Diana

Drinking on work nights is probably not the best idea, but that is exactly what Diana is doing right now. She is currently sitting in her usual booth at the Marquee, along with the five goofballs and her best friend that she rarely spends a day without. They know that they have their own routines to do in the morning, so they were drinking nothing more than a few pints of beer.

“Hey you know what, you should come to Liam’s barbecue party next weekend,” Zayn points out to Diana who is sitting right across him.

An indie folk artist is playing Des’ree’s rendition of Fire on the little stage behind them and Niall has just came back from the bar with his own glass of whiskey. He is always the one who drinks exceptionally more than the rest of the group.

“Oh yeah, you totally should,” Niall rejoins the conversation as he settles on the seat next to Sadie. The girl has to scooch closer to Zayn to make room for her boyfriend.

“You’re having a barbie? What’s the occasion?” asks Diana to the said person.

“My girl’s coming back!” answers Liam with a grin. “I thought I’d throw her a little ‘welcome home’ party. It’s just gonna be the five of us and our close friends, pretty intimate.”

“But let’s face it, who doesn’t like free food and liquor?” says Zayn with a grin.

Liam chuckles in agreement, “Yeah, this is honestly just another made up reason to devour meat and cheap drinks like the animals that we are.”

Diana laughs and just nods in response.

“So, you coming?” asks Niall to Diana again.

“Wait I thought you’d be gone for Ireland in like, two days?”

“Yeah, that was the plan, but it turns out that I had to stay here in London afterall.”

“Management?”

“Yeah,” he confirms. “But come on, barbecue. It’ll be fun.”

“Well, I was going to spend my Saturday evening in my sweatpants, accompanied by a Doctor Who marathon, but…”

“Geez woman, come out of your cave once in a while, won’t you?” Harry remarks when he finally takes his eyes off his busy phone.

Diana throws him the stink eye and is just about to shoot him a comeback when Liam cuts her, “Yeah, babe. Seems to me that you’ve only come to a really small number of our things. I’m quite offended, honestly. Especially when you’re practically one of us now,” he says with an overly pouted mouth.

She rolls her eyes yet a tiny smile curves on her lips. Louis adds, “I’m sure you can even bring that boyfriend of yours, you know, that bloke that we see around. Right Li?” only to have his left foot stepped on by Liam underneath the table. The two exchange signalling looks but soon return to the group.

It is uncanny for Diana to see a group of people who are as tight and welcoming as these lads. They have been nothing but kind to Sadie and her ever since the first time they walked inside her door, even during her PMS days. For that reason, she smirks and plainly says, “Fine, but if you’re making me drag my ass from my place all the way to yours like this, I expect quality meat and killer sauce.”

“I will serve nothing but the best, dear,” Liam replies with a cheeky smile.

“Alright, you nutsos. I’m gonna go for a smoke,” she says as she slides her way out of the booth. It is actually allowed to smoke inside the pub, but Diana enjoys smoking more when she’s alone, so out she goes through the back door.

Suddenly, Louis feels his ear flicked by Liam sharply. “Ow! What the hell?!”

“Mouth!”

“What?! The boyfriend? There’s nothing wrong with it, is there?”

Instead of answering, Liam nods his head slightly towards Harry while keeping eye contact with Louis.

Understanding what Liam is implying, Louis redirects the question to Harry, “There’s nothing wrong with it, right Haz?”

Harry is a bit jolted, even though he knows that the question is inevitable. He nervously clears his throat, “Yeah, of course not.”

Louis, being one of Harry’s best mates, knows that that is far from true. But at this point, he is done trying to get the stubborn Harry to be honest, so he really just acts as if nothing is going on. “See?” he says to Liam, emphasizing that he was right.

Liam takes a look at Harry, not really believing what he just said either, but decides to shrug it off. Niall, however, decides to keep pushing, “So you’re gonna be okay if Diana brings… what’s his—“

“Jace,” Sadie interrupts.

“—Jace, to Liam’s barbie? You’re not gonna isolate yourself from the crowd and drink your ass off like you always do?”

Harry grunts at the question, always hating the fact that the lads never stop babying him just because he is the youngest in the group. “I am! Goodness! I’m gonna be perfectly fine and I’m sure it’s not gonna bother me at all, okay? You can stop babysitting me, now.”

“Alright, well—“

Before Niall can say anything, Harry immediately halts him, “Okay now, I’m gonna go to the bathroom.” He figures the next best thing he can do is just flee before they bombard him with more unnecessary concerns. Besides, he really does need to use the loo.

He disappears from the booth in a second, but at one point he can still catch Liam’s comment, “Look at what you did!” He does not know whom that was directed at, but he carries on to the bathroom anyway.

---

When Harry comes back, he sees Niall and Sadie that are just about to exit the front door, meanwhile Louis and Liam are the only ones left in the booth with no Zayn in sight. “They left? They were my ride here! My car is still at the girls’ flat.”

“Yeah, and we’re actually going now too, mate. Louis is summoned by El and he’s my ride home,” answers Liam.

“You want me to drop you off at the flat?” Louis offers.

Harry contemplates for a second before choosing to stay for a while. The boys wave a small goodbye and continue to be on their way to the exit. Harry goes back to his previous seat and pours the remaining beer in the pint to his glass, making it just millimeters away from spilling.

Soon enough, not more than ten minutes later, Diana reappears from the back door, expecting to find her mates back at the booth. Instead, she spots the curly-haired boy sitting alone with his eyes locked on his phone screen as usual, which leads her to assume that the rest must have gone home earlier. That's okay, because she has to go anyway, but she doesn't quite know what to do with the bloke sitting just a few feet away from her. She stands by the bar, debating with herself on whether she should just leave or come by to briefly say a polite goodbye. Just when she begins to turn her body, he notices her and throws a little smile.

Diana knows that there is no way that she can slip her way out now, so she simply returns it and approaches him.

Harry slips his phone back to his pocket and takes a sip of his beer. “Hi, you’re still here? I thought you left with the others.”

She is not sitting down, she just stops and stands in front of him. “Nope, I never left the back alley.”

An awkward silence ensues, but Harry does not let it stay long, “You, uh, wanna sit?”

“Nah, I should probably get going. I need to start the day early tomorrow.”

“Oh? I’ll come with you, then. I need to take my car at your place anyway. That dimwit apparently forgot that I came here with him too.”

“Niall?”

“Yeah. Now hang on a second, let me pay my tab first,” Harry says as he goes towards the bar without waiting for Diana’s reply.

Diana is not exactly sure what’s going to happen next, but she follows him and waits for him anyway.

After a quick payment, Harry turns back to Diana and says, “Ready?”

She just nods and makes her way towards the exit. Harry soon catches up and walks beside her. His arm just accidentally brushes against hers, so he goes and creates some distance between them.

It is just a few minutes before midnight, and the street is exceptionally empty. The moon is barely there, and the only source of brightness around them is the streetlights. Harry has his hands tucked in his jacket’s pockets, while Diana’s cling onto her satchel.

Neither of them really knows what to say at that moment, and they both feel like they have been walking for a long time when it has actually been no more than two minutes. This is the first time they are legitimately together alone since the kitchen incident two months back. They have managed to tease each other and engage in real conversations, but they usually rely on their friends to start them first. This silence is new to both of them.

“So, umm—“ Harry and Diana start speaking almost simultaneously.

A few shrugs and head scratches are gestured; the awkwardness is still not lifted. Diana turns her head to look at him, signalling him to speak first.

Harry pinches his bottom lip and meets her sight, “So, you coming?”

“Huh?”

“To Liam’s. You know, the barbecue earlier.”

“Oh, umm, everyone seems to be insistent that I come, so I guess the public has spoken.”

Harry just bobs his head, not knowing how else to respond. He knows that he really should not say anything else if he is not sure, but the next two words just slip right out of his mouth, beyond his control, “With him?”

Fuck, nice mouth, Styles, he thinks to himself as he lightly massages his forehead.

“Whom?” It genuinely does not cross Diana’s mind that Harry is talking about Jace.

“Your boyfriend,” he says, almost choking on his own words.

“Oh Jace, he’s not—Well, uh, yeah, if he’s up for it,” she answers, not any less nervous. “How about you? Any cute little birds you wanna introduce to the group?”

Harry lets a small curve takes shape on his mouth and shyfully denies, “Nah, the cage’s empty. Haven’t been meeting girls in a while.”

Diana looks at him in curiosity with one of her brows raised, “Bullshit. I don’t know much about your little band but I know for a fact that every girl in the planet is dying to get in your pants.”

That comment throws away his rigid look and turns it into a blinding ray of sunshine. Harry guffaws out of control and teases, “Every girl in the planet? You too, then?”

A grin successfully appears on Diana’s face as she punches him on the arm, “Asshole. You wish, Styles.”

“Just restating what you said, Parr,” he says with an inhumanely big, cheeky grin.

Diana can’t help but laugh anyway, “Please, don’t flatter yourself.”

The grin on Harry’s face does not cease to disappear, “Okay, all jokes aside though, none.”

“Oh come on, that gorgeous hair and dazzling dimple must have you surrounded by size-0 models and A-class socialites.”

Now, he does not know whether she is being sarcatic or unconciously complimenting him.

He shrugs in response and his grin turns into a smirk, “But you see, they’re not always enough. Most of them are better off as mates, anyway. I wouldn’t have been able to keep up with their lifestyle.”

Diana has her arms crossed, subtly rubbing her hands up and down of it. The chill breeze almost stings her bare arms and legs. “Well then, I suggest you use your power as a teenage heartthrob now before that hair turns grey and that dimple is covered by wrinkles.”

A loud laughter comes out of Harry’s mouth again. “A, I’m not a teenage heartthrob. My scope of audience varies from seven year-olds to grandmas,” he says jokingly.

Diana throws an in jest judgmental look and opens her mouth with its curves up, but says nothing.

Harry’s laugh grows even louder, but he continues his saying, “And B, I’m pretty sure I can still totally rock it in my 60s. I’m like a fine wine, like Clooney.” Every syllable of his words flirts, and Harry is back to his usual self.

She rolls her eyes but laughs nonetheless, “No, no. No one grows older better than Clooney. Not even Pitt and Cruise.”

A few little chuckles are let out of Harry and Diana, but he does not throw another comeback.

After that, another silence comes along, but both of them would agree that this one is so much more comfortable. Harry and Diana are now about halfway home and her flat is just right around the corner. She is looking down at her feet, trailing her eyes on the fading pattern along the sidewalk. Out of the blue, she feels a warm, heavy fabric slowly lies on top of her shoulders.

Diana looks up and suddenly finds her face just a few inches away from Harry’s. It is he placing his navy blue jacket on her cold self. She does not expect this, but she does not look away and feels a smile curving on her lips instead.

He pats on the jacket that clearly looks too big on her small body and moves to recreate the distance. He senses that she is still staring at him, probably wondering why he did what he did. “What? You were shivering.”

As much as she is reluctant to welcome the nice gesture, Diana finds herself pulling the jacket tighter and readjusting it on her body. Harry beams as he watches her do so, happy that his action is appreciated. “Thanks,” Diana says shortly.

“No biggie.”

Diana can see him playing with his bottom lip again and she subconciously bites hers. His jacket is massive and definitely oversized for her, but she does not mind because it adds extra warmth. She is convincing herself that she clings onto it so tightly because she needs it, not because she likes it. She can even smell his musky cologne so well that she is almost sure that he actually soaks the jacket in it. His scent, with the stillness of the streets of London, presents her with a whole new level of serenity.

Although, there is one thing that bugs her, even though she knows that it shouldn’t: the simple fact that this is actually happening. She does not understand why that cheeky smile keeps on appearing on his face every time they meet even though she has been giving him frowns. She does not get his positivity and kindness no matter how many snarky remarks she throws at him. She cannot comprehend the fact that he is letting her wear his jacket on a cold night, when she barely acknowledges his existence until less than a week ago.

“Why are you being so nice to me?”

Harry is taken aback, startled to receive such direct question. “What do you mean?”

Diana shrugs and tucks some of her hair behind her ear. “You’re just too… nice.”

His bright green eyes find their way back to her face but he cannot quite tell what is her expression. “I have no reason not to be.”

She scoffs quietly, yet Harry still notices it. “You have every reason, Harry.”

“No, I don’t.”

Diana stops walking for a second and shoots him a look.

“Okay, name one.”

“For starters, you practically babysat me when I got drunk a couple months ago even though I was a total bitch to you before,” she says as she continues to walk.

“I was being responsible.”

“You never stopped trying to talk to me even though I made it so hard for you to do so.”

“That’s called friendly.”

“You lent me this jacket even though we haven’t even properly spoken before and it’s stinging cold.”

“Di, that’s just common manners. You act like you’ve never been treated with proper manners before,” Harry says just when they reach the front steps of Diana’s flat entrance.

Her cerulean blue eyes once again meet his, and her short hair is blown by the wind and brushes her cheeks. Diana smiles faintly and tears the gaze. She then reaches over her shoulder to take Harry’s jacket off, and he seems to want to prevent her from doing it, but ends up letting her.

Diana hands the jacket back to him and her little fingers slightly touch his warm ones. “Well, thank you, anyway.”

“My pleasure.” Harry’s lingering look is back. He doesn’t care that it’s cold, and he doesn’t care that it’s about ten past midnight and he still has to drive a few miles home in a semi-tipsy condition. All he cares about right now is the way the dim porch light somehow makes Diana’s skin glows and her eyes twinkle.

“I should—“

“Do you—“ Harry and Diana once again talk in unison. He adorably giggles while she smiles in embarassment.

Harry raises his eyebrows to let Diana talk. “Do you, uh, wanna come in?”

He is pretty surprised by the offer and has his eyes widen a little bit, not quite expecting such decency from Diana until at least a few weeks. Diana is not any less stunned by her own words, currently searching for a plausible reason to back her sudden invite in urgency.

“I can make you a cup of coffee, to sober up a little bit?” she finally says, still trying to hold her smile. Really? That's the best thing you can come up with?

Harry’s signature dimple makes another appearance and he happily obliges, “You know what, why not.”