Dedicated to HarryLovesHisLouis because they were excited for this chapter :)
Harry invited Zayn and me over for dinner later in the week to meet his other friends. He did mention that Niall will also be there, the boy who took the picture of us. He seems like an interesting lad, but that didn't stop me from being nervous.
"What if they don't like me?"
"Just be yourself, Lou. They'll love you," Zayn reassures me. The wall between Zayn and I has completely fallen, and it feels nice.
Zayn stands cool as he leans against the wall of the building as he smokes his cigarette. Harry insisted that he walk over to get us. This boy has issues with that. He seems to like to make sure that we always walk together. He holds the people he loves close and protects them. I can see that he does that, so it makes me wonder how attached we've become to each other.
"I think I'm gonna need a cigarette to calm me down, Zayn," I insist while trying to reach for the cigarette he's smoking.
Zayn moves away from me so that I cannot reach the cigarette that lies in between his fingers. "Nope. You haven't smoked one in months. I'm proud of you, Louis, but it's a dangerous habit."
"Then why can you smoke?" I question. I set my hands on my hips.
"Because we both know that you were always stronger than me," Zayn replies.
We tried to quit together once we were out of college, but Zayn gave in. I've tried to give in a couple times. Zayn always stops me, but I can't seem to stop him. He's stronger than me because he can stop me; I can't stop him.
I roll my eyes. "We can try again, Zayn. It doesn't have to be this way."
Zayn doesn't reply to me. We stand in silence waiting for a tall boy with long brown hair to come get us. A person does approach with long brown hair, but it's the person I least expected.
"Lou?"
I never liked it when she called me that.
"El?"
I feel her arms around me before I can process that she's here. I moved far away from my hometown. How did she find me here?
She releases me before she starts explaining herself. "I just moved here, and I was going to track you down. Apparently, I don't have to! How are you doing? How's your family?"
I ignore Zayn's weird looks and reply. "I uh don't really know. We don't speak much anymore."
That reply doesn't seem to faze Eleanor. "Oh, well I'm sure you guys will fix it. They love you so much, Lou. They just want you to come home. You know that they do."
That house was never home. Zayn knows that I don't like my family, but he has no idea why. Neither does Harry. I don't want either of them to know.
"Yeah. Um, Zayn and I are actually supposed to be meeting a friend soon. We best get going," I say. I do my best to push her away. She's a nice girl, but she was never who I wanted.
"I best get going too. Do you mind if I get your number? Maybe we can hang out just like old times."
I numbly give her my number before she walks away. I ignore Zayn's looks, but the feeling of being down lifts once I see the green eyes. I notice the boy standing next to Harry. He has brown hair with these deep brown eyes. He's almost as beautiful as Harry, but not quite.
"Harold!" I exclaim, but he doesn't return the happiness of the greeting. The boy next to Harry introduces himself as Liam, but my eyes don't leave Harry. We all begin our walk, and I eavesdrop on Liam and Zayn.
"You shouldn't smoke," Liam informs Zayn. "Sure, it looks cool and all, but you're killing your lungs. The smell of cigarettes is everywhere from your clothes to your room. The ashes get everywhere, and they burn like hell. They take over your life, and they'll never leave you."
Zayn looks at Liam with a questioning look. "Who smoked?"
"My parents," Liam says. He looks away from Zayn's gaze. "Lung cancer for one, and the other one is barely able to speak. Smoking isn't cool, Zayn. Please stop."
Zayn looks at Liam blankly before replying. "Okay. I'll try."
Zayn puts out his cigarette before we continue our walk. I've been trying forever to get him to stop, but something about Liam just made it all come together in his head. My repetitive asking probably didn't help either. It just blended into the background and the other people asking him to quit. Something about Liam just broke through.
"Why aren't you talking to me, Hazza?" I ask quietly. Harry and I slow down to walk behind the other two. He looks so sad. I don't like it when he's sad.
"Who was that girl you gave your number to?" Harry asks out of the blue.
"You saw that?" Harry nods his head. I let out a sigh. "That's my ex girlfriend from high school. We barely functioned as a couple. She was constantly coming onto me, but I didn't want it. I never wanted it, and now she's back in my life."
"Why did you not like her? She seemed pretty from where I was standing," Harry comments, but I hear the pain in his voice. Why is he hurt over this?
I shrug. "I don't know. It never felt right being with her. Lighten up, Harold. We're in for a fun night. Don't act all down on me."
The nervousness and adrenaline rush I had from Eleanor and Harry coming is finally ebbing away. The minor headache I had earlier is slowly coming back. I see Harry glance at me as I rub my temples. Harry's smile fades from my comment when he sees me rub my head.
Harry completely stops walking. He take my head in his hands and looks at me in confusion. "What's wrong?"
"It's just my head. I've had this growing headache." I wave it off like it's nothing, but Harry cares. "I feel like I'm getting sick. I just kind of feel achy."
Harry puts his arm around my shoulders. "We'll get you some medicine when we get there. If it gets too much, you can lay down in the guest room."
I nod my head and lean into his body as we walk together. I like how pleasant this moment is, especially when I ignore the pounding headache. Zayn is pretty introverted, but I like seeing him laugh with that Liam boy. I like the soft breeze that blows and ruffles my hair. I like Harry's arm around me. I really like this moment.
If I put paintings of memories on my walls like Harry is planning to do, I would want this moment on the wall.
***
"IT'S ON FIRE!" is the first thing we hear as we enter Harry's apartment. I flinch at the loud words. Harry runs towards the blond boy screaming in the kitchen.
"All I had you do was boil water, and water doesn't catch on fire, Niall!" Harry yells back with a laugh as he turns down the overtop slightly. The bubbling water calms down.
Niall looks surprised at Harry's words. "Oh."
Harry ruffles Niall's hair affectionately before walking back to me. "I'm gonna get Lou some medication for his headache. Make yourself at home, Zayn."
I follow Harry down the hallway to the bathroom. He hands me two ibuprofen, and I thank him as I take them with a glass of water. We walk back to the kitchen, and I'm glad that nothing is on fire. Zayn, Liam, and Niall are sitting on the couch in the living room chatting over drinks. They leave the meal to Harry. I don't want to leave the poor lad alone in the kitchen to cook, so I accompany him.
"So what are we making?"
"Quiche pie."
I frown. I remember the cook cooking keesh in my house. She never let me touch anything, but I remember how it was made. "Do you need boiled water for that?"
Harry lets out a laugh. "No, you don't. Niall wanted something to do, so I thought I would let him have something to do that I thought I could trust him with. Apparently he can't even do that."
"Can I help you cook?"
Harry looks at me before nodding his head. "Do you know how to dice a tomato?"
I shake my head.
Harry smiles. "This will be fun."
A/N
Okay, first and foremost, yes Eleanor is in this book. She seems like a lovely girl in real life, but I am making her into the evil person in this book. This character is not depicted off of how I see her. She just fitted the part the best.
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xoxo raindropkiss1