Harry Styles

Louis Tomlinson and I went to the same high school and he also ended up at the same college that I went to. Or, well, I ended up at the one he went to. But that was bound to happen seeing as we lived around the same area at the time.

He was always such a jackass. I have never once run into him and thought 'wow what a lovely lad' because it was always something I dreaded. I never wanted to run into him. He was such a negative person, a rude one at that. I liked my life once he was out of it and now that he decided to dip his leg back in it, I wanted to run miles away.

Not to mention the way he dipped his leg in my life again. Through Kensington. God. He angered me so much.

I blamed myself for going to the toilet after I paid. I shouldn't have gone. I should have waited for Kensington to come out and then tell her to wait for me in the car or just held my fucking pee. Only if that would have been the case, Tomlinson wouldn't have been able to be an absolute wanker to her.

"Where do you want me to drive?" I asked her curiously. She could have meant back to her work or back to mine or literally anywhere. Which didn't exactly make sense in my head because she randomly wanted to spend time with me. Me. The competition that she didn't seem to like so much.

"Somewhere."

"Do you have a place in mind or do I just go wherever?"

"I do, actually," she said after a few moments of silence. She was so intriguing. For me, anyway. Her character was so closed off that it was a task and a half to open up. The layers that covered up her true self were there as protection although I had no idea why she needed it in the first place. My mission, however, was to figure it all out.

Sometimes, people walk into our lives and they are nothing but a massive mystery. I felt that was with her. Everyone who enters our lives has a purpose, a reason why they are there. I wondered why we only just began to talk after knowing of one another for so long. I wondered if our paths only just crossed now because we weren't ready for each other before.

"Are you going to tell me or will I have to guess?"

"I don't want to give it away because you will think it's stupid. My brother always did."

A quiet chuckle escaped my lips and I shook my head. "Good thing I'm not your brother."

"Right, well... um, can I just put it in the GPS? And you can't look at where we're going..."

"Kensington, just tell me," I laughed. "Chances are, I know the way to wherever you are trying to take me. I have lived in London for over twenty years."

"Really? When did you move?" she asked as she tried to change the subject.

"Nice one, but I'm not telling until you confess."

"Okay, you can't laugh though," she sighed as she looked away. She began to act proper shy and like I would laugh at her or judge her for whatever she would say and it didn't make sense. It didn't match her usual self. The confident, cold and sassy persona just disappeared into thin air. This was like a new side to her and I liked it.

"Go on."

"I heard that the guards are changing at a different time today. Like, in fifteen minutes."

"At the palace?" I asked and from the corner of my eye, I saw her nod. We stopped at a red light and I looked at her. "Do you want to go and watch it?"

"Well..."

"Alright, we can do that," I answered quickly as I remembered that's why she told me. "Are you going to be fine in those heels?"

"Are you doubting my talents?"

"I would never do such thing," I stated right away. Kensington hummed and I couldn't help the smile that crawled on to my face.

Until we have arrived at our final destination, we spoke not one word. It didn't matter though. It was a nice silence. With her, it always was and it made me question why or how.

It was a little dark by the time we arrived and there were a lot of people at the palace. It seemed like everyone but me knew that this would happen. In all honesty, I have never seen the guards change but I didn't tell Kensington that. For some reason, I had a feeling she would have bit my head off for it.

"Ugh, we won't see much of it," she mumbled more to herself than to me. I looked over at her just to see how she was shaking in her white blouse. The wind blew her hair all over the place but it didn't seem to bother her. "What are you doing?" she turned her head to me as I took my black coat off which left me in my black shirt with a few buttons undone on the top with the sleeves rolled up and flowery trousers.

"You're about to turn into an ice cube," I chuckled. "Put this one," I opened my coat for her to put on and she looked at me as if I were a zombie. I tilted my head to the side a little then sighed and stepped behind her to put the coat on her shoulders. "Don't you dare push this off because it was expensive."

"Now you'll be cold and I'm not paying for your medicine."

"That's fine by me," I shrugged. But then a sudden gust of wind slapped me in the face and caused my nipples to harden under my thin shirt. "Shit."

"Hah," she smirked. "You're not getting this back. It's so warm."

"Alright, come here then," I pulled her closer to me as I wrapped my left arm around her shoulders. At that point, we were no longer interested in the guards or anyone around us, really. I hugged her closer to my body as I placed my chin on the top of her head and she didn't seem to mind being so close to me. If anything, she probably enjoyed it. At least, when she wrapped her arms around my waist, I took that as a positive sign.

"You smell nice," she mumbled. Her voice resonated a little bit, I felt her whole body buzz under my touch and against my body. The warmth she gave off was incredibly nice and I found myself never wanting to let her go.

"You're the first person to say that," I admitted.

"Why?"

"No one likes this cologne on me."

"Why?" she asked again. It made me chuckle. She pulled back from me a little, our arms still around each other. Even with heels on, she was still a little shorter than me. Not so much though. Her forehead reached my nose. Which was red, much like hers, from the coldness. And her lips.

My god. Did I want to kiss her lips...

"Well, for starters, my mother said it's too much," I replied as I brought my right hand up to her face and brushed her hair behind her ear. Not that it did anything because the wind blew it right back. That made me giggle and she huffed as she rolled her eyes. They were browner this time around.

And her lips were a soft red colour.

They matched the colour of her cheeks, the tip of her nose and her ears.

She was beautiful.

"I think it's great," she said. Those words and her tone and her eyes... man. They made my stomach feel weird. I thought maybe this was what people meant by those butterflies. Then again, I never really experienced it before so how would I have known for sure?

"Thank you," I smiled. Kensington nodded then placed her head back on my chest again. My smile grew as my arms tightened around her and I laid my cheek on the top of her head.

Not much after that, the people around the fence began to move around. It was rather dark now, with it being almost winter the sun set much earlier. The lights turned on which gave enough brightness for everyone to be able to see where they were going. When Kensington pulled away from me completely, my body missed her body, the heat that we provided for each other was now gone and I felt strange. I liked her pressed against me.

"It's fucking freezing," I said as a wave of coldness ran through my body. "Are you ready to go or should we camp out here so you can catch the next time they change guards?"

"Can we?" she looked at me with hopeful eyes yet her tone of voice was rather sarcastic. I chuckled and put my arm back around her shoulders as we began to make our way back to the car. "Would you fancy taking me to a Costa? I really want a hot chocolate and I should probably also get a Red Bull because I fucked off like... three hours of my life and that means I need to pull an all nighter."

"Yes, to Costa and no to the energy drink," I said. "You can get your hot drink and then I'll take you home."

"Um, no you will not. You'll drop me off at my work."

"Kensington."

"Styles."

"Do not fight me on this."

"Well, I will," she stood her ground. I groaned and wanted to punch her in the face for being so difficult. Not that I ever would have put a hand on a woman. "And it's not like you can take me home. You don't even know where I live. And you won't. Because I'm not telling you."

"I guess you'll have to spend the night at my place then..."

"We are not that close. Don't get ahead of yourself."

"We were pretty close before," I commented and she elbowed me in the side of my stomach. I groaned and she laughed at me. "What was that for?"

"For being so cheeky."

"What does that mean? I'm not being anything..." I played.

"When was that? A decade ago?" she mimicked me from before and I couldn't help but laugh. She lowered her voice as much as she could but it still didn't sound like me.

"You are an old lady..."

"Fuck you, Styles," she pushed me away from her and crossed her arms over her chest. I laughed out loudly with my hands on my stomach and my head leaned back and face towards the sky. My laughter probably caused a few heads to turn but it didn't bother me. "You are so annoying."

"Hey, you know I'm kidding," I said as I calmed down a little but then she looked at me with fire-y eyes and I couldn't help but burst out laughing again.

She was way ahead of me by the time I got to my car. She was actually already inside it. Which didn't make sense until I realised that my keys were in my coat pocket and she still had it on. I couldn't open the door because she locked it and when I knocked on the window, she didn't even look at me.

"Kensington!" I laughed as I realised, I'd never be able to get in unless I apologised. "I know you can hear me so I'm so-," but then she turned on my radio and turned the volume so high that even two or three cars away from us people could hear it. "This woman..."

It didn't take long for her after that to roll down the window a little bit and turn down the music.

"Are you willing to take me to the shop to get an energy drink and drop me off at work?"

"No, I told you-,"

"I asked, are you willing to take me to the shop to get an energy drink and drop me off at work?" she repeated her question and I groaned. She was terrible.

"Yes."

"Fabulous," she grinned and unlocked the car. I shook my head and sat in. "Now, off to Tesco's we go."

"You're crazy."

"I just love being in charge," she shrugged.

"Yeah, but you're not at work," I told her as a matter of fact. I turned the heating on right away. "Plus, I am not one of your employees. You can't exactly order me around like that."

"I just did, though."

"That's not the point," I said.

"Whatever. You said you'll drop me off at work so let's go. I have a business to take care of."

"What about yourself?"

"I'll be fine."

"It should be you first and business second. Not business first and you second."

"Okay, dad."

"You really don't listen to anyone, do you?" I questioned. "I wonder how many people told you to look after yourself and yet you just ignored them like you do with me."

"Can I just ask why are you so obsessed with me being okay? You always want to feed me, you always tell me to take time off for myself. It just doesn't make any sense. I don't need any time off. What the fuck would I do? I cannot stand not doing anything."

"I'm not obsessed with you being okay," I told her calmly. This topic came up between us more than once and now that we were about to talk about it properly was strange. "I just... I noticed how you got... how you just thinned out over the years, okay? I noticed it at Niall's event for the first time. And then when I told you about it at your office, about how your cheeks were hollow and stuff... I didn't mean to come off like a wanker. I just didn't know how to make you realise."

"What are you trying to get at?"

"Nothing. I just want you to be healthy. That's all," I told her honestly. She may have been a rival of mine but that didn't take away the fact that she was human. And she didn't seem to be taking good care of herself.

"Wouldn't it be better for you if I didn't change anything, though? You could get rid of me that way and you could overtake my company," she joked around but her dry sense of humour didn't even make me giggle. For some reason, the way she spoke about herself made me feel angry.

"Shut up, woman," I sighed as I leaned my head against my fist, my elbow on the door as I kept my left hand on the steering wheel. "Alright, there should be a drive-thru Costa, is that good?"

"Sure," she replied.

Once we got to the window to order, I asked for a white chocolate for her and an americano for myself. I felt her stare at me as she probably wondered why I ordered for her then later on paid too. It didn't really bother me, that two pound forty didn't make a dent in my bank.

"Can you just drop me off at my building, please?" she asked on the way. I hummed in response and sipped on my coffee. It surprised me a little bit that she didn't push me to drive to a shop for an energy drink but at the same time, I was glad.

"Sure."

"Thanks..." she said quietly. "I only want to stay behind because I have a presentation tomorrow and I need to prepare."

"What presentation?" I asked curiously. Then I realised she probably wouldn't tell me because it was business stuff. She didn't like talking about business stuff, especially not with me. Which was understandable, however, I couldn't take my question back by then.

"It's for a group. Like, students. I've done like... none before," she chuckled. "I have no idea how to present to kids. I mean, I can't exactly go all business on them, right?"

"What do you mean by kids? Like, high schoolers or?"

"No. College kids, I think. Business students," she explained. "Oh, wait. Doesn't your brother do business?"

"How do you know that?" I asked her with a grin.

"He told me when I went to see him in the hospital. I'm not sure what the college is called though – all I know is that I have to talk about my business and stuff."

"Are you doing it for free?" I asked.

"Um... well, kind of."

"Did I hear that right?" a little laugh slipped past my lips and I heard Kensington groan. "You're doing something for free?"

"Shut the fuck up," she laughed.

"I must make a note of this..."

"You are so annoying."

"No, but for real... that's kind of cool," I told her. "Who came up with that idea?"

"Not me," she scoffed. "I had an email from this teacher or whoever and they asked if it would be possible. I thought long and hard about it and with a little push from Miss Jones, I decided it might be a good thing."

"It is a good thing," I agreed. "I might come in and join your presentation."

"There'll be a fee for you," she commented.

"Oh?"

"Mhm."

"Can I pay by bringing you a coffee and lunch?"

"Here we go again with the food..." she sighed dramatically. "Alright. Fine. I've been really fancying a nice salad."

"Alright, noted," I nodded. "When does this presentation start?"

"Eleven."

"Alright. I might just take you out after," I added and waited for her reaction. It sounded like I asked her on a date and whilst I wouldn't have minded labelling it as that, a light fear entered my brain with regards to how she would have liked that. Perhaps not too much seeing as she made it clear before that she didn't look for any kind of partners in life.

"I want to say yes but I am going to say no because I'm tired of you keeping me away from my work."

"I'm doing you a favour."

"No, you're not. What you're doing is distracting me and also stressing me out. I have so much to get done, Styles, and here I am wasting my time like I have so much of it."

"See, you cannot manage your time properly. If you could, you wouldn't feel like you're wasting it when you're not working. How did you survive university?"

"I was pissed for the most part so I'm not sure," she admitted and even then, it seemed surreal. The conversation from before was still fresh in my mind and I knew it would take a while before everything sank in. "Anyway. Come by tomorrow if you want but you don't have to."

"Oh, trust me, I will be here," I laughed. "I want to see you nervous and out of your comfort zone."

"Wow, you are so supportive," she said dramatically.

"I know, love, I know," I grinned at her. "Now, get out of my car. I don't want to see you until tomorrow."

"The feeling is mutual, fucker," she said as she got out of the car and slammed the door shut.

I watched as she made her way to the main doors and walked inside. Then suddenly, she was no longer in my sight of vision. She disappeared... with my damn coat. Again. This was the second time I left my shit with her. But I didn't mind.

Plus, I was surely going to see her soon anyway so there was nothing to worry about.

• • •

a.n.
we're getting to THOSE chapters hehehehehe i'm so pumped ohmygod this is gonna be good 🤤 well at least i enjoyed writing them so i can only hope you'll like it too!

be sure to vote and comment please, it means a lot when u do because i enjoy reading your thoughts and opinions and whatever else 🥰

i'm not sure if two uploads a week will continue after this week, i'm gonna have to see how much time i'll have w me starting uni again! sunday updates are a definite, however!

now until sunday, lots of love hunties xx