Reminder: some of the things I write you might feel offended about but I stated WAY in the beginning of 'his hostage' that this is complete FICTION. Just because I write something in my story, does not mean I personally believe it. If you want to be mad then be mad at the characters lol not everything that comes out of their mouth is something you're going to personally agree with or like and you're not supposed to. The intention of stories is to make you feel but it's fiction so if you don't like what they say don't come attacking ME with rude comments just because I'm the writer behind it. I'll happily block you :)

That's all. Carry on and enjoy. :)

Vote + comment!

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"Ya no somos amigos."

"Caesar," I shake my head, running my fingers through my tangled hair and huffing. "I apologized like ten times."

"I don't care," He grumbles on the other side of the phone. "I can't believe you were home and didn't even bother to tell me. So much for hanging out."

"I'm sorry," I whine again. "I told you there was just a lot happening that weekend. You know I would of hung out with you otherwise."

"Hm."

"Caesar." I say, just as my bathroom door opens. I look up, my eyes automatically falling on a shirtless wet Harry. His hair, which now reaches just above his ears clings to his forehead and his skin is glistening with droplets of water. I bite my lip as he steps further into my room, his tattooed clad hand pushing his hair back. My eyes instinctively scan his body, stomach flipping when he saunters to his bag on the floor in just a towel wrapped around his lean hips.

"Cabrona," I hear being muttered into my ear and I snap out of my momentary distraction. "She even ignores me when I'm on the phone. Is Harry in the room?"

I cough, blushing even though he can't see me. "Uh yes. Sorry."

"What? Is he naked or something?" He asks and by the teasing tone in his voice I know he isn't really mad at me. I roll my eyes just as my cheeks begin to flush.

"Cállate. He's not." Well not entirely.

"Sure," He says, showing just how much he didn't believe me. "Anyways, as I was saying before you got distracted for whatever reason, I'm not mad at you. Well I was, but I'm over it."

I smile and Harry looks up, discarding the towel around his hips without a second thought and pulling up a pair of white briefs. "Good I-,"

"But, I am insisting that the next time you are home that we hang out. It's been months since I've seen you Princesa. I get you've got yourself a boyfriend now but don't be that girl that forgets her friends."

Guilt fills me immediately and I nod quickly, frowning at Harry when he arches his eyebrow at me. I shake my head as he shrugs a shirt on along with a pair of sweats. "I won't. I'm sorry Caesar."

"All is forgiven chica." He sighs into the phone and I hear the sound of a woman speaking Spanish faintly in the background. "I gotta go. Mi mamá wants me to help her clean the kitchen. We'll speak soon."

"Okay, bye."

He mumbles a quick bye before hanging up, the sound of his mom now yelling at him the last thing I hear before the line clicks. I laugh, tossing my phone on the bed next to me. My grin fades as Caesar's words sink in and a frown grows on my lips. I was being such a shit friend to him but it was hard to constantly keep in touch with him lately. I've been consumed with school, work, Harry, making time for Lila, and dodging calls from my dad. Not to mention I was still being paranoid about the guy in the black hood even though it had already been two weeks since seeing him at the club.

A shadow falls over me then and I look up just as Harry squats down in front of me, green eyes widened slightly with worry. He takes my face in his hands, cupping it and rubbing his thumb over my cheek. "What's wrong, love?"

I chew on my lip, lifting my eyes to look into Harry's hesitantly. "Have I been a shit friend lately?"

His head moves back in surprise and he draws his eyebrows together in confusion. "What? No. What makes you think that?"

"I didn't tell Caeser I was home when we visited and he was really upset about it. He just pointed out to me that I can't forget about my friends when I have a boyfriend. I'm just worried now I'm not balancing it all as well as I thought."

Harry pursed his lips and his hand on my face moved to tuck my hair behind my ear soothingly. My eyes fluttered at the gesture and I breathed in deeply when he leant forward and planted a peck to my forehead. "I think he is right when it comes to not forgetting about your friends but I also don't think you're doing a poor job."

"You don't think we spend too much time together?"

He bites his lip. "I personally don't think I get enough time with you babe." He laughs and I smile when his eyes look at me in admiration. "We do spend a lot of time together but you also hang out with Lila whenever she has the time too. It's a little easier since she's also in a relationship with my roommate." He points out, fingers untangling my hair. "And though I may not like it, you spend enough time with Niall as well. Caesar isn't here so I can understand why he would be upset with you for not contacting him the one time you were in the same town..."

I sigh. "I feel like crap."

"I'm sorry." He smiled sorrowfully and kissed my cheek. Then the tip of my nose. "But everything is fine with you two right?"

"Yes," I nodded and lightly placed my hands on his wrist to pull them away from my face. I held them in my hands instead, looking down as I played with the rings on his fingers. "I just feel bad, especially since he's off house arrest now. And I miss him."

"Next time you're home, go see him." He told me softly but I refrained from wincing at Harry's words. The truth was, I didn't know when I'd be home again. I was locked out of my own house so it seemed there was no point in going back.

"Yeah." I nod stoically, forcing a small grin on my face before leaning forward and kissing Harry gently. His lips are soft and he tastes like my toothpaste, the smell of my coconut shampoo drifting to my nose. I smile slowly into the kiss and pull back, lifting my hand to briefly brush my fingers through his hair before standing to my feet.

"I'm going to take a shower. You're sleeping over right?" I ask but Harry's eyes are on my mattress, eyebrows furrowed together in thought. I ruffle the top of his hair a little bit until I grasp his attention and he's looking up at me, blinking repeatedly. "Harry?"

"Huh?"

I pause, studying his expression but I can't tell what he's thinking. He doesn't look worried nor does he look happy. Whatever is going on in that head of his, he's doing a great job at masking his emotions from me. "Are you staying the night?"

"Course I am." He gives me a small grin and stands up on his feet to his full height. My head tilts back to look up at him when he steps closer to me and cups my face in his hands. Bending his head down, he brushes his lips against mine and plants a sweet short kiss there. When he pulls back, his hand slips down to touch my long hair and he's twisting a strand around his forefinger. "You know I hate sleeping with out you."

My stomach erupts in butterflies but I say nothing more, opting for sending him a smile before turning around to go take a shower. Once I'm in there and I'm washing my hair with my eyes closed, images of the hooded guy flicker behind my eyelids so I force them to stay open. The fear that struck my gut then comes back and I find myself glancing around my shower, as if whoever the person was would pop out of nowhere. I hurriedly finish my shower, knowing I was becoming paranoid again and it's so bad this time that I think about telling Harry about it as I'm getting dress. Too consumed with paranoia, I decide I will tell him. But when I open the door and walk into my bedroom, Harry is already fast asleep on my bed. I breathe in through my nose and slowly move around my room, hesitating before turning off the light. Blindly walking to my bed, I climb over Harry as carefully as I can but the moment my head hits the pillow he cocoons me into the expanse of his arms. My shoulders  automatically tense for the briefest second and then they slump in relief, the slightest fear I might have felt evaporating as well. I was safe. And I knew I would be as long as Harry was by my side.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Have a nice day." I smile at the customer after handing them their change and watch them head to the entrance. My eyes slide from them to Barbra, who was now approaching the counter with a sweet smile and a paper cup in her hand. I grin knowingly at her just as she reaches the other side of the counter, placing the drink in front of me.

"Thought I'd bring your favorite drink for you," she tells me then pulls her hand from around her back where she had been hiding something. My eyes widen when I see the take away box, the clear plastic at the top allowing me to see what was inside. "And I finally got around to making that banana cream pie."

"Oh my gosh," I take the box in my hands eagerly and my mouth literally salivates at the sight of it. "This looks delicious. Thank you Barbra, you really didn't have to do this."

"Oh hush, I wanted to. Besides, the customers seem to really love it. I think I might put it on the menu."

"I'd buy a slice everyday if you did." I laugh.

"No need, it'd be free for you." She winked and I shook my head.

"You treat me too well." I tell her, taking a sip of the chai latte. My gaze momentarily leaves Barbra when I see Ron turning the 'open' sign at the front of the door around to 'closed.' Knowing that's my cue, I reached for the mouse of the computer and begin to close out and shut the monitor off.

"I treat you well because you deserve it," she comments. "But anyways, I wanted to let you know the shop won't be open on Thanksgiving. And I'm sure as hell not participating in that Black Friday shenanigans so we won't be open the day after as well."

"Oh okay, thank you for letting me know."

"Sure thing, and pass the message on to Harry." She says and I pause, my hand mid air with the strap of my bag wrapped around my palm. Barbra winks teasingly and my mouth gapes open.

"Uh, I don't-, we're not-"

She rolls her eyes and waves me off. "Honey I'm not blind. I see the way you look at him. And the way he looks at you. The boy always looks like he's ready to tear your clothes off," she laughs heartily and my cheeks flush in embarrassment but then she stops laughing abruptly. She points a finger at me scoldingly. "But he better not do that here. No hanky panky in the store."

"Hanky panky?" I choke out, slowly slinging my bag over my shoulder.

"Yes, you know, 'getting freaky'. Or what is it you kids call it these days?" She purses her lips in thought and taps her chin before spinning on her heel to look at the baking counter. "Ron! What is it the children call it for 'getting freaky' these days?"

"Fucking." I hear his voice somewhere in the back. My eyes widen and Barbra turns to look back at me nodding.

"Yes, that. Fucking. None of that here in the store." She says and I'm pretty sure my face was the color of a tomato by now. I shake my head and laugh uncomfortably.

"No, definitely not." I nod and she smirks at me, laughing and reaching over to pat my cheek.

"I'm embarrassing you, I apologize sweetie. Go on, get home before I go on about using protection."

I scurry out of there quickly, taking my warm drink and my pie with me. Barbra laughs as I give her one last wave before walking out of the store and onto the sidewalk. It's dark out now and the streets are semi busy but I keep my eyes ahead of me, letting them wander around every few seconds just so I'm aware of my surroundings. After a few minutes I hear my phone ringing in my bag but my hands are full and I'm unable to answer it so I let it go to voicemail. It rings again though after a few seconds and I huff, pausing on the sidewalk. I try and tuck the box with the pie beneath my arm and though it's a little difficult I manage to rummage through my bag and pull my phone out. Answering it before it can go to voicemail again, I duck my head forward and slip the phone between my ear and shoulder.

"Hello?" I answer a little breathlessly.

"Hey baby," Harry's voice fills my ear. "Are you off work yet?"

"Yes, I'm walking home."

"By yourself?"

"Yes."

He pauses. "Well how far are you? Are you almost there?"

I look around the street, nervously shifting from one foot to the other when I see that I'm one of the only people walking at this hour. "Yeah, I'm a block away."

He sighs in relief and I can just picture him running his fingers through his hair. "Okay, good. I just got home from the gym. I'm going to shower then I'll be over."

"Okay." I smile and my gaze flickers down the sidewalk behind me when I see a figure approaching in the distance. "I'm gonna go now, I want to get home already I need to pee." I lie. I wanted to get home because I admittedly was getting scared. There was no one else on the streets and the universe was choosing to fuck with me because not one single car was passing through the roads where I was. It was just me and the person further behind me.

"Okay. Bye, love."

"Bye." I rush out then hang up, somehow managing to hold my phone, the pie, and my drink in my hands as I hurriedly walk off. I pass a trash can along the way and toss the drink into it so I can hold my phone instead. My boots click against the concrete as I walk quickly and I find myself constantly looking over my shoulder and into the dark corners of allies I pass. The footsteps of the person behind me seem louder in my ears and when I glance over my shoulder again, I see that they're much closer then before. I quicken my pace and focus my eyes ahead of me, heart pounding when I see the entrance to my building. It was as if seeing it gave me more of a push because then I'm jogging my way towards it, not caring if I looked crazy to whoever was behind me. Once I reached the door after a minute I breathe loudly through my mouth and quickly look down the sidewalk again only to find that whoever had been there just moments ago was now gone. I look around up and down the streets in confusion then shake my head, walking inside the building and heading towards the elevator. My heart has slowed to a normal rhythm and I shake my head at my ridiculousness. I was freaking out over nothing, and I wouldn't be surprised if I have just imagined the person walking behind me. You're officially going crazy Em.

The elevator doors open and I walk out, dropping my phone back into my bag and pulling out my keys instead. They jingle as I fiddle past the keychains and grip the key into my hand once I stop in front of our door. I stick the key into the lock and twist the knob, pushing the door open when it unlocks. I sigh as I step through the threshold, closing the door behind me before dropping my keys on the table that held the mail. Letting my bag drop on the floor, I probably would not have heard it if I had done it a second later but I do. I hear the sound of a door closing then quick footsteps moving around the apartment. I freeze.

"Lila?" I call out, though I know it's no use when I remember Lila texted me at work to tell me she was staying with Anthony tonight. I swallow thickly, my heart beat increasing the longer the sound of silence fills my ears. "Liam?" I try instead. It could be him. He had a key... then again he usually worked Thursday nights until late.   I walk down the hallway unsurely, my feet lightly padding against it. "Liam, if it's you, this isn't funny."

What if it's not Liam? I halt just before I reach the threshold of the living room, my palms breaking out into a sweat instantly. This was all too familiar. The footsteps, the walls of the hallway that now seemed too dark for my liking, the silence, and oh god was that a floorboard creaking?

At the sound of it, I turn abruptly to run out of the door just as footsteps hurriedly are heard behind me. "Boo!"

I jump, slamming into the wall in fear with a loud thud and the box of pie I had still been holding falls to the floor as a loud gasp leaves my lips. My heart just about lurches out of my chest and I'm pretty sure I peed myself a little bit. My eyes are wide and though my heart is still beating in fear, I can't deny the relief I feel when my eyes land on the familiar face.

"Oh my god." I breathe out, clutching my chest with my hand. Harry steps out from behind him and he smiles guiltily at me, though it falls a little when he sees my face.

"Baby? Are you okay?" Harry steps forward to reach for me but I shake my head and wave him off. I'm breathing hard, similar to the way I was when I fainted in the alley after Harry and I escaped from Zayn...

"I-I'm fine," I say shakily, breathing in and out as I run my hand through my hair. My eyes shift from Harry, to the face I was least expecting. "I just-, can't believe you're here." I try to sound excited, and I am but I feel that I might be on the verge of having a panic attack.

He smiles warmly "Me too," Caesar opens his arms widely. "Now come here and give me a hug Princesa."

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Caesar is back!!

Prince Royce plays him and I know he isn't Puerto Rican but we're gonna pretend he is. Isn't he so beautiful? Look that spicy man up, you won't regret it trust me. 😜

Questions:

Was she imagining someone following her or do you think someone really was?

Who had a feeling Harry was going to surprise her?

All this 'paranoia' is leading up to something so just be patient. I'll update again soon. Thanks for reading <3