Oops! ➵ h.s a.u

9. There's only so much I can take.

Songs for this chapter:
-  Anna | Harry Styles
-  Oath | Cher Lloyd (ft. Becky G) 
-  Walking in the wind | One Direction 
-  Jessie's Girl | Rick Springfield 

Chapter nine. 

The rain has nearly stopped, and it's only drizzling now, as I sit and look outside the window of the cafe that Elizabeth and I decided to get a cup of coffee in. The raindrops are leaving trails down the windows as they go down, and I trace my finger down one of those trails. 

"So anyway, I guess that's the best thing that happened, besides meeting Harry, of course", she laughs and I raise my eyebrows and give a smile that is anything but sincere, and she continues her babble about her trip to Africa. 

For three months, Liz went away to do charity work in Africa. You know, helped build schools and brought in donations, I guess. I smile at her and wonder how I ended up deserving such an amazing friend. Someone like her, that would leave her work and life for three months to go help other people. I have always admired her selflessness; her ability to put others before herself. 

She is the selfless, and I am the eternally selfish, and I hate myself for it. 

"What have you been up to?" She then asks me and I put the coffee down and think for a second and furrow my eyebrows. What had I been up to the three months she was away? I can't even remember. 

"Ahh, you know. Same old, same old. Just...- work, work, work", I smile and she giggles and shrugs her shoulders. It's like everything before Harry came into my life has suddenly become a blur and all I can remember, is his green eyes and the way his lips feels on mine. 

"Liz? How did you and Harry meet?" I ask, regretting it immediately. If there is one thing I don't want to hear right now, it's Elizabeth gushing about how amazing Harry is. But, she is still my best friend, and I want to hear about her happiness, even though it means my despair. 

"Oh, it is actually quite a funny story. So, me and a couple of the other volunteers went on a safari, and guess who's there with his mates. Harry Styles. I remember seeing him jumping into the jeep, and the only available seat was next to me. So we sat for the entire time of the tour talking. He had been in Africa for two weeks then, helping his friend find his inner inspiration or something like that", she laughs and a dreamy look appears in her eyes as she recalls her first meet with the man she calls her boyfriend. 

"Sounds like it was meant to be", I force myself to say and smile at her big smile. It really does sound like it was meant to be. Nothing like the way I met Harry. Saving me from a pervert and then introducing himself as the man with a girlfriend. And yet, I still slept with him. 

"I don't know about that. I think after two weeks trailing along with his friends, he needed some female company, you know?" She cringes and I can't help but let out a little giggle at the sight of Elizabeth's distress as she tries to utter the words that are nowhere near her vocabulary. "Not that I became that kind of company. I'm... still not". 

I fake a surprised as best as I can and look at her is disbelief. "Liz, are you trying to tell me, that you and Harry haven't sealed the deal yet?". 

She blushes and picks at a blueberry in her muffin and sighs. I giggle and cover my mouth with my hand. "Wait, Liz. Seriously? You guys haven't had sex yet?". 

"No, okay? We haven't", she finally lets out and looks kind of embarrassed, so I smile at her and give her a comforting look. 

"Why?" I ask and furrow my eyebrows, genuinely wondering what has kept them from having sex. I admit, that in the past couple of weeks, I might have been a part of that, but if Harry sought Elizabeth out, looking for a hook-up, why haven't they? 

"I don't know, it just hasn't seemed right yet, you know?" She says and looks at me knowingly, but I shake my head as I don't get how anyone could stay away from a man that's so magnetizing and sexy. "It's not like I don't want to, and it's not that we haven't done other stuff. Sometimes it just feels like the magic we felt in Africa has disappeared since we got back. I don't know how to explain it". 

I bite my lip and wish to the gods above that I have nothing to do with their distancing. I really, really do. I know that the possibility of me being the reason is really big, but I just cling on to the hope that the magic has simply disappeared between them. Not that I'd want my best friend to hurt, but I'd rather she's hurt by something natural than something than her home-wrecking, poor excuse of a best friend. 

She sighs and looks off into the air with a solemn look on her face. I smile and put my hand on hers and she smiles at me. 

An hour pass with mindless chatting and laughing, and eventually, we hug goodbye and I make my way towards my flat. My head is killing me and my mind is tired from all the pretending and sneaking around, but not surprisingly, the only thing I want to do, is be with Harry right now. 

I close the front door to my flat and slouch down on the couch, too lazy to remove my coat and boots. I pull my phone out of my pocket and look at the display that lights up. The background is a picture of Liz and I with whipped cream on our noses and pulling silly faces. I smile fondly at the picture and sigh. 

Then a message pings through and I look at it. It's from Lauren. 

From: Lauren: Ron, you're up for the party tomorrow, right? 

I sigh and pinch the bridge on my nose. I'm really not in the mood to party, but I know Lauren would never let me live it down if I said no, so I roll my eyes and type in my answer. 

To: Lauren: I guess. Who's party is it? 

From Lauren: A guy named Jamie. You'll love him

I cringe and type in a "I don't think so" and think to myself, that I don't think any guy could do it for me, other than Harry, at the moment. He's so all-consuming and I absolutely hate him for it. 

From: Lauren: Stop bitching, I'll pick you up at 8!

I roll my eyes at Lauren and think about the party. A thought passes through my mind briefly, and I catch my finger hanging over Harry's name, waiting to invite him. I decide against it though. I know Lauren would have my head for it and I'm not ready to face the consequences of the possibilities of what could happen at the party, if Harry did show up.