I figured it out
I figured it out from black and white

Harry glanced at the clock with sleepy eyes. 4am.
He was still on tour time… the only problem was the tour had finished days ago.

It had been a gruelling blur of aeroplane rides, concerts and press conferences.

It felt like they had seen one hundred countries in eighty days, but he felt like he had nothing to show for it. Either they were restricted from sightseeing due to personal safety reasons or they were too exhausted to even move from their hotel bed.

The concerts were the signposts of their lives and while some nights it felt like work, most nights he felt as though he were on top of the world. If this was work, then sign him up- forever.

Julian had insisted on interviews in each country they visited. The first one was fun. The boys were all wired for some reason (he could have sworn Louis was on something) and they had laughed and joked through the entire interview. By the fifth one, they were starting to become tedious.

How many different ways could they answer the same questions?

And why were they still asking about Lara?

Lara.

He tried not to think about her, and yet there were reminders every day, mostly in the form of invasive questions that reporters had the balls to ask him without flinching.

Why did you break up?

The ‘official’ answer he usually gave:

“It’s hard keeping up a serious relationship with a schedule like ours. In the end we thought it was best to take a break.”

Unofficial answer he kept to himself:

“I told her I didn’t love her and that pissed her off. Oh and then the contract ended.”

Do you keep in touch?

Official answer: “Yeah we sometimes text each other and we’ll probably meet up when I get back home. We’re still friends…”

Unofficial answer: “Fuck no, she hates me. She’s probably shagging the guy who everyone thinks is her Uncle.”

Are you seeing anyone at the moment?

Official answer:” I don’t have time for romance right now… it’s all been about the tour lately.”

Unofficial answer: “Do hook ups count? “

If only they knew the truth. But if there was one thing he was good at, it was keeping his mouth shut when it counted.

X

Lara idly sketched a picture as she listened to her tutor drone on and on.

She glanced up to see a girl in her class openly staring at her. Lara tentatively smiled and she could see a flicker of recognition in the girl’s eyes before she leaned over to whisper to her friend beside her. Lara lowered her eyes and continued to draw before looking up again to now see them both looking back at her.

It had been almost a year, but this kind of thing still happened every now and then. For reasons she still couldn’t understand, people recognised her. Sometimes they spoke to her, other times they just whispered. There were even times when they looked confused, as though she looked familiar but they weren’t sure why.

She couldn’t believe it had almost been a year. She had had no contact with Harry, but he seemed to be everywhere. TV, radio, internet… there were times Lara was hit with reminders on a daily basis, but she had managed to perfect the ability to switch the channel as soon as she heard his name.

But there were times when it was inescapable, like the time she heard One Direction’s latest single as she wandered down the supermarket aisle.

As soon as the class was over, Lara packed her books and hurried outside. The only thing worse than getting recognised, was actually being asked about it.
She unlocked the door to find Claire sprawled on the couch watching television.

They barely acknowledged each other as Lara dumped her school bag on the floor beside the door. She walked through to the kitchen and grabbed a drink before returning to the living room. She stood there awkwardly, almost as if she were a stranger in her own home. Claire stared at the television, still not bothering to look her way. Lara watched her for a moment before disappearing into her bedroom.

She had known Claire for six months and still felt uncomfortable around her. Claire was considerably older than her, not that it would have made a difference if she was younger. Lara guessed she was in her mid-thirties. Claire’s pale skin contrasted with her straight symmetrically cut long hair which was dyed a vibrant red. Her eyes were a dark green, and constantly had a weary look about them as if nothing much excited her anymore.

Lara heard voices outside and opened her door a crack to listen more closely.

“Is Lara here?”

“Yeah, she’s inside.” Claire said in a bored tone, which suddenly turned indignant. “Why?”

“Jesus, I’m just asking.”

Lara tried not to smile but it was kind of funny. She opened the door and walked into the living room to see Ben’s eyes light up.

“Ah, you’re home.” He said. “How was school?”

“Fine.” She said, ignoring Claire’s death stare.

Lara sat on the armchair not bothering to adjust her skirt that now rode up her thighs. She could feel Ben’s gaze lower to her legs, even without looking at him.

“So, are we going out for dinner or what?” Claire suddenly spoke up.

“Yep- let me just get changed and then we’re out of here.” Ben looked down at Lara. “You wanna come?”

“I think I’ll have a night in.” Lara said stretching out her legs onto the coffee table. Ben paused again before heading towards his bedroom. She ignored Claire’s stare as she focussed on the television. Ben emerged not long after and Lara couldn’t help but admire the way he looked in his new plaid shirt and his dark jeans.

“Last chance.” He said to Lara as he placed his hand behind Claire’s back to guide her toward the door.

“Nah, I’m good.” Lara replied. Ben winked over his shoulder before they left.

If anyone had told Lara that she would still be living with Ben, even after all that had happened, she would have thought they were crazy. But even after Ben had been fired from Modest Management the year before, Lara had stayed with him. She hated to admit it was the easy option to do so… because it was. And she hated the fact that she didn’t want to be alone… because she didn’t. Ben was familiar. He had been there for her in the aftermath of the Harry fiasco.He seemed to be all she had in the world.

Lara was left with the money Modest had paid her, but that soon dwindled. It didn’t help that she had developed an expensive cocaine habit.

What had started out as a temporary escape had now turned into a habit she needed to feed on a regular basis.

Ben was usually generous with his stash, the only problem being that he almost always expected something in return.It didn’t seem to matter to him that he was now dating Claire. The dynamics between Ben and Lara never seemed to change.

Lara’s first meeting with Ben’s girlfriend was awkward to say the least. Lara could only imagine the thoughts running through her mind, the main one being why was her new boyfriend living with a nineteen year old girl? She remembered Claire giving her the once over and then raising her eyebrows at Ben. It wasn’t long before Ben told her an edited version of how Lara came to live with him.

He had worked for Modest Management, he explained and Lara was seeing Harry Styles. Management wanted to keep an eye on her so they allowed her to live with Ben for a time. He omitted the fact that the Harry relationship had been fake, aware that Modest’s lawyers would have his balls for breakfast if he started revealing secrets.

Claire had fallen for the story hook, line and sinker, but her doubts only grew each time she saw Lara and Ben together. She hated the way Lara paraded around the apartment dressed in short shorts, seemingly unaware of the effect she had on Ben.

It hadn’t escaped Claire’s attention that his eyes followed her around the room and how even his voice changed when he spoke to her. He was gentle and even playful with her, but then there were times when his voice had an edge, and she noticed how Lara always towed the line.

Ben came home that night to find Lara fast asleep on the couch with the television switched on. He knelt down next to her and kissed her lightly on the forehead.

“Come to bed.” He whispered as her eyes fluttered open.

“Where’s Claire?” She mumbled sleepily.

“She went home.”

“I tried to wait up for you.” She yawned.

“I can see that.” Ben chuckled. “Now get up baby girl… I got a surprise for you.”

He pulled her up by the hands and she found herself suddenly awake at the word ‘surprise’.

He reached into his pocket and held up a small zip lock bag filled with white powder. He playfully dangled it before her eyes before he led her into his bedroom.

Notes

First chapter of the sequel! Hope you liked it.

I promise to include images/gifs in future chapters... and as for song recommendations, I wrote this so long ago that I can't think of a good song to recommend! I know that's a lame excuse but I still think music recs are an awesome idea that I will definitely use with my next story.

Please please review... it's fun to hear what everyone thinks about how the story is going