My mood is sucky but updated as promised xx

Loads going on during this chapter and the next, can't wait to see the reactions 😛

Also it has been around five months since Scarlett died, since she died in March and it's now August. So this chapter is in August.
Just to make that clear for ya 😊

Happy Reading xx

t.m

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H A R R Y 🔫

One month later

  Things have gotten remotely better for me ever since I started Jade's support group. Now that Spencer and Louis have apologized to me I felt like I had genuine friends who cared for me, even though I had Damien and Jade the whole time. It just felt better to be surrounded with more people who were willing to be there for me and support me through these dark times. The dark times that weren't so dark anymore.

  However, I had been spending most of my free time with Niall. He had been improving a lot with his walking, he still needed some aid and more practice, but I was able to get Damien or Max to help him out whenever I was busy going on missions. He insisted on helping me with something in return for helping him. I didn't have anything that I needed help with, maybe something to occupy me whenever I was free even though I used most of that time to surround myself with people, rather than staying on my own with my occasionally dark and depressing thoughts.

  He suggested teaching me how to play the guitar. For some odd reason, I agreed. Since I was a quick learner, I managed to learn how to play the guitar skillfully pretty quick, also picking up a couple of simple songs to play. He told me to use my voice to sing along, and often told me I was a pretty good singer. I always shook my head at his words, but sang nevertheless only because I truly enjoyed it.

  Everyone seemed to be getting better and healing well from the loss of Scarlett, which was why the support group sessions were less frequent as each week passed. I attended the one that was held today, talking about my new phoenix tattoo and the meaning behind it, and how everyone could take Scarlett's words about phoenixes and really apply it to life. Her words were hard to live by because I always felt like I was the better and stronger version of myself only when I was with her. But I never stopped trying; I just tried to be that version regularly with my friends, now that she wasn't here anymore.

   "Harry! My favorite frog!" Louis' voice broke into my thoughts as he called out for me from a distance. Along with him, Spencer, Niall and Dexter walked alongside, faint smiles on their faces as they approached Jade, Damien and I.

   "Louis," I greeted him with a nod, as he plopped down on the empty seat next to me.

   "I heard you've got a great singing voice, mind doing karaoke with me tonight? It'll be fun, I swear!"

   "I'd rather pass," I shook my head immediately, making him pout.

   "Okay fine, how about that new club that opened up downtown recently? I was thinking we could all go together as a group, it'd be fun!" he suggested with a wide grin, making everyone shrug unsurely. "Oh come on you guys! We need to do something fun, it's been a while since we did something fun," he said, his voice instantly lowering as he spoke his last sentence.

  He was right, ever since Scarlett died, none of us went out as much as we used to. All we did was work and train, like robots; occasionally I'd visit Dexter and Louis, or Spencer and play video games. But that was different. We didn't go out for group lunches and dinners like we used to when Scarlett was here.

   "Fine I'll come," I spoke up, causing a couple of gazes to be focused on me. "It wouldn't kill to party once in a while."

   "Aye that's the spirit!" Louis grinned, slapping his hand on my back, causing me to flinch and elbow him in the ribs. "Ouch!"

  Soon everyone else gradually agreed to come. Even though I didn't enjoy clubs at all, or as much, I still figured I should go for Louis. Also because I was in desperate need to go out somewhere and be social. We continued to talk to one another, Louis suggesting to all of us that we should go shopping for new outfits before lunch, but I took a pass on that, saying that I already had enough clothes.

   "All you wear is black," Louis said to me.

   "So? I like black," I arched a brow at him, causing him to scoff.

   "You should try something different, maybe like floral patterns or something," he suggested, making me laugh at his ridiculous suggestions.

   "Floral patterns and me don't belong together."

  Louis simply rolled his eyes at me for the hundredth time before turning to his other side and starting a conversation with Niall who was sat next to him. I was too wrapped up in my own thoughts to speak to anyone, eyes gazing around aimlessly. At some point, they landed on Vicky, whom was sat alone on an empty table on the other side of the room.

  A pang of guilt hit me when I remembered the last conversation we had. She may have the tendency to be annoying at the wrong times, but I knew she simply meant well. The more I went through our previous conversation, the more I regretted for acting like such a dick, even though I had my reasons for it.

   "Y'know she asked me about you," Jade mentioned next to me, noticing how I was staring at Vicky.

   "What did she ask?" I questioned with a curious frown.

   "How you were doing, she said she was too afraid to ask you yourself. Afraid that you'd just blow up in her face again and yell at her," she told me, as I cringed slightly at her words.

   "I should go apologize," I muttered.

   "You should, mostly for that thing you said to her about 'putting her mouth into some better use'," Jade nudged my elbow as I cringed at her words once again.

   "I'm such a prick sometimes," I groaned.

   "Indeed you are. It's okay. She understands. She's pretty nice you know, very talkative, but nice," Jade commented.

   "Wow, seems perfect for you," I said sarcastically, nevertheless wiggling my eyebrows at her suggestively. She punched my side, my body contorting in pain as I groaned.

   "Fuck Jade, what the hell," I cursed, throwing her a deathly glare. "You've been training her lately, haven't you?"

   "Yeah, she's getting better. But obviously she'll never be as good as Blaze."

   "I'm trying to figure out if there's a double meaning to that," I snickered, causing her to smack my arm in annoyance.

   "Go and apologize, shithead."

  I shook my head in amusement at her before standing up and heading over to Vicky. She was reading a book while picking at scooping up some quinoa salad on a spoon. My eyes glanced at the cover of the book, noticing she was reading Great Expectations. I was momentarily reminded of the time Scarlett visited the monkey named Estella. I shook my head quickly to clear my thoughts when Vicky noticed me standing in front of her.

   "Hi," she gave me a tight-lipped smile, eyes gazing warily at me.

   "Hi," I responded a bit awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck before I spoke again. "Can I sit here?" I asked her, make her nod slowly in response.

   "Look," I spoke up; making her set her book down to listen attentively. "I just wanted to apologize for being rude to you during the last time we spoke."

   "It's okay, you don't have to apologize. You were grieving and I was being super annoying, as per usual," she smiled warmly, waving me off when I tried to apologize again.

   "But I still shouldn't have said that thing at the end," I said uncomfortably, not wanting to repeat my previous words, hoping she'd get what I meant.

   "What? You mean when you told me to put my mouth into some better use?" she cocked a brow at me in amusement, making me grimace.

   "Sorry about that, that was a dick thing to say," I apologized sincerely, making her nod lightly.

   "It's fine, I kind of get it all the time. I talk too much," she bit her lip insecurely, averting her gaze to her bowl of quinoa salad.

   "No that can be a good thing," I told her, making her look up at me with a small smile.

   "Really?"

   "Yeah, that just means you're more social, which is good," I nodded, wracking my brains to come up with some pros about talkative people. "Anyways," I decided to move on, hoping she wouldn't notice the subject change, but I really couldn't care less. "Hey, so my friends and I were thinking of checking out this new club that opened up downtown, would you like to come?"

   "Yeah, sounds great!" she grinned widely at me.

   "Okay cool. Umm we leave at 8:30, just meet us at the front of the warehouse, alright?" I smiled back, as she nodded in response to my words.

   "Okay, see you then," she said as I stood up from my seat. I waved her off as I left, before returning back to my seat next to Jade.

   "Did she forgive you?" Jade arched a brow at me curiously, and I nodded.

   "Yep. I invited her to join us tonight at that new club Louis wants to check out," I told Jade, making her smile response.

   "That's nice of you, Harry. Surprisingly," she said with a hint of sarcasm, making me roll my eyes at her. "But hey, the more the merrier!"

  I simply shook my head amusement, a small smile playing on my lips. For some reason, I was sort of looking forward to tonight, even though I wasn't much of a party person nor was I a drinker, I was looking forwards to just getting out of the apartment and The Organization and just doing something normal for once. Instead of just training and killing people all the time. Again, I thought back to that promise I made to Scarlett about how we were going to run away and live normal lives after that one mission. It hurt my heart to think that that promise would never become fulfilled.

~-~

  The music was as loud as thunder; it almost made bottles of alcohol in the cabinets behind the bar rattle. Neon lights flashed everywhere like police sirens, but much more colorful. The air was humid; it was suffocating for me as I slowly made my way to the bar, trying not to push anyone. The owner was good friends with Ford, therefore we were able to get into the VIP section quite easily.

  We entered a fairly sized booth, with a large red sofa curling around a small coffee table. We piled in, there were a total of eight people and we all managed to sit comfortably. I tried not to mind as much when Vicky awkwardly squeezed in from the corner, sitting beside me. I shot her a small smile before calling over a waiter to attend to us. I wasn't drinking tonight, deciding to be the DD as well as Damien.

   "Get whatever you want, it's on me!" I yelled to the group over the blaring music, making them all grin wildly as they began to bombard the waiter with orders.

   "Do you want anything?" I asked Vicky, the only one who didn't seem to order anything.

   "Oh no, I don't drink," she smiled politely, shaking her head at my offer. I simply nodded, before leaning in and whispering in her ear.

   "I gotta go meet a friend at the bar, wanna come? Since this lot will be piss drunk soon enough," I chuckled lightly under my breath, my words making her nod in response.

  She stood up, as I informed Jade whom was sitting on the other side of me, that I was going to meet my friend Diego. Jade simply nodded in response, too distracted by the group conversation held by the others. Looks like they were already occupied. I motioned for Vicky to follow me, carefully dodging drunk bodies as we descended down the steps. She followed close behind me as I led the way to the huge bar that occupied one side of the entire club.

  The racks of alcohol bottles behind the counter lit up with an array of colorful lights, gradually switching to different hues every few seconds. My eyes squinted, searching for the familiar face of my Spanish friend. Once I spotted his incredibly sharp jaw and high cheekbones, I began moving towards him. His back was facing the counter as Vicky and I took the empty barstools in front of him, patiently waiting until he would turn around. Once he did, looking up from a cocktail he was holding, he grinned when he noticed my face.

   "Harry!" he greeted me cheerfully, hand reaching out to clasp mine tightly and pull me over for one of them manly hugs. "How have you been, mi amigo?" he asked me, frowning when he noticed the flicker of emotion in my features. I quickly covered it up with an uneasy smile.

   "Alright, I guess. What about you? How's your mom and sisters?" I questioned with interest, as he served a woman seated next to Vicky before moving back to face me.

   "I'm doing good. Couldn't visit mamá and the girls sadly, I didn't have enough money to buy a ticket. As you know, I fucked up my last job as a bartender, like really fucked up they ended up paying me half of my actual salary!" he explained as he cleaned out a few glasses.

   "Well that's unfortunate. Y'know you should've just hit me up, Diego! I would've bought you that ticket," I pouted, folding my arms over the counter as he shook his head immediately.

   "Can't ask that of you man, you're too kind," he grinned softly, before his gaze darted to Vicky. "Didn't introduce me to your lady here, Styles," he noticed, a hint of a smirk playing on his lips as my eyes immediately widened.

   "Oh she's not my lady," I shook my head, trying not to glance at Vicky.

   "We're just friends," she covered up for me, and I nodded in agreement.

   "Right," Diego smirked nevertheless, causing me to roll my eyes.

   "Seriously, I have a son. Too focused on him right now," Vicky chuckled anxiously, causing my eyes to widen significantly.

   "Damn, how old he is?" Diego asked in interest.

   "5," Vicky replied with a grin.

   "Right, that's nice. Umm would you like a drink? It's on the house, chica," Diego offered kindly.

   "A margarita would be great."

  Diego went off to the other side of the bar to make Vicky's drink, in the mean time I turned to face her with a questioning gaze.

   "What?"

   "A son? Care to explain?" I inquired, curiosity getting the most of me as she sighed.

   "Had him when I was 20. Got into some sticky business with The Organization so I was forced to leave him with my gran in Australia. It's painful to be away from him, but at least with the money I'm making he's getting a good education and all that. Vlad agreed to allow me to visit him once every three months," she explained very quickly, biting her lip once she finished her little story. I tugged my lip ring into my mouth, processing this new information.

   "Where's his father?" I questioned quite bluntly, noticing how dead her expression was, as if she was trying to hide her emotions. She did it well.

   "Dead," she simply replied, snapping her head to gaze into my eyes with her big blue ones, as if asking me to challenge her with more questions.

   "Okay," I murmured, having a feeling that was a touchy subject. "What's his name? Your son?"

   "Xavier," she smiled softly to herself, turning her phone over in her hands and unlocking it. "This is him," she said, holding the phone over for me to take.

  On her lock screen was a picture of her standing on the beach in a peacock blue bikini, huge smile plastered on her face as both her hands clasped her son's shoulders. The kid was cute, head covered in light blond hair just like his mother's, grinning toothily at the camera.

   "He's adorable," I told her, smiling down at the picture before handing it back to her. She parted her lips to speak before pausing momentarily, brows furrowing as she stared behind me. "That man is staring at us," she muttered, as I spun my head around.

  My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach when I recognized the man whom Vicky was referencing to. Zayn. I cursed under my breath, looking away quickly but it was too late. He already noticed me, and he was heading over.

   "Who is he? Why is he staring at you like that?" Vicky began to questioned nervously as Zayn approached us quickly, a group of four or five people behind him.

   "Listen, just keep your mouth shut and head down. Don't speak if he talks to you, okay?" I couldn't help but whisper harshly, causing her eyes to widen, nevertheless obeying my wishes.

   "Well well well, look who we have here?" I heard him chuckle deeply, as the music all around us lowered momentarily to mark the change of song.

   "Zayn," I smiled in irritation. "What an absolute displeasure to see you again," I fake-grinned so hard my dimple popped out, causing him to lower his brows at my words.

   "You seem more cheeky than the last time I saw you," he grunted, as my eyes quickly scanned his body, noticing how his hair was oddly pink. I really couldn't take this guy seriously.

   "And you're hair seemed to have turned pink from the last time I saw you, must've been from the pink milkshake accident," I pressed my lips tightly to stop myself from smiling at his vexed expression. Styles: 1, Malik: 0.

   "Speaking of the last time we met, Scarlett was there. Where is she now?" Zayn questioned, causing my throat to tighten at the mention of her name.

   "Not here, obviously," my expression immediately grew serious, voice decreasing in volume and losing all its emotion. Zayn immediately noticed all that, smirking deeply to himself.

   "Hmmm and does she know you're here?" he questioned, casting an eye over at Vicky, whom kept her gaze away sipping at her margarita. "Here with another woman?"

   "If you're implying I'm cheating on her you better think again, you prick," I immediately snarled, forgetting how I was talking about Scarlett as if she was still alive. "Was cheating, I mean," I quickly stuttered, regretting my words as they caused Zayn to frown in confusion.

   "Was? You mean you cheated on her before?"

   "No what the fuck. I meant, if she were-" I stopped short, color draining from my face as I watched the same happen to Zayn.

   "What are you talking about?" he asked sharply, growing more suspicious when I didn't respond. "Where really is she?" he questioned with slight anger to his tone.

   'Why? Like you would care," I shook my head, narrowing my eyes into slits at him.

   "I am not fucking around. What happened to her?" he quickly moved, fisting the front of my t-shirt and shoving me against the counter. Gasps erupted from the people around us, Vicky immediately getting up from her seat, but once we locked gazes I silently told her to stand down.

   "She's dead," I spoke bluntly, my own words piercing my heart. I figured he'd leave me alone if I told him. "Car crash."

  I watched him as the color drained from his face, jaw slackening as his lips parted. His eyes searched for mine, trying to see if I was playing a trick on him or not, but I wasn't, and he could tell. A flicker of emotion crossed his features as he fisted my t-shirt, showing a silent reaction to the news. The emotion seemed like sadness but I could be wrong. But then, his features quickly morphed into rage, jaw clenching, eyes narrowing and brows pulling low at me.

   "So you're here in a fucking club, banging up some blond slut while she's fucking dead?" he snarled viciously, his words causing something to snap inside of me. "Don't seem so sad to me," he scoffed.

  It took everything in me to stop myself from lurching at him and punching his face repeatedly until it broke. I took a few deep breaths, practically puffing in anger as I stared back at him with cold hard eyes. Instead of denying what he said, I spoke differently.

   "It's something you would do," I snapped at him angrily, interrupting when he parted his lips to speak again. "And don't deny it, you sick fuck. You made that girl go through hell when she stuck with your sorry ass just because she wanted you to change for the better. Don't go acting like you care that she died, because in reality you wouldn't do shit and just go and bury your guilt in some miserable girl's pussy," I spat with fury, shoving him off me, as I heard the music screech to a stop as people began to notice our conversation.

   "C'mon Vicky," I muttered, shoving past him as I headed for the stairs. I turned to allow Vicky to walk in front of me instead but I noticed she was still taking her time with exiting the bar.

  To my surprise, she approached Zayn, staring blankly at him before she swung her fist at his jaw powerfully. The sound of her punch echoed nosily throughout the club. Zayn let out a cry of pain, cradling his jaw as he backed away from a seething Vicky. I was ready to pounce on any of his men whom I expected were going to advance on Vicky, but surprisingly they were too shocked to do so.

   "That was for assuming he'd cheat on Scarlett" she spoke angrily, as Zayn's body rose up from his bent position.

  My eyes quickly widened when she quickly grabbed both sides of his face with her hands, bringing it down to her knee with such force, his nose cracked loudly. A howl of pain echoed throughout the club as his knees buckled and fell to the ground.

   "That, was for calling me a blond slut," she yelled over his cries of pain, before walking towards me as his men attended to him, carrying him out of the club. "Dick," she muttered under her breath before passing by me, I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped me as I followed behind her and the music resumed.

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💀 Zayn's back!!!!! What did you guys think of this chapter? The next one is violent AF and someone gets hurt. Guess who?

Question: do you guys still hate Vicky? Lmao.

💀 y'all after this double update I'm hella excited for you to see what I have planned in store. It's gonna be lit fam ✨

I love you all and pls remember to check out my new fanfic, it would mean the world to me (sorry for the shameless promo) 😚

Until we meet again...

t.m