Harry downed his coffee, leaning back in his chair feeling thoroughly content. He noticed a middle-aged woman eyeing him curiously, and he quickly looked away. When he dared to look back, she was studiously reading her book again, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't believe how little he was recognised here, up in Scotland, it was almost like being in Primrose Hill. It made him relax in a way he hadn't in a long time- he could swear he could feel his toes unfurling happily like a string that had been wound too tight, and had now sprung free from its shackles. He was truly grateful for the time he had spent with Eilidh and her family, and it made him smile thinking about her. Sometimes she felt feather-light to him, like she could dart away with the wind at any moment, and it was comforting in a way to him to meet her family, an anchor that somehow held her in place, however selfishly he wanted this.
He thought about Rudy, and heaved out a sigh over his coffee as he considered. He was thoroughly pissed off when he had found out that he had kissed his girlfriend, and although Eilidh had said little about the subject since, he noted the way she jumped when the phone rang, and looked at the ground when his name was mentioned by Alex. It made him uneasy. What was it about that guy, the jack-the-lad with the jawline and the cheeky one-liners? It bugged him.
For the thousandth time since he had secretly procured it from Alex's phone, he scrolled to Rudy's number which he had saved in his Iphone, sighing heavily and weighing up his options.
Shrugging with abandon, he clicked dial. Fuck it, he thought. It's him in the wrong, not me.
"Hello", Rudy answered quickly, catching Harry off guard, and he sat up straighter in his seat in the busy coffee shop, suddenly losing faith in his spontaeneous decision.
"Rudy", Harry confirmed.
"Yeah? Who's this?", Rudy was brusque. He was at work, after all, and Harry could hear the clanging of industry down the line.
"It's Harry", Harry cleared his throat, wondering what on earth he was thinking.
"Harry who?" Rudy shot back, and Harry rolled his eyes. This guy really was something else.
"Harry Styles", he said, struggling to keep his voice even.
Rudy was silent for a minute. "Can I help you?", he barked, his voice clipped.
Harry blew air out his nose, pissed off now. "Yeah you can help me. You can help me by not kissing my girlfriend".
Rudy laughed dryly and humourlessly down the phone. "Is this actually happening? You are threatened by a wee man that works in a steelworks?"
"Never said I was threatened", Harry's tone was dangerous now. "I just don't appreciate people throwing themselves at something thats mine".
Rudy snorted with derision. "Oh, thats nice. Something thats yours. She has a name you know. You know what, if you are gonna talk about her like that, then I give you another week. Eilidh can do better than the likes of you".
With that, Rudy clicked off, and Harry stared at his phone, simultaeneously reeling and fuming.
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Eilidh and Nina, giggled as they trooped along Ashton Lane, arms linked, already tipsy from the bottle of wine that they had consumed in the flat. It was lovely to be out together, having fun, with no, or at least, very little worries.
Harry had met up with an old friend in Glasgow, and already, Eilidh loved the thought of going back to the flat to him. The last few days had really cemented them into a real couple, Eilidh told Nina, and it felt so normal, so right. So real.
The girls trooped into The Lane, luckily bagging a table opposite the bar, ordering a bottle of wine between them. The Lane was busy, and loud, and for the first time in a while, Eilidh felt confident, and happy to be out. She felt her toes tapping to the music, and the two girls clinked glasses when their wine arrived.
"Fuck", Eilidh's stomach plummeted when the crowd parted at the bar, and Nina looked up expectantly to see what had made her friend turn ashen. "Rudy".
Rudy leaned on the bar with one arm, talking to a pretty blonde girl. Eilidh could tell he was hitting on her, and she felt something she didn't recognise stir in her belly. Rudy was grinning down at the girl, giving her what Eilidh knew to be his full charm offensive. Suddenly, so quickly that she gasped, Rudy looked up, and stared straight at her.
Eilidh raised her hand, hesitantly in a wave, almost relieved. Now they were here, trapped in the pub, hopefully tongues loose enough and inhibitions lowered enough to really sort this out. To go back to how they were, before. Best friends.
To Eilidh's utter shock, Rudy gave her a withering scowl, and turned away, focussing his attention again on the blonde girl.
"Holy shit", Nina breathed, her eyes widebehind her geek-chic glasses. "Did that just happen?"
Eilidh fumed. "Fuck this", she declared, jumping to her feet and walking purpusely towards Rudy. "Rudy", she said loudly, behind him, pulling his arm.
He turned, almost too quickly, as if he had been expecting her. "What", he growled at her, and she actually took a step back, so shocked and hurt at his reaction.
"What the fuck is wrong with you", she managed to stutter out, her eyes wide, and hurt. "I thought when we were texting the other night we were gonna put this behind us. And you ignore me in a pub? What the fuck, Rudy".
Eilidh thought she saw his sharp hazel eyes soften for a millisecond, before they decidedly hardened again. When Rudy laughed, there was no humour in his eyes.
"I thought so too", he said, raising his pint to his lips. "I thought we had known each other out whole lives, and respected, and cared for one another, but obviously not".
Eilidh shook her head, hard, making her tousled hair dance around her shoulders. "What are you talking about?", she almost groaned, frustrated.
"He called me", Rudy's face was close to hers now, and again, Eilidh took a step back. "Your famous boyfriend gave me a nice little ring today. Let me know that you don't enjoy having me...how did he put it? Throw myself at you".
Eilidh stared, her brain trying to process what he was saying.
Rudy glared down at her. "I didn't expect you to go running back to your boyfriend, Eilidh, but I suppose I didn't know you at all".
With this, he looked her up and down, cruelly, before pointedly turning back to the blonde girl who had listened to the whole exchange with wide eyes.
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Harry galloped up the stairs to the flat, two at a time, whistling to himself. He hadn't had a drink, preferring to think about getting home to Eilidh sober. He had met an old school friend who studied in Glasgow, and had enjoyed catching up with her, spending most of the night talking about Eilidh. Harry shook his head at himself, smiling as he opened the door to the flat and clattered in, kicking his boots off. Never before had he been so comfortable in a relationship.
"Hi love", he caught sight of Eilidh sitting on the couch as he turned to the kicthen, taking off his watch and rings and popping them on the counter, before turning back to her. When he turned back to her, his stomach turned to stone and his words died in his throat when he saw the expression on her face.
"You lied to me", she said to him, simply. "You promised me that the thing with Rudy would stay between us, and you called him behind my back"
Standing up and walking towards the bedroom, Eilidh shook her head at him, her eyes unfathomable. "You lied to me, Harry".
