Practice

Chapter 5

"Speaking of parties," Zayn began, pausing to finish off his can of coke, "Are you having yours this year?" 

Harry responded before Zayn had even finished his sentence. "Mate, do you even need to ask? Of course I'm having it." The two high fived, and Tyler rolled her eyes at the stereotypical male embrace. Harry turned to her, "You're invited, by the way."

She nodded, already starting to sort through her wardrobe in her head, picking out potential outfits. "When is it?" 

"Uh, this weekend. My parents are going to Aspen for a ski trip, I think they're trying to start some tradition thing. But that means a free house for the weekend, so I can't complain," He shrugged, pursing his lips. "I did it last year and it was really good, so why not do it again?"

"You should do a dress up thing," Zayn suggested, his voice calm and controlled. He obviously didn't want to seem eager or overenthusiastic about it. Tyler swore under her breath. She wasn't going if it was a dress up party. All she had was her maids outfit, which was now tainted - it may as well be burnt and ripped. 

"I don't know, I'll consider it.. I'm not one for dressing up," He stated, flicking through his phone.

The rest of the lunch block was used up as the three discussed party arrangements. They decided on no theme, but a strict dress code; Tyler declared that heels were a must and that boys couldn't be casual. Zayn's cousin would supply the alcohol, but everyone would be encouraged to bring their own just in case. When the bell finally rang for the fourth block, Tyler reluctantly left the pair and made her way to calc with Eleanor. 

She'd learnt a lot about Zayn in that short amount of time. He was a goofy guy with a childlike sense of humour. His laugh was loud and his smile was bright, although it seemed to take a lot to get it out. His tattoos all had meaning, but he came across as extremely private. He spoke in short, sharp sentences, and got his point across with no fuss. Overall, though, he seemed like a nice guy. She decided to ask Eleanor about him in calc, though, just to be sure. 

"He's the kind of guy where what you see is what you get I think. I don't know him that well, but from what Perrie told me he's alright, great in bed.. He hangs with us but he doesn't say much at all. He's been with us since middle school though so we don't ask too many questions," She paused to type some numbers into her calculator, biting her lip before continuing. "Did you hear about the deal he made with Pez? They were meant to keep it quiet but she spilled - we're her friends, of course she was gonna tell us right?" 

Tyler nodded, "Harry vaguely told me.. Why'd she bother with all that?"

"I don't know, I mean.. The quickest way for you to get a name for yourself if you aren't anything special is to open up shop," Eleanor shrugged, "I know it sounds bitchy but it's brutal honesty. Perrie was never going to make it on looks or personality alone. She isn't smart enough to fake it, so she did what she had to do. She's got the status now, and that's all that matters."

Tyler wanted to laugh - she really did. But then she realised that she was doing the exact same thing. She moved schools to get away from her old self, which essentially is what Perrie did. She ran away from what she used to be and completely upgraded. There was barely any of herself left. "I guess so," She replied, not wanting to press for any more details. There was a few minutes of silence before Tyler spoke up again. "Did you hear about Harry's party?" 

"Did I hear? Ty, I'm number one on the guest list."

Ty. Interesting. Tyler hadn't had a nickname before. Sophia called her Tyson, but that was only because of the girl's angry streak. She was indifferent towards the new name, unsure of whether Eleanor had used it endearingly or as a form of patronisation. She wasn't bothered to question it, though - frankly, she wasn't in a position to. For these first few weeks Tyler was learning. She needed to solidify her place before she could do anything drastic. 

"What're you thinking of wearing?" Tyler asked, needing some guidance. She didn't know how dressy these girls got, although she assumed they were all over the top, outrageous kind of people. 

"I don't know, probably a black dress or something. Do you wanna get ready at mine before it? We can go together." Tyler nodded, almost too eagerly for her liking. But this was a rite of passage. Getting ready with someone was like the ultimate initiation, right? 

"Sure, yeah, sounds good," She quickly added nonchalantly, hoping to regain herself after the neck spasm nodding she only just realised would have looked ridiculous. 

They spent the rest of the lesson discussing potential hook ups. Eleanor predicted that it would take Zayn ten minutes to get Perrie into a bedroom from the minute they stepped through the door, and that Harry would fly solo yet again. Apparently he wasn't one for hook ups - random ones, anyway.

She wondered what Harry would be like drunk. While sober, he seemed to be controlled. He was quirky, almost, but tended to muddle up his words or trip over them - he spoke very quickly. She liked the way he would blurt out random facts, or use really sophisticated words in a not-so-sophisticated manner, or how he seemed to friendly.

Being around Harry was like being around an old friend, someone you grew up with. Tyler felt completely at ease with him, minus the electric shocks running up and down her skin whenever he brushed her, or when he said her name, or smiled at her with that weird lopsided grin.

She was getting pulled in, once again. This was like Louis all over. She couldn't fall straight back into the trap - sure, Harry didn't have a facebook page dedicated to his sex life, but he had a mouth, and most likely  good memory recall. It wouldn't take him long to laugh about her with all his friends. 

Tyler needed to get good at this stuff. She needed to have all the experience in the world so that when the time came, she'd be ready for Harry Styles.