Hooked On Styles

Chapter Eight

The weekend came by pretty fast. I told my flatmates that I would be visiting my friend at London University and would be back for Monday, I hate lying to them but if it means that I get to spend time with Harry then I have to do it. Plus, the more serious things get with him then I'm sure that I'll be able to tell them soon. 

Harry insisted on driving to come and pick me up but I didn't want paps following him which could potentially ruin our weekend, so I got the 9:30am train to London King's Cross. It was a packed train, as usual, and full of screaming children with their parents screaming even louder at them. I sat down and a mother and her two daughters joined me on the table. I noticed the youngest daughter, probably around 9, pull out a One Direction magazine from her floral bagpack. One headline specifically caught my attention. 'HARRY SPOTTED KISSING FAMOUS MODEL.' 

My heart sunk. I know he said not to believe the stuff written in magazines but surely they can't have made this up, there must be some sort of evidence? I was dying for the little girl to get to the page but she was just leisurely flicking through and occasionally going googly eyed when she saw a picture of Louis. Finally, she got to the page and there was a picture of what looked like the back of Harry's head and he was hugging a blonde girl. I can't be mad at that, I mean it was just a hug right? I hug boys, not model boys but still. 

After getting into the train station, I headed over to the carpark, dragging my mini suitcase, to where Harry said he would be waiting for me. I was still thinking about the magazine article but I'm sure if I asked him then he would clear things up for me and say it was just another rumour. Walking to the car park, the cold wind hit me and I could feel my cheeks starting to pinken. I stood there for about 10 minutes waiting for Harry but I couldn't see his car anywhere, then suddenly bright headlights flashed at me but I didn't recognise the car. I waited for it to get closer and then noticed Niall waving for me to get in. I rushed over and quickly jumped in the car without questioning why he was here. 

"Hey." Niall spoke, smiling at me. "You okay?"

"Yeah." I replied, giving him a confused smile back. "You?"

"I'm great!" He said, driving out of the car park.

"So... Where is Harry?" I asked him whilst searching through my bag for my phone to see if Harry had text me.

"He didn't tell you?" Niall said, flicking on his indicator. 

"Tell me what?" I responded.

"He got absolutely swamped with paps when he went out and rang me to come and get you." He told me, sounding concerned. "He was pretty upset about it too."

I always forget how hard Harry's, and all the boys, life can get sometimes. Like, he can't even go to the shop without being followed or noticed. I didn't have any texts from him either, so he must be upset, like Niall said, about it. I hope he doesn't think that I'll be annoyed about it though, its not like I blame him for it. 

Once we pulled up outside the building where Harry lived and Niall drove into the basement carpark. 

"I couldn't let you get out outside." He said, pulling into a bay. "There is a pap stood behind a tree trying to sell his next big story."

I didn't know whether to laugh or be sympathetic. He said it in a joking manner but I guess that's just one way of dealing with it how annoying it is for them. 

I got out the car after saying bye to Niall and thanking him for the lift. I walked over to the lift and was about to press the number that Niall told me Harry's flat was on. Unexpectedly, the lift doors opened before I even got the chance.

"It's you." Harry said, as he stepped out the lift and gave me a huge hug. "I'm sorry I didn't come to pick you up."

"It's fine." I reassured him, as he dragged my mini suitcase into the lift.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulder as we went up in the lift, bringing me closer into him. Everything was completely silent, except the sound of the lift, but it felt amazing just to be in his embrace again and I almost forgot about the main reason why I came. 

I didn't really want to nag him about telling me, but I surely deserved some sort of an explanation. Especially with how normal he was being with me after ignoring me for a while. 

"Sooooo..." I prolonged, as I placed my bag on his wooden floor next to the sofa. 

"I'm sorry." He blurted out, running his hands through his hair. "The paps, they were just everywhere and I couldn't risk being seen picking you up."

Ouch. I know he didn't mean it harshly but that kind of hurt. 

"I understand." I replied, sitting down on the black sofa. "Niall told me everything, but I actually wanted to ask you about erm... that thing, you know?"

"What thing?" He asked, looking at me confused as he sat down next to me and grabbed my hand.

"You know..." I said, wishing that I hadn't actually said anything. "You ignoring me..."

The way he slowly released the gentle clutch he had around my fist made me realise that maybe this wasn't just as simple as him losing his phone. He was silent for at least 10 seconds, which felt like 10 minutes. I just sat there and left my eyes to wander around his flat, noticing the amazing view he had of London. 

"It's complicated." He spoke, looking up at me. "And its annoying because I'm just trying to get to know you and everything is making is so difficult."

"Harry." I sighed. "What's going on?"

"Ughhhhhhhh." He groaned in fustration as he sunk into his sofa. "So, you know I went to LA?" 

"Yeah..." I replied, eager for him to finish. 

"Well, the management wanted me to be seen going out on a date but I said that I was kind of, I guess, seeing someone..." He said, looking up at me for approval to which I gave him a little smile. "And they weren't happy about it and the more I resisted about it, the worse they got with me and the boys too."

"Can they even do that?" I questioned.

"Yeah." He sighed. "It's like your not even in control of your own life sometimes, but I wouldn't change any of this for world so I just put up with it."

"Do they know that you're in contact with me again?" I asked, worrying about what would happen if they found out.

"No." He replied. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you, I just didn't know how and we're not supposed to tell just anyone these kind of things... I mean it's not that I didn't trust you, It's just..."

"I understand, Harry." I said, reassuring him. "Listen, I don't want to make this any harder for you, so it's perfectly fine if you want to just be friends... Well we are just friends but I mean... like... I'm ok with just a text on my birthday or a 'hey, how've you been' every now and again... Maybe it would be better for you that we just stopped it before it turned into anything too serious and someone ended up getting hurt..."

HARRY'S P.O.V

I sat and watched her babbling away, getting more and more flustered with every word she uttered. I knew she was right but I didn't want her to be right. I just wanted to kiss her again. That's all I could think about. Kissing her. 

"Do you agree?" She asked, looking into my eyes.

I lightly placed my hand on the right side of her jawbone, slowly leaned in, making sure that our eyes never drifted and softly but yet passionately kissed her pink lips. She didn't pull back, so I let the kiss grow deeper, feeling her smooth hand rest onto my neck.  

Suddenly, the kiss was broken by a knock on the door. 

"Harry??" A voice shouted.

"Shit." Harry whispered.