His Territory | Harry Styles

Out-Smarted.

outmanoeuvre:(verb)

use skill and cunning to gain an advantage over. "he hoped he would be able to outmanoeuvre his critics." -synonyms: outwit, outsmart, outthink, outplay, be cleverer than, steal a march on, trick, make a fool of, get the better of; informal outfox, pull a fast one on, put one over on, run/make rings round; dated out jockey. "he hoped to outmanoeuvre his critics."

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"All my complaints shrink to nothing, I'm ashamed of all my somethings. She's glad for one day of comfort only because she has suffered. Here she stands today in her brilliant shining way."

Song - Fully Alive

Artist - Flyleaf

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Harry

I quickly chase her into our room, only to find her tossing clothes into a suitcase.

"Woah! baby what are-" She cuts me off.

"Don't say that word!" Joe spat with venom in her voice and tossed a jacket into her suitcase. "And I'm leaving."

My heart is breaking into a million pieces.

If she leaves, I'm done.

"Leaving? What? Why?" My voice breaks. "Joe, please, I'm sorry for not telling you, please don't leave me." A single tear escapes my eye and rolls down my cheek.

She ignores me, dragging her suitcase out of the room.

Is she really leaving me? I know it's my fault, I should've told her. I regret not telling her about the girl and boy she lost, I just thought in her current state it would be best if she only thought we lost one. I was just looking out for her. My heart stops.

"Goodbye Harry, I'll-" Her phone cuts her off, she doesn't look around at me and answers it. "Luke, can you-"  

Joe's body suddenly tenses, I know something is wrong and it's definitely not Luke on the other end. I can't hear what the other person is saying due to the distance between us.

But when the phone suddenly falls from her hand, and her knees begin to shake, I quickly run to her but she pushes me away.

"This is all your fault!" Joe raises her voice, the handle to her suitcase slips from her grip and falls to the ground. "He found us! And it's your fucking fault! I couldn't say goodbye to my mother because of you! Everything is your-"

Reaching out, I grab her wrists and pull her to me but she tries to fight against me. "Joe! Stop it!" Tears stream down her cheeks, she gasps for air as her breathing rapidly increases. "You need to calm down babe, you're going to have a panic attack."

"H-Harry," She breathes out, throwing herself into my chest. "I-I'm sorry," 

"Slow your breathing down," I instruct, she nods against my chest. "Listen to how I'm breathing and copy me, okay?"

"O-okay," 

My arms wrap themselves around her fragile frame, I kiss the top of her head whispering calming words to her.

It takes a few minutes for Joe's breathing to return to normal, in that time, I lead her to the sofa and sat her down, taking a seat next to her.