Play Your Cards Right

Chapter 15: The Reign of Rylee

"I seriously can not believe you did that" I laughed looking across the table to Camille. Everyone was surrounding the porch just to talk to the little celebrity. She seemed so nice and funny, I wouldn't even think that she was capable of something so violent.

"I know pretty tough aren't I?" she flexed her muscles making the group chuckle.

The pool 'get together' was going better than I expected. I thought it would be a horrible experience having Rylee here and all, but she hasn't said a word or even look in my direction.

Actually, thats a little strange. Shouldn't she be jumping at the chance to get to Niall and I? Why is she holding back?

I tried to dismiss the ideas of Rylee's plot, but they never went away. Niall has been uneasy with her presence all day. I decided to reassure myself or something by taking a quick glance at her to make sure there was nothing wrong. I jolted my head to the left to see her smug smile leaning against Harry's chest. She sent me a faint wink that ignited me from the inside out. What was she playing at?

I could feel her stare lock on me as I turned away. I took a deep breath to cover up my anger. Niall noticed my sudden mood change and placed his hand on my thigh to calm me. Warmth filled my body as his skin made contact with mine. I placed my hand over his and took a good gulp of my lemonade.

"Woah, I didn't even realise how dark its getting." Niall said from the chair next to mine.

"Looks like the party will have to end, my parents will be home soon." I got up from my chair and slid open the door so everyone could go into the house.

"Thank you so much for having me over!" Camille smiled as she exited the house. Harry and Rylee were following after her. Harry opened the door for Camille and Rylee and then jumped in the front seat. Why was Camille going home with Rylee? Were they good friends? Does she know what happened between Niall and Rylee?

"Yeah really it was great." Zayn thanked escorting Perrie to his car. Soon Louis and Eleanor, and Liam and Dani, said their goodbyes and left the house.

"My pleasure!" I grinned and waved as everyone sped off in the distance.

~*~

I walked back inside and sat on the couch next to Niall. Taking in a deep breath, it felt good to know I was alone once again. I wiggled my wrist inside my cast because of how uncomfortable it was. I huffed at how damp it was on the inside; no blow dryer will ever help this. I placed it in my lap, pulled out my bun, and rested my head on the pillows behind me. I looked over at Niall and watched him acting so calm and relaxed.

Rylee's face flashed in my mind as Niall straightened his hair. She obviously bothered him a lot. What did she do to him? Why does he hate her so much? What game was she trying to play with us?

"That was fun." He broke the silence.

"Yeah. Getting my cast soaked was the icing on the cake."

"Hey I said i was sorry!" He said.

"I know I know." I giggled.

"You like teasing me don't you?"

"Yep." I replied poking his nose.

"You get all worked up. Its so cute." I added. He scooted closer to me making weird sounds across the couch cushions. I laughed at the awkward noise coming from him and he chuckled along with me.

"Not much of a romantic am I?" he sighed while placing his head on my lap. I shook my head at his remark and played with his blonde hair. He watched my face as I twirled his ends between my fingers. He hummed a song unknown to me as we just enjoyed each other's presence.

His eyes closed as I attempted to fix his once perfect quiff and my mind wandered back to Rylee.

I don't know why but I couldn't erase her out of my mind. It just annoys the heck out of me because I have no idea what she did. I'm seriously clueless at this point. I didn't want to bring it up right now because of how much I wanted to stay forever in this moment with Niall. But then again, my curiosity was eating from the inside out.

"Niall?" I took my hands away from his hair.

"Why did you stop?" He whined and looked up at me.

"You've never told me whats up between you and Rylee. I mean I have the right to know because we basically got together because of her." I breathed out. The words came out more harsh than I wanted them to. He sighed and rubbed his forehead looking for the right words to respond.

"Hmm. Where to start." I sat there quietly awaiting his explanation.

"Okay. Rylee was basically my childhood bestfriend. Our parents were very close, so obviously we spent some time together. Anyway, we continued to be great friends until highschool. Freshmen year, everyone was awkward and didn't know what to do around each other. We kind of split ways for a while, until she told me she was in love with me. The problem was that I thought of her like a sister, not particularly a girlfriend. When I said no, she went crazy." He looked up making sure I was still listening.

"Yeah."

"Anyway. She was so set on getting me to like her, she started to eliminate the competition. At first, it was spreading rumors and trying to make me look bad. But then, she took it to another level. Girls that I had any kind of interest in started disappearing or avoiding me. They would come up with excuses not to accept my invitations to go on a date with me, but I knew Rylee was behind it. When I told her to stop and just get over me, she got even worse. She started sitting outside my house and calling my name or following me wherever I went. It got really creepy. Rylee finally realized that attacking the girls didn't phase me that much. I mean I never got to know any of them that well, so it didn't matter to me. So she started dating all of my bestfriends from Ireland. I tried to warn them, but none of them listened. She was breaking their hearts left and right. To add to the destruction, she would tell them she loved me the whole time. So in response, my bestfriends hated me and I was all alone." He sighed and made eye contact with me again. I nodded for him to continue.

" So long story short. I asked my mom if I could come to the US and she gladly let me when I explained why. I was surprised at how understanding she was. I mean who would let their teenager just move to a different country out of the blue. So I moved here and you and the lads made me feel so welcomed. I was finally free and ready to start over. I would have never thought that she would follow me here!" He ended and awaited a response from me.

I couldn't even manage to say a word. I was so surprised at the story behind Rylee. She really was insane by doing all of that just for Niall. It made me feel proud that I was the one he picked though. I laughed at the thought in my mind.

"Please say something." He snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Wow." I sighed and placed my hands back into his hair.

" I know." He closed his eyes and let the sensation take over.

I kept thinking about every word he said. So she basically tried to stop any girls from interacting with him. Then she turned all of his bestfriends against him forcing him to move to America. Wow.

Then it hit me. What if she going to continue to get him here? What will she start with? Maybe threathening me or breaking his best---

Oh no.

HARRY.