Grade 8

Harry's pink lips formed into a lazy smile. A bead of sweat trailed from his hairline down his temple. Just by looking at the way his eyes shined and the way his lips turned up into that lazy smile it was easy to tell why he was so satisfied with himself. Never mind the fact that he was naked and laying next to him was an equally satisfied, and equally naked, Lena. The sheets twisted at the bottom of the bed leaving them uncovered. The cool night air from the open window cooling their naked bodies. The room silent a contrast from the loud moans and sighs coming from them just moments before.

Harry turned his head slightly taking in Lena's appearance. Her hair's a tangled mess on the pillow a faint bruise appearing on her collar bone where he had spent too much time kissing that particular area. Her yes are closed lips parted slightly her breathing had gone back to normal almost so slow he thought she had fallen asleep.

"Lena."

"Hmmm." She hummed still too exhausted to open her eyes.

"Why did you agree to go out with me?"

The silence that followed Harry's question was maddening. It was like neither could make a noise even breathing had come to a stop. Harry closed his eyes in an attempt to hide from her words, because if it was taking her this long it couldn't be anything good.

"I've liked you since New York." Lena's words were so quiet Harry would have missed them had he not been laying next to her. "When I saw you look genuinely happy for the first time. I was done for after that. No amount of bad attitude was going to change how I felt. So even though you were a grade A asshole I couldn't say no."

Harry opened his eyes to look at the dark ceiling. "Even knowing about everything that's been happening?"

"Yes." Lena turned her head to look at Harry. She looked at him for a moment taking in his disheveled dark waves that her hands had been running through. His skin was so tan compared to the white sheets underneath them making his tattoos appear darker. "For some reason even knowing you belonged to someone else couldn't stop how I felt. I tried to stop these feelings but it was no use. You could be mean to me and rub Alexis in my face and I still would have said yes."

"Why did you ask me out?" Lena asked after another beat of silence.

Harry hesitated. He couldn't tell her the real reason why he asked her out in the first place she would never understand. Instead he avoided the question. Admitting to Lena that at the time she had been merely someone to take away the pain momentarily would mean a bad ending to a pretty good thing he had going on. It would mean losing Lena and that wasn't something he wanted right now.

"Was that song about me?"

"Yes." Lena sighed. "Why?"

"I was a real arse to you." Harry closed his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"It doesn't matter now." Lean rolled over her head coming to rest on his chest. "You're not like that anymore and that's all that matters."

Harry's arm came around her pulling her body closer to his. A kiss to the top of her head his only reply. He was in deep now. His feelings were genuine but his heart was telling him one thing and his head another. Lena would be the perfect girl for him but there was just down thing about Alexis that had him stuck.



With Harry's thoughts all muddled up he figured the best person to talk to would be Lou. She knew him better then anyone else and always wanted the best for him. She may be annoying most of the time but her heart was always in the right place. Now with Lux occupied with some new dolls he had Lou all to himself.

"So you're telling me that you really fancy Lena." Lou said when Harry was done spilling his heart out to her. "But Alexis still has her grubby little paws around your dick, yeah?"

"That isn't what I said." Harry shot her an annoyed look. "But yes."

"Forget about her!" Lou exclaimed. "That's only what I've been fuckin' tellin' ya since the beginning!"

Lux looked up after her mum's outburst head tilting to the side catching the attention of Harry who made a funny face at her. "I don't think I can."

"Jesus Crist." Lou rubbed at her forehead. "You haven't even tried."

"How am I supposed to just forget someone that made me the happiest I've ever been?" Harry fell back against the bed with a groan.

"Are you not happy with Lena?"

"I am." Harry sighed. "But it's different. They're so different."

"In my opinion, which you will probably chose to ignore, Lena makes you a better person." Lou said hoping for once to get through to Harry. "Alexis on the other hand makes you a worse person."

"I don't see it that way."

In his mind Alexis made him the best person he could be. Only now that they were no longer on good terms was he not the same. With her he was a different person.

"You wouldn't, would you?"

Harry looked at Lou and saw the concern she had for him. She was right he was seeing that now. Lena made him feel wanted while Alexis was a total wild card, one moment she wanted him the next she didn't. He was starting to see what everyone else was but he wasn't sure that was enough to just forget about what they had.



After the show Lena went to Niall's room with nothing else to do. If anything she could chat with Sam.

"Hey Ni." Lena greeted when Niall opened the door.

"Hey." His voice was soft. "Come in but be quiet Olly just went down for the night."

Lena walked into the room and sure enough the toddler was asleep in the middle of the bed. Sam wasn't in the room like Lena had expected after coming back to the hotel she figured spending sometime with the young family might be nice.

"Where's Sam?" She asked.

"Out to dinner with Lou." Niall sat down at the small table in the corner of the room. "They wanted to catch up."

Lena took the chair opposite him. There was a weird tension that Lena wasn't sure had been there between the two of them before. Niall's smile was gone replaced by a frown. Lena immediately thought something had happened with him and Sam.

"Everything alright?" She asked voice timid.

"Sam told me you talk to her."

"Yeah?" Lena shrugged. "And?"

Lena's heart dropped. Her outside facade of being calm the exact opposite on the inside. She could just feel this conversation ending badly.

"You don't need ta do that for me."

Lena and Niall had never had a problem but from the look he was giving her she knew this would be the first. She kept her mouth shut not wanting to say anything to make the situation worse. He had every right to be angry with her for what she had said to Sam, but she also had the right to say those things.

"Stay out my relationship." Niall continued his voice wasn't harsh surprisingly. "Just worry about your own, yeah?"

"What are you trying to saying?"

"Come on Lena, you're not really that daft." When Lena remained silent he continued. "He's just using you as a distraction."

"You don't know that."

Niall laughed. Not his happy, make everything right in the world, laugh. There was no joy or humor in it; just pity. The look of anger he had been giving her before replaced by a look that could only be sympathy.

"Lena, he isn't over Alexis."