Count the stars - 1D HS LT

Where do broken hearts go?

I jump as the knock at my door wakes me from my slumber. I don't move from where I lay, completely cocooned. "Paige. Can I come in?" Lana asks. I don't respond so she walks in anyway and sits next to me. "Are you hungry?"
"No. I'm tired." I say and my eyes close again.
"Paige. Harry came round he's worried about you. We all are." Niall's smooth Irish tone this time. I open my eyes to see his baby blues staring at me.
"I'm okay. I just need a day." I reply.
"Paige, love." Harry's Cheshire accent.
"I've told everyone I just need a day." I say shortly pulling the further around myself.
"It's been a week love," He replies, "I've brought you some food. Please eat something." He looks incredible even though he's just wearing running shorts and a grey vest, he's clearly been out for some form of exercise. "Have some toast at least." I sit up slowly. "That's it love." And he holds out a piece for me. I take it and take a bite, slowly chewing - it does taste good. He smiles at me but I look down at the toast not returning his smile. When I finish the last bit of toast, I lay back down, cocooning myself once more.

A little while later, I hear raised voices from the hallway, "I can't keep seeing her like this. It's killing me."
"No one asked you to stay Harry. This was partly your fault," Lana interjects angrily, which is weird as they hardly know each other. "You can't blame me." Harry replies.
"Woah, mate, she's not." Niall tries to calm things.
"Don't stick up for me. I am blaming him in part. She was fine with Louis before HE strutted back into her life." It goes quiet for a moment before I hear Niall's bedroom door slam.
My brain slowly comes back to life. My friends are arguing, they also seem frightened and panicked. I need to get myself up. I walk to the bathroom and look at myself in the mirror; I look like a walking zombie, no wonder they are frightened. Just like I did when I first came back from LA. Guilt washes over me. I told Niall I would never get into this state again. I curse myself and grab a hair brush pulling at my knotted hair. Hair was being pulled out here, there and everywhere. Eventually it returns to its straight - albeit greasy - normality. Staring at my lifeless hazel eyes and searching for the specks of green within them, it seems every part of me is lost. I feel a shiver run down my spine. Snap out of it, I scold myself. I reach and turn the shower on. Waiting for the water to heat up I glance over at the bath remembering Harry falling into it; that seems so long ago. Louis took himself out of the equation that night. My heart longs for him still but as much as it does, he has made it clear that his does not reciprocate. With a sigh, I climb into the shower and let the hot water run all down my body for a few minutes. Slowly but surely, it brings a part of me back to life.

After my shower, I head back to my room closing the door behind me quietly and look round to locate my make up bag. I don't need much but if I'm going to face the world, I need to put on some sort of mask. A little bit of Foundation, concealer (my best friends) mascara and some liquid eyeliner - just enough to not scare anyone. I take a deep breath taking in my appearance; the dead zombie eyes were still there, just hidden. I reach for a pair of my favourite skinny black jeans and a comfortable hoodie. I reach for one of Louis' but the pain echoes through my body so harshly I need to sit back down. Instead I pick up a Gucci one, which funnily enough, matches one that Harry has. I pull my head through it then re-brush my hair. I take a deep breath once more and leave the safety of my bedroom.

Heading down the hallway, I can hear the quiet din of the tv; the words are familiar but I can't quite place them. As I enter the living room, I'm met with the sight of a tidy dining table with a bunch of pretty flowers - nothing like how it usually looks. I smile knowing full well that this is probably Lana's influence. Turning, I see the other side of the room is in complete contrast. Someone had put up a hanging rail which is laden with suits, several suitcases are on the floor, open, with clothes spilling out whilst a sleeping bag and pillows lie crumpled on the sofa; It's messy, unmade and unkempt. Amongst all the chaos, Harry is sat engrossed in the TV watching the Notebook - I knew I recognised it!
"Hi," I say timidly. He jumps and fumbles for the remote which, when found, he uses to turn off the tv. "Paige!" In one swift move, he's off the sofa and pulling me into a hug. "Jesus. You scared me." He pauses between the words and I can hear the tremor in his voice.
"I'm so sorry," I mumble and the tears begin to fall.
"Hey, hey!" He says wiping them away before kissing me on the nose. My body longs for more contact and I run my hands down each side of the flowery shirt he's wearing, half open. He exhales. I stand on my tiptoes so my face is level with his. I breathe him in and then I search for his lips. When I find them, I kiss him gently. He responds moving his hand to rest on the small of my back pulling me into him. I'm so relieved of the close contact, I get lost in the kiss. "Ahem," Someone behind us clears their throat. Niall has walked in on us; we break apart. "Paige," He hugs me.
"Sorry Nialler. Said I wouldn't do that to you again, didn't I?" I say, struggling to breathe as he has me in such a firm grip. "I'm just glad you're okay again," He releases his grip but holds me at arms-length looking me up and down. "She better fucking be." I see Lana behind Niall in the doorway. "Don't you ever do that to me again!"
From her expression, I'm not sure if she's going to hit me or hug me but her persona slips and she pulls me into a bear hug.
"I'm sorry I just needed a day," I say trying to explain.
"More like 2 weeks," Niall pipes up. I stare at him in disbelief. Two weeks? I frown.
"Really?" They all nod at me.
"Yeah. I've been living on your sofa just in case," Harry says. That would explain all the clothes and bags.
"Yeah much to our annoyance," Lana rolls her eyes.
"Wow. Thanks H." I walk back to him and grab his hand. Lana gives me a non-approving look. "So where are we going for dinner? I'm starved." Lana seems to perk up at my suggestion.
"Let's go somewhere fancy," She proposes.
Smiling, Harry speaks, "I know just the place."

The night is cool and the trees which line the streets are dancing in the breeze. I shiver slightly and Harry puts his arm around me bringing me closer to him. The smell of Tom Ford radiates off of him.
"Whose idea was it to walk?" Lana grumbles for the millionth time. I roll my eyes. She too is shivering and is pulled close to Niall. We both opted for long silk dresses; hers is a deep red whilst mine is a midnight blue. We'd purchased them when we had our shopping trip a few weeks back and Lana has been dying to wear hers since. "Sorry. When you've been cooped up for two weeks you sometimes just want to walk in the autumnal air." I call behind me.
"Autumn. Ha! It feels like bloody winter." She replies. Harry is hiding his laughter but I can see the dimple in his cheek, I nudge him playfully.

The restaurant was warm and cosy when we walked in and it was extremely busy.
"Welcome to Capital Restaurant. Do you have a reservation?" The lady on the desk said without looking up. "Um, no actually." Harry says. Recognising the voice, the hostess looked up. "Oh, Mr Styles, Mr Horan and Miss Sanderson! Welcome back. I will get a table for you straight away." She clicks her fingers and a waiter appears next to her.
"Table for four needed ASAP." The waiter runs off. "Would you kindly have a seat at the bar. It won't be too long." She smiles and puts her arm out to guide us towards the bar area. "Thank you." Harry says as we walk away. The bar wasn't as busy as the main restaurant area and we managed to find a table with two sofas. "Would you like any drinks?" Someone had already appeared for our order.
"Can I get two beers for Niall and I. What would you ladies like?" Harry asks tuning to Lana and I. "I will have a gin and tonic please." I say.
"please can I have a vodka and lemonade?" Lana asks.
"Of course madam," The waiter nods and walks back towards the bar.
"Mr Styles. Your table is ready." Another waiter had appeared.
"Oh, we've only just ordered our drinks." Lana starts searching for the other waiter who had just taken our drinks order. "It's okay Madam, your drinks will be served to your table with no trouble. Right this way." The waiter leads us to a table in the window. This was my favourite restaurant as it was right on the Thames. The view was spectacular and the food, although slightly pricey, was amazing.

The evening revolved around good food and many drinks. By midnight, our plates had all been cleared away and the drinks were in full flow. Lana and I had moved onto cocktails and were sipping lightly at Cosmos. I felt alive for the first time in two weeks. My stomach butterflies had returned for Harry and I started to think that maybe he was the right choice all along. Every now and again something would remind me of Louis and a part of my heart would break off but it was controlled, well as much as it could be. "I wanna gooooo dancinggggggg" Lana was pleading next to me. I was chuckling at how drunk she was but realised that the alcohol was hitting me too. "Actually, yeahhhh. Let's do it!" I say and jump up spilling my drink slightly. The boys burst in to laughter, "We can go dancing if you want love." Harry says with amusement.
"Yes, pleeeease H! Please!" I say grabbing onto his arm.
"Okay. I know a place called Hooch just up from here. It's a good night." Lana and I both clap.
"Let me just pay. I will meet you guys outside." He gets up but before walking off to find someone to pay, he places his hand on my hip moving in close to me and kisses me softly. I thought Lana was going to be disapproving but instead she smiles at me. Harry walks off towards the hostess stand. Lana grabs the side of my dress and pulls causing me fall back into my seat. "Whaaa..." I say.
"I know I said fuck Harry." Niall gives her a weird look. "Not like that Niall - well actually you can do that now. I like him," I roll my eyes.
"Haha. You're only saying that because your drunk," Niall says exposing her.
"No, I am not! I do like him." She gives me a wink. We all get up and head towards the door. Niall opens it and suddenly I'm blinded. There are flashes going off in every direction.
"Niall... Paige... Niall look this way... Paige who are you wearing? ... Niall who's the girl? ... Harry!" I look next to me and to my surprise found Harry. He grabs my hand.
"Harry are you two back together? ... Paige what about Louis?"
Ouch. Pain shoots through my body, like being stabbed in the heart. Niall slams the door shut. "Phew. Maybe go out the back?" The hostess suggests and we walk through the kitchen to the back of the building. Niall opens the door cautiously but no one is in the alley. We step outside once more. "Maybe we should try to get a car?" Niall suggests.
"It's not far, about five buildings up. As long as they don't see us, we'll be alright." Harry nods up the street indicating the direction of the club. Lana and Niall start to make their way, I go to follow them but Harry pulls me back. "Can you remember the last time we were in this alley?" He asks. I nod and blush slightly. He brushes his hand over where my cheeks are now glowing. He pushes me gently against the wall and kisses me softly at first then more passionately. "Eughhhh! Are you guys coming?" Harry stops and looks behind him to see Lana. He sighs. "Yeah sure." He says tracing his lips with his thumb.
"to be continued?" I suggest raising my eyebrow. He laughs looking out through the strand of hair that has fallen down over his eye once more. He runs his fingers through his hair pushing it back. "You bet!" He grins his eyes twinkling.
The rest of the evening went by in a blur of dancing and drinks.

Ouch. So much pain all in my head. I lay still for a second analysing myself; Do I feel sick too? I conclude that I'm actually fine and just dying from a hangover. I slowly open my eyes to check my phone; It's 11am. After getting home at 4am, 11am was still way too early. I rolled over and come face to face with Harry and his naked torso. He was asleep still, so I let my eyes wander to my favourite butterfly tattoo. Using my finger, I trace its outline lightly. "Hmm." Harry mumbles. "You okay P?" He says slowly waking up.
"Yeah. I'm fine apart from a banging head." He smiles sleepily at me.
"Same." The happiness is radiating off of him. My butterflies respond happily. My phone vibrates next to me and I grab it quickly.
Paige, you've made headlines! Hannah x
I frown at my phone. I check it out and sure enough I'm trending. Harry and I have made almost every single front page. "Fuck," I say out loud.
"What?" Harry asks.
"The world thinks we're dating."
"Mmhm," Harry says sleepily. "Is that such a bad thing Love?"
"I guess not." I say kissing him quickly.
I get more comfortable and Harry puts his arm around me. I'm drifting off to sleep when my phone vibrates next to me. I try to ignore it but something makes me check it. My heart skips a beat when I realise it's from Louis; I open the message and read the three words.

Love you, goodbye.