Whatever Chains (Sequel to Where Your Heart is - A Harry Styles fanfiction)

Part Twenty-Five: But a twist of fate.

Jasper lets himself drop heavily on the bed, looking up to the ceiling, and I do my best to hide my annoyance.

I like the guy, and I've always understood him having her back and taking her side although it was the wrong one; but I can't forget the fact that if he had been a little bit more flexible, my situation could now be much less miserable.

"Can't a guy simply want to say hi to a friend when he's in town?" He asks, seemingly outraged.

"Yes, he can." I respond, rooted to my place, and arms folded across my chest. "But we're not really friends, are we?"

He finally looks at me, and the always playful, relaxed demeanor he was sporting so far seems to deflate into awkwardness.

Lifting both arms over his head, he nods and lets his shoulders fall in defeat.

"I won't say that didn't hurt, man." He says. "But fair enough."

I think about apologizing for being so blunt, but I keep my mouth shut and I just stand there, observing him impatiently and waiting for an answer to my first question.

"Fine! Olivia called me to tell me you were here and that you looked..." He pauses, I assume trying to find the right words. "Out of sorts."

I snort and I want to tell him that they don't know me at all. They don't who I am, not really. So they don't have the capability to know how I look like when I am out of sorts, or into them for that matter. They don't know me at all.

"And you wanted to what? Check up on me?" I ask him, instead. "Maybe gather some intel so you could pass it along to your master?"

I suddenly remember that I have Andrew's letter in my hand and, just in case, I put it back where I had it.

Jasper seems really thrown off by my behavior, and he just stares at me baffled.

"Listen, Harry, I know that we had our differences in the past, and I thought you understood my position." His tone is now dead serious, and there is this tension in the air that makes the room even more unbearable for me. "But I honestly have no idea what you're talking about right now... Are you and Lea..."

"Okay?" I get ahead if his words. "No. We are not okay. And frankly, I don't know why I'm surprised that she haven't told you about it. That girl can be a bloody vault when she wants to, am I right?"

I don't know why but in a matter of minutes I tell him everything that has happened with us since I found the letter, and once I do, is like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

I haven't talked about any of this with anyone, not even my sister. In fact, in order to avoid having to answer the obvious questions she would have asked me if I would have come back to her place, I decided to take advantage of the fact that Ed is now somewhere in Iceland enjoying his own time off, and I have been crashing at his flat until last night.

"So, this is the dumb thing you were about to do then?" He asks when I get to the end of the story and I show him the letter. "You were going to see him?"

I already knew that idea was ridiculous, but hearing it coming out of his mouth seems absolutely mental.

What would I have said or done once standing in front of him? I know there was nothing for me to lose from that confrontation, but that doesn't mean I had something to gain either.

It would have been absolutely pointless.

"Stupid, I know." I say with a nod, tacitly thanking him for being in the right place, at the right time.

"You haven't even opened it yet." He points out, giving me back the letter. "Why?"

I can tell that his question is out of pure curiosity for what the letter has to say rather than the reasons I chose not to read it.

"Because the content of the letter is not important. This is not about him." I shrug. "If you want to read it, be my guest."

The speed with which he tugs the paper from my fingers earns me a decent paper cut, and I wince at the very same time he apologizes.

But he doesn't stop himself and wastes no time tearing it open and taking out the two sheets out of the envelope.

His eyes quickly shift from side to side as he reads the first one, which is a handwritten letter that occupies the whole page.

All I read is the 'Dear Lea' at the beginning, thinking about how ridiculous it sounds, and I stop myself from reading any further.

I honestly don't care one bit.

"This is..." Jasper sounds out of breath, and I look up at him to notice his eyes wide open and a confused smile dancing on his lips. "Harry, she has to read this! She needs to read this letter, like now!"

I stare at him like he just grew another head, and he practically shoves the second sheet in my face.

This one is not hand written but a printed text; and at the top of it is the familiar logo of her former school.

"What is that?" I ask him, confused, and he bounces up like a spring.

"I didn't think that he could, but the bastard fucking did it." The euphoria in his voice and movements makes me dizzy. "He got her scholarship back!"

*****

How awesome is this? I mean, really? All of a sudden, he has become the hero of this story and I am left to play the part, not of the villain, but the bloody comic relief; the stupid sidekick who not only is barely funny, but a major obstacle who has been sitting, though to be fair unknowingly, on a piece of information that could, and will, set her life back into its right course.

My head is spinning. Anger and guilt swirling together into a mix that leaves me speechless and motionless.

Jasper is clutching his phone against the side of his face, walking in circles around the room and cursing at the air.

"Come on, Lea!" He bites put. "Pick up the damn phone, would you?" With a grunt of sheer frustration, he throws the phone on the bed and stretches his hand towards me. "You call her."

The tone of demand in his voice takes me aback, and I childishly grasp my phone again my chest.

"What? Why?" I realize how stupid I sound, but I don't bulge.

"She's not picking up, and something tells me she's just being... Lea." He says, still reaching. "She might pick up of she sees it's you."

I laugh sadly. If history is any indicator, and although the roles have been drastically reversed now and I am the one performing the ice treatment, Jasper's logic is, well, everything but logical.

But I can't talk to her right now. As happy as I am that she gets to have a second chance, I'm not sure how to feel about the fact that is that asshole who gets to give it to her.

And I know that is selfish, and retrograde and maybe even a little bit sexist, but that is how I feel.

"I can't..."

"Look, I am sorry to say this, because I think you're cool and I like you..." He cuts me off and takes a step closer to me. "But right now, you have to get your head out of your ass, get over it, and call her."