Burn

“Ah! Don’t move like that, other wise I’m going to burn you on accident!” Trystan ordered, making Rae lean back again. She had been reaching for my phone on the bathroom sink, but thought better of it when remembering Trys had a hot wand in her hair, making Rae’s dark hair fall into loose waves. “Sorry, forgot.”

“You always do.”

Trystan was already dressed in a black one shoulder dress, form fitting and perfect for her long legs. Her long blonde hair was swept into a beautiful, simply pony-tail, pink straight. She accented with gold, which made her blonde hair pop. Trystan was the perfect blonde beauty.

Rae, sitting on a stool as Trystan finished up her hair, was dressing in a black dress as well, belted at the waist to show her perfect curve. The dress plunged at the neckline, something that Rae was not used to but that Trystan had pushed on her. Like Trystan, she was wearing gold, and beautiful heels to make her legs appear longer.

Nervous did not even cover half of what Rae felt. Her entire mind was going a thousand miles a minute, and she had to physically hold her leg with her hand to stop from bouncing it up and down. Tonight was something big, and it was nerve wracking, not knowing how it was going to turn out.

There were several possible ways tonight could go, but the girl was trying not to think of all the bad things that could happen. She was imagining her father getting along with Harry just fine, and Harry being the perfect gentlemen. She had to hope for that.

But the truth was, she had a gut feeling that she was hoping too hard. It wasn’t that she thought Harry was going to ruin anything tonight, it was the fact that she knew that environments like that made him irritable. She was just worried about suffocating him.

Harry had insisted over and over again that he would love to go, that he had no problem going. She knew that he did not actually want to go, he just was annoyed by the thought of her going dressed up somewhere without his presence to ward off any other guy. Rae wasn’t daft.

Finishing the last wave, Trystan gave Rae a pat on the back, looking at her in the mirror. Trystan’s eyes mirrored Rae’s nervousness. Louis would be going as Trystan’s date, and though Louis was far more hospitable at times than Harry, his immaturity level often got the best of him. “We sure are risking it with dates, aren’t we?”

Rae smiled. “Yes, we are, a bit.”

“Do you think your dad is going to be nice?”

That was another thing to worry about. Just because Rae’s father was asking her to bring Harry, did not mean as much as she wished it did. It was a huge step forward, she knew. But also knowing her father, he was not going to be forthcoming with Harry at all. And Rae did not know if she should warn Harry or not.

“I don’t know,” she admitted, biting her lip as they exited the bathroom. Rae’s father had always been an imposing figure when introducing men, especially if he did not like them. It was a good thing, many times, for he had a good judge of character. But it was also frustrating. “Most likely not. I just hope that Harry nods and smiles and complains about it later.”

Downstairs, Rae was met with both boys standing, leaning against the wall and talking with one another. Harry was dressed in dark jeans and a black blazer, his pocket accented with gold, matching Rae perfectly. She snickered at the thought, feeling like she was at prom or something of the sort.

Harry turned to look at her when she approached, his words stopping as his emerald eyes went up and down her body, a slow smile appearing on his face. it gave her goose bumps, the way he looked at her, like she was the only thing in the room.

“You look astounding,” he breathed into her ear, placing a kiss on her cheek. She could have shivered at his voice, but she held it, smiling and admiring how handsome he looked as well. Harry always cleaned up better than anyone she knew. “I’m quite lucky, I believe.”

“And you shine up like a diamond.”

He grinned. “Let’s get this over with, shall we?”

The car ride was without consequence, save for Rae feeling sick the entire time going there. She was so nervous that she could barely keep still. Trystan had to prod her in the side several times before Rae finally took a breath and shoved her nerves away. Worrying herself sick would not solve anything.

Pulling up to the large manor, Harry raised his brows in shock, glancing at Rae to see if this had been the right address. She smiled, knowing it was a bit ridiculous. The head of the surgeon department not only made his own money, but he was a family of old money. His mansion was unlike many, the grandeur of it astonishing most people.

Parking the parking, the four of them walked up the red brick path together, admiring the plants and the statues decorating the front yard. Many people were walking up the marble steps and through the two towering doors that were cast open, music swelling through them.

Two men at the door were holding trays with flutes of champagne. They all grabbed a single glass, thanking the men before moving inside, instantly greeted with white light. The entire place was so expensive looking that it pained Rae to even step foot in it for fear of breaking something.

“Don’t look at the art,” Trystan murmured quietly to the boys, a grin on her face as they made their way to the main ballroom, hoping to find Rae’s father. “Mrs. Dunway will talk to you for hours about it if she catches you examining it. She’s quite obsessed with it and a proper nutter.”

The boys chuckled lightly, and Rae smiled. She could always count on Trystan to lighten the mood, and she did. Before finding her father, Rae greeted many people that she knew, introducing Harry to many of her fathers friends and colleagues. Harry was the perfect gentleman, shaking hands, kissing cheeks and linking his arm with Rae. She felt like a princess.

Four of them together was a relief for Rae, because she found that where she was usually bored, she was busy introducing and talking. After at least an hour, Rae spotted her father coming into the ballroom from the courtyard, making her smile. She tugged Harry’s arm, interrupting his conversation with Louis. “Come on,” she smiled, taking a breath to calm the nerves. “Father will want to meet you right away.”

*

Everything surrounding Harry was fancy, and he hated it. Expensive things he liked, he could deal with. It was the class of every object, every person and every word in the room that was making him shift uncomfortably. It was etiquette that had been shoved on him all his life, the kind of behavior that he had thrown out the window.

Following Rae as she lead him through the crowd, he knew that he was here for her. She was the only person in the world that could make him come somewhere like this. Sure, Harry hung out with rich people before and went to the nicest clubs, but this was different. These were the kind of people that went to country clubs, had money in the family for years, and they were practically royalty. He was nothing, compared to that.

It suddenly struck Harry, when he spotted the man that could only be Rae’s father, that he could never give her this kind of life. His parents would only keep his bank full of money for so long, mostly to keep him away from them. When that went away, he was just a boy working at a bakery. He would never have this sort of money.

“Daddy,” Rae said, her voice an octave higher and sugared with sweetness. It almost made Harry laugh, at how young she sounded. Then again, a lot of daughter’s did that when speaking to parents. It was an unwritten rule. “It’s so good to see you. Dad, this is Harry Styles. Harry, this is my father, Richard Bastian.”

Harry stretched out his hand to shake her fathers. He instantly saw that Richard Bastian’s eyes were the exact shade of strange green that colored Rae’s eyes. They were unique to the family, it seemed. “It’s a pleasure to meet you sir,” he said cordially, trying to remember everything his parents had told him about being respectful. He really had forgotten every one of those lessons. “Thank you for inviting me.”

Richard shook his hand sternly, and his face did not betray what he was thinking. Tall and broad, he looked like a surgeon with a handsome face. But his eyes did not glitter with kindness or a happy soul like Rae’s. “Rae dear, your Aunt Evelyn has been asking for you. She’s just around the corner out on the veranda.”

Rae smiled brightly with excitement, turning to Harry. “I’ll be back in just a moment, I haven’t seen her in months! She’s always traveling. Dad will keep you company for a moment.”

Watching Rae hurry away, Harry got a sinking feeling in his stomach. Richard did not look pleased to be meeting Harry at all. Which was not surprising, if he were to be honest with himself. “This is quite a lovely place,” Harry said awkwardly, looking around. It was the truth, but he did not particularly care about it. “Like nothing I’ve ever seen.”

“What are your intentions with my daughter, lad?” Like her, Rae’s father was straight to the point. It made Harry slightly uncomfortable, and he wished that Trystan or Louis would save him. “She is all that I have left, and you’ve swept her off of her feet and into a world of madness.”

“Into a world of madness?” he tried to make his tone light, joking. “Quite not sire. She’s absolutely amazing, and that’s really all there is to it.”

Richard turned to face him full on. Harry stood his ground, wondering if her father was testing him. At least, that was his most desperate hope. Deep now he knew that Rae’s father detested him, and he would never approve of him dating his daughter. No one would. Parents did not like Harry. It didn’t matter how cleaned up he got.

“A boy like you does not have a single girl,” he clarified, no room in his voice for argument. “And I do not appreciate you taking it upon yourself to burden her with your presence. You will only harm her. And the worst part about it is that you know that.”

Harry shook his head, letting out a rueful laugh. “I won’t-"

“You will. Because even though you clean up nice, and put on a friendly, polite façade, you and I both know that Rae is to good for you, Harry. You always knew.”

Letting his words sink in, Richard leveled Harry with a look before turning and walking away from him. Harry felt speechless, unsure if he was angry or if he was hurt. Having it proven, that he would never have parents love him or like him was not something he wanted to happen. And hearing what Rae’s father had said, he knew he would never approve. Harry wasn’t good enough.

Polishing off the glass of champagne in his hand, Harry waltzed over to the bar, ordering a round of drinks that were much stronger. Standing there, her glared at the countertop and waited for Rae to find him. Hopefully she would soon. Because if she didn’t, he was going to drink himself into oblivion.

*

Weaving through the party, Rae took much longer than she thought she would, trying to get back to Harry. There were so many friends and people that she kept getting stopped by, too polite to run off and away from them. When she finally could get away, she found herself searching low and high for Harry.

It seemed he was no longer with her father, because her father nodded his head to her outside, when she walked passed him. She hoped that it was a good thing, and not a bad thing. The thought made her heart leap. She laughed at herself. She had been gone from Harry for almost an hour and a half. There was no way she could have expected them to talk for that long.

Realizing how long she had been away from him, she instantly felt guilty. She should have never left him to himself, but she was hoping that Trystan and Louis had found him, being that they did not know that many people either. Trystan only knew a select few, and she was not overly fond of them.

Rae finally caught sight of Harry’s chocolate brown curls and she could not help the giggle that escaped her mouth. He had a painful expression on as he sipped from a glass of dark liquid, watching with a bored expression as Mrs. Dunway talked his ear off. Trystan had warned him.

“Well don’t you look fit, as always,” a voice called, causing Rae to turn in curiosity. She was not impressed with what she saw, looking Rich Dean up and down. She had been bothered by him at the party a few months earlier, and she was annoyed with him now. “Rae Bastian, you are stunning.”

“Good evening, Rich,” she replied, turning back away from him, rolling her eyes. He swaggered up to her, sighing and crossing his arms, looking out across the room, though he knew not what she was looking at. “What a lovely surprise.”

“Is it?” he laughed, not catching her sarcasm. He never did. “We see each other here every year. And every year, you spare me at least a single dance. So how about it?”

She glanced at him. The music was in the middle of the song. At least if she danced now, he would leave her be. Sighing, she lifted her hand and he grinned, taking her to the ballroom and sweeping her into a waltz. People at these parties always danced fancy never having normal music. “How is your father?”

“Splendid, just flew back from Paris last night. He’s been traveling loads lately. How’s good old Richard?”

Trying to ignore the fact that he took pride in sharing her fathers name, she answered, “Quite well. Just doing the same as he always is, busy as ever. I swear, they never get a break, do they?”
“Hardly,” he agreed. “Not the type of profession I would like. Do you still paint?”

Rae blinked in surprise. She never would have expected him to remember something so insignificant. Then again, even though he was an arrogant bastard, he had his own way of being smart. “Yes actually. I draw and such, as well.”

“That’s good, you should-"

“Rae.” Rae spun her head at her name, smiling at Harry and stepping back from Rich. She opened her mouth to introduce them but then assessed his posture. It was very tense, very strained. She recognized that muscle formation from anywhere, and she saw the glimmer in his eyes. He was angry. “Who is this?”

Trying to act as if it was not a big deal she introduced them. “Rich Dean. His father and I are best mates, and we’ve known each other since childhood. Rich, this is my boyfriend, Harry.”

Rich held out his hand, and Harry looked at it with a very deep frown. When he made it clear he would not be returning the shake, Rich dropped it awkwardly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he insisted, all manners. Harry glared. “Rae is quite the catch, you’re a lucky-"

“Yes,” Harry cut off quickly. “She is, thanks. We’re leaving.”

Rae fumbled for words, trying to process what was going on. Shaking her head, she tried to string together a sentence. “They haven’t even made the toast yet, we must at least-"

Reaching out, he took her by the wrist, not roughly or violently, but with a stern motion. Rae walked forward, making sure not to stumble. “We’re going now.”

“Oye, mate,” Rich said, grabbing Harry’s arm, his face was all warning, and his tone had caused several people to turn around. Rae was starting to feel hot and her breath was coming in quick gusts. “I didn’t mean to cause offense by dancing with her, you don’t have to grab her.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Harry growled, glancing at Rich’s hand. “And get your fucking hands off me.”

Rae dug her nails in his arm, hissing quietly, “Harry would you stop it? This isn’t the place- have you been drinking?” She could smell it now, when he turned his head a fraction to look at her. Rage coursed through her veins and she about went off on him right there. Disappointment was no match for her anger. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Is there a problem?” Rich asked, glancing between the two. He had taken his hand off of Harry, but had remained where he stood, clearly concerned. It was something Rae had never seen from him, but she could not even process that at the moment. All she could do was tremble with rage at Harry’s actions.

“Actually, you’re my problem,” Harry muttered.

Rae should have known. She should have known from the minute that he said her name, when his voice sounded like a hundred thunderstorms in the distance, when his eyes looked like a hundred fires blazing up high. She should have known that he was drinking right then, and made a quick exit. She should have known it, and she should have known what he would do next. Because the one thing Harry always did when he was drunk, was start a fight.

Rae should have known Harry would punch Rich in the face. And god all mighty, he did.