Perilous (Harry Styles)

chapter 19

"Truth is everybody is going to hurt you: you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for."

- Bob Marley

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The air was knocked from my lungs and a burning rage shot through me like lightning.

All I could see was red and in that split second I understood how Taylor Swift could describe feelings with colors.

Although red was the color of love, it was also the color of a heated hatred that burned every single fiber in your body until there was nothing left but ruins and smoke.

Against any better judgment, that was exactly how I felt at the moment, when I saw the only boy I have ever truly loved holding hands with a girl that has interfered with our lives more often than I liked.

Torn between running up to him and demanding an explanation right now and right here, and even slap the hell out of him, and discretely planning my revenge, I was glad when Lisa took the decision away from me.

"That fucktard," she hissed, her blue eyes fixed on the lovely - note my sarcasm - couple in our view.

"Lisa, I-" I began, only to be immediately stopped.

"I know, let's go." Without another word, Lisa took my hand and dragged me away from the scene of crime and to her rusty car.

Once safely inside, I took a deep breath and fastened the seatbelt.

"Please tell me I only imagined it," I begged her, my voice on the edge of sounding whiny.

"I wish I could but that was clearly your twat of a boyfriend," Lisa replied, sending me an apologetic look through the rear view mirror.

"But I don't understand... Like... How?" I stuttered, unable to form a coherent sentence.

"If it makes you feel any better, I don't think they're engaged." I couldn't tell if Lisa was joking or not.

"Obviously they aren't. You've seen too many crime shows," I shot back.

"Well, you know, it's the little things that can betray your true identity," Lisa began. I knew she was about to launch into a whole explanation, so I held up my hand to stop her flow of words.

"No. He's with me most of the time. I know where he works - you've even been there with me. So stop trying to make me think that Harry is Amelie's fiancé. That just doesn't make any sense."

"You're right. Sorry." I nodded once, accepting her apology, and let her continue. "But that doesn't explain why he was holding her hand."

"What do you suggest now? Cry and eat ice cream while watching a sappy romance or chopping off his dick?"

Lisa grinned at me. "Do you even need to ask? Let's get the scissors ready."

"What team?" I shouted, triumphantly holding up my fists.

"Zosa!" Lisa shouted back.

"Zo- what?" I asked in confusion.

She let out a loud laugh. "It's our ship name."

Only Lisa could make me laugh in times like these. "What the hell? Why am I even still talking to you?"

"You love me. So, now, where we going?"

"Bring me home, please. I watched enough Desperate Housewives to know how to handle this on my own. Bless Lynette," I smiled evilly.

"Zoey, you naughty girl," Lisa laughed, but did as I told her.