Layla.
I felt as if I had tossed and turned all night because when I woke up, I was exhausted. I could practically feel the bags under my eyes, and the way I just felt dead. Of course, I was already dead, but right now it seemed like I would never be able to get up. My body was dragging me down, and it took so much energy to actually open my eyes.
I became aware of the fact that I was practically laying on top of Harry, and his arms were wrapped around me. My vision went up to him, and I felt like my chest was about to burst out of guilt. He looked so adorable, and sexy, all at the same time. His long lashes were fanned out of his cheeks, his curly hair was messy laying against the pillow underneath his head, and his chest was gently rising and falling underneath mine.
Carefully, I adjusted my position so that I was laying more on my side than on him, and my fingers gently ran down his torso, tracing the tattoos that they came in contact with, and I just let myself feel the moment because it might be the last one I’ll ever have with him. I have to tell him that I kissed Damaris, it was inevitable that he’d find out, and I wanted him to hear it from me. Hopefully, he would understand that I just needed to get it out of my system, and that Damaris was nothing more than a friend to me. Harry was the only one I wanted, I knew that. I just needed to reassure him of that once he knew about the kiss.
Harry shifted slightly as soon as my lips made contact with one of the sparrows that were just below his collar bones, and he opened his eyes to look at me. His gaze was full of sleep, and exhaustion. He looked awful yet adorable all at the same time. “Hey, babe,” He said softly, and lifted his hand to touch the side of my face.
Tingles spread down my spine just at his touch, and I smiled softly. “Morning,” I said, and sat up.
He groaned slightly, and put a pillow over his face. “Definitely not morning yet. It can’t be,” He mumbled.
I laughed softly and climbed out of the bed before I grabbed the pillow away from him, trying to be gentle with it so that I wouldn’t rip it. “Not so fun being the one forced awake now is it?” I teased him.
He groaned again and sat up, causing me to giggle because his hair was even messier now. “What are you laughing at, missy?” He smirked.
I pressed my lips together to hide the small giggles that were threatening to escape again. “Nothing.”
Suddenly, he was standing front of me, and our lips were inches apart. “Oh really? Because it seems to me that you’re finding something funny.” His hands cupped the sides of my face, leaning his face slightly into mine.
“Wait,” I said, putting my hands against his chest. “I have morning breath. I need to brush my teeth.”
“I don’t care,” He said, and his lips were pressed against mine firmly.
My body went ridged for a moment before I practically melted into the kiss, and tugged him closer to me. I felt like I was suddenly on fire with his touch, and I needed more of it. My fingers were running up and down his chest before they began to push into the waist band of his sweat pants.
Harry pulled away from me, and stared at me for a moment. “What are you doing?”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes because he knew very well what I was trying to do. “Well, I was going to pull down your pants, but you stopped me,” I said, very bluntly.
He blinked a few times. “What happened to you wanting to adjust to this new life before we did anything sexual?”
I sighed, and pushed him away. “Nothing happened now. Forget I did anything,” I said, walking away from him and into his bathroom.
Harry.
Why the hell did I stop her?
That was the only question going through my mind as soon as she left the bedroom. I was beyond irritated by my own gentlemen actions because I didn’t want her to stop. I craved her touch like it was a drug, and having sex with her just a few seconds after waking up would’ve made this day so much better. I hadn’t gotten to fully appreciate her body in nearly two weeks, and I almost felt like I was going through withdraws.
Of course, I’d seen her bare chest last night, but that wasn’t enough. I hadn’t gotten to see her writhe under my touch, or even witness her coming undone beneath me. Just remembering that made me crave her more, and I couldn’t do anything about it. I ruined it by questioning her motives.
“Great job, Styles,” I mumbled to myself and followed her lead to the bathroom.
The toothpaste tube was laying on the cabinet along with both my toothbrush and Layla’s, but hers appeared wet. She’d just brushed her teeth, I believe.
I looked around. “Layla?” I called out, wondering where she had wandered off to. Did she leave the house because she was that mad that I pushed her away?
Suddenly, the shower began running and I turned around to see her figure moving around behind the glass wall. Her image was distorted, but I could spot her body from a mile away. She didn’t answer me, and I knew she was probably still irritated.
“I’m sorry, babe.” I sighed. What else could I do?
“You didn’t do anything,” was the only thing she responded with.
“Obviously, I did something for you to give me the cold shoulder like this,” I said.
The glass shower door moved aside to reveal a naked and very, very, wet Layla. She didn’t even seem to care that I was seeing her bare entirety. Instead, she seemed almost pleased with the way my eyes widened in appreciation and she casually showed that with a smirk.
“I’m not giving you a cold shoulder. I just wanted to take a shower,” She responded innocently, and cocked her head.
I cleared my throat slightly and tried not to look below her neck despite that she seemed to want me to. I needed some control because I knew that her emotions were so out of whack that she’d probably regret sleeping with me the moment we started, and I didn’t want to be left hanging like that. “I’m sorry,” I repeated, and crossed my arms. “I just wanted to make sure that you were in a good place before we did anything like this, babe. You’ve only been a vampire for a little over a day, and you’re still trying to control yourself.”
“I’m fine,” She huffed.
I blinked. “You’re fine?” I asked her, and tried not to show my irritation. “Layla, you were crying nearly all day yesterday. You broke every glass surface in your bedroom, and even destroyed your bedframe. You nearly tore Eleanor’s head off, and you threw both me and your friend out of your way to get to her. You’re not fine.”
Layla’s expression turned cold, and she slammed the door shut. I watched the glass began to crack in spider web pattern, and a few pieces fall down to the floor. I knew that she was upset, but I wanted to snap her out of this mood, despite how appealing it was to me.
“That’s step one to being a vampire, Layla,” I continued, and walked closer to the shower. “You can’t deny any of the bad things you’ve ever done, you can only hold onto them and use them as a way to make sure you do better.”
I heard her take a deep breath, and mumble a few words under her breath.
“Come in here with me, please?”
“You want me in there with you after all of that?” I asked her.
“Yes.”
Instead of doing the right thing and leaving her alone so that she could get her emotions back in check, I did what my body was begging me to do. I pulled off my sweat pants and boxers before carefully opening the shower door so that the glass wouldn’t break, and stepped inside then closed it behind me.
Layla was standing in the corner, underneath the running water. Her wet skin glistened under the lights that were in every corner of the shower. She grabbed a bottle of shampoo and squirted some in her palm before putting the bottle back, and rubbing the soap into her scalp. “When I wanted you to come in here, I wanted you closer than that,” She said, quietly.
Slowly, I walked closer to her, and stopped her hands so that they fell to her sides. She turned around, and I gently began to massage the fruity scented shampoo into her hair. I leaned in and pressed my lips against her wet shoulder. “You’re so beautiful, Layla, and I’m such a dick sometimes. I don’t understand why you even put up with me. Especially now that you’re able to leave.”
She turned around with my hands still in her hair, and smiled slightly. “Harry, I’ll never be able to leave you. I couldn’t even think of it as a possibility when I was human and realized that you didn’t need to feed from just me anymore.”
“You knew that the curse was broken?” I asked her, slightly surprised by how she was able to figure that out.
She laughed softly. “I had my assumptions after I saw you drinking a blood bag from your office with the guys all surrounding you, then when I woke up yesterday and saw that no one was concerned about your lack of a blood, I put the pieces together,” She responded with a small shrug.
I pressed my lips against hers and smiled. “You’re amazing, you know that, right?”
Her fingers ran down my torso, and I closed my eyes at her touch. “I think I need a bit of a reminder,” She cheekily responded.
This time, I didn’t question her motives nor did I think about her emotional state, I simply pressed my mouth against hers again and allowed us to move together as one. I was thankful for the relief I got from it, and I hoped that none of it would come back to bite me in the arse later on.
***
“No, Harry,” Layla said, stubbornly, and shook her head. “You just got me to drink two blood bags this morning. You’re not going to make me train my unpredictable magic with someone that I don’t know.”
I let out an exasperated sigh. I really hate stubborn women, I thought bitterly to myself, and mentally rolled my eyes. “Please, babe? Sophie is more than happy to help you.”
“I do not know her,” She responded, through her teeth, and her pink irises began to take on a red hue, showing her irritation.
“She’s Niall’s mate,” I tried to reason with her. “She’s going to be with us for a very long time, and since you’re immortal now you’re going to spend eternity with her around. You might as well try to get to know her.”
“And what if I hurt her?” Layla questioned, and crossed her arms. “Niall will kill you or me if it happens, and I won’t give myself a chance.”
“She’s not as fragile as you think,” I said, and sighed again. “She has friends that are what you are, babe. She’s been around them for years, and she knows a thing or two about Extraneous Vampires. Where’s the harm in at least trying to train with her?”
“I could hurt her,” Layla repeated through her teeth.
“Niall and I will be there to watch you,” I said, and took her shoulders in my hands. “We won’t let anything happen to either of you. I just want to help you so you won’t have to feel so helpless anymore.”
She frowned. “I don’t want to deal with this shit anymore, Harry. I didn’t sign up for it.”
I frowned back at her. “I know you didn’t, babe, but the first thing you learn when you become a vampire is to accept your mistakes, move on, and use the memories to better yourself.”
“That doesn’t sound like a rule many follow.”
My shoulders sagged slightly. “It’s not, but the world would be a better place if they did.” My hands tightened on her shoulders. “So will you try with Sophie?”
Layla sighed quietly, and closed her eyes. “Fine.”
I smiled, and kissed her softly. “If you’re polite with her and actually try to learn to control your magical abilities then I’ll make sure to give you something better than I did in the shower as a prize,” I whispered into her ear before placing a soft kiss below it.
She shivered softly, and gently batted me away from her. “Let’s just get it over with,” She mumbled quickly, and I knew that if she had blood running through her veins her cheeks would’ve been red. I missed that reaction from her. Her body was a bit tense, and I could sense her eagerness from my words.
“Good girl,” I said, and smirked softly.
***
Layla.
“I honestly don’t understand how this is supposed to help me,” I said with a small grunt, and crossed my arms.
Both Sophie and I were out in the middle of the woods, and this part of the woods was so dense that I couldn’t move two feet without running into a tree. I wasn’t even sure if I could find my way back on my own because I hadn’t gotten a proper scent of Harry’s home yet.
Sophie walked up to me, and I couldn’t help but try to remember if she fit the image I had made of her in my mind when Niall had told me the story of how they met. However, for some reason she didn’t, she was a lot prettier than I originally thought she’d be, and she was different. I had assumed that she would’ve been shy and sweet, but instead she was sarcastic and a little bitchy. Which kind of made us not get along too well.
“You’re supposed to be channeling your anger at that rock, Layla,” She said and crossed her arms to match my stance. She was trying to intimidate me, and it wasn’t working.
“I thought the whole point of you helping me was so that you could teach me how not blow things up or destroy something with my mind,” I said, and cocked my head.
Sophie laughed softly, and I couldn’t help but compare the way we spoke to each other like the way Harry and Damaris spoke to each other. We weren’t jealous of each other or anything, but there was something about our interactions that made me compare us to them.
“You need to learn how to control that aspect before you learn to suppress it. It makes things a hell of a lot easier in the long run,” She explained, almost bitter sweetly.
I exhaled slowly. “I’ll be the judge of how easy it is for me,” I said, through gritted teeth and turned back to the rock. My eyes narrowed, and I tried to focus all of my anger and annoyance from Sophie’s attitude on that rock, but nothing happened. It didn’t even crack or move. “This isn’t working,” I huffed.
Sophie rolled her eyes. “Because you haven’t found your emotional trigger yet, Layla. Find that, and you’ll be able to use this gift.”
“It is not a gift,” I said through my teeth, and looked at her. “And I have found my trigger. It’s anger. Whenever I’m pissed off at someone or something or even myself things explode.”
“It’ll be a gift once you learn to use it,” She mused and pursed her lips as she stared at me. “Anger is probably your trigger, it’s the most obvious of course, but right now you’re not pissed off. You’re just really fucking annoyed at me.”
I grunted slightly. “That’s the first thing you said all day that I actually agree with.”
“But you know what makes me feel like anger isn’t your trigger?” She asked me.
“What?” I asked with a small sigh and rolled my eyes.
“You weren’t angry when you threw Damaris and Harry out of your way to get to Eleanor,” She said, and laughed at my expression. How did she know that? “Niall told me,” She answered my unspoken question.
“I was angry that they were getting in my way,” I said, and bit the inside of my cheek. “I wanted her blood, and they got in the way. It made me mad.”
“It made you a little mad,” Sophie said as she began to walk around me, almost as if she were taunting me in a way. “But I think it really just made you feel like you weren’t in control of the situation and that you weren’t getting your way. That’s what made you be able to channel your gift at them.”
I growled a bit under my breath. “For the last time it is not a fucking gift,” I told her through my teeth, and balled my hands into fists. “And right now I’m not getting my way, and I’m not in the control of the situation. Nothing is happening.”
She laughed softly, and continued to pace around me. “Exactly, nothing is happening. I should be on my ass right now, and instead I’m in control of the situation, and I’m getting my way.”
My hands began to shake slightly as my annoyance toward this gift heightened. What did Niall see in her? She wasn’t at all like I thought she would be. “Then it’s obviously not my trigger,” I responded lowly.
“Maybe. Or maybe you’re just not worked up enough,” She said and began to run around me at a slow vampire speed. The wind she was creating was causing my hair and clothes to lift slightly.
I took a deep breath. “I don’t want to be worked up. I want to learn how to control this damn thing!”
“No, you need to be worked up, Layla. You need to learn what makes you do these things, so that you can control it in the long run.” She continued running around me, starting to pick up speed as the seconds ticked by. I didn’t understand what she was doing because it only made me feel more closed in and out of control. I didn’t like feeling that way. I’ve always been unable to control a situation, but now I was different, things were different. I was more powerful now, and I had the ability to do control things so that it worked like I wanted.
“Stop it!” I screamed, and pressed my hands against the sides of my head. Her shoes were beginning to squeak due to the force that she was pushing them, and my ears were about to start bleeding due to the high pitched noise.
“Make me,” Sophie taunted me as she continued to move in a quick circle around me. I wanted to grab her and shove her down, but she was too fast for me to even try, and she was older than me; therefore, she was stronger too. “You want me to stop ordering you around and making you do things you don’t want to do? Then make me stop.” Her voice echoed throughout the circle, and I pressed my hands more firmly against the sides of my face, but the noise only grew more and more high pitched as the seconds ticked by, and finally, I couldn’t deal with it anymore.
“Stop!” I screamed and shoved my hands out at my sides as my eyes shut tightly. The noise stopped, and so did the wind, and I heard a loud crashing sound. I opened my eyes, and my mouth dropped open as I stared at the path in front of me with fallen trees that looked like they were forced over onto their sides. My hands pressed against my mouth in disbelief. What did I just do?
“Sophie!” Niall’s voice rang out before I had a chance to say anything. Both he and Harry were in the area listening to my and Sophie’s training session, but they were told not to interrupt no matter what. He suddenly appeared a few feet in front of me, and I saw him lifting her up, but she batted him away then looked at me. I had expected her to be pissed off at me, or even scream at me; however instead, she did something that I never expected to come from her.
Sophie laughed in a way that she threw her head back then she clapped her hands before she pushed Niall’s hands away from her, and she ran over to me at a vampire speed that I hadn’t thought possible. She appeared to have no marks on her at all, and that was amazing considering how far I had thrown her, and how many trees she hit on her way. Her arms wrapped around me, and she seemed to be oozing with excitement. “You did it!” She squealed in my ear.
I frowned, and tried to loosen her grip, but my attempts were proven feeble since she kept her arms locked around me. I was lucky that I didn’t need to breathe and that my body healed itself quicker now, because if it wasn’t for those two things I would probably be dead. “What did I do?” I gasped out. Despite that I didn’t technically need oxygen to survive I needed it to be able to speak.
She pulled back to look at me, and her hands were tightly gripping my upper arms. “You channeled your aggression at me, Layla, and you controlled the situation.” She paused to grin at me, and her eyes were wide with delight. “You got your way.”
I frowned harder in confusion. “You did all of that on purpose?”
She laughed. “Of course! Did you think I was really that much of a bitch?” She asked me, and hit my arm in amusement. “I don’t think Niall would be able to put up with me if I was actually like that. I’m just stubborn, and I know how to get into someone’s head.”
I blinked a few times because I still felt confused. “I’m confused,” I said, and my eyebrows came together as I tried to figure out what was going on. Even with my brain functioning a lot faster than normal, I still couldn’t wrap my head around everything.
Sophie sighed quietly, but she didn’t appear irritated at me, only amused. “I intentionally treated you like shit, and acted that way so that you’d get worked up enough to do something about it and find your trigger.”
“And my trigger is aggression?” I asked her, and raised my eyebrows.
“That’s what it looks like.” She laughed.
“Are you both okay?” Harry asked as he suddenly appeared beside us.
I frowned, and touched his cheek, which was bruised, but healing quickly. “Are you okay?” I asked him.
Sophie rolled her eyes, and turned to look at Niall as he appeared beside her. “You didn’t have to hit him, Niall. I’m fine. I did that on purpose.”
“I was told that you wouldn’t be on the other end of Layla’s magic. He deserved it,” Niall said bitterly, and put his arm around her shoulders.
“No, you were told that I wouldn’t be harmed, and I wasn’t.” She smirked slightly, and crossed her arms. “In case you haven’t noticed, babe, I’m not fragile. Being thrown into a few trees isn’t half as bad as when Lizzie or Cora got mad at me. I was thrown out of a top floor hotel window once. This was nothing.”
“I don’t care. I promised myself that nothing was ever going to happen to you while you’re around me.”
“She can handle herself, Niall,” I suddenly spoke up despite that it wasn’t my business to say anything. “Don’t be so overprotective like that because it’s definitely not attractive. It’s a turn off for most girls.”
Sophie laughed under her breath, but didn’t say anything.
Niall frowned at me. “I’m not being overprotective. I just don’t like that you threw my mate into ten trees, and a few rocks.”
“Which didn’t put a scratch on her,” I pointed out, and gestured to Sophie’s appearance. Her clothes were a bit tattered and torn, but that was the only thing wrong with her that I could see. “She helped me figure out what I needed to do to practice my magic.”
Sophie smirked at me, and then turned to Niall. “I’m fine, Niall. Trust me. And even if I wasn’t, I would be after a couple blood bags and some rest. Try not to worry about me so much because you know I hate worry warts.”
He exhaled slowly, clearly not liking the fact that he was being ganged up on, and then he glared at Harry, whom was trying to hide his smile. “I could knock you on your arse again in a second, mate,” He threatened, and most likely just wanted to look tough in front of Sophie and me after we took him down a couple notches.
Harry laughed and put his arm around my waist. “And I could tear your head from your shoulders in half a second, mate. Don’t forget who created you.”
Niall huffed slightly, and I felt as if I could choke on the amount of testosterone in the air. “Come on, Sophie, let’s go home,” He said bitterly, and they both began running in the direction of their home.
I laughed quietly, and put my hand over my mouth. “I hope he’s not mad at me.”
Harry grinned down at me, and pressed his lips against my temple. “I think he’s probably more pissed at me than you, babe,” He reassured me, and pulled me in the direction of our home. “But he’ll probably be over it in a couple hours or so. He won’t be able to stay mad with her around him. He oozes happiness around her, it’s a bit sickening.”
I rolled my eyes playfully as we walked at a human jogging pace. “And you don’t when you’re around me?”
“That’s beside the point.” He chuckled slightly and tightened his grip around me. However, as soon as we reached the clearing where our home was located all of the happiness and playfulness drained out of him, and he stopped with his arm tightly holding me back. “Layla, get behind me and hold your breath.”
I frowned, but did as he asked despite how confused I felt. The confusion drained out of me the moment I looked straight in front of us, and saw my brother standing there with the three witches. And witches were just humans with magical powers. They had beating hearts and blood running through their veins.
Shit. This isn’t going to end well.
A/N:
I swear, the next update won't take me as long to update, it'll be longer, more put together, and not as crappy as this one. :| I just haven't felt like writing and I got writer's block yesterday to the point where it was so frustrating that I started crying. Hopefully, that's all over with.
So what do you think Justin's reaction to Layla being a vampire will be? Will he be happy? Sad? Or downright pissed off? Remember, he doesn't know about anything that's happened yet because he's been away, but you'll learn more about what he, Bridget, Lauren, and Emma have been up to in the next chapter. ^.^
How did you guys like Layla and Sophie's interactions? I personally loved it because I feel like they but heads often, and that's fun to write, haha. xD They're both stubborn vampires.
I hope you enoyed this chapter regardless of it's shittiness, I tried, haha. I literally had three paragraphs for three days, I wrote two thousand words or so yesterday, then the rest of it today after I took a shower. I'll post sooner this time, I promise! :)
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, and please vote if you enoyed this chapter even a little bit! <3
Trailer on the sidebar. >>>>