Warzone // Harry Styles AU

Reveal

As Harry pulled up to his house, I couldn't help but stare in wonder. It was huge. But then I realized the whole gang lived there, not just Harry.

He parked his car along the curb, and opened my door. Grabbing my suitcase, he led me inside.

Harry tossed his keys on a counter, and lugged my suitcase up the stairs. He dropped it on the floor in a spare room, immediately stripping the sheets off the bed.

"What are you doing?" I asked, sniffling.

"I don't know the last time these were washed," he said simply. "There should be spares in the closet."

I moved over to where he was pointing, opening the door and finding the extra sheets and comforter inside. While Harry took the dirty linens to the washing machine, I put the others on the bed. After a while, Harry returned.

"Come on," he said. "We're trying to think about what to do."

I followed him back down the steps, and into the living room. The rest of the gang was already present, sitting on sofas or chairs and even the floor. Harry claimed an empty spot on a couch for us, and pulled me down next to him.

"Alright," he said. "Anyone have any ideas?"

"We really only have one choice. We know how the Gremlins are. Aggressive, violent... ruthless. They wouldn't give us any chance if we tried negotiations," Liam said practically. He pulled something up on his phone. "Our fight log says we've only got into hassles with them twice. Both times we lost twenty or more people," he added grimly.

"You're still keeping a fight log?" Zayn asked. "I thought you gave up on that."

"It's been a struggle, but it's helpful when we have to make decisions like this," Liam said haughtily.

"Guys," Harry said. "Now is not the time."

"Sorry, Harry," the two said sheepishly.

"We have to rely on the element of surprise," Louis put in. "And stay sneaky. We have a better chance of getting out if we remain under the radar."

Harry nodded. "Okay. So... Liam, do we have a map of their house?"

Liam fiddled with his phone again. "Yes, but it's from almost four years ago. Who knows what they've done to it since then?"

Harry sighed. "We'll just have to hope they haven't gone on an interior decorating spree," he said. "Where's the most likely place they've got Nessa?"

Liam bit his lip. "There's always the basement," he said. "But there are multiple rooms upstairs and on the ground floor that we don't have uses for on here. She could be in any of those."

I picked at the arm of the couch, trying not to break down again. It didn't sound like we had a very good chance. Harry took my hand and squeezed it. I didn't move.

"Let me see," Harry said, and Liam passed the phone over. He tapped a few things, and a map of the Gremlin's house popped up on the TV on the wall. Harry stood. "Okay. So we have seven rooms Nessa could possibly be held in. Three on the top floor," he took a pen-like thing and drew a circle around them. "Two on the ground floor," he outlined those. "And the entire basement." Harry circled the last area quickly. "We're going to need groups of about eight at each room."

"What do we do if we find her?" one person I didn't recognize asked. "And who exactly are we looking for?"

Harry glanced at me. "Do you have a picture?"

"Yeah, but my phone screen's busted," I said, my throat thick.

"Send it to me," Harry demanded, and I managed to send one of the many pictures I had of Nessa to him. He showed it around, and all the gang members took mental notes. "If you find her, get out as quickly as possible and bring her back here. Send those still in the house a warning text, and we'll try to leave as soon as we can. If one group gets into trouble, we'll stay to help, but the main goal is to GET NESSA OUT. Are we clear?"