Just My Puck // Harry Styles

Chapter 22

V e r o n i k a ' s    P o i n t    o f    V i e w

"The screen won't let me add more than four people, should I go get help?" Vince stated once we arrived to the bowling alley and were getting set up to play.

"I can switch on and off with someone." I quickly offered since I had never been bowling before and knew my score would be terrible if I played alone.

"I'll do it." Harry and Aiden both answered at the same time and then paused to stare at each other.

Aiden smiled, "It's no problem man, I'll take turns with V. Besides, you said you loved bowling, remember? Might as well play more than us, right?"

Harry shot Aiden a displeased look and smiled a fake ass smile which almost made me want to laugh but I held it in because I knew it would only cause trouble. 

"Right." Harry answered.

"Alright, well now we have that settled, let's let the game begin." Ben stated with an awkward clap.

"Can't wait." I stated, hoping the game would be alright.

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To my surprise, the game actually was pretty fun up until Ben dropped a bowling ball on his foot.

I had just finished going and scored a spare with the help of Aiden who had wrapped his arms around me and helped me direct the ball since I had been doing terrible all night. I was still slightly mad at him for getting all rude before, but he was trying to be supportive now so I was more forgiving.

Once the pins fell, I cheered and gave him a big hug. "That was amazing!"

He chuckled, "It's just bowling, V. No big deal."

I shook my head as Ben stood up for his turn, "To someone who's been getting the gutters all night it's a huge deal. Thank you, you're the best." I then reached up to give him a quick kiss on the cheek because I wasn't really one for a lot PDA, but Aiden ended up turning his head so that I did actually kiss him and then wrapped his hand around my head to keep me from pulling away so that it was longer than just a quick peck.

"Damn." Ben stated in shock at us as he stood there with his mouth agape. "Ah shit, damn it!" he then said a second later as he realized he dropped the bowling ball that was in his hand onto his foot.

As a result to the loud sound, I pulled farther away from Aiden and avoided looking at him as I tried to help Ben. I don't know why he had been acting so weird today, but I did know I wasn't liking it.

I noticed Harry had his jaw clenched and Vince looked worried as hell. "Are you okay?" he asked Ben as Ben hopped around on one foot, holding the other one that the bowling ball had fell on.

"Mhm" Ben replied in a high pitched voice, meaning he was not fine but didn't want to admit it.

"Why don't you sit the rest of the game out?" Vince suggested. "You don't want to hurt your foot anymore."

Ben sighed, "Yeah, maybe you're right. Sorry guys."

"It's alright, now Aiden can play on his own." Harry stated.

Aiden rolled his eyes but then shot Harry a small smile. "Fine, game on."

Great. As if the tension between them wasn't already bad enough.

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I watched as my bowling ball knocked down three pins and then proceeded to cheer in happiness. "That's like my highest score on my own all night!"

"Wow, you should join a bowling league to show off that raw talent of yours." Ben stated sarcastically as he sat on the bench near our lane.

I smiled and took a seat beside him, "You're just bitter because you can't try to beat my awesome score."

Aiden stood up for his turn and laughed, "Nope Ben can't, but I can. I might even win the whole game. I just need to get a spare and I'm set."

Harry snickered, "Good luck with that."

Aiden shot Harry a glare while Harry laughed and I sighed. I didn't know why Harry had to be so difficult around Aiden, and why Aiden acted like he had something to prove to Harry. It was really bugging me because I wanted everyone to just get along. Harry and Aiden had so much in common and could be really great friends if they actually tried, but instead they just try to piss each other off and I was sick of it.

While Aiden was focusing on where to roll the ball, I turned to Harry who was seated beside me. "Could you lay off of him just a little bit? He didn't want to come tonight but did for me. He doesn't deserve anymore snarky remarks from you."

 Harry raised his hands in defense. "It's not my fault he makes it so easy. I'm just joking around. I don't actually hate the guy."

I raised an eyebrow and he laughed. "It's true. I don't think he's good enough for you and I still think he's hiding something, but he's not completely terrible."

"What? And you think you're good enough for her?" Aiden questioned as he popped up literally out of nowhere. He looked really angry as his fists clenched by his sides.

Harry rolled his eyes, "Did I say that?"

"No, but we all know you think it. It's so obvious you're in love with her! Everyone can see it but Veronika and it pisses me off how you use her like that. She thinks you're just a good friend who really cares about her but you're just trying to get her to fall in love with you too." Aiden practically shouted in Harry's face.

My face was in pure shock as I listened to Aiden rant. He was just on a roll today with all his negative emotions. I never imagined he would ever lose it like that, but apparently there was more to him than what I thought.

I wanted to comment and neutralize the situation, but I was honestly at a loss for words. I didn't know Aiden felt that Harry was trying to steal me away or that Harry even liked me as more than a friend still, if that was even true which I doubted it was.

"She's not going to be with you so just give it up already, it's pathetic." Aiden continued as Harry just glared at him, way more intensely than before.

Okay, now I should probably intervene before Aiden can do anymore damage. I stood up and crossed my arms. "Aiden, stop it. You're getting so out of hand right now. Harry just -"

Before I could continue, Harry stood up and abruptly punched Aiden right in the nose, stared at him for a moment, and then walked away.

"Harry just...Harry just punched you. Oh my gosh."

I sat back down and put my head down into my hands, ignoring the world for just a few seconds to catch a breather. I just wanted to have a fun game of bowling and now everything was a mess. Why was being a normal teenager so freaking complicated?

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lol so this sucks

i wasn't even planning on writing this chapter in this direction but idk i went with it and hopefully it was decent enough??

sorry if it seems a little rushed, i just really wanted to get this up today bc it's my birthday and i love giving presents to people rather than receiving them so lol here u go guys

Questions

1. Who do you feel the most sorry for in this chapter? (bc a lot of people got hurt woops)

2. What should Ronnie do after what's happened? Do you expect her to leave Aiden or make up with him? Should she chase after Harry?

3. Do you think Aiden was way out of control here, or can you kind of see where he's coming from? Did he deserve to be punched?