Breathe

I spotted Niall outside of Huxley Building when I was walking out of there from my accounting class. He was sat on a bench, bouncing his knee up and down, and texting on his phone occasionally playing with the snapback on his head. I walked over with a smile and plopped down beside him.

“Hey,” I smiled.

Niall looked up and grinned, leaning over to give me a kiss on the side of my head. “B. Babe. Baby,” he cooed affectionately. “How are you?”

“I’m good. I just took an exam, so a bit tired and meh,” I replied, crossing my legs and turning so I was facing Niall.

“Did you do well?”

“I think so. I studied really hard,” I nodded. “But, what brings you here?”

“I just got done with classes. Was chilling and then Harry texted me. Liv told him before class today that she didn’t want to do the date thing anymore.”

“The date thing,” I said slowly with a smirk.

“You know what I mean,” Niall waved off, frustratingly.

I giggled and nodded my head. “I do, yes. Liv told us the night of their second date that she wasn’t feeling it. So, she wanted to end it. Is, um, is Harry okay?” I bit my lip nervously. I knew Liv had done it that morning, but I didn’t have the heart to ask Harry what he thought of all this. I didn’t even warn him and it made me feel like a traitor. I wondered if he’d get mad if he knew that I had known it was coming. It was kind of obvious that I would know, though, considering Liv was my best friend and flat mate.  

Niall shrugged in response. “I think so? He’s not really that easy to read over text, you know? But from what he’s telling me, it seems like he’s taking it for what it is.”

“Oh, wow,” I said, turning away, and looking at the crowds of students going off in different directions towards their next classes. That didn’t sound so bad. Maybe Harry was fine and I had nothing to worry about.

Niall eventually stopped texting and put his phone away. “Anyways, what are you up to?”

I shrugged noncommittally. “Not much. I’m thinking of getting something to eat because I’m done for the day and super hungry.”

“Same,” Niall replied. “Want to get some sushi?”

“I’ll go if you pay,” I bargained.

Niall laughed, throwing his head back. “Fine, let’s go.”

“Really?” I asked in surprise.

Niall frowned. “Why is that so surprising?”

“Liam told me you never pay for food,” I told him.

“Liam’s a fucking liar,” Niall said. “Don’t believe anything he ever says, especially about me.”

I laughed, getting up and following Niall as he threw his arm around me, pulling me close and leading me out.



Harry called me late that night when I was getting ready for bed and already changed into my pajamas. He’d simply asked if I wanted to go out for coffee and I didn’t think twice before replying yes. Seemed he wasn’t surprised or wasn’t going to take no for an answer because he was already waiting downstairs. I made my way down after pulling on every layer I could find and got into his car.

Harry laughed when he saw me, dimples deep and eyes crinkled. “You look like a snowball, Gallagher.”

“Shut it, Styles,” I mumbled. “It’s fucking freezing out.”

Harry laughed again whilst turning up the heat and putting the gearshift back to drive. He drove over to our usual coffee place and this time I offered to get the coffees instead. He didn’t protest and smiled in return, saying he’d wait for me outside. I went inside to the shop and grabbed our usual orders, walking back out to see Harry sitting on the hood of his car, despite it being balls freezing cold outside.

I walked over to him and handed him his coffee before sitting down beside him. It was quiet at first, the two of us sipping on our hot coffees, trying to warm up. I had no idea why we were outside instead of inside of the car considering how he was only wearing a thin coat, which was unbuttoned at that. He had to have been getting cold, but I knew there was something on his mind so he didn’t care. Weeks and days of being with him and getting to know him had made it easy for me to tell when something was bothering him.

Suddenly, he turned to me. “How’d you do on that accounting exam?” he asked. “It was today, right?”

I wasn’t expecting him to say that of all things, but I nodded my head with a small smile. “I think I did alright. Hoping for the best.”

“You’ll ace it. You did so much revision. I was there, I can totally vouch for you.”

I laughed, puffs of air coming out of my mouth from the cold. “Alright, so if I fail it and I’m begging my professor to pass me for a few marks, I’ll remember to call you up to vouch for me.”

“‘S what I’m here for,” he replied.

I smiled, feeling this surge affection towards him for remembering and asking me about my exam, knowing that it was important to me. I rested my head on his shoulder and wrapped my arm around him. “You alright?” I asked him.

“Yeah,” he said softly. “I’m alright. I’m a bit tired.”

“Then why did you come out? You should be sleeping. Not to mention this coffee you’re drinking that will keep you wide awake.”

Harry shrugged. “Liv dumped me today.”

“She did not dump you. That’s such an ugly way to describe it,” I exclaimed, knowing I should have expected this. “Niall said you were alright about it. What’s going on?”

“I am,” he said, turning to look at me in the eyes, reassuringly. “I’m not like devastated and heartbroken or anything. I understood completely where she was coming from.”

“But?”

“But what, Blair? I’m shit, is what.”

“What do you mean you’re shit? You’re not shit.”

“Really? Then tell me what I’m doing with my life? I’m such a fucking--I can’t do anything right.”

I felt my heart breaking for him, wanting to hold him as close as possible. I absolutely hated seeing Harry like this. “H, what’s wrong? Please talk to me.”

“I’ve been feeling really fucking shitty for the past few weeks,” he said slowly. “Like a little before the whole Liv thing. I’m just so tired, you know?”

“What do you mean by that?” I asked. “Like, are you unhappy?”

“I’m not unhappy,” he shook his head. “It’s not like I’m depressed and I don’t want to live anymore. It’s not like that. I think I’m just tired and bored. You know? I spent so long with Darcy. Years upon years thinking she was the one and she’s fucking not, Blair. And I know how you feel about this stuff. It’s not important to you, but it’s important to me. Do you know how fucking scary it is to think you had this sure thing and then you realize not only was it temporary, but it’s also not even what your heart wanted?

“And I think about, like, how I spent so long with this one person and I wasted all that time, which I could have been using to find the right one. Not the wrong one. And time’s a fucking ticking bomb lately. I’m going to graduate from uni in a few short months. And I don’t know what to do. What do I fucking do?”

I stroked his back soothingly, hoping it would relax him, while worrying my bottom lip between my teeth. Harry was shaking underneath me and I felt a bit helpless like always. I unwound my scarf and wrapped it around him. Then I took off my beanie and put it over his hair, making sure his ears were covered as well. He didn’t protest, letting me bundle him up.

“So, what are you feeling now?” I asked him once I was done.

“Flat,” he replied. “Like, it’s all weird and I’d rather fast forward to when all of this is done and every aspect of my life is figured out.”

“Oh.”

Harry looked at me with a knowing smirk on his lips. “You don’t agree with me.”

“No, no…,” I started to say, but trailed off when Harry shot me another knowing look. I sighed, admitting defeat, and shrugged. “It’s just, I’ve heard that life’s a climb, but the view is great.”

Harry sat still for a moment, taking in what I’d said. He then let out a breath and turned back to me. “I’m pretty sure that’s Hannah Montana, Blair.”

“I know it’s Hannah Montana,” I huffed, slapping him on the arm when he started laughing. “But do you get why I said that? You want to skip ahead to when you’ve graduated, you’ve got a job and you’ve found the one. What about the in between? Don’t you want to see how you get there? Like, the good times with your friends in between now and graduation. When you get the call for your first official post graduation job. The moment you meet the one. Life's a constant climb because you’re always going to be working towards something. It’s the climb that matters and will matter the most. Not the end point.”

“I don’t like this uncertainty, though,” Harry said sadly. “I don’t like being alone. I like having someone. I like holding someone’s hand and calling them mine. It’s nice to me.”

I pursed my lips and tried not to be too endeared at his hopeless romantic-ness. “You can have all of that.”

“I did,” he shrugged. “Turned out she wasn’t even the one. Now, she’s just an ex. I want my soul mate, Blair. I remember growing up and every story my mum told me, the prince found his princess so easily. And it sounded great, like they were always happy, and nothing ever got in the way. It was perfect and I want that. I don’t want to waste my time on people that aren’t her. I don’t want to live with uncertainty.”

“The whole point of soul mates is that you find your way to each other, even if you’re on different ends of the earth,” I said.

“What if I don’t find her or she doesn’t find me?” Harry asked me. “What if by some freak mistake we miss each other and I have to wait another ten, fifteen years before I see her again?”

“You don’t know that.”

“I kind of do. Like, my mum for example,” he said. “She married my dad and they had a great few years together, but they got separated, and now they’re both married to different people. They weren’t each other’s soul mates. But they spent years together thinking that they were, making all these commitments to each other. I’m so scared of that. I don’t want to go through that, too. It tore my mum apart. I remember her crying when it happened and I also remember being ten years old and crawling into her bed every night to make sure to tell her that I love her, hoping it was enough until her real prince came along.”

“Harry,” I couldn’t help but coo in a sad way, taking his empty hand in mine. “That’s really sweet.”

He chuckled, squeezing my hand in his. “It was, but it was also sad. It took her years to find Robin, my step dad. She’s so unbelievably happy now and I hope he is the real one for her. It’s sort of how I felt after Darcy and I broke up. I felt like I wasted so much time and now I don’t know how much longer I have to wait. I saw my mother date a few men here and there, but I could see that it wore on her when things never worked out. She didn’t like the whole dating aspect of it. She wanted to find the one just as much as I do.”

“So, what’s bringing this all on?” I asked him. “Were you--were you hoping Liv was the one?”

He shook his head and then shrugged. “Not really, but I don’t know at the same time. I just--like I said, I’m scared that I’m running out of time. That I won’t find the one and I’ll end up alone for the rest of my life. Darcy’s gone and that’s that. Liv couldn’t even like me like that. Like, what’s wrong with me, Blair? Am I that bad?”

“You’re not bad at all,” I cried. “Please don’t think or say that.”

“Then what else could it be?” he pleaded. “I’m so confused and scared.”

“Forget Darcy and Liv. You’re going to meet so many people in your life. And some of them you’ll love for little while, but then one day you’re going to find someone who you will love for the rest of your life. It’s going to be great and it will happen. You will find someone, I promise.”

“What now, then?” he asked. “What do I do? Where do I look?”

“You don’t have to actively search for her, Harry,” I said slowly. “You’re so young. You’ve got plenty of time, trust me. In all my experiences, I’ve learned that life changes so quickly that you don’t notice. In a year, who knows, you might find the one or you might still be searching. Right now, though, you have to just enjoy what you have.”

“You mean just stay single?”

I laughed, nodding my head. “Stay so fucking single. You’re in a frat and there are so many girls who would throw themselves at you if they knew you were interested. Think of all the pussy you can get.”

Harry snorted, covering his mouth, and looking at me with twinkling eyes. “I have never done that.”

“Have sex with randoms?” I asked.

He nodded.

“I don’t really do that either, but you can give it a shot. A lot of people love it. It could totally work,” I said. “I’ll be your wingman. I will help you score the best ladies and you will get laid and that will be your only concern. You don’t have to worry about finding the one, the one will find you.”

“That was very profound,” Harry laughed. “Who knew you were such a philosopher?”

“I try to bring out my best when I’m with you.”

“I’m glad.”

“I’m serious, though, about what I said. Please don’t worry about all this right now. You’re such a great guy. You’re very cute and handsome. You have a heart of gold and I think you’re amazing. I don’t doubt that anyone else will think otherwise either. And hey, you’ve had a good time with Darcy, right?”

He nodded, seeming a bit awestruck by what I was saying. “Yeah, I did.”

“Think of how much fun you had with her, how much you loved the wrong one. And now just imagine how much you’re going to love the right one. How much better it will be and that’s the exciting part of it all. That some of your best and happiest moments are coming.”

It could have been the effect of the streetlights, but I almost thought Harry was going to start crying with the way his eyes were glistening. He looked choked up and so much lighter than how he did when we’d gotten there.

“Can I hug you?” he managed to breathe out with a smile. I nodded my head, jumping off the car, and then being engulfed in Harry’s arms as he gave me the tightest hug possible. I laughed, swaying with his body from side to side.

“You’re crushing me,” I mumbled.

“I fucking love you,” he replied instead. “I love you so much. You’re honestly one of my best friends.”

I smiled, holding on tighter with my arms around his neck, tucking my face in the junction between his shoulder and neck. “You, too.”

“And I don’t think I want to ever stop hugging you,” he said. “I love hugging you. It makes me feel so good, B. Like everything’s okay and I’m okay.”

“Everything is okay,” I repeated. “You’re more than okay. I’ve got you. I’m here for you.”

Harry slowly leaned back at arm's length, locking eyes with me. He was smiling, looking completely taken and I felt him rest his forehead on mine. It was quiet, just the two of us breathing for a few seconds and then he kissed me on the corner of my lip, pulling away after.

I looked at him, a bit confused, but brushed it off. It was probably just a kiss on the cheek gone too close to the mouth.

“So, this whole wingman thing,” he said.

“Yes?”

“How does that work?”

“It’s a great deal of work, but with your charming personality and cute dimples, we might get lucky.”

“Oh, do tell me more,” he laughed, leaning back against the car.

“Let’s do it inside somewhere,” I said. “My nipples are frozen.”

Harry let out another barking laugh, throwing his head back. “Wanna go back to your place?” he asked. “I can stay over and maybe Liv will catch us again.”

“You’re ruthless,” I laughed, getting into the car with my half empty coffee cup.

“I just missed fucking with her head,” he replied, getting into the driver’s seat. “Was fun. Glad I can do it again.”



It was Niall’s idea to do a pub crawl on a Thursday night.

The following Friday, all classes were cancelled due to snow, and everyone was buzzing from the prospect of a longer weekend. At first it was just a few of us doing the pub crawl within the university area, but then we found out that a few of the guys from Theta Chi wanted to come as well. When we’d reached the first bar, the place was packed with students.

“I heard kids from other uni’s are here,” Liam told me as we entered to find a booth. “They’ve got no class tomorrow as well.”

“Well shit,” Layla muttered. “Was hoping to not have crowds tonight.”

“Scared you’ll bump into someone you know?” Liam chuckled.

“There’s your ex, Liam,” I pointed to a random direction. Liam snapped his head that way, almost getting whiplash, and scowled when he realized I was joking. I laughed giddily, following the others where Niall had managed to snag us a booth. I sat down between Harry and Niall, Layla sitting across from us while Liv was on the other side of Harry.

The two of them seemed just as normal as they had been before and during their little “dating” venture. It was good, especially for the group, because no one wanted any awkwardness. Thankfully, there didn’t seem to be because when I looked over, I saw the two of them talking animatedly about the new Hunger Games movie in theaters.

“So, everyone good with beer?” Niall asked, getting up. We all nodded, a few of us humming in response. Niall turned on his heel and walked towards the bar, chatting with a few people on the way. He came back a few minutes later with two pitchers and glasses, serving us all.

It was all fine until Layla spit out her drink all over the table. Everyone turned to look at her because she looked as pale as a ghost.

“You alright?” Liv asked her, concern etched on her face.

“My ex is here,” she said, sinking down in her seat until she was barely visible to anyone who wasn’t sitting with us.

“Which one?” I asked, turning around to look around at the bar.

“How many have you had?” Niall asked, trying to sound casual, but curiosity and jealousy dripping from his voice.

“It’s Charles,” Layla squeaked, ignoring Niall.

“Oh no,” Liv groaned. “I fucking hated him.”

“Same,” I wrinkled my nose when I sat back down after having spotted him. He always looked like such a douche lord.

“You dated someone named Charles?” Niall asked, still too curious. “He sounds like a car salesman.”

“Play it cool, Ni,” Louis reminded him before turning back to Layla. “What does he look like?”

Layla bit her lip and took a long sip of her drink before replying. “He’s in a brown oxford sweater by the bar.”

Louis turned to look and started to laugh. “He’s literally wearing an oxford sweater to a pub crawl? Are those dress slacks? What the fuck? Where does he go?”

“Oxford,” Layla replied. “Which is why I’m confused as to why he’s here. That’s an hour away.”

“He kind of looks like Harry with blond hair,” Liam remarked after getting a good look. “Kind of douchey.”

“Excuse me, Liam,” Harry retorted, with an offended expression. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing bad, I swear,” Liam laughed even though Harry still looked mad.

“That’s him?” Niall asked, finally braving a peek after drinking his beer rather bitterly for a while. “He looks so pretentious.”

“He is,” Liv told them. “He’s a pre-med major and thinks he’s the smartest shit in the whole world. And he’s rude.”

“Just ignore him,” I told Layla. “As long as he hasn’t seen you, he won’t try and approach you.”

“We need to leave,” Layla said. “Like five minutes ago.”

“We just got here,” Louis whined. “Plus I’m eyeing the bird by the darts. Want to at least talk to her.”

“Then can I go hide in the loo until then?” Layla asked, laughing nervously.

“Why? Why are you so afraid of him?” Niall frowned.

Layla glared at him. “I’m not afraid. What makes you say that?”

“You want to go hide from a stupid, pretentious douchebag looking mother fucker who wore an oxford sweater to a god damn pub. That’s why I’m saying that.” Layla crossed her arms defensively and stayed slouched where she was sitting.  

Harry cleared his throat so that we were all looking at him again. “I’m feeling a bit offended still since Liam said Charles looks like me with blond hair. Does that mean I also look like a stupid, pretentious douchebag looking mother fucker?”

We all started to laugh, including Layla, hopefully loosening up and not letting Charles spoil her mood. Niall, Zayn, and Zoe started talking to Layla, distracting her from her ex, while Liam and Louis went over to go talk to a few girls. I looked at Harry and he smiled back.

“Aren’t you going to go and talk to those girls with them?” I asked.

“Me?” Harry asked, looking around to see the girls. They weren’t the most innocent looking ladies. There were four of them, clad in shorts and a big flannel on top with some bras underneath, and their buttons unbuttoned. There was a ton of makeup covering their faces and their hair was styled and flowing with tons of hairspray. “They’re not really my type of girls.”

“Your type of girls?” I sputtered. “Harry, you’re missing the whole point of random hook ups. The girls don’t have to be your type. You’re not going into this for a relationship. You need a girl who is down to fuck.”

Harry’s eyes were wide and a bit intimidated. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” I nodded. “Do you really think that Liam and Louis would date them? Do you think those girls are looking to date?”

“No,” he said slowly. “Maybe later, though. Not those girls. They’re a little scary.”

“Scary?” I laughed.

“They look like the type of girls who would bite dicks.”

“You’re so lucky that I wasn’t in the middle of drinking my beer, otherwise I’d have spit it all over you,” I snorted. Harry laughed with me, eyes crinkling and happy. 



We stayed a bit longer at that pub, finishing our beer. Liam and Louis ended up striking out with the girls. They were a bit too intense for them and we all filed out to head to the next pub when someone called out Layla’s name on our way out. We all turned and sure enough, Charles had spotted her, making his way through the crowd to get to her.

“Here comes your doppelganger,” Liam laughed to Harry.

“Shut up, Payneful Perfection,” Harry bit back. Liam’s smiled wiped right off his face. He had been relentlessly teased about that since we’d discovered the videos thanks to Grimmy. We had been keeping up with the pornstar, quickly becoming fans, and looked out for new videos since we’d seen all the old ones already.

Charles finally reached us and smiled at Layla, who looked like she wanted to puke. “Hey,” he said. “Long time, no see.”

“Yeah,” she said, a poker face expression on her face. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to see a friend who goes to King’s. We came out for this pub crawl that a few students are doing. Didn’t expect to see you here, though.”

“Liv and Blair go to Imperial,” she replied, shortly. “We’re doing the pub crawl, too.”

Charles looked over at us, but didn’t say anything, and instead looked back at Layla. Liv rolled her eyes at that. “You’re leaving, then?” Charles asked.

“To the next pub, yes,” she replied.

“Why does he care?” Niall asked us under his breath. He looked proper mad and I snickered, finding the whole situation rather funny.

“Oh,” Charles said to Layla. “Guess I’ll see you around then.”

Layla didn’t bother saying anything else and turned around to continue walking, her strides fast and long, while Liv and Louis tried catching up with her to make sure she was okay. Niall and Harry walked with me towards the back of the group and Niall immediately turned to me once Charles walked back inside.

“What’s the deal with them?” he asked me, low and hurried.

“Charles and Layla were on and off since like secondary school,” I explained. “He wasn’t always this uptight, but he was always very serious about things like his academics and appearing a certain way. I think that’s the only thing Layla liked about him. The fact that he always was so driven towards school and making something for himself. It was rare to find that especially in our age group where most guys would rather bum around, you know?”

“You said they were on and off?” Niall said, thoughtfully after processing what I’d said.

I nodded. “They dated for a year and then broke up for another three before being on and off for another two. It was sort of messy and Layla lost her virginity to him.”

“Ooo,” Harry said with a fake gossip voice. “Juicy.”

I laughed, shoving him and he laughed back, grabbing my arm and holding it so I couldn’t do hit him again.

“Would you two stop flirting?” Niall asked us seriously before turning to look at me. “You’re joking, right? That douche lord.”

“I’m not,” I shook my head. “She really liked him and they were good for the most part, but he always said things to make her doubt herself. He thought that by doing so he was making her want to be a better person and work on herself, but it wasn’t. It was just lowering her self esteem.”

“I hate that guy,” Niall muttered. “If he tries talking to her again, I might kick him in the face.”

“A pub brawl to end off a great pub crawl,” Harry said, laughing at his rhyming words. I had a feeling he was drunk because he was holding my hand now, fingers entwined. It made me feel rather warm inside. Holding hands has always been such a thing for me. It was so intimate and sweet. The feeling of another person connected with you in such a small, but lovely manner. I quickly shook those thoughts away, however, because Harry was just a friend. And having these weird feelings was not cool. “Are we going to find me a girl at this next pub?”

“You’re looking for girls?” Niall asked Harry.

Harry nodded. “Blair thinks I need to get laid.”

“I second that,” Niall said high fiving me, followed by a fist bump. “I’m definitely helping.”

“To answer your question, Harry,” I said. “If we find a suitable lady, then yes. I will bring out my best wingman skills to get you a snog session and maybe a blowie in the toilets.”

“Every man’s dream,” Harry laughed.

We arrived at the second pub, the group deciding to do a few shots this time around. This place was a little less crowded than the last one, which should have been a good thing. However, it seemed Layla was still not in a better mood, sulking in a booth while Liv tried to console her. The others started playing around with the karaoke machine at the place while Niall, Harry and I were scouring the pub for a suitable girl for Harry.

“What about her?” Niall asked, motioning towards a leggy ginger stood by the pool table. She was a potential candidate, her dress short enough to show her bum if she bent down even the slightest.

“I don’t know about her,” Harry shook his head. “She reminds me of Ed.”

“Every ginger reminds you of Ed,” Niall said, with a shake of his head.

“Didn’t Darcy have red hair?” I asked curiously.

“That was fake,” Harry told me. “It’s naturally brown.”

“Fun fact,” Niall provided, grinning. “Harry didn’t have sex with her for at least two months after she did her hair and he admitted to me that it was the red that was turning him off.”

“Niall,” Harry cried, glaring at his roommate. “I told you that in confidence.”

I burst out laughing, leaning against the counter. “You’re terrible. What then? Blondes? Brunettes?”

“Blondes are definitely hot,” Harry smirked at me.

I bit my lip and played along, pulling him in by his collar. Harry grinned, leaning as though he was going to kiss me until Niall started gagging beside us.

“Please tell me you’re not going to do this in front of me,” he groaned. Harry looked at me, laughing before tugging me closer and sticking his head in the crook of my neck, pretending to make out with me. Niall let out another groan before walking away from us. Harry pulled away laughing and looked at me sheepishly.

I smiled at him, stabbing my pointer finger into Harry’s chest so he would move back a little and I could properly look at him. “You’re so drunk.”

“I am a little drunk,” he said, still grinning.

I laughed, sticking my finger in his dimple. “See any blondes you like.”

“Yeah,” he grinned, leaning closer to me.

“Harry,” I groaned, not being able to stop laughing. “Help.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll be serious,” he said. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked around the room. His eyes eventually landing on some blond stood by the bar a few feet away from us. “What about her?”

I looked over at her properly. She looked nice, very pretty, wearing a pair of black jeans and a white top. She also had a ton of makeup on her face, but it worked. I nodded, turning to Harry before, walking over with him.

“Can I get a Jager Bomb shooter,” I heard her ask as we approached. I stood next to her with Harry on my other side.

“Strong,” I laughed. She turned to me and smiled, nodding her head.

“It’s just one of those nights,” she said with a smile.

“Totally get you,” I replied. “Can we do the shots with you? We could use some of those as well.”

She looked over at me properly before her eyes landed on Harry, staying there for a moment longer than usual. Bingo.

“Yeah,” she smiled.

“I’m Blair,” I said to her. “This is Harry.”

“Hi,” she replied. “I’m Brooke.”

“Do you go to Imperial?” I asked.

She nodded. “My sorority is doing a pub crawl tonight.”

“Ah,” I nodded. “Harry’s in a frat, actually. Theta Chi.”

“Oh, yeah,” she smiled. “I’ve been to a few parties there.”

“They’re great, right? Harry DJ’s sometimes. Sick taste in music.”

“What are you into?” she asked him.

“Um,” Harry mumbled, thinking. “I like a bit of everything. I don’t actually DJ, but I do make a lot playlists to play during the parties. I’ll always put a mix of rap, a bit of R&B. If I can find a good dubstep mix of rock or pop songs, then I’m set because those always put everyone in a good mood.”

Brooke smiled, her interest peaking more and more. The shots were placed in front of them and I cheered, clinking everyone’s glasses together before downing it. When I put my glass down,  I saw Brooke and Harry had edged a bit closer to each other and had picked back up their conversation about music, so I slowly extricated myself from there and walked back to my friends. Zayn and Liam were up on the makeshift stage, dueting on “Holy Grail” while Louis and Zoe drunkenly danced with their pints up in the air.

I sat down beside Liv, noticing Niall and Layla talking on the opposite end of the booth quietly. “What’s going on there?” I whispered to Liv.

“Niall’s been talking to her and she’s been super chilled out about it. He noticed she was still upset and I think he’s trying to cheer her up.”

“Are they actually getting along?”

Liv nodded, eyes wide and surprised. “Where’s Harry?”

“I played a bit of wingman and got him talking to this girl,” I replied, gesturing over to the bar. We both looked over to see it was still going wonderfully. The girl was definitely down to hook up and it helped that Harry had some liquid courage to get the charming aspect of his personality to come out to flirt with her.

Liam and Zayn had just finished their duet and were thinking of what to sing next.

“Do Drake,” Louis screamed at them. “Sing “Hold On We’re Going Home” and then grope each other on stage.”

Liv and I burst out laughing, cheering them on. They did end up doing the cover and a lot of people actually listened and danced along. There were a ton of groping on stage between the boys and when they finished, everyone was cheering them on loudly with claps and whistles. I stood up on my booth chair with Liv, screaming our lungs off for them. While standing up, I noticed Harry and Brooke walking into one of the toilets. He turned to look at me and shot me a wink and a big grin.

I shot him a thumbs up back before turning to look at the stage. Liam and Zayn were getting off and looked extremely smug at how much attention they’d garnered. Then Niall and Layla walked up on stage and we were all so confused, watching as they sat down on two stools.

“My friend Layla and I are going to sing you lot a tune,” Niall said into the microphone.

“His friend Layla,” Liv smirked.

I laughed, cheering them on as the beginning notes of “Chocolate” by the 1975 started to play. It wasn’t surprising that Layla sounded good, but what was surprising was how good Niall and Layla sounded together. Their voices meshed well and they carried the song like champs. Liv and I were basically table top dancing, screaming along to the lyrics, or at least the ones that we actually knew.

When they finished, everyone cheered and clapped again. The two of them took a bow and the whole group got back to our booth after Liv and I managed to climb down from there. Harry came out of the toilets as well, looking flushed and smug.

I gave him a look as he sat down beside me and I raised an eyebrow, questioningly. He leaned in close to my ear. “We made out and she sucked me off.”

“Nice,” I commented with a grin. “You happy?”

“Yeah,” he shrugged. “Was nice.”

“Good,” I said. “Next pub, we’ll get you some numbers for when you need a booty call.”

“Can’t wait,” he grinned. 



We went to about two more bars before heading to the last one for the night. Harry got at least five to ten numbers from each bar and a few girls even made comments on how they’d been wondering when Harry would be single and whether he was into hooking up. It seemed that before Harry was appearing less than available at most parties so no girls ever bothered chatting him up. Now that that was cleared up and Harry was clearly on the market again, they’d been talking to him more than usual.

By the time we got to the last pub, I was super drunk and just tired. I decided to skip out on drinks, instead resting my head on Layla’s shoulder as she talked to the others.

“Oh god,” Niall said, turning to look at the door.

“What happened?” Liv asked.

“The lads from UCL just walked in,” Niall replied. “You know, the ones who are on the footie team? We hate them. They’re our biggest rivals.”

“Sounds a bit dramatic,” Layla said. “It’s only football.”

“It’s not just football,” Niall replied haughtily. “It goes deeper than that.”

I quirked my eyebrow looking over at the five normal looking guys that walked in. It was then that I noticed Louis look up from where he was stood at the bar with Liam and Zayn. The three of them smirked amongst each other, glancing over at the boys from UCL.

Harry slid down in his seat beside me. “I’m scared.”

“Why?” I asked, curious. “What’s about to happen?”

“Max George, over there,” Niall pointed out. “He used to hit on Zoe a lot, despite knowing that she was dating Zayn. And then he also hooked up with a girl Louis was seeing, although that was no strings attached, it was still fucked up. And during a football game once, they got into an actual brawl. Full on fist fighting.”

Liv gasped, her eyes wide. “Are they going to fight now?”

“I hope not,” Harry muttered. “Hopefully it’s just banter and nothing more.”

We all watched as Max walked by with his friends and nodded towards Zoe. Zoe looked uncomfortable for the most part, trying to hide as much as possible behind Zayn. Zayn snorted, looking at Max. “Ever heard of the term not interested?”

Max stopped walking and his friends stood beside him. “Just some flirting, mate. No big.”

“Clearly, you’re not familiar with how flirting works,” Zayn remarked. “If she doesn’t flirt back, you stop, yeah? If you continue, then it’s just annoying. Plus, she’s got someone already. And it’s not your ugly mug.” Zayn turned back around and looked like he was done, but then turned back around again. “By the way, caught that video of yours going viral all over Twitter. The one of you naked and dancing to Psy. Funny, that was. Geek of the week, innit? The first step is acceptance.”

“Is this you initiating me into the club?” Max asked him, chuckling.

“I’m not sure why you’re still standing here, mate,” Zayn laughed, drinking his beer. “The conversation ended when I called you a geek.”

“That’s not very nice,” Max tutted. “Heard you and Payne over here did a bit of singing a few hours ago. Gutted I missed your breakout R&B performance.”

“Shut the fuck up, George,” Liam rolled his eyes as Max made a mocking puppy face at him.

Tom, one of Max’s mates, stepped in then, directing his comment at Zayn. “Nice hair, by the way. Digging the ponytail. Miss the stripe, though.” Over at the table, we all widened our eyes at the mention of Zayn’s old bleached streak of hair he had a few months ago.

Zayn laughed. “Mate, if I had a face like yours, my hair would be the last thing I’d worry about.”

“One stripe obviously got his knickers in a twist,” Tom laughed. “Not surprising coming from the Bradford bad boy.”

“Pipe down, bad boy,” Louis warned, giving him a leveled look. Tom put up his hands in surrender and backed away. Louis just looked bored.

“You guys are so good at talking shit,” Zayn started. “Ever thought of taking that energy and time and putting it into practice for the pitch? How many games have you lost this season? One, two, all of them?”

Max tutted again, looking at Zayn. “You’re a bit cranky, mate. Lay off the bud, maybe? Not nice.”

“Thanks for the advice, chlamydia boy. Done talking all this shit, though. I’m a bit bored,” Zayn rolled his eyes, laughing and turning towards Zoe.

“If anyone’s talking shit, it’s you, innit?” Tom asked. “Heard you guys were running your mouth at the Liverpool game.”

“Where the fuck do you get your information?” Louis asked, not being able to help himself.

“You very well know what I’m talking about. Liverpool game last month. Heard from them you lot were talking shit about us during the after party. You that upset you didn’t make it on our team, Tommo?”

“First of all,” Louis snapped. “Don’t call me Tommo. Second of all, we both know I wouldn’t waste my time trying out for your shit team. You humor me with your bad boy persona.”

“Wouldn’t want your shit talent on our team anyhow,” Tom bit back. “Saw that video of you throwing up on the pitch. Great work.”

“Couldn’t have enjoyed it more than I enjoyed watching you cry on the field when you lost to us in fucking Manchester. A bit of a sore loser, are we? I actually think you’re the biggest twat on your team.”

“This is getting so good,” Liv breathed. “I’m on the edge of my seat.”

“Same,” I mumbled back.

“Oh and Max,” Louis said, smiling over at the other boy. “I never got to ask you, but you hooked up with Freya, right?”

Max smirked. “You jealous, mate? Heard from her it wasn’t serious.”

“No, no,” Louis shook his head. “Not serious at all. I was just wondering, yeah? How does my dick taste?”

Our entire table erupted in cheers and laughter at that. It was then that Max started to get closer to Zayn, looking like he actually wanted to hit him, when Niall and Harry shot right out of their seats to stand between them.

“Let it go, bro,” Niall told him. “Don’t make it more than a scene than it needs to be.”

“Do I have to fight you tossers to get through to Tiny Tim over there?” Tom spat.

“As long as I’m standing in the way,” Harry said with a leveled smirk. “You’re not going to lay a damn finger on any of my mates. We’ll settle this on the pitch. Just walk away.”

It seemed that the boys were trying to control themselves, eventually backing away, but not without flipping us off first. We took that as our cue to leave, the lot of us walking out into the cold. As soon as they were outside, everyone started to laugh and hug each other, making plans to head back home and grab some hot chocolate to end off the night.