*LIZZIE’S POV*



“Okay, so if all goes accordingly, The Ben Plan will be in action at t-minus eighteen hours!” Louis said as he leaned back on his sofa before taking a sip of his beer.



“Is that really how you would say that?” I asked, curious as I checked my watch and shocked to see that it was already 1:00 in the morning.



“I really have no idea; I just hear them say it in movies,” he confessed, making us all laugh.



“Okay well, in non-movie talk, at seven o’clock tomorrow night!” Harry announced. After the sounds of cheers and war cries subsided, conversations began to fill the room.



“Would you be okay if I left? I’m just kinda worn out,” I said quietly as I turned to Harry. A wave of worry temporarily passed over his face before he composed himself.



“I’ll go with you. I’m tired, too.” He said before he stood up from the sofa, removing his arm from around me before he turned back around to pull me up. “Okay well Liz and I are gonna call it a night!” Harry announced to the three other couples and Niall on the sofa. Ignoring the jokes that Zayn and Louis were saying, we began to walk to the door.



“Play nice, Harry! Don’t be too rough with her!” Zayn called out to us before we finally shut the door behind us.


~~~~~

I woke up early. I could barely sleep. I was antsy. I was scared. What if something went wrong with the plan? What if Ben hurt me? What if he hurt Harry?



As I sat at our counter, my fingers shook when they reached for my phone, barely able to press the buttons necessary to call.



“Hello, Clarice Thurne speaking.” The woman at the other end answered quickly, barely letting my phone ring twice.



“Hi, Clarice. This is Elizabeth Braddison. You called me regarding an article you’re running about me and Ben Stenson. I was wondering if you had his contact information?” My fingers were barely controllable as I struggled to write down the number that she read out.



“Thank you so much!” I said, not meaning a word of it before I hung up and quickly dialed the number.



This time, on the other hand, I thought it would go to voicemail because it rang so many times. Finally, the line picked up.



“Hello?” A groggy male voice answered on the other line.


“Hi..” I finally choked out after a minute, somewhat shocked to hear his voice.



“Who is this?” He demanded.



“Uhm, sorry,” I said, clearing my throat, “this is Liz Braddison. The girl from Texas.”



“The girl that is Harry Styles’ girlfriend- I remember you. Don’t worry, Liz. I could never forget you.” His voice rang with icy contempt. Composing myself, I gave myself a mental slap before continuing. I needed to get my shit together.



“Oh I’m so glad,” I said, my voice turning velvety. “I was also sooo glad to hear that you’re living in London now?”



“Yep, got my own place about a month ago.” He said, obviously not picking up on my attempts to flirt.



“Oh how nice…” I said, unsure of where to go with this, “in the mood to give me a private tour of your place later tonight?”



“Oh really now?” He asked, his voice no longer so contempt but instead coated with surprise.



“I’ve been thinking about you,” I said, glad that he was getting it. “You’re not so forgettable either.”



“My apartment will always be open to you, babe.” He said, his voice becoming somewhat smooth as well.



“Good to know… So text me the address and I’ll be there tonight?” I more of asked than told him.



“What time?”



“Ohh, not so fast. I want to surprise you…” I improvised.



“Oh so you like games, huh?” He said with a chuckle, making my skin crawl. “Well I can teach you a game or two.”



“Looking forward to it.” I said before I finally hung up, practically throwing my phone in disgust.



I sat at the counter for what felt like hours before I finally heard Harry slide his feet down the hall.



“Morning babe,” He said in his husky morning voice as he scrunched his eyes open before leaning across the counter to give me a peck on the lips.



“Morning sleepyhead.” I said, his presence calming my nerves. “I just got off the phone with Ben.”



“Did you get the address?” He asked.



“Yeah,” I said as I checked the message that he sent me not even a millisecond after I hung up. “We’re all good to go for tonight.”



“Lizzie, love, don’t worry. We can handle it. We’re finally going to be able to give that prick what he deserves.” He said, walking around the counter to stand behind me as his big hands wrapped around my shoulders, massaging them.



“I know; I’m still just scared for you!” I confessed.



“Please, you should be scared for him!” He said with a laugh before walking back around to the kitchen side of the counter. “Anyway, I have some news to get your mind off of things.”



“What’s up?” I asked, taking a sip of my coffee before deciding that it was now too cold to drink.
“Management sent an email to all of us this morning. I just read it when I woke up.” He said, obviously enjoying the suspense he was causing me.



“Aaaand..?” I urged him on.



“Girlfriends are approved to join us on the world wide stadium tour starting in January!” Harry announced with the biggest, dimpled smile.



“Wait this is so awesome!” I said with a laugh, my mind was going at a million miles a minute.



“So, love, will you travel around the world with me?”



“Of course I will,” I said with a smile before he bent across the counter to kiss me again.



“I was hoping you’d say that. Now what do you want for breakfast?” Harry said before turning around to inspect the contents of our fridge.


~~~~~~

“You remember the plan, right?” Harry asked me, placing both hands on my shoulders as he looked me in the eyes- our faces illuminated by the fluorescent lights of the parking garage.



“Every detail,” I said confidently, though on the inside I was freaking out. Harry kissed me on the lips before pulling me into his chest for a tight hug.



“You’ll be okay. We’ll all be okay!” He said, sensing my nerves. When he finally removed his arms, Liam had pulled the car around. I was riding with him and Niall to the apartment. Harry was taking his car with Zayn and Louis, because they would come into play later.



The car ride there was silent. Niall was playing with his hoodie strings as Liam focused intently on the road. There was music playing softly on the radio, but no one was listening. If Liam and Niall didn’t do what they were supposed to do, then the whole plan was off, and I could potentially be left alone with Ben again- this time locked in his apartment with him. I shook those thoughts from my head, straining to refocus my trust in the two boys sitting in the seats in front of me.



Finally, Liam pulled over in front of the apartment complex. As I stepped out of the back seat, I was relieved to see Harry’s car parked on the corner about a block down.



“Get inside the building and wait for Niall to enter from the back before you go up.” Liam instructed to me. “Niall, stay close, but not too close. And keep your hood on, we don’t want him to recognize your hair.” Liam said as Niall pulled his hood back up. “I’m parking and then I’ll be right in behind y’all, leading Harry and the other boys.” I took a few deep breaths before turning to walk into the building.



I struggled to compose myself in the hallway before Niall finally showed up, entering from the back. After getting a nod from him, I began to walk up the short stairwell- just to the second floor. Finding the apartment number down the hall, I took a few deep breaths and located Niall in my peripheral vision before knocking.



“Who is it?” A voice called through the door.



“It’s me, Liz,” I said confidently. The door quickly flung open to reveal Ben, shirtless.



“I’m so glad you showed up,” he said before he stepped back, allowing me in. As he closed the door behind me, I watched intently to make sure that it stayed unlocked. Once I made sure of that, I stepped away from him basically to the other side of the room. I turned to face him again and was disgusted to see him watching me, smiling. I kept my focus on the doorknob, praying it would be turned at any second.



“What?” I snapped, put on edge by his staring.



“Why are you really here, Elizabeth?” He asked, his eyes freely wandering down my body. I couldn’t think of an answer and choked on what few words I could get out. However, once I saw the doorknob turn silently behind him, an indescribable wave of relief washed over me.



“You know why I’m here, Ben.” I said with a newfound confidence as the door slowly cracked open.



“Time to let me finish what I started at that party then, eh?” He said, walking over to me. As I practically ran to the far corner of the room, Ben was pushed to the ground.



“No, I think it’s time to let us finish what we started.” Zayn said icily as the five boys entered the room.



“Let me, Zayn. One on one.” Harry said, stepping forward. His gaze was narrowed in on the shirtless man as he lay on the ground. I couldn’t even see the green in his eyes anymore.


“C’mon, Ben. Get up!” Harry said as Ben jumped up from the ground.



“You sure you wanna do this, mate?” Ben asked, his shoulders heaving in anger.



“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life, prick.” Harry spit at him. At this point, Ben flew towards him, but Harry was ready. He blocked Ben’s punch before he swung up and punched him from underneath his jaw- Ben’s head flying backwards before he landed on the ground again, halfway propped up by his back on the counters. Harry didn’t ask him to get up this time. Instead he straddled Ben, punching him multiple times in the face. I couldn’t watch anymore; walking over to where the other four boys stood as both referees and backup, I attempted to leave.



“Lizzie, where are you going?” Louis turned and asked me, a bit too loud though because it got Harry’s attention.



“Lizzie?” Harry asked, turning his head to face us. In the split second that Harry had turned, Ben had reached his right arm up to the counter. Before any of us noticed, he grabbed a knife.



“HARRY!” I cried out, but it was too late... Ben swung the knife down but Harry turned and knocked his arm; the knife, instead of stabbing Harry, sliced open his upper bicep. The other boys were over there in a split second. I watched in horror as the blood quickly dripped down, covering Harry’s arm. Less than a minute later, Niall, Louis, Zayn, and Liam all backed up, leaving Harry standing next to the crumpled mess that was Ben.



“Look at me.” Harry said, his tone icy and scarily calm as he addressed Ben. “If you even THINK about running that fucking article on Lizzie, you better reconsider. We know where you live, and we’ll be back. If you think this is bad, just wait. Call the police about any of this, and we’ll have you arrested for rape. Who do you think they’re going to believe? You’re screwed from any angle, Ben.” Harry said, kicking him in the side of the stomach again as Ben groaned before Harry walked away.


He walked right past me and the other four guys before he continued to storm down the hall- my short steps nothing in comparison to his stride.



“Harry, wait!” I called out desperately in the stairwell as I ran down. I was relieved to find him stopped before the exit.



“You’re riding with me. Let’s go.” He said monotone before he took me by the wrist, practically dragging me behind him as he hurried from the building. Opening the passenger door to his car, he practically shoved me in before he slammed the door shut behind me. Within two seconds, he was in his seat and the car was in drive. The tires screeched as he pulled away from the curb and down the darkening street into the night.

Notes

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