Bad Friend

4- Shouldn't Have

Edward: What are you doing right now?

Me: nothing...why?

Edward: Do you have time to talk?

When Harry sent that text, something felt off to me. Never, in all the time I knew him, had he asked to call me. It just wasn't something we did. Perhaps in light of recent events, he might've changed his tune, but I wasn't inclined to think so.

Me: who is this?

A few seconds later, my phone rang. Hesitantly, I answered, holding the phone close to my ear. "Hello?"

"Oi, Niall, Zayn! I told you she'd answer!"

That voice was definitely not Harry's. While I was sure I had never heard it in person before, it sounded familiar. And with the very British voice saying names that were quite famous, I could think of a few people who might be on the other end of the call. Still, I didn't want to assume. "Hi, sorry, who is this?"

There was commotion on the other end that I couldn't really understand, and what sounded like Harry's phone being wrestled with. Not really understanding what was going on, I hung up and went back to my tattoo sketchbook I had been drawing in before Harry, or whoever, texted me. A few minutes later, my phone rang again. Part of me just wanted to let it go to voicemail, but I was also a tad curious to see what Harry's bandmates wanted. Sighing, I picked up the phone again.

"Hello?"

"Is this G?"

It was the same voice from earlier, but there wasn't so much noise in the background like before. Hearing Harry's nickname coming from someone else sounded odd. He was the only person who called me that, and in turn I was pretty sure I was the only person to openly call him by his middle name. It humbles you, I told him after I called him Edward the first time.

Having someone call me G also told me that it was most likely the name in Harry's phone and that none of his friends actually had a clue as to who I was. I didn't know why that thought made me feel a certain way, none of my friends from school knew that I was friends with Harry, but this felt different somehow. I didn't tell anyone out of respect for his privacy, and he knew my dad. The fact that the people he spent nearly every waking moment with didn't even know my name hurt. I hated that I cared this much, but I did, and I didn't know what to do to make it stop.

"That's me. Gwen," I said finally. "Though I'm pretty sure this isn't Harry."

"No, and I thank God for that everyday," the voice said. "I'm Louis."

"And I'm Niall!" another voice echoed in the background.

"Shut up, Niall," Louis said. There was more bickering on their end, and I wondered how One Direction had any success if this was how they acted all the time.

Having enough, I cut in. "Is there a reason you called?" I asked, my voice the slightest bit stern. It felt like that was the only way to cut through the childish arguing.

A hush fell over the other end of the call. "We wanted to meet the reason why Harry's been brooding like a little boy these last few days."

This was a new voice, one that didn't belong to Niall or Louis. Zayn most likely, recalling the way Louis had initially called out to him and Niall. He was quieter than the other boy's, but I could hear the teasing tone laced in his words.

"I don't know why he would be brooding," I said honestly.

It had been about a week since Harry's last visit. I was still at school, and this time Tyler did tag along. A few days after Harry had left that weekend in August, Tyler had asked me out on a proper date, and because I had no reason not to, I said yes, wanting to try a new approach to relationships. Harry may have come to see me that weekend in August, but it was clear he didn't want to talk about what happened in Yosemite and just pick up where we had left off before that—close friends who liked to have a good time together. If that's what he wanted, then fine, but I saw no reason to deny myself the opportunity to seek something more elsewhere, to at least try and move on from my stupid feelings. One night stands and small flings clearly weren't working, so I thought I might give the whole relationship thing a try.