Foreign Exchange

Louis’ POV
As soon as Harry walked out of the bathroom after just taking a shower, I jumped on him.

“Styles you better spill the beans!” I said, hanging off his bare back.

“Woah woah” Harry said, stumbling to the side and dropping the towel he was using to dry his hair.

“You will tell me what happened” I said, trying to get a grip on his shoulders that were slick because of the water on them.

“Lou, get off and I will” he chuckled and I let go of him. I scrambled over to our bed and plopped down criss cross applesauce style. Last night after the van was safely returned, Harry said goodbye to Nikki and went straight to our room with a smile on his face.

He wouldn’t let me look at his injury, or tell me how he got it for the matter.

He didn’t come down after Simon came back.

He didn’t talk to any of the other boys.

He didn’t come down for leftovers of Liams brownies.

Instead, he stayed glued to his cell phone, smiling mad and even laughing at whatever he was looking at. He also didn’t go to bed for quite sometime but once he did, I couldn’t even slip his phone away from him because he had a death grip on his phone. I’m betting my money that he was talking to Nikki, it’s obvious that he was. There’s no one at school he would be texting, and he doesn’t text his mom or sister a lot.

“Now tell me” I said, practically bouncing on the bed. Harry smiled, biting down on his bottom lip and sat down across from me, also criss cross applesauce style and only in his boxers.

“You’re hair looks good first thing in the morning” Harry teased.

“Harry!” I said, giving him an annoyed look. He laughed and rubbed his chin.

“So I took her back to her flat..” Harry started and I gave him a flick of my hand, motioning for him to go on.

“And there we..” Harry said, smiling like a cheshire cat.

“You?!” I said anxiously.

“Got attacked by wild monkeys and that’s how I got my injury!” Harry said and I smacked his arm.

“Oh my gosh Harry!” I groaned in frustration as he cackled, scrunching up his face and holding his stomach as he slightly bent forward. “That is not funny!” I said. Harry always thinks he’s funny and jokes around a lot. I do too but now is not the time to be messing around.

“Okay okay” he said, trying to catch his breath and moving slightly away from me to dodge another smack from my hand. I glared at him as he finally could properly speak again without gasping for air.

“Spill. The. Beams.” I practically ordered.

“Spill the beans? I don’t see any beans?” he joked again with his huge grin.

“OH MY GOSH HARRY EDWARD STYLES!” I yelled, grabbing a pillow.

“Calm down I’ll tell you!” he laughed, holding up his hands. I squinted my eyes at him as I slowly put down the pillow. “Hmm...should I start with when Nikki called me gorgeous? Or when we went to the ice rink, or when we first kissed? Or when-”

“You two kissed!” I cut him off and Harry nodded, smiling like a little boy. “Good job you big bloke!” I said, ruffling his damp curls. Harry scrunched his nose and shook out his hair before pushing it to the side across his forehead.

“It was the best kiss I’ve ever had” Harry said, having a distant look on his face and I could tell that he was reliving. “Oh yeah and” Harry said, snapping out of it. “Sorry for snogging while you were on the phone” he smirked and I gasped.

“I so knew it!” I said. When I answered the phone, I heard a lot of panting. Harry touched his bottom lip and giggled. “So how did you get the battle wound?” I asked, pointing to the patch on his head.

“Oh, well we went to the ice rink and we slipped and fell on the ice. Nikki’s skate ended up scratching me in the face” Harry said, and I’m guessing that what he said is just a summed up version of what happened.

“Was that all that you two did? Kiss and skate?” I asked, begging for more.

“We went to frozen yogurt afterwards” Harry said and straightened up. “Did you know that they have peanut butter frozen yogurt?” he asked with his eyes wide.

“Really?” I said, furrowing my eyebrows.

“And pineapple!” Harry exclaimed and I laughed. I love seeing my best mate happy, it makes me happy. Just lately he’s been such a mess and I’m glad things are starting to look up.

“I’m guessing the person you were texting last night was Nikki?” I said and he nodded eagerly.

“She always types everything out and when autocorrect corrects her she gets mad and it’s really cute” Harry gushed, unconsciously babbling about Nicole.

“Why don’t you invite her over?” I asked and Harry sprung into action. He leaped off the bed and practically sprinted to the bathroom where his phone was. He walked back into the room, the phone pressed to his ear instead of in his hand and typing away.

“H-Hello love!” Harry said after a few seconds of silence. I stared at his beaming face as he continued to talk. “So-ah, do you, you know. No wait, I was wondering-”

“Look at you! You’re a blubbering mess!” I said and Harry made a face at me, which I mimicked.

“Yes that’s Loui-Yeah, he knows-”

“About you two snogging?” I said, getting off the bed.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know that you wanted to tell him yourself..” Harry said as I approached him. I took the phone away from him, much to his protest.

“Hello lovely! Why don’t you come on over?” I asked, winking at Harry who was pouting at me.

“I really wish I could Louis, but Gage called me a bit earlier and asked to hit a few balls on the courts today” she said.

“Can’t you do that tomorrow?” I asked, not really caring at the moment if Gage gets mad. Harry frowned, wondering what we were talking about.

“I have to practice tomorrow anyways. Gage reminded me of an expedition game we that have on Thursday that I totally forgot about, so I really need to practice. I also haven’t been going to the tennis practices after school. I’m surprised that my coach hasn’t just kicked me off the team” Nikki said.

“Expedition?” I asked.

“Yeah, as in if we lose against whatever other team we are playing, it won’t count against us, but it still is important.”

“Damn” I said, frowning, but quickly smiled again. “What time will you be done?” I asked.

“Well, it’s about 9:30 right now, and I’m leaving pretty soon, so I’d say a little bit after noon” she said.

“Alright, see you then! Harry gives you his kisses!” I said, smiling at Harry.

“Wait, wh-” I hung up on Nikki before she could finish what she was saying. I tossed Harry’s phone at him, and he caught it with his large hands.

“So..?” Harry asked.

“We leave in three hours and nobody eats until after we pick Nikki up” I said.

Nicole's POV
“Your serves have improved from last year, and you haven’t even practiced that much” Gage said and I shrugged.

“It’s because your awesome tennis skills are rubbing off on me” I said, picking up my water bottle from the bench next to the tennis courts.

“Aw, thanks” Gage said and I smiled at him before taking a sip of water. “You seem to be glowing today.” he said, nudging my arm with his elbow. I slightly blushed and smiled. It’s because of what happened yesterday.

“I just feel good, I guess” I shrugged, and only I knew the real meaning behind those words.

“So how are you?” he asked after drinking from his red gatorade.

“I’m good, my elbow doesn’t hurt at all” I said.

“That’s good, but I meant as in, how are you dealing with things?” Gage asked.

“Things?” I asked, taking another sip from my water bottle.

“You know, being adopted, your soul mate having to leave, your mom missing in action, school, that kind of stuff” Gage said, sitting down on the bench. Out of everything that he said, the only thing that really got to me was ‘soul mate.’

“What do you mean ‘soul mate’?” I cautiously asked, hesitantly sitting down next to him.

“You know, the cute, curly one, Harry?” He said, playing with his gatorade bottle.

“H-Harry i-isn’t my soul mate” I said, raising my eyebrows in surprise. Sure, I like him and there’s a possibility that I love him, but as a soul mate? That hasn’t even crossed my mind.

“That’s what I thought. So then it’s Liam” he concluded.

“Gage! Why would you think that? Liam is my best friend!” I said, surprised at what he’s saying.

“Nikki, I see the way Liam looks at you. You two are attached to each other” Gage said.

“That’s because he’s my best friend!” I said, furrowing my eyebrows at him.

“I can tell that you adore him especially out of the boys” Gage said, pointing his gatorade bottle at me.

“I adore them all; I adore you too” I said, tilting my head to the side. What is Gage trying to say? Gage sighed and turned his whole body to face me.

“Nikki, I know that you care about everyone, that’s just how you are, but have you ever considered anything with Liam?” Gage said.

“How did this lead to Liam? Weren’t you just saying Harry was my soul mate?” I asked, frowning.

“You didn’t answer the question” Gage countered.

“You didn’t answer mine” I said, getting frustrated. I didn’t come here to get in a fight with Gage, I just wanted to practice tennis. I flared my nostrils, taking a deep breath through my nose and I rubbed my forehead. “Gage, why are you talking about this? Why did you bring this up?” I asked

“Because I want to be able to talk to you. At this point, I’m kind of in this now. I’ve got this uneasy feeling and it involves those two boys. I just want to help you sort your thoughts and feelings. You have a lot on your plate right now” Gage said. I sighed and thought over his earlier question, preparing myself to answer him.

“I thought that at one point my heart fluttered for Liam, but I thought that. It didn’t really happen, it was just all in my head. I like Harry, just the thought of leaving Harry is too much” I said, slumping my shoulders a bit.

“What about Liam? I bet it’s even harder letting him go” he said, and that’s when I really thought about it. And it hurt, it physically hurt. My heart literally got a small ache. “It’s because he’s your best friend, you have more with him than you do with Harry” he said.

“But I want Harry to be my best friend” I said, protesting a bit.

“But he isn’t” he said.

“So?” was all I could come up with.

“My parents were best friends and never thought that they would get married” Gage said.

“Liam and I aren’t getting married” I said, looking away from Gage. “And we’re not soul mates” I said. “If anything...I would want Harry to be my soul mate.” There, I said it.

“What’s Harry’s favorite color?” Gage asked me. I looked at him in confusion.

“I don’t know, why?” I asked.

“What’s Liams favorite color?” Gage asked.

“That’s easy, purple” I said, not missing a beat.

“What’s Liam’s favorite band?”

“Linkin Park.”

“What’s Liams favorite animal?”

“Turtles.”

“What absolutely can Liam not stand?”
“Spoons.”

“What’s Liam’s favorite movie?”

“Gag-”

“Answer.”

“Toy story!” I yelled in his face, completely done with answering his questions.

“Now answer all of those questions as if I asked them about Harry” Gage said and I huffed.

“I don’t know..” I mumbled.

“You what?”

“I. Don’t. Know.” I snapped. “Just because I don’t know those things about him doesn’t mean anything.”

“It means that you aren’t close to him” Gage said, making me think about everything that’s happened ever since the boys stepped foot into my classroom. I don’t like thinking. I wish I could just not think sometimes.

“Are you done..done..I don’t know, parenting me?” I asked, looking at him in defeat.

“Just know, I’m not just only your tennis partner, I’m your friend” he said, rubbing my shoulder.

“I know you are, and I’m glad for that, I get to play with one of my good friends” I said, sincerely looking at him. I guess I can’t really be mad at him, he has point, even though I may disagree with it. He nodded and used my shoulder to help push himself up.

“Well darling” he smiled down at me “I’m done, I won’t bring it up unless you mention it first. Let’s finish up early. I can help you with your slices tomorrow” he said.

“Alright” I agreed, but inside I wished that we just went on and continued with tennis practice because that would have me focused on something other than what we just talked about. We both quickly picked up the tennis balls and packed up our tennis bags. We were both silent, I’m not sure why he was, but it’s obvious why I was. I couldn’t stop thinking about Liam and Harry.

“Wanna lift home?” Gage asked once we were back inside the gym.

“Sure, let me just tell ‘Jelca. She’ll be happy about not having to pick me up. Lazy she is” I tried to joke, but I didn’t put much playfulness in my voice and my lips barely curved into a smile. I took out my cell phone and sent a quick message to Anjelica before we headed out to his car.

“Sorry about the orange smell. Recently orange juice was spilled in my car” Gage said, but I didn’t really pay attention to what he was saying. I just put my stuff in the back and climbed into the front seat. The whole drive was also quiet, but not awkwardly. As I looked out the car window, I thought about Harry’s beautiful laugh and how his green eyes shine. Then Liam’s adorable smile came to mind and how he wrinkles his nose before he sneezes.

“Ugh” I groaned and hit my head against the car window.

“Hey, don’t break my car now” Gage joked, but I don’t think he really knows what’s going on in my head. Gage soon after that pulled up to my condo.

“Bye, thanks for the ride” I said in a dead, monotone voice as I got out of his car.

“Hey wait” he said and I looked back at him. “I’m sorry if I made you upset, but I just feel like it’s something that should have been talked about” Gage said and I nodded.

“It is..” I said, my voice drifting at the end. I closed the car door, pulled my bag from the back and lugged myself all the way up the steps to my condo.

I dropped my bag down after closing the front door behind me. So many thoughts were jumbled in my head, it was driving me insane. I ran my fingers through my curly hair and took deep breaths. “I can’t do this” I said and frantically ran around until I found my huge case full of old and new CDs and old CD player. I shoved a music mix CD I made a while back into the CD player and cranked up the volume so the music could be heard throughout the entire condo.

I turned off my phone, ignoring anyone who would call or text me and decided to take a long shower. I grabbed some simple clothes and undergarments to change into and grabbed a fluffy towel. Once the water was just right, I stripped out of my tennis clothes and jumped in the shower.

If I lay here

If I just lay here

Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

I listened to the lyrics, which didn’t do much but just relate to what I wished would happen with Harry and I.

I don't quite know,

How to say.

How I feel.

Doesn’t this song just fit the mood...I’m not sure now how I should feel. I care for both of them, all of them. They’re all my best friends...except for Harry. I even know Zayns favorite animal and I don’t even talk to him that much. I hit my head against the shower wall and felt the warm water trickle down my back. Maybe the water will wash away all of what Gage said.

Now that I think about it...I don’t really regret kissing Liam on New Years. I’ve actually even wondered what it would be like to kiss Liam. Liam’s never hurt me like Harry has..but Harry didn’t mean it.

But he did say hurtful things.

Harry had an interest in me before Liam did.

But Liam took the time to develope a relationship with me.

But I don’t like Liam like that.

I’ve fallen for Harry.

Liam’s connection goes deeper than Harry’s though. Liam is practically part of me now, the pull is strong.

“Agh!” I growled in frustration and forcefully scrubbed my arms and legs with a loofah sponge. (A/N a loofah sponge is those fluffy things you use in the shower to clean yourself). After washing myself down, I decided not to wash my hair since I did it the night before. Suddenly, there was a loud banging noise and I heard some talking, but I couldn’t make it out due to the loud music blasting. And the song just so happen to be a loud, rock song.

I turned off the shower and quickly wrapped myself in the fluffy towel I picked out earlier. I tried to stay calm as I racked my brain for who it could be. It can’t be Anjelica, for her and Heather went somewhere down by the galleria which is over an hour long away. The boys think that I’m playing tennis and know better than to come to my house without me or my sister being home, so it can’t be them. It could be Nick, but then again Nick would never come here alone when he could be with Zayn. It can’t be Calum because he doesn’t have a key to my condo.

But then again I just remembered that I didn’t lock the door. Great job Nicole.

Who could it possibly be?

I put on my clothes as fast as lightening even though I was still wet. Since I was in the bathroom, there was nothing really in here to defend myself with. I looked around the bathroom and quietly went through the cabinets. I came up with nothing and another song came on.

“Turn it off!”

“I don’t know how!” was all I could barely hear. I couldn’t make out the voices. My CD player is ancient and the only way to turn it off is to take out the battery. In order to get to the battery, you have to take apart the backside of the CD player, but they wouldn’t know that. So, dramatic music shall be playing in the background as they kill me. My eyes landed on a pole attached to the wall that was used as a towel rack.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures” I said to myself as I took a hold of the pole. I yanked on it hard over and over and it slowly became loose from the wall. With one last pull, the pole practically ripped out of the wall. I wasn’t concerned about how much the damage was, for I was in survival mode. Thank goodness the bathroom was connected to my room.

I slowly opened the door that connected the bathroom to my room and looked around. No one was in my room...yet. I took slow steps into my bedroom, holding onto the pole tightly and barely breathing. I’ve never been so scared in my life.

I bet if Liam was here, he would protect you.

Shut up, Harry would do the same.

SHUT UP, all of the boys would do the same thing. Like I said earlier, sometimes I wish that I could just not think at all.

My back was facing my bedroom door, so I didn’t notice when the stranger walked stepped into my room. But I turned around just before they could reach me and my reaction was the stupidest thing.

“I know how to use this pole!” I blurted out, and afterwards, I probably would have face palmed due to the double meaning, but I was too scared to care at the moment.

“Are you the owner of this condo?” the stranger asked and took a step towards me and I lost it.

“AHHHH!!!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Notes

So here is chapter 60! Crazy right? Well, its a step closer to finishing this book and moving on to the next one! Thanks for reading and hanging in there with me! I know that I've been slow with the updates and I deeply apologize! I love you for your patience and support!

Who do you think the stranger is?
What do you think will happen?
Stay tuned my lovelies!! Wow, that sounded like an advertisement xD

may god bless harry sty;es! That boy is so perfect!!