Toxic (Harry Styles)

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Just another tearful teenager in the impassive reality of this world. Just passing by, always moving on. Not real time to stick around.

“Oi, Harry! Over here!”

A voice calls us from the middle of a crowd when we walk in. Harry searches the space, but I’m too short to see who beckon us over the swarm of dancing bodies. Harry’s hand tightens on mine, almost to the point where it hurts, and pulls me through the sweaty crowd. I watch Harry warily; I can tell that something’s off. We eventually come to an opening where at least seven people are already seated. There’s just two other women among men.

Unlike me, these women are clad in dresses‒ one in black, and the other in navy blue ‒with their blonde hair elegantly in curls. I feel underdressed just looking at them; they’re movie stars and I’m middle class.

I pry my eyes away from their laughing expressions, examining the other men. Most are dressed like Harry, in a nice shirt and a jacket hanging on the back of their chairs.

A man with a shaved head pats Harry’s shoulder, greeting him like old buddies. The man points to the two empty chairs next to him. Harry shrugs off his coat, placing it on the back of his seat, and then pulls our mine for me to sit. I quietly take a seat and observe the rest of the group.

“Care for introductions, Harry?” The shaved headed man asks, eyeing me.

“Sure,” Harry replies. “Shay, this is Steven‒” he gestures to the shave headed man, and then starts pointing out the others “‒then there’s Luke, Sid, William, and Ty. There’s also Emily and Kylie who have gone to get a drink.”

I almost immediately forget half of the names, but I don’t want to make a fool of myself by asking again. Instead, I just smile hesitantly at them.

“Guys, this is Shay.” I receive many welcomes, starting to feel somewhat comfortable, as Steven strikes a conversation with me. Harry whispers in my ear, “I’m going to get us a drink.” I nod.

Steven waits until Harry's out of hearing range to ask me questions. "So how long have you're known our lad, Harry?" He queries, sliding over in Harry's seat so I can hear him over the loud music. I shift uncomfortably in my spot, not completely liking how close he is to me. Steven seems harmless, though. He reminds me of someone who's come out of the military, someone who protects people.

I think back to the night of the party, when I first encountered Harry. Today's Monday, so just over a week ago. So much has happened since then. I almost lost a friend. I was─ and still am sometimes ─stalked by a relentless man, who's forced his way into my life. All in all, my life has done a completely 180, and I'm afraid that it's not going to slow down anytime soon.

"Just over a week," I tell him. "Yeah, Harry practically forced me to dance with him. He never takes no for an answer."

Steven doesn't look surprised by my answer, "No, he doesn't. For as long as I've known Harry, he's gotten what he's wanted."

I can't say that I'm shocked by this information, really. Harry's intimidating, big and strong, I'm sure anyone can see that. He can easily persuade people into his way─ though when he tries to persuade me, I fight back, and most of the time it's useless.

"But you," he starts again, "You're different from the other birds he's had before."

This, though, does take me off guard. Different? How? I know that someone like Harry has gotten girls before─ whether it was serious or not. And sure, they probably were more willing, unlike me. But how different could I be?