Two Pieces

"It's Not Even Real, Or Is It?"

"I'm getting sick of hooking up in cars," Isaac mumbled against Sofia's neck.

"I know," Sofia answered, letting him bite her neck, "But like, what do you want me to do?"

"Nothing," Isaac said, moving away from her, "It's just these past 2 weeks have been great... I wish we could be just be free."

"I know," Sofia said, quietly. She knew what Isaac wanted. She knew he was sick of sneaking around and hiding. She had spent most of her time with him over the past few weeks. Things had calmed down and The Suns had disappeared completely it seemed. Sofia spent most of her time avoiding the house, because she wanted to avoid Harry. If she was avoiding Harry, she didn't have to deal with what she was feeling. Isaac was a great distraction. He took her mind off of everything. But he wanted more, and Sofia couldn't give him that.

"I can't believe we go back to school in a few weeks," Isaac said, sitting back in the car.

"It feels like summer just started, I don't even want to go back," Sofia admitted, as she glanced out the car towards the party they were at. She didn't want to be seen, her and Isaac had been less careful over the last few weeks, and she knew it was dangerous.

"This is our last year," Isaac said, distracting her from her thoughts, "We'll be eighteen, and we can do whatever we want. We can get away..."

"Isaac..." Sofia whined, she hated when he did this.

"What?" he asked, "Tell me you don't think about it. You don't think about getting out of here, and being whatever you want. Tell me you don't think about doing something other then this for the rest of your life. How come everyone else gets to go and figure out who they are and what they want and we have to stay here and do what's been handed to us? How come we don't get a choice?"

"Because, those weren't the cards life dealt us," Sofia said with a sigh.

"Doesn't that bother you, though?" Isaac asked.

"Not as much as it bothers you," Sofia pointed out.

"Don't you ever wonder what you would be if you weren't born into this life?" Isaac asked, looking at her seriously.

"No," Sofia answered honestly, "I don't let myself think about it. Because there's no point. This is who we are. This is what we do. There's no point in playing what if."

"If you could walk away, would you?" Isaac asked.

Would she? Probably not. When her father was alive, it didn't even cross her mind to leave. She had power. She could do anything she wanted. Now, she didn't have much power and she certainly couldn't do anything she wanted. But, she couldn't leave them. They were her family. She couldn't imagine life without them. What a difference a few months made. Her reasons for staying changed. It wasn't that she was loyal to the life or the power, but she was loyal to them. Not for the same reasons as before, either. Not because she had to be. But because she just was.

"I'm good at this life, Isaac," Sofia said, "It's all I know. It's all I'm good at. What would I even do if I wasn't doing this?"

"Anything you wanted, that's the point..." Isaac said, "You could figure it out."

"There's nothing to figure out," Sofia snapped, "We couldn't walk away. Or run. It would end in death. You know it, I know it."

"Then why are we even doing this?" Isaac asked, "If it's just going to end badly? If it's not going to go anywhere besides the backseat of my car?"

"Because we can. Isn't nice to have something that just ours? We're not asking permission, we're not following orders. We're just being us..."

"Yeah, but you like that there isn't a commitment attached to it..." Isaac said, "Just admit that part."

"Yes, I do," Sofia said, shrugging, "I'm not a commitment girl. It's not in my blood to commitment to a person. Or depend on a person. I have only ever depended on me. That's not going to change. It's too hard. We lose too many people. The minute you depend on someone, it's used against you. And you increase the chances of loosing them. So, yeah. I like to keep things fun and noncommittal. And so should you."

"I want more," Isaac said.

"Well, this is what I can give you," Sofia said, "And if you're not getting anything from it, then fine. But I think you have just as much fun and feel just as free when we're together. Even if it is in the backseat of a car."

Isaac opened his mouth, but a knock at the back window snapped them both apart. Sofia turned to see Emily standing there.

"What's up?" Isaac asked, rolling down his window.

"People are starting to notice you're gone," Emily said, "And it's almost midnight, someone's gonna be here to pick you up soon."

"Okay," Sofia said, giving Isaacs's hand a squeeze, before opening the car door and getting out.

"I'll text you," Isaac said, "We'll meet up soon."

"Sounds good," Sofia said, popping her head into the car to kiss him quickly, while Emily glanced around nervously.

"You owe me a blow job," Isaac said.

"Noted," Sofia responded with a smile. She watched as Isaac climbed into the front seat, and started the car. He waved at both girls before pulling off.

"Sofia –" Emily started to say.

"Not a word," Sofia said, rolling her eyes and holding her hand up, "I know how you feel about this, okay?"

"I was just going to tell you that he left a hickey on your neck," Emily said, pointing to her neck, "So you might want to cover it up. Or come up with a story that doesn't involve him."

Sofia ran her fingers over her neck with a sigh, closing her eyes in frustration.

"I always tell him not to fucking leave a mark," Sofia mumbled.



***


"I'm surprised she's coming home tonight," Zayn said, flopping down on the couch and putting his legs up.

"I didn't give her much of a choice," Liam said, "She's basically been out of the house for 2 weeks, I
can't remember the last time we all sat for a meal
together."

"Well, you could put a leash on her," Harry mumbled. He had been in a terrible mood.

Sofia was avoiding him. And she was good at it. She was out of the house before he got up, or sleeping over somewhere else, or too busy to slow down and talk to him. He had tried to corner her a few times, but it didn't do any good.

"She's not doing anything wrong," Liam argued, "It's summer. She should be out and having fun. She hasn't ever been able to be a normal teenager. And it's not like she's breaking rules, she's actually been very well behaved."

"That we know of," Louis said, snorting.

"Don't make me nervous," Liam snapped, looking at his watch.

"I think it's been good for her," Eleanor said.

"How is avoiding good?" Harry snapped.

"Well, in our defense, she's not really avoiding us," Niall said, glancing away from the television.

"Shut the fuck up," Harry snapped.

"Harry, I know that you're frustrated," Liam said quietly, "But this is just what she does."

"That doesn't make me feel any better," Harry said.

"I wasn't trying to make you feel better," Liam said, "I'm trying to point out who she is. You can't expect her or force her to change."

"She was changing, Liam," Harry snapped, "And I wasn't forcing her. She was doing it on her own. And now she's just cutting me out."

"Harry, why don't you just tell her she's hurting your feelings?" Danielle asked.

"My feelings aren't hurt!" Harry barked, defensively.

"Are you sure about that?" Eleanor asked, giving him a knowing look.

"I'm not hurt," Harry insisted, "I just miss her."

"She'll come around," Zayn said quietly, not looking at Harry, but instead staring at his phone.

"You think?" Harry asked, his voice hopeful.

"Yeah, I do," Zayn said, "Whatever connection you two have, it's obvious. To everyone. Including her. And connections like that don't go away, no matter how much you try to make it go away."

"What you want out of this, Harry?" Liam asked, his voice frustrated, "I mean, what's the end goal here?"

"I don't know," Harry said, "I just know that I
miss spending time with her, and laughing, and talking. It's not like I'm looking for some big romantic thing, or I'm counting on her to return my feelings. I just miss my friend."

"I just don't want you to get your hopes up," Liam said, shrugging.

"You've made that clear, thanks," Harry snapped.

"Harry, you have to take this at her pace. In her time. Her way," Danielle said.

"I'm trying," Harry said, frustrated, "I just wish she didn't cut me out like this. I wasn't trying to force her into a corner, or trying to be with her. She freaked out over something that hasn't even happened yet. Over something we don't even know is going to happen. And I'm trying to be patient and I'm trying to understand. But if it was the other way around, I couldn't cut her off like this. It'd be impossible for me. Which, I guess means I have my answer about how she feels. I just thought I meant more."

Liam wanted to tell him that Sofia cutting him off meant that he meant more then he knew. But he kept his mouth shut. He refused to encourage this. He felt bad for Harry, but he couldn't help but feel like Harry and Sofia were a bad idea.

He tried to warn Harry not to get feelings, he warned him this would happen. But Harry jumped in headfirst anyway. And now Liam was just trying to make sure that his sister didn't get so freaked out that she cut them all out. He loved Harry, and he wanted Harry to be happy. But Sofia was his priority. And so he didn't say anything to Harry, he just looked at the ground and hoped that Harry would get over this soon and they could all move on.

"We gotta go get her soon," Niall said, glancing at his watch, "whose turn is it?"

"I'll go," Louis said, raising his hand, "I can't wait till she can drive. Being a taxi driver for a teenager is hard."

"I'll go with you," Harry volunteered.

"Harry do you think that's a good idea?" Liam asked.

"I think she can't avoid me forever, Liam," Harry said, "Besides Lou wants the company, don't you Lou?"

"Of course I do," Louis said, with a smirk. He wanted to help Harry out in any way he could with this. He was just waiting for these two to figure it out and finally explode. If he had to push it along, he would. His gut was telling him that there was something very right about Harry and Sofia. And he just wanted to see it happen.

"Fine," Liam said, shrugging, as Danielle smiled widely at him.

Liam could say that he was worried about Harry and Sofia. Or just Sofia. He could say that he didn't want Sofia to cut them all off, or he was scared that she would lose her humanity again.

But Danielle saw the truth. Liam just wouldn't know what to do with himself if Sofia had feelings for someone. He was her brother, and he would struggle with it. Especially if it was one of his closest friends. In his head, the idea of Sofia being with someone was always a world away. It scared him, not because of how he thought she would react but because it meant she was growing up.
He had just gotten her back, and he was afraid to lose her to someone else. Before everything else, he was still her big brother. And big brothers were never okay with their little sisters seeing someone. No one was ever good enough, even if it were the best guy in the world.


***


"Where's Sof?" Louis asked, stepping out of the car and greeting Emily and Katie who were sitting on the hood of another car.

"Around here somewhere," Katie said, looking around, "She went off to dance, I think."

"She'll be back," Emily said, glancing at her watch, "You're a few minutes early anyway."

"I can go find her," Harry suggested, looking around the crowd.

"Chill," Louis said, holding his hands up to Harry, "We're early. I'm sure she'll show up."

As he spoke, Sofia appeared out of the crowd laughing as a boy was pulling her along. Harry straightened up and his eyes narrowed at the sight. His eyes traveled to their hands clasped together, and then up to the light in Sofia's eyes as she giggled about something she was saying.

Harry felt himself wishing he was that guy. Or at least that he could hold her hand like that, or make her laugh. It had been too long since he made her laugh.

"Who the hell is that?" Harry barked, glancing over at Emily and Katie.

"I think his name is Joe," Katie answered, shrugging, "I think he's below us in school."

"They hang out often?" Harry asked.

"Just tonight," Emily answered, "He asked her to dance, I think."

"You're early," Sofia said approaching them and looking at Louis. She didn't even glance at Harry. This is how it had been. She had almost been ignoring his presence when she wasn't avoiding him completely.

"Well, some of us like to be punctual," Louis answered, before looking at the boy who was standing next to Sofia still holding her hand. He looked nervous now that he saw Louis and Harry.

"Let's go, it's late," Harry grunted, not taking his eyes off Sofia even as she ignored him.

"It's midnight," the boy responded, confused.

"I wasn't talking to you," Harry barked, "Time to go, Sofia."

"I heard you the first time, Harry," Sofia responded, rolling her eyes.

Harry wanted to respond with anger, but he bit his lip instead. Fighting with her or bickering with her was not the answer. He didn't want to push her further away. So instead he just turned back to the car, got in, and slammed the door loudly.

"What's with him?" Katie asked.

"He's fine," Louis said, before giving Sofia a warning look and getting in the car after Harry.

Sofia said goodbye to Katie and Emily, and then turned back to the boy she was with. If Harry wasn't in the car, she probably wouldn't have done it. But in a need to try and move herself further away from him and the feelings she was struggling with, she kissed the boy hard and fast in order to say goodnight.

Joe wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, and moved his tongue into her mouth. Sofia thought he was a terrible kisser, but kissed him anyway. She wanted Harry to see this is who she was. She could pick up a complete stranger and kiss them all night. Feelings didn't mean anything, and physical was what she was about.

They jumped apart as Louis laid his hand on the horn, and Sofia narrowed his eyes on him. It was the flash of annoyance in Louis eyes that told her she had better wrap it up. She quietly said goodnight to Joe, giving him another quick kiss, and then climbed into the back of the car.

Her eyes caught Harry's in the mirror. He looked furious. She didn't say anything, as Louis put the car in gear and moved away from the house party.

"Friend of yours?" Louis asked, noticing that Harry was going red next to him.

"Not really," Sofia answered.

"You treat all your not really friends like that?" Louis asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Figured I should thank him for all the good dancing," Sofia said with a smirk.

"Fucking hell of thank you," Harry barked from the front seat. Sofia didn't say anything. Harry turned around to face her.

"How long are you gonna do this? You can't still be mad at me," Harry said.

"I'm not mad," Sofia answered, but before he could say anything she was looking at Louis again.

"Stop for some food yeah?" Sofia asked, "I'm bloody starving, they didn't have any food at the party. Fucking ridiculous."

She didn't even notice that Harry had been staring at her and unbuckling his seat belt.

"What the hell is this?" Harry barked, startling Sofia as he pulled her shirt away from her neck, "Bloody hell, what the fuck is this?"

"Stop it!" Sofia barked back, swatting his hand away. Louis glanced up through the rear view mirror, to see marks on Sofia's neck. Louis saw the fight that was about to happen coming, and he didn't think he could do anything to stop it.



***


"Jesus, Sofia," Louis hissed, "Didn't know Joey boy was a fucking vampire."

"This isn't funny!" Harry barked to Louis, before turning back to glare at Sofia, "What the hell is the matter with you?"

"What?" Sofia hissed, "It's nothing!"

"Watch your tone," Harry warned, "You shouldn't be letting boys make marks on you like that," he was pointing at her neck in rage, "It's fucking bruising!"

"It's fine!" Sofia argued, pulling the shirt back over her neck.

"Don't you have any respect for yourself?" Harry barked, "I mean, Jesus Christ!"

"Oh come on! Like you've never left marks on a girl!" Sofia hissed, "I've seen Caroline, I know! Maybe that's why you're so upset, because you aren't the one leaving marks."

"Careful, Sofia," Harry barked, "You're getting a little too brave with that tone of yours!"

"You leave marks on Caroline, and other girls," Sofia continued to argue.

"That's different," Harry growled.

"Why? Because you're a boy? Or because she isn't me?!" Sofia yelled, "There you go again, being a fucking hypocrite again!"

"Don't you yell at me! They don't even care about you!" Harry howled, "They just want you for your body!"

"Harry," Louis warned.

"No!" Harry snapped, "This is bloody ridiculous! Look at her neck!"

"I see it," Louis said quietly, "But..."

"But you shouldn't give a shit about my neck!" Sofia snapped, "Or who leaves marks or why! It's none of your business!"

"I'm about to make it my bloody business, Sofia! Especially if you keep talking to me like that," Harry snapped, his voice growing hard. Sofia couldn't help the tingles that ran up her body. She ignored them, as she watched Harry's body change and knew very quickly where this is going.

"You're a fucking prick," Sofia hissed.

"Watch your fucking mouth and tone, I won't tell you again," Harry barked, "Keep it up and those won't be the only God damn marks on you!"

Louis froze, glancing at Harry then back at Sofia. Her nostrils were flaring, and his eyes were dark with jealousy and anger. And Louis found him very confused by their exchange of words. He had know clue what was happening, but it was clear they did.

"You wouldn't –" Sofia hissed.

"Test me, I fucking dare you," Harry growled, "I'll handle you so fast you won't even see it coming."

Sofia could feel her heart racing. A part of her wanted to push him even further, just to see what he would do. But there was the part of her that told her that she couldn't keep doing this with him. It didn't matter how turned on she was by his jealousy, or his voice. She had to back off, because she was finding herself more and more attracted to him the more they fought, and that was dangerous territory.

"Yeah," she hissed, "I bet you'd like that. To handle me."

She sat back in her seat, as he continued to glare at her. Finally he turned around, crossing his arms over his chest, and sulking silently.

He knew he had no right to be jealous or this upset. She wasn't his. She had every right to do whatever she wanted with whomever she wanted, even if she shouldn't be with guys they didn't know. It was dangerous. But, he wasn't angry about how dangerous it was. He was angry that it wasn't him.

He was angry that while she had chosen to cut him out and ignore him, she had found someone else to connect to. Even if it was just for the night, and even if it was just for the physical benefits. He hated that he felt this way, and he hated that he couldn't force her hand and get her to give in and give him a shot.

"You two are insane," Louis said, "It's obvious that the disconnect is driving you both a little crazy, so why don't you just cut it out and fix it."

"Stay out of this, Lou," Sofia snapped.

"I would, but the tension in this car is ridiculous," Louis said, looking at her, "It doesn't have to be this complicated, Sofia."

"You don't know –"

"I know that THIS isn't helping anyone. Not you. Not Harry. Not the rest of us."

"Well Harry should of thought of that before he decided to run into a suicide mission," Sofia snapped.

"SO YOU ARE STILL MAD!?" Harry cried out, turning to her wide eyed.

"Yes," Sofia hissed, "Because you want me to care so much about what you think and feel and your opinion. But you didn't give a shit about mine."

"That's not true," Harry growled, "I cared. I just knew that we were doing the right thing. But you didn't want to hear it that night."

"That's ridiculous –"

"No it isn't. If Danielle had been in that car, would you have faulted Liam for leading a raid?"

"No but –"

"What about if it was El?" Harry asked, cutting her off, "And Lou wanted to go in?"

"Well, no but –" Sofia argued, but her voice was starting to lose its confidence.

"But what?" Harry barked, "Can you really blame me for wanting some type of revenge? For wanting to protect you?"

"That's not the point –"

"What is your point, Sofia?" Harry barked, "I pulled you out of that car! I watched as you couldn't breathe, I pulled the metal of your leg, I heard you scream in pain, I held you as you lost your mind in the middle of the road. I did all of those things! And I was angry that someone had done that to you, and I wanted someone to pay!"

"I didn't ask you to do those things," Sofia insisted, "No one put you in the position to have to protect me or seek retaliation when I got hurt!"

"I PUT MYSELF IN THE POSITION!" Harry roared, glaring at her, "You didn't have to ask me, because I didn't need to be asked! It wasn't a choice for me, don't you get that? I did it because I wanted to! Because that's how much I care about you and want to keep you safe!"

"I don't want to be a weight for you," Sofia said quietly, "I don't want you to risk yourself for me, it's unfair."

"Why?" Harry asked, "What if it was me who had gotten hurt?"

"What do you mean?" Sofia asked.

"Are you saying you wouldn't have done your part for retaliation?" Harry asked.

"Of course I would have," Sofia barked, without thinking, "I'd make sure they paid."

"Am I weight?" Harry asked

"No," Sofia said, shaking her head.

"Then it's that simple, Sofia. Stop making it complicated," Harry said, quietly, "There wasn't a moment when I was doing what I was doing where I wondered if you would do the same. So, why does it have to be anymore complicated then that?"

"I guess it doesn't," Sofia admitted, quietly, looking down at her shoes, "I just... I can't lose anyone else. I don't want anyone else to die because of me."

"I'm not dead," Harry said, looking at her, "And you can say that you don't want to lose anyone, or don't want to lose me. But, that's not how you've been acting."

Sofia went quiet. Harry just made her realize that he wasn't being hypocritical, she was. Neither of them did anything they didn't want to do, so shame on her for feeling like he felt forced to do what he did. He did it because he wanted to, just like she would have.

"You're not the only one who's feeling confused, or worried. I wish you would stop acting like you were. You're not alone in this," Harry said quietly. He was too busy looking at her, he had almost forgotten that Louis was in the car next to him.

Sofia didn't say anything, she just kept staring at her feet. She realized how selfish she was being. Of course this was just as weird for Harry. She was an idiot for thinking that this was effecting him to. He was doing things he wouldn't normally do, he was acting in ways he wouldn't normally. Yet, unlike her, he pushed through whatever his was feeling and kept steading. He didn't run like she did.

And in that moment, it was another reminder of how he was another person that was better then her, and too good. Everyone was always too good, and she could never measure up. Good wasn't in her. She felt terrible as she realized how good Harry was to her.

"Stop feeling guilty," Harry said, as though reading her thoughts. Her eyes snapped up at him. She swallowed hard as she wondered how the hell he knew what she was thinking.

"I hate it when you do that," Sofia said.

"Do what? Pull you out of your head?" Harry asked, "Someone's got to. Stop feeling guilty, I don't want you to feel guilty."

"What do you want?" Sofia snapped.

"I want you to stop making this complicated, it doesn't have to be. and instead of shutting down, let's talk this shit out. Stop fucking running."

"I don't know if I can do that," Sofia said, quietly, "I don't know how."

"Fine," Harry said, shrugging, "Then I guess you'll just have to get used to me chasing."

"You're ridiculous," Sofia said quietly, shaking her head.

"No more ridiculous then you," Harry answered.

"That's true," Sofia admitted.

"What are you gonna get to eat?" Harry asked, changing the subject.

"I'm definitely getting a bacon burger and some fries," Sofia answered.

"Good call," Harry said, "Split a shake?"

"Chocolate?"

"Absolutely," Harry said, while Louis looked over at him and then back at Sofia with wide and confused eyes.

"What the fuck?!" Louis cried out, confused. He had no idea what had just happened between the two of them. 2 weeks of silence, and now they were talking about burgers.

"It's so good that you two fucking get each other," Louis snapped, putting his eyes back on the road, "Because no one else fucking gets it."


***


"I'm confused," Liam said, staring as Harry tried to push Sofia in the pool, "Explain to me what happened again."

"I don't fucking know," Louis said, shaking his head, "First they were screaming about her hickey."

"She has a hickey?!" Liam cried out.

"On her neck," Louis said, brushing off Liam's outcry, "And then he told her he was gonna handle her. And then he said something about her not being alone, and said something about her doing the same thing or something, and then she said she said didn't know if she could stop running. And then they both admitted they were ridiculous, which is so bloody true. And then they started fucking talking about burgers."

"But they haven't spoken in 2 weeks," Liam said, blinking a few times.

"Couldn't tell that now," Niall said, also staring at the pair.

"Dude, I don't fucking get it either," Louis said, throwing his hands up, "It's like they're in their own little world, and the rest of us just happen to be in it."

"Maybe she just needed to know he wasn't going to give up just because she got scared," Danielle said quietly, she was smiling, as she brought out plates of breakfast food for brunch, "Maybe she just needed reassurance and he gave it to her."

"I still don't understand," Liam said, as Sofia laughed loudly at something Harry said, "It's like they did a 180. She's not acting very Sofia like. He has her acting very different. I don't get it."

"Liam, it doesn't matter if you don't understand," Danielle said, "She hasn't smiled like that in weeks."

"Brunch!" Eleanor called, as she walked out with plates, Zayn following behind her with more food.

Everyone moved to sit down to eat. Liam watched carefully as Harry pulled out Sofia's chair, and then sat down next to her.

"This looks delicious," Harry said, putting a pancake on his plate. His other arm draped casually around the back of Sofia's chair.

"Sof, you still up to go a few rounds in a few hours?" Zayn asked, "Or are you hung-over?"

"I didn't even drink that much last night," Sofia scoffed, "I told you I'd go, I'll go."

"You didn't drink?" Liam asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"No," Sofia said, "Someone got roofied at the last party, it's got everyone on edge."

"What?" Niall asked, his eyes snapping up.

"Yeah," Sofia said, nodding, "I don't know, whoever did it was good about it too. The girl woke up next to nobody and had no memory of the night before."

"And you still went to the party last night?" Liam barked.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Harry asked, looking down at her.

"I didn't drink," Sofia defended herself.

"That shit's scary, Sofia," Zayn barked, "We should know about it."

"What would you do?" Sofia asked, throwing her hands up, "Come and watch all the cups?"

"Maybe," Niall said, "How's the girl doing?"

"Okay I guess. Won't go to police though," Sofia said quietly.

"Let's get someone out onto the street," Liam said, "I want to know what's being bought and sold to teenagers."

"Liam, you can't protect me from everything," Sofia said, rolling her eyes.

"No," Liam growled, "But I can make damn sure that drugs that aren't supposed to be sold aren't being sold on my streets."

"It was only one night," Sofia said, "It was probably a one time thing."

"I don't care," Liam said, "I don't allow it to be sold."

"Okay, fine –" Sofia began to say, but her phone interrupted her. Glancing down she saw that it was Isaac. Isaac never called. That couldn't be good.

"Why is Isaac Belfie calling you?" Harry asked, causing everyone to look up.

"I have no idea," Sofia said, it sounded so convincing because it was true.

"Pick it up," Liam said, staring at his sister.

"Hello?" Sofia answered.

"Hey, sorry about calling," Isaac said through
the phone, "But I thought you should know this. Zayn's girl –Perrie. She came through the bar last night."

"What?" Sofia barked.

"Yeah, looking to pick up one of the guys..."

"Are you sure?" Sofia asked, glancing at Zayn.

"I'm positive," Isaac said, "James had to kick her out. She was trying to go home with one of our guys and James recognized her. I just wanted to let you know."

"That's shady as fuck," Sofia said, "You have to be 100% sure."

"I'm sure, Sofia!" Isaac barked, "I wouldn't be telling you if I wasn't sure..."

"That fucking leach," Sofia hissed, "Alright thanks."

"Make sure you let them know we kicked her out," Isaac said quickly.

"Alright," Sofia said, "Thanks. Bye."

'What the hell was that?" Liam asked.

"Perrie showed up at a Rat Bar last night," Sofia said, her eyes on Zayn, "They had to kick her out."

"What?" Zayn barked, "No fucking way. She wouldn't."

"She did," Sofia said.

"What was she doing there?" Niall asked.

"Isaac just said she was trying to sleep with one of the guys," Sofia said.

"So she's gang hopping?" Niall said, glancing at Zayn.

"No," Zayn said, shaking his head.

"Zayn, she wouldn't have gone if she wasn't trying to be gang pussy," Sofia said, Harry squeezed her
arm in warning.

"What are you saying?" Zayn barked

"I'm saying that she clearly just wants to be associated with some sort of power," Sofia said, "And once you were done with her, she moved on to the next best thing."

"She wouldn't do that," Zayn said.

"We have a bigger problem," Liam said, "If she went to The Rats, how do we know she didn't go to The Suns too?"

"That's insane," Zayn said, shaking his head.

"Is it?" Sofia asked, "You said yourself you didn't trust her story. And she was pissed that you were sleeping with other people and that you didn't want to make her yours. How do we know she didn't go to The Suns? How we know that accident wasn't her fault?"

"You've never liked her!" Zayn snapped, slamming his hand on the table.

"She didn't suggest it, Liam did!" Harry barked, "And it's a damn good possibility, Zayn. One that we can't ignore."

"Zayn, we have to know. And if it's true, we gotta fix it," Louis said, giving Zayn a sad look. He felt bad. Maybe Zayn wasn't in love with Perrie, but they were at least friends. And Zayn had to be feeling the betrayal.

"Fuck this," Zayn spat out, standing up from the table.

"Zayn don't!" Sofia called as he stormed away and into the house. Sofia sighed loudly, before getting an angry look in her eyes.

"Sofia..." Liam warned.

"I always hated that bitch," Sofia spat.

"We gotta find her," Liam said, looking at Louis, "Make it subtle. I don't want her to know were looking or that we're suspicious. No need to give her a reason to run."

"What do we do about Zayn?" Harry asked, "He could warn her or go after her himself."

"He wouldn't do that," Sofia said, "He just needs to cool off, but he'd never do something that wasn't the right move for us."

"Go calm him down," Liam directed his sister.

"Why her?" Harry asked, annoyed, "He's pissed right now. A loose cannon."

"I can handle, Zayn," Sofia said with a small laugh, "I might be only one to get him to reason with this bitch."

"Suggestion?" Louis said, "Maybe don't call her a bitch."

"Or a whore," Niall said, "Or a slut. Or a cunt. Or skank."

"I didn't say any –" Sofia went to argue.

"No, but you wanted to," Niall said, giving her a knowing look.

"Well, I mean, she is!" Sofia said, standing up and following Zayn into the house.



***


"Hey," Sofia said quietly as she entered the office where Zayn was sitting on a chair, typing madly on his phone.

"I don't want to hear it," Zayn said, looking up at her.

"Hear what?" Sofia asked.

"Told you so," Zayn answered.

"Okay," Sofia agreed, sitting down beside him, "You're not texting her are you?"

"No," Zayn said, "Just trying to figure out where she might be..."

"We have to question her Zayn, we might even have to –"

"I know!" Zayn snap, "Okay?! I know!"

"I'm sorry," Sofia said, putting her hand on his arm.

"Please, you never liked her," Zayn said, rolling her eyes.

"Maybe not," Sofia said, "But I liked that she made you happy..."

"Do you think she was always using me?" Zayn asked.

"I think she liked the attention, and the perks of being out with you," Sofia said, "But I think she had feelings too, but when she realized that other girls were getting the same perks as her, and that you were going to commit. Plus, you know, her issues with me. I think maybe she liked the idea of you more then she liked you. But what do I know?"

"You think I'm ever gonna find a girl who does use me? Or manipulate me?" Zayn asked. He wasn't trying to hurt Sofia's feelings, but it was a valid question.

"I think your going to find someone who wants to be with you for who you are," Sofia said, "And that person won't be able to imagine being with anyone else, no matter what is going on..."

"How do you know that?" Zayn asked. Sofia moved towards him, and placed her hand on his cheek.

"Because you are an amazing guy, Zayn," Sofia whispered quietly, moving her face towards his, "And shame on us for taking advantage of that."

Then she moved in, and kissed Zayn gently. He kissed her back, and it was a sweet moment. She didn't know why she did it, she just wanted to take his mind off things. She wanted him to stop hurting. She wanted him to know that he was appreciated. Even if it wasn't the way he wanted it to be. She couldn't put all of it to words, so she just let her lips say it with a thoughtful, kind, gentle kiss.

Someone cleared their throat, and Zayn and Sofia pulled apart, looking up to see all of the boys standing there. Sofia looked past Liam's look of annoyance and confusion, towards Harry. His eyes flashed with anger, and then she saw hurt.

"Seriously?" Louis asked, throwing his hands up. He was looking at Sofia but she knew the question was directed at both of them.

"It's not what it looks like," Zayn said, Sofia noticed that he was looking at Harry.

"We got ahold of Perries boss, she's bartending tonight," Liam said.

"That's good," Zayn said, sitting up, "But she'll know something's up if I show up at her job. I haven't been talking to her since I pulled her out of the warehouse."

"Well, we can't all go and make it look like we're hanging out," Niall said, "We never go there, and she might get spooked."

"It's a restaurant though," Louis said, "We could easily set it up like us and one the girls is on a date."

"I guess Dani and I could go," Liam said, "Maybe invite her back to the house towards the end of her shift."

"It should be Sofia," Zayn said, looking at Sofia, "If you tell her I miss her and want to see her, she'll believe it. You'd never say something like that unless it were true."

"That's true," Sofia said, nodding, "She'd never question an ulterior motive, plus she'd think that I know Zayn the best."

"Yeah, but ... she wouldn't come unless she thought you had moved on," Liam said, "And that means you'd have to be convincing with a guy. You'd have to sell it that you were moving on."

"Then it's settled," Louis said, clapping his hands together, "We'll send her in with Harry."

"What?" Sofia and Harry cried out, blinking at Louis. Harry looked at Sofia, cursing Louis because he didn't want to freak her out when he had just calmed her down. Going on a date with Sofia was the perfect way to freak her out, even if it was a fake one.

"Actually, that's a good idea," Niall said, "You two can be very convincing."

"I don't know," Liam said, looking between Harry and Sofia. Did he really want to send them out on a date? Even if it was just for pretend. Did he really want to give the go-ahead for that, like he was okay with it?

"It's not like it'd be a real date," Louis said, shoving Liam. Even though he said the words, he thought differently. Maybe it was for pretend, but Louis believed it could be very real too.

"I don't have a problem with it," Harry said, still looking at Sofia, "As long it's okay with you."

"I think it could be fun," Sofia said, with a shrug, "It's not like it's an actual date, right? No pressure."

"Nope," Harry said, though he was slightly disappointed by her words.

"Great," Louis said, "Then it's on. Tonight."

"Get her down the block, we'll have a car waiting, and uh, then we'll take it from there," Liam said, glancing at Zayn wearily.

"I want to be there," Zayn said.

"I don't know if that's the best idea bud," Niall
said.

"I won't get emotional," Zayn said, "I just want to know the truth. I want to be there."

"Okay," Liam agreed, "But if I say out, you gotta go."

"Agreed."

"Okay," Niall said, "So what time's her shift?"

"She leaves at around 10," Liam said.

"So, we'll leave here around 8?" Harry asked Sofia, "I'll make a reservation for 8:30 for dinner?"

"Sounds good," Sofia answered quietly.
It did sound good. The idea of dinner with Harry made her happy. And that was a little scary. But she was going to do it anyway.



***


"You look great," Harry said, greeting Sofia at the bottom I've the stairs, "Digging that dress."

Sofia smiled widely and amused at his words. She was wearing a skintight, low back navy blue dress.

"Digging?" Sofia asked, still amused.

"Don't people say weird shit like that on dates?" Harry asked, smiling just as wide.

"For sure," Sofia said, nodding with a laugh.

"You ready?" Harry asked.

"Yup," Sofia said, following him to the kitchen where everyone was.

"You look so good," Eleanor said, looking at Sofia, "I have to borrow that dress sometime. And you two totally look hot together."

Harry was wearing all black, and he looked phenomenal. Sofia wasn't sure how he could make a black t-shirt with a blazer look that good, but he did.

"Keep us posted," Liam said, cutting Eleanor off. He didn't want to make this anymore date like then it had to be, and praising how well they looked together.

"You got it," Sofia said, heading towards the door. As they left, Liam shot a glare at Louis.

"You're doing this on purpose," Liam said.

"I just think they need a little push," Louis said, shrugging.

"Thank you so much for that," Liam growled, rolling his eyes.

"Come on, Li," Danielle said, nudging, "Would it really be so bad?"

"No," Liam said, "But I guarantee it'll be dramatic. I'm still not sure I like it."

"It's not even real," Eleanor said.

"Or is it?" Louis asked, looking smugger by the second.


***


"How much are you freaking out right now?" Harry said, as he sat across from Sofia at the table.

"I'm not," Sofia answered, not so convincingly, before taking a sip of her Margaritas.

"Liar," Harry said with a small chuckle.

"I've never done this before," Sofia admitted.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Like the whole date thing," Sofia said, "Not that this is a date! I just mean – I have never –"

"Me neither," Harry said, "Not really anyway."

"There's Perrie," Sofia said, glancing quickly over at the bar that Perrie was leaning against.

"We already ordered our drinks," Harry said, "How suspicious would she be if you just went over to talk?"

"Very," Sofia said, "But I could go get us shots."

"Shots?" Harry said, raising his eyebrows at her with narrowed eyes.

"Just one each," Sofia said, "I promise we won't get drunk."

"I'm not worried about me," Harry said, "You're the one who drinks when uncomfortable."

"I'm not uncomfortable!" Sofia insisted.

"Whatever you say," Harry said, with a small smile, "Alright, go get two shots."

"I'll be right back," Sofia said, standing up. Sofia walked over to the bar, leaning against it. Perrie caught her eye and looked surprised, before walking over to her.

"Hey Perrie," Sofia greeted.

"Sofia," Perrie greeted, "Surprised to see you here."

"Yeah, Harry wanted to try this place out," Sofia said.

"You're here with Harry?" Perrie asked, glancing behind Sofia where Harry was sat.

"Yeah," Sofia said, sighing deeply. Time to act, she told herself. "I'm kind of nervous, doing the whole date
thing..."

"You're on a date?" Perrie asked surprised, and Sofia smiled widely, leaning towards her and biting her lip.

"Yeah," Sofia said, "It's kinda weird, but nice too."

"I didn't know you and Harry –"

"It's kinda new," Sofia said, "We'll see how it goes..."

"What can I get you?" Perrie asked.

"Something to take the edge off," Sofia said, "Two shots of tequila..."

"Wow," Perrie said, "You must be nervous."

"Yeah, well, this is new," Sofia said.

"Eh, don't be," Perrie said, pouring the shots out, "You look great in that dress. Can't imagine anything going wrong with you looking like that."

"Thanks," Sofia said, "I haven't seen you around the house lately..."

"Yeah, well," Perrie said, pushing the shots towards her, "Things with me and Zayn kind of got weird..."

"You should come by," Sofia said, and Perrie looked up at her surprised.

"Never thought I'd hear those words come from you," Perrie said.

"He misses you, you know," Sofia said, looking at her as sincere as she could muster, "I hate seeing him like that. Especially with me kind of moving on, it's been hard to see me happy, when he's not."

"Well, he hasn't called," Perrie said.

"You know Zayn," Sofia said. She was sucking up to her. She knew those words would give Perrie some hope. To hear Sofia say that Perrie knew Zayn were the words Perrie had been wanting to hear forever, "His pride gets in the way.."

"Yeah it does," Perrie agreed, sighing loudly, "I do miss him. I wish he'd call."

"I know he messed up, but maybe you need to make the first move," Sofia suggested.

"I'm sick of putting myself out there with him," Perrie admitted.

"I know," Sofia agreed, "But it's different now."

She knew Perrie needed to hear those words too. Sofia was giving her everything she had wanted. And Perrie was falling for it, Sofia could tell by her eyes.

"Maybe I will call him," Perrie said.

"Or you could just come by," Sofia said, "He'd love to see you. You can come home with me and Harry tonight."

"Wouldn't that be kind of desperate?" Perrie asked.

"I think it'd be cute," Sofia said, shrugging, "And romantic. Show him how much he means to you..."

"That's true," Perrie said, nodding her head, "Yeah, okay. I will. Do you mind me crashing the end of your
date?"

"Not at all," Sofia said, "When do you get off?"

"About an hour," Perrie said.

"Awesome, we'll come get you when we leave," Sofia said with a smile, picking up the shots.

"Great," Perrie agreed, as Sofia turned away from her,
"Good luck with your date."

"Thanks."


***


"She's watching us," Harry said, moving closer to Sofia as he swallowed the cheesecake he was eating.

"Think we've been convincing enough?" Sofia asked.

"I don't know," Harry said, holding out his fork to her with cheesecake on it, "But we can always step it up."
Sofia bit off his fork, and licked her lips while giggling at him. Harry smiled at how cute her face was as she swallowed his cake.

"You have fudge on your lip," Harry said, grinning.

"Where?" Sofia asked, but Harry was already using his finger to wipe it off. Then he stuck his finger in his mouth and sucked. Sofia felt her breath caught at how attracted she found him doing that, sucking his finger. Harry grinned at her cockily and she rolled her eyes at him.

"You're getting brave," she said, throwing his words in his face.

"Careful," he warned, narrowing his eyes at her darkly, but amused, "I'm the only one around to correct around here."

She giggled at his look and he couldn't help himself. He loved when she laughed like that, and it was him to made her laugh. So he leaned towards her, and for a second she thought he was going to kiss her. And she wanted him too. There was a second of hesitation in her, she just wanted to taste his lips.

Instead, he kissed her temple gently, and Sofia closed her eyes and smiled at the sensation. No one had ever kissed her temple like that before. It was sweet. And she realized it was probably because he wanted to be convincing but he also didn't want to freak her out. He was thinking about her wants and needs again.

"Can I get you another drink?" their waiter asked, approaching their table. Sofia looked up at him with a seductive grin. She felt Harry's hand tighten around her shoulder.

"We're good," Harry answered, his voice a little clipped.

"But thank you," Sofia said with a wide smile. She laughed as the waiter winked at her before walking away.

"You've been flirting with our waiter all night," Harry said, his voice quiet.

"I'm just being nice," Sofia said, rolling her eyes.

"You've been flirting," Harry said, his mouth just inches away from her ears, "Stop it. You are on a date with me. And I don't like to share my company. So don't flirt with him again. You won't like the result."

Sofia rolled her eyes again. She could hear the playfulness in his voice, but she could also hear he was being serious. With his lips that close to her ear, her heart was pounding. She could listen to him whisper all night.

"And if you roll your eyes at me one more time," Harry said, his voice still in a whisper, "I'll take you over my knee right here, right now."

Sofia's breath caught at his threat. Her cheeks went red, and her heart thumped even louder. She wasn't scared, she was turned on. A part of her wanted to know if he'd actually do it, and a part of her wanted to be over his knee again. She wanted that connection again, she was almost craving it in that moment. But instead, she bit down on her lip, and looked down at the table.

"Good girl," Harry whispered, giving her another kiss on her temple. Those words made her heart sore. This might not be a real date, but she enjoyed it more then any other moment she had with any other guy.



***


Harry took Sofia's hand as they walked out of the restaurant, Perrie right behind them. His grip was tight, and she enjoyed that. Somewhere along the way tonight, they had stopped pretending and had just fallen into that Sofia could only call their dynamic. She wasn't sure what was fake and what wasn't, but she wasn't complaining. She had enjoyed loved moment.

"Where did you guys park?" Perrie asked.

"Just down the block," Harry said, as he continued to walk.

"How was dinner?" Perrie asked, Sofia could see that she wasn't suspicious at all. She almost felt bad for what was about to happen. But she pushed the thought from her head – she couldn't feel bad. This was a job.

"It was good," Harry said, "Didn't you think so, Sof?"
He was looking at her, and she knew he was looking for more then just a confirmation on the food. He was looking to know that she was still okay, and wasn't going to freak out again.

"It was great," she answered with a smile. Harry grinned at her, before wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling him to her.

"You two make a hot couple," Perrie said, nodding in approval.

"We're not a couple," Sofia said, shaking her head. Harry bit his lip in amusement at Sofia's tone. He was too amused that she was still denying the obvious to be hurt. On her timeline, he reminded himself.

"But thanks," Harry said, looking at Perrie. Perrie smiled at him, as though she could see what he could too. They didn't even notice the black SUV pull up, and Zayn step out.

"Zayn," Perrie cried out surprised, both Harry and Sofia stopped walking. They were behind Perrie just in case she decided to run.

"Get in the car," Zayn said, his voice rough. Perrie peered in the car to see Liam at the driver's wheel.

"What's going on?" Perrie asked.

"Just get in the damn car, Perrie," Zayn barked.
Sofia could see the realization set in Perrie's face. Perrie was realizing that she was in trouble. She looked at Zayn, and then at Liam, and then she turned.

"Don't even think about it," Harry growled, in a voice that could make Sofia do whatever the hell he asked. She watched as Perrie swallowed hard, also effected by his voice. But more out of fear then anything else.

"Get in the fucking car," Zayn repeated again, "Or I'll drag you in."

Sofia looked at the ground, as Perrie stuttered a bit. She looked up in time to see Zayn grabbing Perrie's arm.

"Don't make this difficult," he growled, and Perrie saw she didn't have a choice. Perrie allowed Zayn to pull her towards the car and shove her inside.

"We'll see you at home," Zayn said to Harry and Sofia, his voice still hard as he climbed in the front seat. Harry and Sofia watched the car zoom off.

"I feel like that should've ruined the mood," Harry said, looking down at Sofia, "But it didn't."

"Agreed," Sofia said, with a smile, "It was still a great night."

"It was, wasn't it?" Harry asked, cocking his head at her. Sofia watched his eyes travel to her lips. She waited for him to do it, she could see he wanted to. And she wanted him too. He was going to kiss her, she could feel it. He leaned in, and she began to close her eyes, but the kiss never came. Instead, Harry pulled away. He was second-guessing himself.

"We should go," he said quietly, and Sofia felt disappointment rush over her. She looked down at the ground embarrassed. She was so sure he was going to do it.

"Not yet," Harry practically whispered. She could barely hear him. She looked up to see that he was looking at her as though he knew what she was thinking. He probably did, he always did. Not yet she repeated to herself in her head.

Not yet seemed like the right call. It wasn't the right time. They weren't ready for that move. Not yet.
But Sofia couldn't help but wonder when they would be.

Harry gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, before he pulled her along. He wrapped his arm back around her, and they walked down the street looking like all the other couples that had gone out to dinner tonight.

They were very convincing. Probably because it was real, even if they convinced themselves the night wasn't.

Not yet, Harry said to himself again. But soon, he thought. Because I don't know how much more self control.

I have to have her.
I have to have her soon.