Backfire | Harry Styles AU COMPLETED

Chapter Twenty One

The past few days have been a blur of all things Harry Styles. We've been wrapped up in each other non stop; sharing kisses, secrets and stories. I've gotten to understand him a lot better as well. We spent the rest of the night after the formal driving around London getting to know each other. For instance, he loves cats. He has three named Roger, Ernest and Bubbles. He also became interested in music after one of his best friends died in a car crash six years ago. Writing became his outlet after that, which turned into music. Infinity is the best thing to happen to him; the day he got that phone call was life changing, and he's made three new best friends.

Sadly, our blissful time together has come to an end, and we are forced to return to reality, which means the two of us share minimal glances, tiny smiles and keep our distance. Harry is still 'dating' Mackenzie after all. Even though it's not real, seeing them kiss causes my chest to burn. Yet, tonight the two of us are joining his bandmates at a bar downtown and I am terrified. All I want is for them to like me; I'm awful at making friends.

"Hey Addie." Louis smiles at me as I slip into the seat next to him. I greet him with small smile and say nothing more. My attitude toward him at the moment is indifferent, caused by the stunt he pulled at the formal. It's not just the drinking that bothered me, it's the fact that he does it so often. My mom is a counselor, which is part of the reason I want to do that too. I talked to her about it and she is contacting a few people over here about getting Louis into a few sessions about his problem. But I know that will be a lot harder than it sounds.

"Did you do the homework?" The brunette whispers as Professor York rambles about a time in history I could care less about. I nod and tilt my head to the short essay we had to write. He widens his eyes and shrugs, causing me to roll my own. That boy never does his work.

The heavy wooden door opens in the middle of our professors sentence, causing us all to turn. Harry strolls in with sunglasses on his face, a gray sweatshirt and black sweatpants. His dark hair is wild and a smirk covers his face as he sits down in the front row.

"Any reason why you're late, Styles?" The balding man asks from the center of the class room. Harry shrugs and pushes his sunglasses farther up his nose, "I had this thing, you know." He explains, and I hear a vague slur in his words. Professor York sighs with a roll of his eyes, "Will you at least take off your sunglasses? You know those are the rules and I don't care how famous you are." I watch Harry slowly set his sunglasses on top of his head and sink further into his seat, "anything for you boss."

I turn to Louis with wide eyes, causing him to shrug his shoulders, proving he is just as confused as I am. Harry slowly turns around and I freeze as his gaze lands on me. His head cocks to the side and I run my tongue over my lips as I stare back at him but he breaks the contact by grabbing a pencil from his backpack then turning back toward the front of the classroom. Somethings wrong. 

The rest of the class goes by painfully slow, my only thoughts regarding Harry. As soon as we are free to go, I rush out of the class room to catch up with him. I can see his tall frame a few feet away from me, causing me to run toward him.

"Harry." I call loudly, making him turn around slowly. His damn sunglasses block his eyes so I can't tell if he sees me or not. My thoughts are proven when he slowly approaches me, Mackenzie at his hip. The blonde peers at me and places her hands on her boney waist.

"What's up, babes?" His tone is sarcastic as his words slur together, making me gasp. "Are you drunk?" He runs a hand through his hair and groans, "Oh come on Addie, it's not that big of a deal." I throw my arms in the air and let out a dry laugh, "It's eleven in the fucking morning, Harry. What's wrong, seriously?" I ask; the second sentence much softer than the first.

Harry pushes his sunglasses on top of his head, allowing me to see the red tint to the whites of his eyes. He turns toward Mackenzie, "give us a minute?" She rolls her blue eyes but complies before walking away. The tall boy pulls me to the side, in between two buildings. The sun has hidden behind the clouds causing me to shiver.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking." He starts, causing my breath to immediately hitch in my throat. I nod, urging him to go on. "Maybe we moved a little quickly into all of this." I remain frozen and he sighs, "It's not you, believe me. I just-" I cut him off with a shake of my head. This is why I'm scared of opening up to people because they always do the same thing, and I'm left alone. 

"No Harry, you don't get to do that! You can't tell me how much you need me, spend the whole damn weekend with me, then decide to leave." My tone is harsh, causing him to place his hands on his knees and close his eyes. 

"It's not that simple, Adelina." Harry speaks firmly causing me to laugh loudly, "how isn't it simple? We're two people that like each other, there is nothing stopping that!" I yell and I know people can hear me, yet I don't care; I'm fuming.

"It's a lot more complicated than that." His statement makes me freeze, "why?" I ask him slowly, and he lets of a sigh.

"It's nothing, just forget it." I pull my eyebrows together as I press a hand to his arm, "You can trust me, Harry." I softly plead, making him nod and focus on the grass.

"Her name was Kinsley. She was anything a guy could ever want; smart, beautiful, funny." I cringe, making him apologize before continuing, "I thought she was the one, yet I was only eighteen, I was a kid. She was one of my sisters friends, so she's a few years older than me. We immediately hit it off, we just clicked." Harry focuses his eyes on mine but they seem distant as his memories flood his mind. 

"Infinity had just begun to become really popular, which meant I was making a lot of money, but that didn't matter. Long story short, I opened up to her and she stole thousands of dollars from me and then left me the morning after I lost my virginity to her." His tone is harsh making me step toward him and bring his hand in mine. A small sigh falls from my lips as I grasp him in a hug. My weight is on my toes as I try and reach his neck, while his arms grasp my waist tightly.

So that's why he got so upset at the party when we kissed. He's afraid that every girl is going to want him for his money instead of getting to know the real Harry. Yet, after something like that happens I would be scared too. We're alike in that way, afraid of getting close to someone again after people have done us wrong. 

"I know it's lame but I just have a hard time getting close to someone again." Harry tells me honestly and I can hear the innocence in his voice.

I shake my head as I search his face, "It's not lame at all, Harry. That's completely normal. She took a lot from you, including something that was extremely personal. I just want you to know that I would never do that to you. I want you to be able to trust me with anything. You can call me at three in the morning and I'll answer, no matter how much I love my sleep, I'll be there for you." His lips curl into a small smile as do mine. His teeth bring his bottom lip between them as he stares at me, causing my stomach to flutter.

"I don't know what I would do without you, baby. Thank you." Harry tells me before pulling me towards him and pressing his lips against mine firmly. I smile into the kiss and push him against the brick wall. His long arms snake around my waist, pressing me against him. I pull away slowly and rest my head on his forehead.

"Don't scare me like that again." I scold him, masking my honesty with a grin. He nods and crosses his fingers before slapping my butt as we head toward our next classes.