Before You Go

Alice didn't say anything as she was dragged into the kitchen. She just skittered along beside Perrie, trying not to trip as they wove between the people. A soon as they were in the kitchen, Perrie released her arm and snatched at a beer.
"Here," she handed it to Alice with a smile.
"Thanks!" Alice opened it and took a drink. She gazed around the packed kitchen with some interest. Most of the people in here she didn't know - except for Niall. He was sitting up on the bench with his back against the wall and a bottle in hand, chatting to a girl. Alice raised a hand and waved at him. She caught his eye and he smiled and waved back.
"Who’s that girl Niall's talking to?" Alice asked Perrie, taking another drink.
"That’s his 'friend'," she made speech marks with her fingers "Izzy. We're going to start working on getting them together after you and Harry."
"It's like you guys have your own little fabulous matchmaking club." Alice said, tossing her hair off of her shoulder.
"Gotta love being a One Direction girlfriend. Speaking of which," Zayn had just entered the room. "I have some girl-friendly duties to attend to. See you in a bit!" Perrie walked off, putting a deliberate swing in her hips as she approached her boyfriend. Alice smiled as she watched them kiss.
"Alice!" Yet another person was calling her name. Alice turned. This time it was Eleanor.
"Hey El!" The girls hugged. Eleanor pulled back, looking serious.
"Alice." she began.
"El." Alice mimicked.
"Shush. Has Harry kissed you yet?"
"No!" Alice exclaimed, cheeks flaming. "Perrie was getting onto me about that, too! She dragged me in here to 'play hard-to-get'."
"Go back to him!" Eleanor said loudly. A few people turned around and stared. "Go on." Eleanor pushed her towards the doorway.
"I love you too, Eleanor!" Alice called over her shoulder. Shaking her head, she walked back into the living room. Harry was nowhere to be found. Looking from side to side, she wove her way through the living room, searching.
Then, she felt a hand on her waist. She whipped around, smiling. It wasn't Harry. The smile slid from her face. A 20-something year old man was standing in front of, grinning in a very drunk kind of way. He was relatively attractive in a lecherous kind of way - he had long blonde hair about chin length and deep-set brown eyes.
"Hey," he said. His voice was so slurred she could hardly hear what he was saying. "Where are you going, pretty lady?"
Alice grimaced, and tried to take a step back. She ran into a wall of people.
"Um, away from you!" She hissed. He took a step closer. He was uncomfortably close now.
"I don't think so. I'd just love to kiss a pretty girl like you."
"I'd really like you to just leave me alone!" Alice snarled. She pushed him, hard, but he only took a step back. He was glaring at her now. Despite the fact that she was in a room packed full of people, she felt frightened. It was irrational, perhaps - technically, she was perfectly safe and after all, she was well old enough to take care of herself. Nevertheless...
"Excuse me," it was Louis. He had appeared out of the throng of people and was standing next to them arms folded. "Who are you?" he asked the man shortly. He received a blank look in return. "Actually, I don't care who you are, get your hands off of my friend!" Louis fixed the unknown with such a glare that he took a great step back. As soon as his hands were off of her, Alice skittered closer to Louis.
"How did you get in here?" Louis thundered. "The doorman vetted anyone that he didn't know personally."
The man didn't reply. Instead, he tried to run. Louis sighed, and dug his phone out of his pocket. He placed a call to his security team, asking them to remove the unknown man.
"Are you alright?" he asked Alice once he was done. Alice nodded.
"Yeah, I'm fine. He was just creepy, that's all. Thanks for getting rid of him."
"No worries." He gave her a quick hug, then made to walk off. "Oh, by the way...Harry's looking for you."
"Is he now?" Alice raised her eyebrows. A hint of a smile emerged on her face. "And where would he be?"
"I believe he may be in the hallway next to his bedroom." Louis winked at her, and then disappeared back into the crowd. Shaking her head and smiling, Alice set off to find him.
When she first entered the corridor, she couldn't find him. However, after a moment, she caught s glimpse of his curly hair. He was standing right in the back corner, looking around. As soon as they made eye contact, he grinned. She waved at him and he waved back. He started towards her, and they met in the middle of the hallway. He was no longer carrying a bottle, so he grabbed hers and took a swig.
"Hey!" she protested, laughing as she tried to reach up and snatch it off of him.
"Don't 'hey' me! You drank some of mine!"
"Okay, fair enough." Alice ducked her head, smiling and peered up at Harry through her eyelashes. It was a classic flirtation technique, and it seemed to have worked. Harry froze still for a second, then a large smile broke out across his face.
"So, I have your Christmas present," Harry said, his deep voice lowered.
"Really? Yay!" Alice clasped her hands together and raised her shoulders in a gesture of excitement. "What is it?"
"You'll see. It's just up here. Come on!" He took her hand and led her through the crowd. Alice's stomach tingled with butterflies. She supposed that her nervousness around being with him had been heightened by the alcohol. Harry turned this way and that around the people and Alice admired him. He really was very fit. They had reached the end of the hallway and Harry stopped dead. Alice, not expecting it, crashed into his side.
"Oof!"
"Sorry." Harry apoligised, looking down at her.
"No, don't worry about it." Alice laughed, then tipped her head to one side. "So...where's my Christmas present?"
"Right there." Harry pointed up. Alice craned her neck. Directly above hung a spring of mistletoe.
"Wha-" Alice's mind was racing, but all of her thoughts were quieted when Harry placed a hand on her waist, pulling her right up against him. His other hand trailed along her jaw line from the chin up, until it was cupping her cheek. Alice smiled just slightly, and that was Harry's cue to go on. He bent down and pressed his lips against hers. Involuntarily, Alice found her hands were around his neck and she was standing on tiptoe so to meet his lips better. Eyes closed, she felt his eyelashes brush against her upper lids. And then there was the kiss itself. Alice had kissed guys before - a fair few more than she'd care to admit - but Harry was one of the best. Maybe it was the fact that she had been wanting this for a long time. His lips were incredibly soft and slightly parted. She shivered slightly and her hands contracted against his neck as he grazed his teeth against her bottom lip.
After a few minutes, Alice pulled back. They were still close - so close that that she could see the faint blush colouring his cheeks. He was smirking at her.
"Sorry," he said to her. His deep voice reverberated against her. She could feel it - rather like one can feel the bass at a concert. "I've wanted to do that for quite a long time."
"So then," Alice tipped her head ever so slightly to the left. "Is it true, then, that you broke up with Taylor Swift for me?"
Harry snorted.
"Of course it's true!"

It was all over the tabloids. Alice had been nurturing a crush on her best guy friend for at least three months, but obviously there was no way he would ever think of her as any more than a friend. Not when he was seeing Taylor Swift. He'd told her everything about her, when they first started going out. He told her that she was hot - and good in bed. That was slightly too much information to her to handle. He had also mentioned the fact that he was terrified of ever breaking up with her.
On the morning of December 8rd, she had awoken to the breaking news - Harry Styles was now single. It was everywhere - literally. Alice had hastily clicked over to Sugarscape. Their article had told her that Taylor had been seen storming from her hotel. She had released a comment saying that she was now single. The entire world had been bracing for the backlash ever since Haylor rumours started circulating, and now they were being rewarded. The first Alice did is reach for her phone. She was on the cusp of calling Harry...but then she didn't. Instead, she dialed Eleanor's number. Eleanor was the only person who knew that Alice liked Harry other than as a friend. She picked up on the first ring.
"I know, I know!" She said straight away, before Alice could get a word in edgeways. "I just got off the phone to Louis!"
"And?" Alice asked. She got up off of her compute chair and began to pace. Her stomach felt like it was in knots - she hadn't felt this way in a good long while.
"Louis said they had a massive fight last night. Taylor left screaming something about Harry being a cheating bastard. Harry told Louis that he was in love with another woman, and that's why he left Taylor."
"In love with another woman...?" Alice's heart sank. If Harry had left Taylor for another woman, she had about a snowball's chance in hell.
"Yeah, but that's the thing - Alice, Louis thinks he meant you!"

Alice raised her eyebrows. "Really? You really left Taylor Swift, for me?"
"Of course. I guess I only went out with her in the first place because she looked a bit like you."
Alice laughed aloud. "Looked a bit like me? Harry, Taylor Swift is so much better looking than I am!"
"Well I don't think so!" Harry said stubbornly, and leant down to kiss her again. Their lips had barely met when they were forcefully broken apart. A very pleased-looking Louis stood before them gloatingly.
"About time, Harry!" He exclaimed, placing a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "Very classy."
Alice flushed and looked away. Things had suddenly become incredibly awkward. Half of the people in the living room were staring at them like they had escaped from the zoo.
"I'm just going to go find Eleanor and Perrie," Alice muttered, and slipped away. She headed towards the kitchen and on her way, she downed the rest of her beer. At first, she couldn't see anyone she knew (aside from Niall, who was now snogging Izzy against the fridge), but then a flash of purple caught her eye. Purposefully, she made her way towards Perrie. The young singer was standing in close proximity to Zayn, talking in a low voice.
"Perrie," Alice announced, arriving at her side. "Perrie, I need to talk to you."
Perrie glanced around looking a little annoyed, but as soon as she saw who was talking to her, her expression cleared. It then instantly morphed into a look of delight.
"He kissed you, didn't he?"
Alice nodded. She couldn't prevent a smile from emerging.
"Yay!" Perrie clapped her hands together, then threw her arms around Alice's slightly taller frame. "Now you really are a 'One Direction Girlfriend'!"
Alice didn't mention the fact that Harry hadn't actually asked her out officially, she just smiled and laughed and then excused herself to find Eleanor.
Harry found her first.
"Sorry about that," he said laughingly. "Did you find Eleanor?"
"No," Alice shook her head. "I only wanted to tell her that you finally got around to kissing me, anyway. Louis probably told her already, so..." Alice trailed off. Harry ran a hand through his curly hair. He looked somewhat nervous - which was not a trait usually attributed to him.
"Uh...so...I was wondering...if you'd like to be my proper girlfriend?" Harry asked at an even slower pace than usual.
"Of course. I've had a crush on you for ages, didn't you notice?" It was a question that Alice had no intention of allowing him to answer. She leaned up on tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. They would have stayed like that for a good long while, had it not been for the song that came over the radio.
The familiar opening chords of 'I Knew You Were Trouble' by Taylor Swift filled the air. Half the people in the room cheered whilst the other half groaned. Alice pulled away from her new boyfriend and smirked at him.
"Did you put this song on the playlist?" she asked.
"It was a little bit of irony on Louis' part."
"Care to dance to the woe of your ex-girlfriend?" Alice was smiling as she took a step back. She had both of Harry's hands clasped in hers, and he didn't say no. Slice led him directly to the speaker where the music was loudest and the bass heaviest. As soon as the dub-step part of the song began, all hell broke loose in the room. Suddenly people were dancing everywhere, Harry and Alice included. Smiling and laughing, they twirled around, jumping up and down. Caught up in the moment, they could have been the only people in the room.
For all intents and purposes, they were. Alice grabbed Harry's hand and held it above her head, spinning around and around underneath. Harry took the lead and spun her out and back in again. Out and in, out and in. Despite the fact that the room was fully lit, it felt for all the world as if they were in a darkened club. Maybe they were both a little drunk, but what did it matter? The song ended then, and Alice collapsed into Harry's arms. He held her up, laughing.
"Well that was fun," she gasped, short of breath.
"It was," Harry agreed, pushing Alice upright. He didn't let go of her though, he kept his arms around her waist and rested his cheek against the top of her head. Alice just couldn't keep the smile off her face.
"So, uh, maybe we should go to my room..." Harry said quietly in her ear. She tipped her head back to look up into his eyes. She raised one eyebrow (at least, she thought it was one. She couldn't always tell if it was one eyebrow she was raising or two).
"You're a bit forward, aren't you?" She asked. Harry tipped his head down to kiss her forehead.
"Being timid doesn't get you anywhere in life," he murmured.
"Well, that's true, I suppose," Alice gently extracted herself from his embrace, and took his hand again. "So let's go, shall we?"
Harry was beaming as he allowed Alice to drag her trough the crowds. He was almost skipping.
"Someone's excited," Alice remarked, glancing over her shoulder at him. As she walked Harry picked up his pace so that he was able to catch up to his girlfriend and wrap his arms around her, kissing heron the neck. Alice laughed and tried to push him away.
"How drunk are you?" she asked him.
"How drunk are you?" he countered.
They had reached the door to Harry's bedroom now, which was shut. Harry pushed her against the door and kissed her hard. One hand was resting on the back of her head and the other was pressed to her left breast. Alice didn't mind at all. The alcohol was blurring her mind and everything was warm and fuzzy and happy. Alice reached behind her, fumbling for the doorknob. Upon locating it, she pushed backwards. Harry wasn't expecting it and stumbled forward. Alice didn't try to catch herself and they both fell backwards. The impact of her back against the floor and the weight of Harry on top of her knocked the breath out of her. Thus, it was a few seconds before she realised that they weren't alone in the room.
"Louis?" Harry rolled off of Alice and attempted to stand up. He was wobbling on his feet a little. Alice sat up hastily and clambered to her feet, using the door as support. Louis was lying face-down on Harry's bed, shaking. Alice felt a twinge of concern. She shut the door but stayed beside it cautiosly watching as Harry took a few careful steps.
"Louis, mate...are you okay?" He gently placed a hand on the shoulder blade of his best friend. The reaction was unexpected. Louis propelled himself backwards and dove off of the bed. He whirled around to the wall and, to Alice's extreme shock, threw a violent punch at the wall. A framed photograph of Harry's family fell off the wall with a crash.
"Lou!" Harry sounded shocked. "Lou, what's going on?"
"I just got a phone call," Louis said in a strangled voice. He was standing still, now, hands clenched loosely at his sides. "It was Mum. She said...she told me..."
He bowed his head and started to shake again. Alice felt incredibly uncomfortable. She didn't know what was going on, but she felt as if she was intruding on something incredibly private. Her hand was on the doorknob. She was about to leave when Harry, who was now holding Louis as if he were break, looked up at her with a look of desperation in his eyes. His eyes alighted upon her hand on the doorknob, and he shook his head slightly.
Alice’s hand dropped against her thigh.
"What happened, Lou?" Harry murmured. "Please tell me..."
"It's Daisy!" Louis yelled. The outburst was so sudden that both Alice and Harry jumped. "She's dead. My sister...she's dead."