Dark Side (Harry Styles) HOLD

Lux looked around at the other contestants that surrounded her, everyone looking either tired or worried, except for Casey. She was glaring at Lux, but there were no scratches on her face. She must have covered them up with make-up this morning. Her eyes fluttered from Casey over to Harry who was sitting with the rest of his band and the other mentors that were here today. He stared back.

“Alright everyone, settle down!” Mike called out, entering the room with Alexa, another producer.

“Recently it's been brought to our attention that there's been a few... connections being made behind the scenes. And by that, I mean love connections.” Alexa started out, sighing heavily and looking at Mike.

“Basically, we called you all here today to remind you that there is a strict ban on forming relationships with other contestants,” His eyes fluttered over to Lux, “ormentors, and it needs to stop.”

Lux felt her throat tighten up, her eyes looking for Harry's instantly, but he was staring down at the floor. He must have known about the rules. He was on this show before. He knew.

“It's gotten to the point where we will be doing random room checks in the middle of the night, and if we catch anyone in a bed that doesn't belong to them, you will receive consequences that could include disqualification. I don't care if you're 16, 20, or 50 years old, there is to be no romantic involvements on this show. This is a competition, not a vacation.

Sara. Oh crap, Sara. Lux turned to look at her roommate, reaching for her hand instantly and squeezing it. She was staring at her lap, her breathing heavy and her eyes looking teary.

“It'll be okay.” Lux whispered, “Don't cry.”

Sara didn't reply, only moved to rest her head against Lux's shoulder, and Lux wrapped her arms around her, rocking them back and forth slightly to comfort her.

“Alright, if nobody has anything to add, then you're all free to go prepare for tonight.”

Lux and Sara stood up, both of them instantly looking over at One Direction, and Niall looked just as broken up as Sara did. He must have forgotten the rules, but Harry didn't. Shame was written all over his beautiful face, and if Lux weren't so sad at that moment, she would have chewed him out.

“Harry? Lux?.. please hang back for a second.” Mike said, and they both froze, turning to look at one another.

Lux sighed, Oh shit, oh fuck, oh crap. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Casey is such a fucking rat.

“Have a seat, guys.” Mike stated, gesturing to the couch in front of him. They sat in unison, their hands immediately going to their sides as if they were going to hold hands, and at the last second they pulled them back into their respective laps. “I wanted to ask you if you know anything about Casey's face.”

“Casey's face?” Lux asked, her voice monotone and bored-sounding. She could be quite an actress when she wants to be.

“Yes. Casey told me you attacked her last night and she's got some scratches on her face. Told me to ask Harry, as he was supposedly there.” Mike sighed, fixing his glasses and sitting down as well.

“Casey went after her first.” Harry spit out, and Lux held back a groan. “It was self-defense.”

Mike nodded slowly, seeming to consider this, “Is that true, Lux?”

“Of course it's true. I don't get into fights, I'm a grown woman.” Lux sighed, “And how old is Casey? Like 16? Yeah, no way. She was getting snippy with me for spending time with Harry when she wanted him and when we started to walk away, she snatched at me. I only defended myself.”

“By clawing her face?” Mike asked dryly, quirking an eyebrow.

“Um, I'm very animalistic?” Lux suggested, shrugging. “I wasn't thinking, I just swiped at her!”

Mike sighed heavily, “Well, I can't really do anything about this. You have an eye witness and she doesn't, although I'm sure Harry would lie under oath for you if you asked him to...”

She looked over at Harry as he said that, and his eyes caught hers, twinkling as he winked.

“Nah.” Lux shrugged, smiling lightly. “Have you met us? We don't get along that well.”

“Right.” Mike nodded, staring at them a moment longer before standing up.

“Is that all? I'm not in trouble, am I?” She asked, standing up with Harry, staring at Mike.

“No, you're not in trouble. I'd appreciate it if you apologized to Casey though, just for my sake... but the next time the girl wants Harry, just let her have him.”

“No!” Lux snapped, her eyebrows scrunched together. Mike looked shocked. “I mean, uh...”

“Lux... I'd really hate to see you get disqualified for something that can wait. And I'm sure Harry doesn't want that for you either, so just be sensible, please.” He said, waiting for them both to nod solemnly before he turned and left them alone.

The second the door shut, Harry had Lux against him, his arms wrapped tightly around her shoulders in a smothering hug. He was breathing slightly heavy, and she wondered if he was smelling her like she was enjoying smelling him. And boy, did he smell great.

“Did you know about that rule?” She asked, her voice muffled by his shirt.

“Yes.” He groaned, hugging her even tighter if that was possible.

“And you went on anyways...” She mumbled, “Why?”

Harry pulled back from the hug, leaning his forehead down against hers, staring directly into her eyes. He smelled clean and soapy, with a hint of some kind of delicious, musky cologne. Lux nudged his nose with her own, watching a slow smile creep onto his lips when she did.

“Because I didn't think that applied to mentors, just the contestants. I figured as long as we're not competing against one another, we would be alright. I guess not though, because now your placement here is on the line, and I..” He stopped, shaking his head. “I don't want to be the cause of that.”

“Yeah.” She whispered, slowly pulling away from him. “Yeah, I know.”

“So, what are we going to do?” He asked, shoving his hands in his pockets to keep himself from reaching out and touching her. She would never know that though.

“I..” Lux paused, scrunching her eyebrows. “I actually don't know..”

“After this is over, me and the boys have a tour.. I.. I won't see you..” He began to say, trailing off and pushing his hands into his hair as he turned away from her. “Basically, we're no longer allowed to touch each other for the rest of this competition, and then I'm never going to see you again. Is that it?”

“Hazza.” She said sternly, not liking the way he was talking or thinking at the moment. It was breaking her heart, hearing him lose hope so easily, watching him crumble before her eyes.

“No, Lux.” He turned back to look at her, and she saw that once more he put his walls up. His eyes were guarded, his stance was stiff, his lips set in a hard line. He was gone. “This is exactly why I never wanted anything to happen with us, because I knew this was coming.”

“I knew it was coming, too. Don't you think I've spent my nights wide awake wondering what would happen with us once this is all over, what would happen if I get sent home? I just.. I knew that there would be a day that you and I would be apart, I just didn't think it would be so soon...”

“Don't cry.” His voice was stern, and she wasn't sure if he was talking to himself or to her.

Either way, Lux blinked her tears back fiercely, trying not to cry in front of him.

“Bloody fucking hell!” He turned around and before she could stop him, his fist was against the door. He groaned and shook it afterwards, looking down at his red knuckles and then up at the dent he left in the door. She could tell he was in pain and trying not to show it.

“Harry,” She whispered, walking to him and grabbing onto his wrist tightly, examining his hand for a moment before moving her eyes up to his. They were shiny and wet. “Hey..”

Harry shook his head, turning away from her and heading for the door, holding his injured hand against his chest. He turned and glanced back at her as he opened the door to leave, looking over her as she stood there and watched him go, not trying to stop him like he thought she would.

“I'm not going anywhere.” Lux said sternly, “You're the one who is walking away.”

“Because I won't let you give up your dream for me. I would never let you do that.”

“Why not?” Her voice was a whisper, and she finally was letting tears stream from her eyes.

Harry tried to hide it, but Lux saw that there were tears in his eyes as well. “Because for the first time in a really long time, I care about someone's feelings more than I care about my own, and I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure I prove that to you, even if that means becoming selfless and walking away from you.”

Notes