1 in 7 Billion (Harry Styles)

Chapter 14

{Hayley's POV}

"Hello?" I say into the receiver again.

"Hayley!" a British accent booms into my ear. "Its Liam! I was just wonderin' if you'd want to come over to the flat for a little, and hang out with us lads for the night?" he offers.
I'm a bit relieved, but sad my night to myself has been ruined because I know I won't say no.
"Um sure! That sounds-" I immediately stop talking when I spot an all too familiar face looking throw a telescope. It couldn't be.
"Hayley?" Liam says.
"Sorry Liam but I'm going to have to call you back." I hang up and walk toward the broad dark-haired man. His crystal blue eyes meet mine before I have a chance to say a word.
"You've got to be kidding me?" the high school memory says to me with a smile. Not a hint of disappointment in his tone. "Hayley Stewart!"
"Taylor Thomas!" My surprise is not hidden in my voice, but I'm happy to see him for some odd reason. "Who knew I'd be running into you on top of the Empire State Building! What the hell are you doing in New York?!"
He pulls me into a friendly hug and I realize how amazing he smells. Like steel and roses, it's not nearly as intoxicating as Harry's signature minty smell, but it's still good.
"I could ask you the same question!" I take in his features. His chiseled jaw line and striking eyes. His skin was tanned, and had a dark scruff across his face. He's more.. manly than he was back in high school. He is significantly more muscular and his voice was slightly deeper.
"Well I'm working in the New York Times building. What are you doing here?" I ask, not being able to hold back the smile that was smacked across my face. Why was I smiling? I've hated this guy ever since that awful night.
"I actually just transferred to Colombia for school." he leaned against the railing. "You going to school here too?" he asked.
I am actually attending NYU in the fall, but I wanted to take a year off from school to settle myself down in the city, and learn to rely on myself.
"Not quite yet." I let out a forced laugh. "I'm planning on attending NYU in fall." he smiled at me and I returned it.
"Would you like to go get some coffee or something?" he offered.
Here I'm looking at the douche bag who took my virginity, but can't find the will power to refuse. I'm always trying to forget my past, but sometimes it's refreshing to look back on it. Revisit for awhile.
"I would like that very much." and I follow him to the elevator.

{Harry's POV}

"Hayley? Hello?" Liam talks in the phone, looking at his screen. "She hung up on me." He looks at me with a blank expression.
"What the hell do you mean she hung up?" I know exactly what he means but right now I'm pissed. I made Liam call her so I wouldn't seem annoying because I've been texting her all day. Where the hell was she? Was she in trouble?
"I mean, she told me she'd call me back, so just relax Harry." he tries to calm me down, but I'm freaking out. She wasn't that pissed at me right?
"Did she sound upset? Do you think she's in some type of trouble? She barely knows anyone in the city, Liam. What if something happened?" I'm distraught and I'm tugging at the roots of my hair while I ramble on.
"Harry, she sounded fine on the phone. I can tell when someone's troubled. Plus, she's not twelve Harry. She can take care of herself. Just relax, she said she'd call me back. In the mean time let's go gets some coffee or something and head back to our place. Niall said he had something planned for us." He puts his hand on my shoulder and makes me make eye-contact with him. Dammit Liam. He's always so calm, cool, and collected and I have no idea how he does it.
Here I am fuming, and he's acting like everything's fine. Yeah, me and Hayley weren't dating, but it's not okay for her to avoid me like this. Was she really that pissed at me this morning? I've seen her pissed before and that seemed like nothing. Hopefully she's out with Leila. Girl time. Yeah, girl time.
Until Hayley texted me back or called Liam, I'll just sit in our flat obsessing over a girl I'm not even dating. Obsessing over a girl who doesn't feel the same way about me, the way I feel about her. I'm leaving on tour in three weeks, and I just wanted to spend time with her. I can't tell her how I feel and then just leave. I don't know what I'll do without seeing her for so long...
Before I know it we're back at the flat playing pool. It's Zayn's turn and he's studying his shot.
"So You went to her apartment? Without calling first?" Niall questions.
"Of course I fucking called her. She didn't answer, because she was annoyed with me this morning." I clench on my stick hard, making my knuckles turn white in fury. They don't get it. Hayley and I have this weird connection. We can be pissed at each other but then it won't matter in an hour. We'll just go back to normal and laugh at one another. She never ignores me like this.
"Maybe it's a good thing she wasn't there." Zayn says avoiding eye-contact with me. Smart boy.
"And why the hell is that?" I snap.
"We're going on tour mate. You can't confess you have feelings for her and then get up and leave." this time making eye contact with me.
"He's got a point Harry." Louis sighs while playing with the square of chalk. "And who knows when we'll be back in New York again. You might as well-"
"I'm not going to just remove Hayley from my life." I say almost yelling. It's taking every fiber of my being to not explode right now. Are they really saying that I should just forget about Hayley? Are they crazy? This is Hayley Stewart, we're talking about. The most captivating person I've ever met.
"No mate, we're not sayin that. We're saying maybe the tour is exactly what you need to get over your feelings for Hayley. Time apart. I already told her I want her to come to some of our shows, so you'll still see her. Hopefully your feelings have subsided by then." Liam explains. It sounds a lot better coming from his mouth.
She'd come to our shows? I don't even think she's even listened to any of our music before. She likes classic Rock n' Roll and rarely listens to any music that's come out during this century.
I don't respond but just rub my hands over my face. What the hell was I going to do? Hayley is one of my best friends, and I don't want to do anything that might tear us apart. Fuck. This was not supposed to happen.
I went to elevator to go get some coffee, because I knew alcohol would only make things worse.

{Hayley's POV}

"This is my favorite coffee house." I smile at Taylor as he opens the door for me. "I come here all the time."
"Well then I hope it's good considering you've set my expectations quite high." he raises a flirtatious eyebrow and I roll my eyes.
When we get our drinks we sit down in the exact booth me and Harry sat at the day we officially met.
"I can't decide if this is weird or not." he says to me, staring into my eyes. He really was attractive, always has been.
"And why is that?" I respond grasping my cup with both hands.
"Well, considering the last time you talked to me was about thirty seconds after we had sex." he laughs and I felt all the blood in my body rush to my cheeks.
"I should of known you'd bring that up." I smile like I'm about to laugh, but I'm tensing up. That night was one big blur.
Senior year homecoming football game. Taylor had led our team to a huge win over our rival , and the whole school was pretty much invited to the after party. That was the very first night I'd gotten drunk ever. I had alcohol before this point, but I was never smashed like I was. My neighbor Jenna made me go, and it was only the third party I went too since my parents died. Every girl at the school had a crush in Taylor Thomas. He was the most popular guy in school, and man, he could charm a lady. I being one of them. Of course I thought he was attractive, and I was giddy over the fact that he wanted me. I let him take me into a random room, and I was drunk out my mind. I had around zero self control at this point, and I let him take advantage of me. Losing my virginity sobered me up, and after we were done I panicked. I scrambled to put my clothes on and just as I was about to leave Taylor flipped over on the bed and looked at me.
"Don't worry baby, the second time is always more pleasurable." he smirked at me and all I said "Good to know". My first time was not romantic or ideal at all. He wasted no time and we were probably in the bedroom for twenty minutes . Twenty miserable minutes. I never talked to him again after that night, but he always went out of his way to talk to me. At first it was just crude comments, because it eventually got around the school that he slept with me and too my surprise the cheer captain as well that night. Taylor Thomas was considered a god in high school. He would whisper sexual things in my ear, and smirk at me as I passed by. By the end of the year he rarely said anything to me, but when he did it was always nice and polite things. He would compliment me, and make jokes. I never said anything back, and he never questioned it. Maybe that's why I was so friendly when I saw him tonight, I owe him that much right? What am I thinking I owe him nothing...

"I didn't even say anything to you after!" I blush in embarrassment as he smiles and let's out a sincere laugh.
"Yeah I was kinda a dick back then." he smiled at his hands on the table.
"Oh ya don't say?" I tease. "Considering you were such a gentleman that night." My sarcasm was evident.
"I'm sorry for that by the way."
"For not being a gentleman?"
"For taking you virginity." oh. I look around embarrassed making sure nobody heard.
"Well it was bound to happen sometime. Now it won't suck when I have it with someone I actually care about."
"Ouch." he laughs at my shot toward him.
"Sorry I didn't mean it like that. I did like you at the time, and I was shocked you even thought of doing something like that with me." I admit.
"Why would you be shocked?" he looks at me with curiously and sympathy in his eyes. "Hayley you were the hottest girl at Grant Hills High School. Everybody knew it too." he casually takes a sip of his coffee as I practically spit out mine.
Well this is definitely news to me..
"Umm what?" I don't hide my shocked expression at all because I'm actually shocked. I was a nobody in high school. I was the broken girl, who's parents had died and was being taken care of by her 20 year-old sister. Who didn't talk to a soul besides Jenna and her teachers.
"Oh c'mon Hay." he says. Blushing because the only person to ever call me Hay before was Harry. "You were stunning and you still are. All the guys wanted you, even me. That's why it sucked to have you not talk to me. I've wanted to go back to the night so badly, and redo it. Because let's me honest, you were miserable and I was an asshole."

Maybe I found the exact thing to distract me from a certain curly haired British boy..

{A/N: guys! I'm almost to 2000 reads! That's crazy! Thank you guys so much for reading my low-life story! I love reading all your comments and they legit make me so happy! I love you all! xoxox}