Behind Close Doors

Chapter Five

HARRY'S POV

I TOOK A JOYRIDE around the city after I left school, trying to kill time before my mother would inevitably call my phone and tell me to come home. She was going to lose her shït once she found out I got into a fight, and I knew she was going to be even angrier when I wouldn't be able to explain to her why I did what I did.

I've always considered myself more of a lover rather than a fighter, but I felt that what Alice told me the other day was reason enough for me to bash Tommy's face in with my fists. What he did to her in her intoxicated state was despicable and something he should go to jail for, but Alice was so reluctant to press charges or tell anyone else. She said that I was the only person she could trust and that other people might not believe her story.

I decided not to press the subject further and that the best thing I could do was console her and help her move on–if that was even possible. I made a right turn on Shipfriend road and parked my car outside of Alice's house. She told me she was staying home from school yesterday and texted me that her parents had already gone to work this morning, so I figured I'd drop by.

Given the fact that my knuckles were still sore, I rang the doorbell instead of knocking and waited patiently for her to answer the door. Two minutes later and I was being greeted with a pearly white smile and heartfelt kiss.

"Mm. Harry, what are you doing here? I thought you'd be in school," Alice asked me after pulling away from my lips. Before I was able to respond though, her eyes dropped down to my hands, and her smile slowly morphed into a frown. "What happened?"

"I...erm...I got into a fight," I confessed as I nervously scratched the back of my neck. "I confronted Tommy about what you told me when I got to school and he tried to–"

"–Wait a minute. You did what?!" Alice exclaimed with wide eyes. "Why the hell would you go and confront him Harry? Now the whole goddamn school knows what he did..." She groaned, running a hand through her hair in distress.

I frowned slightly at her words because A - I thought she'd react better than this and B - because our school probably thought even more lowly of her, and it was all my fault. "No, not...not quite," I broke the news to her gently. "Uh, Tommy basically told everyone in the parking lot that you gave him head after I asked him to tell me the truth. That's why I punched him because I knew he told me a lie."

Alice's face visibly paled with my confession, but she shook her head in disbelief and brushed it off with a scoff. "That bastard. He's just jealous because he knows he will never be half the man you are. I'm so sorry that you got into a fight because of me. It was never my intention to get you into any trouble. Gosh, your parents must hate my guts."

"Don't worry about that. They'll have to get over it eventually," I assured her. "And who knows? Maybe I can even cajole my way out of a suspension and get community service or detention instead," I joked as I wrapped my arms around her waist and pressed her body flush against my chest.

"Hmm," Alice hummed, teasingly rubbing her nose against mine. "Well, you are quite the charmer. Plus, you're the quarterback of the football team and with the Homecoming Game approaching, they'd be dumb to suspend you now."

"Mhmm. In the words of Mr. Harris, I'm the school's ticket to the state championship," I agreed before giving her a quick peck over the lips. "So, you're parents won't be home anytime soon, huh?" I whispered in her ear to which she responded with a nod. "Good, because I don't think they'd appreciate hearing how loud I'm about to make their daughter scream my name," I told Alice before squeezing her bum.

She giggled against my chest and eagerly lead the two of us upstairs to her room in between shared kisses. When the bedroom door shut, my hands greedily reached for the hem of her shirt and helped her lift the fabric over her head while she unbuttoned my trousers. It wasn't long before our naked bodies hit the mattress, and I placed all of my efforts into fulfilling my promise.

§

"HARRY EDWARD STYLES!" My mum's voice boomed as I tried to sneak up to my room undetected. She caught me in the middle of the staircase, and I was forced to turn back around and face her, knowing if I didn't there'd be consequences. "You have some explaining to do, mister. Why did I get a call from your school principal saying that you never showed up for class? And to make matters worse, that you assaulted a student in the parking lot? Have you gone mental?"

"I needed to clear my head, so I went for a drive," I shrugged, trying to downplay the situation, "but m'tired now and think I need some shut eye. Can we have this discussion later mu–"

"–Absolutely not. You still haven't told me why you socked someone in the face. Robin went over to their house to negotiate because Mr. Wilson's family is thinking of pressing charges, Harry. I don't think you understand just how serious this is," She told me, but I couldn't help the chortle that escaped my mouth at the mention of his family pressing charges.

What a joke.

"Oh, so this is funny to you? Well, let's see how much fun you'll be having without the Internet for two weeks. I'm changing the password to the wifi," My mum stated, and I parted my lips open in protest.

"How the hell am I supposed to do my homework without the internet?" I complained. "It's the twenty first century for goodness sake."

"You've just added on another week to your punishment. You know better than to get smart with me," Mum said, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes at her. "If you need the internet so badly, then go to the school's library. That's what I did when I was your age, and my marks turned out just fine. And let me be clear. If I ever hear anything like this again, I will take away your X-box360 and put you on house arrest."

"You can't be serious mum. You don't even know the full story. If you knew the reason why I punched Tommy, you would be giving me a pat on the back right now."

"Care to enlighten me then?" She challenged, raising her perfectly trimmed eyebrows up at me.

I bit the inside of my cheek and stared at my mum with my jaw clenched tightly. Alice would be mad if you told her, Harry.

"That's what I thought. Go to your room. I'll call you down when supper is ready."

I went to my room without another word and slammed the door closed, falling back onto my bed with an exasperated sigh. I checked the time on my watch and saw that it was a quarter to four. Delivery Girl is probably in the shop making pizzas right now.

I felt bad about our encounter this morning when I realized she was just trying to help. I have a tendency not to think before I speak which usually gets me into trouble with my mum, but I sounded like the biggest arsehole when I told her that she should stick to the only thing she's good at which is taking people's orders. Hopefully, she is smart enough to see right through my words and confident enough to think better of herself.

I was pulled from my inner thoughts when I felt my phone vibrating in the back pocket of my jeans. I reached behind me and opened up the text message Alice had sent me with a smile.

Alice: I just realized there's no food in my house, and I'm completely starved. Know of any good places I could grab a bite to eat with friends in town? ;)

I thought for a moment before sending her my response.

Me: I heard Adrian's Pizzeria is pretty good.

Author's Note:

Hey everyone. Thanks for reading this story. Can't believe it surpassed 100 reads already. If you liked this chapter, feel free to vote. Don't be shy about commenting either :)

Question for my readers: Where do you all call home?

I saw my stats and read that most of my readers live in the U.S, a few live in the U.K, and South Asia. New York City is my home.

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Kaylandia