His Biggest Fan

[ c h a p t e r ᐧ n i n e ]

Shelby, Harry's girlfriend, Harry's girlfriend, was making out with some random guy. Calli audibly gasped as expected. Maybe this was the reason Harry wouldn't stop frowning all night. At the sound, Shelby turned around to see her standing in the doorway, eyes wide and jaw on the floor. But there was zero recognition in Shelby's eyes and the guy just looked mildly irritated.

"Um, get out, creep!" Shelby yelled.

Calli's face heated and she slammed the door closed before leaning against it and catching her breath. What was she going to do? She hurried down the stairs and back to the sitting room where the group- minus Harry, was gathered once again.

"Did you find the bathroom?" Liam asked, putting his arm around Mandy under the pretense of stretching.

Regularly, Calli would find the gesture endearing, but she was too shell shocked to do anything regular.

"Not... not exactly," she muttered.

Niall looked confused, but didn't say anything. Calli mulled in her own confusion until the everyone around her stood, so she did also. Befuddled was the word she would use to describe her current mental state, and it was making everything inside her head cloudy.

"Calli?"

She was jolted out of her stupor by Niall's light Irish accent, and she was startled by her surroundings. At the head of the group was Harry, standing with Shelby on his arm. She had her arm wrapped around his and their hands were clasped together. So they were still a couple after all.

"Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to my girlfriend, Shelby. Shelby, this is Zayn, Niall, Mandy, Liam and Calli," Harry introduced. She swore she heard a small sigh before he said it, and she hoped it wasn't regret at knowing her.

Shelby did a cute little wave before smiling nodding to each person, looking a little shy underneath her long stupid eyelashes- Calli was allowed to be mean since Shelby was a cheater- but her entire demeanor changed when she saw Calli. Her entire body froze as she stared at her, recognition flickering in her eyes, as well as horrification. Calli might have been imagining it, but she was pretty sure Shelby's grip tightened on Harry's arm. As quickly as it had come, the shock left her and she smiled, but to Calli it felt menacing, as if she was threatening to do something if Calli opened her mouth.

Calli couldn't think straight once again. Should I tell him? she thought, taking a deep breath in. I can't just not say anything, that would be wrong! But... I don't want to die. It was a disaster.

"Are you good?" Liam whispered to her.

She bit her lip and nodded, not telling the truth at all.

"So Calli, what do you like to do?" Shelby asked, but her sweet tone masked something very sour. Why was everybody here so randomly British?

"Um, I guess you could call me a gamer gorl?" she suggested pathetically, not sure what to say.

"So you play video games? Hm. My brother is an expert at Super Mario Kart, you ever played?" she challenged, locking eyes with Calli.

Calli tried not to fidget, but failed. "Yeah, I've uh, played."

Harry gave an uninterpretable look in Shelby's direction, who then shrugged.

"What?" she said, crossing her arms defensively. "Ten bucks says she can't beat him."

The room went silent, including a couple of people who had strayed into the conversation, and every eye went to Calli. It was stupid. She hadn't had any time to assess the skill of the guy or check which course they were going to be racing on. Though being called a coward wasn't what she wanted, she would have to decline.

"I-"

Someone cut her off. "Twenty says she can."

Liam stood there, wallet open with a crisp Jackson held out and a challenging eyebrow raised. Calli was going to murder him. The group erupted into a chorus of "Rainbow road" chants, and she nearly fainted. The look of triumph in Shelby's eyes worried her but she numbly followed the group downstairs, clutching Mandy's hand like a lifeline.

"Clear the couch, ladies," Niall said to the boys who were in the middle of fortnite, snatching the controllers out of their hands despite their groans of protest.

"Louis!" Shelby screamed, making pretty much everyone on the room grimace and move to cover their ears.

A brown haired boy emerged from a side door with gamer headphones around his neck, looking annoyed.

"Louis," she began, quieter. "Do you think you can defeat her in Super Mario Kart?"

The boy called Louis stuck a toothpick in his mouth and sized Calli up, eyes straining as if to see her inner Bowser. He pulled the toothpick back out and shrugged.

"I don't know," he said, and it sounded honest to Calli. There was no slyness or malice in his tone so he seemed much unlike his sister.

"Well, I guess we'll see, won't we. Fire up the SNES,"Shelby declared, and Calli stumbled back. Louis was incredulous, and everyone else was confused.

"The SNES?!" Calli and Louis cried at the same time.

Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Liam had twenty bucks put on the fact that she could beat this boy, but she didn't know she would have to do it on a SNES. Calli had never played on one, most notably because it was over thirty years old!