F O U R T E E N
I set my plate down beside Niall, smiling as he reaches his arm out to rub my back as I sit down. "That's all your eating?" He asks, chuckling at the difference between our two plates.
"This is what normal people eat, doofus." I reply, flicking his nose before I pick up my chopsticks.
"Yeah, whatever. Oh, we've got a meeting in the morning..." He adds in a soft voice. The other men are chatting softly about the soccer match we'd interrupted.
"With Anna?" I ask after swallowing a pork dumpling. Something has changed between Niall and I. His hand rests easily on my knee. His voice has lost the hard formality it used to have whenever we would speak. I'm leaning towards him, just barely, but enough to suggest that I'm used to being close to him. As I notice this I scoot away, separating us by a half-inch.
"Yeah, to talk about the Met Gala." He scoops a large mouthful of sweet and sour chicken into his mouth, making me laugh. He's gotten sweet and sour sauce on his chin, making him look just a tad bit adorable.
"You've got sauce on your chin, idiot." I remark, taking my napkin and wiping it off gently. It's not until I'm almost done wiping his chin that I notice the intimacy of this act. His eyes bore into mine, a half-smile playing on his lips. I blush beet red and finish quickly, taking a large bite of an egg roll to divert my gaze from his eyes.
"That's no way to talk to your boss." Niall chastises, pretending to frown.
"Oops, sorry Mr. Horan. Are you going to fire me?" I ask jokingly, pretending to be upset.
"I would, but that might make things awkward at our wedding."
"Maybe a tad, better hold off." I joke, laughing. Joking with him this way is so easy and normal, I can't help but feel a little glad that we're "engaged". We continue with our easy banter through dinner, making each other laugh. It's really the first time I've experienced this side of Niall, and it scares me to find that Niall isn't just my scary, selfish boss like I thought.
"So, Elouise, do you two have a date for the wedding?" Uncle Des asks, grinning happily. As long as Zayn, Harry, and I are happy, Uncle Des is happy.
My eyes dart to Niall. These kind of questions throw me off guard and make me tense up. I've never been a good liar, especially to those I love. "Well, I--we--we haven't--" I stutter, my tongue unable to work properly.
Niall seems perfectly at ease. He throws his arm over my shoulder and pulls me close, a perfect mask of happiness and peace on his face. "We haven't decided the date yet. We've barely talked about it because we've been so busy at the office." I nod from my place against Niall's chest, watching Harry through my lashes. He narrows his eyes at Niall's response.
"Since when have you not known the date for something, Elouise? I thought you wanted to get married on your mother's birthday." Harry says, looking directly at me.
I glare at him, blushing beet red. "Things change. Niall and I would have to wait a year if we went for my mom's birthday." I cough, feeling the uncomfortable words in my throat. "I don't know if I can wait that long." I add, sneaking a look at Niall's face. He surprises me by smiling wider and pressing his smooth lips to my temple.
"You're the bride," he tells me with an amused smirk.
I roll my eyes. "Is that what your response to everything is going to be? Cause I have a feeling it is."
"Well of course," he teases, "you're the bride."
"Maybe I'll leave you," I threaten, raising my eyebrows in an attempt to look menacing.
"You would never." He declares in a confident tone, smiling smugly. "I have the walk-in closet, remember?"
"And the jet," I add begrudgingly, trying to look disappointed. "Ok, fine. I'll stay."
He laughs as he turns to kiss my cheek. "I knew there was a reason I proposed."
"You have a jet, Niall?" Uncle Steve asks, making Niall turn his attention away from me and onto my uncle.
"Two, sir." He replies, chuckling.
"Elouise, you've ridden on them?" He asks, his eyebrows knotting.
"Oh, just one." I say with a blush. "We went to Ireland this weekend."
"Ireland?" Uncle Des asks with a low whistle. "What were you doing in Ireland?"
"My family lives there, sir. They wanted to meet Elouise before I proposed." Niall pats my leg, a proud smile on his face.
"I bet they hate you, Elouise." Zayn teases, his eyes twinkling wickedly.
"Not as much as you do," I snap, sticking my tongue out at him.
"Oh, burn." Harry chuckles, smiling at Zayn.
While I'm not happy about Harry being here, I'm happy that we're joking around and teasing each other a little, almost like old times.
"Shut up, Styles. It's cause of your ass that she's pissed at me in the first place." Zayn counters, rolling his eyes at my mop-headed ex.
"Be mature, boys." Uncle Steve warns, causing them both to laugh. I giggle quietly, feeling a little better. I lean my head against Niall's shoulder as they begin to talk sports, even including Niall into their conversation. I close my eyes, letting them talk as I think about my beautiful Elie Saab dress. I sit up with a start, knowing who would love to hear about my dress.
"Where are you going?" Niall asks as I stand up from the table.
"I'm going to call Granny and tell her about my dress." I reply, feeling a little proud of myself. I now can call Niall's grandma. If that doesn't prove how close we are becoming, I didn't know what will.
"Oh, babe, I'm sure she'll love that." He says as I kiss his cheek, feeling a little embarrassed and brave at the same time. He smiles and squeezes my hand as I duck away, leaving the men to their sports talk.
I sit on the patio and watch people walk around down below, listening to the dial tones of Granny's mobile. After the third ring she picks up. "Elouise?" She inquires. I can hear the excited delight in her voice.
"Hi Granny, how're you?"
"Good, doll. Just watching the evening program with Maura. You and Niall were on the entertainment section."
"Really?" I squeak, flushing automatically. People are really that interested?
"Yes, love. They showed pictures of you two at the club, though they didn't really know much besides the fact that you and Niall work together."
"Even that is too much," I tell her, smiling a little.
"Oh, Elouise. So, how's Niall? Treating you good?"
I laugh, missing Granny immensely. It's strange how much I can miss her, even though I've only known her for such a short time. "Yes, he's been good to me. We're going to the Met Gala tomorrow night, and he bought my dress without me knowing."
"Oh, God, is it hideous?" Granny gasps, her voice slightly muffled. I can see her on Maura's leather couch, legs crossed as she watches the nightly news, her hand raised to her lips in shock.
"No, no. Surprisingly, it's gorgeous. But it's too nice. He spent too much." I complain adoringly, remembering the way the silky dress had felt in my hand.
"Oh, Elouise, you let that boy spoil you, do you hear?" She scolds.
I laugh, nodding and then remembering that she can't see me. "Yes, Granny. I just feel bad."
"Well you're not allowed. That boy loves you and he just wants to prove it."
I laugh uncomfortably, shifting my weight to the other foor. "Hey, Granny, I'll send Maura a picture of it that way the two of you can see it."
"Alright, and also, send me a picture of the two of you tomorrow, I want too see my beautiful grandbabies together."
"I will make sure to send you a picture of us." I promise, smiling happily.
"Good girl. Now, before I go, are you being happy, Elouise?"
"Yes, Granny. I'm happy." Kinda. It's not really a lie.
"Good, then I am too." Her words choke me up a little. "I love you, Elouise. Don't forget that picture!" She hangs up before I can reply. I sniffle as I end the call. Granny has a way of making anyone feel infinitely better.
"You seem to be close to his family." A voice behind me states, making me jump.
"Oh, shit, Harry, you scared me." I say, breathing out in relief.
"Sorry," he replies as he comes to stand next to me, leaning against the railing. "It's a beautiful night." He states, watching the city life below us like I had been.
"Yeah, it is."
"So, you two are getting married." His tone is off, and he says it much less like a statement and more like an introduction to another thought.
"Yes, we are." I reply tiredly, wondering where he is going with this.
"Yet he knows nothing about your dream wedding. He knows nothing about you." I snap my head sharply towards him, narrowing my eyes at his face. He turns to look at me with an earnest expression. I quickly look away from his emotive green eyes. It has always been hard to look at his eyes. Lots of people have beautiful eyes, but there's something about Harry's that when you look into them you feel like you're glimpsing into the secret world between his frontal lobes. "Why does he know nothing about you, Elouise? Are you trying to make me hurt? Cause I am hurting."
"He knows a lot about me, Harry." I snap, but don't meet his eyes.
"Oh yeah, then why did he give you an oval ring? You like square cut. Why did he not know that you want to get married on your's mom birthday? Does he know your favorite song?"
"Harry, why don't you fall in love with someone else? You didn't have a problem with it before." I state, ignoring his questions.
"I don't know, Elouise. I'd like to. But... for some reason I can't."
"Now you can't?" I ask, my voice full of disbelief. "Harry, I've made a promise to Niall and..."
"And what?"
"And I can't break it! I would've broken it for you three years ago, but that was before. You had your chance. I wanted to marry you, I did. It broke my heart to leave you behind. But then you didn't call, or write, or prove that you felt the same when I needed you to." I turn to him, my eyes thick with unshed tears. I'd wanted to avoid this, but maybe it's better to get it out now before it becomes more of a problem.
"I was proving it, in my own way. I was writing songs for you... I had a plan. To come here and make Zayn take you to one of the bands' gigs and you'd hear it and come back to me."
"That sounds more like a movie than real life, Harry. And you've always lived in movies. This," I gesture to the space between us, "this is real, Harry. You were dreaming about things that might happen and falling behind and I had to move on."
"I don't want to move on, Elouise." His hand falls upon mine, making me flinch.
"Why not? I'm not making you happy."
"You do make me happy. Even when you're happy with another man. I still feel a warmth in my chest when you smile, even when it's because of him."
I choke on a dry, heaving sob, feeling like the whole world is so damn unfair. The Gods were probably sitting in there cloud houses, laughing at their ironic little tricks. "It's not fair for you to do this, Harry."
"I'm sorry," he replies, his arms entangling themselves around my waist as he pulls me into his chest and rubs my back.
"Why didn't you love me when I was ready?" I ask, my hands clenching into fists. "Why didn't you ask me to stay?"
"I was--I was scared, Elouise."
"Bullshit. You thought I'd wait for you."
"I did, yes."
"I did wait for you... but then you never came."
"I'm here now," he says, wiping the tears under my eyes.
"It's too late," I groan, pushing his hands away and stepping away from him. "It's too late, Harry. I'm engaged."
"We can work around it."
"It's not like that," I say under my breath, but he catches the comment, his head whipping up. He marches over to me and grabs my shoulders, his arms shaking.
"What did you say, Elouise? Did that fucking prick make you do this?" He demands in a harsh tone, his green eyes in angry slits.
"No! Harry no! Let go of me, ok? You don't know anything! I love him!" I declare, shoving against Harry's chest as hard as possible. He backs away a little, his eyes narrowed. Zayn and Niall tumble out on to the patio. Niall rushes over to me at the sight of my teary face.
"Elouise, what's wrong? Did he hurt you?" He asks, his hands tentatively reaching out for me, but I push them away. Niall glares at Harry, his hands clenched into fists. "Don't you dare touch her, you understand?"
"Don't tell me what to do, asshole." Harry shouts, straining against Zayn's arms. Zayn pushes against Harry's chest, quietly demanding him to calm down. "You don't love her! Elouise, I hope you know he doesn't love you!"
Niall shakes his head and pulls me along, leading me away from the patio. He blindly pulls me upstairs as I cry, his hand clutched tightly to mine. We go up the stairs, my head tucked into his chest. "It's ok, it's ok." He reassures me. We make our way to my room and he sits me down on the bed, letting me cry into his shoulder for a while. "Talk to me," he whispers in my ear, his lips on my neck.
"It's just so unfair," I tell him, sniffling as I blink my eyes clear of my last remaining tears. "He comes back after all these years, demands that we fall in love again. But--but--"
"We're engaged," Niall fills in softly, playing with the hem of my shirt.
"Yeah," I nod, wiping my cheeks. "Not that I'm upset about that but... why now?" We lay down against me bed, staring up at the white ceiling.
"We don't have to be engaged," Niall says quietly, making me bolt upright.
"What? No, Niall. We're committed, remember?" I ask.
He nods and I lay back down, snuggling into his side without meaning to, but he hooks his arm around my waist, securing me there beside him. "I never meant to cause you this much pain, Elouise."
"You're not the one hurting me, Niall." I reply, closing my eyes. It's not his fault Harry had randomly decided to care again.
"Well you just tell me if I ever do, ok, Elouise?" He tucks his chin over my head and wraps me up in his arms tighter. "You're my closest friend now and I care about you greatly."
I smile and nod. "The same to you, Ni." We stay wrapped on my bed for a while, listening to the house grow quiet. After a few minutes he sits up, a small smile on his face.
"Come on, come stay at my flat for the night. We can rent a movie and eat those little French cookies you and Calinda like."
"Macaroons?" I ask, laughing as he nods. "Ok, that sounds really fun actually. Let me pack some clothes."
***
i used to have a girlfriend now all i got is hoessssss
woops lol.
anyways so i actually was going to write more but i want the met gala thingy to be in it's own seperate chapter lolll cause that makes more sense.
anyways, here ya go. it took a lil while cause finals and crap.
y'all are my bitches :* and i love you! happy holidays and good luck on your exams!!!!
muah muah
xxx madi