“Life is an awful, ugly place to not have a best friend.” – Sarah Dessen


Harry's POV


Women and their measly arguments. I don't think I'll ever be able to understand why they take so long to make up with each other. Lucy and Anya have been friends longer than Louis and me have known each other, yet they are the only ones holding grudges here.


I had to force myself not to look back at Lucy in my car as I crossed over to the next street. The sight would've been too painful for me to see even though I knew this had to be done. So I rationalized my actions by telling myself she'd thank me later; I was going to rescue their friendship. Once I reached the entrance to the complex, I typed in the floor number and letter to Lucy's apartment on the digital screen before ringing the bell. The white light flickered on with the screen reading ‘in communication’.

“Hey, Anya. It's Harry. Can you buzz me in?” I spoke into the monitor, hoping for a reply.

“I mean, I guess so,” She sighed before unlocking the main door.

I whispered a quick ‘thank you’ to her while twisting the handle to walk inside the building. I took my time trudging up the three flights of stairs, so I wasn't out of breath when I reached her apartment. I nervously tugged at the collar of my shirt before knocking on the front door, uncertainty clouding my thoughts. Remember who you’re doing this for, Styles. I felt the need to remind myself. Only a few seconds passed until I was greeted with the unpleasant sight of a girl whose blue eyes swelled with fresh tears.

“Um, L-Lucy isn't here Harry. I think she's s-still at work,” Anya told me after wiping her eyes.

“I actually came here to see you.” A frown broke out across my face as I looked at her. “The last time we saw each other was that night at Al's Diner…” I frowned, dreading the memory.

“Hey, um, do you want to just wait inside until she comes back or something?” she asked me. I nodded my head and slowly entered the apartment.

The place hadn’t changed much since the last time I was here. A few more frames occupied the blank spaces on the wall: some family photographs and self-portraits. I made my way into the living room and sat down on the couch, unaccompanied by Anya. She had gone into the kitchen to fetch the tea that was boiling over on the stove. Before she came back, however, I removed my iPhone from my coat pocket and shutdown the device, discarding the missed calls and text messages which were probably from Lucy. By the time Anya re-entered the room, my phone was no longer in plain view, and the corners of my mouth had turned up in a smile when I saw her carrying an extra mug.

“I wasn’t sure if you wanted any, so I bought an extra cup just in case. It’s spearmint,” Anya said whilst setting the tray on the coffee table.

“I’d love some. Thank you,” I replied, taking the cup off of the metallic plate and bringing it up to my lips.

I blew over the steam of the hot tea before taking a sip from the mug. Spearmint was definitely one of my favorite flavors aside from lemon and raspberry. I took another gulp of the minty tea and set the cup back down on the table, now fully prepared to do what I initially came here for.

“This taste great. But on a different note, if you don't mind me asking, how are things between you and–”

“Lucy and me? Well, things are just amazing. Why these tears I'm crying are tears of joy, Harold!” she shouted, her sarcasm evident in her tone. “How do you think things have been?”

“That bad, huh,” I confirmed to myself. “What's the problem? Why haven't you forgiven her yet?” I asked.

“I don't know. The reasoning behind her lies was upsetting to me, I guess.” Anya averted her gaze down to the floor to avoid my eyes. “She thought I would judge her.”

“Did you when she told you about the...the rape?” I forced myself to say the word.

Her blue eyes widened in shock as she glared up at me. “How–How do you know about that?” she questioned.

“She told me about it awhile back when you were staying over at Lou's apartment,” I answered. “How did you find out about it?”

“I–uh. I noticed Lucy was acting different when she returned from New York, but I didn't push her to talk about it. She told me that she was just trying to readjust, so I left it alone and ignored the signs. Then one day after I got home early from work, I found her in the bathroom ready to overdose on several sleeping pills. S-she was gonna kill herself, Harry.” Anya cried into her hand. “My best friend was ready to end her life because of some asshole. I can't imagine how alone she must've felt. I would never judge her, especially in that kind of situation when it wasn't her fault.”

My vision blurred, and my heart almost stopped pumping blood into my body after finding out that Lucy tried to kill herself; I struggled to breathe. No one would ever expect such a lovely woman to be in so much pain upon first glance. As far as anyone could tell, Lucy's life was picture perfect. I looked to the floor and bit my lip, trying to process everything that I just heard. For once in my life I didn't have anything to say on the spot to calm the situation.

“I can't believe this. Has she, um, ever tried to do it again?” I dared to ask.

Anya shook her head and let out a shaky breath. “N-no, I made her promise me not to. Talking seemed to help though. I recommended she see a psychiatrist, but she told me it was easier to talk about what happened with someone she knew.”

“I still think a psychiatrist would help her,” I agreed, nodding my head. “And you know what else I think? I think she was just afraid to tell anyone without being judged, not only you. And she doesn't need sympathy. What she needs is for someone to listen to her.”

“What are you talking about? I do listen to her,” She said defensively.

“Okay, then believe her when she says that she never meant to hurt you because it's the truth. You guys need to stay friends! She's not the same without you, Anya.”

“Thanks, Harry, but I think this is something I should be hearing from Lucy,” Anya said with a sad smile.

“Believe me. That can be arranged,” I assured her as I stood up from the couch and walked toward the door. “Follow me.”

---

After being hounded with a dozen questions by Anya, I finally got her to agree to come outside with me. Once we exited the building, I withdrew my car keys from my pocket and unlocked the passenger door only to see a woman stumble out onto the street. There was a thin sheet of sweat lain across her forehead, and her dark hair was matted to the sides of her face. Brown eyes, which used to stare at me in awe, were filled with repugnance as they met my green ones in a death glare. I figured Lucy would be mad, but she looked like she had surpassed her boiling point.

“What the hell Harry?!” she screeched as she charged toward me. “You locked me away inside your damn car just to call my friend?” Lucy scoffed.

“Wait a minute. She was alone and locked inside your car all this long time? What's the matter with you!” Anya yelled.

“Not only did he lock me in that stupid car, but he also ignored all my calls and text messages,” She grumbled.

“I'm sorry, baby. I–”

“Shut up, Harry,” The two of them cut me off simultaneously.

“Anyway, what were you guys even doing up there while I was dying of dehydration?”

“Just talking, more specifically about you. Listen to me, Lucy. There's something I need to tell you.”

“Okay, but let me speak first,” she insisted, “I'm really sorry for everything, Anya. I should've been honest with you from the beginning, but what's done is done. I can't fix the past, but just know you'll always be my best friend, and my relationship with Harry won't change that. I never meant to hurt you.”

The blonde haired woman nodded her head and smiled. This was exactly what she needed to hear from Lucy. “I do know that, and I'm sorry too. I blew the situation way out of proportion. Can we just go back to the way we were before all of this happened?” she asked hopefully.

“I'd like that very much.” Lucy giggled and pulled her friend into a tight hug.

I stayed quiet for awhile and let them enjoy their moment before finally breaking the silence. “Hey, Anya. Would you mind if I had a minute alone with her?” I asked, referring to Lucy. She glanced back at me and shook her head, stepping out of the embrace.

“I'll be upstairs if anyone needs me. See you later, Luce,” Anya told us before walking toward the apartment building.

Once she went inside, I sighed and ran a hand through my curls, thinking of ways to apologize to the woman in front of me. Lucy crossed her arms over her chest and stared at me expectantly. There was nothing I could really say to justify my actions except for one thing, “I did it for you, you know.”

“And I don't doubt that, not for a second, but you did it in the wrong way, Harry. Do you know how hot it is inside of there?” she asked, pointing over to my car. “I felt like I was slowly melting away. You could have at least cracked a window for me before you left,” She complained.

“Well, how can I make it up to thee?” I grinned. “I shall do anything.”

“Really? You would be willing to do absolutely anything?" Lucy asked me just to be sure. I nodded reassuringly. "Well then, Harry. I'm sure I can come up with a few things for you to do to get back on my good side.” She winked, biting down on her bottom lip. The smile she flashed afterwards was reason enough for me to believe that we were on the path to being okay, and the realization brought forth the dimples in my own cheeky little grin.

“You have a beautiful smile, Lucy. Hold onto it,” I told her while cupping her sides.

I held her body as close to me as physically possible, being careful not to crush her in my arms. I couldn't imagine the rest of my days without this beautiful woman in it, and it was in that moment that I realized I was falling for these brown eyes, and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.

Notes

Hii guys. I hope you enjoyed this update.

Just for the record, I'm not trying to bad-mouth NYU. The opinions in this story do not necessarily reflect my own. I chose this particular school to write about because Lucy is an artist and, if she was real, NYU would probably be the best fit for her.

Anyway, sort of on a different topic, it would mean the world if you all could check out my newest story Ink! I'm working with KaleighStyles57 on it (: Your thoughts, comments, and subscriptions are highly appreciated as usual <3 Can we try to reach 50 votes please?

A few days ago I thanked everyone for making my new year's wish come true, but now I'm back to ground zero. Can I get feedback from the people who rated this story below a 10.0?

Love
-M