Sophia's POV-
I looked around for an escape, knowing I was about to watch the worst fight in history. Part of me wanted to try and comfort Louis, keep him calm for Harry's sake. But part of me was way too entertained to NOT watch this play out. I sat down on the couch and patted the seat next to me for Perrie.

"Lou... it was one time.... I know family is off limits. It was a mistake."

Lottie's face turned into a cross between shock and anger, "REALLY NOW HARRY. ONE TIME? MISTAKE?"

"Lottie that's not what I meant." Harry attempted to explain.

Perrie stood up and intervened. "Okay children, we're going to sort this out."

"No! Let me explain this the way it actually happened considering Harry wants to dumb it down.
We've been hooking up whenever he's home for the last 6 months. He told me he was falling in love with me..." Lottie cried.

Louis' anger was flowing out of every orifice of his being, "Then why have you been sleeping around! With my sister! On my sister! You almost got her pregnant! She's 16! You're my best mate!"

Harry stood up and tried to walk towards Louis, "I know it was a mistake I don't know what I was thinking."

In one split second, everything escalated. Louis knocked Harry in the jaw and stormed out of the room.

I groaned and stood up, "I'll talk to him."



I ran down the hallway, "Louis, wait!"

He stopped running and turned around, "You knew?! You just picked her up and said 'Oh Harry may have gotten you pregnant? Eh whatever don't worry about it we don't have to tell Louis' I can't believe this. This is low Sophia, even for you."

"First off, I had NO idea Harry was the guy she was talking about. She called me in hysterics last night begging me to come and get here. What did you want me to do? Tell her 'Sorry Lottie I should probably tell your brother that you're NOT pregnant?' Get a fucking grip Louis."

I could see the annoyance in his eyes and I knew I had won the argument.

"You're such a bitch."

I smirked, "Keep your cool Lou, wouldn't want someone to see you sweat. I know you hate looking weak."

He just sort of stood there. I guess I caught him off guard which has always been my favorite thing to do, "You can go back to storming off now."

"Fuck you Sophia"



I walked back into Perrie and Zayn's flat to see Harry and Zayn sitting on the couch talking. "Hi Zayn" I said sweetly.

"Hi Soph, Perrie and Lottie are in our bedroom if you wanna go talk to them."

I sat down next to Harry and rested my hand on his knee, "It's fine, I kind of want to see how you're doing."

He shrugged, "I don't know honestly. I can't fix this Soph. Lottie hates me. Lou hates me. I can't fix one without totally ruining the other."

I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder, "I think you're wrong. Be honest with the both of them. It'll work out." I kissed his head and went into Perrie's room to check on Lottie but Perrie met me in the hallway.

"She's taking a nap. She barely got any sleep and she's exhausted and upset. How's Lou?" She asked.

"Still an asshole!" I snorted.
She looked at me with complete disappointment, "Sophie... play nice."

I rolled my eyes and grabbed my purse off of the counter, "Call me when Lottie wakes up" and with that, I left.

---

Tonight Max and I had plans with my mother for dinner. We were going to our country club and honestly, I was ready for it to be over before it had even begun. The country club is a constant reminder of how normal life used to be. Before mom and dad got a divorce, before I dropped out of highschool to pursue the hundreds of dreams I would never fulfill, and long before Max George was Max George from The Wanted. It was nice, homey, everyone knew us and we knew everyone. I had avoided that place for three whole years but of course, mom wanted to show off her pop star son and her daughter who is dating a pop star. Well, WAS dating a pop star.

We pulled up in front of the club and Marshall, the valet man took Max's keys.
"Miss. Sophia, Mr. Max, it's a pleasure to see you two! It's been awhile, yeah?"

I smiled and nodded.
"Yeah mate it has! Is our mum here yet?" Max asked.

"She is. I'm sure she's sitting at the bar." I snorted and remembered why I used to love it here so much.



We walked into the club and it was as if they had frozen time. Everything looked exactly the same. Same furniture, same artwork, same paint, same people. I held Max's arm and looked up at him sheepishly. He gave me a reassuring squeeze before walking me over to our mum. She was sitting at the bar talking to two women, both around her age. They all had martinis in their hands, probably laughing about something petty and worthless, but 'hilarious' none the less.

"Oh darlings! You're here! I'd like you to meet Ms. Paige and Ms. Rosevelt, from my book club."

I took note of the MS names. Divorced, living off of the settlement money from their exhusbands (Or their trustfunds), most likely bitter, and drinking at a bar on a tuesday night. The class of high society London is at an all time high, I swear it.
I knew better than to say or even show any of these feelings out loud. So, I did what I had been taught.

"It's such a pleasure to meet you both, my mother has told us wonderful things. I love your dress by the way!" I gestured to MS. Rosevelt. My mum always said the longer the name, the higher the status. Compliment them first.

"Oh Sophia it is wonderful to meet you too! And Emilia, you didn't tell me your daughter had such fabulous taste!"

My mom shot me a look of approval before turning to Max, "And this is my handsome son Max."

He kissed both of their hands, "I refuse to believe you're friends of my mother, you look much too young."

He had always shined in the ass kissing department so I gladly retreated back into my shell of denial and hatred for all things high society.


I spaced out of the conversation, recognizing a familiar face sitting at the table in the corner. I smiled when I heard him laugh. He hadn't changed. Still angelic, still gorgeous, still rich, still a mommas boy. He was sitting with his mum, probably chatting about how amazing Oxford is and how law school is a breeze. He had always been smart, much smarter than me. He was a great guy, so nice, captain of the football team, mathalete. I had loved him. Very much. He was the good boy that I so wanted to turn bad, but instead he turned me good. Well almost.

I had been reminiscing so long I hadn't even noticed my family being escorted over to the table...Directly next to his. I took a deep breath and pushed my shoulders back, walking tall and proud behind them. I sat with my back to him, knowing if I didn't he'd catch me staring.

"Oh my goodness Lillian Archibald! It's been too long!" My mother cooed, kissing both of her cheeks. I looked over at Max, hoping he would save me from this long awaited nightmare. But he just stared, confused and lost.

"Sophia dear, don't you want to say hello to Connor?" My mother asked hopefully.

NO PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME.

"Of course mum! Connor, hello. It's been what? Three years?" I asked aimlessly.

"I think it's been almost four. You look great Sophie" He grinned. Yup, definitely still gorgeous.

"Sophia, why don't you two go and catch up!" My mum prodded.

"No no it's fine mum. I'm here to have dinner with you remember?"

She smiled and held my hand, "don't be silly, I'd like to catch up with Lillian anyway." She beamed.


Of course, my mum would invite me and Max to dinner just to show us off and then shoo us
away when she was finished with it. Typical. I looked over at Connor and he extended his arm to me. I reluctantly took it and he lead me out to the terrace. It overlooked all the front 9. It was a pretty view, but with this company, it doesn't really matter. I felt myself feeling less and less timid. Less angry. Less bitchy. Less 'bad'. I just felt, me.

"SoRi, it's been awhile, yeah?" He asked. I giggled at the nick name he made up for me freshman year of highschool. He called it my alter ego. The world where I was actually a straight A student who wanted to go to Yale in the states and study medicine and go to dinner parties and turn into my mother.

"God Archibald I thought I killed that nickname a long time ago." I responded.

"Yeah well, old habits die hard" I wasn't really sure what to say. Where to start. So like any reasonable person would do, I started at the worse possible point.

"How's Holly." I asked numbly.

"Well, we broke up a year and a half ago. You really didn't like her did you?" He asked laughing at my clear struggle to even say her name out loud.

"Connor come on! that girl was the worst. We all knew it. Well all of us except for you that is." I grinned. Holly was really dumb. Came from tons of money. New money. The kind of money that doesn't know what to do with itself. Where as most of us from around here come from old money. Money that had been around for generations.

"Oh come on she wasn't that bad! What about Richard? That little arse you dated freshman year. He was such a prick!" I laughed, remembering how I called Connor crying about how Richard Parks took Marisa Callaghan on a date and I was heart broken for weeks.

"Okay okay, he was pretty bad!"


We talked about life and memories for awhile. Reminiscing on all of the great times we had together. I'd sneak out to get drunk in the school yard and he'd have to come get me and take me to school drunk in the morning. I'd drag him to stupid parties and he'd get so out of control I'd have to video tape it for him to believe it. We were like bonnie and clyde. Everyone envied our friendship.

"So tell me about the new boyfriend?" He asked.

I nearly choked on my martini. I mean obviously Connor had heard, but I didn't think it through.

"EX boyfriend actually." I stated.

"Ahh, he couldn't handle it could he?" He said. It made me mad that he knew everything before I could even say it out loud.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" I said, pissed.

"Soph you really need to work on the poker face. Never show your anger to your opponent. Remember? you taught me that when we were like 12. 'Art of War' Are you going soft on me?!"
He asked, pretending to be shocked.

I tried to hold back my laughter but failed. Connor knew me better than I knew myself. I really missed him.

"I could never. But yes, me and Louis broke up. If I told you all the reasons, we would be here all night." He nodded and gave me a look of pure pity.

"You love him don't you?"

The comment definitely took me back.

"Uh... what?" I responded.

"Don't try to hide it Soph! I know that face. When you light up saying his name. Even if it's only for a split second."

I twirled my empty drink around on the arm of the deck chair.

"Yeah, I guess so. Never told him though."

"Of course you didn't. You're Sophia George!" He said it as if that was the answer to anything I did or didn't do. And I guess to him it was. It was all he needed. He didn't have to have an explanation. He knew what and why I did things before I did them.

"I missed you Connor" I said, hoping to mend the bridge I so willingly burned.

He looked down at his feet and pushed his fingers through his hair.

"Why'd you leave Soph." He asked.

"I told you I didn't feel good, too much vodka-" He cut me off.

"Not the prom. You went home and packed your bags and shipped off the next day. Never even let me say goodbye. I was there when you left highschool, I was there when your dad left, I was there when Max left for the X factor. I was ALWAYS there. Why was the last time so different?"
I had been avoiding this conversation for a very long time, but there was no running at this point.

"I was always the one leaving Connor, that's why it was so easy. It was up to me. You were leaving for Harvard. I couldn't say goodbye. I would've tried to make you stay. I couldn't do that to you.."

He grabbed my hands and squeezed them reassuringly.

"I wanted you to make me stay Sophia. I wanted you to push me towards Oxford. I never even left England! I stayed anyway, hoping you'd come back to me. But you never did."

I was not going to cry in front of Connor, I couldn't. Not like this.

"I have to go." I stood up to leave but he grabbed my hand and pulled me into his chest.

"You weren't scared of me leaving, you were scared of me STAYING. You knew where our relationship was headed and that scared the shit out of you. Admit it."

Looking into his deep brown eyes, I wanted to lie. SO badly. But I couldn't.

"I know."


That's all it took. Two words. He kissed me, hard. I could feel my heart pounding and my head spinning. Everything I had wanted was right in front of me. But that was the problem. It's what I wanted four years ago. Not now. Now I was wishing I was having this same revelation with someone else.

Notes