Olivia's POV
I slip a loose-fitting dress over my bathing suit, rushing around the house to get ready. I can't even remember the last time I actually woke up on time.
Glancing in the mirror and let out a groan at my hair which has decided to make itself nearly identical to a tumbleweed. I rip the brush through my hair before throwing it into a braid. A loud knock on the door sends me nearly a foot in the air.
Throwing on the nearest sandals I can find, I grab my bag and sprint down the stairs. I throw the door open with much more force than I was intending. Unfortunately the rug that's placed in front of the door slides from under me, sending me directly onto my butt.
Harry's shocked for a moment, but it doesn't take long for him to be doubling over with laughter. He grips at his sides because he's laughing so hard. I narrow my eyes at him, immensely embarrassed, but I don't want to show it.
"Need a hand?" He offers, sticking his hand out for me to grab onto. His eyes are watering from all the laughter.
I let out a grunt and smack his hand away. I get to my feet on my own, brushing myself off. What a way to start the date, Olivia.
"I wasn't laughing at you, honestly! I just remembered a funny joke Louis had told me earlier," Harry lies through his teeth as I shut the front door behind us.
"You're a horrible liar," I tell him, the corners of my lips turning up despite my struggle to keep my angry front going.
Heat rushes up my face as I feel Harry's arms snake their way around my waist. He rests his chin on my shoulder, his warm breath tickling my ear. My walking becomes crooked as I try my hardest to keep walking in the direction of his SUV.
"You should've seen the look on your face," He teases, his voice low and playful in my ear.
I can't help but to let out a scoff as I send an elbow in his direction. He continues to laugh loudly as he lets go of me, much to my disappointment.
Get a grip, Olivia.
* * *
Harry parks on the side of the road, squeezing between two fairly small cars. It takes several attempts for him to get his monstrous SUV in the small space, but he manages to make it fit.
"It's just a small walk from here," He explains to me as he opens my door for me and holds his hand out for me to hold onto as I jump down from his car.
My feet barely hit the ground and then we're ambushed. People swarm from all over, blinding me with flashes from their cameras. I can't even hear whatever Harry's trying to tell me over the loud squeals of the mob of people.
I shield my eye with my arm, gripping Harry's arm tightly as he tries to push his way through the crowd. He holds onto my hand with just as much urgency.
"Harry! Harry! Over here!"
"Who's this little beauty?"
"Is this the same girl you were spotted at the park with?"
"Are you two dating?"
"Harry!"
"HARRY!"
My head spins with all the shouts being directed towards us. Seeming out of nowhere, bodyguards surround us and push the crazy paparazzi away from us. Harry smiles and waves to the camera as he pulls me along.
I can't help but to shake with fear. I've never had to deal with this many people crowding around me. Claustrophobia crashes over me like a wave; overwhelming me.
"Smile at the camera, princess, you're about to be famous!" A man shouts at me before thrusting his camera in front of my face. One of Harry's bodyguards shoves the man away just as he snaps a picture of my surprised face.
Harry tugs my hand and gestures to a small diner just on the other side of the mob.
"It's great to see you all, it really is," Harry shouts to be heard over the crowd, "But if you could be so kind to let us grab a bite to eat, that'd be lovely," He smiles his typical charming smile. I can't help but to smile as I watch him work his magic.
It's as if he was Moses parting the Red Sea, people just move out of the way for him. He flashes a grateful smile to the paparazzi before holding the door open for me. He hurries in after me, shutting the diner door with much haste.
The diner sounds spookily quiet compared to the outside. The eyes of the inhabitants land on us with much interest.
I can't help but to let out a loud laugh as I catch my breath. That was so intense! I have to admit, being the center of attention like that was a pleasant surprise.
"Sorry about that, love," Harry frowns, catching his own breath, "I figured my luck with the public would continue, but apparently not,"
He squeezes my hand, which he still hasn't let go of since he helped me out of his SUV, with an apologetic smile on his face.
"Please, it's nothing I'm not used to," I fake an over-the-top British accent, and brush my braid off of my shoulder dramatically. Harry lets out a loud laugh and shakes his head at me.
An extremely nervous waitress leads us to a booth towards the rear of the diner. As we pass tables, a man gets out of his booth and bumps directly into me. Luckily Harry has a grip on my hand so I don't go spiralling to the ground.
"Oh, I'm sorry," The tall man turns around quickly.
"It's no prob-" I start to assure the man, but my words melt right on my tongue as I look upon the face of the man. "Tate," I say in surprise.
Tate's dark eyes flicker over to Harry, criticism clouding over his features. A frown sets on his lips as he looks down at our intertwined fingers.
"Olivia," He looks back down to me, towering over me like always, "What a pleasant surprise," He says, acid behind every single one of his words, turning my shocked face into a bitter expression.
I can feel Harry standing up taller beside me and making himself much more present, which is exactly what I was hoping he wouldn't do.
"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" Tate asks, folding his arms across his chest and leaning against the side of the booth he was just seated at.
I take a deep breath, wishing I was anywhere but here at the moment. I turn to look at a very serious-looking Harry. I don't think I've seen him this serious since I've met him.
"Harry, this is Tate, my ex," I explain, the discomfort becoming very obvious in my tone.
"Nice to meet you, mate," Harry holds out his free hand to shake Tate's hand politely.
Tate just lets out a small grunt as he shakes Harry's hand. I can tell he's judging him by his accent and pretty-boy-face already. I roll my eyes and send Tate a dirty look. He's being a jerk just I suspected he would.
"So you were the one all those paparazzi were after, huh?" Tate asks, looking out the diner to the mob of people still sitting there, probably waiting for us. Harry just nods politely, although I can see him fighting the urge to just ignore Tate all together. "He must be pretty famous then," Tate turns back to talk to me, "I bet you feel so special," He sneers, pulling out his famous douche-bag line of the day.
I grit my teeth as I continue to glare at Tate. Harry's grip on my hand tightens significantly. My fingers itch to curl up into a fist and knock a tooth out. Tate lets out a satisfied laugh as I refrain from responding.
"It was nice running into you, O, I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon," He winks at me before exiting the diner, still obviously convinced that I'm going to come crawling back to him.
Without another word, I march over to the empty booth the waitress had set our menus at, pulling Harry along. The good mood I was riding on just moments ago has already crashed and burned inside. That's one thing I can count on Tate for, ruining my day within a span of two minutes.
Harry doesn't say a word as he settles into the booth, sitting across from me. As I angrily page through the menu, I can feel Harry's concerned eyes on me.
"What a nice lad," Harry breaks the silence, causing me to let out a small laugh, releasing nearly all the tension that's built up in my chest.
"Sorry about that," I sigh, "I would tell you that he's not usually like that, but then I would be lying," I remark bitterly.
Memories of Tate's and my endless fights fill my head. It involved a lot of screaming in each other's faces, crying and then a passionate make-up. I could swear that it was a vicious cycle, nearly every week.
If there was one thing Tate and I certainly didn't lack, it was that fiery passion - but unfortunately, it wasn't the good fiery passion. It was the passion when you literally could kill each other.
"We all have those exes, love," Harry gives me a polite smile, his dimples barely making an appearance on his face.
I can only imagine the kind of girls Harry's dated. I'm sure girls from all over the world throw themselves at him and I wouldn't be surprised if he took some of them up on their offers. And he's so damn charming, it's easy to fall for him. I mean, I bet it'd be easy to fall for him.
"Tell me about it, I'm curious now," Harry asks, leaning back in his booth, his knees just barely grazing my own.
My eyebrows raise as I look at him from across the table.
"You want to talk about my ex-boyfriend on our date?" I ask, disbelief obvious in my voice. I can't help but to laugh.
"I want to know more about you," He replies smoothly. I shift my eyes downwards, smiling in the slightest.
Harry Styles, you never cease to catch me by surprise.
Harry's POV
Olivia takes a minute to collect her thoughts, obviously thinking about where exactly to start.
I can't believe a girl like her dated such a jerk like that Tate fellow. She's such a smart girl, there's no way that she could have stayed with him. It confuses me to no end. I mean, I suppose he was a good-looking lad, but I can't imagine Olivia to be that shallow.
But then again, I shouldn't be the one to judge a person for being shallow...
"Tate and I started dating in high school. We were both aspiring musicians and had a lot of mutual friends. One thing led to another and we fell for each other." Olivia starts the story.
With much difficulty, I try to imagine Tate actually being appealing. A surprising feeling of heat burn in the pit of my stomach. I recognize it to be the feeling of jealousy - not an emotion I feel often.
"We dated for years. There was no doubt in my mind that we were going to eventually get married. We already had an apartment picked out for when we started college." She shakes her head, laughing slightly under her breath. "Can you believe that I had turned down top colleges in the state so that we could go to school together?" Sadness flashes over her face.
I long to reach across the table and take her hand in mine, but I shake that feeling quickly. Slow your roll, Harry.
"But that all came crashing down when I went to surprise him at his apartment and found him in bed with another girl," She says as if it's the punch line to the sickest joke in the world.
I find myself cringing as I imagine how smoothly that went over. It actually hurt a bit in my chest as I think about how heartbroken Olivia probably was. The thought of her crying over a jerk like Tate made me want to go find the guy and smash his face in.
"What a low-life," I mutter, shaking my head.
"You wanna hear the best part?" She continues, her voice full of bitterness, "The same night that I met you," She thinks back, bringing me back to that night as well, "He came into my job and asked for me to come back to him. When I told him to get lost, he told me that I would be crawling back to him in no time - that I was only a toy, and that's all I'd ever be to anyone," She tells me, her voice barely faltering.
Her bangs cover her eyes as she keeps her head bowed down. I can't hold back anymore as I reach across the table, grabbing her hands and placing them between my own.
Guilt instantly makes me nearly sick. She's only a toy and that's all she'll ever be. The thought seems disgustingly familiar. How is what I'm doing to her, any better than what Tate did to her?
"I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm loading this all on you. You don't want to hear any of this," She lets out a pathetic laugh and blinks away the few tears that threatened to spill over her cheeks.
"No, no, no," I speak quickly, holding onto her hands tightly, "I'm glad you told me. You can trust me," I lie right through my teeth. My stomach continues to feel sick.
What happened to just finding a pretty girl and having fun? Now the emotions are starting to get in the way and it's making everything a mess. Great going, Harry.
"Don't listen to a word he says about you. He just obviously feels stupid for making the biggest mistake of his life - driving you away. It's his loss," I speak quietly, literally almost losing my stomach all over the table.
I can nearly hear Niall and Liam's voice in my head:
'Don't be a hypocrite, Harry.'
'Why don't you try following some of your own advice. Before it's too late.'
"Are you two ready to order?" The waitress reappears at our booth, having the greatest timing in the world.
Maybe it's time you take a step back and realize what's important here: Writing music. The boys are all counting on you. You've got to take one for the team. Do you want to be held responsible for the downfall of One Direction?
I flash an encouraging smile to Olivia, getting lost in her wet eyes for just the slightest moment.
What in the world am I going to do?
~~~~~
AN: Thanks again for the awesome comments, I really do appreciate them! I'm trying my hardest to keep constant updates with my 3 stories! (Which if you haven't checked them out, I suggest you do so! I'd greatly appreciate it!) I hope I'm doing alright!
The song on the side is the song Olivia wrote in the previous chapter, I just had to add it in this one! :)
Please, let me know what you think of this story so far! I appreciate every single comment!
- Never_Let_Me_Go