Heartbreaker [h.s.]

Chapter Four

Strolling past Layla, I give her a little wave and she smiles back, wiggling her tattooed fingers at me. I go down that same long hallway and in through the same door, only this time with some knowledge of what lies behind it—that prick, Harry, and his two pea-sized brain sidekicks.

I can't complain too much about Niall and Louis. Sure, they both collectively share one brain cell it seems, but at least they're nice to me. That may have to do with the fact that I'm a pretty girl, but hey, I'll take it. Harry, on the other hand...I don't know how I'm going to put up with that. The guy is wildly attractive, I'd be an idiot not to see that. But his nasty attitude subtracts from that substantially. All the snide comments and the brushing me off as if I'm no better than one of the rats at the subway station, it's fucking annoying as shit.

I'm going to try my hardest to not let him tamper with my mood, but it's going to be a living hell working with him. This is my one chance to make something of myself finally and I won't let a pretty boy with a bad attitude mess it up.

So I keep the smile I gave to Layla plastered to my face as I enter the studio rehearsal space. Harry is perched on the same couch, his head buried in a leather bound notebook, biting down on a pen, a pensieve dent in his forehead. Niall and Louis are sitting there, drinking beers and laughing about something. I notice a few scattered about the table, an ashtray with a blunt in it, like they've been here for a while.

"Hi, boys," I chime. Niall and Louis are the first to greet me, raking me up and down. Their eyes lingering too long on my chest in the plain white tank I wear.

Harry's head snaps up from the notebook, eyes meeting mine. They're dark and narrowed. Unhappy to see me, just as I suspected. "Fucking hell, Charlotte! The first good idea I've had in weeks just went right out of my head because you had to walk in and interrupt," he scoffs loudly. He shuts the notebook and slams it on the table in frustration. His hands run over his scowling face.

"Whoa," I declare, "how was I supposed to know you were in the middle of a genius idea? I just got here."

"I swear," he stands up and crosses the room, pointing at me, "if I hear that tone from you again...." His tongue rolls in his mouth as he sneers.

Harry's tall figure stands before me, but I don't cower away like he wants. I cross my arms and raise my brows challengingly. Other people might let him be a dick to them, but not me. "If you hear that tone from me again what?" I egg him on, making sure I use my extra sweet voice, even though I know that'll only push him further.

He opens his mouth and the faint scent of whiskey and weed comes off of him. "You'll regret it," he laughs menacingly.

"I'm so scared," I deadpan. Niall and Louis' muffled chuckles ring in the dead silence that fills the room. I'm glad they're at least finding it entertaining because I am certainly not.