BLACKHOUSE [H.S.]

Five

"Cheers bitch!" Cassandra shouts, holding her mimosa towards me. I reach over and clink our glasses together, blushing. "I knew you would get the job!"

I roll my eyes and take a sip of my own mimosa through a smile. Cass decided to take me out to lunch to congratulate me. I don't know why she was making such a big deal out of it, it's just a job.

"Louis said you put in a good word for me, so I really owe it to you," I thank her.

"Stop, you know I would do anything for you babe," she pouts.

This is what I love about Cass, she puts all of her love and energy into her relationships. I don't really know if I deserve it, but I'm grateful for it.

"How was seeing Niall again?" I change the subject, feeling uncomfortable with the attention on me.

"It was amazing honestly," she gushes. "I thought things would be weird, but it was like nothing had changed."

"Really? What did you guys talk about?" I press her for more information.

"Nothing really," she shrugs. "I just asked him how he's been and how work was going and... if he wanted to go out for drinks this weekend."

She says the last part quietly and quickly, like she didn't really want me to hear, making me almost choke on my drink.

"You what?!" I widen my eyes, smacking my hand down on the table. "Cass, what the hell?"

She giggles and takes a bite of a fry, covering her mouth with her hand as she chews.

"I know, I know," she groans. "I wasn't planning to but he looked so good I couldn't help it!"

"You said he wasn't ready for commitment," I remind her. "And you are a commitment kind of person."

"Yeah but that was like, a year ago," she defends, looking at me almost apologetically. "Maybe he's changed his mind!"

I scoff and roll my eyes. This girl can be so naïve I swear. I can't really blame her though, she's a hopeless romantic. She just wants that classic love story that we all hope for, but sadly, it's just not realistic.

"What did he say?" I raise my eyebrow.

"He said yes," she blushes, avoiding my judgmental gaze. "He's taking me out for drinks on Saturday."

My breath catches in my throat. Saturday is the 10 year anniversary. I usually have to work during the day, but we have a routine of getting wine drunk and crying the night of, we have since we met.

She notices my shock and her face goes white, jaw dropping. "Oh god Katie I totally forgot I'm so sorry," she rushes to apologize, reaching in her bag to pull out her phone. "I'm gonna call him and reschedule."

"No no no, it's okay," I clear my throat, shaking my head at her. "You go have fun, I'll be okay."

"A-are you sure?" She stutters. "I'm sure Niall won't mind."

"Positive," I lie, smiling weakly. "I've got to start dealing with it on my own eventually."

She frowns at me, looking guilty. It's true though, it's been ten years. I need to grow up and work through my shit, I can't let this control me forever.

"Will you call me if you decide you can't be alone?" She pleads. "I will leave in a heartbeat."

I nod quickly, pushing away the feeling of dread that's been growing inside me since the topic was brought up.

"I will, I promise," I agree half-heartedly. "Come on, we're still celebrating, remember?"

I decide to change the subject, her face brightening at the shift. Not only am I stressed about this new job I'm starting tomorrow, but now the worry of facing Saturday night alone is added to my plate. This week has been a whirlwind of emotions, and it's only Tuesday.

• • •

When Cass finally drops me off at home at 7 pm, I collapse on my couch in exhaustion. She insisted on going shopping and getting our nails done after lunch, I think it's because she feels bad about bailing on our annual cry session.

I'm naturally a very introverted person, so a day full of socializing on top of a stressful interview really took it out of me.

I sigh and grab the remote to turn on the TV, too tired to change into comfy clothes. I mindlessly scroll through Netflix, deciding on watching Grey's Anatomy. I've seen it a million times so I don't really have to focus too hard on it, which is what I need right now.

I reach into my back pocket and pull out my pink iPhone, opening Instagram. I go to the search bar and type in 'blackhouse', curious to see the artists' work.

A collage of tattoos filling the screen, I click on their most recent post. It's a hyper-realistic portrait of a little girl, unbelievably beautiful. The caption has one of the artist's handles, @nhorantattoos.

I wonder if that's Niall?

I click on the name and it takes me to his account, seeing hundreds of photos of black and grey pieces. I scroll down a bit, briefly glancing at each one, until I see a picture of a group of five guys.

I tap on the little square, and immediately recognize Louis as one of the men, him being in the middle. Around him are three other heavily tattooed brunettes, and a guy with blonde hair.

The cheesy caption reads: "The Boys of Blackhouse."

Curious to see which one Niall is, I press the photo again, four account tags popping up on top of Louis and the guys with brown hair. Huh, I never would have guess that Cass would be into blondes, it doesn't seem like her type.

My eyes wander to one of names on the screen, @stylestattoo, in front of the tall one with long, curly locks. He's smirking devilishly with a strange look in his eye that doesn't sit right with me.

My finger hovers over his username, hesitating slightly, before clicking on it. I read the name on the profile.

Harry Styles.

His work is actually really cool, mainly black and grey like Niall's, but his stuff has a darker energy to it. He does a lot of hyper realistic horror-themed pieces, which is impressive. Horror being my favorite genre, I'm drawn to it immediately.

I go back to the photo of the five men, studying it a little longer. I can't put my finger on it, but something feels off about Harry, even though it's just a picture. I shake my head and push the feeling away.

I'm probably just nervous about tomorrow, overthinking it already. I can't be so judgmental before I even meet him.

I'm sure he's a great guy, right?

~~~~~

I hope y'all are liking my fic so far! I know it's started off a little slow, but just hang on shit's gonna get crazy! Please take the time to vote and comment what you think! I appreciate everyone who's read so far <3