The Wanted Girl

Sophia's POV:
I walked into the hotel, luggage in tow, expecting some sort of horrid feeling to come over me. I mean, I had been avoiding this. I had been staying at my mums in Manchester hoping to escape all of this nonsense. But I didn't. I felt oddly... normal. Relieved even. Which was absolutely bizarre considering with all of the shit going on, normal and relieved were two things I should not be feeling. But I had said it 101 times, this was home now. As much as I wanted to escape it, I couldn't. So I was here to mend it. Or try, at least.

I looked over at Brielle, who had been eerily quiet the entire ride from the airport to the hotel. Well, besides the way she was treating Zayn. I tried to explain that it was okay, and to let it go, but she answered every single time with the same mumbled, 'I was fucking rooting for you you stupid prick' and I had angry Niall to deal with today and Serena for Christ's sake. I couldn't worry about Brielle's manners towards Zayn (who kind of deserved it anyways).

"Y'alright? Really?" I asked, shooting her my best 'don't-lie-to-me-bitch' face.

She faltered, immediately. Which made me even more sure, something was definitely off.

"I'm mad at Harry," she mumbled.

I raised my eyebrows at her, "Okay...? Would you like to not be so cryptic?"

"You guys want me to hold the elevator?" Zayn said, receiving one of the deadliest stares I've ever seen from Brielle.

"Go fuck yourself," she replied.

I snorted and covered my face, trying to hide my not-so-subtle amusement with someone else torturing Zayn for me.

"Okay then," he said, rolling his eyes and walking away.

"I'm mad at Harry" she repeated, narrowing her eyes now at me.

I threw my hands up in exasperation, "Brielle. Seriously, it's me. What are you talking about."

"Lottie," was all she said before my jaw hit the floor.

Fuck.

"And you should be mad at him too, by the way. I haven't even gotten to that portion of the conversation!" she snarled.

I let out a laugh, not because I thought anything was funny, because it wasn't. But because if I was also mad at Harry, then I had just one more thing to add to my list of Fairy-God-Mother things to fix today. And that sounded exhausting.

"Can it wait?" I pleaded.

She sighed, knowingly.

"Sophia I really think you should-"

I cut her off before she could finish, "Please try and fix things today. We have a very long day ahead of us. I need to deal with the Zayn thing, talk to Lou about what happened, try and beat some sense into Niall, hopefully revoke Serena's passport, all while avoiding Paul at all costs. And I was really hoping to sneak in some quality time with Liam. So Harry is not on today's list. Please," I begged, "tomorrow."

Brielle sighed and rubbed her temples, "Soph..."

I smiled and clapped my hands together, "Love you!"

I sprinted to the elevator before she could even try and stop me. I slid my hand in the door and it opened to Harry in sweats and a stained white t-shirt. He looked like he had been crying and hadn't slept last night.

"Hey Soph," he said, forcing a smile and leaning in to give me a hug.

I obliged and pushed him back to hold his cheeks, examining his face.

"I'm sorry, Harry. She'll forgive you."

He smiled politely and shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "I really hope so."

I watched as he pressed the elevator button and sighed, "How's everyone?"

He let out a chuckle, "A right mess. But... how are you?"

The look in his eyes was one I had yet to see in this situation. He was truly asking me how I was doing. And I knew exactly what situation he was referring to: it started with a Z and had great hair.

I shrugged, "Keeping myself busy, y'know? Best thing I can do right now."

He nodded and the door opened to the hotel hallway.

"Point me in the direction of Mr Tomlinson's room?" I asked.

He smiled, "1204."

I nodded in thanks and turned to walk in the opposite direction before he called, "Hey Soph?"

I turned around and raised my eyebrows, "Yeah?"

"My uh... dad called today. Asked if I wanted to meet up tomorrow night for dinner. Invited everyone, really. Should I do it?"

Brielle had told me about Harry's dad trying to contact him. She was furious, saying that he probably only wanted Harrys money and how dare he try and fuck with his own sons emotions for his own financial gain.

I didn't have a relationship with my dad. He was a no-good, absent minded man with a thing for women who were not my mother. And as much shit as I gave my mum, she didn't deserve what he put her through. He had also made no effort to contact Max or I after he left when I was ten. Eleven years of not speaking to us, I still hadn't really recovered. And I don't think Harry should be denied that opportunity having been given it.

And in reality, Harry was pretty good at figuring people out quickly. Brielle's bestfriend accused my bestfriend of rape. Harry's people-reading-meter was currently winning. And everyone should have a relationship with their father.

I smiled, "I think you should."

His smile grew and he gave me a single nod, "Thanks Soph."

"Anytime Harry."

One down, five to go.

I found the door with the numbers '1204' on it and knocked. After some shuffling inside, Louis opened it. After a split second and recognition of who was knocking on his door, his eyes narrowed.

"I'm busy, Soph. What do you want?"

Louis was a prick, I knew that well. But after a 15 hour flight and a nice conversation with Harry, his prickishness caught me off guard. But as per usual, I couldn't let him know that.

"You look super busy. Who's here?" I asked.

He ignored my question and rolled his eyes, "Don't worry about it. But it's important, so please, go."

I proceeded to ignore him, pushing past him to see a nervous looking Liam and a confused looking Zayn on his couch. I nearly choked on my laughter.

"Your busy with two people you see every second of your life? Are you shitting me?" I said, laughing.

"Well, yes. I needed to chat with Zayn," he said, nonchalantly.

The irony of all of it was too much to handle. I was grinning ear to ear, "Then why's Liam here?"

Liam shrugged, still looking mighty uncomfortable, "I'm the buffer, y'know, just in case."

"So we have a referee for this important little chat? Do we need an announcer as well?"

I noticed that Zayn's eyes hadn't left the floor. Liam looked like someone was holding a gun to his head. And Louis, he couldn't stop smiling now.

"No I think we're alright. I'll call you if we need you though, yeah?"

I nodded, getting a little nervous, "Does this have to do with me.."

Louis smiled, sincerely, "Yes."

Zayn looked up at me like a deer in headlights, "He was um... just apologizing."

I felt all of the air get sucked out of the room.

"Apologizing... for..." I said in a near whisper.

But thankfully, Louis heard me, "Oh I was just saying that mates shouldn't let girls get in between them, right Zayn?"

At this point, Zayn and Liam both had the same horrified expression on their face. While Louis... looked... mental. He was grinning like an idiot and had the confidence of Hitler. For the first time in my life, I was terrified of Louis Tomlinson. And I had no idea why.

"Well... that's wonderful," I mumbled, turning to the door. "I hope you two are very happy together."

I rushed out of the room, half expecting someone to follow me. But they didn't. Which was probably for the best. I should have been happy that Zayn and Louis were mending things. But it just didn't add up. Something was off and I didn't know what it was. I mean, I knew it was Louis. That part was clear. But just... why.

I had had my entire day planned out, really. I had a list of people I needed to talk to and things I needed to accomplish before hopefully putting my happy ass back on a plane back across the pond. But that's the issue with planning things with One Direction. It never fucking works. Not how you expect it to at least. Louis just put a massive curveball in my plan, and I was thrown so far off, I wasn't sure what to do.

I think the thing that bothered me the most was that all of the sudden, Louis wasn't on my side. It's not that I needed him to hate Zayn, I just didn't want him to hate me. It had been eight days since I cried myself to sleep in his bed while he whispered sweet things to me. What had changed so much in eight days. I needed to know.

But that was the thing with Louis, this was how he used to be. I was on my toes with him constantly. Waiting for his entire demeanor to change. The only constant was his adoration of me. Which sounded ridiculous, but it was true. Since day one. He begged me to go out with him and his friend in an ally in Belfast, swooned me into leaving my bestfriends birthday party, in a mask, and did countless other things just as silly and ridiculous to get my attention. And it worked.

Even when he was upset with me, he still wanted me to care. But this time was different. When I left, he didn't even flinch. He didn't care that I was leaving. His personality had always had mood swings, but never towards me. This time, the look in his eyes told me that something was definitely changing between us. The same way that I could spend fifteen hours with Zayn after he broke my heart. The same way that my dad could up and leave us. The same way that Serena could lie to Niall and everyone else about Nathan.

He was starting to fall out of love with me, or maybe he already had.

Notes

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