The Princess of Wales

Louis’ POV

Two weeks have passed since the whole incident with Charli. I feel bad for not telling Eleanor yet, but I’ve been so busy with the band, it’s been easy to avoid. I know Charli hasn’t said anything to her, I would of heard about it by now. I really do want to tell Eleanor what happened, but I’m terrified to lose her. She deserves to know, but I can’t help but selfishly keep her in the dark for now.

The lads and I have to head back to the studio today for some last minute recording. Things with Zayn and I haven’t been right and I have a feeling the boys are starting to notice. Maybe I’ve been avoiding him unless we’re in a group setting. But I decided todays the day I tell him what happened between Charli and I. I need the awkwardness and guilt to stop. I know he’s gonna hate me, but he deserves to know…just like Eleanor does.

Harry and I rode together in his car to the studio, we stopped at Starbucks on the way and got everyone coffee. My heart was in my stomach and I couldn’t think straight, thank god Harry was driving. I stared straight forward, hardly paying attention to the cigarette burning in my hand, I maybe took two drags of the fucking thing.

“Are you sweating?” Harry asked.

“What?” I looked him over before noticing the long stick of ash about to fall all over the seat. I quickly flicked it out the window before turning my attention back to Harry.

“I said are you sweating?” He repeated himself. “You don’t look so good.”

“I’m fine, Harry.” I said.

“You are so not fine.” He laughed. “You look like you’re gonna puke.”

“I slept with Charli.” I blurted out, immediately regretting it. Harry looked over at me, his eyes nearly coming out of his head.

“YOU DID WHAT?!” He yelled. “Does Zayn know?!”

“No! I haven’t had the balls to tell him!” I said. “I’m telling him today.”

“He’s gonna kill you! Just when he was starting to be semi normal again!. Dammit, Louis.”

“Should I not tell him?” I asked. If he was in a good place, I didn’t wanna be the one to take that away from him.

“I didn’t say that. You need to tell him, he deserves to know. You also need to get that off your chest, I knew there was something not right between you two!”

“Fuck.”

“When did this happen?”

“Two weeks ago. The weekend I went to visit El at school, she wasn’t there. Charli was. We went out and got pissed, drank way too much. Before I know it, it’s the next morning and we’re in bed naked.”

“I take it you haven’t told Eleanor either, huh?”

“No.” I put my head down. “As soon as I tell her she’s gonna leave me. I made a mistake, we had no intentions of sleeping together. I don’t even remember it!”

“I’ll pray for you.” Harry said as we got out of the car. We headed into the studio. Niall, Zayn, and Liam were talking amongst themselves, Zayn looked like his old self again and I was about to ruin that. Fuck me, I’m a shit friend.

Zayn’s POV

Louis and Harry walked in the studio with coffee for everyone, that was enough to stop all the talk about having the ‘old Zayn’ back. I couldn’t be more grateful. It’s been three weeks and I’m still not really over what happened between Charli and I. I feel like if I didn’t stop isolating myself from the guys, I would start to look pathetic. She stopped calling and texting me after the first week, I guess she took the hint. Even though I was rejecting her calls….like she rejected me, I still miss her name popping up on my phone.

I finally broke down and called Eleanor, I wanted to know how Charli was doing. I begged El not to tell her I called though, that was my pride. Eleanor suggested I make a trip up there and pour my heart out all over again, she swore this time would be different. Well, this ain’t a fucking movie and I refuse to set myself up for disappointment again. I hear she’s in a really bad place these days, drinking a lot and getting high all the time. She’s upset and I don’t know how I feel about that.

“Zayn…can we talk? Alone?” Louis walked over to me.

“Are you sick, man?” I laughed. “You look like Niall, pale as fuck.”

“Hey! I heard that!” Niall laughed.

I had a laugh at Niall then turned my attention back to Louis, he wasn’t laughing at all. As a matter of fact, he’s been acting weird the past couple of weeks. Something must be bothering him. He’s usually my go to when it comes to talking and I’m always that person for him. “Yeah, let’s talk. Come on.” I leaded the way into the recording booth so we could talk in private. I sat down on the stool and crossed my arms, waiting for whatever was on his mind. He stayed standing and didn’t make eye contact. “What the hell is wrong with you? Is Eleanor pregnant?”

“Oh, it’s worse than that.” He gulped. “I don’t know how to say this…”

“You wanted to talk and now I have to force it out of you.” I laughed. “Did you cheat on Eleanor?”

“Yes.”

“You did??” I was honestly a bit shocked, this is way out of character for Louis. “Listen, mate. I take it you made a mistake.”

“A huge one.” He kept his eyes glued to the floor, like he was a child being scolded by his parent.

“If it’s bothering you this much then you should probably tell her. Or don’t tell her. If you never plan on doing something like that again, then why put her through the pain of knowing? Ignorance is bliss.” I said. “Is there a reason why you’re not looking at me?”

“Zayn-“

“Who did you sleep with anyway?” I asked. “Some random bar hook up.”

“Charli.” He said quietly. I must of misheard him.

“What? Who?”

“I cheated on Eleanor….with Charli.”

“What? Say that one more time.”

Louis sighed and took a deep breath. “Charli and I slept together.” He said. “Listen Zayn, I feel really awful about it. You have no idea, I just….I needed to tell you.”

Yeah, thats what I thought he said. I shot up from my seat as the rage built up inside. I didn't know what to say, words couldn't describe what I wanted to do. I wanted to get up and beat his face in. "Why? How could you betray me? How could you..?"

"Look, I know I screwed up. But, I'm trying to be a good friend and apologize. I swear, I don’t even re-”

"A GOOD FRIEND? A GOOD FRIEND?" I screamed. "A GOOD FRIEND WOULDN'T SLEEP WITH HIS SO-CALLED BEST FRIENDS GIRL!"

"WHOA! Calm down, mate!" Louis said defensively.

"I'M NOT YOUR FUCKING MATE!”

“Will you let me explain? Fuck!“ He yelled. “We were both really shit faced, we didn’t plan on it happening. We didn’t want it to happen, fuck, neither one of us even remember it happening.”

"You think that makes it okay?! Because you were wasted? Because it doesn't! You crossed a line, dammit Louis!"

“Look, I know you’re upset. I’m over here trying to apologize to you because I feel like shit about it.” He said. “I was drunk.”

“I don’t fucking care how drunk you are.” I said. “You’d be pissed if I fucked Eleanor, yeah?”

“That’s completely different!” Louis yelled. “Charli isn’t and wasn’t your girlfriend!”

“SO THAT MAKES IT FUCKING OKAY!?” My blood was boiling. “El didn’t mention this when I talked to her. You didn’t have the balls to tell her you fucked one of her friends.” I laughed.

“And when the hell did you talk to Eleanor?” He questioned.

“Don’t question when I talked to her, I’m not trying to screw her! Last week, when I called her to see how Charli was! ” I said. “But she wasn’t my fucking girlfriend, so why should I give a fuck, right?”

“You need to calm down, Zayn.”

“Oh, you want me to calm down?” I got in his face. “Why the fuck are you even apologizing to me? Like you said, she wasn’t my girlfriend so why should I care?”

“Don’t put fucking words in my mouth, Zayn. That’s not what I said.”

“That’s exactly what you fucking said, Louis!” I yelled, angry and frustrated. Every thing that came out of his mouth was getting me fired up, he’s so fucking stupid sometimes. I just wanted him to shut up and be done with the conversation. I clenched my first and aimed straight at the wall, inches away from his face.

"Come on, Zayn. Punching the wall isn't going to scare me. I said sorry, I have enough respect and love for you to tell you the truth. I swear to you, I swear, I did not mean for it to happen. I don’t know what else you want me to say, but I’m not gonna stand here like an idiot until I’m blue in the face. If you're gonna fucking hit me then just do it."

I didn't want to hit him, he's supposed to be one of my best friends. I surely didn't want to fight with him but he was saying all the wrong things. Louis got me angry and pushed me to my breaking point, I didn’t wanna hear how sorry he was. I wanted him to tell me this was all a stupid joke. The more he talked, the more I looked at him…all I could see was Charlotte. Charlotte and Louis. Louis and Charlotte. It made me sick to my stomach. It angered me. My head started to spin. All I could see was the two of them together and I couldn’t take it.

I just snapped. I punched him in the face and he punched me back. We exchanged hits as the fight spilled out into the other room and the boys ran to break it up. Harry pulled Louis off of me and Liam pulled me off of Louis, Niall just stood up quickly and looked on at the situation. I don't blame him for not wanting to get in the middle of our fight.

"Listen!" Niall yelled. "We have live televised performance tomorrow! No bird is worth your friendship or us as a band."

"CLEARLY WE AREN'T FRIENDS ANYMORE, NIALL!" Lou yelled as Harry handed him something for his busted lip.

"WE'RE NOT!" I screamed. "YOU'RE A SHIT FRIEND, TOMLINSON! I WISH I NEVER MET YOU!"

I stormed out of the studio with Liam hot on my trail. Once I got outside, I lit up a cigarette and ran my fingers through my hair.

"I'm really sorry, Mate." Liam said, placing a comforting hand on the back of my neck.

"How could he not know how much I love that girl? I tell that bastard everything then he goes and fucks her. WHY?!"

“He clearly feels awful about it. You'll have to talk to him when things cool down."

"No." I refused. "I'm never talking to that dick again."

"What about us?"

"It has nothing to do with you all. Just because we’re all in the same band, doesn’t mean we have to be mates.”

I could tell by Liam’s face, he wasn’t pleased with what just came out of my mouth. Neither was I, of course I wanted to speak to Louis but I couldn’t see passed my anger. At this point, I don’t care if I ever talk to him again. Liam went back inside to see if the situation in there calmed down any. We still had to wrap his album up and be in the company of each other. I had half a mind to just leave, but I knew I couldn’t do that to the guys. I decided to stay outside a bit longer, I knew they’d understand.

I lit up another cigarette and sat down on the curb. I scrolled through my contacts until I reached Charlotte’s name and sent her a text.

”Heard you fucked my best friend, nice Char. How stupid was I to actually be worried about you? Ask El, I called to make sure you were okay. Again, you made me look like a fucking idiot. Don’t bother replying to this, I won’t read it. Just wanted you to know that I know. Fuck you and fuck him too.”

I hit the send button and threw my phone on the ground. Liam came back out to see if I was coming back inside. Against my wishes, I sucked it up and followed him back inside. The quicker I get this done, the quicker I can get out of here. We walked back into the studio, Louis couldn’t even look me in the face. I kept my distance the entire time and kept my mouth shut until it was necessary to speak.

The next day at soundcheck, I'll admit, it was awkward. We had an interview right after our soundcheck and I kind of just faded into the background. It was weird without Louis and I joking around. We completely ignored each other, it was like the other didn't even exist. Charli called me about four times and I just ignored her. I don’t know what the hell she was trying to do. I made it clear that I didn’t want her to contact me, that didn’t stop her from trying though. I knew what she was gonna say, that she made a mistake and all that other bullshit. I didn’t care to hear it though, it doesn’t matter what she said. It still happened and I don’t think I’ll ever forgive the two of them.