She's a Rebel, She's a Saint

Eventually, the live interview finally finished and I sat in my pajamas on top of my bed with my laptop resting directly in front of me. The smile didn't leave my face as small laughs left the green eyed boy before me, his face on the screen of my new laptop thanks to the wonderful invention of Skype.

"Did he really have all the people that know about you two call you after I said that?" Harry asked before putting another spoonful of ice cream into his mouth since our Thursday night ritual consisted of ice cream and what Harry called 'girl talk.'

"Yes," I began before putting another spoonful of the mint chocolate chip ice cream into my mouth, "he's such an asshole I don't know what I ever saw in him."

"Did you know that you blink every time you curse?" he asked with a wide smile on his face.

"No I don't. Fuck off Harry."

"You did it again. It's almost like your body is rejecting the curse."

"I don't blink whenever I curse, that's bullshit."

"You blinked, Ashley."

"Shit." I said with a chuckle, watching his smile widen even more.

"So you don't blink when you say shit? Your subconscious doesn't register that as a curse?"

I rolled my eyes at his words, wondering how he could have noticed that small trait when he had only known me for a couple of weeks and people who had known me for years like Daniel barely knew anything about me.

"My twitter is still getting new followers." I said with a small laugh, watching as Harry pretended to pop his non existing collar while chewing on his ice cream.

"Well," he began as he moved around slightly to get more comfortable on the queen sized bed in his New York hotel room, making the camera go a little blurry for a moment but eventually refocus, "You are dating a very important man."

"Yes, and he's so modest as well."

"They're not giving you any trouble, are they?"

"No, Hazz. They're just asking about you, asking if we're really going to live together, and being jealous that I stole their boyfriend from them."

"At some point we will have to discuss whether or not we should actually live together. After all, I would love to have a roommate again."

"I've never had a roommate. Daniel set me up with this apartment the second I moved out of my parents’ house." I answered truthfully, watching as he rolled his eyes at my words before finishing off the last little bit of his ice cream with a pout on his full lips.

"Maybe when I get back we can look around for a two bedroom apartment around." he said.

I nodded my head in agreement and looked down at the ice cream container in my hand to see that I had finished it; successfully ruining the diet that I had been going so well with despite the fact that Harry insisted that we eat ice cream together every week.

"Oh, I almost forgot. When I get back, I'm gonna head up to spend some time with my mum. Do you wanna come?"

“I don’t know, I wouldn’t want to impose.” I told him, knowing how close he was to his family and assuming that he might want to spend some time with them alone.

“Are you kidding me? They love you, all fast talking and rough, it’s like I’m bringing home a carny.”

"Are you excited about your big show in Madison Square Garden the day after tomorrow?" I asked him sweetly, changing the subject easily.

His eyes widened slightly nervously but he nodded his head anyway.

"Why are you nervous, Harold?" I asked him, watching as he rolled his stunning green eyes at my words since I had used his full first name instead of just calling him Harry.

"Because it's not just a normal show, it's our biggest show ever. Are you coming?"

I bit my lip as I thought about it, trying to figure out if I could afford to buy a ticket to fly from London to New York on such short notice.

"I wish I could, but I don't think I can right now." I told him, his face falling into a sad frown when the words left my mouth.

"Why not, Ash? Gabriella is coming tomorrow. You can book the same flight as her."

I sighed and ran a rand through my hair, trying to think about how I could tell him why I probably Wasn't going to be able to go without him freaking out and offering to help. Upon realizing that there was no possible way to make my situation better, I blurted out the truth.

"I don't have enough money for that, Hazz." I told him.

"I'll buy you the tickets. You can stay in my hotel room with me." he said with a pout sewed onto his pink lips.

"You really don't have to do that."

Harry rolled his eyes before messing around with the sleek keyboard of his laptop.

"Why do I feel like I don't like whatever it is that you're doing right now?" I asked with a sigh as I pulled my long dark hair up into a messy bun, my blonde roots now much more visible since the hair was pushed away from my face.

"Because I just bought you a ticket to come to New York tomorrow. You're leaving in the morning and I'll pick you up at JFK."

"What if I don’t want to go to New York?" I asked him as I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Well then, my Spanish little firework," he began as he quickly sent someone a text from one of his many phones, putting his phone down before finishing his sentence, "You won't be getting your special present that I just organized for you."

"What kind of present?"

"It's a surprise and you're only getting it if you come to New York tomorrow."

"I hate the fact that you know me so well you know I won't turn down a surprise."

He shrugged his shoulders with a goofy smile and a small blush on his cheeks as clear embarrassment filled his system.

"So, are you coming?" he pleaded.

I bit my lip before nodding my head, knowing how much the show at Madison Square Garden meant to him and the rest of the boys since they had worked so hard to get to this point in their career.

"Yay!" he exclaimed happily, making me roll my eyes as I watched someone walk into his hotel room from the corner of the camera.

Liam tapped Harry's shoulder, making the boy in front of me jump in fright before abruptly turning around only to let out a relieved sigh when he saw who it was. I tried my best not to eavesdrop as the two boys on the other side of the camera exchanged a few words.

"Ash," Liam's voice began, making me look back at the camera, "How's Gab?"

"She's great. How did you take the big news?" I asked him, watching as Harry's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.

"I was a little shocked. But, I'm happy of course."

"What's the big news?" Harry asked us, looking back and forth between both Liam and the laptop webcam in front of him.

"Gabriella and I are having twins." Liam explained with a wide smile on his face.

Harry's eyes widened and he used a hand to tousle his hair as he thought over the information that he was just given.

"Well, while Harry's speechless I'm gonna go. I'm exhausted and I need a nap." I said, watching as both of them nodded their heads.

"Will I be seeing you tomorrow, Ashley?" Liam asked me with a small smile on his face.

"Of course, hun." I said in the same sweet tone he had just used.

Liam and I both moved our hands at the same time to turn off the webcams that we were using only for Harry to swat Liam's hand away and make me roll my eyes since he clearly wanted to tell me something.

"What is it Harry?" I asked him.

"I love you, sunshine." he said with a smile on his face and perfectly aced dimples in his cheeks.

"I love you too, Hazz." I replied before turning off the webcam only to close my laptop and throw myself back onto my comfortable mattress.

I cuddled into one of the pillows and pulled up the blanket around my body, deciding that it would be best to take a nap before I started packing for New York. As my blue eyes slowly closed, there was a knock on my wooden front door to enter the apartment and I let out a loud groan as I pushed myself off of the bed.

"This better be good." I grumbled to myself as I walked to the door slowly.

My hand wrapped around the round silver doorknob after I unlocked it and I pulled the door open, my eyes widening when I caught sight of the distinguished older man standing before me. His black suit was tailored perfectly to his body and his blue eyes were staring into mine, something that once would have made me weak at the knees.

"Daniel," I began in a mix of confusion and frustration as I leaned my body against the door, "What are you doing here?"

"I don't want you to be with Harry anymore." he said simply, pushing past me into the apartment and making me roll my eyes at his words as I closed the door shut.

"I don't really think that's for you to decide. You clearly don't care about me."

He said nothing, walking into my kitchen and grabbing the bottle of Jack Daniels from where it sat before opening it and taking a large gulp.

"I have another club opening Friday night." he began as if I hadn't said anything to him at all and we had gone back to when I was his 'girlfriend,' "You're coming."

"I can't. I'm flying to New York tomorrow night with Gab to be with the guys because it'll be their first show in Madison Square Garden." I explained.

"Who's Gab?" he asked me with furrowed eyebrows that made me sigh.

"She’s my best friend. I’ve only mentioned her half a million times."

"Whatever." he said with a wave of his hand, dismissing me and making me let out a small sigh, “Anyway, I want you to leave Harry."

"Daniel, you have no choice in the matter. He's my boyfriend and you're my ex."

I kept my eyes glued to him as he closed the bottle in his hands and walked towards me. He placed a rough hand on either side of my face and looked into my eyes.

"Look, baby," he began, making me roughly push away from him, "You can't play hard to get, Ashley. You're too hard to deal with in the first place."

"I'm not asking you to deal with me anymore. I have Harry now, I don't need you."

"Okay, okay. I give in. I know you're only doing this to get me jealous and make me realize you're amazing or whatever so I give in. You're perfect. Now break up with Harry."

"No. I’m not a child. You can’t tell me what to do.”

"I'm leaving. I suggest you rethink your choices, Ashley." he said in a tone that was probably supposed to sound menacing and forceful as he walked to the door.

"Go fuck yourself." I said, making sure that I didn’t blink my blue eyes as the words left my mouth before slamming the door shut behind him.

I leaned my slender body against the cold white wood of the door and slowly slid down until my butt was on the ground and my back was resting against the door. My blue eyes scanned the room for anything that could get rid of the edge that I was feeling and my gaze was drawn to the semi familiar carton sitting on the coffee table. I stood up from my spot on the floor and walked towards it, picking up the container and opening it as I went over the pros and cons of the choice I was about to make.

"Well, I haven't smoked since before Gabriella’s wedding. I shouldn't be smoking if she's having a baby soon. I only smoke when I'm stressed and I'm only stressed when Daniel is involved." I grumbled to myself as I took one of the cigarettes out of the carton and twirled it around expertly between two of my fingers.

I picked up my lighter that sat by the TV and held it to the end of the cigarette, trying time and time again to light it to no avail since it didn’t seem to catch.

“That’s fantastic.” I muttered below my breath, knowing that Harry somehow had something to do with this in one way or another.

My phone vibrated from where it sat in the back pocket of my pants and I took it out to see that it was a face time chat from Harry, something that made me roll my eyes since he could somehow always sense when something dramatic had just happened with Daniel.

“What did he do?” Harry asked.

“Well, hello to you too, Harry.”

“Tell meeeeeee.” he said with a whine, dragging on the ‘e’ for much longer than was necessary.

“He came over and asked me to break up with you so I told him off.”

“Wow, I didn’t think he was that serious about it.”

“You know what; I need to stop buying into this Hollywood cliché of love. Maybe it’s just not for me, maybe I’m just meant to be the other woman in the relationship.” I said, sitting down on my comfortable couch and propping my feet up on the white coffee table in front of me.

“Don’t say that. You’re amazing, Ashley. Any guy in the world would be lucky to have you.”

“You would have been proud of me if you saw me when I was talking to him. I didn’t even blink when I told him to go fuck himself.”

“You blinked just then.” he said with a smile, making me roll my eyes at his words.

“That doesn’t count, I wasn’t in the moment!”

“Well, in that case I am indeed proud of you.” he said with a smile on his face.

“I would really love to stay and talk some more, but I think we both know that I need to pack if I’m going to New York tomorrow.” I told him even though I really didn’t want to stop talking to him especially if it was to fill my suitcase with clothes.

“In that case, I’ll leave you to it.”

“Alright, love. I’ll see you in less than twenty four hours.” I said in a dramatically sappy tone that I knew he appreciated by the wide smile on his face.

“Oh, I can’t wait. The anticipation is truly killing me!”

“I better receive a full romantic grand gesture when I arrive.” I joked, watching as he rolled his pretty green eyes that I envied.

I smiled slightly back at him before pressing the end call button on my phone and standing up from the couch to make my way to my bedroom so that I could pack my suitcase with everything that I would need for the trip that Harry was forcing me to take.