I open the door to our suite and find all of the girls crammed in the living area.

“What’s up?” I make my way over to sit by Eliza who has a giant piece of paper laid out in front of her on the table. It looks like a map or blueprints.

“I’m sketching out the layout of the building we have so far,” she looks up at me. “You have your hallway layout, right?”

I nod and place my papers into her charcoal dust covered fingers.

She takes a piece of charcoal and starts getting to work on mapping out my portion.

“The square footage that we have is relatively small compared to the look of the building on the outside, so I know we’re missing a lot of floor space,” Eliza sweeps her hand across the neat drawing. “The hallways never connect, thus the elevators at each corner of the building. Inside the elevators there are 8 buttons on the panel.”

“So we just use the elevators to get to other parts?” Sara asks.

“Well the problem is that the buttons don’t have any labels whatsoever,” April states.

“That doesn’t mean we can’t go anywhere though, right?” Amelia asks.

“I tried using it and nearly had a panic attack,” Eliza sighs. “When you press the button a little needle pricks you as your finger touches it. I’m assuming that it only takes the boys’ blood because the elevator started filling up with water…”

She has to stop and breathe deeply in and out.

“She has a fear of water,” Sara whispers to me.

“Miraculously, Zayn,” Eliza’s face scrunches like she has tasted something bitter as she says his name, “needed to use the elevator and the doors opened before the water got to my waist. Needless to say he was very mad and we probably shouldn’t try that again.”

And that’s when I notice a slight bruise on the side of her face.

“What’s that?” Amelia point to the bottle I’m twisting in my hands.

“Oh, it’s a lotion that Louis gave me,” I explain. “It makes your burns feel a lot better.”

Everyone is silent.

“So you’re pretty close with Louis?” April casually asks as she inspects her nails.

“Well,” I stutter. “We – we’re not like close. He’s been really nice, you guys.”

“It’s better not to get emotionally attached if we’re going to get out of here,” April’s black eyes pierce through mine.

“Hey,” Sara defends me. “Louis is not like the other boys. He hasn’t tried to have sex with me at all. So what if she has feelings for him?”

“I’m not –” I start.

“Hold it, girls,” Eliza holds up her hands. “This could be beneficial. He could get us through the Annapola easily.”

The Annapola is the name of the giant metropolis that is reserved for the rich and famous. It’s basically a giant piece of land covered in lavish buildings that house the people that can afford the worth of their lives.

Her mischievous look makes me uncomfortable.

“I’ve noticed he’s given you a book before, yes?” she smiles and crosses her arms. I give a small nod. “He’s particularly fond of you… in due time he’d probably do anything for you.”

“Well, I don’t know –” my throat is dry.

“Make him trust you,” Eliza orders. “He needs to feel completely secure, so we might need to wait a year, give or take.”

“A year?” April is exasperated.

“This needs to work perfectly,” Eliza says roughly.

“Guys, guys!” I tiredly run a hand through my hair. “I’m not doing this. I refuse to become like those boys who also manipulate people. I’m not stooping down to that level.”

April gives me a glare.

The rest are in pensive states.

“She’s right,” Amelia pipes up. “We shouldn’t get emotionally involved anyway. We just need to do this on our own. It’s the only way we can be completely sure we are safe.”

“We can’t take any chances involving other people,” April shrugs. “Yeah, I guess you have a point there.”

I breathe out a sigh of relief.

“It’s almost 8,” Amelia’s eyes are watery. I gently rub her back.

“It’s going to be okay,” I try to reassure her.

“No,” she replies. “No it’s not.”

Without another word, we all make our way to our masters’ bedrooms. I turn the knob of Harry’s door and enter to find that he’s in the bathroom showering.

Curtains at the far side of the room catch a breeze and my attention.

The plethora of buildings around us is beginning to light up the dark that has just seeped in. Looking down at the streets from the balcony reveals all of the flashy parties going on in the numerous mansions. The city scape is truly beautiful with all of the neon signs, distant fireworks, and the lights of building dotting the skyline like diamonds and rubies. The Annapola is like a giant party all the time. Drunken people stumble across walkways and streets and into houses with even more booze. The bright lights almost distract you from the cement wall that surrounds the Annapola. Barbed wire embroiders the top keeping out the poor and desperate souls who try to get in.

“Skyline’s beautiful in’t it,” the sound of Harry’s voice startles me.

“Almost makes you forget about the dying people out there,” my sarcastic smile doesn’t seem to affect him in the least bit.

“People die every day,” he moves closer.

“Aren’t you a ray of sunshine?” I let out a short, sharp laugh.

“I can’t say the same about you,” he raises his eyebrows. “What makes you hate me so much?”

“Are you seriously asking me that right now?” it’s my turn to raise my eyebrows. “Other than the fact that you’re forcing innocent girls to have sex with you?”

“Actually there are thousands of girls that would be more than willing to have sex with me,” he smirks.

“You’re… impossible,” I turn back to the window in exasperation.

The ego of this one is too strong to handle. The audacity to even -

“Aren’t you cold?” his body is just barely against mine and it spreads warmth through my body. But I don’t want his warmth. His lips find their way to my neck and trail up underneath my jawline. I try to convince myself that I hate the feeling, but it feels so good. My head automatically tilts back in response to his nibbling on my neck, for sure to leave bruises. His hands run down my body and it’s only until his hand starts slipping down the front of my shorts that I slightly pull away. His hands tightly hold my body against his.

“Admit it,” his deep voice growls against my ear. “You secretly like it. You like the chills that run down your back. You like the guilty feeling in your stomach that makes you want more.”

And I hate myself because that’s exactly how I feel. But I can’t let him know that.

He releases me abruptly and I turn to see that he is already at the door. He opens it.

“Go,” he orders, staring me straight in the eyes with that smirk playing across his face. “I have a press meeting in 15 minutes. No time for fun.”

I glare at the floor as I walk out.

Fuck Harry Styles. Fuck his fucking smirk and his fucking hair and his fucking voice. Fuck him.

Fuck feeling anything whatsoever.

Nevertheless, I start making my way to Louis’ by habit.

Notes

Things are heating up oooh. Hope you gems enjoyed the chapter. Comment what you think! Thank you for reading and staying with me through the longest time. :)
~christi ellie
P.S. As you know I don't entirely like One Direction's music, but I listened to their song "Rock Me" and I must admit I do kinda maybe sort of like it. :3 Just because I like the guitar. So yeah, just thought I should let y'all know. :p