Harry Styles

Niall's event was today and to say the least, I was excited for him. This was one of the biggest things he had done throughout his career and I was extremely proud of him. This idea of his had been on his mind for quite some time now, he talked about it a great amount, but never actually pulled through with it.

He simply didn't feel like he could do it then something clicked in him.

Nevertheless, it was today. And it was going to be amazing.

The press had already arrived quite early, ready to film everything. There was so much buzz around this and him which was lovely. Niall was one of the most hardworking people I had known – also one of the least twatty friends of mine. Perhaps he was the only normal one.

For the special occasion, I whipped out one of my own suits. It was a purple one with golden designs on it, custom made for myself. Usually, if I liked my pieces a little too much, I went as far as creating one for my own needs. I found that to be one of the best ways to promote my work as well. With that suit, I wore a white shirt and a pair of boots that reflected golden when the light hit them. My nails were painted black and my rings – as per usual – were comfortably wrapped around my fingers.

I started the event, which was nice. I liked to be the centre of attention and felt as though I deserved to be there. Everything honestly went fine up until the part where Kensington's line was due on the runway. Don't get me wrong, there was nothing bad about her being so confident and sure in her work, I just felt little under her stare sometimes. I truly did believe that others had those emotions inside them when she was around, too.

She wore trousers in a brown colour with an A shaped leg which somewhat kept her open toed heels hidden. The material of the bottoms crawled around the middle of her body tightly along with a branded, black coloured belt. She wore a black blouse that had three quarter length sleeves and a deep V cut cleavage. Golden jewellery decorated her exposed chest as well as her wrists and fingers. Her brown hair was let down and curled nicely as it completed her look.

She looked professional and up to standard. She gave off the vibe that she held power and was extremely strict. She almost looked like she was unapproachable – which probably was her intention.

One more thing that I noticed – which I didn't want to voice to anyone, barely even wanted to admit it to myself – was to do with her overall look. Not fit wise. More so body wise. I genuinely wasn't one to be overly worried about people who I didn't care for, yet something deep in me sent out nothing but warning signs.

I didn't ever body shame people, it was wrong to do. And I didn't shame Kensington either. Simply, over the years, I had noticed how she got thinner each time we crossed paths.

We were not friends – not even acquaintances. Not business partners. Simply each other's competition. There was nothing I knew about her, other than information that was out in the public which honestly wasn't all that much. She could have been just going through a rough patch or whatever which resulted in affecting her health – if she had problems.

Who was I to say she had problems? Who was I to 'detect' she was losing weight? For all I knew, that may have had been her goal.

Not that it should have mattered to me. Like mentioned before: we were not friends, we were not acquaintances, we were not business partners. Her as a person shouldn't have mattered to me and it didn't.

I just noticed that about her.

Then suddenly, a nudge to my side caused me to snatch my eyes away from her and look to the side.

"You're staring," Jamie, one of my assistants, said. My eyebrows furrowed as confused thoughts clashed in my head, the little place I was in made me forget I was in public.

"I'm not."

"You are," he chuckled lowly and shook his head. "The owner of the company you wanted to see is here."

"Right," I sighed and did the top button of my blazer. "Let's find him."

Networking was easy at events like this because talking for me was probably the easiest thing to do. Been told by many before that I had a way with words and it made me feel confident, especially after the business deals all worked out nicely.

• • •

The afterparty was crazy.

Every single person who attended the show was there and they all showed a completely different side to them. The serious, career driven, professional front that they put on for the most part of the day, completely disappeared once a few glasses of alcohol disappeared into their stomachs.

They chatted crazy shit and acted like university students on a night out. If a randomer would have stumbled in, they wouldn't have believed these people were chief executive officers. It always made me laugh when the thought of them having to face each other – or me – the next time popped into my head.

Just that basic factor stopped me from getting bladdered around industry people. Of course, they were bound to be around when I was out with friends but in those situations, I didn't wear a suit or had chatted business with them beforehand. It was very different and I knew where to draw the line.

It seemed as though – very fucking surprisingly – that Kensington didn't.

She sat at a table, on her own, with at least five empty glasses in front of her and one half full in her hand. She didn't do much, just stared ahead and swallowed the hard liquor. Based on the glasses, she only drank Jack Daniel's as the name of the alcohol was painted onto it.

Something in me said to approach her so essentially, that was what I did.

"Can I sit?" the question fell from my lips easily and it made her lift her gaze upwards.

"No," she mumbled before she brought the drink closer to her lips and took a sip. I didn't pay much attention to what she said, I just sat down. "Why won't you men just listen?"

"What?"

"You heard me and you blatantly ignored me," she spat. "Why won't men listen? Is it really that hard?"

"I asked if I could just sit down..."

"Yes, you did and even after I said no you did it anyway," her voice was full of emotion but one I couldn't quite work out. She sounded fed up and hurt, like she wasn't heard and her privacy had been invaded. "What do you want? I'm clearly not in the right state of mind to talk business."

"That's not why I'm here," I answered as soon as the topic changed.

"Why are you here?"

Right.

Why was I there?

"Don't you think you've had one too many drinks?" my eyebrow rose as the words slipped from my mouth and caused her to smirk at me. She leaned back and crossed her arms before herself. Apparently, she didn't agree with me and I had a strong feeling she wasn't going to. "Look, I could honestly care less whether you make a joke out of yourself or not but somehow, it will all be linked to my name seeing as we are rivals and the media loves comparing my company to yours. Now, I don't need any negativity therefore I am going to get you an uber, which will require you telling me your address, so you can get home and perhaps thank me later."

Funnily enough, she didn't fight me too much. She just sent me to hell and back. Twice. All the names – very vulgar, I had to admit – didn't bother me, they were all just drunken mumbles. I always knew she didn't like me, not that I liked her, so in a way, it was expected to happen.

"I'm starving," she said after a while. The uber I ordered was fucking around, the car on the map moved all over the place and it didn't make any sense why. Kensington poked me in the shoulder when I left her without an answer. "Did you hear me? I'm starving."

"And I don't really care," I told her. She raised her eyebrows at me, offended, that I didn't act like her little assistant and got whatever she wanted. "You are not my problem. I'm only getting you this ride home."

"I don't need you to get me a ride to my place. I can get there perfectly fine."

"Yeah. That's why you almost hugged the damn asphalt before," I snorted and she rolled her eyes at me. "Oh. Look. There's your ride."

"Is it a man?" she asked me. I shrugged. It probably was. "I'm not getting in it alone."

"Don't be difficult, Kensington. You'll be home soon."

"You are not listening, again," she stated angrily. "I'm not getting in the uber alone."

"What's the worst that could happen? You throw up and will be charged thirty pounds? You can easily pay it."

"Of course, you don't get it," she laughed. It didn't even feel like she was under the influence of the drinks she had before which I based on the fact that she sounded very serious and on her toes. "You are a white male, what do you have to be afraid of? Not getting your usual dose of pussy this week?"

"Excuse me?" I asked back.

"You are excused."

"Jesus Christ," the mumble fell from my lips as my eyes closed and my fingers pinched the bridge of my nose. "Just get in the uber and get home. I cannot deal with you."

"I didn't ask you to deal with me and I am not getting in the uber. You take it. I'm gonna wait for my driver."

Slowly, my head turned towards her and I was sure if my eyes could have, they would've killed her right there and then. She was being difficult. I didn't understand why she was so annoying over this. She didn't even have to pay for the damn ride.

"So, I ordered it for fuck all, then?" she shrugged and wrapped her arms around her body. "You are ridiculous."

"If me looking out for myself equals to me being ridiculous, I'm all for it. Call me ridiculous all you want. Won't change the fact that you're stupid."

"Stop fucking insulting me," I argued back.

"Stop fucking trying to make me get in the car."

"Why are you so bothered, anyway? It's just an uber. Have you never gotten one?"

"As a matter of fact – no. I have never gotten an uber by myself. Do you want to know why? That is the easiest way for women to get kidnapped. Whether that is in the broad day light or during the night. Do you know why else I am not getting in that car right now? Because I am not one hundred percent sober therefore if it comes down to it, I cannot defend myself. The driver is a male and he may not be out to get me, I don't feel comfortable with this whole scenario. Not on my own," she explained without even taking a breath. "But obviously, you wouldn't know this. You are safe, at all times and have nothing to worry about."

"Listen..."

"Just save it, Harry," she sighed. "Take that uber home or do whatever you want. I'm going to wait for my ride."

"Are you gonna get in or what?!" the loud voice came from the car that was there for us. The window was rolled down as the man with a displeased facial expression looked at us. We were the only ones outside so he probably figured the ride was for us.

And we did argue quite loudly so he probably heard.

"Get lost," I told him. He got paid already, anyway so I didn't see why he was so arsed. "We don't need a ride, just go tend to someone else."

Once he drove off, it was quiet between her and I. She probably would have just ignored or shouted at me if I tried so there was no point. I saved my breath.

The reasoning she gave me was something I never thought of. Something – like she said – that never crossed my mind because there was no reason for it. I never felt scared getting in an uber at night or during the day. I never felt scared when the driver was a male who I didn't know. I never felt scared when I was piss drunk and had to get a taxi home.

It made me feel bad for not knowing just how much it affected women. I had no idea this was something they had to deal with constantly.

This was something that my little sister will have to deal with once she reaches the age limit to go about her business. And that sickened me. The thought of her being scared, the thought of her getting hurt... it did things to my head.

Bad things.

Right in that moment, I wanted to get a body guard for her to always surround her and keep her safe. Then I realised that wouldn't be right. That would feel... inhumane. That is not how women should feel and live their lives.

They shouldn't have to feel scared to do things at night when they are on their own and perhaps drunk.

"Bye," Kensington said as a black car rolled up with a private number plate. She opened her own door and disappeared inside of the dark vehicle. Her cold voice faded into the air as the car drove off and I was left alone, just outside of the venue.

• • •

a.n.
i've noticed u lot like the harry povs more than ren's and although whilst that's nice i wish she'd get sum love too 😔🤝

i hope this chapter wasn't too eh, i kind of didn't know where to go w it so this is what came out in the end lol

hope u enjoyed it and i guess i'll see you's in a week 🥵