Murphy's Law ✔️

Chapter Three.

February, 2020.

Harry hated cops.

He remembered back when he was seventeen, standing outside of a bar with Niall and a few of their friends at the time, passing around a spliff- their third of the night. His eyes were glazed over and blinking lazily, long legs twisting and big feet tripping over one another. He had a wide, toothy permanent smile plastered on his face that even the cold of the night couldn't deter.

It was one of the best nights of his seventeen years, until they saw the red and blue lights flashing and the cop car swerve up onto the curb. The paranoia provided by the weed made him feel like his insides were melting and falling into his feet, his upper body becoming freezing cold.

The two cops rushed out of their car as if they just witnessed a murder and screamed at them with booming, deep voices in an attempt to intimidate. At that moment, younger Harry envisioned himself standing behind bars in a cold cell and calling his mother from a payphone and explaining the reason he was standing in a jail cell. Thankfully, the two prick cops let them off with a warning- not before confiscating all of their weed, though.

And so, Harry never imagined himself befriending Liam Payne about four years ago, when he was 26 and met the nice guy at a bar where Harry had been drowning out his sorrows in a glass of whiskey after another fight with his girlfriend. He confided in Liam that whole night, practically crying into his broad shoulder. Liam didn't tell him he was a cop until Harry showed up at his house and found the lad in uniform. He was immediately thrown back into his 17 year old body, feeling the color draining from his face and that familiar melting feeling of his insides. Liam cackled at the look on his face, slapped his shoulder and told Harry, 'don't worry, we're friends. I wouldn't rat you out for anything.'

And so, they were friends- and sometimes the whole 'cop' thing worked out in Harry's favor.

"So... First name's Murphy, she's a sex worker, and she goes by Angel? You don't know any other information?" Liam asked, his fingertips moving around the cursor on the screen. Niall snorted, a puff of smoke coming out of his mouth as he sat in the corner of the room on the floor. Liam wrinkled his nose.

"Don't know her last name, but I know she lives in South London. Does that help at all?" Harry questioned with a sigh, accepting the spliff from Niall's hands. Liam rolled his eyes.

"You know, it'd be a lot easier to concentrate without that pot smoke floating around," Liam sighed, "I feel like you guys take advantage of my position," he pouted. Niall giggled.

"It's fine, Li, just tell your boss you were forced by a couple of random delinquents to take a few hits," he reasoned. He said the words with a grin on his face but the two other boys knew he was totally serious. Liam huffed.

"It's not far from the truth, really, considering I'm forced to chill with you delinquents all the time."

"Liam! Delinquents commit crime, we have never-"

"Actually, Niall, there was that one time-"

"Shut up, Harry! Just shut up!"

"I already know about that time you spent the night in jail," Liam shrugged, craning his neck to look back at the two boys, ridiculously cuddled up in the corner of the room. Their eyes bulged and Liam gave another shrug, "what? You really thought I haven't looked up your records?"

"I feel..." Niall began, the whites of his eyes pink as he visibly cringed, "I feel violated!"

Liam rolled his eyes and turned back to the computer, clicking the search engine and blinking, sitting up straighter.