Secrets / Black & White / Playing for Keeps

“You want to try me?” Ben’s brown eyes narrowed and Lara felt a surge of anger shoot right through her.

“You want to try *me*?” She said evenly. “You run to Julian, and I’ll let him know everything. How you’re not my Uncle and that we didn’t even know each other before all of this happened. He’ll have you fired in a second.”

“If I go down, we both go down.” Ben replied quickly. “It’s not as if you’re going to get away with this. You’ve signed a contract remember?”

“What can they take away from me? My tuition fees? Big deal. Harry would pay for my course if I wanted him to.” She bluffed, not having any intention of asking Harry to pay for anything.

“They’ll get you to pay for much more than that Lara. Don’t count on Harry to help you out either, it’s not as if he has total control over his finances.”

“Well then I’ll leave. I’m going to leave you.”

She said stubbornly twisting her hand away from him. Ben went quiet, hanging his head down as Lara rubbed her tender wrist. He opened his mouth to say something before changing his mind and walking away. Lara slammed her bedroom door behind her for added emphasis.

***********************************

With the battle won, Lara clutched Harry’s arm as they walked up the steps to Liam’s apartment. She had worn a new outfit, a strappy singlet with a short skirt, her honey blonde hair pulled to the side in a braid.

“Just take a deep breath, okay?” Harry said. “You look beautiful.”

She listened to his words and squeezed his arm in response as they entered the spacious apartment. Small groups of people dotted the apartment, the sound of music playing over the chatter. She wasn’t sure if Liam knew she was attending, judging by the look of restrained surprise on his face.

“How are you doing?” He hugged her close. “It’s nice to see you.”

He looked to Harry with interest, as he led them inside.

Lara took a few more steps in only to notice Niall lying on the floor at her feet as he strummed a guitar, surrounded by a group of friends. Harry stood over him and gave him a gentle kick.

“What you doing down there?” He asked with a smile as Niall instantly sprang to his feet.

“Lara, long time no see.” He said embracing her. ”How have you been?”
“I’ve been fine, how about you.” She said visibly relaxing, pleased to see a friendly and familiar face.

“Good, good. I don’t think I’ve seen you since we came back from California.” Niall briefly glanced at Harry, whose lips twitched as though he wanted to smile, no doubt remembering how they had hijacked Niall’s hotel room.

“That feels like ages ago.” Lara agreed. They continued to chat together, whilst Harry
uncharacteristically hung back, quietly listening.

“I’m just dying for the album to be released.” Niall was saying, “I’m like enough already, just release the damn thing.”

Lara laughed at his animated gestures.

“Niall are you gonna play or what?” They were interrupted by a girl with peroxide blonde hair.

“Give me a second.” He replied rolling his eyes. Someone suddenly caught his eye behind Lara, and she was just about to turn to look when Louis came into view. He gave Niall a friendly pat on the back.

“Hey guys.” He said with a small smile, nodding toward Harry. He turned his gaze to Lara, unashamedly looking her up and down.

“Who brought the lost puppy?” Louis asked pleasantly.

“Take it easy Louis.” Niall said.

“What?” Louis held up his hands innocently.

“Come on Lou, just leave it alone.” Harry said, shifting from one foot to the other.

“How’s Eleanor?” Lara suddenly found her voice and from the corner of her eye she could see Niall laugh.

“No need to worry, she’s doing just fine, thanks.” Louis continued in his pleasant tone before shooting a dark look at Niall. Lara rolled her eyes and allowed Harry to steer her away.

“Sorry about that.” He said tightly. “I thought we had sorted stuff out, but I guess he wasn’t expecting me to bring you.”

As they walked away, Harry noticed Lara curiously eyeing a small group in the corner passing around a joint.

“You want to try it?” He asked and she shook her head.

“Have you done it before?” She asked.

“Yeah.” He said surprised by the question. “I can take it or leave it though...”

Lara nodded as he led her to the balcony. She could see Zayn deep in conversation with a couple of people to the side, and he tipped his head toward them in greeting. She smiled in response, as he continued to quietly chat.

“You guys alright?” Liam appeared out of nowhere, placing his hand on their shoulders.

“Yeah... thanks” Harry said with a quick smile. “Just getting a little fresh air.”

“Cool, well make yourselves comfortable.” Liam smiled before leaving them alone.Harry turned to Lara and smiled at her, tucking a few loose strands behind her ear. He backed her against the balcony railing and she looked up at him with concern.

“You look tired.” She said, noticing the dark circles under his eyes.

“It’s been a long week baby.” He said. “And it doesn’t look like it’s going to let up either.”

He leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose, making her giggle.

“Hey guys.” Zayn suddenly appeared next to them.

“What’s up?” Harry said lightly.

“See that girl in there?” Zayn voice suddenly dropped. The three peered through the glass French doors. “The one with the brown hair in a ponytail… pink top.”

“Yeah.” Harry replied.

“She’s been following me around all night.” He sounded uncomfortable. “Every time I turn she’s right there, like she wants to talk to me… but she doesn’t say a thing, she just keeps following me.”

A slightly disturbed look came over his face and he craned his neck to look in her direction again, whilst Harry shot Lara an amused look.

“If she’s following you then why isn’t she out here now?” Harry pointed out.

“I was thinking maybe she’s afraid of heights.” Zayn said and Harry burst out laughing.

“Seriously- I’ve been out here for like two hours man!”

He lit a cigarette and placed it between his lips, shaking his head.

“Want one?” He asked Harry as an afterthought, but he shook his head. Instead he gestured to the lit cigarette and Zayn placed it in his mouth. Harry took one drag and gently blew out the smoke.

“Do you want a drink?” He asked Zayn who nodded vigorously. Harry grinned and walked off leaving Lara and Zayn alone. It had been the first time she had properly spoken to him, let alone been left alone with him, and she couldn’t help but feel slightly intimidated. She wasn’t sure if it was the tight black clothes that revealed his inked body, or the intense look about him that normally would have screamed danger to her.

“Do *you* want one?” He asked Lara, holding up his cigarette. She shook her head quickly and he looked at her with amused eyes.
“You don’t smoke, huh?”

She started to shake her head again before finding her voice.

“No, I don’t.” was all she managed to get out.

“Good girl.” He nodded with a smile, and she smiled self-consciously. They stood in silence for a moment before he spoke again.

“So you and Harry... you guys together now.”

It was more of a statement than a question.

“Whatever you do don’t tell Julian.” She said and Zayn laughed.

“There’s not much that I do tell him anyway.” He said. “He’s usually the last to know everything going on in my life.”

Lara laughed and wondered what would happen if Julian knew Harry had brought her to the party. Her thoughts then drifted to Ben for a moment, and how he had not spoken to her since their argument. She looked up to see Zayn looking at her intently.

“I think you’re good for Harry. He needs someone who-“

He stopped talking as soon as Harry returned to the balcony clutching three bottles.

“Get that into you.” Harry said handing Zayn a bottle, followed by Lara.

“Thanks mate.”

They clinked the bottles together in a quick toast before the conversation picked up again. It wasn’t long before a cheeky glint appeared in Harry’s eye.

“You know, I think you should speak to that girl…” Harry grabbed Zayn’s arms and pushed him toward the balcony door.

“No Harry, I’m not in the mood!” Zayn cried.

“You can’t stay out here all night man.” Harry said, and Lara took a step back as the two wrestled with Zayn protesting the whole way. He eventually realised he was about to spill his drink and that it was easier to give in than to fight back. Lara watched as he made a hasty retreat to another room, avoiding the girl who watched after him with interest.

“I wonder where Perrie is.” Harry laughed to himself. “Not that it would stop him…”

He trailed off and looked at Lara with wide eyes as though he had revealed a trade secret.

“Oops you didn’t hear that from me.”

Lara raised her eyebrows disapprovingly.

“You’re mean.”

Harry nodded with a cheeky grin as he pulled her toward him. She could smell a hint of alcohol on his breath as he hugged her, and she peered at the view of the city over his shoulder.

“Oh Lou’s here.” He said suddenly, and he took her by the hand and led her back into the apartment. He greeted his friend effusively and they both began to chat. Lara felt slightly lost in the conversation and ended up being distracted by Niall who was now seated on the floor, still playing his guitar.

“Can someone turn the music down, I can’t hear myself sing!” He said to be met by loud
jeers from his friends. He shook his head and then winked up at Lara who smiled back.

“Why don’t you join us?” He asked, and she left Harry’s side to sit on the couch.

“You know how to sing?” Niall asked, and she shook her head with a shy smile.

“Well, neither can I.” He said as he began to strum his guitar. “But it’s not going to stop me tonight.”

Lara sat back to enjoy the music, when she felt someone sit next to her. Her stomach dropped when she looked over to see Louis. They were both distracted by the sound of laughter and their heads both turned at the same time to see Harry laughing with Lou.

He was seated on the arm of the couch that Lou was sitting on, totally engrossed in their conversation. Lara looked at Louis who simply raised his eyebrows at her. They returned their attention to Niall who was leading the group into a sing-along.

“So I see it’s your turn tonight?” Louis leaned over to make himself heard.

“My turn?” Lara asked frowning, still watching Niall.

“Yeah… it’s been Paige every night this week hasn’t it?” Louis asked.

Lara turned to look at Louis with a hurt expression before she rose from the couch and walked away. She was surprised to see Louis close behind her, as she made her way down a hall before turning around to face him.

“Can you please stop following me?”

Louis advanced toward her, until she was backed up against the wall. His face moved close to hers and she couldn’t help but stare at his lips. The close proximity of their bodies made her flatten herself against the wall even more, wondering what his next move would be.

“Do you want to know a secret?” He asked in a tantalising voice, and she found her attention move to his sky blue eyes.

“What?” She said her voice barely above a whisper.

“This week wasn’t the first time Harry met Paige.”

“So?” Lara asked.

“So?” He mocked. “Do I have to spell it out? They knew each other way before this set up.”

“So they were friends…” Lara shrugged, even though she knew very well that Harry had never revealed that little piece of information to her.

“I think they were a bit more than just friends.” Louis said a slight edge to his voice.

They stared at each other for a few moments, and she could feel his warm breath fan against her face.

“Do you know what a fuck buddy is, sweetheart?” Louis asked watching her closely. Lara swallowed thickly feeling sick to the stomach.

“Don’t worry, I found out the hard way too.” He said, his voice softening. They both shared a moment of mutual understanding, and she could see that Louis looked as hurt as she did. But that didn’t stop the now familiar wave of hot jealousy from engulfing her entire body. She suddenly couldn’t stand to be so close to him, and her hands went up to his chest to push him away.

“Calm down- I just thought you should know.” Louis said grabbing her arms to stop her from moving away.

“Well you got what you wanted.” Lara seethed. She twisted her arms away from him, and made her way to the front door without a backward glance.

Notes