h.
Poppy was glued to me.
Not literally but I was sure if she could, she would have been.
I had no fucking idea why, or what had brought it on but for some unknown reason I wasn't really complaining.
As much as I hated to admit it, I rather enjoyed her company.
I almost rolled my eyes at myself when I realised that I maybe didn't dislike her as much as I thought I did. I mean not that I actually disliked her at all, I just didn't know how to handle her and she wasn't what I had expected at all.
Oliver fucking Hamwell however, was exactly as Liam had described him and I wouldn't mind taking him on a boxing match.
That was an easy win, easy knockout too.
I glanced at Poppy who was sat on the end of the sofa, admittedly she was as far away from me as possible but I was surprised she was still on the same sofa. Her eyes trained on the TV screen in front of us so I gave her the once over.
She looked better than she did this morning but she still looked a bit shit.
The funny thing was, I found myself almost worried about her. She was a big girl and she could look after herself, there was just something stirring in the pit of my stomach that made me want to make sure she was okay.
It was like the same stupid fucking thing inside me that made me kiss her the other week.
At least the first time made sense, I was saving her fucking life! No one wants to look at people kissing but I was fucked if I knew why I did it again.
She never even brought it up, didn't even ask me what the fuck was wrong with me. Not like I would have been able to give an answer because I certainly didn't know. I just knew I wanted to kiss her.
Still do, to be honest.
"There you are, you've been hiding from me."
I watched as Poppy froze, her chest completely stopped moving and I realised she wasn't breathing as Hamwell strolled into the room and I caught her quick glance at me. She'd been doing that a lot today as well.
Don't know why.
"No I'm not." Poppy said quietly and I frowned as I kept my eyes on the TV.
She was more withdrawn than she was with her prick of a Dad, and she was literally a hermit crab with him.
"I dunno what's happened to you Pops, we used to have a lot of fun together." Hamwell said as he threw himself onto the empty sofa opposite us and I rolled my eyes.
Why did everyone suddenly feel the need to join me?
I didn't mind Poppy being in here because she was quiet and well, her.
But fucking Hamwell talked too much.
"House hasn't changed much. I thought you would have brightened it up after that bitch went." Hamwell continued on as if I wasn't watching the TV and as if Poppy clearly didn't want to talk.
I saw Poppy stiffen from the corner of my eye and her lips roll together and I shifted.
"Don't you dare." Poppy almost snapped and I blinked as silence covered the room and Hamwell shifted slightly in his seat and I watched as Poppy glared at the carpeted floor.
I glanced at Hamwell and gritted my teeth, what the fuck was his problem? And what the fuck was he talking about?
"So what's going on with you two?" Hamwell directed his attention to me and I realised he literally just said whatever he wanted and when no one answered him he just changed topics.
"Work stuff." I shrugged, aware of Poppy glancing at me and I saw her throat bob as she swallowed. She was nervous.
"You two ain't fucking?" Hamwell pressed and I rolled my eye as Poppy shook her head. "Shit, you are no fun now Pops."
"Stop it." Poppy said and I glanced at her from the corner of my eye, she'd gradually shifted closer to me along the sofa, did I make her less nervous?
"Stop what?" Hamwell played dumb before he snorted, "Shit does Styles not know about all the fun we used to have?"
Silence covered the room for a few seconds but I pieced it together and I found myself almost lost for words, he was Poppy's type?
That didn't make any sense. Why the fuck would someone like her, so nice and quiet be attracted to a complete cunt like Oliver Hamwell?
Why the fuck did that make my stomach turn uncomfortably?
"Oh come on Pops, I can see Styles wants to know." Hamwell pushed and I gritted my teeth.
I didn't want to know anything except how to make him shut up so I could watch the highlights of yesterdays Man United match in fucking peace.
"You ever fucked a virgin Styles?"
I blinked as the question came out of nowhere and I slowly looked at Hamwell across the room.
"Yeh'."
"That's my type. Always so tight inside and so easy to mould into what you want. It's like there's something wired in girls brains that make them obsessed with you after you pop their cherry you know?"
I stared at Hamwell for a few seconds, in his defence there'd been a few but not because I'd sought them out. And it was mostly when I was younger and I was fucking around with girls a few years younger.
"Fair enough." I shrugged. I really didn't care, why did he think I would?
"Poppy was just the same, weren't you Pops? So young and fun and eager to please, both times." Hamwell laughed making Poppy shift and bile rise in my throat.
I pulled out my phone and pretended to look at the time before looking up at Poppy who was, as usual, already looking at me.
"We need to go, I've got that delivery." I stated as I turned the TV off, ignoring Hamwell's protest noise and stood.
"What?" Poppy asked, a frown forming on her pretty face and I sucked my teeth.
"I told you about it." I lied, "C'mon m'gunna be late."
Sometimes I hated that Poppy was so easy going, so eager to please as Hamwell put it that she just went along with whatever I said. I mean sure it made it easier when trying to make sure she wasn't getting herself killed.
Which fucking weirdly, nothing had been happening. I didn't know why I was still here and I didn't even know what the fucking threat was in the first place.
"You ready to go?" I asked as I nodded at Hamwell and ushered Poppy out into the foyer, her wide eyes staring up at me in confusion but she nodded slowly nevertheless.
I pulled my boots on just as she did and grabbed my car keys off the side board and motioned for her to leave.
I didn't know what was wrong with me but I couldn't listen to him talking about her like that anymore.
"What's going on?" Poppy asked the minute I started the car and pulled out of her driveway, my eyes flicking across the passenger seat to see her fiddling with her hands.
"He's a cunt." I stated simply, surprised when Poppy laughed and I looked at her in shock. I wasn't expecting that reaction.
She had a nice laugh though.
"I know." Poppy hummed. "You didn't tell me about this."
"I know." I copied her words, catching her look as I pulled into the curb several streets over from her house, I didn't actually have a plan. "Just wanted out."
"Oh."
Silence covered the car for a moment as I tried to work out what the fuck I was doing.
"What do ya wanna do?" I asked instead, I mean I was the one who just dragged her out and I glanced over at Poppy who was looking out the window with her bottom lip under her teeth and she shrugged.
"There's this record shop I've been meaning to go to for a while, in Soho." Poppy offered and I nodded, my brain putting the pieces together.
"Reckless Records?" I asked, watching as she nodded, her eyebrows creasing.
"You've been there?" Poppy asked and this time I nodded as I pulled out from the curb.
"Why do you sound so surprised?" I snorted, although admittedly I didn't expect her to have been there either.
Despite the extensive collection of records in her room I just assumed she was one of those people that got them from amazon.
Sometimes I feel like I really should stop making assumptions about her because she proved me wrong almost every time.
I clenched my jaw as I drove, I didn't want to be interested in Poppy, I mean I wasn't, I just didn't know what the fuck was going on inside my brain.
I guess I liked her as a person.
And I suppose any decent person wouldn't want to leave a quite obviously anxious woman with a prick like Oliver Hamwell.
It didn't help that every time he spoke about her I wanted to smash his face in.
"Oh shit, I don't have a coat."
Poppy suddenly spoke just as I found a parking space and roughly pulled into it. My eyes glancing at her before I looked out the window, it was quite cold and she was only wearing a jumper that didn't seem to be that thick.
I reached over into the backseat and pulled my jacket back over and dropped it into her lap and I watched curiously as her eyes widened before looking between the coat and me.
"Won't be you cold?" Poppy protested as her small hands fisted the jacket and I sucked my teeth and shook my head.
"Nah, you need it more than I do." I shrugged, the hoodie I was wearing was thick enough and besides I always ran hot.
"Thank you."
I kept my eyes pointed firmly in front as we crossed the road, but I couldn't help myself from glancing at her as we walked. Her hands had completely disappeared inside the sleeves and the actual jacket itself swamped Poppy's entire body.
She looked fucking cute.
Neither of us said anything as I held the door to the shop open for her and my eyes dropped to her arse as she walked in front of me and I tried to discreetly rearrange my dick through my jeans.
This was not the plan.
"My baby brothers best friend and my drug dealer walk into my workplace, this sounds like a really bad joke."
I looked up to see Rachel standing with an armful of records and an amused smile on her face and I rolled my eyes. I guess she didn't give a fuck who knew she smoked. I glanced at Poppy who's eyes were wide as she looked at me before looking back at Rachel.
"I haven't seen you in forever!" Poppy smiled as she made a beeline towards her and I rolled my eyes, why was she so friendly to everyone? "How are you?"
I tuned the rest of their conversation out as I headed towards the rock section and started flicking through various albums, I needed to control myself.
But Poppy wasn't like anybody in my world, she wasn't like her cunt of a Father, or any of the twats I knew and she certainly wasn't like any of the girls I knew; that craved danger and loved the disrespect that came with people like me.
Poppy was just like her name suggested, a delicate flower.
And I was fucked.