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Chapter 21: Housewarming

  But there's nothing to be afraid of
Even when the night changes
It will never change me and you

Night Changes - One Direction  

LENA GRUNTED LOUDLY watching Jack approach Harry and welcome him to their house. J fidgeted and looked at me biting the inside of her cheek before walking towards them. After exchanging a few words the three of them joined us. 

"Hello ladies," Harry greeted us, he looked tired and his voice sounded deeper than usual which made me wonder if he had just landed in New York.

Amy and Lena looked evidently bothered by his presence and reluctantly mumbled their 'hellos'. I felt sorry for him, arriving at a place and being treated so roughly, that couldn't mimic my friends' grumpy attitude.

"Hi Harry, how is it going?" I said with a smile.

I could see how his face lit up at the sound of my voice, "All good, thanks," he paused for a few beats locking eyes with me before turning to Lena with a grin, "beautiful house, congratulations!"

His eyes traveled back to me making my cheeks grow warmer. I couldn't help but wonder the real intentions behind his visit.

Could I be his excuse?

"Thanks a lot," Lena replied, the tension in her shoulders slightly easing, visibly giving in to his politeness.

"H! Let me give you a tour!" Jack said ignoring his girlfriend's discomfort.

"Sure mate," Harry answered quickly, " see you later..." he said to all of us, but I knew the message was meant for me.

I watched them walk away and Amy circled her arm around me, "You, my friend, will have to drink for me tonight," she announced.

"It will be my absolute pleasure," I assured in a sudden desperate need of a drink.

Amy took the business seriously and every 15 minutes announced she needed a shot, so I obliged chugging the liquor on her behalf. After an hour and forty minutes of that drinking rhythm, I was starting to find everything hilarious, blurry, and unstable. I had almost forgotten that Harry was at the party and found myself in the middle of an extremely sober conversation between Amy and J that wasn't amusing my drunken frenzies. It was then that I decided to go to the bathroom to see if a splash of water would sober me up.

I climbed the stairs giving a smile to everyone I would find on my way and headed to the most private spot in the house. I opened Lena's bedroom door and went into her ensuite bathroom. Once in there, I splashed water on my face, rinsing off my makeup with the help of a wipe that I found on the counter and feeling somewhat fresher. With a clean face, I stepped out of the bathroom and the room's balcony caught my eye. It looked into the backyard where a few people were gathered but unaware of my presence; the air was slowly sobering me up and I decided to stay there a little longer sitting on one of the loungers, taking advantage of the intimacy the shadows were giving me.

"Aren't you cold out here?" Harry's voice startled me.

I turned around to face him. He was leaning on the balcony door, as handsome as ever, his hair seemed curlier than usual framing his face in the most stunning way. Suddenly the lyrics 'James Dean daydream look in your eyes' crossed my mind and I understood exactly what the blonde pop star meant when she wrote that song for him.

"Cold? It's summer in New York, H," I smiled still feeling a little dizzy.

He shrugged and laughed, "Just making small talk...It's a lovely night, innit?" he said looking up at the sky. It was cloudless.