parties. There's no way she would agree to go to something like this tonight, unless... she was forced.
My mind goes back to a couple months ago, before all of this shit went down, before us. How she looked the last time we were here. It was the frat's Halloween party.
~
"Hey guys!" Brit calls out to my friends on the couches, finally letting go of my arm to go and greet them.
I trudge behind her slowly, glad Louis and them finally showed up so that I wouldn't have Brit attached to my side every damn second any longer.
"Hey Brit, uh, nice costume," El says, though knowing her for as long as I have it's obvious her compliment is fake as hell. Brittany doesn't seem to notice though and so she thanks her genuinely.
I do a once over of everyone, until my eyes land on her.
I'm surprised, to say the least. I wouldn't have pegged her for the party type, especially dressed like that. I can't help but stare at the way the leather of her cat woman costume hugs the curves I hadn't even knew she had.
Damn, without all those baggy ass man clothes she wears all the time Bree is actually fucking hot.
She notices me staring, a confused look in her eyes and I quickly recover from my initial shock, but can't help but glance her way when she turns her attention to Liam who greets me.
Goddamn, she's gorgeous.
~
My thoughts are interrupted when I feel someone poke me from behind.
"I was wondering whether or not you'd show up tonight." Her breath is hot on my neck and I turn around, confused.
Brittany leans against me, cornering me on the railing of the deck and looking up at me in the flirtatious way I know all too well.
"I was debating." I say plan
"I'm glad you did," she wraps her arms around my waist and I can smell the alcohol already on her breath.
"Tipsy already, are we?" I laugh, holding her up as she uses my arms as support in her 5-inch heels. I have no idea how the hell she walks in them, especially if she plans on getting more drunk tonight.
"Just a little," she giggles as she leans into me.
I pull away slightly and she frowns.
"What's the matter, Harry?" she pouts, wrapping her arm around my waist as I feel the need to pull away further before she gets even more touchy.
"J-Just not... not now, okay?" I hold her at an arms length, steadying her by the shoulders before shrugging off her advances.
I do admit, she does look pretty hot in her way too short and revealing dress, I'm just really not in the mood, which surprises even myself. A few months ago, this situation probably would've played out much differently. The old Harry would've welcomed Brittany's attempts for a hook up in a heartbeat. However, now, nothing about her appeals to me like it used to.
Sure, there was a point and time when I loved being with Brittany. Sure, she does kinda have a clingy and bitchy attitude, but she was pretty fun to be around once you got to know her. Not to mention, she's a total babe. The first time I saw her, I was immediately interested. Now however, things have changed. I just don't feel the way I used to with her.
"Oh come on, Haazz!" She slurs as she tries to wiggle free from my grasp on her shoulders. "Loosen up, have some fun!" She wraps her arms around my neck and forces herself closer to me once again so her lips are right at my ear.
"We can have fun together," she whispers seductively as I feel her hot breath tickle my neck.
"Yo, Styles," A voice calls out from across the deck, giving me an opportunity to back away from Brittany's advances. I turn to see Vince glaring at me, an annoyed look on his face as he trudges up to meet us on the side of the deck.
"Hey, Brittany. Long time no see." He winks at Brittany, obviously checking her out as he does so. Even though, I would much rather her leave me alone tonight, I don't want her getting involved with the likes of him, one bit. So I wrap an arm around her protectively.
"Go inside now." I whisper into her ear and she looks up at me for a second before nodding and surprisingly following my instructions without protest. I look back at him and his usual gang of minions, once again leaning casually on the deck.
"Are you done fucking around now, Preppy?" He asks, a smirk wide on his face as he watches Brittany enter the house. The urge to sock him in the face overcomes me, but I try to push it away, knowing it probably wouldn't do me any good to start a fight with him now.
"Do you have it or not?" I cut, just wanting to get this over with so I wouldn't have to deal with him any longer.
"Eager, aren't we? Relax, Prep I told you I did." He assures as he motions to a duffle one of his minions are carrying. The blonde one, Niall, is with them. He shifts awkwardly behind one of the bigger guys, hands in his pocket eyes as he silently watches the encounter, averting his eyes quickly once they catch mine.
"Then, lets get this over with." I huff and Vince nods slightly before motioning for his gang to move a little further down the beach, away from from the crowd of partygoers, even though they're all probably too drunk to notice anything suspicious. I follow behind them as they stop at a spot obstructed from the view of the general public, behind some tall reeds growing in the sand.
"It's going to be fifty," He pulls out a small blue-green tinted ziplock baggy from his pocket as his friends form a human wall around him as if to shield any prying eyes even further.
That was the thing about Vince. He always takes extra precautions with these kind of things. Though he's known for having a quite shady reputation, he makes sure to keep everything under wraps, at least in the eyes of those who weren't seeking out his service, of course. From what I had heard, he already had a record and some run ins in the past, so I guess that's why he tries his best to keep everything low key.
"That's it?" I ask pointedly, and he looks at me bewildered before scoffing among his buddies.
"What? Is that not steep enough for daddy's little princess? Because I'll gladly double it." My jaw locks at his comment and I fight myself even harder not to clock him in the eye.
"I meant is that all you got?" I nod towards the little baggy in his hand, knowing that it probably wouldn't last me very long.
"Afraid so. It's in pretty high demand right now, what with winter break and stuff," he explains and I nod, contemplating on whether or not to take it. It's been awhile since I had one of these encounters with Vince. The last time was in the summer, before Bree.
I had met up with him plenty of times then, especially at the start of the summer when Brittany had left for Europe and ended things with us before she did. Of course, the circumstances were much different at the time.
I hadn't started up because I needed something to numb the pain, to numb the thoughts, like I was doing now, I just needed something to loosen me up at the time. Get me relaxed and having a good time through the endless string of parties and girls I had gone through in the course of the two months. Those two months seemed so far away now, with everything that has happened since.
"So are you getting it or not. I've got other things to do," Vince huffs impatiently in front of me and I snap out of my distant thoughts. I look down at the bag again.
"Do you have anything else? Something uh, stronger?" I question, looking him dead in the eyes even though the sight made my fist tighen. He cocks an eyebrow, amusement playing on his face.
"Getting bolder now, aren't we?" He nods to one of the minions, the tall wiry one with the tattoos going up his neck, and he unzips the bag he is carrying and pulls out a small envelope, handing it to Vince.
"Tell you what, Prep. I'll even give you a sampler for free, since you've been such a... generous customer in the past." He winks and holds one out in his palm. I look at it, hesitating for a moment. I've heard of these before. From what I can recall, the effects were pretty crazy, but it checked you out for practically the whole night and that's just what I needed.
I take it from his palm and rub it between my fingers, feeling how light and paper-like it is.
"Put it under your tongue, it works faster." The burly minion with the buzz cut and spacers suggested and I slowly placed the strip just behind my bottom teeth before closing my mouth and letting it dissolve. I noticed Niall, staring at me with wary eyes. I almost forgot he was there as the other two towered over him and he hid behind them most of the time. His eyes were piercing blue as he continued to hold my gaze, alarmed and watching intently as I brought the thin chemical to my lips and swallowed.
"It's a bill," Vince wears a devilish grin and hands me the rest of the envelope and I peek inside to see five more identical strips inside. I nod, reach into my wallet and pull out a hundred dollar bill. The wiry one takes it, stuffing it into the bag.
"You know, I was wondering when I would be seeing you again." Vince folds his arms, looking at me. "Thought you might've given it up for good. Then again, you rich kids are never one to call it quits." He chuckles and his posey does mimics his actions.
"I've been busy." I say shortly, not wanting to spend my time explaining myself to Vince. Now that I got what I came here for, all I want to do is get back to what I was doing this whole week, staying home and getting people to leave me the fuck alone. Although now that might be a problem, seeing as I would have to drive back home and I don't know how fast this thing kicks in. I probably should've thought of that before stupidly swallowing it whole a while ago.
"I bet. Brittany can definitely keep you busy for hours." Theres a stupid smirk on his face and I clench slightly, before shaking it off yet again. "I should know." He winks and I tense even more. I can't tell if he's bluffing or not, but I wouldn't put it past him. Vince is a known hunter and Brittany does get around quite a bit. I don't answer, just stare at him with a hard look as my head begins to feel lighter already. I guess the buzz cut bonehead was right.
"You know who I wouldn't know about, though?" He looked as if he wanted to pick a fight with me, and I knew he would. He always does. "That sweet looking girl I saw you with at the Halloween party." My teeth clamp together.
"What was her name again, Niall?" He looks to the meek blonde in the back, who snaps out of his gaze on me upon hearing his name called.
"H-Huh? Oh, B-Bree?"
"Yeah, that one. Damn, you best have tapped that bro." I glared at Niall who seemed to shrink under my gaze as Vince looked at me, gaging my reaction. He knew exactly which buttons to push.
"W-What? B-Bree?! Nah bro, she's my little sister's best friend." Niall quickly defends, looking at the ground. She was his sister's best friend. I'm pretty sure they still aren't on good terms at the moment. All thanks to me.
"Your sister's pretty fine too." Judging by the blonde's reaction to Vince's words, at this point I know he's struck a chord with Niall as well. "They're freshmen right?"
"Yeah, they are." The wiry answers when Niall doesn't.
"Mm, the fresher the better." He licks his lips and looks at me with his stupid smirk that I want to kick into the sand. I've had enough.
"Are we done with this?" I say through my teeth, trying to mask my anger as best I can though I'm pretty sure it is pretty clear that I am enraged beyond measure. I don't know whether it's anger or the effect of the drug, but I'm starting to sweat and my vision is getting cloudier with each blink.
"No, I don't think we are." He smiles and then looks back to Niall. "You know, if I were you I would've tapped that a long time ago." He emphasizes his words and I know that I am on the edge of losing it.
"I would've taken her into my parents room and fu-"
"Enough!" I growl and before I even register it my arms are up as I attempt to shove Vince to the ground but his bodyguards intercept. It's too late, though. The box has been opened and the rage is bursting out. Soon my fist is coming into contact with the burly one's cheek and a sharp pain runs through my knuckles.
He quickly responds with a blow to my stomach and I cringe on impact. Now it's even harder for me to see straight but that doesn't stop me from trying to gouge Vince's eyes out. I reach for him again but the burly one gets to me again, clocking me near the eye and I am down.
My head is spinning now and black spots cloud my vision. Pain shoots through my middle and on the side of my face, keeping me from getting back on my feet. I hear laughter from above, Vince's demonic one, and that anger boils.
"Best control that temper of yours, Preppy. It could get you into serious trouble." I hear him warn mockingly as he stands above me. I grab onto his shoe, wanting so badly to pull him down with me. He however, takes the opportunity and kicks me down even more, sand going into my mouth and eyes. Now, I literally can't see anything and even my eyes are in pain.
"Vince, stop. W-We should go." A voice says hesitantly. Niall's, I think.
"In a minute," Vince dismisses and I hear the others leave as he leans down to get closer so that he is whispering in my ear. "Now, I usually don't make a habit of beating up my customers, but you had it coming, Styles."
"Have fun!" He calls out as he walks away, leaving me on the ground in the middle of the wild grass, obstructed from the view of anyone who could possibly hear, see or help me.
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Sorry about the delay, but here it is! This might just be the longest chapter i've written so hopefully that makes up for the lack of updates last week. Anyways, please continue to vote and comment as you read! It doesn't take too much and I really do appreciate all the support ! thank you my lovely wattpadders <3 xx