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Seven

Kit stared at her hands as Harry joined his friends at the fire pit, feeling incredibly disgraced and alone. Sitting next to her boyfriend on the bench, Harry's vacated spot causing the evening breeze to tickle against her body, she felt as though she let Harry down. Hearing Ed's loud chuckle, Kit looked up to see Harry's friends sharing in a laugh, and she wished she didn't have Kevin by her side and could join in on the fun. Her stomach fell as she watched Kendall sidle up next to Harry and stick her hand in his back pocket, confidently flirting in a way Kit had never been able to do. She wondered if she should try to be touchy with Kevin, and make Harry feel how she was feeling while watching him with Kendall. But getting Kevin to pay attention to her while he was glued to his phone would be impossible, and Kit didn't need to feel more humiliated than she already did.

"Yay!" Kendall cheered suddenly as the flame in the centre of the fire pit ignited. She pulled herself away from Harry, rubbing her hands together gleefully before holding them out towards the flame. "That's, like, so much better!" she determined, turning her back to the fire and catching Kit's eyes. "Kit! Come get warm!" she urged, gesturing animatedly.

Kit braced her hands on the edge of the bench, trying to determine if she wanted to stand next to Kendall and her hands that insisted on being somewhere on Harry's body. She looked at Kevin, his thumbs still wildly dancing across his cracked phone screen, before bobbing her head in a slight nod and standing up.

As Kit stepped beside him, Harry's stomach tumbled. He found himself suddenly sandwiched between two girls, one with her hands in his back pocket and the other with her heart in his. He tried pretending Kendall's hands were Kit's, just for a moment in his own mind, but it was a futile effort. The feeling of irritation Kendall's hands brought on proved too strong to ignore.

Standing next to Kit, her body obviously chilled as she stood rigid, hands stuffed deep in her pockets, was too much to bear. If he could have his way, he would be standing behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist, his chin tucked against her neck. They would share chuckles with his friends but he would be close enough that he could covertly whisper into her ear, the group party fading away into a party for two. But instead, he had to stand motionless next to the best girl he knew, while she stood alone and cold, all because she was an idiot with the wrong person, and he was a cowardly little boy.

"I'll be right back," Harry mumbled, downing the last of his drink before shaking himself free of Kendall's grasp and walking towards the house, empty glass in hand. His drinks had been fairly mild throughout the course of the night, but he was feeling as though it was time to kick it into overdrive.

Kit turned her head slightly, watching Harry head into the house. He hadn't even looked at her when she joined him, hadn't spoken a word. She replayed what she'd said to him before Kevin sat back down on the bench, the tone of her voice when she ordered him to stop asking her questions about her relationship. Was he mad at her? Pursing her lips as the back door slammed shut with a noticeable bang, she nodded to herself. He was definitely not pleased with her.

Telling herself to count to thirty before making her own retreat into the house, Kit shifted her weight and stared at the synthetic flame, unaware Kendall was speaking to her until she felt the presence of her gaze. She looked up, startled to see Kendall staring so intently at her.

"I'm sorry," she apologised with an embarrassed giggle. "I was just thinking... Trying to remember where the toilet is," she said, uttering another giggle so as to not raise suspicions that she was about to bolt into the house after the boy Kendall called hers. "Be right back!" she assured Kendall, flashing her an incredibly fake smile as she stepped away from the fire.