The Deal

*Olivia Harper*

I sat doodling in my notepad, as the class noisily went on waiting for the teacher to arrive. I looked up when I heard the chair next to mine get dragged.

“Hey, Liv.” Dylan smiled at me, taking the empty seat next to mine.

I simply looked at him, shocked. Dylan Matthews had literally disappeared from my life. I hadn’t seen him since he last cheated on me—I hadn’t thought about him since then. He’d crossed my mind once or twice, but somehow, never stayed. I’d forgotten he wanted to talk to me, wanted to sort things out. I was so caught up in my own life, I hadn’t given even a second thought to other things and people.

“Dylan,” I said.

“Look, it’s been almost a month since we’ve talked,” he said. “I miss you, Liv.”

“Dylan,” I sighed, not at all wanting to have this conversation, “you cheated on me. I think it’s obvious why we haven’t spoken.”

“I know,” he said, nodding. “But honestly, haven’t you missed me at all? Not even a little?”

No. “I…”

“Not even the slightest?” he pressed on.

“I…I have.” I lied. “But Dylan—”

“I want to sort things out.” he said, quickly cutting me off. “I want to talk, I want to make things okay.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t, Dylan.” I sighed. “We should just—”

“Olivia.” he said, taking my hand in his. “Just give me one chance. Only one. Let’s go out for lunch tomorrow. We’ll talk. And after that, if you still don’t want to continue…I won’t bother you. Please.”

“Dylan…”

“Please, Olivia.”

Say no, Olivia. You should. You don’t like him. You don’t want to sort things out. Say no. Going out with him will only complicate your life. Do NOT say yes. Say NO.

“Okay.” I gulped, slowly taking my hand out from his grasp. “I’ll…we’ll go. For lunch. But this doesn’t mean we’re together, Dylan.”

He smiled. “Thanks, Olivia.”

—-

*Harry Styles*

“Harry?” Louis asked, knocking on the bathroom door. “Are you building a fucking house in there? Get out!”

I laughed, as I dried my hands quickly, and came out. “Jesus Lou. Patience is a virtue.”

“Whatever, dude.” Louis rolled his eyes. “So listen mate, I wanted to talk to you.”

“Aren’t the boys waiting downstairs?” I asked him. We’d all gathered at Louis’ house to watch a movie and have dinner, and that ultimately meant we were crashing there for the night. I probably stayed at Louis’ house more than I stayed in my own, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I rang my house’s doorbell one day and my mother and sister didn’t remember who I am.

Louis waved his hand. “Let them wait for a few more minutes, it won’t kill them.” he said. “So…can we talk?”

“Sure, Lou.” I nodded. “You’re not going to confess your undying love for me, are you? Because I love you, mate, but things may get just a bit awkward.”

Louis rolled his eyes again. “Ha-ha.” he muttered. “You wish I was in love with you. No, I wanted to talk about…Olivia.”

I stilled when I heard her name. Shit. “Okay?” I asked cautiously.

“Harry, I know what’s going on.” he said.

My eyes widened. Oh, fuck. “What?” I asked, slightly horrified. “What’re you—”

“I’m not an idiot, Harry.” Louis said, leaning against the wall. “And neither are the rest of the boys. But they choose not to question you, because they know you won’t admit it.”

“Louis, I—”

“No, hear me out.” Louis cut me off. “Are you and Olivia in some sort of casual relationship?”

Relationship. I chuckled. “It’s not a relationship, Louis.” I shook my head, deciding to tell him. Louis was my best friend. I could tell him anything. I didn’t really mind if he discussed it with the boys either, because these four were basically a part of me. As long as Olivia didn’t get to know they knew, I was okay with it. I knew I was being unfair, but after years of such strong friendship, it was really hard to keep things from the boys. “To put it really bluntly…we just have sex. That’s it.”

Louis laughed. “Lucky bastard.” he said. “But…are you sure it’ll work out?”

“What do you mean?” I asked, frowning.

“Harry, what if she starts, like, falling for you?”

I laughed. “Louis, Olivia is the last person to fall in love. She won’t.”

“What if you fall in love with her?” he asked me.

I sighed. “Louis, I don’t think of her in that way. She’s hot, and we have sex, but she’s just…like, she’s a friend. It’ll work out. We’re okay. We’re not falling in love.”

“Look, if that’s what you think, I won’t argue.” Louis nodded. “But…be careful. One of you may end up really hurt and—”

“Lou, this isn’t a movie.” I said. “Olivia isn’t in love with me. She won’t ever be. And as for me…well, I mean it goes both ways. I don’t love her.”

Louis nodded again. “Good. That’s…you know, good.” he said. “Come on, let’s go watch the movie.”

We walked downstairs together.

“Idiots!” Niall snapped. “What the fuck took you guys so long?”

“We were making out.” I joked.

“Harry!” Louis said in mock horror. “I told you not to tell them!”

“Just put in the damn movie now.” Niall rolled his eyes.

As Liam walked up to put in the movie, I whipped my phone out and texted Olivia.

“Lunch” tomorrow? ;) I asked her.

Her reply was almost immediate. Subtle, Styles. Haha, I can’t.

I stared at the screen, slightly disappointed. Why?

I’m going out for lunch with Dylan tomorrow.

My eyes widened when I read her response. You guys are together now?

No. He said he wanted to talk. I really wanted to say no, but I panicked and said yes. I can’t cancel now, or he won’t ever leave me alone.

I sighed and typed my response. Oh. Well, have fun then.

“Fun”. Haha, sure I will. Sorry though. I can make it up to you day after…

I chuckled. I like the sound of that, hmm. Let me know what your plan is.

I will. she replied. Bye, Styles.

“Do we have to snatch your phone away?” Zayn asked me, and I hurriedly looked up.

“Erm, what?”

“Put that away, Harry, and watch the damn movie.” he said.

“Sorry, sorry.” I muttered, and quickly replied one last time.

Bye, Olivia.

——

*the next day*

I walked in to the restaurant where Dylan had asked me meet him. I looked around for him, and spotted him sitting in front of a large window, waving at me happily. I walked up to him, and he got up to hug me, before planting a kiss on my cheek.

“Hey, Liv.” he said, smiling.

“Hi.” I said, as we sat down.

“I’m glad we decided to do this.” he said.

I nodded.

“Look, hear me out, okay?” he asked. “That night, I was piss drunk. So were you, right? I was waiting for you to come back from the washroom and Stacey walked up to me and then she was all over me. I was so drunk, I didn’t even know what was going on.”

“How do you remember all of this?” I asked him curiously.

“Cody was right there. He saw it.” he said. He reached out across the table and took my hand in his. “Look, Liv, I want to work things out. I really don’t want this to end.”

I stared at Dylan, surprised. Dylan wanted to work things out? He’d never been this serious about our relationship before. Often, he’d had a detached air towards it. He’d never been vocal about feelings or how he liked me—and I sort of preferred it that way.

I recalled what Harry had said that night. I think there’s someone for everyone out there. There’s the person who you think is right for you, and then…then there’s the person who is actually right for you. You’ll find them eventually, when you’r done with all the false alarms first. And when you do find that person…it’s unlike any other feeling.

I wondered if all of that was true. Right person? Did all of that even exist? And if it did, then had I overlooked the fact that maybe Dylan was it? Maybe Dylan was the right person.

But I would’ve known if he was. There was a limit to oblivion, wasn’t there? If he was, I would’ve have felt it. If Dylan was the “right one”, then I would have cared if he cheated.

“Liv, say something.” Dylan said after a while, when I didn’t reply.

“I…” I didn’t even know what to say. “Dylan, I don’t think I can—I mean I—” I broke off, sighed, and began again. “Dylan, I’m sorry. But we’re over. I don’t think we can…I mean, we should just be friends.”

His mouth fell open.

“Is it because…have you found someone else?” he asked me.

I shook my head. “No,” I told him. “It’s because I don’t feel that way about you.”

I watched as his jaw hardened at my words, and something in his eyes flashed. An uneasy feeling flitted through my stomach. His hand tightened around my wrist.

“You don’t…have feelings for me?” he asked me, his voice trembling. Something told me it wasn’t sadness that made it tremble that way.

“N-no,” I said uncertainly, as his grip tightened further. “Dylan…”

“What…do you mean by you don’t feel that way?” he asked me. “How can you stop? What the fuck?”

“Dylan,” I said, starting to feel annoyed, “please don’t pretend like our relationship ever meant anything to you. And for God’s sake, you’re hurting me.”

“I love you, you here that?” he demanded, not letting go of my wrist. “You can’t stop—you can’t just—”

“Let go, Dylan!” insisted, trying to pry my hand away from his grasp. “Ow—”

“Fuck you,” he spat, and he let go. “You’re making a mistake, Liv.”

I rubbed my wrist, which was now completely red. There were ugly looking fingerprints on my skin, and it felt sore. “What the hell?”

“You’re going to regret this.” he said quietly. He looked angry, his eyes filled with rage.

I got up. “You’re a wanker,” I spat at him. “Seriously, I can’t believe I agreed to this. We’re over, Dylan. And don’t you ever try to talk to me again.”

“Bitch.” he replied. “I’ll make sure you regret this.”

I rolled my eyes at him, and grabbed my bag. I had a really massive urge to pick up a glass of water and throw it at him, but I turned away from him and walked out.

Notes

note: guys, i need your help. i need a co-writer on my blog to write my one shots, so if you're interested, please head over here and check out the details. i really need your help. thankss.

also, please comment and vote. <3