Chapter 10

The next few days turned out pretty much the same, except Harry and I didn't talk at all. It was just like the first day all over again, but now two days in a row. I wasn't exactly surprised nor disappointed. It was probably better that we stuck to ignoring each other anyway. That way, no one seemed to bring him up in conversations they had with me at least.

The audition in Birmingham went great. We found some fantastic singers there, and so did we in Liverpool.

We had just exited the arena and were already heading to the cars because we were going to Manchester today already. Going from being free two days in a row to doing three shows in three days was a real turnaround. I wished I had slept more when I still could. Now we spent most of our nights in the black Range Rover, and let's just say if my bum hurt from sitting on the judges' table's chair, it was nothing compared to how much it hurt from sitting in that car for so long.

"If we don't sleep at a fucking hotel tonight, I'm dropping out of this," I groaned as we got into the Range Rover, shutting the doors behind us.

"What? You can't handle the pressure?" Nick scoffed, turning around in his seat to raise his eyebrows at me.

That was another thing. Harry and I hadn't exchanged a single word with each other, but Nick had been more of an ass than usual. I just didn't understand why he couldn't just lay off me. Why did he still treat me so poorly if what Liam said was true? I wasn't with Harry anymore, so what was his problem with me now?

Shooting him a glare, I gritted my teeth. "I've been through way worse than this. I'm pretty sure you have no idea what touring the fucking world is like."

A humorous smile formed on his lips. "Then why are you complaining, princess?"

Did he just call me princess? 

"Oh, you piece of shit. I promise I'll fucking kil-" I started, gripping Patrick's seat to get closer to his ugly face.

Before I could reach him, though, I was pulled back by Perrie. "Louis," she warned me while letting out an exasperated sigh. "Fighting won't make things better. Just ignore him."

Letting out a huff, I slumped back in my seat and averted my gaze from Nick. Patrick got into the driver's seat then, shutting the door behind him. "Amazing job today as well. You never cease to amaze me," he smiled, turning around to get a look at Perrie, Harry and me. "Are you ready to go to Manchester?"

"Does it matter if we aren't?" Nick asked, rolling his eyes.

Patrick furrowed his eyebrows, glancing at him. "Of course it does. You're always free to say whatever's on your mind and if you disagree with certain things. I know these past few days have been hectic, but you'll get a day off after the show in Manchester, which I know Harry will probably like."

Harry met his gaze, a small smile forming on his lips as he nodded. What was so special about Manchester other than the fact that it was close to his hometown?

When no one questioned them about it and I didn't feel like doing so myself, I burrowed the side of my face into my pillow. It was only five in the afternoon, but I was already tired. It was probably not odd considering the busy schedule we'd had the last couple of days, but it was still a weird feeling.

"Will we be sleeping at a hotel tonight?" I asked Patrick, my voice barely a mumble.

"Yes, Louis, we will, and the night after that as well. I'm sorry things have been like this, but unfortunately, we didn't have any other choice because these were the days we could rent all the arenas and other places," Patrick apologized.

"Thank God," I sighed in relief, closing my eyes.

It only took me a minute to fall asleep after that, the sound of the engine lulling me to sleep. It felt like days had passed when I woke up, but I figured we must have arrived in Manchester since I was still sitting in the car, now outside a hotel.

I was still exhausted, though, so I almost fell out of the car when I opened the door and tried to put my feet on the ground. "Jesus, Louis. Did you have alcohol instead of water in your glass in Liverpool?" Perrie laughed when she saw me stumbling.

I let out a groan, running my hands over my face. "No, no alcohol, only water," I muttered incoherently, squinting my eyes at her.

She rolled her eyes, getting her suitcase from the trunk. "I'm taking your suitcase too. I'm positive you wouldn't even make it to the entrance if you were to take it yourself," she chuckled with amusement.

We made our way into the hotel, and I didn't register anything about my surroundings until we were soon standing outside our rooms. Just like in Cardiff, our rooms were close to each other, and yes, Harry's was next to mine this time too.

"See you tomorrow, guys," I muttered, taking my suitcase from Perrie's hand, the baby blue pillow stuffed in my armpit before entering my room.

The first thing I did was to flop down on top of the king-sized bed, not getting a perception of anything else as I closed my eyes and fell asleep, my face burrowed in my pillow and my suitcase thrown onto the floor.

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When I woke up, the first thing I did was take a long, well-needed shower. I was pretty sure it took more than half an hour until I eventually stepped out to get dressed and get ready for the day. It was probably the best shower I'd had in years, though, so I didn't really care.

When I exited my hotel suite, dressed in a blue, white, and black Adidas sweater and a pair of black jeans, I realized that I didn't even know how to get to the lunchroom or where it was located. I wasn't exactly in the greatest state when we arrived yesterday evening.

Biting my bottom lip, I fished my phone from my pocket and quickly sent a text to Perrie.

Louis: Where's the lunchroom?

Thankfully, she replied within a matter of seconds, my phone vibrating in my hand.

Pez: On the second floor. Everyone's already here x

I ran my hands over my face, mentally preparing for another meeting with my ex and his shitty best friend (or whatever they were) as I started making my way to the elevator. It seemed like it didn't matter how many times I had to face Harry, it was always like meeting him for the first time after two years. Maybe that was because nothing had really changed between us since our first meeting. We always just tried to pretend as if the other wasn't there.

It turned out Perrie was right; everyone was already in the lunchroom, eating breakfast when I arrived. Even the members of the crew were there, Logan included. Harry was sitting next to Nick while the shorter-haired man was talking with his mouth full, enthusiastically making gestures with his hands. Meanwhile, Perrie was talking to Patrick a few seats away from the other two.

Before even making my way over to them, I decided to get some food. I was starving. I hadn't eaten in over 18 hours, so I quickly made my way around to fetch anything that looked appealing. Once I walked over to the table, I was lucky to get a seat opposite Perrie and Patrick. Harry and Nick were sitting on their side, but they were too far away to hear anything I said... I hoped.

"Good morning, Louis," Perrie and Patrick greeted when they acknowledged my arrival, sending a smile in my direction.

"Morning," I replied, instantly digging into my food.

"Did you sleep well?" Perrie smirked, probably already knowing the answer. "You were quite out of it when we arrived yesterday."

I tilted my head to the side. "If you couldn't already tell by that, then I'm sure you can tell by the fact that I'm the last one to arrive now," I chuckled.

Her smile widened, and Patrick's lips twitched at my answer. "So, what's on the agenda today?" I asked, taking a bite of my toast.

"We're meeting in the lobby at one since we have to drive to the venue, but you're free to do whatever you want before that," Patrick replied, looking at me.

"Nice," I beamed, feeling happy that I could finally have some time alone. It felt like ages since I had a day where I could just relax and be by myself.

The sound of my phone going off pulled me out of my thoughts. I furrowed my brows as I fished the device from my pocket, letting out a groan at the sight of Eleanor's name lightening up my screen.

"Eleanor?" I asked, running a hand over my face.

The second I pronounced her name, I could feel Harry snap his head at me. His eyes were suddenly boring into the side of my face while his jaw clenched. Meanwhile, Nick was trying to talk to him, but he wouldn't turn his head in his direction. Shit. I thought Harry wouldn't be able to hear me from over there.

"Louis! Thank God you picked up," she sighed in relief.

"What's going on?" I frowned, ignoring the intense stare I was receiving.

"It's Clifford. He's acting weird, and he's been doing it for a day now. I don't know what's wrong with him."

I bit the inside of my cheek, knowing he could act weird if things didn't work his way. "Umm, have you fed him?" I asked.

She let out a scoff. "Oh, for the love of God. Do you think I would have called you if I hadn't already thought of that?"

Placing a hand over my face, I closed my eyes. "Excuse me for asking then..." I trailed off, mentally rolling my eyes.

We were quiet for a while, and I assumed we were both thinking about what could be going on with my dog. I refused to believe the worst, trying to come up with a reasonable cause of what it was.

"Oh, shit," she suddenly said, realization dawning on her.

"What?" I asked, opening my eyes again.

"That might actually be it," she continued, and I was still clueless as to what she was on about.

"What might be it?"

"Clifford," she drawled. "I uhh... I'm pretty sure he hasn't, you know...? Done number two in a while. You reckon that could be why he's so tired and doesn't want to do anything but lie down?"

Pinching the skin between my eyebrows, I closed my eyes. "Well, of course. And you said you had thought of all the normal things. Jesus."

"Oh, shut up, Lou. Why don't you walk your dog so that he gets to do his necessities then? Oh, right, because you're not with him. Stop complaining when I'm doing you a great favor here," she huffed.

"I'm sorry, El," I chuckled. "Thank you for taking great care of Cliff when I can't do it myself. Keep up the amazing work."

"I hate you," she muttered.

"Love you too," I smiled brightly.

"Whatever, go back to whatever it was you were doing before I called. I'll get back to you if anything else happens."

The smile widened on my lips. "Sure, but only if it's important. I won't be so kind to help you come up with why something is wrong again. Bye, El."

"Ugh, bye, Louis."

I ended the call while shaking my head in amusement, shoving it back in my pocket. When I looked up, I noticed that Perrie was looking at me, her eyebrows raised. I also noticed that Harry's stare had become even more intense than it was before.

"Was that Eleanor?" Perrie asked, seeming surprised. "Didn't know you were on that great terms?"

Shrugging my shoulders, I pursed my lips. "We aren't exactly enemies. I guess I've just gotten used to her presence."

She hummed in reply. "Isn't it a bit weird that you get on so well with someone who's preventing you from coming out, though?" She asked.

"It's not exactly her fault things are like this," I objected, my eyebrows pinched together.

"No, but she's agreeing to it," Perrie implied, looking at me pointedly.

I knew she was right. Eleanor was getting paid to do this, but it was hard not to get along with her when I had spent so much time with her over the years. She wasn't a bad person, though, even if she was agreeing to this whole thing. If I needed to 'date' a girl in public, I didn't want it to be anyone but her.

"I know," I sighed. "Things are just difficult, I guess, but she's not a bad person."

Perrie rolled her eyes, glancing in Harry's direction before looking back at me. "If you say so."

We all finished eating shortly after that. I put my tray away just like everyone else and followed Nick, Harry and Perrie up to our rooms. Apparently, the crew wasn't staying on the same floor as us, so we were alone in the elevator.

From the moment we stepped into the small place until we exited it, I could feel Harry's eyes on me. It was quite intimidating, seeing as it felt like he was staring right into my soul, and I couldn't really ignore it even if I wanted to.

The second Perrie and Nick disappeared into their rooms and I walked over to my door, I could feel a presence behind me. I turned around at the weird feeling, my eyebrows knitted together.

It was Harry.

Of course it was. Judging from the way he had been staring at me, I should have known he would confront me. That was what he had done that time at the Italian restaurant after all. The thing was, he was standing way closer to me now than he was that time, and if his staring had been intimidating before, it was nothing compared to now.

For the first time since I met him again after these two years, I could see that he had a stubble going on on his cheeks. It took me by surprise, making my eyes widen in realization because damn, it looked so incredibly good on him. It made him look more grown-up and mature, and I couldn't deny that it made him really attractive. The fact that his green eyes were staring directly into my own didn't exactly make things easier for me.

"Yes?" I asked, trying to mask my surprise by raising my eyebrows.

"Why?" He demanded, his jaw still clenched tightly as his eyes kept staring into my soul.

"Why what?" I had a feeling of what he was on about, but I decided to play dumb.

Inhaling a deep breath, he furrowed his eyebrows. "Why her?" He asked, this time sounding more hurt than frustrated and mad.

The transition caught me off guard, my mouth falling open. I had to remind myself that Harry - the person I hated - was the one standing in front of me and not anyone else. The way he continued looking at me with those hurt eyes made it very difficult, though.

"Why does it even matter?" I muttered, looking away from his face.

My reply made that hurt look disappear, instantly being replaced by that stone-cold expression. "You know exactly why it matters. Don't play dumb," he fired back, his nostrils flaring.

Narrowing my eyes, I looked back into his eyes. "Well, you know just as well as I that it's not like I have a fucking choice then. Do you seriously believe that I willingly 'got back together' with her?" I asked, making quote marks with my fingers. He knew that I wasn't dating her for real.

He let out a scoff, looking away from me momentarily. "It wouldn't surprise me," he muttered, and honestly, I had never wanted to punch him as badly as I wanted to right then. I couldn't believe he said that. He knew that I wanted her gone just as much as he wanted it back in the days, and he knew I didn't like her since he was aware I was only attracted to guys.

"You know what? Screw you!" I retorted. "And I can't believe you out of all people are the one saying that."

I shot him a glare before pressing my room card against the lock. Once the door was unlocked, I quickly opened it and entered my room, slamming it shut behind me as quickly as possible. God, I hated him. He had hurt me so fucking much, and it seemed like he just kept on doing it. Why couldn't I just stay the fuck away from him?

Flopping down on the bed, I buried my face in my pillow and almost screamed into it. I hated this. I hated everything about having to spend time with him. Why did I have to agree to all this? I was stupid, so fucking stupid to think that this was actually going to work. I didn't even care about Simon and standing up to him. Fuck that. Fuck everything.

Before putting my AirPods into my ears, the last thing I heard was the sound of Harry's door slamming shut, the loud noise echoing until it drowned out into the silence.

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This is not a very long chapter, I know, but I posted it a day earlier than I usually do, so that's at least something. Harry's back to being snappy, which is his way of showing how he feels. Things may be about to change, though x

And wow! Over 100 votes on the last chapter? You guys keep surprising me. Thank you so much for your support. It means the world to me, and it motivates me to keep writing x

Happy Valentine's Day, see you soon <3

Edited by: @butterflies151 x

Pauline .xx