Perilous (Harry Styles)

chapter 11

"Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding."

- Mahatma Gandhi

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Have you ever seen anything that made your blood run cold? A ghost or demon in a horror movie so scary and twisted, that your legs froze?

An image so corrupted and wrong, that you were paralyzed? A bloody corpse that made your stomach upset yet you couldn't move?

Or have you ever been so enraged, that you could see the smoke escape your brain like a hot steam from a tea kettle?

Either way, you weren't sure how to react. Your heart stopped beating for a moment, your mind went blank and your subconscious took over.

I froze. Simply because I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't tear my eyes away from that corrupted image. It wasn't anything supernatural, but it was still wrong.

The next thing I knew was my best friend running off, crossing my view. The hallucination – what else could it be? Surely, I had imagined it – was gone, I only saw Lisa.

The next events happened in slow motion for me. I barely saw the kissing duo leaning back from each other before Lisa stood right in front of them. Her right hand came into contact with Harry's left cheek, turning his head aside.

The woman's hands flew up to her mouth and her eyes went wide. She immediately reached for Harry, snapping me out of my frozen state.

I wanted to copy Lisa's action, my mind urged me to really kick Harry where the sun didn't shine this time, but in the blink of an eye, Lisa was back by my side with our purses in her hands.

She tugged at my arm, dragging me away from the scene of crime. Although my whole world was focused on the little booth, no one really had noticed a thing.

"Let's go," Lisa huffed, trying her best to not lash out again. A distant memory shot through my mind.

"Harry," Lisa called in a sing-sang voice.

I groaned. "Harry, ignore her. Stay here." My voice held a pleading note that Harry just couldn't ignore.

"There you are!" Lisa grinned, entering my bedroom. "Now that the two of you are official, we need the best friend vs boyfriend talk, Harry."

I shook my head, signaling her with my eyes to let the subject drop, but she wouldn't have it. That was what best friend were for after all, right?

"Just one thing, Harry," Lisa started, making sure she had his undivided attention. "If you ever hurt her, I'll have your balls."

Harry gulped visibly but nodded. "Better not mess with my girlfriend's best friend."

"Damn right." Lisa was smiling, but I knew she was dead serious.

"What's wrong?" A female voice beside me called, tugging at my other arm.

I turned around and came face-to-face with no other than Theresa and Niall. Damn, I hadn't seen them all night long, I had just figured they hadn't tagged along.

"No time, Tess!" Lisa called, her eyes locked on something behind me.

Turning around, I saw Harry and the woman running over toward us. I panicked and pushed Theresa aside, making a beeline for the exit.

The other partying guests and their drunken behavior significantly slowed down our escape, making us stop and take bigger detours more often than not.