My Brother's Best Friend

3. The Way

The party was growing wilder and wilder by the moment. Already I heard the lively chatter and laughter all the way from upstairs, and I could feel the bass from the music thump underneath my feet.
Judging by the sounds coming from downstairs, I figured that some people were already wasted, or at least pretending to be. I shuddered. I really hated parties, but I'd seem like a loser if I didn't even attend a party held at my own house.
I gazed out into the night. The stars twinkled in the sky, shining like precious jewels. I'd much rather lay down on a grassy field with earbuds in my ears, staring up at them like I could be sucked right into the sky.
My dad was an astronomer, and he told me so much about the stars. All the constellations and planets. It was stupid, but sometimes I felt that he was right up in the sky right now, in the stars, where he was meant to be.
I was snapped out of my little daze when I heard my phone buzz, signaling a text message. No doubt it was Pietra, wondering where I was. Once I got that text, I knew it was showtime.
Sure enough, it was her, being her usual impatient self. I rolled my eyes and got up, looking at myself in the mirror one last time.
When I opened the door to my room, I mentally groaned. You could see everything over the stair banister; below me was the dance floor. The guys had moved all of the furniture out of the way to make room for it. The smell of sweat and different perfumes filled my nostrils.
People had their hands up, grinding against each other; Lady Gaga's song "Just Dance" was blasting from the speakers. Louis and Harry had added strobe lights to the ceiling, and the room was fairly dark apart from the blue and red flashing lights.
Just dance,

gonna be okay,

da-da-da-do-mm

Just dance, spin that record babe..

Already I could smell the beer. I bit my lip and made my way down the stairs, almost tripping over a couple making out on the bottom. They glared at me as I walked past, angry that I'd interrupted their moment of passion. I pushed through the crowd, smiling and waving at people who said hi to me.
I was fairly popular at school, only because Louis was my brother. I tried to search the crowd for a familiar face, maybe Pietra or Niall, but I couldn't spot them anywhere. I didn't really have the stamina right now to deal with Louis or Harry.
A girl with bright red hair bumped into me, causing her drink to splash to the floor. She just stared at it a moment and giggled, then disappeared into the grinding crowd again. My eyes widened.
Why the hell hadn't she cleaned it up? She did know that this was my house, right? Whatever. I'd leave it to Louis to deal with the mess. After all, he always did.
The song changed to Summertime Sadness by Lana Del Rey, which was one of my favorite songs. I considered going up on the floor to dance, but I didn't really feel like it.
Kiss me hard before you go,

Summertime sadness.

I just wanted you to know,

that baby, you're the best.

As I was making my way towards the kitchen, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I whirled around, expecting to see Harry, but it wasn't.

Zayn Malik, a guy from my English class last year, stood before me with a smirk on his attractive, full lips. His black hair was gelled and it looked like it had taken a long time to style.

"Hey," he said. "Enjoying the party?"
I threw my head back and laughed. I'd missed him a lot over the summer. Zayn was another one of my guy friends. It was obvious he had a crush on me, but unfortunately for him, I didn't feel the same way.
Louis didn't know him very well, and he was more than a little wary that I sometimes hung out with him.
At first, Zayn looked dark and mysterious, but once you got to know him he was actually really intelligent and really funny. He wasn't that popular; he kind of had his own crowd, no one seemed to pay him much attention, despite how strikingly handsome he was.
But even though he was very attractive, I just didn't think we clicked like that. He was pretty cool to have around, though.
"Hey, Zayn," I chirped, giving him a hug. He hugged back, and I could smell the cologne through his T-shirt.
"Hey, Amber," he replied, drawing back and studying me, his eyes roaming up and down my body. "You look nice."
"Thanks." I pretended that I hadn't noticed he was checking me out. I'd told him when we first met that I wasn't interested, and he respected that. But let's be honest here: he was a guy. What were you going to do, you know? "Have you seen Pietra anywhere?"
"Oh, she's with Ariana and Liz, I think," Zayn told me, biting his lip. "They're all squealing over the new guy."
"The new guy?" I asked. "What new guy?"
"Oh, he's just-" Zayn started, but was interrupted when someone slapped my ass, making me squeal.
I whirled around to see the smirking face of Harry, my hands balled into fists. My cheeks flushed red with anger. I can't believe he just did that, and in front of everyone too! What a dick.
"Asshole!" I cried, slapping Harry on the chest. Harry just laughed, like it was the funniest joke in the world.
"Please, you know you liked it, Dots," he purred, getting close to me, slinging an arm around my shoulder.
I couldn't tell if he was drunk or not. Harry was one of those people that didn't need a drink to have a good time. He was a man-whore either way, though.
I shrugged him off of me, glaring at him. "Fuck you," I said.
He got a sneaky look on his face, like a little boy stealing a cookie from the cookie jar. "Yes, please, will you?" he retorted, causing Zayn to laugh. They reached across and gave each other a high-five.
My mouth dropped open. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Boys were just so... ugh, I couldn't even put it into words.
"Close your mouth, you'll catch flies," Harry joked. I rolled my eyes.
"Get bent, Styles," I told him before walking off. I could feel his eyes roam all over me as I walked away, so I gave both of them the finger behind my back. I could hear their laughter even in the kitchen.
I walked over to the fridge to get myself a drink. As usual, Niall was in the kitchen. He was talking to Holly, a girl in my old History class that he liked. I waved to him before opening the fridge, seeing what was inside.
I was about to grab a soda when I felt a tap on my shoulder.
"Niall!" I squealed as I turned around. There he stood, a casual hoodie over his messy blonde hair, his braces flashing when he smiled at me. Niall was so happy that he was getting his braces out next week. He hated them because it made him look younger than all of the other guys, plus his food choices were limited, but I thought it made him look cute. Not like that, or anything.
"Hello, Amber," he chirped in his Irish accent.
"Are you satisfied with the food here?" I asked with a laugh.
He grimaced jokingly. "Eh, it's better than last week's party, but still not the best. You don't have the right flavor of crisps."
"Oh, I'm so hurt, Niall," I whined. "You do realize that Louis made me go buy all the food while he sat on his lazy ass playing Call-Of-Duty, right?"
"Aww, poor you. Next time, order Nandos," he said, making me laugh.
"So what's-" I began, but then he shoved something in my face.
"Here," he said. I took it. It was a shot glass, filled with dark liquid.
I frowned at it, and then shrugged. "What the heck?" I said. "YOLO." With that, I downed the glass in one gulp. The burn of the alcohol stung as it slid down my throat, and I could feel the effects immediately.
"Please, never say that again," Niall winced.
"What? YOLO?"
"Yeah-" Niall began, but was interrupted by Louis approaching us.
"Hey, man, how's it going?" Louis questioned, glancing from Niall to me. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest.
"Louis, go away. He's not hitting on me, so we're good."
"I trust that you're not hitting on my little sister?" Louis asked, looking into Niall's eyes.
"No, man, I-" Niall tried, looking uncomfortable as he shifted from foot to foot.
"Louis, stop torturing the poor guy," I complained, offering Niall an apologetic smile. He flashed a toothy one at me in return. "Jeez."
Louis' blue eyes snapped to me. "You," he growled. "We need to talk."
"What?" I groaned as he pulled my arm away from the crowd. He walked into a hallway where not a lot of people were, and he glared at me, crossing his arms over his chest, looking me up and down.
"Go change," he told me.
I sighed, exasperated. Really? He was going to do this to me tonight?
"No." I stomped my foot in protest and then giggled. My head felt fuzzy from the alcohol already.
"Amber, all of the guys are looking at you like you're something to eat," Louis hissed.
"So?" I shrugged, smirking as I reached up to ruffle his hair playfully, trying to lighten the mood. "Don't worry about me, Lou, like I said a million times before, I can take care of myself, okay?"
Louis grit his teeth. "Amber-" he started, but I had already pushed past him back into the crowd. I looked back. He looked agonized, just standing there with a pissed-off look on his face, and I felt a little guilty that I'd just disobeyed him like that. But hey, it was my party too, wasn't it? I should be allowed to wear what I want.
I danced through the crowd, putting my hands up in the air. The alcohol really loosened me up, and now I was actually having a pretty good time. I bumped into Pietra and Niall, and we all danced for a while to Cascada's "Everytime We Touch."
Everytime we touch,

I get this feeling,

and everytime we kiss,

I feel I could fly

Don't you feel my heart beat fast,

I want this to last,

Need you by my side...

"I got you this," Pietra shouted over the pounding bass, handing me a beer. I quickly unscrewed it and gulped half of it down, causing them both to laugh.
"Damn, Amber, be careful," Niall smirked jokingly, trying to snatch the bottle from my hands.
I squealed and shook my head, holding it above my head and moving it back and forth so he couldn't reach it. "I'm getting wasted tonight, and no one's gonna stop me," I told them both determinedly, shaking my hips to the beat. They both just rolled their eyes and continued dancing.
"This isn't like you, Ambs," Pietra commented, still laughing.
I was about to reply just as the song changed to "The Way" by Ariana Grande and Mac Miller.

As soon as my brain processed that this song was playing, I let out a little scream. "This is my song!" I cried, grabbing Niall and Pietra's hands to pull them further to the dance floor. On our way there, I bumped into none other than Harry Styles, who was making his way through the crowd like he owned the place. Which was stupid, because this was me and Louis' house, not his. Although, he was here practically 24/7, much to my dismay. God, he was such an asshole!
"Hey, Dots," he said huskily, making me scoff. Again with that damn nickname!
"Hey, Styles. Didn't I tell you to get bent?" I said, smiling sweetly, making Niall and Pietra laugh.
Feigned hurt flashed across Harry's face, and he put his hands up in defense. "Jeez, Amber, I just wanted to ask if I could dance with your sexy ass," he said, causing me to throw my head back and laugh.
"My sexy ass, huh? So not the rest of my body, too? It'd look kind of funny if you were dancing with a butt not attached to someone's body."
"Ha-ha. Very funny." he said, crossing his arms over his chest and raising an eyebrow. "So? Dance?"
I glanced to Niall and Pietra. Niall was on his phone, texting someone, but Pietra had a knowing smirk on her lips as she waggled her eyebrows at me. I turned back to Harry, my hands on my hips, looking him up and down as I pretended to think it over.
"Hmmm...," I tapped my finger to my chin. "Let me think....,"
Harry cocked his head like an eager puppy, obviously wanting an answer.
"Well?"
I shrugged innocently and flashed him a sugary smile. "Nope," I replied nonchalantly, popping the p. Before he saw me giggle, I turned around and skipped away. I could hear the laughter of Pietra and Niall behind me, and I couldn't stop smiling.
Take that, Styles!

My smile faded, however, when I felt someone pull on my arm. I groaned as I turned around, thinking it was Louis nagging on me to go change again. But standing before me was not Louis but Harry.
I grit my teeth in annoyance. Jesus Christ, not again!
"Buzz off, Styles," I hissed. He just snickered and looked around, probably looking for my brother. I felt nausea bubble up in my stomach. Oh God, what was he going to do?
"Your brother's going to kill me for this, but...," he said, and the next thing I knew I was lifted off my feet and slung over Harry's strong shoulder, as if I weighed nothing at all. I screamed as people looked over at us, and banged on Harry's back with my fists, but it was no use. I could feel him chuckling beneath me, which only made my anger grow even more.
"Put me down, Styles!" I sputtered.
"Never, Dots," he replied, making me gasp.
"I hate you!"
"Aww, that's so sweet. I hate you too."
"Coming through, guys." He carried me back to the dance floor, right in the middle. Everyone cleared out the way for us, creating a little circle. I could hear gasps and murmurs and laughter run throughout the crowd. Oh God, where was my brother? If he knew about this...
Slowly, Styles set me down, and I realized I was a little weak on my feet. My mouth dropped open as I stared at his smirking face.
"I... I can't believe you!" I stammered, clenching my fists and glaring up at him, absolutely appalled.
He just shrugged. "You think I was going to let you off without a dance that easy?"
"I'm not dancing with you." I turned on my heel and started to storm off, but not before Harry grabbed my arm and spun me around, making the world around me spin as I fell into his arms. His heavily tattooed arm supported my back; his other hand gripped tightly on my ass. My heart raced, pounding against my ribcage as I stared into his eyes; the memory of our earlier staring contest flashed through my mind.
His breath blew across my face, and I could feel his heart beating through his T-shirt too. We were so close, closer than we'd ever been, and I couldn't help feeling like I wanted to squirm out of his grip.
"Changed your mind?" he asked, a whisper of a smile playing across his lips.
"Harry, I...,"
Ariana Grande's "The Way" was still blasting through the speakers. I hesitated, staring into his eyes.
Damn. There was something in his eyes that just wouldn't let me refuse. I sighed reluctantly as he propped me up, still waiting for an answer.
"Fine, asshole," I said. "I'll dance with you."
You give me that kind of something

Want it all the time, need it everyday

On a scale of one to ten I'm at a hundred

Never get enough, I can't stay away

If you want it, I got it, I got it everyday
You can get whatever you need from me

Stay by your side, I'll never leave you

And I ain't going nowhere 'cause you're a keeper

So don't you worry, baby, you got me
I got a bad boy, I must admit it (hey)
You got my heart, don't know how you did it (hey)

And I don't care who sees it babe

I don't wanna hide the way I feel when you're next to me (hey)

I love the way (I love the way you make me feel)
I love the way (I love it)

Baby, I love the way (I love the way you make me feel)

{A/N I HATE ENDING WITH CLIFF HANGERS! So I decided not to. :) I have a question for you guys. Whats your fave 1d fanfics? Because i need to read some more! I really like 'The Tutor' and 'I'm Not Her' :) Love Ya! Xx Tasha}