Unity | Harry Styles AU

XXXV: me, her, & the moon

"I can't believe you found a take-out wood-oven pizza place, Bels." Alice said happily as she took a bite out of her pizza slice.

She looked incredibly pretty tonight. Bella and Maddie had decorated their apartment with fairy lights and white mesh drapes; the atmosphere combined with Alice's curled hair and white dress made her look absolutely whimsical. I was jealous to say the least.

"We stumbled across it by accident, remember?" Bella laughed as she covered her mouth with her hand. "We were drunk that one night and decided we would walk home from the bar. We went in the opposite direction and found this pizza joint."

I laughed along with them, though I was not there to share that memory with them.

"I love nights like those." Maddie began to say. "When you have no objective in mind, you're just living and life brings you to places you would have never been to if things went according to plan."

"You sure get wise when you've had a few to drink, mads." I chuckled.

"Guess so." She smiled. "Cheers to that, and cheers to many more nights we will spend together like that one." Maddie said as she raised her wine glass.

"Cheers." We all said in unison.

Alice's face dimmed. Her smile had disappeared as she put her glass down.

"What's wrong Alice?" Bella asked.

"Those nights are limited now." Alice said. "When this year is over, there won't be anymore of those. At least- I won't be a part of them."

We were all silent. I had come to realization what this really meant. Alice's parting meant she was no longer going to be with us. It was almost as if she was dying, without really dying.

"Alice," Bella began to say, but was interrupted.

"What am I going to do all the way in Ohio?" Alice whined. "What are you guys going to do? We hardly make the monthly rent payments work with the three of us paying. What'll happen now that there'll be only two people paying rent?"

"Well we would move out and live on campus I guess." Maddie sighed. "Unless we had a third person to replace.. to help pay rent." Maddie said, stumbling across her sentence as she decided to choose a better set of words. Alice was particularly sensitive when she thought she was being replaced in any situation.

"And who would that be? You guys hate everyone but Alaska and I." Alice laughed.

"Well, Alaska could move in.." Bella pried.

I sighed. I definitely could not move in.

"No, I can't. I live with Harry." I admitted. "I don't even work anymore."

We all stayed silent. The warm atmosphere had been tarnished by the realization of what we were here for- the beginning of the end of our friend group.

Alice was the glue, she held all of us together. She was the mom of our group. I looked up to her honestly, and though we had our feuds, it was her opinion I valued the most.

"It's getting late guys." Alice said, breaking the silence. I looked at my phone, it was quarter past midnight.

"Well we all live here." Maddie giggled. "Except, Alaska. Did you need a ride home?"

I thought about it for a moment. Harry told me to tell him twenty minutes before I needed a pickup- frankly, I didn't want to wait another forty minutes, so I took their offer.