Until Now (Harry Styles)

Chapter 7

I had called Will a little after the time I got back. It turned out that the robbery did take place on his street, but luckily it wasn't his home. I sighed with relief when I heard the news. But unfortunately, Will wanted to continue our phone conversation and I obliged with a fake, happy tone in my voice.



"So there is this small get together at my fraternity tonight. I was wondering if you, well... if you wanted to be my plus one?" Will's voice was almost pleading, and I wanted to let him down gently, but before I could think out my words, I just blatantly said no. "Oh..." Will went silent.



"Sorry. I didn't mean it like that." But I did. "I just have some projects that I want to get an early start on. It makes everything easier at the end of the semester. You know?" I lied through my teeth. There weren't any projects that I needed to do. I was actually planning on watching another season of models crying over their makeovers.



"It's alright." I could tell it wasn't. Will had this way of letting others know his feelings, but he was at least trying to be subtle about it.



"Let me make it up to you." I said, holding my phone between my shoulder and my ear. "I made cupcakes and I will save one for you when I see you on Tuesday. I swear they are delicious." As I promised Will a cupcake, I took one for myself and peeled the wrapper off. They were still moist even though I had made them the day before.



"Deal." Will chuckled into the phone and I smiled at my trade for a cupcake instead of going to a party with Will as his date.



"Well, I have to go. Projects await!" I lied yet again. I said my goodbye and locked my phone before setting it on the counter next to all of the cupcakes I had made. There was no way I would eat them all. I set two aside for Nicks and Will. The nine others sat there, mocking me. If I eat another, it will be an endless cycle of sweet binging. I thought, pushing the closest cupcake away. I then thought of a brilliant idea. I was determined to find out who else lived in the apartment complex. It had three floors with three apartments on each floor, minus one on the first floor to make room for the lobby and mail slots. I gathered the cupcakes on a plate and grabbed my keys. It was time for an adventure.



It was a just before dinnertime, so I figured most people would be back from school and or work. I would get to meet a few of my neighbors. I had already met Liam who lived upstairs with his girlfriend, Danielle, who I had yet to meet. That was two cupcakes down, seven to go. I met Harry on multiple occasions, but he didn't strike me as a sweets person, so I figured I could skip his apartment. Still, there were seven cupcakes to disperse among my neighbors. Hopefully some of them were home.



I started with my next door neighbor, who I found out was an older woman who worked as a nurse at the local hospital. Her work explained why she was never home, but thankfully she was there when I knocked and she was very friendly. Her name was Caroline and she accepted my offer of two cupcakes for herself and her young son who was peaking around the corner. Five more to go.



The apartment on the other side of mine was empty, so it was down to the first floor. I knocked on their doors, knowing that another student lived in one of the apartments. No one answered and I was left saddened by the fact that I had unfriendly neighbors, except Caroline, and the fact that I still had five more cupcakes that I wanted to get rid of before I ate them myself and then felt bad about it afterwards.



I took the elevator to the third floor and was shocked to see that when it opened it was like the whole floor was having a party. The three apartments, including Harry's, Liam's and the third unknown had their doors open and music was pouring out of Harry's doorway. How I hadn't heard the music before baffled me. I must have been getting used to the constant noise that it just didn't faze me anymore. Either that or they turned the music on when I was on the first floor where I couldn't hear it.



A few people passed me like I was part of the commotion on the third floor. I almost shut the elevator doors and returned to my own floor, but then I spotted Liam walking out from his apartment. A wide smile was on his face and his arm was wrapped around a girl with large, curly hair that bounced every time she walked.



"Liam! Hey!" I called out, stepping out from the elevator. Liam looked out and saw me standing there. He turned to his girlfriend and nodded at her before he let his arm drop from around her waist.



"Ashleigh, hey there." Liam stood before me, hands in his pocket. He eyed the cupcakes on the plate in my grasp and I chuckled nervously. "For me? You should have." He smirked. "Can I?" He asked, reaching for a heavily frosted cupcake. I nodded and he smiled, grabbing the one he was aiming for. "What brings you upstairs? I hope the noise isn't too bad. It started with just Harry, Danielle and I. Then Zayn, Louis, Niall...." His list went on and on. A few people came out of his apartment and wandered down the hall to the next one. There had to be at least twenty to thirty people crowding the small hall and apartments. "Just a bunch of people showed up." He shrugged. "Come meet my girlfriend." He swung his arm around my shoulder and took the plate of cupcakes away from me. "Danielle, this is Ashleigh. She lives downstairs. Ashleigh, this is Danielle. My girlfriend."



I held my hand out and smiled sweetly. Danielle returned my gesture. "Nice to meet you." She nodded and turned to Liam, asking him something I couldn't quite hear over the loud music.



Liam turned back towards me. He was still holding my plate, four cupcakes left. Danielle reached over and plucked one from the plate. Three more now. "You should come hang out. We're all playing cards, dancing, really doing whatever." Liam motioned to the apartments. "Everyone drinks down at Donnie's." Donnie must have been the third room I didn't know of. "Dancing at Harry's and cards with me."



"Oh, no thanks. I think I'm just going to go back downstairs." I shrugged, flipping my hair over my shoulder, shying away from everything around me. I wasn't the sort of person who liked large crowds of unfamiliar people. I preferred to be around my close friends.



"Please?" Liam pouted. It was possibly the cutest thing I had ever seen.



"Please, Ashleigh?" Danielle pleaded as well.



Ugh. People. "Okay. Yeah I'll stay for a little bit." I sighed heavily, following Liam and Danielle into their apartment. It was planned out much like my own, but there was a second, smaller room. There were ten or so people in the room. Some I had seen around campus, others were strangers. I followed Liam over to his kitchen area where he set the plate of cupcakes down on his counter.



"I'll be stealing the rest of these." He picked up another one and chucked the wrapper into his trash bin. I laughed and let him have the rest. All I wanted back was my plate. I'd grab it later. "Want anything to drink?" Liam asked after he swallowed the rest of the sweet.



"Uh, no thanks." I declined. Drinking wasn't my thing.



"Not drinking? What is this!?" A loud voice came up behind me. I felt a pair of hands on my hips and I squeaked in response. I quickly turned around and was faced by Niall. His blonde hair was in his blue eyes. His hazed eyes were probably due to the amount of alcohol he had consumed. He seemed pretty drunk at the time. "Ashleigh White!" He shouted and dropped his hands from my hips. "How about this for a rain check? Did you come with anyone?" He winked at me and looked me up and down.





I felt myself blush. Liam did say that Niall was here, along with a whole list of other people. I regretted not fixing my appearance before going on my cupcake adventure, but I didn't expect to be thrown into a party scene. I was wearing simple jean shorts that clung to my thighs, but weren't tight. My hair was down, but my bangs were pinned back, and I was wearing a plain white t-shirt. I wish I had spruced it up a bit. "Nope, I'm not here with anyone. Well, I came upstairs to offer Liam and Danielle some of the cupcakes I made, and found this." I motioned to everything around us.



"Wait, you live here?" Niall looked surprised.



"Yeah, just downstairs." I pointed at the floor and Niall laughed. He had one of the strangest, yet best laughs I had ever heard. It was contagious.



"Man, small world. I now have three friends that live in the same complex. You," He pointed at me. "Liam and Harry." He pointed over to the other side of the room. I looked up and Liam was standing there next to Harry, and Harry happened to be staring in Niall and I's direction. And when I say that, I mean he was staring directly at me and I wanted to make it seem like he wasn't by including Niall into his gaze, but that gaze was aimed directly at me. Heavy eyelashes darkened those pale green eyes. When our gazes met he smirked and a shiver ran through me. I knew Niall was still talking to me, but his words were muffled as I was stuck in the trance that was prompted by Harry Styles.



I continued eyeing his figure. The way he leaned against the wall. The unlit cigarette held behind his ear. His jawline. His collarbones. That black t-shirt. Those skinny jeans and those penetrating green eyes. Harry then looked away, pursing his lips. His sight traveled across the room until they stopped. I scanned the room, trying to figure out who he was looking at. Then I saw her.



Perrie.



She was the girl from earlier that afternoon who was sneaking out in a hurry. Her hair was in curls and still as vibrant as ever. Harry was staring at her like she was some trophy. The smug look on his face confused me until I looked back at Perrie. She was hanging on another guy and smiling. The guy had darker hair and a short beard. He leaned forward, wrapping his arms around Perrie's waist and kissed her softly. They looked very much like... like a couple? I shook my head in confusion; looking back to Harry who pushed off the wall he was leaning on and pulled the cigarette from his ear. The grin on his face was wide, dimples created craters in his cheeks.



"Ashleigh?" I snapped my attention back to Niall.



"Oh sorry." I could help but glance back at Perrie who was still hanging on who I assumed to her boyfriend. "Are they dating?" I asked Niall, pointing at Perrie and her companion. I wanted to confirm before I made my assumptions.



"Zayn and Perrie?" Niall questioned. I nodded. "Yeah, they've been dating since high school. Why?"



Well, there was one thing about Harry that I was sure about. He liked sleeping with his friends, girlfriends. "They look cute together." It was best to avoid the whole situation and avoid the center of the problem: Harry Styles.




A/N: Hello again! This chapter was a little shorter than usual and I apologize! Please still vote and comment! It means the world to me.

Picture of Will on the side!

Much Love

Jachxx