The Gambler

@niallerstylinson23 why is harry hanging out with elle though? shes a fuckin slut and soooo dumb. he can do better.

@swaggiesmalik elle peters go back to detroit and leave the boys alone, DUMB CUNT

@direct1on3rxx3 i bet harry is only with elle peters for the fuck. lesbihonest, why else would he go for such an ugly chick?

@taymontclair34 Can you all stop being dicks about Harry Styles and Elle Peters? Who cares if they’re together, it’s THEIR LIVES, not ours.

Harry sat in his hotel room alone on his laptop, scrolling through the Twitter search with a serious expression on his face. He had simply typed in ‘Elle Peters Harry Styles’ and what he got in return was almost horrifying. While some were encouraging and kind, most were harsh and cruel. Not just towards him, but towards Elle. It seemed that each of their fan bases were unhappy with their new found friendship, though most were convinced there was something more between them. There were literally thousands of tweets talking about what a slut Elle was or how they wanted her to die if she kept hanging out with the boys and him.

He couldn’t understand why some people felt like it was necessary to be so cruel. It wasn’t just with Elle, but had happened when he was with Caroline as well. He understood why they received hate then with the age difference being a big factor, but he didn’t understand why they were doing it now. If they were friends or even more than friends and she made him happy, why couldn’t they be happy for him? The same could be said for Elle’s fans. The possession the fans felt over Harry and the boys could be intimidating most of the time and while he loved all of them dearly, he sometimes wished he could go back to his old life.

More often than not, his mind would wander off to how his life would have played out if he stayed in Holmes Chapel. He would continue with college working towards becoming a lawyer or a businessman. The thought of opening up a firm or even a company sounded completely outrageous to him now. He would have probably dated the same girl until they got married years later and had children. He’d have a house close to his mum, so his kids could grow up close to their grandparents. His life would completely picturesque, yet totally boring.

Yet here he sat, not a lawyer or a businessman or even a student at college. Instead, he was what most people called an ‘international superstar’ who was living the dream. But had he realized how much drama or hate would come with following his dreams, he wondered if he would have accepted the offer to be in a band with the boys. He was thankful for his life, there was no doubt about that, but he couldn’t help but think of the ‘what if’s sometimes. On the other hand, if he hadn’t accepted the X-Factor offer, he would have never met Elle. They had only met a month ago, but the thought of not having her in his life was terrible.

He looked back at the tweets on his screen and shook his head, exiting the window. His eyes had closed for only a moment when his phone buzzed loudly on the table beside him. He glanced at his watch and shot up when he finished reading the numbers. He answered his phone quickly, “Hey! I’ll be right down! Sorry, I got distracted.”

Her bubbly laugh came through the phone and she sighed, “Actually, I’m outside of your room. I met Paul while I was down there, so let me in, fool.”

Before he could reply, the line disconnected. He jumped off of the bed that he had made only fifteen minutes before and padded towards the door. He wrenched it open and saw her standing there. Elle looked tired, albeit a happy smile graced her face as she stared at him. He pulled her into a huge hug making her bags fall behind her.

“Harry!” She whined as he continued to hug her. She was laughing, but her purse was slowly falling down her arm, weighing her down.

He pulled away and apologized with a chuckle, “Sorry, sorry! Come in, come in.”

“I’m surprised your even awake.” She joked as she slid past him into the room. It was late or rather early at 4:38AM. Elle had taken a private plane into Toronto from Santa Barbara immediately after her show and had managed to get a little sleep on the plane.

Harry rubbed the back of his neck as he watched her drop her bags beside his, “Yeah, I nearly fell asleep a couple of times. Then I’d wake up in a frenzy thinking I’d overslept.”

Elle smiled at him and gestured to his computer that still displayed the Twitter search, “A little light reading in the morning?”

“Shit,” Harry said with a tiny chuckle as he walked over and exited the window, “Yeah, it’s one of my more negative self-esteem issues. I hate Twitter.”

Elle nodded and jumped on the now vacant bed, “I must say, your fans have quite the death wish on me.”

“Oh god, you’ve read them too then?” Harry asked and laid down beside her, separating himself a bit knowing that she wouldn’t be entirely comfortable if he was too close. Despite her kissing him a few weeks ago, he knew she needed him to take things slow. He hadn’t even asked her to be his girlfriend yet.

Elle nodded and bit her lip to suppress a grin, “There’s entire Tumblr sites dedicated to hating us together. It’s quite fun.”

“Fun? You’re fucked.” Harry joked.

She let out a loud laugh and punched him lightly in the shoulder, yawning only moments later. The blonde propped her head up on the pillow, “Listen, I am more than excited to spend the next two days with you to chat about everything, but I am ridiculously tired, so let’s go to sleep, please?”

Harry nodded and grinned as he stood up again, “You know, for someone who seemed so hesitant a little over a week ago, you seem anxious to get me in bed with you.”

“Shut up,” Elle said with a laugh and stood up to walk over to her suitcase, “I’ve had time to get over my mild panic attack at the thought of sharing a bed with a boy.”

“Have you never shared a bed with a boy before?” Harry asked with a raise of his eyebrows. He then sent a devilish look at her, “Elle Peters, have you ever been with a guy before?”

“We are not having the virginity talk right now, Harry.” She sent him a glare before they both began to laugh.

Harry loved being able to talk like this with someone, let alone a girl he was interested in. Most of the girls or women he met would shy away from that topic, yet here was Elle standing in front of him and willing to put her fears and problems on display. It was amazing really, since the first time he had really talked with her at the gala. She was reserved and closed off in the beginning and now she was ready to share a bed with him.

After she changed in the bathroom, she walked over to the suitcase again to put away her travel clothes. Harry tried not to stare as she bent over, her tiny black sleep shorts rising ever so slightly up her toned legs. The black long sleeved shirt that she wore raised revealing her lower back and Harry had to physically turn himself away. He stripped down to his boxers and hopped into the bed before she could turn back around.

When she did, she smiled at him and slid under the white sheets of the bed. Her eyes were already burning from being tired and she let out yet another yawn, “You have a show tomorrow, right?”

“Mhm.” Harry mumbled back, his eyes already closed. He opened one of them and looked over at her, “You’re going to come right?”

“Where else would I be?” She asked with a tiny laugh.

He rolled so he was facing her and opened both of eyes and shrugged, “Didn’t know if you want to shield yourself from the paparazzi.”

“Shield myself?” She repeated before letting out a loud laugh, “No, I don’t care what people say about me. Or you. Or us.”

Her tone was serious towards the end and she sent him a reassuring smile. He smiled back and sighed, “It’s not that I care, I just-hate seeing so much hate towards you. I don’t want you to get scared off or feel intimidated.”

Elle reached forwards and placed her hand on his arm, “Harry, I receive hate daily. In fact, I’ve been dealing with it for the past two years. I can handle it. Really.”

“If you’re sure.” Harry said hesitantly.

Elle rolled her eyes with a grin playing on her lips, “I’m positive. Besides, it’s not like we’re dating yet.”

“Yet being the keyword there.” Harry said quickly with a smirk.

Elle pursed her lips and shrugged her shoulders, “We’ll see.”

They shared a tiny laugh before Harry shifted and turned the light off, “Let’s sleep. I’m going to be absolutely exhausted tomorrow if I don’t.”

Elle reached up and turned the lamp off beside her. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, the lights from outside helping her adjust. She looked over at Harry and studied his features for a moment. The moonlight shone through the curtain, her gaze trailed from the bridge of his nose to the the gentle curls resting on his forehead. He was beautiful, Elle couldn’t deny that. And while she didn’t expect him to be any other way, she was happy when he didn’t try to make moves on her the minute she got into bed.

Taking one last look at him, she rolled onto her back and closed her drooping eyes, “Goodnight.”

“Night.” He replied quietly before she succumbed her drowsiness.

Harry kept his eyes closed for a few minutes, waiting for sleep to overcome him, yet he couldn’t find it. Instead, all he could focus on was the sound of the honking of the streets below, the hum of the refrigerator and the light sound of Elle’s breath against the pillow as she slept. Opening his eyes slowly he glanced over at her. Her blonde hair was splayed around the pillow, her lips parted ever so slightly. Her face was bare of makeup and Harry took in her striking features. She was a natural beauty, though she had argued with him countless times about that. He closed his eyes again, feeling slightly creepy about staring at her as she slept, so instead he let his mind wander until he fell asleep.