Songbird [H.S]

TWENTY-ONE

5:32 A.M.

That was the time Harry Styles stumbled through the front door, completely unaware that Louis Tomlinson was waiting for him.

Marley had originally stayed awake waiting for Harry to return home but as the hours ticked by it became increasingly clear that he wasn't walking through the door any time soon. She'd kept herself busy by reading but her eyes began to grow heavy and it was getting harder to concentrate on the words in front of her. Eventually, at half three that morning she gave in, turned off her light and allowed herself to fall asleep. She wasn't mad that Harry was out late, she knew he tended to lose track of time while with his mates and even thought he might've chosen to stay the night at Zayn's instead seeing as it was easier for him. However, the longer he was out the more she couldn't help but wonder what state he'd be in when he got home.

She wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt considering he had promised to be sensible but she couldn't help the nagging thought at the back of her mind that Harry was off getting incredibly drunk and probably high. Marley knew the type of drugs Zayn could get his hands on and she'd heard the stories of what Harry got up to when he was tripping. One time he'd jumped out a window and bit off the tip of his tongue, so Marley could only imagine what kind of shit her boyfriend was getting up to while she was trying to sleep.

Again, it wasn't really an issue - Harry was allowed to do what he wanted - but he knew they had important things to do the next day and had assured her he'd be able to help her. From experience, she knew Harry's hangovers hit him hard so if he really was drunk like she thought he might be, he'd be spending the entire day in bed.

And not to anyone's surprise, Harry was very drunk. And high.

From the moment he stumbled through the front door, Harry made a very poor effort to be quiet, accidentally bumping into things as he stumbled his way through the house and into the kitchen. He really needed some water. Humming to himself contently, he went to quickly grab a drink before he went to go upstairs to bed. Right now he wanted nothing more than to climb under the covers and snuggle up with his girlfriend, completely exhausted from the hectic night he'd had. Zayn had made it his mission to make sure Harry had the best night out he'd had in a long time and he'd very much succeeded. The night had been filled with alcohol, loud music, drugs and dancing - a little different from what the boy was expecting but definitely fun. It was exactly what he'd needed after the past few weeks of hell.

In his drunken state, he didn't notice how the kitchen light was already on and Louis was sat at the table sipping a mug of tea, watching the boy with an unimpressed frown.

He remained silent as Harry staggered his way about the kitchen, singing along to an unfamiliar tune. The teenager was flinging open the cupboard door expecting there to be a glass for him to fill up with water, only to be met with a cupboard full of cereal bowls and plates.

"Huh? Where's all the fuckin' cups gone?" He muttered to himself, his brows knitting together in pure confusion. Surely Niall hadn't used them all up. He paused for a moment, swaying a little as he wondered why all his cupboards had been moved around - this wasn't how he remembered his kitchen looking. He shrugged a little, his mind too foggy to give it much thought and grabbed one of the china bowls to fill with water instead.

It wasn't until the boy was about to turn the tap on to fill the bowl that Louis spoke up from his place at the table, reminding Harry he wasn't in his own house.

"Don't tell me you're about to drink water from a cereal bowl."

"Holy fuck!" Harry jumped at the unexpected voice behind him, and whipped round to see who it was. The bowl slipped from his clumsy grasp, shattering with a loud smash against the kitchen tiles, a noise that definitely would've woken the rest of the family up as it echoed in the silence. But none of that mattered when Louis Tomlinson was staring at Harry with his infamous glare. He was well and truly fucked.