crystal method || Harry Styles au

35

"Mai!" Harry and Mai both looked up to see Greg's little brother standing in the doorway of the apartment. Mai backed up slowly and crossed her arms.

"Niall, you shouldn't have followed me here." She looked down as the door closed and she knew that he had stepped further into the room.

"I had reason." He reached for her arm. "Come on, you're going back to Greg's with me."

"Aye man, I don't know who you are, or what your problem is, but she's not going anywhere with you." Harry shook his head in disbelief and looked down on the kid who hadn't seen a tattoo gun in his whole life.

"You can fuck off. I know what you've done. I know how you are. There is no way in hell that I'm letting her stay with you. Mai, let's go." Niall spat at the other teenage boy and Mai wasn't sure what to do.

"Niall. Please leave." She whispered and looked up to see his stunned face. She couldn't manage to look him in the eye and she choked slightly at the thought of him never talking to her again.

"So, the past two weeks meant nothing to you?" He gave her a weak smile and rolled his eyes back. "Should've known." He laughed out of anger and turned on his heel.

"No, Niall please don't do this."

"Nah, I understand. You have my number. It's useless if you're going to be stupid." He licked his lips and opened the front door, walking out quickly and slamming it behind him.

Mai heard the floor squeak and she noticed that Harry had sat down on the couch, picking viciously at his bottom lip; a faint smile playing on the corners of his mouth. He was smiling devilishly, and she knew how hard it must have been for him to not pin the poor blonde kid against the wall and beat the living hell out of him. She was proud of how far he was coming and hated to think that it could be ruined by her foolish choices.

"Can I ask you a question though?" He steadily stared at the candle on the coffee table and waited for an answer from the girl he was falling completely in love with.

"Yes." She muttered and shifted her weight on her feet; standing uncomfortably in front of him.

"Did you guys sleep together?" He refused to blink, knowing that as soon as he did, he would begin crying. He had been holding it together for too long and was one answer away from being a complete wreck. He thought of the how nice it would've been to have his knuckles make contact with Niall but also knew that was what would hurt Mai the most. Even though she had completely wrecked him.

"No."

He nodded and folded his hands together. He chose to believe her because the latter option would kill him.

"Do you want to chase after him?" Harry's voice lowered and his hair fell down in front of his eyes.

"Yes."

"Go."

There were small footsteps and the closing of a door that caused Harry to unwind. The feeling he got when she left was starting to feel like home, and not the home with her, the home he tried to desperately run away from.

He waited 5 minutes before gaining the strength to stand up and walk out of the apartment door, locking it behind him and jumping into his truck. The drive to the cemetery seemed to have gotten shorter and the fresh air caused him to feel more alive than ever.

He climbed over the gate and walked the long distance until he was in between his two parents graves. He didn't say a word; instead, he lay down in the grass and looked up. This time of year, in Oregon, stars weren't very visible. In fact, there were almost none. He picked at the green grass on each side of him and imagined that his mom was there. His head in her lap and her fingers running through his hair as he complained about his day in middle school. The mean kids, the moody teachers, his struggle with math. It all seemed like decades ago. He sang softly, enjoying the silence of the graveyard.