Twist Of Fate

Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures

Harry's POV
"But that's crazy, you're only nineteen!" Kate's frantic voice comes from Liam's room. I stop dead in my tracks, and move closer toward the door. Is she talking to Mus? I've been trying to eavesdrop on Kate and Bump's conversations, whenever possible. However, Kate always keeps the door shut or talks to Bumper when I'm not around. "No, Mus, I will not allow you to go through with that." So she is talking to Bump. "Look, whatever the reason, what's wrong is wrong. I'm sorry, but I will not support this decision of yours." Silence suddenly fills up the room. I peek my head around the door frame to see what happened. Kate's sitting on the bed with her head in her hands. Suddenly, she raises her head and her eyes land on me.
"Oh, Harry! Come in," Kate calls out to me. I point my index finger at my chest, as if unsure if she's calling me. Kate nods her head vigorously and I step into Liam's room. What's going on? Since Kate joined us on tour, she hasn't sat next to me, or spoken to me properly. Heck, most of the times when I enter the room, she just gets up and leaves.
"Are you sure you want me?" I question, stopping near the door. Kate nods her head and flicks her wrist, as if to dismiss my doubts.
"Yeah, of course. Who else would I be talking to, a ghost?" Kate pats the bed beside her, gesturing for me to take a seat. Hesitantly, I oblige.
"Are you high?" Kate raises an eyebrow and glares at me.
"Harry, I'm not your biggest fan-"
"No kidding," I murmur.
"Stop interrupting me!" Kate scolds. "Nor do I want to be doing this anymore than you do. But desperate times call for desperate measures." Kate sighs melodramatically, causing me to roll my eyes.
"And if I may ask, what are these desperate times?" I make quotation marks with my fingers, as I say the sentence.
"Mus is getting engaged." Kate blurts out.
"What?!" I yell, standing up. "Are you out of your mind?"
"I know, I know, my reaction exactly and no, I've not lost it yet. But the truth of the matter is that she is getting engaged and then God knows that she'll decide to get married before twenty-one, as well." Kate huffs, clearly as against this idea as me. "And as much as I'd like to deny it, you're my only hope. We both know that you and Mus share a really special couple-y bond. Otherwise, you both would clearly not be moping over each other for so long." So long? It's not even been a month. "That's why I need you to go to Dubai with me." Kate gets up, as if we're leaving right away. Hell, in fact we are.
"Yeah, let's go. We've got an engagement to stop," I say.
"Done, then. But just remember, Harry, that after we've completed our mission, you and I are arch nemesis's again." I nod my head, clenching my jaw in anger. I'm going to kill that bastard who is stealing my girl.
"I'll find out the details about the earliest flight leaving for Dubai. If not, we'll charter a plane." I march out of the room like a man with a mission.
********
"Okay, so you don't know where Mus' dad's house is, or where she is currently? Do you know anything, Kate?" I ask, exasperatedly. I've had a long flight, Kate annoying me throughout the journey and now she tells me that we've nowhere to go. "I told you let's book a hotel, but no. You just had to argue with me, and say we'll stay with Mus. Now we have nowhere to stay and I'm tired."
"And cranky, like a baby." Kate says, rolling her eyes.
"I'm tired!" I defend myself. From the corner of my eyes, I can see a wide circle of fans forming around Kate and I. "Let's get in the car, Kate and then we'll figure life out from there." She shakes her head adamantly, and dials Mus' number yet again. "Fine, then! You stay out here in the heat, while I sit in the cool air of the car." I yank open the Range Rover's door that is waiting for us and hurriedly get in. The driver looks at me in the rear-view mirror and smiles.
"Where to, Mr. Styles?" He asks, nodding his head as a salute to me.
"Nowhere, actually. Sadly, we have to wait for my lady friend, who is adamant on standing in the heat," I say.
"Sure, Sir." I place my head on my palm and stare out of the window. After about ten minutes, Kate opens the door and gets in beside me.
"Got it!" Kate exclaims, grinning.
"Her address?" She nods her head vigorously, looking like a child whose just won a bag full of candy. "Go on then! Tell him," I urge. Kate clucks her tongue and leans forward toward the driver. She explains the address to him and he nods, clearly good at directions and familiar with Dubai. To me, the address just sounds like gibberish. Even when we visit Dubai for concerts, we don't stay long, so I've never really got to explore the place. Anyhow, this country is too hot for my liking and I always end up catching a cold here. Because when we're in malls and our hotel rooms, our bodies are cool and the minute we step outside, we're hit with the heat. Due to this constant changing of temperature, I always get a fever and a serious cold. After about ten minutes, the driver stops outside of a huge house - no, it's the size of a mansion.
"Mus' dad is going bankrupt?" Kate murmurs underneath her breath, shaking her head. I frown, and get out of the car. Kate still hasn't told me why the heck Mus got engaged and who she's gotten engaged to. The only answer I get from Kate, when I do ask is, 'You can ask Mus, yourself.'
"Harry, you can manage with the bags, right?" Kate asks, but doesn't even wait for my reply, before she walks through the open gate. Why is the gate open? Does no one in that house care about security? Huffing, I yank open the trunk and pull out Kate's and my luggage. Fuck, her bags are heavy. I thank the driver and then tell him what time to arrive here tomorrow. He nods his head, and smiles at me, before getting into the car and driving off. Lugging, Kate's and my suitcases behind me, I head into the compounds of Mus' dad's house. As I near the door, I can see Kate wrapped in a tight hug with someone. However, Kate's face is toward me and the woman's back is facing the other side.
"Where's Mus?" I ask Kate, dropping the suitcases with a thud on the porch. The woman Kate was hugging, steps back and turns around. I gasp. It's Mus! But she looks so different. Her hair is much longer, as if she has gotten extensions, or something and they're looking lighter than her natural color. Bump has lost a lot of weight as well, that's why I wasn't able to recognize her from behind. Her shirt - her favorite, 'I Love Weekends,' - shirt is sagging near her stomach, proving my point that she has lost a lot of weight. In fact, she looks borderline weak. I frown, sweeping my eyes over her body once more. When my eyes come in contact with Mus', she's staring at me. Staring right at me, straight into my eyes with her coffee brown ones. Her eyes glisten for a moment, before she turns back around to face Kate, and takes hold of her hands.
"Kate, I have so many people that you need to meet. Let's go," Mus says, excitedly. But her voice is filled with fake emotion and even Kate detects that, I can tell by her expression. What is Mus doing? I want to reach out, take hold of her and just comfort my girl. Anyone close to her can tell that she's clearly in pain. But I bet that no one in this horrid house has been able to detect her sadness, and despair.
"Mus, aren't you going to greet Harry?" Kate asks, smiling at Mus and then at me. Wow, Kate smiled at me! I don't know if I should distribute sweets, or wait for an earthquake.
"Mus!" Someone calls from the house and then out steps a man. He looks around my age, and he carries himself with utmost confidence. His eyes land on Mus, and I can see sheer affection in his eyes. If I'm not mistaken he's her...
"Kate, meet Carter. Carter, Kate; she's my best friend, who has come all the way from America to attend our engagement." Mus introduces them, grinning. What a facade!
"A pleasure to meet you." Carter says, shaking Kate's hand. She gives him a tight-lipped smile and then turns to face me.
"Harry, Carter. Carter, Harry; he's Mus'...well, let's just say that they had a bond so strong that we thought they'd get married by 2019." Kate says, giving Carter the most plastic smile I've ever seen. Carter's smile gets wiped off his nasty face, and he clears his throat.
"Nice to meet you," Carter's tone is clipped. I nod my head, but don't smile. "Mus, Dad's calling you inside."
"Okay. I'll go and talk to him, and you can help them with their bags. Thanks," Mus says. Before going into the house, she places her hands on Carter's shoulders and pecks him on the cheek. He whispers something in her ear and this show of affection twists my stomach into a bunch of tight knots.