Call Me Hopeless, But Not Romantic; h.styles

Chapter 9

Marina's POV

"Okay. So let me just start off by saying this. Harry likes you," I began. Adelaide started laughing like I was a stand-up comedian who had just started off my show with an opening joke.

"Wait. You're kidding, right?" She asked rhetorically when she realized I was serious. "Are we even thinking of the same person? We can't be. That tall lanky asshole with floppy brown hair and tattoos? You think he likes me?" Addie's laughter started up again. "He has been nothing but an asshole to me since we met this morning. For some reason I doubt that he likes me." If we were talking about any other guy, Addie would have had a valid point there, but this wasn't just any guy. This was Harry we were talking about; he had his own set of problems.

"Trust me. I know Harry. He has his own way of... dealing with things." Harry wasn't always the most logical person. He often times did things without thinking them through but then there are also times, ones like today, where he completely over thought things. He couldn't ever just accept what was happening.

"Whatever. I still don't think he likes me." This was going to be more difficult than I thought. Addie was going to take a lot more convincing than I figured. "What's the plan anyway?" Addie asked, trying to make her tone sound bored and uninterested. She may have been able to succeed with that little façade she put up, but I saw the tiny flicker of curiosity that took over her eyes.

"You know what... Just forget about the plan. It was stupid anyway." I waved my hand in the air as if I could push away the idea. I shouldn't have brought it up anyway. Addie isn't the kind of girl that's into playing games with guys, at least not intentionally; I should've seen that sooner.

Adelaide's POV

Ever since I blew up on Harry and basically threw him out of my room he has disappeared from my life, well aside from our Sociology class we have together. He's still there but he knows better than to try to talk to me. We've had a few random, awkward exchanges while one of us is walking in the room to sit down before class. That mostly just consists of me glaring at him though. He ends up looking away quickly. If looks could kill I guarantee that I would be convicted of murder.

On the second day of classes, Marina invited me to meet her at the café again. She said everyone else would be there too. I asked if she was sure and hinted on the fact that maybe everyone else wouldn't want me back. She clearly hadn't picked up on it and I was clearly wrong. At first I was nervous that maybe Marina's friends didn't actually like me and that they were just being nice on the first afternoon that I had met them but they all cheered and greeted me with smiles upon my return. So far I have spent every afternoon with the group at The Golden Aspen, everyone except Harry... Apparently it's something that they've been doing since they met and started to get close; it was their tradition of sorts. Nearly everyone had commented on Harry's absence, claiming it was strange that he hadn't shown. Marina and I had just quickly looked at each other. We knew why he hadn't come around lately but everyone else was clueless.

On Friday when I walked into our usual meeting grounds Louis was the only one there. "Hey, Addie. How was your day, babe?" He asked, momentarily looking up at me and away from his phone as I slid into the booth. "Pretty good. Boring as hell but I'd rather sit through hours of lectures than do actual work." Louis let out a breathy laugh and agreed.

"Are you stopping by our place tonight?" Louis asked. He pressed a few final buttons on his phone and slid it into his front pocket, looking up at me to catch my answer. "You know... for the party?" He continued when I just looked at him. I know he saw how confused I was. My eyebrows were drawn together and I'm sure the rest of my face was screwed up in the unpleasant expression that I often get when I don't understand something. "Marina said she was bringing you with her. You're not backing out are you?" His question caught me off guard. What made him think I was going to back out? "I - erm - I uh." I stumbled on my words.