Niall had gotten up early the next day. He tried to carefully slip away from his hold on Harry. Harry was peacefully sleeping, his hair a fluffy mess on the bed and his body delicately laid on the mattress. Niall smiled. He wanted to wake up to that sight everyday.
Niall quickly found a note and a pen, writing a note for Harry for when he woke up. Afterwards, Niall grabbed his ruined suit and his other few things he brought before looking through Louis' jacket which was laid in the couch in the living room.
He got hold of Louis' keys and quietly slipped out the door.
-x-
It wasn't long until Niall arrived at his place.
He had hoped no one would see him. His hair was a mess and he was only wearing the clothes Harry let him borrow from yesterday. Basically he looked like a tired mess who gave off a hungover vibe once you saw the suit clutched in Niall's hand.
Niall opened the door to his apartment, seeing complete darkness at first. He went inside the cold place and shut the door behind him, throwing the things to the side. He turned on the lights and fixed his shirt as he turned around.
His almost had a heart attack at the sight of Melissa sitting in a kitchen table chair in the center of the room. Her arms were crossed and she had a very angry expression laid upon on face. Her expression soon turned rather more dark and pissed.
"I-" Niall looked around, wondering if this parents were here too.
Melissa got up, her heels stomping angrily against the wooden floor as she walked towards Niall, giving him a slap across the face. Niall held a hand up to his cheek as he glanced at Melissa. There were tears forming in her eyes.
"Is that why you left?" She yelled. "To go off with some other. . . other b-?!"
"What are you talking about?" Niall asked, his voice loud.
"You are so stupid!" Melissa had tears running down her cheeks. "I'd think you at least would have the decency to cover up those lipstick stains you pathetic idiot!"
Niall's eyes widened. He had totally forgotten about those lipstick stains.
About the lipstick.
"It's not what you th-" Niall stopped himself only to cringe. He seriously wasn't going to give out that line.
"And on the night we were suppose to get engaged!" Melissa sobbed. "I hate you so much Niall!" She angrily pushed past him, heading to the door. She was obviously enraged. He had left an important event that mattered to his parents and her just to go off and be with someone else, from her perspective.
"Wait til your parents hear about this," Melissa threatened once her hand was on the doorknob. "They're going to take everything from you! Everything! I hope they take you away the girl you slept with last night as well."
"Wait, Melissa!" Niall tried to stop her but Melissa had already slammed the door shut.
-x-
"Connor, help me with this box, will ya?" Harry said, his arms aching from carrying two boxes filled with new products for the store.
"Hand one over," Connor responded, taking a box from Harry and going outside to the store. Harry followed closely behind, setting the boxes on the front counter once they were there. Lacey quickly opened them with some scissors and began unpacking.
"It looks like there is going to be a blizzard today," Delilah said, coming into the room and helping Lacey with the unpacking.
"Good. I hope you get taken away by it," Connor joked. Delilah glared at him.
Harry looked outside.
It was rather cloudy and windy. And cold, really really cold.
Just like the morning Harry had woken up without Niall in his bed. Niall had left a note stating that he would be back soon for breakfast. So Harry waited, along with Louis and Liam, almost until the afternoon.
Niall later then texted saying he wouldn't be able to make it. Something had come up and it was important. Louis had tried calling him, a couple dozen of times but it seemed like Niall had turned off his phone completely.
It made the boys wonder if Niall's parents had gotten to him.
Harry hasn't heard anything from Niall ever since.
He didn't want to jump to bad conclusions but the more days went by without a single text, phone call, or visit from Niall, it made Harry more and more worried.
"Harry? You alright?" Lacey asked, touching Harry's shoulder. Harry shook out of his daydream and gave a small smile. He nodded and continued working until it was almost time to leave.
The workers did their daily cleaning of the store before they got their stuff. Lacey had decided it would be better if she closed early because of the incoming blizzard. All four of them met outside in a small group.
Connor and Delilah were the first ones to say goodbye, waving at Harry and Lacey before leaving.
"Where are you heading?" Lacey asked Harry.
"Down the street to the coffee shop. Liam's waiting for me," Harry responded.
"Mind if I come along? I was thinking of heading to the coffee shop to get a coffee while I wait for Troy."
Harry nodded. He stuffed his hands in the pocket of his coat as he and Lacey started walking the opposite way from where Delilah and Connor went. They made small talk, discussing their plans for the week until a very cold, icy breeze hit them.
Harry shivered. He felt as if the air was cutting through his face. It was so, so cold.
They continued walking until they saw a women in heels walking through the wind. Lacey laughed, making a comment that she would break her neck if she wore heels in this kind of weather. Harry smiled at the comment, imagining the hilarious scene in his mind.
It didn't take them long until they noticed that the woman was heading towards them.
Lacey and Harry both started to slow down until they came to stop. They looked at each other, wondering if any of them knew who she was. Lacey shrugged as she watched the woman angrily walked towards them.
"You!" She said, pointing between them. "It's you! Isn't it?"
Harry felt like the air got punched out of him as he recognized the woman. It was Niall's girlfriend. It made Harry worried that she finally must have found out. Was that why Niall hadn't contacted him? How did she find out in the first place?
Harry tried to think back of what could have exposed them until he remembered the night he had taken Niall away from the event.
Harry's expression changed to one of realization. He stared at the women getting closer and closer to him.
He slowly whispered, "Lipstick."
"What was that?" Lacey asked. "Do you know who she is, Harry?"
Melissa stopped a few feet away from them. Her eyes flickered between them. Harry was stuck, frozen in his spot. Lacey was completely confused.
"You're the reason why he hasn't been around," It was unclear to Lacey who she was talking to. Lacey squinted at the person in front of her until her mind suddenly recognized her.
"You're the reason why he left that night. He was suppose to propose to me, to me!" Melissa cried. "But you stole him away! You had stolen him a long time ago but that night you stole him right in front of me. What a disgrace."
"She's his girlfriend," Lacey blurted out.
"Yeah," was all Harry could say.
"Thanks to you, not anymore!" Melissa yelled, raising her hand. She had slapped so hard that the sound seemed to have echoed.
Harry gasped.
"Are you okay?!"
Harry crouched down to the fallen Lacey. Lacey held her hand to her cheek, tears in her eyes slipping out. She looked like she was in a lot of pain.
"For you! He cheated on me for you!" Melissa was ready to punch Lacey until Harry pushed her away, protecting Lacey from any further harm.
"Get away before I call the police," Harry gritted out. "This is harrassment!"
Melissa stopped for a moment. Reality had hit her. She looked down at Lacey before she curled her hands into tight fists. She turned around, red with anger and walked away.
"I'm so sorry Lacey, it was me who should have taken the hit, not you," Harry said, helping Lacey up as she wiped her tears.
"It's fine, It's fine," Lacey breathed in. She rubbed her stinging cheek. "It doesn't matter who should have gotten the hit. She shouldn't have harassed either of us in the first place."
Harry's phone began buzzing. It was probably Liam wondering where he was. Harry took out his phone and was surprised to see Niall's name on the caller ID. After so many days, today was the day he decided to call.
Harry was angry.
Niall probably already knew that his girlfriend had found out and didn't tell Harry. If Harry had known, he could have prevented the scene that just happened. Lacey wouldn't have gotten hit. Harry and Niall could have figured something out by now but no.
Niall decided to disappear and wait for Harry to deal with the consequences.
Harry shut off his phone.
"Come on. Let's go to the coffee shop and get something to calm you down," Harry suggested. Lacey nodded and they both continued to walk.
Harry felt his phone started vibrating again.
He rolled his eyes and turned off his phone.
~
yikes.
-Skyxo