The Misfits

"Enjoy yer night?" My father asked. He stood with his arms crossed as he glared at me. There was a deafening silence as we stared at each other in the empty hallway.

"Yep!" I said, fining my voice. Though I felt the color drain from my face, I gave him a smile, "And now it's time for bed! Goodni-"

"Not so fast there missy," he said, snatching my arm to prevent me from escaping. "My room. Now."

A feeling of dread began to sink in. He had finally caught us. I didn't know how to defend myself and I desperately tried to think of an excuse. Come on Thalia. Think! I had always been able to come up with an excuse, a lie. But this time my mind had gone blank. I followed my father into his room and sat down on one of the plush chairs. I was too scared to look at him so I stared at my toes instead.

"Care te explain how everyone on da whole damn tour knows my daughter is sleeping with Harry Styles except fer me?"

When I didn't respond so he continued on his rant, pacing back and fourth and looking like he wanted nothing more than to hit something.

"I figured there was something going on between ya two but Jesus Lia...”

"I'm sorry," I whispered, starring determinedly at my feet.

"No yer not. Yer sorry ya got caught," he spat. "D'ya know how embarrassin that is? I knew ya an Harry got on well but fer Christ's sake Lia that don’t mean ya go slagging around."

"Slagging around?" I cried out, snapping my head up to stare at him incredulously. Is this really what he thinks of me? He continued to glare at me and I felt my blood begin to boil. "You think that's what I'm doing? I’m not some fucking groupie! This is exactly why I was scared to tell you! I knew you’d act like this!”

“Ya knew how I felt about this!” He replied. “He’s trouble Lia.”

“No. He’s not.”

“Ya don’t know him!” he exploded; point a threatening finger at me. He was breathing heavily. “I love him te death, but he has a lot he needs te work through. He’s using ya as a distraction. Ya make him feel better. Ya make him feel wanted. This is always how it starts. He’s madly in love with a girl. He obsesses over her an’ when it starts te gets serious he jus’ stops. Trust me Lia, ya don’t know—”

“No! You don’t know!” I cried. I couldn’t believe he was saying this about someone he claimed to love so much. Everything he was arguing was wrong though. “I was the one who pushed him away. I was the one who refused to commit. He’s been trying for months—”

“Months?” boomed my father.

Shit. I bit my lip as he paced back and forth. He ran his hands through his hair before turning back to me angrily.

“How long has this been goin’ on fer?”

“Summer,” I replied after a moments hesitation. I had tensed, braced for the blow. But it never came and I opened an eye to see my father staring at me, looking hurt. I took a breath and tried to calm myself. “Dad I didn’t mean…I promise I didn’t mean to. It just happened…”

“That’s because he’s a charmer Lia. It’s what he does. Trust me. He’s just usin’ ya.”

“Oh like that’s never happened before.” I let out a hallow laugh as my dad shot me a look. “You know, maybe I’m the one that’s using him.”

“Stop bein ridiculous.”

“Stop being so blind!” I cried out louder than I had meant to. I was on my feet now though I don’t remember standing. “Harry is a great person you've said it hundreds of times!

“I’m telling you no Lia.”

“Why?” I countered. “Because he’s the first guy that has ever genuinely liked me? Dad I—”

“Ya what? Love him?” My father asked in disbelief. He let out a snort before adding, “Ya don’t know what love is Lia.”

"And whose fault is that?" I snapped back, not caring if I hurt him. "I never let myself love anyone because of you and mom."

He became silent and was growing paler the longer he looked at me. But I had become reckless as 17 years of anger suddenly came boiling to the surface. I had never felt so angry or hurt in my whole life.

"I never opened myself up to anyone because all I ever learned was that love makes you vulnerable. It opens your chest and opens up your heart and it means someone can get inside and mess you up. And when they leave you’re broken. You’re left to pick up the pieces and they never quite fit back together.”

I was shaking uncontrollably as I tried to catch my breath. I felt hot tears on my cheeks and quickly tried to wipe them rom my face. My dad was standing dumbstruck before me and I could see tears glistening in his own eyes. He walked towards me and took my face in his hands, gently whipping my tears with his thumbs.

“No darlin’. That’s not what love is at all,” he whispered. We sunk down onto the floor and he wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into him protectively. It was almost as if he was trying to hold me together.

He began rubbing my shoulder as he said, “My heart will always have a place fer yer mother, but we were young an’ stupid when we fell in love. We thought tha’ love was easy an’…we tried Lia. We really did try te make it work but it got te the point where we was fighin more than we was even talkin. And darlin, being alone is scary…but not as scary as feelin alone in a relationship.”

I let out a sniffle, attempting to wipe my eyes as I listened to his speech. All I knew about their relationship had been what I remembered. My mother refused to talk about it, and I had been too afraid to ask my father. I realized had grown up biased to the situation. Every day for years I watched her cry because of him. I saw how much she hurt and I had vowed to never open myself up to that kind of pain. Yet somehow, I had ended up just as broken.

“Letting yer mom go was the hardest thing tha’ I have ever done Lia. An’ I am so, so sorry tha we couldn’t make it work…for you.” He was running his hands through my hair gently. “But love is nothing like ya think it is. And it took me a long time to realize that.”

“You love Clodagh,” I said, my voice hoarse from crying. “I saw the way you looked at her, you never looked at mum like that.”

He gave me a small smile, “Lia, love is what ya feel when yer with tha’ one person who will make an ordinary moment seem magical. It’s fer the kind o’ person who brings out da best in ya an’ makes ya want te be a better person. Love is listenin and understandin. Love is realizing that no one is perfect an’ despite their quirks, they’re still da one that ya can’t imagine yer life without.”

We sat in silence for a moment as I digested his words. I tried to make my self grow numb, to shut off the feelings I had always been so good at hiding. Only this time it wasn’t working.

“It terrifies me that I’ve found someone who can so effortlessly make me smile over and over again,” I whispered. “Harry makes me laugh every time I see him. And when he’s gone nothing feels right. He’s stubborn and stupid and sometimes he just drives me crazy but…as much as I’m scared to love him, I’m even more scared of walking away. I don't know what to do.”

“If you really feel that way about him Lia, then you go ahead and love him...an’ he’ll have no choice but te love ya back,” My dad whispered. “You are a beautiful an’ amazin woman. Ya have a way o’ connecting with people. Yer stubborn, jus’ like yer mum…but ya fight fer what ya believe in an’ I’m proud o’ ya.”

I couldn’t bring myself to respond as I felt new tears sting my eyes. Instead, I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him as tight as I could. We sat in silence for a while and it felt as though we were making up for all of the lost hugs.

“O’ course ya know yer still grounded,” He said after a while. I let out a small laugh before letting go of him and wiping any rouge tears.

“I suppose that’s only fair,” I smiled. “You’re not going to chop off Harry’s balls though are you?”

He threw back his head in laughter.

-

“Lils. Lils wake up!”

I groaned and pulled the nearest pillow over my eyes. A second later I let out a yell as I felt someone straddle me. The pillow was removed from my face and I looked up to see Mackenzie beaming down at me.

Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a messy French braid and her crooked glasses hid her bright blue eyes. She was wearing a shirt that looked very similar to the one Niall had been wearing last night. Little Mackenzie was practically glowing with excitement. “Good morning!”

“Good morning.” I yawned, before giving her a wicked smile. “How was your night with Niall?”

She bit her lip and hid her face behind her hands before mumbling, “We had sex.”

“AH!” I screamed before sitting up and pulling her into a bone-crushing hug. “How was it? Was it good? Was he good? I need details woman!”

“Once I stopped freaking out it was amazing,” she laughed, half of her face still hidden behind her sleeves.

“Aw Kenz! You were freaking out?”

She nodded, but took a breath and gave me a smile. “Only at first. But I tried to remember what you said and he was able to make the monsters go away. Thalia he is so…ugh. He’s amazing.”

I let out a laugh as she fell back onto the bed dramatically.

“You guys were safe right?” I quizzed. She raised an eyebrow at me and rolled her eyes.

“Yes mom. We used a condom.”

“Good.” I smiled, playing with her hands. “And the sex was good? I bet you were driving him wild with all your flexibility.”

She let out a laugh and covered her face again in embarrassment. I couldn't help but smile for her. The last time I had seen her so happy was when Jasper had made the football team.

“Okay for real though. Does this mean you two are official now?” I asked, turning more serious.

“I’m not really sure…I guess we’ll just have to wait and see,” she shrugged.

“Well do you want it to be official?” I asked. When she didn’t respond I rolled my eyes. “Kenz you’re already in a relationship if you’re sleeping with him. All you’d be doing is giving it a name.”

I couldn't help but notice the irony of this situation. Look at me giving all this great counsel. I really needed to learn how to follow my own advice sometime. Mackenzie played with my hands for a moment, avoiding my eye.

“But that’s scary,” She whispered.

“I know. But isn’t that the whole point?”

“I guess,” she smiled. Then she let out another groan before changing the subject. “Why do we have to leave in a few days? This is perfect.”

We both turned to look out the window at the sprawling city beneath us. It really was perfect. I knew it was selfish, but I sometimes I wish the guys weren’t famous. But then…how would I have ever met them?

“Oh hey,” Mackenzie said, pulling me out of my thoughts. “How did things end up with Harry last night? You looked pretty pissed when you two left.”

“We worked it out,” I smiled, taking her hands once more and giving them a reassuring squeeze. “He had answered my phone when Calhan called. He told him off, which Calhan wasn’t too happy about.”

“You need to block Calhan from your phone. He’s an attention hog who has nothing but bad intensions for you and Harry,” She replied, sitting up and wrinkling her nose in disgust. “I like you and Harry much better. You smile more when you’re with him.”

“I like Harry better too,” I chuckled as I leaned back on my pillows. “And bravo on that speech. I think that’s the meanest thing I’ve ever heard you say.”

She let out a laugh before turning serious once more. “Why were you so mad at Harry though? Isn’t it good that Calhan won’t be bugging you anymore?”

“I don’t think a lecture from Harry will stop him,” I snorted. “And I was only annoyed because Harry hadn’t told me. But, we worked it out…it’s all good I promise.”

“It better be.”

“RISE AN’ SHINE!” Mackenzie and I both jumped as Niall burst through the door. He paused and cocked his head out our position. Mackenzie was still straddling me as I lay in the bed. Niall let out a laugh, “kinky.”

I threw a pillow at him in response though that only resulted in him breaking into his little chipmunk laugh. Mackenzie and I both let out screams as Niall then ran and dove onto our bed. A grabbed more pillows and began whacking him as Mackenzie pinned him down. A second later Louis and Harry appeared as well.

“What is this party!” Laughed Louis. A second later I was knocked down onto the bed as Harry pounced on me.

“AH! Harry get off!” I laughed.

“Never,” He replied before tickling me.

“Harry! Stop! I’m gonna pee my pants!”

“Come on!” Louis cried. I let out a scream as he and Harry grabbed my arms and legs and began pulling me out of bed. “We’re going on adventures!”

“Where are we going?” Mackenzie asked, bouncing on the bed excitedly only to be tackled a moment later by Niall.

“It’s a surprise!” replied Louis. The second I was set down I felt Harry’s arms wrap around my torso. He hugged me close and rested his head on shoulder. Louis shot us a look before yelling, “Come on you love birds let’s go!"

I let out a squeak when Louis smacked my ass before running out of the room. Harry quickly squeezed me tighter to keep me from retaliating. “Louis you little—”

“Love you too babe!” He called from the hallway. I turned back to Harry with an eyebrow raised. He looked gorgeous this morning with his wild bed head and perfect smile.

“I need to talk to you,” he said quietly.

“What’s up?” I asked, pulling back from him with a frown. He looked worried and slightly distracted. “Harry?”

“Later.” He gave me a smile and kissed my temple. I tried to push the mystery out of my mind. I was too happy to be upset today. After talking with my father last night it felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I ruffled Harry’s already wild hair.

“I have something to tell you too,” I said. He frowned down at me, suddenly giving me all his attention. I gave him a smile and whispered, “Later.”

He rolled his eyes and pulled me closer to him. How was it that our bodies seemed to fit together to perfectly? I broke into a smile before looking up at him innocently. “So…will you tell me where we’re going?”

“Nope.” He smirked, shaking his head back and forth. But I continued to give him puppy eyes. “Stop that and go get dressed before I take you back to bed.”

He pinched my ass as I ran into the bathroom. After throwing on a pair of old jeans and a sweater I followed Harry and Niall out to the Hallway. As I was tying my hair into a bun I heard a yell.

“Oi! Styles you get yer ass over here right now!” We all turned to see my father charging down the hall. He looked livid.

“Harry run!” cried Liam from the other end of the hall. Less than a second later all hell broke loose. Louis grabbed Harry and pulled him back inside the room as my father reached the door.

"You've really done it this time Haz, now he's gonna fucking kill us!" Louis yelled as the boys held back the door.

"Pauley no!" Cried Niall and Zayn, trying to pull him back.

“Dad wait!” I tried to grab his arm but he easily shook me off. He seemed fine last night, what the hell had gotten into him?

"Can't we just talk about this for a minute!" Harry called from the other side of the door.

"I fuckin warned ya!" My father yelled. He gave one final push and was able to break through the door.

"Dad!" I screamed. He had pushed Harry all the way back and had him pinned against the wall with one arm. Harry looked terrified and everyone was yelling.

"I'm sorry Paul." Harry was saying. "I'm sorry."

“DAD STOP!”

There was a silence as everyone waited to see what my father would do. Suddenly my dad began to chuckle. He let go of a stunned Harry and bent over, now full on laughing.

"Did anyone get that on video?” he asked between laughs. We were all frozen, and Harry and I exchanged nervous glances.

"You’re…you're not going to kill him?" Zayn asked hesitantly.

"No!" My dad laughed. It became apparent that my father wasn't actually going to murder Harry and we all began to let out laughs in relief.

"Are you fucking serious!" Cried Louis. "You scared the shit out of us Paul!"

"Look at his face!" Laughed Niall, collapsing onto the floor and holding his stomach. "He’s still t-terrified!"

Harry was still leaning against the wall with his eyes wide as he breathed heavily. He gave us a horrified look and said, "My life just flashed before my eyes. I think I nearly had a heart attack!"

"Are you okay Harry?" I asked between laughs. I gave his arm a gentle squeeze to make sure he wasn’t going to pass out on me. He broke into a small smile but still looked slightly pale.

“Alright come on ya idiots, we only have a few hours before ya need te be back fer yer show.” My dad said, wiping tears from his eyes. As we began to head out of the room he clapped Harry on the shoulder and muttered, “Yer with me. We're gonna have a talk.”

“This...is going to be entertaining,” Louis whispered in my ear before shooting me a wink.

Notes

So Pauley FINALLY knows!
Do you think this will change things between Harry and Thalia?
And it wasn't too cheesy was it??
Ya'll are pretty quiet over there with the comments...it's making me nervous.

But I'll bet you won't see what's coming next.
Prepare yourselves...