Last Girl Standing

Haley and Louis' little late night rendezvous' didn't stop after their initial first tastes of each other.

He began lingering around for increasingly longer amounts of time after they would finish as well, staying until dawn was just breaking over the island the most recent sleepover. He nearly, nearly was caught too when he almost ran into a few cameramen just starting their days.

Haley couldn't help but laugh when he told her later on how he quite literally dove into the shrubbery and ninja'd his way around them.

However, any nice and fuzzy feelings she had let herself to begin developing for Louis were soon snuffed out when she caught wind of which girls were being put up for elimination. And who had put them up for it.

"I heard Louis wants you off for good," the raven-haired bitch beauty commented snidely, glaring with her piercing blue eyes.

Then again, it was coming from Megan's mouth.

Resisting the urge to rip out all of the girl's hair, Haley merely got up and sat by Kassandra, who gave her a sympathetic look, leaning in to whisper, "she's just trying to piss you off."

Haley sighed, hoping that that was the case, but that little seed of doubt that Megan planted in her mind was starting to grow. Three out of the five girls in the room, including Haley, had slept with Louis. Maybe he was deciding on a girl through process of elimination. Haley started chewing her lip at the thought. The last girl left for him was who he thought was best in bed.

One would think with all the time he was spending in Haley's bed, he thought she was best.

Maybe she was wrong to think he actually, on some own level of his, cared.

It didn't matter, if he didn't care, she certainly didn't either.

Which was why she definitely wasn't glaring back at Megan, wondering what moves she could pull off that Haley herself couldn't.

A lot. But who was counting- oh, right. Louis.

The door opened to reveal Rachel, breaking Haley from her thoughts as she looked up at the girl's sad smile.

"Haley? They want to see you."

Haley nodded and promised herself she'd take the elimination like a champ. There was really no other way to take it.

"Haley, you know the drill," Louis said softly when she found herself standing in front of the panel of five boys.

"Why should I stay here?" They nodded. Haley took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Because I'll be damned if Louis had to end up with someone like Megan. I promised Aurora that I would try. Not even Louis deserves that."

Haley gulped after she finished her little speech. Didn't care her ass. Who was she trying to kid?

"Well you certainly don't deserve him." She heard Harry mutter, but then he groaned in pain, and shared a displeased look with the blue eyed boy.

"What do you mean by 'he doesn't deserve her'?" Liam asked curiously.

"I think dating Megan would be torture," Haley grinned, earning stifled laughs.

"True," Niall agreed with a sly smile.

"Well, if that was it, thank you Haley," Harry said slowly.

"What did I say about trying to-" Was all she heard from Louis as he whispered harshly to the curly haired boy before Zayn was asking her to request Megan.

"I am trying."

"Not hard enough," Louis hissed back.

Megan's last ditch effort interview didn't last long at all and when she came out, she was scowling. Kassandra was last, and before Haley knew it, she was sandwiched between the two girls in the interview room and facing Louis.

"Just get it over with," Harry was mumbling.

Haley agreed. Sometimes, she thought he was her other half with the way they thought so closely. It was too bad he had to act like such a douche about things.

"Megan," Liam said.

Zayn and Niall agreed, and that should have been it. However, Louis followed with Megan's name as well. Haley's heart slammed against her chest as she looked down at the floor. It was a bit overkill since a girl only needed three votes to go home. Haley was a bitch, but she never rubbed salt in any of the wounds she created. At least not intentionally.

Megan was silent through all of this, but Haley could feel the tension and anger radiating from her. Then, all eyes were on Harry, who frowned.

For someone who wanted to get things over with, he sure was taking his time.

"I'm sorry Megan," he finally said slowly.

And then she exploded.

"You're really picking these sluts over me?!"

Louis' eyes were wide with horror as Megan ranted and raved about how she couldn't believe he picked Rachel and Haley over her. She even accused him of telling her she was the best blow job he had ever had. Then there was her proof that Louis had put Haley up for elimination.

"You said you were going to get her kicked off! You promised me you would!"

And since Louis was too far away and more or less safely seated behind a table, Haley received the bitch slap.

There was a collective gasp as Haley just lost it and lunged, grazing Megan's jaw with her fist. But before she could do any more damage, a pair of hands that weren't Louis' grabbed her arms tightly from behind. Louis was at Megan's side, frowning deeply. Haley wondered if he was regretting his decision to voice Megan's name. Like it would have made a difference anyway.

"I think you should leave," Harry's voice warned from behind her and Haley froze. She was actually afraid for a moment that Harry was talking to her, but Megan sent a hateful glare her way and stormed out the door without another word.

"Are you okay?" Louis asked once Harry let go of her.

Haley nodded, refusing to look him in the eye. Out of all the times Megan had to push her too far, it had to be in front of Louis, hadn't it?

Thankfully, Liam saved the day.

"If everyone else is ready, you girls can leave now. I think that was enough excitement for the day," he said with a small smile.

Haley left first.

While all the girls went straight back to the house, Haley took a detour, jogging towards the beachhead.

It was the first time in a while since she ran seriously, especially after her foot sprain. But she desperately needed a way to clear her head.

As soon as her body adjusted to the difficulty the sand provided, her mind blanked, and she jogged along the shore until the sky was tinted orange.

She wasn't expecting to run into Louis on her way back.

"I thought you left." He frowned. "I was proper worried about you."

"And here I was thinking you wanted me gone," Haley retorted.

Louis' frown deepened and his brow tightened, showing off the anger and confusion on his face.

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" He demanded.

"You were the one who put me up for this elimination! Then when Liam, Niall, and Zayn chose Megan, you knew there was no change of that happening!"

"That is such bullshit!" Louis yelled. "I put you up for elimination because I wanted you to see me vote Megan off yourself! I thought that maybe that was a step in the right direction to get you to open up, but I guess I was wrong."

Haley should've stayed silent and let his words sink in properly. But she didn't. She did what she was good at, she fought.

"Yeah, you were. You think I'm going to open up that easily to you? I only slept with you to keep you away."

There was a moment of tense silence between the two, and Louis blinked, unable to believe she had used him like that.

"Tell you what." Louis sighed after a long while. "Can we just pretend for a moment that I have been bending over backwards for you practically this whole contest?"

Haley bit her lip and that familiar, dreadful feeling of shame twisting her stomach into knots made her nod. He wasn't mad, no. He was disappointed, which was a lot worse in Haley's books. She hadn't meant to accuse him like that.

Her stomach twitched again, with a wanting. To apologize and make everything better. To make him happy with her, even.

"What do you want me to do?"

"I just want to get to know you," Louis pressed his lips together. "That means the good, the bad, and the ugly. That means your past and how in seven kinds of hell you managed to land yourself here with me, because honestly, whatever it is, I'm really glad you did it. And I swear, I won't let you trick me into sex again to keep me quiet."

There must've been some tropical plant pollen going around that Haley was allergic to. Or the shock that Aurora was gone had finally begun to fade and reality set in. Or she was just really happy to see Megan leave. Either way, her eyes began to water. She cursed softly, trying to wipe at them before they got too noticeable.

But Louis was good, too good, and he grabbed her arm before it hit her cheek, using his free hand to wipe the tears away himself.

"I'm so sorry, Hay. I didn't mean to- what's wrong?"

Haley sniffled a little too loudly, trying to push his hand away.

"I'm sorry." She really couldn't understand why he was still trying after all of this. "No one ever believes me when I tell them what happened."

Louis looked at her sadly, just like when he was concerned about her losing Aurora and wrapped his arms around her, burying her face into his chest as he placed a tiny kiss into her hair. Haley hated being babied, but she let him comfort her without much of a fight.

"Sh, love. I believe you."

When Louis snuck back to the girls' house later that night, he didn't try anything on Haley. He didn't get mad or frustrated when she told him she couldn't tell him just yet. He just hummed and sung quietly into her ear until she fell asleep, holding her close until dawn again.