...

The following Saturday I went to the mall with Elise and Niall—even though I was supposed to study. We had been invited to a party at our friend's place on the Friday the upcoming week, and Elise was set on finding a new outfit. It was when she turned to walk inside a lingerie store that Niall instantly halted and froze in position. I laughed at him and pulled him inside while nonchalantly flinging my arm around his neck.

We followed her into a bra aisle and my best friend's cheeks splashed in pink. I nudged Elise's side, saying, "I thought you were gonna pick out a dress, huh?"

She scoffed, flicking through items on the wall. "You never know what could happen."

It was Elise's turn to get my arm around her neck. With a smug expression I looked at her and patted her hair. "Is that so? Little blondie is planning to get laid?"

"You're getting it, so why shouldn't I?" she snapped back, crossing her arms while smiling up at me challengingly. I felt my heart jump in my chest.

"Hm." I blushed, letting go of her to fake looking through some of the feminine clothing items in front of us. "Moving on. A bra, was it?"

"You're hopeless. Why would you hide it from me. Are you embarrassed? Afraid I'm gonna mock you?"

Yes.

"Nah," I lifted down a lace bra on a hanger along with a pair of matching knickers. Jokingly, I held it in front of myself, posed in the mirror, before holding the pieces in front of Elise. "These are sexy. Not too freaky—not too boring."

The short girl laughed. "You think?"

I looked over at Niall who was now full-on blushing. I smirked, saying, "What do you say, Niall? Maybe my opinion isn't really what matters. I mean, what do I know?"

"Your opinion is always helpful," Elise tilted her head to the side while taking a glance at the red lingerie dangling on my fingers. "Do you like them, Niall? Maybe they're too much?"

I smiled at the sight of Niall nervously biting his nails. He stuttered, "Uhh—No. I think they're good. N-Nice colour."

"Really? Not too vibrant?"

"It's p-perfect."

"Oh," she raised her brows, taking the pieces into her hands. She inspected the material, squeezed the cup of the bra with her fingertips and stretched the knickers between her hands. "I guess that's a deal-breaker then." She laughed. "That was quick. Gonna need a bigger cup size on the bra, though."

It was impossible for me not to smile as we exited the aisle to reach the cashier. After Elise had paid for her underwear we moved on to the next store where we were supposed to help her pick out a dress. Due to my obsession with teasing Niall, I made her try one that I sensed he would like and got her to squeeze us inside her changing booth as she was wearing it.

"Is this okay?" The dress had a dark, marine blue colour and a collar that resembled a turtleneck. The fit was very tight around her hips and bum, carving out her figure very prominently. She looked back at us through the mirror while grinning awkwardly. "I feel like it's not short enough. Does it look weird?"

"You look..." I shook my head, a little speechless. "You look really good, El."

She blushed. "Really?"

"Really," Niall forced out. I beamed at him through the mirror. "You look...beautiful."

Were those butterflies in my tummy?

Elise smiled while inspecting her own reflection a second time. She secured the collar, adjusted the lining of the end of the material behind her legs and turned to the side to inspect it from a different perspective. Ultimately, she huffed and said that she'd take it before abruptly pulling the dress upward to get undressed. I blinked, quickly turned to Niall who in panic leaped out of the booth with his eyes expanding ever so widely.

I hid my smile, snook behind the curtain and grabbed ahold of Niall's both shoulders and led him further away from the previous location. Once we were out of Elise's reach I burst out laughing and Niall covered his face into his hands. I pulled him in for a hug and patted the back of his head before pulling away and ruffling his hair.

"Poor guy. Too much in one day, yeah?"

"I swear she's fucking with me."

I laughed. "I don't think she has a clue. She's like that sometimes."

Niall shook his head in frustration. "I'm gonna explode, Lou. For real, what the hell do I do?" His eyes widened while looking me in the eye. "She's going to this party with mile high expectations, buying all these fancy things and hoping to go to bed with some guy–" he stopped himself, staring into nothingness. "I might not even go to that fucking party."

"Shut up!" I nudged his arm. "Can't you see it? This is the perfect opportunity for you to swoop in and save her day. You're the love of her life! You've been here all along and she doesn't even realise!" I patted his shoulder. "Make her realise it."

He was biting his nails again. "I don't know, Lou..."

"Yes you do. I'm gay, so you can trust me when I say this, you're a catch. Everyone likes a blonde, right? Blue eyes is always a good one, too." He laughed at me. "What? I'm being sincere!"

He shook his head. "Whatever..."

"No! This is true, and since you're my best friend I also know you're a good fucking person, and she knows that too. You're gonna treat her like a princess, because you're a prince and everyone knows it."

Once Elise showed up again we headed toward one of her favourite cafes and grabbed ourselves some lattes. While sitting down at a round antique table all three of us spotted a familiar group of people sitting a few tables away.

No. Way. The one day I'm at the mall, they are there too?

Evidently, the four boys catching our attention were Zayn, Parker, Liam and Harry. It seemed as though Zayn had zoned out mid-conversation, as Liam was trying desperately to talk to him while he didn't seem to care. Parker was checking himself out in a hand mirror and slicking his disgusting hair backwards with his greasy fingers. The last person, the one that seemed to consume me the most, was looking down into his phone, occasionally fixing his fringe or taking a sip out of his coffee.

This was the perfect time to text him.

ME: Looking good today.

I watched his face light up at the notification, his lips subtly curling as he scanned his eyes through the room without noticing me.

HARRY: Creepy.

ME: I like your hair.

HARRY: I like yours.

HARRY: Where are you watching me from?

ME: I'm right next to you. Can't you see me?

HARRY: Ha. Ha.

ME: Harry.

HARRY: What?

ME: I know sorry is getting old but I don't want you to go around sulking about whatever I've said to you.

I watched his smile fade from his lips.

HARRY: It's okay.

ME: It's not really...

HARRY: Don't worry about it.

ME: I don't. I just don't want there to be a tension around us as I quite like having you around at times.

HARRY: At times?

ME: *All the time.

HARRY: I quite like it too. :)

HARRY: Are you coming to that party next Friday?

ME: Surely. Gonna get pissed as fuck.

HARRY: Maybe I'll see you there. :)

ME: You will, let's be honest!

ME: That's what I want anyway.

I watched him again, his lips sort of twitching between a smile and an insecure face. Maybe I had gone too far. Maybe I was playing with his emotions without actually intending to. Maybe I was just making it all worse.

HARRY: We should get pissed together. I'd love to see you drunk.

ME: Sounds like a plan.

Harry smiled and locked his phone before sliding it into his pocket, making me do the exact same. I proceeded watching him, seeing how he stared at the ground with a mixed look on his face, occasionally smiling to himself each time he presumably stumbled upon a certain thought.

Finally, I turned to my friends and zoned into their conversation about the common conspiracy at our school—a dilemma on whether or not our librarian was actually a reptile. It was a complicated theory, so I am not going to let myself dive into it. What I did let myself dive into when I once again zoned out of the conversation was the thought of Harry having feelings for me. The idea of it made me stiff with anxiety—but it also got me thinking about a new so-called conspiracy of my own.

Was Harry Styles—the man with no sense of emotion or empathy—changing?

...