Pride {l.s.}

19- Better Than Her

"I know you're not happy with her, Lou!"

"Leave me alone, Zayn! You don't know anything about her!"

"I talked to Harry! I know that she's pressuring you! That's not a healthy relationship! You're not even happy with her!"

"Yes, I am!"

"Stop lying to yourself! You're better off being alone than with someone like her who can't even make you happy!"

I let out a shaky breath and run a hand through my hair. We are walking over to Eleanor's place to pick her up. She and I are automatically on good terms since we're dating. We tend to not talk about the fact that we fought. After we're at Eleanor's, Harry is then picking everyone up, and we're all heading to a local fair that's in town. Zayn decides that this is the perfect time to rebel against me having Eleanor as my girlfriend.

"Can we just not talk about it? We're about to pick her up. Please be civil. This was supposed to be a fun day," I say softly with a sigh. Fighting is exhausting, but it's been happening ever since Harry stepped into my life. I know that it isn't Harry's fault; it's my fault. Harry just brought out something in me that wasn't supposed to be seen again.

"Yeah, sure. Just don't expect me to like talk to her a ton or anything. If she accuses me of being a terrorist again, I think I'm gonna kill her," Zayn tells me with a dead serious face. With his darker skin and hair, he obviously looks of Middle Eastern descent. Being his friend, I know that he is also Muslim. That does not make him a terrorist, and she's stupid to think that any of that would make him a terrorist.

"If she mentions you being a terrorist, I'll hold her down while you stab her," I reply with a small smile.

Zayn smiles back. "You would do that?"

"You'll always mean more to me than her, Z."

"I thought you were replacing me with her," Zayn shyly admits. He shoves his hands deeper into his pockets.

"Never."

We arrive at Eleanor's just as Harry's car pulls up. I text her that we are outside just as Harry steps out of the car. He dresses in his usual skinny jeans and an oddly patterned shirt that only he could pull off. Niall and Liam slide out of the car to say hi. Zayn and Liam embrace in a hug as I wave and greet Niall. Harry completely ignores my attempt to initiate a conversation with Niall and instead gives me a very strong hug.

"Missed you too, Harold," I say with a laugh as I return the hug. "It's only been a day since we last saw each other."

"One day too long."

"You're cheesy."

I finally realize that Harry and I have probably been hugging for too long. I cough and awkwardly pull away from Harry. Whenever I go to his house, it's always so natural to hug him for awhile. He makes me feel at home in his arms.

"Hey, Lou."

This time it isn't Zayn or Harry calling me that, and it can only be one person. I struggle to put a smile on my face as I give Eleanor a quick hug and peck on the lips.

"This is Eleanor. Eleanor, this is Niall, Liam, you know Zayn, and uh Harry," I introduce her. It's awkward for a moment before Harry steps forward.

"Harry Styles. Nice to meet you." Harry offers his hand, and they shake. I should have expected him to act civilized towards her, but I'm still surprised by how formal he is. He's always been a gentleman.

"Oh yes. Harry. Lou talks quite a bit about you," Eleanor says with a sweet smile. I swear I'm just waiting for her to make a stupid comment at this point.

"Oh, really? All good things I hope." Harry looks at me with raised eyebrows. I blush and look away at his sudden interest in me talking about him.

"He sings praises of your cooking. Of course, if the way you cook is as bad as the way you dress, we may have a problem," Eleanor says with a laugh. No one else joins in. They all either glare at me or her. I don't need to see their faces to convince me to do the right thing.

"Actually, I met Harry when I was painting him, and I can say with full confidence that he dresses better than anyone I've ever met," I tell her. "It's fun, and it's a lot better than what you're wearing."

***

While Eleanor glares at me from the back seat on the entire car ride to the fair, I see Harry sitting next to me trying not to laugh. Every time our eyes meet, he just starts laughing again. I keep reminding him to keep his eyes on the road, but he barely listens to my suggestions about driving as I ride shotgun.

"I can't believe you finally admitted that I dress better than your girlfriend," Harry whispers to me once he calms down. No one in the back can hear us over the radio and Zayn and Liam's conversation about a banana apocalypse. I don't bother asking.

"It's true," I whisper back. "I wasn't going to let her say something so rude to you."

"Even though she's your girlfriend?"

I roll my eyes. "She is my girlfriend, you idiot, and I did it. So yes, I would do it even if she is my girlfriend."

"Wow. Someone is sassy today. What's up, Boo Bear?" Harry asks since he knows that the nickname makes me calm down a little. It just reminds me not to get so angry sometimes.

"Sorry about that. Zayn and I got a fight on the way over here. I just wish we didn't fight." I turn to look out the window. I watch Orlando fly by as we draw nearer to the carnival.

"What was the fight about?" Harry asks politely as he pulls into the parking lot.

"Moving in with him. Zayn wants me to live in a more suitable place."

Zayn has recently talked about me moving in with him, but that's not why we were fighting. Harry doesn't need to know the reason we were fighting.

"Zayn's right. I hate the thought of you living in such a small place. I actually wanted to talk to you about that later when we're alone if you're okay with that," Harry says somewhat shyly as we pull into a parking space.

"Sure. We can talk once we're inside. Maybe we can skip one of the rides."

Harry nods his head in agreement before yelling at everyone else in the car. "We're at the carnival, guys!"

The rest of the boys reply with shouts of joy before they climb out of the car.

Eleanor leans forward and says,"Your friends are weird."

I roll my eyes before I follow the rest of them out of the car.

A/N

You guys are so awesome! I have had an account contact me, and Pride will be translated into Spanish eventually by InLarryLove ! I love all of you. Hugs and kisses.

xoxo raindropkiss1