The Run Away Girl || Harry Styles

Chapter 5

HARRY'S POV

Of course Liam would walk in now.

I hadn't seen the annoying prick since Thursday night. Out of no where, he barged in my house, forced me to sit down, and verbally attacked me. I find myself scowling at the recent memory, and I can't help but to loathe Liam's unwelcomed appearance at this moment.

I can see his eyes fill with disgusted amusement as he notices Alice standing next to me. A quick glance to my right side, and I see that Alice looks just as surprised as my friend.

Shit.

"Liam... this is Alice." Each word is spoken with great apprehension and uncertaintity. Alice forces an uncomfortable smile and manages a polite "hello" before returning her timid gaze to the ground.

Other than a nod of his head, Liam doesn't respond. Without a doubt, I know exactly what he is thinking; the condescending look in his deep brown eyes say it all. Styles... with another girl this soon? Why the hell am I not surprised? In my head, I can hear the way he would pronounce 'another', carefully annunciating each syllable, the word spoken in a way that he hoped would arouse some sort of angry emotion.

We lock eyes, and my piercing glare demands him to stay silent. Neither one of us moves. Our bodies are both stiff with rage, both daring the other to speak. You had me fooled. I really thought you were trying to change, his eyes scream. I begin to panic. God knows what Liam would say out loud. My heart quickens at the thought.

To my immense relief, Liam remains silent. I can't help but the be thankful for my best friend's ability to control his mouth. As much as I hate him at this moment, I have always admired him for giving others the benefit of the doubt. He was never the one to cause a scene. After the way I treated him Thursday night- much less after what I promised him then- he had every right to throw my hypocritical actions and words in my face. I want to explain myself, but I knew he wouldn't believe me. Especially with Alice here, this certainly wasn't the time or place to hurl accusations and insults at each other.

Regardless, Liam is fuming with anger. Although he is speaking nothing, his is eyes say more than enough. You're a dick, bro. A proper dick. And to think you told me you were going to get better. Ha! What the hell is this, Harry?! What are you doing?

I bite my tongue to keep from lashing back in my defense at his unspoken words. Screw Liam! What the hell does he know!?

As much as I tried to resist the thought, deep down, I know Liam was only trying to help me by intervening a few days ago. Sure, we hadn't been on great terms since then- I mean, I said some pretty nasty things to him- but surely he wouldn't ruin this for me. He would give me a second chance...right?

He taunts me by opening his mouth. His brutal words are on the edge of his lips. My blood boils at the very thought of him jumping to the conclusions I know he must be making. I don't even want to think about how Alice will react.

Alice. I would change for Alice.

I want so badly to tell him everything. I want to tell him what happened, how I met her. How it was normal. I want to tell him how in my bones, I feel that this time is different. How she is different.

Uncomfortable with the tense air in the room, Alice shifts the weight on her feet and quietly clears her throat. "I'm sorry.. I... I didn't mean to interrupt anything, I'll leave."

No. My pulse quickens. No, she can't leave. I won't allow Liam to ruin this- whatever this is. As she begins to walk towards the door, a frantic desperation consumes my body.

I am desperate for Alice to stay. I tightly clench my jaw and my eyes are daggers. I can't imagine how disgusting the look on my face must be, but Liam needs to get the hint. I need him to keep his mouth shut and leave. After what seems like forever, my friend yields to my silent request. Liam snorts in disgust, and aggressively grips the bronze doorknob behind him.

"You better watch yourself, Harry," Liam spits. He turns on his heels, and slams the door shut as he exits. An awkward silence fills the kitchen, and I run my hands through the messy bed of curls on my head. Shit.

"What the hell was that?" Alice breathes uncomfortably, refusing to make eye contact with me.

I hesitate.

I want to tell her the truth so bad. Alice of all people deserves the truth, but I can't bring myself to say anything that would ruin my chances with her. I already know she must be so confused, and I can't help but to be thankful for the abruptness and ambiguity of the situation. After all, it was working in my favor.

My thoughts whirl through my head at supersonic speeds. I need to tell her. Alice deserves to know. My selfish thoughts interfere. No, she wouldn't understand. I can't tell her.

I can see that Alice is still waiting for an answer. My better judgment succumbs to my selfishness. "Liam is upset because I agreed to promote some...uhh brands in our upcoming movie," I lie. She frowns, and I can tell that she is unsure whether to believe my assertion.

Eventually, Alice nods. It is clearly her attempt at convincing herself of the validity of my statement more than anything else. "Oh, okay." My heart sinks. I know she didn't fully believe me, she just simply had the decency to let it go.

You're such a screw up, I think to myself. Here you have the perfect girl, and you are already risking losing her. Instead of confessing and giving her the truth like she deserves, I coward and lie again. "Yeah, it's no big deal, just some marketing drama."

I'm so angry with myself. Here am, lying through my teeth, right after I promised Liam that I would change. Surely I wasn't going down this same path again. Part of me wishes Liam had said what Alice deserved to know. But I know myself better than to dwell on that; I'm far too selfish to wish such things.

I sigh. What the hell am I doing?

__________________________________________

Thoughts? I know you proably didn't see this coming, but I wanted to keep you guys guessing!

If you like it so far, please take a moment to vote and to comment! You guys rock!