Zayn and I turned to Harry who gaped back at us. Seeming to have realized his mistake, his cheeks reddened. Harry was so used to telling everyone who I was that it had apparently become a bad habit.
"I'm not just your sister anymore, Harry." I grinned, punching Harry lightly on the arm. "I'm Zayn's girlfriend now."
Harry smiled back, running a hand through his thick curls. "Right, I forgot. Sorry." He told me, shoving his hands into his pockets.
The bouncers at last decided to let us inside, and true to what was said about Le Cab, it didn't disappoint. The dance floor was wall-to-wall with dancing bodies, the thicket of girls and boys moving as one entity to the rich electronic music. The lights were flickering so rapidly that I could barely see a few feet in front of myself. A wave of relief washed over me as Zayn clutched my hand into his, tugging me behind him towards the bar. Looking over my shoulder I saw that the others were not far behind, Harry bobbing his head to the music as he followed us. Harry was oblivious to the numerous girls that had already noticed him, star-struck with their mouths hanging agape.
Once we reached the bar, Zayn slid his arm around my waist, pulling me close to him. I could not help but smile in satisfaction at the thousands of jealous glares directed my way.
Zayn held up two fingers to the bartender, and as if the bartender was a mind reader, he placed two large glasses onto the counter, filling them with gin and soda.
Qui dit etudes dit travail,
Qui dit taf te dit les thunes,
Qui dit argent dit depenses,
Qui dit credit dit creances,
Qui dit dettes te dit huissier,
Eh oui dit assis dans la merde.
Draining my drink, I could feel the alcohol coursing through my veins. Not having eaten all that much during the day it had rushed directly to my head. Niall was gossiping to Zayn, showing him a picture of a tiny brunette on his phone and asking for advice. I studied Zayn in my drunken stupor, his perfect face, and when he turned to smile at me, my heart literally skipped a beat, and I realized that I couldn't possibly be happier. Just then, Harry materialized beside me, his gaze directed at my empty drink.
"Don't over-do it Odette." Harry warned me, a grimace appearing on his lips.
I let out a scoff. "Please, Harry. This is only my first one!" I told him snidely, seeing Eleanor and Danielle squeezing their way out of the crowd and towards us. "And what happened to the first round of drinks being on you?" I added since I knew it would irritate him.
"Yeah, Harry!" Danielle interjected, leaning heavily against Eleanor.
Harry glared at us, dramatically rolling his eyes after a moment. "Fine." He drawled in defeat, turning to signal the bartender. "Three tequilas please." He told them, reaching into his pocket and handing the bartender 40£. "Keep the change." Harry told him.
"You mean four!" I exclaimed, Harry turning to glower at me.
"You're not having one." He implored, his green eyes blazing.
The bartender had finished pouring the shots, and I quickly snatched one, knocking it back. Harry watched on with narrowed eyes and then shook his head in disappointment. "Ah. Thanks, Harry." I sighed, slamming the empty shot glass onto the bar, a shit-eating grin appearing on my face. "Come on ladies, let's go dance." I suggested, pushing Eleanor and Danielle towards the dance floor and simultaneously flipping the bird at Harry over my shoulder.
Alors on danse
Alors on danse
Alors on danse
The three of us managed to make it to the edge of the dance floor, throwing our heads back and allowing for the music to flow through us. I pushed my hair back away from my face, shrugging off a very good-looking French boy who wanted to dance. I was taken now, and would do nothing to jeopardize my fresh start with Zayn. Craning my head over the crowd, I attempted to spot when Niall and Zayn were, my stomach plummeting when I saw that they were chatting with the same girl from the picture as well as her very pretty red-headed friend.
"Voudrez-vous du pilules?" A voice drew me from my thoughts, yelling over the music. Turning back, I saw that talking to us was a boy of around twenty, with coffee coloured skin and a shaved head.
"What?" Eleanor yelled back at the boy in confusion.
"Pills!" He repeated, in English this time, his French accent thick. "You want pills?" He said, unearthing a clear baggie of pills from his pocket and waving it about.
"No!" Danielle exclaimed in disgust. "Now fûck off!"
Turning back to glance at Zayn and Niall, I saw that Niall and the dark haired girl had deserted the area, Zayn and the red-head chatting in their wake. I began to shake, Zayn leaning his head to the side so that he could hear the bitch more clearly.
"How much?" I turned back to the boy, reaching into my clutch to pull out a wad of cash.
"Soixante." He replied, glaring at Danielle and Eleanor for a moment before returning his gaze to me.
I handed him a stack of bills, sure that it would cover it. Taking the notes into his hand, he quickly began to count them, and satisfied he shoved them into the pocket of his hoodie. "Bon chance." He told me, placing two pills into my hands. And with that he left us, parting through the crowd in search of other customers. I placed one of the pills into my clutch for later.
"You're not actually going to take that are you?" Danielle shrieked.
I grinned. "Of course I am." I sing-songed. I wanted to feel good, wanted to be happy. I was Zayn's, but Zayn would never be completely mine, and this was something I had to accept. I would need help to do that however, and this was exactly what would help me.
"Odette, you can't!" Eleanor said, her voice panicked.
I let out a bitter laugh. "Watch me." And with that I swallowed the pill.
Alors on danse
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was tweaking –badly. Rushing for the exit, I found myself outside of Le Cab, desperate for fresh air. Sighing, I leaned against the damp brick wall, retrieving a cigarette from my clutch and lighting it. I prayed that it would help me come down, but at this point I was still in the midst of my high. The world was spinning, and all I could think of was Zayn and what a failure I was. Taking a drag from my smoke, I allowed myself to slide against the wall until I was sitting, the cool cement frigid against my skin.
Just then, a group of men stumbled out of the same exit as I had, drunkenly laughing in French. One of them turned and spotted me on the floor and then began to whisper to his friends. I drew my knees close to my chest when I saw that they were approaching me.
"Bonsoir, mademoiselle." One of them began, crouching down and flashing me a toothy smile. "Pourquoi es-tu seul?"
I lifted my head, giving him a disgusted look. "I have no fucking idea what you're saying." I told him, rubbing my temples which had began to throb.
The boy looked surprised. "An English bítch! Merde, I was not expecting that." He exclaimed, his group of friends busting out into a series of hoots. He leaned towards me then, as if he was telling me a secret. "I hate the English." He drawled.
"Go fùck yourself." I hissed, and with that he grabbed my wrist, yanking me to my feet. My screams echoed throughout the alleyway. He grabbed my hair then, snapping my neck back. "Ferme ta bouche!" He growled, his grip disappearing from my neck as he was pulled off of me. I lost my balance and was thrown roughly to the ground.
Opening my eyes, the first thing that I saw was Harry. Harry. A wave of relief washed over me, my eyes beginning to tear up in shame and fear of what could have just happened. Behind him stood Liam and Louis, looking much more menacing than the French boy and his friends.
"Get your fùcking hands off of her." Harry roared, his green eyes blazing and his fists clenched against his sides. He looked more menacing than I had ever seen him before, his entire frame shaking with anger.
The French boy let out a laugh, sauntering right up to Harry despite that fact that Harry towered over him. Harry looked down on him in disgust, his chest heaving and his nostrils flared.
"Or what?" The French boy said. "You'll sing me to death?" He taunted, clearly recognizing who Harry was.
That was all that Harry needed. In a flash, the French boy was on the ground, Harry on top of him, punching him repeatedly in the face. The sound of bone against bone echoed throughout the alleyway. Blood began to gush from the boy's face, yet Harry still did not stop, his teeth clenched in concentration and his fist continually smashing into the boy's face. Louis and Liam struggled to pull him off, the French boy's friends breaking into a run and abandoning him altogether.
"Harry, that's enough!" Louis yelled.
"HARRY!" I screamed, jumping to my feet. "STOP! STOP IT!" I shrieked, and finally Harry was on his feet, kicking the French boy in the side for good measure.
He turned to me, the fire in his green eyes slowly burning out, his fists stained with blood. "I'm taking you back to the hotel." He told me definitively, and even in my drugged up stupor, I knew that now was not the time to argue with him. Harry brushed past me, heading towards the other end of the alleyway. I opened my mouth to speak, however no words came out. In defeat, I followed behind Harry, glancing back at Liam and Louis, sadly waving goodbye.
Continuing on through the alley, we turned right. I averted my eyes from Harry's, directing them towards the ground instead. I attempted to concentrate on my walking, finding it increasingly hard to do so and hoping that we would have a relatively quiet walk back.
"I just knew you'd pull something like this." Harry spat at me, erasing my wish for silence. "I knew you coming on tour with us would be a disaster! Mum would have my head if anything had happened to you!" He yelled, pausing to flex his hand and then wincing in pain.
I could feel my lip trembling. "I'm sorry." I whispered, wrapping my arms around myself. "Is your hand alright?" I inquired, seeing that the skin on Harry's knuckles had split open and were wet with a mixture of the French boy's blood as well as his own.
"It's fine." Harry cut me off, knowing that I was trying to steer the conversation in another direction. "Why were you alone?" Harry began his interrogation, just as I hoped he wouldn't. I made the mistake of looking at him. Harry's green eyes were trained on me, and for a moment I thought that they held pity. "Where was Zayn?" He added hesitantly.
I swallowed hard, feeling myself sway from left to right. "I don't know." I admitted to him weakly, stopping to lean against the wall.
"Are you on something?" Harry exclaimed suddenly, grabbing my face and observing my eyes. I was too weak to shove him away. "You have to tell me, Odette!" He yelled, his voice filled with panic.
"Please don't be mad." I pleaded, tears leaking out of my eyes.
Harry let out a terrified sigh, running his hands through his hair. "What did you take Odette?" He asked me, his green eyes boring into mine.
"I don't know what it's called." I told him weakly, unable to carry my weight anymore and sliding against the wall. "In my purse." I told Harry, suddenly remembering that I had saved one of the pills for later.
Ripping open my clutch, Harry took out the pill and examined it, letting out a relieved sigh. He then tossed the second pill out of sight. "You'll be fine. All you need is sleep." He informed me gently. The last thing I remembered was being lifted off the ground, Harry heaving me over his shoulder and taking me back to the hotel as he'd promised he would.