Adversity ~ H.S.

Chapter 4

Harry's POV:

I lean back into the couch cushions as the air thickens with smoke, my eyes stinging as they adjust to it. I bring the rim of my cold beer bottle up to my lips and down half of it in a few big gulps while I listen to Louis and Niall bicker over wether the Backstreet Boys still hold any relevance.

"But I want it that way is an absolute banger Louis, and boy bands will forever have a chokehold on the music industry." Niall complains animatedly. I'm not sure Louis even cares about this as much as he just likes seeing Niall irate like this.

"Yeah well there's way better boy bands nowadays anyway. What about that 5 moments of summer or whatever? Harry took Gem to see them ages ago and she's obsessed. They're better than the Backstreet Boys." Louis says as he takes another drag on his joint, barely even looking at Niall as he speaks to him.

Louis notices me looking at smirks at me as if to say, 'look at this idiot getting all wound up'. I roll my eyes at him look back down at the beer in my hand.

I have no clue how the conversation topic ended up here but I do know that it's such a pointless thing to argue about. Although when are Niall and Louis not arguing over stupid shit like that. I swear their entire friendship has been built on bickering and bullying each other, I'm not going to lie it pisses me the fuck off.

I'm pretty much just trying to tune them out now as I replay the night in my mind, slowly going through every detail I picked up about her and categorising them accordingly.

The room is full of people I don't even recognise but everybody knows the four of us are hosting this party. People usually leave us alone unless we approach them first; I mean nobody wants to be the jackass that bothers a slightly famous boxer either so I'm usually safe.

I feel the couch dip beside me and a hard shoulder skims my own. I don't even need to turn my head to know it's Liam beside me. "What are you thinking about?" He asks curiously as if my thoughts could potentially cure cancer or some shit.

I shrug and answer him distantly after a few seconds, trying to appear as careless as possible, "dunno, nothing much."

He turns his head to look at me and I don't need to be looking at him to recognise his judgemental expression, "really? You disappeared for a while earlier...twice, and you're yet to try and insult Niall's gig. Something happen?"

I look over to him and he's sizing me up with the exact accusatory gaze that I expected from him. I can't hide anything from him, he's a fucking genius. Literally.

"I just met someone that's all." I say nonchalantly as I lean my head back, trying to get him off my back while not completely lying because I know he will see through it.

"Ah, you've been off hooking up then. Twice in one night, well done my boy, you're all grown up." He teases with a shit-eating grin as he pinches my cheek like a grandma does to her grandkids.

I shrug him off with a scowl, only causing him to break out in laughter as I grumble at him, "fuck off Li."

"She must have been something special then," he smiles and I just shake my head at him until he lowers his voice and warns me, "don't tell Niall you ditched him for a girl though, he'll be pissed."

"That's hypocritical, he's always ditching my matches for his dates and sleepovers." I say with irritation, making air quotes around 'sleepovers'.

"Yeah, well, you're a lot more successful than him so you don't need as much support, whereas us three tend to make up about 20% of his crowd." Liam whisper shouts to me, not at all being discreet.