The Tapes. || l.s (boyxboy)

Tape nine.

|chapter ten: tape nine|

I slid into the leather seat just in time for her to start driving again. One hand reached over to turn off the radio while the other stayed on the wheel.

"Lottie?"

"Hello, Harry."

"Are you- I mean, how are you?" She sighed and quickly glanced my way.

"You don't know how long it took me to find out that you had the tapes." Way to be subtle.

"What?"

"The tapes... Louis' 'fuck you' to everyone."

"Um..."

"What?" I shook my head looking out of the window.

"I don't want to say it."

"Cmon Harry, just say it." The car slowed down as we approached a red light. I took a deep breath and turned to face her.

"You don't seem that bothered that your brother is dead." Lottie and I had never been close. We talked once or twice at the occasional party but she always knew what type of person I was. The type that never talked unless spoken to, that never started a fight and, until now, the type that never in a million years would have bluntly responded to a sensitive subject like this. So I can see why she froze for a solid two minutes and didn't even budge when the scarlet light turned green.

It wasn't until I said her name that she jumped back into reality and started to drive again. We sat in silence for ten minutes and even though I was looking out the window I could feel her fidgeting and slowly becoming more uncomfortable by the second.

"Harry, what tape are you on right now? And please don't try to pretend that you don't know what I'm talking about." I ran a clammy hand through my hair and turned to face the platinum blonde.

"I'm about to start nine." She nodded suddenly bringing the car to the side of the road and cutting off the engine.

"Listen, Harry. Louis gave me something before he sent those tapes out. He gave me something special."

"Okay... I really don't see why you're telling me."

"Because he gave me an extra tape... for you." My heart stopped. It literally stopped pumping blood and sunk so deep into my stomach that when it started working again I felt it in my balls. My hands were shaking as she dug into the purse in between us and straightened up only to reveal a black cassette tape labeled with my name. "He told me to tell you to make a promise though." She said and brought it out of my reach.

"Y-yeah, anything."

"That you listen to all of the others before you even touch this one." I nodded frantically and brought my hands up to take the tape from her manicured fingertips.

"No. I'm only going to give it to you after you've listened to your own public tape."

"But mine is ages away!" I'd already established that I was most likely going to be tape thirteen and that I would have to drag his death all the way to hell with me, so what she said next should have relieved me. Only it didn't.

"Is two tapes ages away?"

"T-two?" She nodded and slipped the black cassette back into her purse. She gestured to the Walkman that I held tightly in my grip and once again began to drive. Well, I better get this over with then.

What a pleasure to see you again! How long has it been? A minute? An hour? A day? It doesn't matter, the point is that now you're here and ready to listen to me complaining about how badly you bitches treated me.

Why does he sound so happy?

I may have downed a couple if you know what I'm saying, hah. No? Vodka, that's what. Needed it to make me carry on.
Anyway, let's begin, shall we?
I'm suspecting you all have privacy. You can get naked in your room and not have to worry about someone watching you. You can dance around in your underwear and not think that there's someone with a camera taking creepy pictures of you. I used to be able to do that. Until one creepy little bitch that couldn't stay away.
Taylor Swift.

He really gets colourful when he's drunk. Who was Taylor again? Did she go to our school?

I don't think any of you know Taylor but she was in my dance class. Spectacular ballerina that girl was.
So this all started when she asked me out on a date. She was sweating, jumping from foot to foot, awkwardly shuffling and overall looking like a hot mess. So naturally I felt bad for her and said yes, plus I was finally getting some attention and I wasn't going back to just pass up on some actual human interaction with someone who may actually like me.
We went to the movies and then we had dinner -which I payed for. She had a car so she drove me home. Biggest fucking mistake of my life. I showed this creepy girl where I lived, what the hell is wrong with me?

Nothing is wrong with you. Lottie glanced at me and a small smile grazed her lips. Did I say that out loud?

I'd placed my bed so that when I lay down I could have my blinds open and watch the stars until I fell asleep. It relaxed me.
That is, until one of the stars started flashing. And it wasn't coming from the sky. It was coming from the bottom of my window. Stars don't tend to be there. Anyway, so I got up to investigate and that's when I saw her blonde hair. She was running; and fast. So this have me the impression that she wasn't supposed to get caught. Let's just say I didn't sleep well that night.
This carried on for the rest of the week and eventually I got tired of seeing flashes following me again and again. They happened when I was in the shower, when I was changing, when I was going to bed, when I was making dinner, when I was walking to and from school. I felt suffocated. So I decided to confront Taylor and basically tell her to fuck off.

He giggled and I couldn't keep the grin off of my face.

I basically told her that she was being a creepy bitch and that she should stop stalking me or I would call the police. Long story short, she started crying and told me I would pay for breaking her heart. I really don't want to go into detail, it was mostly just her crying and saying I was 'gonna get it'. I probably should have let her down easier because that bitch then did the one thing I never thought anyone would do to me.

His language really is colourful when he's drunk. I heard him take in a sharp breath and I had to clutch my chest from the pain just from the thought of him crying.

She put the pictures of me up around the school. And she didn't even go there! Pictures of me showering, sleeping, changing, walking, everything. I couldn't stop people laughing and I couldn't take them all down before the first bell. I cried in the bathroom all day and I didn't leave until it was two hours past the time school actually finished. I didn't even go the next day cause I was so embarrassed.
I moved my bed, I took a new route home, I showered in my parents bathroom,

and I never slept with my blinds open again.