(No Control - 47. Better Than Words, second part)

The pizzas arrive and everyone is quiet as we all tuck in. Louis takes a photo of his pizza, and Jess's phone beeps. She giggles at something on her screen.

"What are you laughing at?" I smile.

"Louis' tweet," she chuckles, and I feel a jolt of unease as I realise she has notifications on for when Louis tweets. Unfortunately, nothing ever gets past Louis either.

"You have notifications on?" he grins, looking gleefully at Jess.

"No," she whispers, looking down at her lap, her cheeks flushed.

I can't help but laugh along with the others, because she just looks so funny.

"Harry has them on for when I tweet!" she says after moment, and I am so shocked that she knows this I open my mouth without thinking.

"How do you know that?!" I demand, speaking over Louis as he says, "Yeah, I know."

Jess grins cheekily. "I didn't for sure. I suspected, but you've both just confirmed it."

Damn.

"No chill, H," Louis smirks.

I want to fucking kill him for saying that in front of her, and I throw him a nasty look while she isn't looking.

"So what do you do, Jess?" Liam asks, and I sit back on the sofa and enjoy watching her tell the boys all about her job.

Her face is doing that lighting-up thing again. She's so pretty. I could honestly just sit here and watch her all day.

OK, that sounds weird.

You know what I mean.

Once the pizza is all gone we sit in a satisfied silence and appreciate the amount of food we have just consumed.

"I feel sick," Jess moans.

"For someone so small, you can certainly pack away the pizza," Louis remarks.

Is he flirting with her?

"It's my weakness," she whimpers.

"What else is your weakness?" I ask, with a wink, trying to get her attention back on me again.

"Pack it in," she mutters, and closes her eyes, but I'm pleased to see a tiny smile playing at the corners of her mouth and it makes me chuckle.

Liam brings some beers and a cocktail through from the kitchen and I pull Jess's legs up from the floor onto my lap and gently stroke her calves. She smiles at me over the top of her phone and it gives me butterflies in my stomach.

Liam and Louis are absorbed in the latest game of FIFA and I watch the screen idly, not really paying attention. Jess nudges my leg with her foot and I look over at her. She holds her phone out to me and I take it in confusion.

Her Twitter account is on the screen and I can see loads of people have been tweeting her, having noticed that the FIFA game in the background of the photo she posted is the same as the one in Louis' photo. The fans are going crazy, assuming she is my girlfriend.

OK, so this is the perfect opportunity to bring it up. I can skirt around the subject, gauge her reaction, and then go in for the kill.

"Sorry," she says quietly as I give her phone back to her.

"Don't worry about it," I reply casually. "People are already onto us, and you've been pictured with me countless times now. Just don't confirm or deny it."

I mean, I want her to be my girlfriend, but I'm not up for public announcements. Nothing personal - I just like to keep my private life private.

"Aren't you bothered?" she asks, timidly, and I pull a dismissive face.

"I'll get over it. Are you bothered?"

My heart is hammering. What if she knocks me down again?

"Well... not if you're not," she says hesitantly.

Oh my fucking God. This is progress.

I can't hide my smile.

"I'm not if you're not," I say, stupidly, and she beams at me, making my heart leap.

"You hang up... no you hang up... no you...!" Louis' voice mimicks in a high pitched squeal, and I look over to glare at him but he doesn't look up from the TV. Why is he just so cool all the time?

"I have never once said or done that," Jess retorts.

"I can believe that," I mutter.

The thought of Jess as a soppy, clingy girlfriend is as crazy as the thought of a cuddly shark. Not in a bad way - just that she doesn't seem to do the whole adoration thing. I sort of wish she did though.

She puts her phone down on the arm of the sofa and stands up, and I watch her walk off towards the bathroom. She casts a shy smile over her shoulder, which I return, and as I turn my head back I see Louis and Liam watching me.

Louis sniggers.

"What the fuck, H?" he smirks. "You have got it bad."

"Shut up, no I haven't," I deny, but this stupid grin only widens and I look away from them.

"Why are you in denial?" he persists. "She's an amazing girl. And she's fucking hot. Great rack."

I throw a cushion at him and he giggles.

"Don't talk about her like that," I moan.

I don't want to admit I'm jealous, but I want to tell him to back off.

"I'm only messing, you know that," he smiles, and I huff quietly and fold my arms over my chest.

"So what's the deal?" he continues, and Liam is looking at me with interest now, too.

"What do you mean?" I ask uncomfortably.

"Are you official, or what?"

I'm about to scoff and dismiss him, like Jess does to me everytime the subject gets mentioned, but suddenly I want their advice on this, even if it means I have to take their shit.

"I don't fucking know," I groan. "She gets all weird if anyone mentions the word girlfriend, like it's a massive no-no. Like, she's so quick to friendzone me, I can't figure her out."

They're both staring at me incredulously.

"She friendzones you?" Liam repeats. "When?!"

"All the fucking time," I mutter, and I tell them about the girl in the car at the traffic lights the other day, and the conversation we had about keeping things "neutral" in public.

"Sounds to me like she's just got your back," Liam offers. "She understands how important it is for you to keep things under wraps. She's a diamond, mate."

"I just wish I knew if she was into me," I grumble, aware we sound like a bunch of girls at a sleepover.

"Are you fucking kidding?" Louis retorts. "She can't keep her eyes off you."

"She never texts me first," I mutter, and Louis rolls his eyes.

"Did you actually just say those words?"

"It's true!" I insist. "I do all the running."

"You're too used to women falling at your feet," Liam says wisely. "This is doing you the world of good."

"I don't like it."

"No - you fucking love it," Louis grins. "You hate it when girls are obvious and throw themselves at you. You like the chase and the excitement of being kept in the dark."

"Yeah, well, not when it goes on this long," I pout, and they fall about laughing.

"As if Harry's this whipped," Liam beams at Louis.

"Says the boy with Sophia's thumbprint pressed into the top of his head," I fire at him and he inclines his head in acknowledgement, still grinning.

"I don't know who you think you're kidding," Louis teases me. "You do love it. You love her. Just fucking admit it, tell her, and skip off happily into the sunset."

"I don't love her," I say quickly, and they exchange knowing glances.

"I've never seen you this smitten with anyone," Liam says. "You literally come alive when she's paying you any kind of attention. At the risk of sounding like a wuss, it's kind of cute."

"You fucking wuss," Louis says immediately.

"Shut it, Tommo," Liam replies, flicking Louis hard on the fleshy part of his arm.

"I'm telling you: she's into you," Louis says, rubbing his bicep and looking at me again. "Any fool can see it. Just get the conversation over with."

"I try, but every time we start to go down that path she sasses me and knocks me flat on my face again," I sigh.

"Just grab the bull by the horns," Liam advises. "Go straight in there, be direct. Tell her how you feel and I guarantee she'll say it back."

"Say what?" I panic.

"The L-word," Louis smirks.

"Fuck that," I say, flatly.

"She's not Nadine," Liam says softly, and Louis coughs, "Bitch!" into his hand.

"I never said she was," I reply, defensively.

"For what it's worth, I think you make a great couple," Liam says enthusiastically. "She'd fit in well with the other One Direction girls. Soph would love her."

"El would have loved her too," Louis says, almost wistfully, and we are silent for a moment.

It's borderline awkward. Someone fucking speak, please.

"Soooo... No more Swifty then?" Louis says eventually, changing the subject and looking directly at me.

"Isn't she banging Calvin Harris now anyway?" Liam wonders as I shake my head at Louis and try not to wrinkle my nose.

I really try to stay on good terms with my exes, but there is no way I am going back there, Jess or no Jess.

No one answers Liam, so after a moment I shrug at him and say, "Dunno."

I have heard stuff on the grapevine, but I know better than anyone than to believe gossip.

Jess suddenly appears in the doorway, and my stomach drops. How much has she heard?

Fuck.

Did she hear me whining about her, like a clingy wimp? I hope not.

"Anyone want more beer?" she asks, and I can see she's got a few bottles between her fingers.

"Um, yeah, thanks," I reply awkwardly and reach out to take one from her hand. She sets the remaining bottles down on the table.

Louis stands up suddenly and gives Liam a meaningful look.

"Coming for a smoke, Liam?"

"Yeah go on," Liam nods knowingly, and he follows Louis outside and gives me a thumbs up behind Jess's back.

"Keep it clean, you two," Louis's voice floats through the door, and I smile shyly at Jess.

OK. Pave the way.

Wish me luck.

She sits down next to me and swings her feet up and lays back so her head is on my lap, and I brush her hair off her cheek and bend forward to kiss her.

Her lips are so soft. And her kisses are so gentle.

"Having fun?" I smile when we break apart.

"Without sounding like a loser, OH MY GOD YES," she says excitedly. "It's a permanent One Direction moment."

This makes me chuckle. I'm guessing this is like a Harry Styles moment, but worse? I don't know how these things work.

"Good surprise?" I ask, still smiling.

"Amazing surprise," she nods emphatically.

"So are you still a Louis girl?" I tease.

OK, you got me. I'm only half teasing. I can't help feeling insecure when I know she thinks he's hot, and he thinks she's hot, and he is way cooler than me.

I wonder who would win in a battle of sass? It's too close to call.

"I was never a Louis girl. Not really," she's saying. "I could never look twice at another guy while you're in the room."

That just made my knees wobble a bit. I feel strangely euphoric.

"Makes me happy to hear that," I confess, aware I sound like a fucking idiot, but it makes her smile so I smile back and lean forward to kiss her again. Her arms slip around my neck, pulling my lips harder onto hers.

So, Jess, I've been thinking about us, and... No. What the fuck is that? That's not cool.

I really like you, and I was wondering if you... What the hell is wrong with me? I can write songs that millions of fans want to sing along to, but I can't come up with a few simple words regarding this relationship without sounding like a loser?

So, people on Twitter seem pretty keen to label us as an item... How do you feel about that? ... I can't believe this is the best I can come up with.

Her fingers are stroking the back of my neck and it's distracting me. It's making me so relaxed and sleepy, I just want to lie down next to her and talk about the secrets of the universe.

"Put him down," comes Louis' voice, and I look up to see him strutting back into the room. "Told you they'd be at it," he says with a sly glance at Liam.

"Jealous, much?" I tease Louis, and grin at him so he knows I'm only joking. He gives Jess an appreciative glance while she is looking at me.

"Not gonna lie, I need to get some action," he replies. "It's been too long. Even my hand is sick of me."

"Tommo," Liam groans, and throws a cushion at him in disgust.

"Are you guys hitting the clubs while you're here?" I ask, twirling a strand of Jess's hair around my fingers.

"Most definitely," Louis replies, and Liam nods his head slowly.

Louis catches my eye and inclines his head towards Jess with his eyebrows raised and a questioning look on his face, and I shake my head once, trying not to draw attention to this silent exchange, but trying to convey that no, I haven't asked her out yet.

Louis rolls his eyes and grins and I smirk and look away.

Jess is oblivious to all this and scrolls through Twitter instead, and I sneak looks at her screen, noting she follows mostly One Direction update accounts, with a few celebrities thrown in between. I poke her ear a few times with her hair (on purpose) as I'm playing with it, but she doesn't take me on, and instead just flicks my hand and mutters, "Don't piss me off, Harry."

"Ha, you keep getting slayed, mate," Louis cackles. "She doesn't take any shit does she?"

"No, I don't," Jess says immediately, before I can answer.

"She's just not that into you," Louis says, pressing his lips together in mock sadness and shaking his head at me.

"Don't make me push you off your stool again," I threaten him.

"Did I hit a nerve?" he grins, raising his eyebrows briefly. He's fucking stirring it. I knew I should never have confided in him.

"Nope," I lie.

"Tell her some knock knock jokes, that'll keep her interested," he suggests, and I'm thankful he's changed the subject.

"What's wrong with my knock knock jokes?" I ask, pretending to be offended.

"What's right with them? They've been done to death," Liam pipes up.

OK, no one asked you, Payno.

"You can never have enough knock knock jokes," I argue. "Jess - knock knock."

Typically, she just raises one eyebrow at me and goes back to her phone without answering.

"Come onnnnn," I beg. "Knock knock."

She sighs and plays along. "Fine. Who's there?"

"Urine," I grin. I love this joke. I made it up myself.

Jess, on the other hand, is less than impressed.

"Urinesecure, don't know what for," she says flatly without looking up from her phone, making the boys laugh in delight.

"OK OK that one's obvious," I concede, and I tell her the Knock-Knock poo joke. She shakes her head at me, the corners of her mouth twitching.

I try another One Direction one.

"Knock knock!"

"No one's here," she says.

"No, you're supposed to say 'who's there?'" I tease.

"Oh for heaven's sake - who's there?" she says exasperatedly, but she smiles when she looks up at me and my heart misses a beat.

"Ice pick," I say proudly.

"Ice pick a different language but I still hear your call," she sighs. "You need some new material."

The boys laugh again and I stick my bottom lip out. I thought she was a fan? Fans love my knock knock jokes.

Don't they?

"Knock knock," I try again.

"There is no knocker. It's broken," she replies.

"Noooo, play the game, Jess," I plead. I'm determined to get a laugh out of her. "Knock knock."

"Who's there?" she groans, putting her fingers to her temples.

"Alison."

"Alison who?"

"Alison to Nick Grimshaw on the radio in the mornings," I beam.

Oh come on! That's a good one!

No? Really?

"I've got one," Louis says before I can carry on. "Knock knock."

"Who's there?" she says, with a sigh.

"Harry loves."

No, he fucking did not.

"Harry loves who?"

Oh my fucking God, he did. This can not happen.

"Harry loves you. Now get a fucking room."

"Dickhead," I swear at Louis, chucking a pizza box at his face while Liam laughs and Jess blushes.

"Just saying it as I see it," Louis says casually, and I daren't look at Jess in case she gets up and runs screaming the hills. I am going to kill that little fucker the first chance I get.

"You ever play Beer Pong?" Liam asks her, and she clears her throat.

"Um, a couple of times."

"What do you reckon?" he asks us all. "Up for a game? Me and Tommo against you two?"

"Sure," I shrug, and Jess nods shyly.

"I warn you though, I am the master of Beer Pong," Louis says cockily.

"We'll see," Jess retorts, and then seems to remember it's her fucking not-so-secret crushes she's talking to, and blushes furiously.

Louis raises an eyebrow. "Fiesty, huh? I guess we will see."

I'm fucking praying we can slay them. He needs putting in his place.

Bring it on.

----****----

OK, so this turned into rather a long part, as I put in some stuff that wasn't in No Control, so there is another part to this chapter still to come, which will hopefully be up on Thursday!

Still liking Harry's POV? Let me know! :)