quarantine // h.s.

part 6 // disguised by lust

finally created a cast of the story!
wren: olivia o'brien
harry: harry styles
jess: kristine froseth
michael, ashton: michael clifford & ashton irwin
sierra: savannah palacio
penelope: hunter schafer
rex: rex orange county
kaleb: finneas o'connell
alex: alex fitzalan
misc friends: your own imagination :)

the smell of freshly cooked eggs and bacon awakens me from my slumber, and i roll over in bed to check the time. the clock read 9:13am and i deeply sigh, stretching my arms and cracking my back. as i roll out of bed, i realize i'm still wearing my bikini and my makeup is smeared across my face.

the nights blurred memories were full of cheap tasting liquor and loud music, and a sharp pain shoots through my head at the prevalence of any thought. jess is nowhere to be found and i stumble around my room to find anything to throw on. i discover upon a pair of grey sweatpants and an athletic crop top, and struggle to put them on without feeling nauseous.

i enter the living area and only a few people are up and moving, either congregating around the couches or the kitchen island. i take a seat on one of the bar seats at the island and make myself an iced coffee, still struggling to keep it down. harry and kaleb enter the kitchen and harry pours himself a mug of hot black coffee.

how fitting. i think. he pours a mug for kaleb as well, and he looks back at me, softly smiles, and waltzes into the living room. i try not to think that the whole situation was off-putting, as last night he was on top of me but now can hardly even look me in the eye. i stand up to go sit in the empty space next to him, but before i know it, sierra stands up from her spot in the papasan chair to right next to harry, and he wraps his arm around her. a scowl spreads across my face, and i stomp back to my room.

"what the fuck was that about?" i groan to myself and sit down on the edge of the bed. jess emerges from the bathroom and squeezes a towel around her wet hair.

"what's going on?" she asks longingly.

"i kind of have to tell you something." i respond and break into an awkward smile. i take a deep breath as jess leans against the dresser, waiting for me to compose myself. "harry and i hooked up last night."

"wren, girl. you guys fucked?" she gasps.

"we didn't have sex. he... uh... fingered me in the hot tub and i gave him head in the bathroom when we were way too drunk." jess let's out a little excited shriek and i put up my pointer finger to stop her. "but i just saw him and sierra all cuddly on the couch, like what the fuck was that?" i rant.

"how is there still tension there. i don't understand. their whole thing was like what- a year and a half ago?" jess emphasizes and i nod.

"i mean we always knew he was a douchebag." she says after pausing for a moment.

"yeah, yeah, okay. i never said i made the best decisions." i laugh in defense.

~~~

later on in the seemingly never-ending day, jess and i were aimlessly scrolling through tiktok as we smell tacos being cooked in the kitchen. we emerge from our room and look over the spread that was being prepared.

"taco tuesday?" jess asks. rex, alex, luis, penelope, and ashton we're all cooking in the kitchen while a few others were helping out and setting the table.

"i'll go down to the basement to get margarita stuff! you know i make the best." i wink and head down the hallway. mid way down the hallway my body collides with someone, and when i glance up, harrys face fills my sight. i sigh and push past him, but am stopped when he grabs my hand- unfortunately lighting a fire in my stomach in result.

"where ya going?" he asks as he takes a bite out of an apple.

"to get margarita stuff, if you would move." i say bluntly and roll my eyes.

"what's the matter?" he interrogates after sensing my mood. i sigh again and pause for a moment, thinking to myself whether i should talk to him or just ignore him quickly and turn him into another one night stand.

"ugh. walk with me." and he does.

"did our meeting last night make you rethink your whole life?" he smirks and laughs.

"i'd hurt your big fat ego if i answered that." i respond, knowingly lying. a lump in my throat starts to form based off of nervousness. he gasps in a joking way and pokes me in the side, though i keep a straight face. we make it downstairs to the basement kitchen and lounge and i prop myself up on my forearms against the bar. "i saw you and sierra this morning, she was all over you."

"yeah. uh... shes something else." he stutters and shakes his head.

"i'll be straight up with you. i don't want to be caught in the middle of whatever is going on between you and frankly i don't know what's going on anyways. y'know... even if we are just hooking up."

"nothing is going on, believe me. nothing has happened since january."

"does she think that?" i ask, knowing how girls think.

"yes. listen, i know how sierra is. she's a lot and-"

"intimidating." i interrupt.

"you should not be intimidated, believe me." he mutters under his breath. sierra has always been the prettiest girl in the room. she has an instagram type of beauty and she could quite literally be a model. sure, i think i'm pretty too but she's unbeatable in my mind. her personality is strong too, as she always makes a presence for herself in a room and charms anyone she comes in contact with easily.

~~~

around midnight, i begin a beach walk to clear my thoughts. a flurry of questions fills my mind, like should i even be doing this? is it worth it? essentially though, my boredom and anxiety for the future takes over. my thought process goes along the lines of, if this goes sour- whenever we go home this can all end in a blink of an eye and we can go our separate ways and never see each other ever again.

the sound of footsteps breaks me out of my thoughts and a flutter of nerves starts in my stomach out of fear. i clutch my keys in between each finger, just in case of an attacker behind me. i take a deep breath and turn around, only to be greeted by the sight of harry jogging towards me. before i can even get a snide remark out of my mouth, he cups my face with hands and brings me into a long passionate kiss.

"you can trust me." he says after giving me possibly the best kiss of my life. however, my suspicions still remain- now disguised by lust.