Diana

It is already a quarter to seven in the evening and Sadie is preparing herself to welcome Niall and his friends. Meanwhile, Diana is up in her room, not wanting to deal with any of them in any way. Sadie doesn’t even care anymore because she has no time to handle her stubborn roommate and ruin her own mood for the evening. She knows if she even tries to talk her into coming downstairs, it will just turn into a stupid argument. Whatever Diana thinks, Sadie already assured her that none of this is in her control. Although it may seem like she’s trying to set them up, it is actually completely the opposite; Sadie genuinely likes Niall and it definitely wasn’t her idea to bring the boys to her flat. Sadie knows that Diana will eventually talk to Niall anyway, because Diana can get quite protective over her every time she is seeing somebody new.

Exactly when the clock strikes seven, there is a knock on the door.

“Well, hello there,” Sadie welcomes the boys behind the door and lets them in.

“How are you, love?” asks Niall as he plants a little peck on her cheek. “You met Harry last night, and this is Zayn.”

“Hi, how you doing?” says Sadie politely to Zayn and turns her head back to Niall, “I thought there would be more people coming in,” she says as she closes the door.

“Liam and Louis are busy with their girlfriends, although they are also dying to meet you. These lads can be a bit nosey about the girls that we’re bringing into our lives,” answers Niall with a bit of a blush, “I hope it’s okay that they want to hang out with us tonight?”

Sadie smiles understandingly, “Of course it is, they’re always welcome here.” She is not surprised by Niall’s explanation; she already saw how tight they are with Eleanor the other night.

“Sweet, this is a nice place you got here,” comments Harry as he settles down on the couch. His eyes can’t help but wander around to find the actual reason why he is here.

Niall and Zayn also make themselves at home by sitting on the couch, and Sadie follows them. “Thanks, it’s quite small but we manage to keep it comfortable,” replies Sadie as she leans in towards Niall’s arms.

“We?” Zayn asks.

“Yeah, my roommate, Diana; the friend I left you for last night,” she says as she looks at Niall. “You guys want any drink?”

A white game console and a pair of matching controllers catch Zayn’s eyes, and make him completely ignore Sadie’s question. “Hey! Is that PlayStation 3? I didn’t think you’d be the girl who plays video games.”

Sadie chuckles, “I’m not. That’s Diana’s. She often plays it when I’m not around.I have no idea how to operate that thing.”

None of them notices it, but Harry just can’t keep still as he is anxious to find the girl they are talking about. He distracts himself by joining the conversation, “So where are you from? I can’t quite tell if you’re from around here.”

With Niall’s hand gently playing with her hair, Sadie answers, “I’m from the US, actually, but I’ve lived here for quite a while. We both have. That’s why I still slip in some American vocabs when I speak; we’re getting used to the British slangs but we can’t seem to brush off the Americans.”

“Can I play with the PS3?” It appears that Zayn’s attention has stuck on the game console.

“Sure, I guess. I’m sure Diana won’t mind,” replies Sadie.

Zayn takes no time to reach for the controllers and FIFA 13, and then he turns the console on. Sadie turns her attention back to Niall as they move closer to each other, while Harry turns his to his phone.

Subtle footsteps are then heard coming from the stairs. It’s Diana, already changed out of her afternoon sweatshirt into an equally comfortable sweatpants and tanktop. “Oh, there she is!” says Sadie half-shouting, “Di, these are Niall and Zayn, and I’m sure you’ve met Harry.” The two boys throw a little wave and smile politely, while Harry just simply looks up from his phone without moving a single muscle on his face. Diana gives a cold smile and continues walking to the kitchen behind them.

Zayn pauses the game and hits Harry on the thigh while he whispers, “Dude!” It is just after the smack does Harry realize that that is his chance to talk to her.

There are three pairs of eyes looking directly at him right now, but none of them belongs to the person he wants to get the attention from. Harry can’t stand any of the feelings that he is having right now. He hates the fact that the forces between them attract stronger than gravity, when they are practically nothing but strangers. He hates the fact that she is mentally pulling him towards her, yet he can hardly move a bone in his body. When she has been on his mind since the first time they met and his eyes have been searching for her since the moment he got here, all he wants to do right now is to walk away. That cold smile he received earlier tells him just how insignificant he is to her, and he, Harry Styles, has never felt so small.

Harry fights the urge to leave and approaches her. Diana is standing by the sink, washing her favorite mug, but he stops and leans against the counter instead.

“Hi.”

She turns around, “Hello.”

He can barely let words come out of his mouth, “So, how are you?”

“I’m… fine.”

“Alright, good to know.” Can this girl be any colder? He thinks.

“Sadie said you helped me out last night, so umm… thanks,” she continues, as she looks down her feet. Diana doesn’t dare to look at those pine green eyes again.

Harry sighs out of relief, “It was nothing, really. It seemed like you needed it.”

“Why are you here?”

“We wanted to see Sadie, you know, to make sure Niall is in the right hands.” A short pause comes in. “And uhh… I wanted to see you.”

She’s a little taken aback, “Why?”

That is a damn good question. Why, Styles? Why do you want to see her? Harry regrets what he said immediately.

“Umm, just wanted to make sure you’re okay, I guess,” he says as he scratches the back of his neck. He has never met a girl, or anyone for that matter, who can make him this tongue-tied.

Meanwhile, the air around Diana is not any clearer. She wonders why he actually bothers to talk to her if the reason why he came here is to look out for Niall, because she is definitely not buying that “I’m worried about you” thing. Her inner teenage girl is coming out, and she hates it. She hates the fact that just a little attention almost weakens her knees. She hates the fact that she is being inconsistent; how she knows that there’s nothing that she hates more than the artificial image of a perfect guy that’s standing in front of her, yet his strong musky scent and bewitching dimples turn her cheeks undeniably red.

Neither of them understands why it has to be this awkward. They barely know each other, and the number of words they have exchanged, at least consciously, can be easily counted by hand. Harry is struggling, and intrigued, to face someone with so much resistance, someone so new, while Diana is trying so hard to fight her inner schoolgirl.

“Well, I am, so you don’t have to worry about me anymore,” she says, finally.

Harry smiles so genuinely, “I’m not.”

Without saying another word, Diana storms out of the kitchen, passes Harry, and enters the living room.

“Sade, I’m going to Marquee,” she says as she grabs her leather jacket and purse. She takes a while to put on a pair of heels so she doesn’t look too sloppy, and then she heads out without waiting for a response.

“Marquee?” asks Niall in confusion.

“A pub down the street. It has a nightclub on the second floor, but I’m sure she’s just going to the pub,” answers Sadie with the same look, as she is also a little unsure of what just happened.

Back in the kitchen, Harry just buries his face in his hands, inhaling the air that is now so much thinner. At that moment, literally nothing makes sense to him.

Notes