Labels || H.S. [#Wattys2020]

FIFTY-NINE

Harry didn't know what to expect. He paced from corner to corner, the boys reading how tense he felt. He knew that Hailey was going to arrive soon, and he was expecting the very worse. In fact, all he could think was that it was going to be a total disaster just as it had been the last few times that he had been forced to take a girlfriend. Honestly the only time it wasn't was because the girl was actually not interested in him at all...since she had a girlfriend. Which was nice, because they got along great. They still talk, actually.

But the others, they were anything but ideal. Taylor for example. He was so young when they had imposed her on him, and how could he say no? The moment he saw her from across the room, he knew from the way her bright blue eyes pierced his that everything was going to change. She was beautiful, she was so incredibly different. He thought she was going to be anything but what she had turned out to be. He could've loved her, and that was the problem. He should've never even considered it. To mix any kind of feelings with this type of deal ruined everything. That he learned the hard way.

Taylor was perfect for his image, but she ruined him. He was no longer Harry after they parted ways, he was another name on a long list of ex-lovers. Another fucking heart breaker.

And the rest? The rest just perpetuated the idea that he was a player, a womanizer. He hated it. It didn't matter that none of it was real, Taylor's album, Kendall's breakdown, Caroline's book, they all told a different story. They all painted a picture of him that he just couldn't erase. And what was Hailey going to do, just add on to it?

"Will you fucking sit down?" Louis said, looking up from his newspaper.

"Since when do you read?" Harry asked, still pacing.

"My phone died."

"That explains it." Harry replied, Niall laughed loudly.

"Could you please just sit. You're going to wear a trail into the floor. I can literally see a path from the window to the wall."

"Isn't that a song?" Niall asked.

"What song is that?" Liam said, looking up from his notebook.

"That rap? From the window to the wall, to the sweat drops down my-"

"I get it!" Liam said, cutting Niall off with a chuckle.

Harry rolled his eyes and continued pacing.

Louis got up from his seat and walked over to Harry, quite done with watching his mate walk around like a zombie.

"Look, Harold. you need to get a grip."

"I can't do this again."

"Yes you can. It's just a little while."

"But..."

"But what?"

"What if she's like the rest. What if she's worse?"

"Who could be worse than the girl who wrote an entire album about you and capitalized off your fake romance?"

"The one who destroys me and Reagan."

Louis grimaced, "Give Rae some credit. She knows better than to buy into this."

Harry slumped his shoulders, "You think?"

Louis chuckled, "Harry, you two are so smitten with each other, do you really think this is going to fuck it up? Snap out of it, mate. Have a little faith in your girl."

Harry smiled at that, it felt nice to hear Reagan referred to as his girl.

"Oi!" Niall yelled from the door, "They're here!"