Matchmaker

Matchmaker: Chapter Five

That night, as soon as I entered my hotel room, I ripped off my dress and tugged at my braid, walking straight to the shower. I turned the water on as hot as I could and stepped under it, fighting off my headache that was pounding as jet lag caught up to me. I must’ve remained in the shower for half an hour or so before there was a pounding on my hotel door. 

Sighing and stepped out of the shower and wrapped my hair up in a towel. 

“Just a minute!” I yelled, scrambling around the room and digging around my suitcase for my nightgown, pulling it on and tripping over my feet for the door. I pulled it open to Liam, who was wearing what I affectionately called his ‘panic face’. “Who died?” I asked immediately, and Liam rolled his eyes shoving his way into my room, shaking his head.

“I called you twice-”

“I was in the shower,” I replied and Liam gave me a steady look.

“For half an hour?”

“I’m tired,” I whined, “It felt good. Why does it matter?” 

Liam sighed and shook his head, “Never mind. Listen, we need to clear up this stuff about me cheating on Danielle with you-”

“But Liam, what we had was special!”

“You’re my cousin. Don’t even joke, that’s gross,” Liam muttered, rolling his eyes and lying down on my bed next to me, “How do you feel about a twitcam?”

I scrunched up my face in disgust, pulling my towel away from my dripping hair and pulling at a limp strand, “Uh, now?”

Liam nodded wordlessly, and before I could say anything else on the matter, there was another knock on the door. Liam got up silently and pulled it open, revealing Harry, who had a macbook tucked tightly under his arm, and a stupid tired grin on his face.

“Guess who’s bombing the Payne family twitcam?” he asked and I groaned, twisting at a strand of my damp hand as I watched in distaste as Liam took the computer from Harry and brought it over to the desk tucked in the corner of the room. 

Harry’s eyes were sagging with sleep, but still bright and boyish and he bounced over to sit next to me on the bed, while Liam began to set everything up. I began twisting my hair into a bun, to make it somewhat presentable, and groaned in frustration as the hair fell out of it almost immediately. 

“You want me to do it?” Harry asked next to me and I snorted, rolling my eyes and biting the rubber band in my teeth as I struggled to pile the hand on top of my head. “I’m serious,” Harry said, reaching out and tugging the hair tie out of my mouth, scooting behind me and brushing my hands away. 

I sat stiff, in shock, as Harry Styles twisted my hair up into a bun.

“I had an older sister,” Harry explained, his voice muffled by the hair tie he was now holding in his mouth, until he was ready to tie it in my hair, “And slightly long hair that gets in the way at the gym. You learn things-”

“It’s kind of gay, isn’t it?” I asked, but the comment wasn’t followed by the usual banter I’d expect, but rather and awkward silence. Harry tugged once more at my hair, a bit harshly, and then tied it all up in a bun, and said nothing on my last comment. 

Thankfully, Liam turned around, interrupting the awkward silence and motioning for Harry and I to gather around him by his computer.

“Aw, Liam, you said we could pregame beforehand,” Harry whined, as he crouched over Liam’s shoulder, following Liam’s movement on the computer, as he went to start a twitcam. Liam sighed, rolling his eyes and waving Harry off. Harry then grabbed me by my wrist and dragged me out of my own room, where Liam remained with his computer.