Kissing Fire.

I’d been at my parents’ for three days and my mother and I had had quite a few talks about Mr. Harry Styles. Typically, my mother was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt and tell me that maybe he just made a mistake. Perhaps he didn’t mean to upset me. Whatever. Bottom line was he made me feel absolutely horrid about myself and our relationship. And I just didn’t have time for a person who would do that to me.

Fuck, who am I kidding? I hated this. Absolutely hated every single second I knew we were no longer dating. I mean, we never officially stated it, but I left the bracelet. That was probably a good indicator. In fact, I was almost scared to leave my parents’ home because of the Directioners. The amount of hate I’d received on Twitter and Tumblr was ungodly, and I could only imagine what they’d be like in person. So I stayed home and talked with my parents, trying to figure this whole shit show out. Thank the lord none of them had figured out where my parents lived. I hadn’t spoken with Marina, but I was sure she knew I was there. Maybe it was a mistake not telling her I was leaving London, but I just didn’t feel like answering all the questions she’d undoubtedly ask.

So, on just a normal afternoon, I was sat in my old bedroom, having just gotten off the phone with Amanda. I’d called her as soon as I arrived in Philadelphia to let her know what was going on. She’d insisted that I take a little extra time off to deal with my Harry issues and see my parents. The woman was a godsend. I had just turned off my phone and was scrolling through Tumblr and fending off nasty Anons when the doorbell rang. Seeing as my parents were both at work, I forced myself off the bed and downstairs to get the door. I silently said a prayer on my journey that it wasn’t a surprise Directioner. No, I was pleasantly surprised to see a familiar dark haired girl standing on my front porch.

“Hey, babe!” Marina chirped as she threw herself at me. A small giggle escaped my lips as we embraced each other and I couldn’t help but sigh happily that she was there.

“Agh, Marines, I am so glad to see you. I’m so sorry I didn’t call,” I spoke quickly as we pulled apart, but she waved me off.

“I understand, Em. Are you okay, though? Do we need to talk?” she asked as she rubbed my arms slightly.

“Nah, I’ll be fine. Really, I will!” I tried to convince my younger counterpart, but she simply stared back at me in apprehension.

“Right, sure. How about we take a trip to West Chester to take your mind off things?” Her eyebrows were high on her forehead as she stared up at me hopefully.

“Hm, sure! What’s in West Chester?” I asked as we made our way up to my room.

“Nick’s band is opening for some band, idunno. It’d be fun to see him and the others for a bit.” I flopped onto my old bed as I contemplated her offer. Nick Harrison was one of the most genuine guys I’d ever met. He was two years older than me, but we’d grown up together as he’d lived just three houses down to me. Through the years we stuck by each other’s side and became the best of friends. It was only once he’d graduated high school that we started to drift. He was focused on furthering his music career and I had my head in the clouds about moving to New York City. We talked a few times here and there, but nothing significant, which was kind of sad, really. He’d been my closest guy friend and I missed him terribly.

“That actually sounds perfect.” Marina let out a squeal of excitement before pulling my suitcase onto the bed to rifle through what clothes I had.

“Ooh, I really like this top, Em! Definitely wear this tonight?” A red shirt was tossed at me and I slowly held it up to examine it before deeming it worthy for the evening’s festivities. “Mm, remind me why I’ve been getting nothing but your voicemail the past few days?” She asked, prompting me to lean up on my elbows and look at her.

“Heh, well…he’s been blowing up my phone,” I finally muttered as I sort of stared past Marina. I saw her face fall though as she moved to sit on the bed with me.

“Oh, babe, I’m so sorry. I wish you weren’t going through this. I don’t get it, though! None of the boys even get it! This is so unlike him, I swear. Maybe...maybe you two should just talk it out? Maybe he has a good explanation?”

“Are you seriously taking his side?” My eyes turned into slits as a grimace formed on my face.

“No, Em, I just- idunno, maybe there’s more to it.” I knew Marina was right and I was being completely irrational, but I just couldn’t let this slide. Not after I let him in and he does that.

“No. There’s not. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take a shower. And don’t you dare turn on my phone,” I huffed as I pushed myself off of the bed and made my way to the bathroom. Marina made a pathetic attempt at trying to reconcile, but I ignored her and slammed the door behind me. A sigh escaped my lips as I sat on the edge of the tub. What was I doing? Marina was my best friend. Obviously she was just trying to help. So why was I being an insufferable twat? Thanks, Harold.

--

My parents arrived home a few hours later and showered Marina with hugs and kisses before asking if we’d be there for dinner. Of course we would be, Marina had promised, and so my mother went about the kitchen concocting a huge meal for us before we departed for the night. My mother was a brilliant woman. As we sat for dinner, my parents bombarded us with questions about New York life and how we were holding up in the city. Marina mentioned Niall at one point and then it was Game Over because my mother just had to hear every detail. Though Marina kept things to a minimum, for my sake. And soon we had finished our meals and Marina and I excused ourselves to go finish getting ready.

And then, at about 7:49, we disembarked on our twenty minute drive to West Chester, raucous pop music blaring from her car stereo. We couldn’t help but sing along horribly to every song, whether we knew the words or not, and by the time we reached the venue my stomach was aching from all of the laughter. Yes, I had surely missed these times with Marina.

We bought our tickets at the door and then our hands were marked with large, thick X’s. Cute. Then we were directed upstairs where the other Under 21 people were mingling. It wasn’t long before I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist from behind and pull me off the ground. With a small squeal, I flung my head around to see my captor and was happily surprised to find Nick’s brown eyes shining brightly. I quickly wriggled out of his grasp, only to throw my arms tightly around his neck.

“Nicholas!” I all but screamed as I held him, giggles filtering from my lips.

“How are you, babe?” His voice was just as happy and velvety as I’d remembered it and I couldn’t help but squeeze him tighter.

“Oh my god, I’m good! How’re you? It’s been forever!”

“I know, right? I’ve been good. Y’know, just singing. The usual.” There was a happy grin on his face that I quickly felt myself matching as we just took in each other’s presence. He then pulled Marina into a tight hug as I asked what time they went on. “We actually start in like five minutes; I should head down. Let me buy you a drink afterwards though?” He asked in a rush, leaving only time for me to nod and for him to place a quick kiss on my cheek before dashing down the stairs.

The lights dimmed shortly after that and Nick and his bandmates came onstage. Apparently they had quite the following in the area, as the place went ballistic upon their arrival. Then they played about seven songs and thanked the crowd numerous times before asking them to come hang out upstairs if they felt like it. Before I knew it, Nick was bounding back up the stairs, two beers in hand. He handed one of them to me before moving to sit on one of the large couches that sat in the upstairs loft of the bar. “Well, c’mon. I don’t bite,” he said with a chuckle as he pulled me down next to him. Our bodies were close, our thighs touching, and I thought of scooting away a bit, thoughts of Harry dancing through my mind. But then I realized that I couldn’t let thoughts of him dictate my life like I had with Collin and I happily pressed my leg into Nick’s.

“So talk to me, what’s been going on?” I asked before taking a long sip of my beer. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Marina chatting with the rest of Nick’s bandmates as they all caught up on things since high school.

“Eh, not a whole lot. We’ve been writing another album, but we’re still not signed or anything. That’s not exciting though. I wanna talk about you, missy. You’ve been all over the papers and magazines.” There was a playful grin on his face, but I couldn’t help but let out a groan and flop back in my seat. His eyebrows crinkled as he leaned back, too, his face now much closer to mine. “What’s wrong, Em? Tell me what’s going on.” His eyes were pleading, so after a deep breath and a few more sips of beer, I divulged my entire month and a half-ish history with Harry Styles, all the way up to that very moment. Nick had immediately jumped into defensive mode, promising me that if Harry ever tried to come near me, he’d destroy him. Which was cute, but I think I was still a little too hung up on Harry to want him to be destroyed.

But then our bottles were empty and I was in major need of a piss, so we parted ways briefly. When Nick came back upstairs he had not only two more bottles of beer for each of us, but shots as well. So the whole band, plus myself and Marina did two shots, and I was hoping this would help me loosen up and forget. And boy, did it.

About two hours later, I needed to pee again, so I detached myself from Nick’s side and wobbled over to the ladies’ room. Marina happened to already be there washing her hands and she let out a happy squeal when she saw me.

“So things are going well with Nick, yeah?” Her eyes were glassy and her smile was a bit too wide, causing a giggle to fall from my lips.

“What on Earth are you talking about?”

“He’s obviously still got a thing for you, Ems. Don’t be daft,” she giggled as well as she threw on a British accent. I rolled my eyes and told her she was delusional before she cackled once more and told me to look a little closer. And then she was gone and I was left sitting on the toilet, too many thoughts running through my head. I probably stood in front of the sink for ten minutes, trying to collect myself before I staggered back over to Nick and threw myself into his lap. Time to look a little closer.

--

The following day Marina and I decided we should probably head home. So after a teary farewell with my parents, we loaded up Marina’s old Toyota Corolla and started for the city. Upon arriving home, Marina swiftly made her way to her room to check Tumblr. It had quickly become one of her priorities, if you hadn’t noticed. I had just set my suitcase on my bed and unzipped when I heard her call from her bedroom.

“We’re on Tumblr, baby!” Pardon? I quickly made my way to her room and dropped onto the bed next to her as she twisted the laptop a bit so we could both see. Pictures from the night before littered the screen and I sort of felt sick to my stomach. There were dozens of pictures of Nick and I. Someone had snapped one from when he had picked me up, a few of us hugging, at least nine of us sitting next to each other, and a couple of me sitting on his lap, my head thrown back in laughter and his hand tight on my waist. Dear god.

“How did these get here?” My voice came out just above a whisper and Marina quickly looked over to me, concern all over her face.

“I guess there were some Directioners there, babe. It’s okay, though-”

“No, it’s not. What are people going to think? What is Harry going to think? People are just finding out we broke up and here I am cozying up with a mystery guy? Fuck, fuck, fuck. Marina! I didn’t want this to happen!”

--

HIM.

The boys of One Direction, minus Harry, made their way into Louis’ and Harry’s apartment, loud laughter in their wake at something Niall had said. It was only when they noticed their youngest friend on the couch, laptop on the table, and a deep glare on his features that they silenced.

“Haz, what’s going on? Don’t tell me you’re looking at Em-”

“She’s moved on.” Harry’s voice was hard as he cut over Liam, refusing to look up at any of the boys. Zayn’s eyebrows crinkled as he made his way over to the couch.

“No she hasn’t. What’re you on about?” The dark skinned boy let out a huff as he flopped onto the couch next to Harry and let his eyes fall to the screen. There he found the same pictures of the night before and his lips came to form a tight, straight line. This couldn’t be right. Niall had said Marina told him she was still completely stuck on Harry. This had to be a misunderstanding. Surely Emerson wasn’t the kind of girl that hopped from one boy to the next. No, Zayn knew all about how she handled things with Collin. There was no way she was simply done with Harry and with this new kid.

“See? She’s over me. God, he’s not even good looking! And who is he anyway? She’d never mentioned any guys besides Collin. What, is she just throwing herself out to anyone now? Fucking slag-”

“You shut your fucking mouth, Harry. She’s not a slag and you know it! You’re just mad that you don’t have her anymore. Well guess what! You did this to yourself, so quit yer whinging. And another thing-”

“Zayn, man, relax. He gets it.” Niall placed a hand on Zayn’s shoulder and ushered him away from the couch as Harry rested his face in his hands. It seemed anytime the two were around each other they found something to argue about. Granted, it was about Emerson ninety-nine percent of the time, but still. Tensions were high and the three other boys were getting awfully concerned. They were supposed to be brothers. This was just a mess.