Illicit [Harry Styles]

Chapter 41

Once the finale played out and the fireworks ended, the crowds started moving and Harry and I hastily detached ourselves from each other and quietly joined Mckenzie and Louis to walk back to the car. It was like that awkward period when a movie finishes in the cinema and the lights come on and everyone just kind of goes 'well that was good' — for some reason it just feels weird.

Harry actually managed to call shotgun over Mckenzie this time, so he and Louis were talking in the front but the music drowned out the conversation and Mckenzie and I couldn't hear them in the back. Obviously, my friend took this opportunity to try and get some gossip out of me.

"You told me I have a lot of catching up to do, they can't hear us so now's your chance to tell me," she said lowly, her eyes trained to the boys in the front in order to catch any signs of them listening in.

"Now's not the best time," I groaned, "Come back to mine for an hour and I'll tell you there?"

She nodded and gave a strange wink in response, as if we were talking top secret information back here, which made me roll my eyes. Shortly after, Louis pulled up outside my house and Mckenzie announced she'd be coming in with me. She patted Louis on the head and we all said our goodbyes before the two of us climbed out of the car and headed up the path.

We reached my room and I shut the door behind us, both of us falling onto my bed after discarding various coats and scarves.

"So, fill me in," she requested, getting comfortable.

"Right, okay..." I started, for some reason I was nervous. "Well after we had that spat over going to KFC or whatever, I told Harry I choose him." Mckenzie audibly gasped, and I gave her a displeased look. "I got home at the end of the day and Harry was waiting for me at my house, we went inside and it was weirdly awkward, and then to make matters worse Liam showed up."

"You really have the worst luck," she muttered, shaking her head.

"Yeah, well, he said Niall text him telling him to come over but Niall wasn't even at home so that was peculiar," I screwed my face up in confusion at the memory. "I couldn't exactly tell Liam to do one, so I invited him in—"

"With Harry?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"With Harry," I confirmed, and she made a face that was similar to the one she makes when she finds something gross. "After a little while Harry made me take him to the bathroom — he made up some excuse about leaving something here — and he basically demanded I tell Liam right there."

"Oh my God, Jess! Did you do it?"

"Let me finish!" I snapped. "I agreed to do it, but when it came to it I just couldn't say it. I felt like I was literally going to drop dead on the kitchen floor. Turns out Harry was eavesdropping, and when I didn't tell Liam... he did."

"No way!" she shouted, bolting upright.

"From there, there was shouting, I made Harry leave, Liam was unusually calm and nice about it all and told me we'd still be friends and he'd always be there for me, and then apparently when he left he went and smacked Harry."

"I knew he had a dark side!" she yelped. Mckenzie's commentary was starting to get irritating.

"After that there was a few days where I was totally distraught and didn't speak to anyone, but then I bumped into Louis and he gave me this pep talk about telling Harry off to make him apologise — long story — and so—"

"Woah, hold up," Mckenzie pointed her finger at me, oh God, I knew what was coming, "You told Louis about all of this before me?"

"I... Yeah." Right before she could blow up at me I added, "Because he was the first person to ask what was wrong! Where even were you all this time?"