Ruled by Fate

Nahla didn't act the way Harry thought she would after she told Harry about her life. She didn't close herself off and not talk to him, or hide away in the library like she used to. She just, acted like she normally did, like she hadn't even told him. And Harry thought that was worse. He would rather have her show her true emotions than hide behind a smile. He just didn't know what to do, or how to get her out of this. He just wanted to help her, even if it meant not talking to her for a while to give her space.

Another week went by, and the two had turned in their project, earning 'Oohs' and 'Ahs' for Nahla's art. She blushed and sheepishly said thank you, and Harry thought she was so cute that way.  

It was Friday night now, and Harry was momentarily forgetting about Nahla because he and his four friends were together finally. Niall had flown all the way over from Ireland, and the other three took their cars and drove the few hours it took to get to Harry's house. They were all so loud and obnoxious with each other, ecstatic they could finally be together, and Harry honestly had missed his friends so much it hurt a little. These were the people who honestly understood him, no questions asked.

The doorbell rang, and the five all herded towards the door to get the pizzas they ordered, yelling and howling in happiness for food, Niall being the loudest. When Harry finally tugged the door open, his eyes didn't land on the pizza man.

"You're not the pizza man," Louis said suddenly to Nahla, and Nahla blinked at him, her dark eyes wide. 

"You're not Harry," she retorted, and Louis grinned, mumbling a 'touché' to her.

"Hullo, Nahla. What brings you here?" Harry asked, rolling his eyes at his best friend. Nahla looked at him and smiled softly, pulling out his dark blue English notebook from her messenger bag, saying, "You forgot this in class today. I know we have that test Monday, so I thought I'd bring it over in case you wanted to study."

"Harry, study? You're lucky if you can get him to read your shirt," Zayn smirked, and Harry smacked him on the head, to which Zayn replied with a laughing 'Oi!'

"Not true. I happen to be very studious," Harry said, sticking out his tongue.

"Is the teacher hot? That'd be the only reason you'd pay attention," Niall asked, winking at him, and Liam quickly added with a, "Yeah, we all know how you like older women."

"Sod off all of you! The teacher is a man!" he said, and Zayn laughed out a, "Even more reason you'd pay attention!"

"Oh, I'm gonna kill you!" Harry leaped for the boy, but with no luck because the others were in the way. Zayn continued to laugh maniacally at him.

"Oi, Styles! You've got a visitor still waiting, you know," Liam said, and Harry blinked, looking quickly over at the girl still standing there. He had forgotten she was there, to be honest. She was looking at them with a slightly confused - but amused - expression, and Harry suddenly smiled, thinking up an idea.

"Nahla, why don't you come in? You can meet the lads and have dinner with us," he suggested, and halfway through she was already shaking her head.

"Oh, no, I couldn't intrude on your party-"

"Nonsense! We need a lady! Come in, little lion!" Niall grinned, taking her hand and tugging her inside Harry's home.

She looked a little uncomfortable when she set down his notebook on the table next to the couch. She was clutching the strap of her bag, almost insecurely. Harry really wanted her to not feel like that anymore, so he introduced his insane friends to her, confident they'd like each other.

"Nahla, these are my mates. This is Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik," he smiled, pointing to the appropriate boy. They all said hello to each other, Zayn saying 'Vas Happenin' to her, and she let out a soft laugh. "Guys, this is Nahla Sparrow, my friend from school."

"Hey," she smiled, waving a little. 

Harry was right when he thought she and his friends would click instantly. Nahla had gotten comfortable with them after minutes of knowing them, and was soon making jokes with them. He wondered what made her like them so much and so quickly, and why she hadn't done the same with him. But he could see why she did with his friends; his friends were so welcoming.

The food had come, and Niall ate a whole pizza and a half by himself, and Harry saw Nahla watching in amazement. He chuckled to himself at that; when he had first met the Irishman, he was amazed at his eating skills as well.

The five pizzas were soon gone with the help of the girl, and they were now all talking loudly and laughing with each other like old times. Niall and Liam were playing a video game, Niall's curses loud and clear over Liam's cheers.  Zayn and Nahla were talking about his sweater and how it looked really similar to her brother's. 

So Louis decided to take this time to talk to Harry while everyone was distracted. "So, this is her, isn't it? The one you were obsessing over."

Harry smiled to himself and nodded, muttering that he hadn't been obsessing over her, but knew Louis wouldn't let him win on that. So he shrugged and watched Zayn take off his wool sweater and hand it over to the girl, who graciously accepted it and put it on. He felt a pang of jealousy. How come he couldn't do that? 

"Don't worry about Zayn, mate. She likes you," Louis whispered, smirking a bit.

"How would you know?" Harry asked, now staring at his hands. He didn't want to continue to watch his two friends flirt with each other.

"She came all the way over here to give you a notebook," he shrugged, and before Harry could retaliate, he continued with a, "And because she keeps looking over at you every ten seconds."

"She does no-" Harry said, quickly looking up, and for a split second, green clashed with dark brown, and Harry felt his insides warm up before Nahla looked away. Well, damn.

Louis laughed beside him. "I should have put money on that one."

"Whatever," Harry mumbled back, unable to fight the heat rising up his neck and ears.

"Come on, lads and lass, let's all play a game!" Niall grinned, shooting up from his spot next to Liam, and everyone agreed happily.

A rather heated game of Charades followed, and the six of them split up into pairs, with Niall and Liam, Louis and Harry, and Zayn and Nahla. The six were soon screaming out phrases and words at their partners, and sometimes at each other because one partner didn't correctly act out the words they were assigned.

"No, you twat! I'm a log! How the fuck do you get worm out of me just lying there?" Louis screamed at Harry, and Harry groaned, yelling back, "You aren't supposed to just lie there, idiot! You have to do something!"

"Logs don't move, genius!"

Everyone else was on the floor in hysterics, clutching their sides and gasping for air. Harry and Louis soon joined in, and the six were starting to laugh at nothing eventually, but those were always the best kids of laughs, the ones that really made you happy.

A giant fort was made in Harry's living room then, the six getting geared up for the movie marathon they had planned out, and the five boys convinced Nahla to spend the night so she could watch all their favorite movies. Nahla agreed after some pleading, and after a long phone call with her father, she came in the room and said she could stay over. The five cheered and Harry gave her some sweats and a t-shirt for her to change into. He noticed that she kept Zayn's sweater on the whole night, though.

The six cuddled up with each other, finally getting in the first movie, Niall's and Louis' favorite, Grease. They all sang together shamelessly, and Nahla expressed how good they sounded together. They thanked her, denying their abilities to sing, but she insisted that they were really good. The movies continued with all their favorites, and somewhere in the middle of Harry's and Liam's favorites, Harry and Nahla were the only ones that were awake. Harry offered for her to sit outside for a while to get some fresh air, and Nahla was quick to agree.

They sat on Harry's back porch where it had a swing bench. There weren't any trees in the backyard, so the two could see the sky perfectly. A few stars were scattered throughout the black abyss, most of them covered by the air pollution, and Harry wondered how many stars were actually out there.

"Your friends are amazing," Nahla said, and Harry smiled to himself.

"Yeah, they are, aren't they?"

"How'd you all meet? You're all from different parts of Europe," she then asked, and Harry told her the story of how they all met at a summer camp a few years ago and that they had all been in the same cabin together; they had just instantly clicked, and had been best friends ever since. He told her it was hard to maintain the friendship sometimes because of the distance, but they got through it because they knew they didn't want to be friends with anyone else but each other. They were brothers now, and they loved each other.

"That's amazing," she smiled, and rested her head on his shoulder. Harry blinked at her head, completely shocked by the action, but let his insides melt. Nahla Sparrow was cuddling into his side right now, voluntarily. Could life get any better than this?

He tentatively wrapped his arm around her shoulders so she could be closer, and rested his head atop hers, hoping she wouldn't scoot away. Thankfully, she reacted in a positive manner and huddled closer to him. "I hope we can be friends for a long time, Harry," Nahla said so softly Harry had barely caught it. But it was loud and clear in his mind.

"Me too, Nahla. Me too," he said, smiling widely. She liked him, maybe not in the way he liked her, but she liked him enough to want to have him in her life for years to come. This was a major step up. "Hey, Nahl?"

"Yeah?" She looked up at him then, and Harry was staring into her dark brown eyes. They were so beautiful to him, and he wondered if anyone else got the chance to see them so closely. Maybe he was the only one to break Nahla Sparrow's wall down.

But Harry didn't answer her with spoken words. He merely closed the space between them, and Harry honestly felt like fireworks were exploding in his body. It wasn't a heated kiss by any means, just a soft, still, skin-against-skin kiss that had more meaning than all the other kisses Harry's ever shared. He didn't keep it long, not wanting Nahla to feel so uncomfortable or anything, so he pulled back after about seven seconds and opened his eyes, praying Nahla wouldn't be angry with him and want to leave.

He was soon stammering out, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean. Don't be upset with me. I can take you home if you'd like."

Nahla blinked at him then, twice, three times, before reassuring him that she certainly wasn't mad, and Harry wondered if she was going to build up her wall again. He hoped not; he had tried so hard to break it down. She stood up then, a small smile on her face that looked kind of exhausted, but he could see a blush forming, and said, "Goodnight, Harry," before walking back in the house.

Harry sighed, running a hand through his curls before replying. "Night, Nahla."

Well, she could've responded worse, Harry reassured himself, and followed after her a few minutes later. 

----

Nahla left later that day when they all finally woke up in the early afternoon. The five of them all expressed how much they were going to miss her and that they wished she would stay, but she told them she had to get home before her father flipped out on her. 

Harry watched as Nahla exchanged hugs with his friends like she had known them for as long as he had. Earlier, they all exchanged numbers with her, telling her to talk to them anytime she wanted and they should get together again soon. Nahla told them to have a good ride home and hoped Niall had a safe flight, to which they gratefully thanked her for.

"Bye, Zayn. Text me sometime, yeah? We'll get those tattoos together," she smiled, accepting the boy's kiss on the cheek. He agreed to her request and told her to stay out of trouble.

Nahla came to Harry then, rubbing her arm hesitantly. Harry didn't really know what to do; it was a bit awkward between them now, and Harry was hating himself for being the cause of it. He hoped she wouldn't dwell on this too long; he doesn't know how long he can go without her. Finally, Nahla wrapped her arms around his long torso, and Harry was quickly hugging back. 

"See you at school Monday," he mumbled, his face in her dark hair. She agreed, pulling back after a few seconds, and gave him a soft smile before turning around to start leaving. She gave a final wave, and before Harry knew it, she was gone.