Up above: Donnie Wyler played by Keanu Reeves

This book probably seems kinda boring rn but it's because the relationship between Harry and Adriana hasn't been established properly and I don't want to rush it. Gotta ease into it, ya feel?

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✧ Underneath this fragile frame

Lives a battle between pride and shame ✧

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   "Stay with me."

Adriana flicked her gaze over her shoulder with a light frown on her face, gazing at Harry who lay on the bed, naked under the sheets. It had been a few minutes after their intimate actions. Adriana had cleaned up a bit before returning to find her clothes. She wanted to leave when Harry was asleep but for some reason he was staying up, waiting for her to join him in bed. She exhaled through her nose as her eyes met his pleading ones, unable to refuse his adorable pouty face.

"I can't," she answered shortly, pulling her bra on and doing the clasp.

Harry sat up with a frown on his face, leaning his back against the headboard. She stood up from the bed, ducking down to scoop her panties and pull them up her legs.

"Why not?" he simply asked, earning another look from her.

"Because I have someplace else to be," she said in response, causing Harry's frown to deepen.

"At like 2 in the morning?" Harry arched a brow at Adriana, making her scoff lightly, shaking her head.

"Of course," she said sarcastically, turning to gaze at him properly with her hands on her hips.

Harry's gaze flickered to Adriana, studying her body for a second; the only thought in his mind was how perfect she looked. The white lingerie she had on was gorgeous, the lace bra perfectly clinging to the swells of her breasts. His gaze travelled down her torso, noticing the baby abs that peaked out, a clear indication that she worked out to keep her body fit and in such perfect shape. When his gaze darted back up to meet hers, a knowing smirk drawled onto her lips, making his cheeks flush a little before he pulled on a tight frown and puckered his lips.

"Fine, go on, I don't want to keep you from whatever you have to do that's so urgent at two in the morning," Harry said with a grumble, not al all trying to hide it as he pouted and folded his arms over his chest. "But you have to stay next time."

"Next time?" Adriana arched her brows at his words, making slight hesitation appear on his features.

"There will be a next time, right?" he checked, watching her bite her lip, pondering quietly.

"There shouldn't be," she muttered, making his expression fall significantly.

"You didn't have a good time?" he questioned immediately, feeling insecure, making her shake her head quickly, and climbing onto the bed to approach him.

"I did, babe. I enjoyed it a lot. There's still so many things I want to do to you," she whispered lowly against his lips, making him lean forwards to kiss her but she pulled back slightly. "But I think it's better for the both of us if we don't allow this to happen again."

"What's so wrong with just hooking up?" Harry asked with puckered lips, confusion showing in his eyes. "If this is about catching feelings, then you shouldn't worry because I can control myself."

"Harry," she said with a sigh, shaking her head. "Just drop it, it's better like this. I can hook you up with some other stripper from the club."

"But I don't want another stripper," he immediately said in a small voice. His hands grasped her hips, pulling her onto his lap. "I want you, and only you."

Adriana felt his words kick her stomach, a smile drawling on her lips as well because she too wanted him and only him. She wanted him because he was the only man who made sex exiting and thrilling for her again, after years of it just being numb and boring. But that was almost like a sign, a warning for her to stray away from things that gave her joy. His presence was addicting, and she wanted to actually get to know more about him since the only thing she knew about him was his name, how big his cock was, and that fact that he's rich. But she knew the consequences of getting close and intimate with someone like Harry. She could predict them. Harry didn't deserve the shit he had coming for him just by getting to know her.

"You're making this difficult for me," she mumbled lightly.

"C'mon it's just breakfast, it won't kill you," Harry said with a light chuckle.

"Breakfast?" she arched a brow in amusement and slight curiosity, noticing that he had changed from making her stay the night to making her stay the night and have breakfast with him the morning after.

"Is it bad I want to treat you to some breakfast?" he said shyly, before pulling his lower lip into his mouth. "I mean, c'mon, it won't kill you to have breakfast with me! Breakfast as friends of course."

Adriana chuckled a little at his words, stroking his cheek as she gazed into his bright, hopeful green eyes. She then nodded as a response to his request, making a huge grin appear on his lips. Her eyes widened a little at the adorable dimple that popped out as he grinned, loving the way his pink lips stretched wide over his pearly white teeth. His smile was gorgeous. She knew she was going to regret agreeing to this, but it was hard to say no once she looked into his wide green eyes, paired with those pink pouted lips.

"Okay, I gotta go," she said once she snapped back to reality, climbing off of lap and scrambling off the bed.

Once she was completely dressed, she shuffled over to Harry, gripped his chin and planted a firm kiss on his lips, catching him off-guard. His hands immediately cupped her cheeks as he kissed her back, emitting a small whine when she broke the kiss and pulled away. She parted her lips to whisper something against his ones, a tiny smirk drawling onto her lips.

"Until next time, Harry."

And just like that, she was out of the door before Harry could even say goodbye.

∘❧∘

Adriana's six-inch heels clanked against the stone pavement noisily as she walked towards her apartment building. She paused momentarily, scowling at the chilly breeze that had suddenly brushed over her. Wrapping her trench coat tighter around her slim body, she decided to take a shortcut, walking straight into the alleyway that led her to her apartment building. Her skin crawled when her ears detected footsteps behind her, snapping her head back fast and focusing her gaze on a dark, undistinguishable figure behind her.

Swallowing thickly, she increased her pace a little bit, wishing she brought her sneakers to the club to wear after work but she had forgotten again. Her gaze flicked over her shoulder, noticing the figure was nearing now, recognizing it as a familiar man. But as soon as she looked forwards again, her eyes landed on two other large, burly figures standing in front of her. She was surrounded. She cursed under her breath, running her fingers through her hair before turning around to face the familiar man she was trying to avoid.

"Trying to avoid me again, Adriana?"

Adriana locked her dark, narrowed eyes with a pair of similar ones that had a mischievous, dark look in them. Donnie Wyler. The man was handsome, in a sexy, rugged sort of way. He was in his mid-thirties; face pale with protruding cheekbones and a dark beard. He tucked a strand of his lengthy, raven-black hair behind his ear before sticking a cigarette into his mouth and raising a lighter to set it afire. Adriana watched him with a blank expression as he cupped and lit the cigarette, the flame illuminating his face momentarily, casting dark shadows on the planes of it.

He then pulled away and looked at her coolly, stuffing the lighter into the pocket of his black jeans as he hollowed his cheekbones. His hand came up to pull the cigarette from his mouth, parting his lips to let out smoke that swirled out and dissipated in the air.

"I need the money," Donnie spoke again, his tone not as playful as the first time he spoke, deep and undeniably grim.

"I don't have it." she responded straight up, face holding a stony expression as she kicked her chin up at him and tried to stand tall.

"I'm tired of hearing that every time I ask," he admitted with a heavy sigh. "You know, when people don't pay me back, they lose their heads. But you haven't, and you haven't lost your head."

"So?" she arched a brow sassily at him. He chuckled, pretty much used to Adriana's strong personality.

"So, I won't be patient forever. You owe me over five hundred dollars for the numerous pounds of cocaine you've bought over the year," he pointed at her with his cigarette in hand as she swallowed thickly.

"I know that," Adriana said thickly. "I just need more time."

"Again, another phrase I've heard one too many times," Donnie said with a roll of his eyes. "You get your shit together and start collecting, and stop buying."

"Don't tell me what to do," she snapped lightly with a roll of her eyes, making Donnie narrow his eyes at the way she was speaking to him.

In a split second, he had her up against the wall of the alleyway, fingers wrapped around her throat with his dark eyes glaring at her.

"You're forgetting that I hold the upper hand here, Adriana. I could literally end your life for not paying your fucking debts," he threatened fiercely, but they were just empty threats to Adriana. She stared back at him with a blank expression, him holding her against the wall with a hand to her throat and threatening her, all too familiar.

"Then why don't you?" she tested him, as per usual. The vicious look in his eyes disappeared quickly, making him release his grip on her.

"You know why," he muttered under his breath, making her scoff and look away with a shake of her head.

"I have to go now," she announced in a matter-of-fact tone. "I'll pay you back, when I've collected enough."

"You don't have much time, Adriana," Donnie said with a scowl. "The Black Mamba will come looking for you."

Adriana has heard rumors about the Black Mamba but has never met him. Some dealers are too afraid to speak of him. He wasn't in the state yet he ruled New York City. Donnie worked for him and sold his cocaine and various other drugs here in NYC. It has been said that he had other men doing similar things to Donnie, all around America and even in other countries. His drugs were the most expensive because they were the most pure, and high-quality ones.

Donnie has been warning her of him for quite some time now, but he's never showed up, which lead Adriana to believe that Donnie was just trying to scare her into giving the money.

"There's a phrase I've heard a million times," she said in a sarcastic tone, now angering Donnie.

"Who's that new man you've been hooking up with lately?"

Adriana felt her heart stop in her chest, oddly enough, when she heard Donnie's words. Snapping her gaze to meet his, keeping her face expressionless and stony.

"Some British guy," she said with a shrug. "Why do you care?"

"You seem to like him," Donnie noted, making Adriana frown, slightly unsure of where he was going with this.

"I like his dick and that's about it," she said, but the words felt slightly odd in her mouth, as if they weren't true.

"That'll change," he mused with a smirk, now frustrating her.

"You seem so sure of yourself," she said with a scowl.

"I am, and when it gets deep. He's going to suffer, because of you," he pointed at her with his cigarette in hand. "I will do whatever it takes to get that money, Adriana."

It finally dawned upon her as to what Donnie was implying this entire time, making her gaze turn into a vicious glare as she stepped forwards and pressed a finger to his chest.

"You leave him alone. He's just a hook up, nothing more," she spat at him, making him chuckle because she was vexed.

"So you don't mind if I decorate his face with my knife?"

"Donnie!" Adriana snapped at him, disliking the sudden threat.

"Time's running out, Adriana," he reminded her with a snap. "Get me the money, or else I'll resort to forcing you to get it for me in ways that'll make your pretty eyes cry."

Adriana gazed at him intensely, swallowing thickly and nodding shortly with an empty expression. She knew that Donnie always threatened to hurt the men she slept with, even though she didn't feel for them, it was in her nature to care for them. They didn't deserve to get hurt because of her mistakes. But Donnie never did hurt them, despite the numerous times she'd miss out on a deadline to pay and he would threaten her. She felt herself relax a little when she remembered this, slightly assured that Donnie wouldn't do anything. But then again, she wasn't sure.

"Goodbye Donnie," she said in a clipped tone, turning around to walk out of the alleyway. The men, who blocked her way, stepped to opposite sides to let her through.

"Until we meet again, Adriana."

∘❧∘

It was around three in the morning when Adriana finally reached home, entering her apartment with a heavy, tired sigh leaving her lips. It was quite small, but well kept. It was decent for someone who made such little money off of being a stripper whose money was taken away most of the time, but it was only because she bought this apartment when she had a higher-paying job. That was about two years ago when her life was much more put together than it was now. The cocaine addiction was what caused it to fall apart. She stayed in the apartment because she refused to move, but often struggled with paying the slightly expensive rent.

She didn't feel sleepy because she had this craving that gnawed at her like a rat. A craving for cocaine. She knew that it was pointless when it came to trying to ignore it. The craving was the worst thing she could ever endure. As well as the withdrawal symptoms, which she hadn't experienced in a while because she's been doing cocaine quite often to avoid that. She knew the effects of it; she knew it was killing her from inside out. Yet she couldn't stop. It wasn't that easy.

Kicking her heels off, she headed straight to the bathroom, stripping down just to her underwear and gazed at herself in the mirror. Her gaze flicked down to her tattoos, finding it ironic that the tattoo she picked out while she was drunk one night turned out to be the most perfect tattoo that represented herself. Someone who puts on a façade of a glamorous, confident woman: when in reality she was a damaged, fragile soul.

Her mind drifted back to the intimate events that involved a certain green eyed, curly haired man. A tiny grin dipped into her lips when she reminisced on how persistent he was being with taking her out for breakfast. Insisting that they were going to do it just as friends and nothing more. Friends. She chuckled. She didn't know if she even had those anymore. Her so-called friends were most probably people who just stuck with her because they pitied her. If they knew the story of her life, they'd for sure increase that pity for her, which she hated. She hated it when people pitied her. It felt degrading in a way. It was looking at someone and reducing everything they are and could be down to what you think their life must be like- pitiful.

In that case, she wanted to try and keep her depressing life in the shadows whenever she was with Harry. A mystery. She didn't know how long she'd be able to do that, after seeing that he was a persistent man and would want to know everything. She knew he wanted them to have breakfast because he wanted to get to know her, and she was going to keep it vague instead of lying because the horrors of her life was something that would scare him because he wouldn't understand. He can't relate to it. He was a privileged, rich man. What could he possibly understand?

She was in the shower when she thought of all of this, trying to find relief in the lukewarm water that streamed down her back. But she wanted hot water. The landlord had cut off their hot water as an attempt to get Adriana to pay the rent. But like with Donnie, she kept stalling. She didn't have enough money. She never had enough money. She barely made enough at The Neon Demons, but when enough was collected that would be around the time her cocaine would finish up and she'd have to get more. So, she'd leave a bit of money for necessary expenses such as food, and spend the rest on cocaine, because her addiction was always like a hungry rat, gnawing at her for more.

This was an endless cycle. Sometimes, she wouldn't even have enough money for food, all of it gone to waste for cocaine. She could see how wrong it was, but she couldn't stop herself. She had no one who'd care enough to stick by her and help stop her, because no one wanted to be friends with a drug addict. Not only does the addict get damaged, but also the loved ones. She shook her head to free it from these depressing thoughts, cleaning up quickly and turning the shower off.

Throwing on some panties and a baggy t-shirt that reached her thighs midway, she trudged towards her bed. She climbed onto it and dove under the covers, releasing a heavy, tired sigh. A grimace etched upon her face when she felt a slight ache in her lower region, associating it with Harry's rough movements while they had sex earlier. Again, a tiny smile drew on her pink lips at the thought of him, a little excitement sparking inside of her at the thought of breakfast with him. She didn't know when he was going to come back. Last time, it had been a week since he came back, giving her the impression that he too thought it was a one night stand but couldn't help but come back for more.

Just like Harry couldn't get Adriana off of his mind, it was the same her. She'd often find her thoughts drifting away and focusing on the handsome, sweet curly-haired man. It was frustrating, and quite odd because it was something that had never happened to her before. She had never found herself thinking about some random guy she hooked up with, even if the sex was good.

Any further thoughts about Harry quickly dissipated in her head as exhaustion rolled over her and put her into a deep sleep.

∘❧∘

Harry's ring clad fingers wove through his thick; brow locks, gathering them up into a bun, securing it with a black hair tie. He was currently sat in a small café with Niall, having brunch, the morning after Adriana left him for the second time. His mind was distracted again, her being the only thing on his mind. Niall frowned lightly at Harry, adjusting his scarf to hide all the purple bruises that tainted his pale skin after the wild night he had. He leaned forwards, wrapping his cold fingers around the warm cup of coffee, lifting it up to take a sip before speaking to Harry.

"What're you thinking about, mate?" Niall inquired, causing Harry to visibly snap out of the trance he was in, turning to meet Niall's gaze.

"Nothing," Harry shrugged and lied, making Niall chuckle a little.

"Yeah right," Niall scoffed, shaking his head a little. "Wanna hear about how my night went?"

"No!" Harry immediately rejected with wide eyes, shaking his head vigorously because he knew how graphic Niall's hook-up stories were.

"Then tell me who you're thinking about!"

"I'm not thinking about anybody, Niall," Harry insisted, even though it was easy to tell that he's lying.

"Okay," Niall said slowly. "Tell me about your night then, you hooked up with her again didn't you?"

"I did," Harry answered shortly.

"And?"

"And what?"

"Stop being a pussy and tell me how it went!" Niall exclaimed, making Harry's cheeks flush. "Was there any pillowtalk this time?"

"I don't know if it'd classify as pillowtalk," Harry shrugged lightly, making Niall's crystal blue eyes widen a little with curiosity.

"What did you say?"

"I said stay with me, when she tried to leave," Harry mumbled in a low voice, making Niall roll his eyes with a groan.

"Great, you're already clinging to her," Niall said in exasperation.

"Am not!" Harry protested with a tight frown. "She then said she couldn't and when I asked her why, she said that she had things to do."

"What at like one in the morning?" Niall scoffed.

"Two," Harry corrected him.

"Whatever, Peach. Now continue."

"I made a fuss," Harry said with his cheeks flushed in embarrassment, now realizing that he was acting a bit clingy.

"Good job," Niall said sarcastically.

"Niall," Harry whined with a pout. "I told her, next time she should stay, and then she said that there shouldn't be a next time."

"Wow. Were you that bad?"

"I wasn't!" Harry said with raised eyebrows. "She said she enjoyed the night but thought it'd be better if we didn't hook up again."

"This is probably related to that shit that other stripper said about her fucking everything up in her life," Niall muttered under his breath, making Harry's eyebrows slope downwards. "If what that stripper said is true, peach, you better be careful."

"I can take care of myself. It's just hooking up," Harry huffed, folding his arms over his chest. "But she agreed at the end, to breakfast the morning after we hook up next time."

"She did?" Niall arched a brow in surprise.

"She did," Harry repeated Niall's words with a smirk on his face.

"Mind if I join?" Niall mirrored Harry's smirk.

"Yes I do mind," Harry said with a grumble. His eyes darted to the window behind Niall, noticing a familiar woman with lengthy brown hair.

"Shame, I wanted to ask if she'd be interested in an orgy I'm organizing for tomorrow night."

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∘ I love how dirty this Niall is omg

∘ what do y'all think of Adriana now that you've gotten just a glimpse of what her life is?

Until we meet again...

thiora ♡