"Smoking is bad, you know." The placid voice speaks up from the distant dark corner, nothing to see but a tall silhouette and an orange glow of a cigarette cherry. "It's the least of my problems," I murmur with my own between my lips, proceeding to feel the stagnant debris valley my throat when I suck delicately. He exhales a chuckle of cynical amusement, his footsteps getting every step clearer to my eardrums until I eventually sense body heat burning my back. "And why is that?" He whispers over my shoulder, hands inviting themselves to grip the railing in front of me so I become a prisoner between his inked arms. I swallow. "Because you'll be the one to kill me first." // Aven Brooks is hired to take pictures for the world-renown punk rock band known today as Duplicity; hoping the experience gets her into her most elite-dreamed university. However, when her lenses accidentally capture more than just cheeky sound checks and performances, she comes to a horrifying discovery that Duplicity is anything but a band. Appalled and frightened, she's trapped. *HIGHEST RANKINGS* #1 IN HARRYSTYLES #1 IN ONEDIRECTION ALL RIGHTS RESERVED TO @happydays1d NOT ALLOWING TRANSLATIONS! CONTAINS VULGAR LANGUAGE / DRUG ABUSE / SEXUAL CONTENT / DESCRIPTIVE VIOLENCE / MENTAL HEALTH READ AT OWN RISK!

original author is on hiatus. This is NOT the original and if the original author wishes for this to be taken down then it will be. I am literally just copy-pasting the story from ao3 into Wattpad, and so the story is not mine and never will be. All credit goes to the original author (tbhyourelame) on ao3. I will try to update as soon as the ao3 version is updated but it will often be a few hours out.

"I'm in love with you." How many times would I have to think about this, how many times, before she could hear it, feel it, see it in my eyes? "I'm in love with you." How could I make her see without telling her, without scaring her off... without losing her. I couldn't lose her.

I rounded the corner to the hall, only to smack into something. "I'm so sorry," I apologized, reaching down to pick up a book that had fallen. My heart skipped a beat as I looked up, making eye contact with a pair of hazel eyes. "No worries," the boy replied, his voice rich and smooth, "Are you alright?" I nodded quickly, flashing a smile. I was too stunned to respond. Standing in front of me was none other than Prince Everest Dresden Macallister. "Who are you?" he asked, tilting his head curiously. "I'm Aspen," I replied, trying hard not to look away from his curious stare. "Dresden," he said, holding out his hand. I assumed he was going to shake mine, but instead he brought it to his lips, pressing a kiss against it. My breath caught in my throat, my cheeks burning. "Nice to meet you," I managed to say without stuttering. "My apologies, but I have to hurry. Miss Elizabeth has asked me to retrieve something." He nodded, stepping aside as I hurried into the room. I stood there, taking a deep breath to calm myself. Once I was done, I spotted the prince sitting by the window, the book that I'd picked up in his hand. I ducked my head and made a beeline to the door. "Aspen," he called, making me freeze. "Yes?" "Will you be attending the Charity Gala?" ------------------- Aspen's only purpose living in London was to finish her semester abroad. Or so she thought. She finds herself caught in the middle of The Royal Family and their dark past as she scrambles to sort out the course of her future. Never in a million years did she think she would find herself best friends with Prince Everest Dresden Macallister, the next heir to the British Throne. But it's not long before things start going south. Crush or no crush, Aspen doesn't have much time to prove her friendship to the future King. The clock is ticking. And time doesn't slow for anyone, Royal or not.