Ever After | Book 2 of the Selected Series

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Louis groggily scratched his beard, a long yawn escaping his lips. It was way too early, and he was still heavily hangover from last night, his head pounding repeatedly and his mouth still felt dry even after three glasses of water. He leaned on the elevator's wall, staring at the numbers increasing as he neared the last floor. A short ding echoed, and he stepped outside, heading for Harry's luxurious suite at the end of the hallway. He already had a card of his best mate's room which he scanned before entering. He halted his steps, a heavy odor of alcohol tingling his nostrils. The silence inside the suite made him frown with a light shiver and he slowly walked inside.

"Harry?" He called, walking past the kitchen and seeing a table set with now cold breakfast meals. His frown deepened as silence answered him and a small lump of anxiety grew in his stomach. "Harry, where are you mate?" He called again, heading this time for the bedroom, opening the door cautiously. His heart dropped when he saw the younger man spread out on his bed, bottles of beer surrounding his pale figure. Harry's face was red and puffy from tears, his body shaking with the quiet sobs emitting from his lips and a sudden panic took Louis as he ran towards his friend. "Harry! Harry what are you doing?" He placed a hand over Harry's forehead, checking if he was sick and he cursed as he felt his skin burning under his touch. He pulled away the sheets that were covering Harry's sweaty body, the bottles tumbling down on the carpet and the sound seemed to wake Harry up from the blurry haze he was in.

"L-Louis?" Harry's voice cracked as he slowly opened his eyes, seeing the worried look of his best friend. Louis managed to slowly lift Harry's upper body and place cushions under, while Harry murmured incoherent words followed by faint calls for him.

"What in the fuck were you thinking." Louis mustered, rushing to wipe away the sweat on Harry's body with the sheets when suddenly, his friend erupted in louder sobs. Louis flinched in shock, worriedly staring at his friend, confused about his state. "Harry do I need to call an ambulance?" Harry shook his head, sniffing loudly as he let his head loosely fall on his shoulder.

"Louis." He whined, body shaking with loud sobs and Louis felt absolutely helpless.

"Harry what happened to you?" He asked, almost begged for his friend to answer to at lease ease his worries. Harry ran a hand through his wet hair, face contorted in such pain that it hurt to watch him.

"I-I fucked up, Louis." He finally answers in a croaked whisper. "I made a huge mistake."

**

DAY 2

"Ladies please, I need your attention when I'll be calling names." Lindsey announced over the voices in the Blazed room. All the girls were gathered there, just like old times, waiting for their names to be called so they could be measured for the bridesmaids' dresses. As tradition required, all previous Selected were to attend the royal wedding as bridesmaids, but weren't obligated to stand by Madison during the ceremony. Madison was still waiting for Doniya, her childhood friend, to arrive from her trip to Europe so she could try on her own dress which would match Grace and Kim's.

"Madison, darling, your mom called earlier to say that the wedding dress is almost done. She'll be finished in a week and a half, right on time for trials." Lindsey told Mady who nodded, excitement building up in her belly. She demanded that her mother would design her wedding dress, honoring her. Showing the world how talented her mother was being worth more than any designer dress that was suggested to her.

"Camellia, it's your turn." The beautiful brunette stood up and followed Lindsey out of the Blazy to get measured and the girls went back to chatting amongst them. Madison tried to focus on the story Kimberly was telling their little group of friends but her eyes kept diverting towards Anastasia. The tall blonde was reading a book, laying on a couch slightly secluded from the rest of them. The whole buzz around her new personality had faded since yesterday and the ex-contestants went back to not giving her attention anymore. She didn't seem to mind it, her face serene but eyes focused on the plot of her book. This new Anastasia was a mystery to Madison and she had difficulty believing it. Kim had admitted the day before that she didn't believe in her "act" and that she was probably scheming something. Grace stayed neutral while Mady was torn. She felt like she needed to talk to Anastasia about this and maybe get some sense of closure? Things didn't end well the last time they had met, but now that they were older and more mature, she felt like it was time to move on.