the fighter // harry styles (au) *ON HOLD*

vi

The sound of final bell was both a relief and disappointment to me.

It guaranteed the freedom from the common prison called high school. There was freedom from the overbearing teachers, unoriginal peers and disgustingly frozen lunch food. But it didn't guarantee my freedom from Antheia. The second I closed my locker, the blonde was already glued to my side. She was blabbering about whatever came to her mind first. This time the topic was about her date from the previous night and how she failed to get laid. 

"I just don't get it!" I heard Ann exclaim as we walked to the parking lot. "How could some guy just pass from having sex? That's something you can't get easily these days!"

I rolled my eyes in irritation. "You know Ann, some people practice something called abstinence. You should Google it sometime!" 

She groaned and shoved me against a gate. "You always have a witty remark to say!" 

I laughed and regained my composure. I looked at Ann and noticed her pouting, which only made me laugh harder. "Oh, c'mon!" I said to her. "You knew that my comments were in the contract when yous signed up to be my best friend."

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. Then her mood changed drastically as she searched through her bag quickly. She took out her cell phone and pointed it at me. "Stay right there!" She told me as the phone was faced directly at me.

"What are you doing?"

"Stop talking Holly! I'm taking a selfie of you!"

After I posed nonchalantly for Ann and she took a couple of photos of me, we continued to walk towards her car. As she became giddy over my photos, I noticed a figure by Ann's car. I walked faster, leaving Ann behind, and rushed towards the figure that stood there. When I got closer, I realized it was Harry. We made eye contact and I couldn't help but notice the lopsided smile forming on his face.

Ann finally caught up to me and looked up from her phone. She stopped talking when she spotted Harry. He walked over to us and put his hands in the front pocket of his black skinny jeans, standing awkwardly still.

"May I help you?" I asked him; my annoyance was unexpectedly growing faster than I imagined.

He shrugged and looked down at me. "Just doing my job."

I rolled my eyes. "You could try being more subtle. Maybe that will make you look less like a creep."

"We tend to do stupid things when nobody's watching us," He responded.

Ann cleared her throat and Harry and I stared at her. She shot him a smile and turned to me. "I'm going in the car. I'll let you two talk this sexual tension out," She told us and ran into her car, immediately starting it. Harry chuckled at her comment, but it only made me more furious. 

I turned my attention back to Harry and crossed my arms. "I already told you that I can take care of myself," I said to him. "You can trust me, you know."

He chuckled. "Yeah, cause you definitely broke up with Nolan when your brother and I asked you to."

"Okay, first of all, you didn't ask. You forced me to! Practically made the decision for me. Second of all, I did break up with him! Where do you think I went after Zayn told me? To a strip club?"

Harry looked dead straight into my eyes and kept his composure. Nothing I said fazed him. I was beginning to believe that he thought everything coming out of my mouth was pure lies. 

"Where are you going?" He asked me after staying silent for a few moments.

"The diner," I responded and uncrossed my arms. "Ann and I are going to go study and finish our homework."

Harry nodded and turned his back to me. He walked over to the car and opened the passenger door, then signalling me to get in. I obeyed and sat inside the car, then buckled my seat belt. I reached to close the door, but Harry grabbed my hand gently. I looked up at him and our eyes met. He stared at me silently, studying my every crease in my forehead, every hidden freckle on my nose, every eyelash that was covered in mascara.

He cleared his throat and moved his face next to mine. I felt his warm breath on my neck; my heart began to beat so rapidly, I could have sworn it'd pop out of my chest. "Be safe," He whispered in my ear. I looked back up to his eyes and watched him stand up straight again, then close the car door for me. 

Ann and I didn't study at the diner. Instead we had dinner with Nolan and one of his "friends." I didn't feel bad for lying to Harry, or so I didn't allow myself to feel guilty. Every time I felt the guilt creeping onto my spine, I shoved a fry into my mouth, hoping that would do the trick. 

After Ann finished telling us a story about how she tried to flush her mother's outing wig and ran away from home for a week, Nolan asked for the check and paid for our meals. I thanked him, earning me a kiss on my bruised cheek, which was slowly healing. I winced quietly and ran my hands through my hair.

Ann cleared her throat, making all of us stare at her. "I have to go to the bathroom," She announced and got out of the booth. Nolan's friend, Buff Boy so I called him, followed her nonchalantly. 

My attention turned back to Nolan, who was staring at me quietly. He licked his lips and I noticed his eyes look at my lips, then back to my eyes. He looked so concentrated, as if he were in deep thought, thinking thoroughly about what he was going to say to me. 

"I want you to stop hanging around her," He told me with a quiet, harsh tone.

My eyes widened. I looked at him shockingly, searching for any sign that he was joking around. He had to be messing with me. This couldn't be true. "What?" I managed to say. "What do you mean? Antheia is my best friend." The words stumbled out of my mouth, slipping loosely from my lips.

Nolan's expression stayed serious. He wasn't joking around. "You can't trust anyone babe," He said. "She can't be dragged into this mess."

I scowled at him. "I don't go around telling you to ditch your friends!" 

My words didn't seem to faze him. He leaned close to me and placed his hand on my lower back. His hand traveled upwards, grazing on my back and stopped once it reached my neck. His fingers got tangled under my hair, but they gripped onto the back of my neck. He held onto me tightly and grabbed my face gently with his free hand. 

I stared at him unwillingly, managing to put on my best poker face as pain began to shoot through my body from his tight grip on me. Nolan's lips were near my ear and I heard him begin to whisper to me. "You're going to do as I say, or you'll never see her again."

The fear within me was transparent to him. It fed his precious ego, boosting his delight from watching wince in pain and suffer quietly from his threats. He watched my eyes water with tears and as soon as they were going to escape, he leaned in and kissed me, releasing his grip from my neck. I obliged and kissed him back, feeling the throbbing ache in my neck spiral out of control.

When we pulled away, Ann and Buff Boy were standing near our table. She smiled at us happily; her face was glowing. It obvious her and Buff Boy shared an intimate quickie in the bathroom stall. "Ready to go?" She asked us.

I looked at Nolan, forcing myself not to pout. He looked at me and smiled, squeezing my thigh lightly. "Ready as ever," He replied and kissed my cheek. This time, his kiss stung and my cheek went numb. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

/ A.N:The Fighter is back! It took way longer than I expected, but this previous school year was too hectic for me and I had to put this story on hiatus. I'm glad to be back and I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! Stay tuned for the next one! 

Btw- I added Holly's selfie! Just in case you're wondering how she looks like.