All Too Well

I woke up the next morning with my head throbbing in pain. I used to get caffeine headaches a lot, but I hadn’t had one in ages. I decided that instead of tea, I would need extra bold coffee to make this headache go away. Once I had my coffee situated, I looked at my phone. I had ten text messages and two voicemails, and I could only hope they weren’t all from Harry.

I really want to see you –H

I was surely not going to reply to Harry, I didn’t understand why he was being so persistent.

Hey girlie! Louis and I are both excited for tonight, cant wait to see you! Xx

I texted El back letting her know the exact time of dinner, and that I was excited too. Once I actually thought about the dinner plans however, I realized it would probably be a little awkward because I didn’t have a boyfriend. The next text fixed all of that though.

Thanks for the awesome gift Collins, Lux, Tom, and I miss you loads, Hang out tonight?

It was perfect, I’d have Lou and Tom come with the baby and then it wouldn’t be so awkward without me having somebody else with me.

Hey! I miss you guys too. I’m having El and Louis over for dinner, come join, it’ll be loads of fun, promise!!

Lou texted back saying that they would come which made me unbelievably relieved to say the least. I had no intentions of getting into why I don’t really date anybody with them. The other texts were from people I was doing business with, except for the last one.

Collins, please give me a chance, I want to get to know you. Hang out with me tonight. –H

The two phone calls were from Harry as well, essentially saying the same thing as the text. I decided that maybe I should be a little nicer to him since he hadn’t exactly done anything wrong. In the back of my mind though, all I could think was the word ‘yet’. Harry hasn’t done something wrong…yet.

Harry I’m really busy tonight, I’m having a small dinner party, maybe another time when I’m not as busy as I have been lately. I’m sorry.

I thought that maybe letting him down gently would finally do the trick, and since he didn’t text me back that morning, I took that as I sign that I was correct.

I took a shower and got ready for my job. I wore all black as it was the most professional, and I wore my hair half up so that it wasn’t in my face as I did the makeup. My own makeup was very natural, as I didn’t feel it was necessary to wear a lot when I was only working backstage.

I left for the pavilion that the fashion show would take place at. Once there, I checked in and headed to the chair I’d be working at. I was excited to do the makeup because it was supposed to be an extremely bold editorial look. On all of the models I took in my chair, I did a variation of a colored smokey lid look and paled out lips, paired with a bright cheek color. Throughout the entire event however, my phone kept buzzing letting me know that somebody had texted me.

The show turned out amazing, the makeup and hair was perfection, and myself and the other artists got a huge thanks at the end of it. It was times like these that I remembered why I worked so hard for my career. Once I got into my car I took a look at my phone before driving home. All of the texts and calls were from Harry. I decided that it was best to just leave them be and not look at them. His constant annoyance was getting too exhausting.

When I got home, I started on the dinner for the night. I had made the recipe a ton before, it was my absolute favorite. Because of this, it was very simple for me to do; all I needed was to double everything. As I was finishing up the salad, I heard a knock on the door. I forgot to take my bright pink apron off that said “don’t kiss the chef, you’ll ruin my lipstick.” It was slightly mortifying and I hoped Lou, the one that bought it for me, would be behind the door. However, as usual with my luck, this wasn’t the case.

“Hey Collins! I love the apron!” Eleanor laughed.

“Oh gosh its so embarrassing, Lou got it for me though.” I raised my hands to my face covering it in embarrassment as my cheeks turned red. I peaked through my two hands and laughed at Eleanor and Louis.

“No its really adorable Collins!” Eleanor giggled. I gave her a hug and then looked at Louis. He smiled at me and pulled me into a friendly hug.

“Come in guys, I’ll get us some drinks while we’re waiting for Lou, Tom and the baby.” I welcomed them into my flat. As Louis walked in he seemed very uncomfortable.

“Uhm Collins, I hope you don’t mind but I invited my friend to stop by. I had plans with him and I tired to cancel but he wouldn’t really take no for an answer.” Louis told me hesitantly and with a nervous grin plastered onto his face.

“Oh, no its totally fine Louis I understand! The more the better, I have plenty of food anyway.” I said in the most gracious tone I could muster out. As long as it wasn’t Harry, I didn’t care.

“Louis that’s a little rude, and you didn’t even mention it to me.” Eleanor scolded. Louis looked at her apologetically. I could see he felt terrible about the situation so I decided to intervene.

“How about I pour us some drinks! What would you guys like?” I asked cheerfully.

“Wine is good!” Eleanor said happily.

“Do you maybe have beer?” Louis asked.

“Yeah definitely, I’ll be right back!” I said leaving the room, giving the couple a moment alone. When I came back into the living room, I heard the door open as Lux came running in. I kneeled to the ground and held my arms open as Lux darted into them. Lou and Tom said hello and gave me hugs. I got them drinks and then went back into the kitchen to finish cooking. I was chatting with the group about silly things through the little opening in the wall that divided the living room from the kitchen. I was having a fantastic time, but my mind couldn’t help but wonder whom Louis friend was that was supposed to be coming. I was cutting up some fresh fruit for the dessert later as I was thinking about this. I was busy concentrating on cutting up the watermelon that when I heard a familiar thick, raspy British voice fill the room, my heart skipped a beat in surprise. I looked up with a face of horror as Harry flashed me a cheeky smile.

“Oh shit!” I cried out in pain as my attention was brought back to the fruit, but more specifically my finger, which I had just cut with the knife. Everyone stopped and looked at me as I began to cry.

“Oh my god Collins!” Lou called out, “Are you okay?”

“No, oh my god what do I do? This hurts so badly. I’m bleeding like everywhere.” I whimpered frantically. In a matter of seconds I felt a pair of strong arms around me holding my hand up, leading me to the sink.

“Here, Collins put it under the water for a second.” Harry’s warm breath trickled onto my neck. I’ll admit, the warmth and deepness of his voice sent a shiver down my spine. I did as he said while he grabbed a clean rag from a drawer.

“Let me put pressure on this now, its not too deep. Where are your Band-Aids?” He asked in a serious voice. I was so confused and mesmerized by this side of him that I just looked blankly at him with my mouth agape. I realized how dumb I probably looked and then I remembered what he asked me.

“Oh right um, in my bathroom, in the drawer under the sink.” I said still dazed.

“Harry I know where they are, I’ll grab them.” Lou said to Harry quickly. For a moment I had completely forgotten anyone else was there. Lou quickly came back with the Band-Aids and Harry applied it over the cut, along with some antiseptic.

“There you go, all better.” Harry shot me a sweet smile. I liked this side of him it was tolerable. It didn’t last long at all however. “I didn’t think I’d make that big of an entrance.” He said with the biggest smirk on his face.

All I could do was walk past him and get dinner on the table. To say that I was annoyed to see him was the biggest understatement. Everyone took his or her seats and to my dismay, Harry took the seat closest to me. It was hard to ignore him since he was right next to me. Regardless of this, dinner started off fine. Lux did and said a lot of funny things that made us laugh. The girls and boys had completely separate conversations for a little while, which was nice because it didn’t feel as couple-y. Halfway through dinner however, things took a huge turn.

“So Collins, where is your boy tonight?” Harry asked with a grin plastered onto his face. His eyes were burning into me as I stared at him.

“I don’t have one.” I said simply, hopping he’d just leave the topic alone.

“Hm, interesting. And why is that?” He asked me menacingly.

“Because I don’t want one.” I said, looking down at my food, trying not to look at anyone.

“Collins doesn’t have time for dumb boys Harry.” Lou interjected with a small laugh. I was so thankful for her as she knew how uncomfortable I was.

I thought Harry’s rude behavior would end with that, as his comments slowed to a halt after Lou said that to him. But I was severely mistaken. I first felt Harry’s knee nudge mine. At first I believed it was harmless. But a few seconds later, I felt his large, warm hand land on my knee, his thumb tracing circles on my pale skin. I tried to shake it off by moving my knee, but it didn’t work. Slowly his hand moved up my thigh, making my skin crawl with disgust. I started to panic as his hand inched toward my center. I jumped up from my place at the table.

“I should go get everyone more drinks, Harry will you come help me?” I asked with a hint of anger slipping into my voice.

Harry smiled and got up, following me into the kitchen. I knew from his grin that he thought we were going into the kitchen for something else. I was thankful that everyone was making noise and having fun so that they wouldn’t overhear what I was about to say to him. When he strolled toward me, backing me up into a wall, all I could do was cringe and push him away.

“Look, I don’t know what you’re trying to pull here but I’m not interested.” I said angrily.

“I’m not trying to pull anything Collins, I just want to get to know you better.” Harry said in a breathy whisper.

“Yeah if getting to know me means getting me in bed, I’d believe that.” I said in a harsh whisper. All he could do was smile, as he looked me up and down, licking his lips.

“I mean if you’re offering..” Harry snickered.

“No, I’m not Harry. And I get that you’re horny, but maybe you should go out and find another girl because this isn’t how it works with me all right? I don’t want anything to do with you.” I had to keep myself from yelling.

“Collins, you don’t have a boyfriend, you’re probably so tense from not having sex. Let me help you with that.” Harry’s warm breath tickled my ear.

“Harry stop. I’m not like other girls, and I don’t buy this act you put on. I said I don’t want you in any way, shape, or form and that’s the truth.” I said, trying to get my message across more effectively. Harry stood and thought for a second.

“Collins, Lou told me you’ve never had a boyfriend, is that right?” Harry asked with a smirk twitching to appear on his face.

“Yes…why?” I asked, feeling myself grow more confused and agitated. Harry leaned in so I could feel his curls tickle my cheek.

“Are you a virgin?” He whispered into my ear.

I stood with my mouth agape as my brows creased into a v shape. I raised my arm and with a swift movement, slapped Harry across the face, leaving a red print on his face.

“How dare you! You’re honestly so pathetic Harry. And for the record, no I’m not, but it doesn’t matter to you because I will never, lower my standards to your level of scum.” I said in the most powerful voice I could. I was furious with him and I just wanted him to leave. I put my hands to my thighs and neatened my floral printed skirt before entering the dining room once more. From there, in attempt to get Harry to leave faster, I hurried the dinner along.

At the end of the night, Harry was the first to leave. I thanked Louis and El for coming, and walked them out. El apologized for Louis inviting Harry when Louis left to bring the car around. I told her it was alright, considering I was almost positive Harry forced him. Once Louis was back with their car I hugged them both goodbye and walked back upstairs to my flat. Lou was on the couch and Tom was holding Lux in his arms. I sat next to Lou as she turned to me.

“Okay tell me what that idiot did.” She said with a worried expression. I told Lou everything, from when I cut my finger to when Harry left. She had an exasperated look on her face and as I finished, she just shook her head.

“I don’t understand what’s wrong with him. He’s never like this usually, at least not around any of us.” Lou said, she was equally confused as I was.

“Well, do you think it’s that he thinks acting this way will impress Collins?” Tom asked. We both looked at him and considered it. I didn’t see how that would make sense but Lou nodded.

“You know what Tom, you may be right. I’ll talk to him tomorrow because this is ridiculous.” Lou said to me, obviously trying to be reassuring.

“We should probably get going now, it’s getting late.” Tom said to Lou in a low voice.

“Daddy I don’t wanna. I want to stay here with Auntie Collins.” Lux pouted.

Tom and Lou both looked at me. I could tell that they didn’t want to hear her cry the whole way home. And plus, they probably wanted a night to themselves as well.

“She can stay here with me guys, its not big deal.” I said to them with a light smile.

“Collins, thank you so much.” Tom smiled as he handed the toddler over to me. Lux gave both of them a kiss goodnight and then they were off.

Notes