DEEP END // Harry Styles

Fake Dating

A/N: Thank you for all your comments and for loving Harry and Ezi! Someone on Tumblr complained about the pacing so I decided to speed it up. I'm too busy with the paperwork for my UK visa so writing has been a struggle. Once again, thank you so much for putting up with my weird posting schedule (there isn't one really lol) :P It's getting interesting from this chapter on, I promise.

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Ezili's first day at work was okay. She took Chilli with her even though Harry didn't allow her to. Who cared what Harry thought? He was always too busy to hang out with his cat anyway. Lucky for Ezili, Maggie was fine with having Chilli in the bookstore. Chilli was nice, always following Ezili around as she did her work. There wasn't a lot to do around here, though. They had two customers that day, and both of them talked to Maggie instead, so Ezili didn't have to interact with any new humans.

She managed to finish her tasks early and hid in a corner to read a book about love and relationship, which Maggie had suggested to her. Her reading ability had improved a whole lot thanks to Harry's lessons, but she couldn't read fast and still had to spell out many words to know what they meant. One chapter took her almost the whole afternoon.

"According to this book," she told Chilli, who was lying on her lap. "In order to make Harry fall in love with me, I must spend as much time with him as possible. Apparently, he must love my personality and not just my looks. Who would have thought?"

"Are you talking to yourself?"

Ezili flinched when she heard a voice and looked up to see Maggie staring at her through the gap between the books on a shelf. Maggie gave her a big smile, showing her pearly white teeth and the silver jewellery attached to them. "Oh, you're reading?"

"Yes! I was telling Chilli about what I read. Thanks for the recommendation. I'll definitely try these tips."

Maggie rested her chin on the shelf, raising an eyebrow. "Try on who? Harry Styles or the other handsome guy?"

"Oh, you mean Dawson?" Ezili looked at Chilli before turning back to Maggie. "Which one do you think is easier?"

She had no idea why Maggie laughed at her question since she was being dead serious. If Dawson was an easier target, then she'd switch to trying to make Dawson fall in love with her. She could not bear the thought of spending every minute of the day with Harry. What if they grew to hate each other more instead of falling in love? Was it even possible for that to happen?

"Go for the one that likes you more, I guess," Maggie said.

"Oh, so Harry."

"Are you two friends?"

Ezili nodded. "More like frenemies. I learned that word on TikTok."

"Nice." Maggie nodded and fixed her glasses. "Enemies to lovers is my favourite trope! Well, good luck! But beware of your competition."

Ezili blinked. "What do you mean?"

"He's famous. A lot of girls would die to be his friend let alone date him."

"Die?" Ezili snorted. "That's a bit dramatic. What's so special about him to die for?"

"If you don't see that he's special then why do you want to date him?"

"He's my only friend."

"Okay, that makes sense." Maggie pursed her lips. "Oh well, just be careful of the other girls. They might steal him before you know it."

The bell at the door rang, and Maggie hurriedly left to see another customer, leaving Ezili here to think about the little mermaid in the story, who had thought she'd had the prince until another girl had appeared and made the prince fall in love with her instead.