One way or another I'm gonna win ya

Through a fog Lara could hear her phone calling, but her body was slow to react. Her limbs felt heavy as she rolled over to grab her phone.

“Lara?” She could hear Harry’s voice but she was unable to answer. She swallowed thickly, her whole body and mind still under the effect from the pill Ben had given her.

“Lara, are you there?”

“Mmm…” She responded.

“Are you okay?”

“Mmm… yes… I’m fine.”

“I just wanted to…” Harry paused. “I just wanted to say sorry. About last night.”

Lara tried to think back to last night but her muddled mind struggled to remember. She recalled the drinking… Harry ignoring her… Louis. Louis watching Harry leave a trail of love bites… Louis kissing her...

“Oh God.” She muttered to herself.

“You still there?” Harry said.

“Yeah.”

“I just saw you today and I wanna see you again.” He said with a dry laugh.

“I guess we could… I mean I probably could…” Lara slurred.

“Huh?”

“See you…” Lara added.

“Are you feeling okay… you sound a bit out of it.”

“I’m fine.” Lara yawned and stretched out her arms, the phone falling out of her hand. She picked it up again to hear Harry calling her name.

“Have you taken something?” Harry asked.

“Just something to sleep.” She said yawning again.

“Oh… okay well maybe I can call you later? Maybe I can see you?”

“Mmm…” Lara hung up before he could answer and rolled onto her side.

By that evening Ben had given her another pill.

“Call this the antidote. It’ll pep you up a bit.” He told her. A little voice inside her told her not buy into it, but once the effect took place, she realised how great this system could be. Pills to help you sleep, pills to wake you up… she wondered how she managed to function before this.

Ben and Claire were snuggled on the couch watching a movie when Lara glanced down at her phone.

Call me.

Louis.

It was a strange feeling seeing his name pop up on her phone. After last night she didn’t know how she would face him, but she found herself unable to ignore his directive. Lara escaped to the kitchen where she quickly dialled his number.

“What do you want?” She asked sounding ruder than she had intended.

“You.” Louis replied and the memory of Louis’s hand between her legs hit her so suddenly she felt weak at the knees.

“I need to see you.” He said. “Can I come over?”

Lara found herself floundering, completely at a loss for words.

“You… you live with him don’t you?” Louis said. “You still live with him.”

“What?”

“Ben.” Louis said. “You’re with Ben.”

“I’m coming over.” Lara said tightly. Before he could answer she had hung up and walked back to her bedroom. She threw her phone into her handbag, grabbed her jacket and without acknowledging Ben or Claire on the couch she walked out the door. The taxi let her out a couple of streets away from Louis’ house. Even though it was dark she did not want to risk anybody seeing her. She had been quite careless when it came to Harry’s house, but in the last twenty four hours things had started to unravel so much that she felt she needed to start being a bit more careful. Maybe seeing Louis wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but she didn’t care. She had to see him.

He buzzed her in without saying a word and she waited until he opened his front door before barging in. The smell of weed filled the room and she saw a glass of Scotch next to a half filled bottle on the coffee table. Lara turned to face him and they both merely looked at each other.

“So are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Louis finally said.

“Okay so I still live with Ben.”

“Why?” Louis said. He said it in such an incredulous manner that under normal circumstances Lara would have laughed.

“Lots of reasons.” She said.

Louis studied her for a moment before gesturing to the bottle of Scotch.

“You want one?” He asked. Lara nodded and sat on the edge of the couch as she waited for him to pour a glass. She took a sip of the alcohol and shuddered at the strong taste. She felt his hand nudge her shoulder as he sat beside her.

“What reasons?”

“I had nowhere else to go.” Lara said. “I had nobody. No family. Nothing. Ben let me stay with him. I didn’t know where to go.”

Tears pricked her eyes as she stared down at the drink she cradled in her lap. A few moments passed before she looked up to see Louis watching her expectantly.

“I had no money Louis.” She said. “My parents cut me off.”

“Is he the one who got you on coke?” Louis asked and Lara nodded. Louis let out a deep breath before taking a quick swig of Lara’s drink. “Fuck Lara, that guy is a loser. A girl like you shouldn’t be with a guy like that.”

“I didn’t know what to do. I still don’t know what to do.” Lara sniffled before turning to look at him. “I’m not with him though… I’m not.”

Her words came out strong, as though she was trying to convince herself as well as Louis.

Lara felt the tears start to fall and before she knew it Louis’ arms were around her, his warm breath on her neck as he held her close.

“Please don’t tell Harry.” She said. “You’re not going to tell him, are you?”

She could feel Louis’ lips move against her neck and it took her a moment to realise he was speaking.

“Maybe it’s better if he hears it from you.”

Lara did not reply. She hadn’t counted on having to tell Harry anything. She was soon distracted by the sensation of his warm breath and low murmur.

“It’s funny… I always saw you as the perfect girl. So pure and innocent… but you’re just like me.”

“Like you?” Lara wandered out loud, pulling back to look at him smile, although it didn’t seem to quite reach his eyes.

“I’m the flawed one.” He said. “The fuck up of the group.”

“No you’re not.” Lara said and he dismissed her with a wave.

“I am.” He said simply. “But it’s nice to know somebody else is less than perfect too.”

“I’ve never been perfect.” Lara said sadly.

“I don’t care though. That’s who I am. I know I’ll never change. They thought Eleanor could change me…”

“Do you love her?” Lara asked quietly.

“Yeah I love her.” He said almost grudgingly. “But I’m not in love with her.”

“So why are you with her?”

Louis fell silent for a moment before shrugging.

“Maybe because she holds me together.” He said as though it was the first time he had ever voiced what he thought. “She’s always there to pick up the pieces.”

Lara was suddenly conscious of his arms still around her waist as his blue eyes regarded her darkly.

“So maybe we’re more alike than you ever thought.”

The front door suddenly swung upon and their heads snapped up to see Eleanor stride in.

She stopped abruptly when she caught sight of Louis and Lara sitting close on the couch. Louis arms had fallen to his lap but their close proximity and the look of surprise on their faces made Eleanor peer back at them curiously.

“Hi.” She said, slightly raising her eyebrows.

“Hey. You’re back early.” Louis said suddenly rising from the couch.

“Yeah, I managed to get away. But I have to leave again…” Eleanor said casually, although
Lara could clearly see she was searching Louis’ face for answers. She turned to Lara and smiled warmly. “Hi Lara.”

“Hello.” Lara said and then awkwardly looked down at her glass of Scotch. Eleanor, of course, was dressed impeccably in a pair of black capri pants, her long brown hair tumbling over her shoulders, her make up done to perfection. Lara stared down at her ripped skinny jeans and oversized sweater, feeling inadequate.

“I invited Harry and Lara over for a drink… only we’re still waiting for Harry.” Louis spoke up.

“Oh okay.” Eleanor replied placing her handbag down by the couch. She sniffed the air and wrinkled her nose. “You’ve been smoking again?”

Her tone was almost accusing and Lara glanced at Louis to see him roll his eyes at her.

“Yeah… needed to calm down a little. Have you seen my fucking schedule for the next few weeks?”

Eleanor looked slightly annoyed but did not argue the point.

“I’ve gotta take a piss.” Louis said and he shot a meaningful glance at Lara as though he were telling her to pull herself together, before retreating to the next room. Her eyes flitted over to Eleanor who smiled at her. Lara smiled shakily in return, hoping that she did not look as guilty as she felt. Thankfully Eleanor struck up a conversation and Lara found herself responding. She drank a little more of the Scotch, despite hating the very taste of it, and found herself relaxing. Louis soon joined them, and Eleanor berated him for the choice of beverage he was forcing Lara to drink.

“Why scotch? Don’t you have anything else?”

“It was what I was drinking before she got here.” Louis grumbled. “What do you want?”

“Don’t you have any wine?” She asked before disappearing into the kitchen. Once she had left the room, Louis spoke in a hushed whisper.

“I just called Harry… he’s on his way.”

Lara nodded nervously as Eleanor called from the kitchen.

“White or red Lara?” She asked.

“White!” Lara responded.

Half an hour Lara had forced herself to drink a glass of wine and was relieved when Eleanor rustled up some cheese and crackers. Lara had barely eaten all day, and when she was sure Eleanor was not looking, she found herself eagerly grabbing a fistful of crackers much to Louis’ amusement. The smirk on his face disappeared once he heard the doorbell. Eleanor stood up to press the buzzer and they all expectantly watched as the door opened to reveal Harry.

He stood for a moment surveying the scene before entering, clad in a black hoodie and jeans. Lara noticed how his hair was half pulled back by an elastic band, and she would have smiled at the sight of Harry with a little ponytail, if it wasn’t for the thunderous look on his face.

“Hey.” He greeted everyone, his gaze falling upon Lara. She smiled at him uncertainly as he sat next to her, their knees just touching, but he did not look back at her.
If Eleanor detected any tension, she did not show it, as she began to chatter about their upcoming promo tour. Lara could see Louis’ face fall and Harry assume a polite expression on his face. He nodded every now and then, but it was clear his mind was elsewhere. Harry looked up at Louis gratefully when he handed him a drink. When Eleanor disappeared to raid the kitchen for more snacks, Louis and Lara automatically turned to look at Harry.

“So now you’re using me to cover for the two of you?” He said looking annoyed.

“It’s not like that.” Louis replied.

“Yeah right.” Harry mumbled and leant back on the couch as Eleanor made her way back into the room. A couple of hours passed before Eleanor looked at the time.

“I have to go guys.” She said. Lara couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief and it seemed to be reflected on Louis’ face as he led her to the door. As soon as she was gone, Harry turned to Lara.

“Were you smoking pot?” He asked.

“What? Me? No.” Lara said quickly, looking from Harry to Louis.

“The whole place reeks of it.” Harry said.

“You want some?” Louis said lightly and Harry shrugged.

“Look nothing happened.” Louis told him. “We were just talking. And then El turned up and I panicked… so that’s why I called you.”

Harry seemed to pout for a moment before he crossed his arms.

“So is that all I’m good for these days?” He muttered.

Lara ignored the dizzy feeling in her head from all the wine she had consumed to close the gap between her and Harry.

“What do I have to do to prove you’re the one that I want?” She murmured and glanced over at Louis to see him standing in the middle of the living room, watching her intently.

“Why don’t you show me?” Harry mumbled, his hooded green eyes glazed by all the alcohol.

Notes

I know I keep asking, but if you're reading this, please leave a comment and let me know what you think. This whole 'writing fan fiction' caper is nice and all, but its boring without any feedback!

A special thank you to the regulars who do comment, it's very much appreciated!