No Control • hs

eighteen

     Harry walks up to the front desk and rings the bell twice. I hide in the corner, tucked away so that no one would see me. I reach for the security camera above me. I click the power button the camera and move cautiously over to the next one in my sight. I overhear Harry's conversation with the lady at the front desk. "Ma'am there has been a horrible leak in my floor's public bathroom. Water... everywhere."

     "Do you know what it came from?"

     "I...um...clogged the toilet." Harry said bashfully. I tried to keep myself from laughing. I swear, I'm such a child. The lady widens her eyes. "You might want to call up Papa John's and tell them to put a little less grease on their pizza, if you know what I mean." Harry's voice raises many octaves.

     "I will go get the custodian-"

     "No!" Harry says dragging the lady by her wrist to the elevator. "We have to go now, it's probably flowing into the hallways and everywhere by now." He clicks the highest level button on the elevator, pulling it off as a mistake to give me more time. All of the security cameras settled on the front desk have been disabled. I walk hurriedly over to the desk and see that the laptop has already been logged on.

     "Okay." I whisper to myself. I have no idea where to start. My eyes scan all of the tabs until it comes to "security cam".

     There are many folders labeled all levels of the complex. I scan the mouse over my floor. Different angles come up and I finally find one of the vending machine. I click on that, and rewind it 24 hours back. Nothing.

     I see a little something moving in the corner if the picture and it finally comes into view. I stay there, waiting for the silhouette to turn around. The second that he did, it all made sense but there was something that I couldn't quite figure out about how the two were connected. I saw Zayn on the camera footage.

      I quickly exit out of the tab and go enable the security cameras I disabled. Harry and the front desk lady walk out of the elevator. "I sincerely apologize, someone must have cleaned it up before we could get there."

     "Well, if it ever happens again, let me know." She says, returning to her place behind the desk.

     "Definitely." Harry walks away into the elevator and he presses level 8. I will take the next elevator so it looks more natural. I hit the up button and hop onto the elevator without a word. The elevator takes me up to my level and I walk out.

     "Who was it, did you find anything?" Harry asks, waiting for me in the hallway. I remain speechless while Harry keeps asking a series of questions. "Peyton. Who was it?" We go into my apartment and I lock the door. Harry sits down on my couch and rests his elbows on his knees. "Peyton!" Harry looks angered now.

     "It was Zayn." Harry looks down, looking for words.

     "They both have connection to us, but how do they have connection to each other. Niall is your ex, and Zayn broke up my old girlfriend and I. But how and when did they find each other? Were they planning to do this all along?"

     "I don't know, but Niall obviously didn't want us to find out Zayn was working with him." Harry takes a deep breath and leans his head back. I can tell he couldn't understand why they would do this to us. They both had gotten what they wanted before, what brought them back?

     "The message on the machine said he'll be back, but when?" Harry asks.

     "I guess we'll know when the time comes." I say, pacing around the coffee table.

     "I think we should start driving to work together, I don't want anything to happen to you when I'm not around, we're both targets. I'll drive us Monday, Wednesday, and Friday." Harry says, catching my gaze.

     "I guess I'll drive us Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays then. Deal?" I say.

     "Deal." We shake hands and Harry pulls me into a quick embrace. Harry walks towards the door. "See you tomorrow." He says, looking back. "Lock this door behind me."

     I nod. "See ya." Harry opens the door to exit and walks out. Before Harry shuts the door behind him, he stops in the doorway. I walk over next to him. "What is it Har-" I stop when I see what is on Harry's apartment door. Harry, and I's faces are all glued onto a target, along with both Liam and Louis' faces. I look up at the security camera in the hallway and see that it is not recording.

     "Were all targets." Harry says.