Sugar and Spice

Chapter 9

TW: foul language

HARRY'S POV
I had come to terms with my new-found love for Louis by the end of the week. It made things harder, but not any different. I could live with it.

The only issue was Eleanor. Louis had been doing double the number of stunts he had to do before. I was worried he would start to actually like her. She was so pretty, and she looked perfect with Louis.

Pap pictures released of the couple filled up my phone and I couldn't take my eyes off of them. Louis kissing her, holding her hand, whispering in her ear. I cried every time I saw them. Lashing out by punching my pillow and pulling at my hair.

Why couldn't I ever be with him?

This was one of those moments. I was in my bed punching a pillow, imagining it to be Eleanor's face. I sobbed and salty tears ran down my cheeks. Each punch to the soft fabric relieved my anger slightly. I punched the pillow weakly a couple last times. I stopped and sighed, flopped down on the bed and crying until I couldn't anymore.

This was my life now. 

My phone rang and I flopped over to see who it was. I cleared my throat and wiped the tears away from my eyes. Before pressing the "answer" button, I smiled. Not a real smile though, just one to convince myself I was fine.

I answered, "Hey Li."

"Haz!" Liam giggled though the phone. "Zayn stop tickling me!" I heard Liam shout before falling into a fit of pained laughter. I smiled, for real this time.

"What's up?" I asked when the laughing had died down.

"Sorry, H. I was calling to let you know that we're all going to hang out at a bar later tonight."

"And you better come because we only laugh at your jokes when we're drunk!" I heard Zayn yell from the background.

"Zayn! My jokes are very funny, thank you very much. Where are we meeting?"

"Nine Lives, it's a new joint across from our flat! Come around 9." Liam explained.

"Cool, see you then." I said and ended the call.

I put my phone back down on the bed and pushed my head into the pillow. I groaned as I thought about having to pick out a decent outfit for tonight. Louis would be there. Louis. I let out a broken sob as I thought about the gorgeous blue-eyed boy I had fallen in love with.

LOUIS' POV
I was walking down a busy street, with Eleanor's hand latched onto my own. I heard the shutter of cameras and the occasional car horn sounding amongst the heavy traffic. I was wearing a white, graphic tee and some black skinnies. I had my hair in a quiff and wore sunglasses so the media couldn't catch the bored expression I was sure could be seen through my eyes.

Simon had called earlier this morning to demand my presence at some new, supposedly romantic, restaurant with Eleanor. I had to cancel my plans with Harry tonight for this stunt, this stupid stunt.

Eleanor was busy complaining to me about  the usual. The store she went to sold out of this pair of pants she wanted, she lost one of her many purses, and some paparazzi who had cornered her the other day.

"It was so weird," she said, "He asked me questions about the sudden closeness of you and Harry Styles." That caught my attention.

I snapped my head towards her, "What?" I asked.

"I know right! That's what I thought. I mean you hate Harry!" She laughed.

I frowned. That wasn't true. I didn't hate Harry.

I wanted to deny her statement but was interrupted by her squealing with excitement. She pointed ahead of us to a posh place with swarms of influencers and people of high stature laughing and sipping on fruity drinks.

I scoffed and took a deep breath, preparing myself for the extravaganza I would soon have to endure. I would much rather be hanging out with Harry right now, watching movies and laughing at his terrible jokes.

HARRY'S POV
The day had gone by rather slowly as I had nothing to do before hanging out with the other  Louis had cancelled our plans because of another stunt with Eleanor. So, I was forced to watch cheesy romantic movies by myself.

Now, I was getting ready for the night ahead. I slipped on a red button up that had black patterns lining the top and made sure to leave the top few buttons undone so I could have room for the silk, black neck scarf Louis had bought me a few weeks ago.

I found myself trying harder than usual. Wanting to look my best, for Louis I assumed. I opened the box where I kept all of my jewelry and carefully selected a few rings to slide on my bare fingers. Before I could shut the box, a necklace with a paper airplane charm caught my eye. I grabbed it and pushed my head through it in a last-minute decision. I hastily shut the box and walked back to my closet.

I grabbed a pair of black Chelsea boots from a shelf and walked over to where I stored my colognes. I reached to get the one I would always wear but changed my mind and grabbed a flowery perfume instead.

I sprayed the sweet scent over my body, catching a look in my vanity mirror after. I saw a tube of lip-gloss I had bought the other day and reached for that as well. I applied a thin layer over my lips, puckering them softly when I was done.

I took one last look at myself before heading out of my flat.
~
Nine Lives had a tropical vibe and smelled of a mixture of sweat, liquor, and vanilla. I made my way through the groups of tipsy friends and couples to where Liam was waving at me across the bar.

"Hey Li!" I yelled over the music. I looked at everyone there, my smile growing larger when I saw Louis.

We shared a friendly look, but the moment was ruined by Eleanor sliding into the booth next to Louis. My smile dropped as she clung onto him desperately, looking drunker than ever.

I looked towards Louis, expecting to see him fonding over the girl's state. But was surprised when I saw a look of anger and pure annoyance flash across his face.

"El! I told you to stop fucking following me around!" I could hear him yell, even over the Brittney Spears song that was currently blasting through the speakers.

"But we're dating Louuis!" She slurred. My heart dropped at the words.

"Like hell we are! How many damn times do I have to tell you? Our relationship is fake!" Louis yelled, luckily not attracting any attention from the others in the bar.

I relaxed. They weren't dating.

Louis pulled out his phone and looked a bit for a bit before pressing it to his ear. I heard him greet the person on the receiving end of the call.

"Hey, Calum. Listen, El is following me around again and she managed to track me down to a bar where me and me mates are. If I send you the address, would you come pick her up?"

I watched as he listened to this "Calum." Who was he? Could he be, Louis' boyfriend?

"You will? Ah, thanks mate. Not to be rude, but she's been a real bugger lately." Louis laughed and said goodbye.

Mate. So, not a boyfriend?
~
Around 15 minutes had passed since Louis had made the phone call, and he was now gesturing to someone behind me to our table. I resisted the urge to look back, not wanting Louis to notice my staring.

Louis got out of the booth and pulled a guy who none of us knew into a
"bro-hug."

"Calum, mate! Nice to see you again, thank you so much for coming." Louis said.

"It's nothing. Lord knows she can be a real bitch sometimes. I'll talk to her about all of this when she sobers up, let me know if she starts doing this again, alright?" The guy, who I now knew was the Calum that Louis had been talking to earlier.

Louis laughed, his thin lips stretching into a smile and his eyes crinkling in joy. "See you soon, mate!"

"See ya, Louis!" Calum replied and left.

He came back to the booth and sat down. "Calum is El's brother. He's a real help when it comes to getting rid of her." He said, probably noticing the puzzled expressions written over everybody's faces.

I nodded in understanding and took another sip of some pink drink I had ordered that I forgot the name of. Louis looked in my direction and smiled.

"Hazza! Come sit next to me!" He whined. "I haven't seen you in like forever!"

"What do you mean, Lou? We saw each other this morning." I said but still got up and slid into his side of the booth, allowing him to drape his arm around my shoulders.

"Forever." He confirmed. His eyes traveled down to my lips, which were probably a bit shinier than usually due to the lip-gloss I had applied earlier.

"Is that lip-gloss?" He asked.

Suddenly I got scared. What if he thought that was weird, or too girly?

I ducked my head, "Y-yeah. I p-put it on s-sometimes."

Louis grinned and took two of his fingers and placed then under my chin. He pushed my head up and turned it to face him. Our eyes met and Louis said, "Darling, don't be ashamed. I think it looks marvelous."

I grinned, both of my dimples popping out. "Thank you, Lou." I said, sincerely. I think both of us knew how much his approval had meant to me in that moment.

I had told Louis countless stories of people shaming me over how I dress, including my own father. He knew that just wearing this lip-gloss out in public was a huge step for me, and his compliment made me excited for the night to come.
​~
​The "night to come" turned out to be terrible. At least 10 different girls came up to Louis, asking to dance, or for his phone number. He respectfully declined all of the offers, but it still bugged me how everyone seemed to want him.

​I was drinking a steady amount until a tan, attractive guy approached Louis. I couldn't make out what they were saying from my position, but it looked like the guy was flirting with him. I downed my drink quickly and ordered two more which were down just as quickly. Still, I was watching the two interact.

​What I didn't know was, Liam was looking at me intently from where he sat with Zayn. He wasn't drinking that night other than a couple sips of whatever Zayn ordered because he volunteered to be the designated driver. His soberness must have allowed him to notice the pained expression on my face while I was watching them, because he invited me over to "talk" the next day.