1986 [harry styles au]

XIX. GROUP-TALK

CHAPTER XIX. GROUP-TALK
School didn't improve the next day either. I still chose to spend my lunch inside the library rather than the canteen. I could admit that I was worried about Lana; about how far she could slander my reputation. My reputation was still fairly new, and adjustable. I didn't just go around stealing people's crushes, I wasn't that kind of person; more the opposite.

Since school had been so utterly boring, I decided to ride my bike to Harry's. The snow was still falling slowly onto the grounds of Bridgemont Valley but I found that pedalling increased the warmth of my body. It was a nice difference to shivering all day in my classes. Riding through Danver Estate provided a beautiful backdrop of the perfect Christmas cards; stunning mansions covered in heaps of snow.

I leant my bike against the wall beside Harry's front door and proceeded to ring the doorbell. It took a minute or two before the door opened, a smile on my face and expecting to greet Harry. But instead, a man with balding grey hair and a sharp navy suit was revealed before me. He had a crease between his eyebrows which only deepened as he looked on at me. A frown seemed to be permanently etched into his face as his view didn't budge and I felt completely judged, like a jester before a royal court. His grass-green eyes made it clear that this man was Harry's father and I suddenly felt compelled to act differently before him.

'Can I help you?' His deep voice booms into the air between us.

'I'm Harry's friend, is he here?' I ask before hearing footsteps approach the man.

'Andy!' I hear Harry call as he travels closer to the front door. 'Dad, this is Andy. Andy, this is my father. This is a really good friend of mine.'

'Your name is Andy?' His father looked unimpressed.

'Short for Adriana.'

'I guess that's something.' He remarks and Harry's lip goes between his teeth. I wasn't sure how to get his father to find me even the least bit appealing, so I decided to lie instead.

'Yeah, I live here too in Danver Estate. I'm currently studying to become a doctor.' I tell him and his whole face lights up. Harry shoots a confused stare my way but seemed relieved all the same.

'Is that so?' His voice was no longer deep but was now cheery. 'It's a pleasure to meet you then, Adriana.'

His hand reached out to me and I felt this was a good time to scan him properly. As our hands connected in the handshake, his blazer sleeve budged up and revealed the white shirt underneath it. My eyebrows furrowed as I noticed red dots all along the sleeve. It seemed that Harry's father wasn't prim and proper after all.

'Oh, just some ketchup.' He was quick to confirm after I had noticed. 'There's a hot dog stand where I work and I just can't resist.' He chuckles and I do too, in order to fill the otherwise awkward atmosphere. 'Anyway, you kids get back to doing what you want to do. I'll be upstairs working if you need me.'

I breathe a sigh of relief once his father has escaped upstairs and I feel Harry's hand at my shoulder. 'Good idea with the lying. My dad is really strict about things like that, even Kian has lied to him about that stuff.'

'That's sad.' I state.

'That's my dad.' He shrugs, his hand guiding me towards the living room where I see somebody already seated on one of the sofas. Moving closer, I notice that it's Kian.

'Hello, Kian.' I greet, taking a seat beside him. Harry stands before both of us.

'Hey, Adriana. Good to see you.' He replies with a tiny smile.

'So, just to clear things up. Andy, Kian knows about the whole Blake situation.' Harry states, as though it is nothing but fact and my heart sinks.

'You know about it all?' I ask Kian and he nods sombrely.

'I'm sorry you two had to go through it alone.' He says, and I find myself feeling frustrated with Harry for doing something so major without my say in it.

'Now, Kian thinks that we should tell the others and I think it's a good idea too. I was going to tell you this tomorrow in school but since you've came here, we can debate this idea now.' Harry states, like a lecturer in a theatre.

'I wanted to tell the others from the start.' I say swiftly. My voice is stern and I can sense that Harry has noticed that I'm annoyed by something.

'Andy, can I speak to you in the hallway please?' He asks and I nod, standing up. We both enter the hallway, creating some distance between us and Kian who was still in the living room.

'What's wrong? Have I done something?' He plainly questions. His emerald eyes were boring into mine very intensely and his lips were rolling between his teeth. He held his face close enough to mine that I could smell his breath, a mixture of mint and coffee.

'I wish you would have told me before revealing everything to somebody, Harry. This was our secret and not just yours, our everything. I thought we had a pact to discuss things before we committed to doing them.' I explain and he raises an eyebrow before nodding.

'I'm sorry. I wasn't really thinking. I've known Kian for so long that it didn't feel right for him to be in the dark, you know? I won't do it again, I'll check in with you first.' He says, his hand reaching for mine and intertwining his fingers.

'Pinky promise?' I ask with a grin and he chuckles lowly.

'Pinky promise.' He nods, and his face lingers for a moment. His eyes scan my face before they come to my mouth, and it felt like a moment perfect for a kiss; the perfect time for him to lean in and engulf my lips, a perfect time to start something new and distracting. But, it was much too complicated for that. 'I'm going to head upstairs and call the others.'

By 6pm, Lana, Dua and Kendrick had arrived. Lana didn't take any opportunity to speak to me or to even look at me. But, Harry told them all to stay quiet and sit at the dining table, including Kian. Once they were seated, Harry and I took the opposite side but stayed standing. Lana's eyes were on Harry only, whilst the others were looking between us both in puzzlement.

'We've been keeping a secret from you all, a deep secret that we need to come clean about.' Harry begins with a sigh.

'Adriana is pregnant?' Kendrick pipes up with a loud laugh, and Lana scoffs. 'You're getting married?'

'No, shut up. Be quiet.' Harry states, but smirks before growing serious again. 'Remember Halloween night?'

'In the woods?' Dua questions.

'Yes, remember when we came home and saw the news coverage about the body in Rocky Trails? The same place we had been?' Harry asks and they nod in unison. 'Andy and I found the body. We were the ones who phoned the police. We were scared to tell you incase you got the wrong idea. But since then, we've been researching into the death and have found even more deaths that seem to be linked; Nico being one of them.'

'This is why Harry and I have seemed to grow closer in the past two months, because we worked together to figure out why Blake and Nico had to die.' I chime in and Lana finally looks to me, a sympathetic shine over her eyes.

'Blake?' Dua asks.

'The boy in the woods.' Kendrick clarifies and she nods.

'You two shouldn't get so involved in things like this. It's how bad things happen. It's how bad people find you. You need to stay safe after discovering something so horrid.' Dua says, and we both nod.

'It's true, you shouldn't have felt so scared to tell us either. We wouldn't have been angry, we trust you. We'd rather know what's on your minds so we can support you.' Kendrick explains.

'So, what do we do?' Harry asks eventually.

'Stay out of it.' Kendrick says, Dua and Lana both nodding with him.

I find Harry's eyes and it seemed that their answer had struck a chord in both of us. What if the investigation had already consumed us whole and we couldn't escape it now? What if we were already close to ending it and stopping the investigation would blow everything? It's something I didn't feel compelled to risk.