Perfect | Harry Styles

Chapter Twenty Two

I stumbled for the right words to let him know that his best friend and I had made up and he was in the kitchen waiting for me to finish cooking his breakfast. My stomach dropped as I awkwardly stood there staring at Zayn trying to salvage this moment. It was barely 11 am and a storm was a-brewing again.

"What are you doing here?" Harry found the words for me. His British accent was thick with resentment as he stood behind me almost breathing down my neck. I could hear him biting back at the words he really wanted to say.

"I came by to check on El," Zayn peers into my eyes and silently pleads for me to help him out of the way of Harry's wrath. There was nothing I could do. His phasers were set to stun.

I glanced up at Haz still standing defensively behind me with his arms in akimbo. If looks could kill, we would all be arranging a funeral for Zayn.

"She's fine," Harry snakes an arm around my waist and his fingers burn my exposed skin. "So you can leave now."

Well that was a nice way to say fuck off.

"I think she can answer for herself," Zayn snapped back before looking at me again.

I stammered to find the words. I didn't want to hurt Zayn's feelings but I just got Harry back and I didn't want to lose him again when he found out I hooked up with one of his best friends. I dug myself into a hole that I wasn't ready to crawl out of just yet. It was his fault he left me vulnerable that night. It was supposed to be him. It was always supposed to be Harry.

"I think if she wanted to, she would have said the words," Harry now stood in front of me.

I realized I hadn't said a single word during this whole interaction.

"Zayn," I said his name as he reached out to hand me the flowers. "I'm fine. Really."

Zayn looked at me, then to Harry, then back at me.

"She said she's fine," he shooed his hands at Zayn. "You can go now, mate."

"We'll talk later," Zayn stroked his thumb across my jaw.

I felt Harry's touch disappear from my skin before I heard him exhale a loud huff and pad out of the room. So much for a lovely weekend.

"Oooh, flowers!" Natalie twirled down the stairs just in the nick of time to break the tension in the air.

"Do you want to come in?" I silently wished he would decline the offer, but I couldn't be rude.

"Maybe another time. I just wanted to make sure you had these and that you were ok. You left Dottie's upset last night, but it looks like things are better," his expression was unreadable.

"Yeah," I looked toward the kitchen and saw Harry pacing back and forth. I knew he was fuming. "I guess you can say that."

I silently mouthed a thank you to Zayn for the flowers before handing them to Natalie to put in a vase. I closed the door behind him as he turned on his heel and headed down the front porch steps. I walked back in the kitchen and pulled some plates down from the cupboard. I avoided making full eye contact with Harry who hadn't stopped staring at me.

"I think Louis and I will take our breakfast upstairs," Natalie picked up on the tension as she piled two plates to the brim.

I nodded and slid a full plate in front of Harry. He pretended to pick at the food, but I could still feel his eyes on me. I knew I had to come clean about hooking up with Zayn sooner or later. I always hoped it would be much later. Did I just drop the bomb on him now? Do I never say anything and call it even karma for the Christa thing? There are so many ways this could go and none of them end well.

"What the fuck was that about?" He dropped his fork onto his plate.

Nope. This wasn't going to go well.

"Don't you dare cuss at me, Haz," I whipped my head around to face him. I knew I fucked up with the Zayn thing, but I will not be disrespected.

"What was that about?" He clenched his jaw and cleared his throat. His knuckles were white from gripping the counter.

"It was just a sweet gesture," I tried to lighten the mood.

"Sweet?" He said with an incredulous tone. "Is that what you call it? That's what you like?"

"What are you trying to imply?"

"He was putting the moves on you so thick and you don't even see through it."

"I know that we're having this thing between us at the moment, but Harry, I am still a single woman," I looked up at him through my eyelashes. "Remember?"

"This is the shit I was talking about last night," he pushed his plate to the side and laid his head down on the counter. "I knew that this would happen as soon as things got back right."

He knotted his fingers through his hair before raising his eyes to me again. He studied my face, but decided he wasn't going to say anything after all.

A few moments of silence lingered between us again before he stood up and made his way towards the front door.

"Are you..." I hesitated to say the words. "Are you heading out?"

He tapped away at his phone before shoving it into his pocket. I watched him stand in the doorway and look back at me. His green orbs pierced through my soul. It felt like I was back at the beach house.

"You said you weren't leaving me again, Harry," my voice strained. I tried to hold back any emotion because it was going to be a tsunami if I let it go.