Harry Styles

I kept my intense gaze on the person across from me, my jaw under pressure as I bit down on my back teeth forcefully. Through my nose, I inhaled deeply then tilted my head a little as I thought about why I was there in the first place. My stomach felt uneasy, like there was a knot in it and I found it hard to swallow anything. The water that I had ordered then later sipped on, tasted a little bit metallic-y in my mouth.

"Why did you want to meet with me?" I questioned after what felt like forever. We sat there, in quiet, and waited for one of us to speak up.

"Just to catch up," he shrugged as the lie slipped past his lips. I scoffed and looked to the side before my eyes travelled back to his face. I shifted in my seat and propped my right elbow up on the arm of the chair, my fingers pressed against my lips. "So, how have you been?"

"Fantastic," I replied sarcastically. "What about you?"

"Eh, I've been," he replied flatly. "You know, ever since I've quit selling, life's been less... crazy."

"I'm sure it has," I said, not interested at all. He obviously had a reason as to why he wanted me here yet he decided to play it off fake before he dropped whatever he had on his mind.

"A few desperate souls been trying to find me but it seems like I have successfully dropped off of the grid in that area, you know?" he carried on. I was completely lost by this point, I had no fucking clue why he was talking to me about his drug dealer past. I didn't exactly ask because it didn't interest me, however, it seemed like something important if he kept bringing it up.

I looked down at my Rolex in order to break the eye contact, the tension in the restaurant built up quite fast. I had over half an hour left until I had to get back to work, not that it was something I so desperately wanted to do. Curling up in bed and having a good ol' cry sounded much better.

"No, I don't know," I sighed. "I also don't know why I'm here. Is there even anything you wanted to tell me?"

"Seesh, look at you, all eager to leave because your girlfriend's name hasn't been brought up yet," he said smugly. In all honesty, he was right. He did bribe me to come here by the drop of her name in the text and yet, it had not been mentioned once.

"Is there even anything you know about her?" I asked in confusion and a bit of anger. I was protective of her, sure, but also felt a little left out when it came to her as a person. I knew what she wanted me to know and that should have been enough but the idea of someone knowing her and willing to spill it was rather inviting.

"Oh, trust me, mate, there is," he laughed and it sounded evil. I sighed in frustration. I didn't know if I truly wanted to know stuff from him. I never trusted this man and so the chances of him actually saying something that was true were quite low.

"Well, then fucking get to it, mate."

"How about we make a deal, alright?" he dropped the idea. "Say you are in it and then I'll slip a few things about her."

"What deal?" why was I considering this.

"Let's just say, Miss Kensington owes me a shit ton of money. Money, that she didn't have at the time and now she has but is too selfish to pay back."

"That's a deal you should settle with her, not me," I stated right away. "Go and find her about it and leave me out of whatever trouble you got yourself into."

"Now, this is where the problem comes in, you see," he laughed. "She likes to pretend like she doesn't know me. Like, that day at the coffee place? She looked right through me and was ready to kneel me in the dick."

"You probably would have deserved it. You put your hands on her."

"Ah, cry me a fucking river, Styles," he snorted and rolled his eyes. "Now, back to what I was saying – she likes to go about her day, forgetting everything that happened whilst she was a reckless university student. She thinks that because she paid off her student debt, she is free of any owed money but that is exactly where I come in."

"Like I told you–,"

"Like I told you, I need her to pay me back and if I go to her, she will not budge."

"That is certainly not my problem," I shrugged. My head went crazy with thoughts, however. Why did she owe him money? How much did she owe? Why did she pretend like she didn't know him if they clearly had history?

"Oh, but it is now."

"Why, exactly?"

"You are fucking her, aren't you?"

"Excuse me?" I asked him, offended. How dare he speak like that!

"What?" he shrieked.

"Don't fucking talk about her like that," I said as calmly as I could. "I'm not having sex with her, alright? Not that it's any of your business. I'm also not going to bribe her into giving you money – I'm sure she has a good enough reason for ignoring you. Or better yet! She probably doesn't even owe you money but because she didn't give in to you that day in the carpark, you are trying to get back at her," I snapped at him, annoyed. "Leave her the hell alone and get on with your life. You are old enough to find a job for yourself instead of trying to live off of others."

And then I left.

I was fuming because... well. For a few reasons.

For one, I couldn't believe Tomlinson could make me meet up with him just by mentioning Kensington's name. I fell for it like I had nothing to lose and it annoyed me. I was curious but I didn't know what I could get out of this. Not a lot of good, that I knew already but I still went and still gave him the opportunity to taint her image in my head. For two, I was disappointed in myself. I couldn't believe I let him drag me to a restaurant to talk about her, basically behind her back. I felt disgusting for doing that. It felt wrong to gain knowledge from someone other than her.

"Harry Styles?" someone called my name as I was about to get in my car. I groaned and closed my eyes as I inhaled deeply and turned around. The voice was a bit familiar but I couldn't pin point where I have heard it before. "I'm–,"

"Bernard?" I tried. He did look like someone I have come across once, perhaps at a club.

He chuckled and looked to the side before he turned his head back to me. "Try Brandon."

"Right," I nodded as I leaned against my BMW. I crossed my arms in front of my chest and looked at him in curiosity. He had high cheekbones and they fucking reminded me of someone but I couldn't put my finger on who. "How can I help?"

"Um..."

"Is there an open bar night at the club where you need customers or something?" I joked.

"I'm sure you would be there without any hesitance, wouldn't you?" he asked back and I shrugged with a smirk.

"Perhaps," I nodded. "So, is there anything you need?"

"No, not really," he sighed. "I was just thinking about that night... you know, when you were highly intoxicated and I had to ask, um, one of my friends to drop you off at home because I couldn't leave work?"

"Hm. What about that night?" I asked him in confusion. Why did he bring up Kensington? Why did everyone know her? I swear to god, this woman was more popular than she let on.

"Was just wondering if you ever got with her?"

"Why?" I laughed. "Did you want to go for her or something?" his face twisted in disgust and he looked like he was about to gag, too. I felt a bit offended by that because Kensington was gorgeous. Then again, not everyone had the same taste in women.

"Oh, fucking hell, no!" he exclaimed. "No way in hell. Like I said, we are friends so... I was just wondering if you got her number or something? She has been single for a while now... I think it'd do some good for her if she had someone in her life to, you know, have."

"I'm not sure I'm onto what you are saying, pal."

"Oh, I think you are," he nodded with a smug facial expression on his face. I raised my eyebrow at him as he carried on. "As a friend, it is my job to look out for her so, from a bit of research, I do know you enjoy other ladies' company. However, I must warn you – if you want her, you best drop all the other side hoes."

"Now, what makes you think I want her?" I asked as I completely ignored the side hoes comment. I didn't have any. Not because I couldn't get any but because I didn't want or need any. Ever since Kensington came into my life, I found it hard to even glance at anyone else. "She is my competition – or as some like to call it, rival – so it would be highly inappropriate for us to have anything going on, wouldn't it? Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for that day for her... for dropping me off at home. But, in all honesty, I don't mix business with pleasure."

"Hmmm," he hummed, a little something in his eyes told me he did not buy whatever I had just told him. "I'm sure you don't," he commented. "But just letting you know, I'm her friend. So, remember my face because when you spot me in the crowd, you best run."

He sounded serious but I couldn't help the smirk that creeped onto my face.

"Hey, what's your name again?" I asked.

"Brandon."

"Yeah," I nodded. "Surname?"

"Kensnedy," he stumbled on his words before he spit it out.

"Brandon Kennedy, is it?" I asked back, to make sure. He seemed rather suspicious. Plus, Kensington didn't have friends. So, whoever this twat was, had to be some kind of stalker.

"Yep."

"Alright, Brandon Kennedy. I will be sure to run when I see you in the crowd," I shot a fake smile in his direction before I pushed myself away from my car and got inside. I watched from the rear-view mirror as he walked away and got in his own car. I pulled out my phone and dialled my PA's number. "Jamie," I greeted when he picked up.

"Mr Styles. How can I help you?"

"I'm going to need you to run a background check on Louis Tomlinson and Brandon Kennedy. It is urgent. Top priority."

"New clients?" he questioned.

"Something like that," I smirked.

"Will that be all, Sir?"

"That will be all, Mr Williams," I said. "Oh, and Jamie?"

"Yes, Mr Styles?"

"This stays between you and me, understood?"

"Understood."

• • •

On the down low, somewhere deep inside, I waited for a call or a text. An email, even. Some kind of contact from her before I had to make a move to see her. It was always hard with her, getting to show she cares, I mean. Well, mostly. Because she had feelings, she just kept them locked away to make sure she didn't get hurt. I understood that but at this point in our... relationship, I would have preferred if she would have let her guards down a little bit.

Or was that too much to ask of her?

No, it wasn't. Right? We have known each other for a while now and she had to have developed some kind of emotion towards me. Or maybe not. She wasn't obligated to feel anything for me and just because I began to grow these deep and strong feelings for her, it didn't mean she had to feel them back for me.

Strong, deep feelings, huh, Styles?

It seemed crazy to me. All these years later, something changed in the way I looked at and thought of her and now here we are. A contract kept us together at this point. We surely had some kind of connection but every time it seemed to strengthen, she took at least ten steps back and that link just broke.

She had been through a lot, that was clear to me. With her ex-boyfriend and this... family issue she had going on, I understood that it was going to be tough for her to trust me or anyone, for that matter. But sometimes it happened. Sometimes, she let her guards down so much, I was a second away from the person who she truly was. Then in a blink of an eye, we were back to square one.

She was scared.

Of me. Of this. Of her feelings.

I had to change that.

She already meant too much to me to just let this – her – slip through my hands. No one made me feel the way she did. Angry, annoyed but also at peace, comfortable, happy. She kept me on my toes in the weirdest ways possible and I liked it.

I liked her.

Did I love her?

I knew I could. It was so easy to love her but she didn't want anyone to do that for her. She was much too stubborn to let anyone in, to let someone see how amazing she was.

All because her bloody ex treated her like absolute cow shit.

With a sigh, I pressed the button on the lift wall and waited for the doors to close. It was ten to five in the afternoon which meant home time. It also meant I would see Kensington soon. Or would I? She never called.

I nodded at some of the employees who got into their cars as I made my way towards my own. A lot happened today – from Tomlinson to the bartender guy. I was curious to know how Louis Tomlinson knew Kensington. He made it sound like she had done business with him in the past – definitely not the kind she is doing now, however.

He had always been known as a main source for anything anyone needed. Cigs? Check. Alcohol? Check. Weed? Check. Drugs? Check. Fake ID's? Check. Condoms? Check. Plan B? Check.

He made a great business out of selling stuff for double the price but because his customers were all underage or didn't want to get caught, they stuck to him like bees stuck to honey. Personally, I have never added to his profit, ever, but his name was pretty well-known in the area I used to live in. Even after, it seemed like.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked the time before I started up my car. I had an unread message and it was from her. Kensington. It caused a grin to spread across my face, I was quick to lift my phone so the face recognition could unlock it and I could read what she said. My heart raced in my chest and my teeth nibbled on my bottom lip.

God, she had me sweating.

Renleigh Kensington: hi

One word. That was all she sent. Yet it still made me chuckle and wake up the butterflies in my stomach. My crush on her didn't seem to fade, if anything, it just grew every day.

The three dots in the left corner caught my attention and I held my breath. She was typing. For a long time. I wondered if she wrote anything at all. Not that it mattered, because the speech bubble disappeared almost right after.

I guess a hi was better than nothing, though, right? At least I got a hi out of her. I'm sure it took a lot for her to show she was still there. After a few days gone without any kind of contact.

Renleigh Kensington: can we talk?

My eyes widened at her text. My thumbs were shaking as they hovered over the keyboard, my eyes reread the message at least ten times before I unsurely replied.

Me: hey, yeah

Wow.

Way to fucking go. I'm sure she thinks you are just dying to hear her out.

Renleigh Kensington: we don't have to if u are not up for it, it's fine

Me: I'm just surprised you decided to text me seeing as you went so long without reaching out x

God's sake. The fucking kiss at the end. Why was I such a petty shit?

Renleigh Kensington: I told u I was going to be really busy

Renleigh Kensington: but like I said, if u are not up for it then it's fine

And then there were no more messages and I felt like a twat. Her texts were so weird. She never asked to talk to me. I didn't even expect her to ever want to do that. Well, not for a while, at least.

You told her she can reach out to you whenever and you are being a dick?

I did tell her I would be there for her, didn't I? The night after our first proper date. When I basically told her she had no friends but I would be one for her if she needed someone to talk to.

"Dammit," I groaned as I clicked on her contact and pressed down on the phone icon. I called at least twice and it went to voicemail each time. Then I called a third time, and she picked up. I was quick to call her name. "Ren..."

"I'm driving, bye," was her reply before she buttoned me.

My mouth agape, I pulled the phone away from my ear and looked at the screen which showed me our messages. My eyes travelled to her contact photo which was from when we went on that date. She wore all white with a red coat and she looked amazing. I airdropped the photos to myself after I took them on her phone. She looked so happy on them, her smile made her whole face lit up and caused my heart to beat like drums inside of my chest.

I opened my camera roll and searched for the picture, my eyes too busy looking at how gorgeous she was. I wanted her to myself, all of her. All the troubles, her past, her annoying little arse and work-obsessed mind. She was a lot of work but I felt as though it would've been silly of me to stop now.

She was already such a big part of my life, it wouldn't have felt the same if I would've cut her off. That made me wonder if she could be the one.

• • •

a.n.
ffffff they are so annoying but oh well they are my characters therefore a part of me and i'm annoying myself so it makes complete sense hehehe also i lowkey feel like ren pissed yous off in the last chapter 😳

the next one should be cute towards the end and also give a new-ish side to renleigh i guess idk what's your favourite side of her??? feel free to go into deal cos i luv reading your thoughts on the story as well as the characters on their own !!

don't forget to vote and comment hunnies cos we been lacking the latter xxx