Carolina - H.S.

Best Friends Forever (3)

I take the elevator up to my petite apartment on the fifteenth floor of my building. As I'm standing in the small space I can't help but be annoyed with myself for making the mistake of kissing Harry.

I share my place with my long-time friend from high school, Jasmine, and our adorable dachshund, named Cheeky. Jaz and I have always been by each other's side and share everything with each other. When I step into the apartment I realize Jaz is not in the tiny living room, which means she is probably already passed out in bed. I hear a faint clicking on the floor, warning me that Cheeky is approaching. She jumps up on my legs, begging to be picked up, so I scoop her small frame into my right arm as I lock the front door, walking over to the loveseat with the little lovebug in my arms.

Just as I settle down on the couch I hear a commotion behind the front door, making me perk my head up in that direction.

The door flies open and in stumbles, Jaz, with a bright smile lighting up her face. She glances at me with a strange look, confusing me further, as I thought she was in her room. "Were you not gonna tell me that you know Harry Styles and he wrote a song about you?"

My mouth falls agape, as I am shocked by her forwardness. "What?" I question, hoping that I heard her wrong, so we don't have to have this conversation right now.

"You heard me." She responds, seeming quite determined to find out more about my celebrity encounter. I did hear her, although I kind of wish I hadn't.

I roll my eyes and let out a long exasperated sigh, "I couldn't find a good time to bring it up. Sorry, Jaz." I say, genuinely feeling bad for not telling her.

Jaz plops down next to me on the couch, after taking her time yanking off her knee-high boots. "Well, now is as good a time as any I guess. Go on, spill." She muses in a curious tone.

I tell her most of what happened that lustful night about a year ago, leaving out some of the more private parts. Jaz nods along to my rant while sipping on a glass of wine, which she said she would need before we started. As I tell her the story, Cheeky jumps off the couch and runs into one of the compact bedrooms, realizing she won't be getting much attention from us right now. By the time I finish, I have a glass of red in my hand too.

"Wow." Her reaction is understandable, as she sits there with her lips parted, staring at me like I've just told her I'm getting married or some shit. I honestly can't believe I've been able to keep this from her for so long considering I think about it so much. I guess I just never saw the need to since I was never going to see Harry again anyway.

After seeing him today though, I just had to get it out and talk about it with someone other than our dog. "What about the song he wrote? Did he tell you about it before he released it? Have you talked to him recently?" She bombards me with questions, spitting them out as if she just isn't able to stop herself.

I try to calm her down but she just isn't having it so I end up also telling her about our meeting today, leaving out the part about our encounter at the Gucci office and our heated make-out session in the elevator.

Her tone sounds a bit skeptical when she asks, "Is that all?" Squinting her cat-like eyes at me, trying to make sure I have confessed everything to her.

I just nod in response as I let my head fall onto the back of the couch, exhausted from all the running around I have been doing today. Jaz grasps my shoulders, bringing me into a soft but assertive hug, attempting to comfort me. She can obviously see that I'm struggling with all of this. "You know I love you, so please, just tell me if you need anything. Maybe we should have a girls' night out? Just you and me?" She offers, like the amazing friend that she is.

I thank her for the suggestion but I just feel like staying in tonight and watching The Office with Cheeky, so I politely decline and head to my room. I get into my extra-large t-shirt and pull on some sleep shorts, sitting on my twin-sized bed with my computer on my lap and the show playing. Cheeky jumps up onto the low bed and curls into a ball beside me, eventually, we fall asleep like this.

Harry's pov

After leaving Hailey, I walk back to the Gucci office because I remembered that I stupidly left my car there when I made the hasty decision to chase after her. Stepping into my black Range Rover, my mind tells me to go to the first person that I can think of, Mitch, my guitarist, and best mate.

Mitch's house is not far from the Gucci office, so I am only driving for about ten minutes before I pull into his driveway. Mitch is the only person I have told about my 'relationship' with Hailey, so I'm hoping he will be able to help me sort out my predicament. I walk up to his front door and knock on the hardwood, patiently waiting for Mitch to answer.

"Gimme a sec." I hear Mitch holler from behind the door. The front door bursts open and Mitch is standing in the doorway with ruffled, messy hair. "Hey, Harry. What's up?"

I scan his figure up and down and come to the conclusion that he has just woken up. "Did you really just wake up? It's 12 pm." I ask, not very shocked, considering he sleeps in most days.

He nods his head with an annoyed look on his face, obviously upset that I interrupted his beauty sleep. "Well, anyway, I came here to tell you how it went today with Hailey."

"Okay. Come on in. I'll make us some coffee?" He questions, stepping to the side to let me through the door. I nod gratefully, deciding I was in desperate need of some caffeine. We walk into his average-sized living room and I take a seat on his leather sofa, while Mitch walks into his kitchen, which is connected to the living room, assumably going to make that coffee he had offered me.

"So, how did your date go?" Mitch's calm voice calls from the other side of the room, only the kitchen island behind me separating us. I turn my head to the side slightly and glare at the back of his head, as he is turned the other way to make our drinks.

It was not a date, and Mitch knows that. "It wasn't a date, dickhead. And it went horrible. Well, for the most part. She left me in the cafe after only a few minutes. I was completely dumbfounded. But then I ran into her at the Gucci office while I was there for my fitting for my suits I'll be wearing on tour and we um," I hesitate, debating if I should even mention what happened in the lift, "well, we made out in the lift."

Mitch lets out a surprised gasp, letting me know he really wasn't expecting that from me. "Wait," he begins walking over to me on the sofa and hands me a piping hot cup of black coffee, just how I like it, "are you joking?" I sigh dramatically before taking a long swig of the steaming cup clutched in my fingers.

Finishing my dragged-out taste of the energizing liquid, I respond dryly, "M not joking. But, when I followed her out of the building to stop her, she closed off again and said that it was a mistake. Thanks for the coffee, by the way." He nods, mumbling a 'don't worry about it', seeming to be in deep thought over something. About a minute passes of him just sipping his coffee and I'm assuming he's thinking over what I just said.

"So," he begins, pausing again before continuing, "does that mean you're finally over Lila?"