Naughty & Nice

“What is it, Harry?” Savannah asked concerned.

“It’s Niall,” Harry choked out.

Her heart constricted as all the blood in her body started to flood to her face. She had never felt as much terror as she did in that moment and she didn’t even know what was going on.

“He was in a car accident,” Harry told her, his voice wavering. Her legs almost gave out from underneath her from the news. She had to put her hand on the door frame to steady herself.

“Van!” Harry said, grabbing her other arm to steady her, the sound of actual concern in his voice.

Was this her punishment for sleeping with his step-brother behind his back? Would she lose him altogether? She couldn’t even fathom it.

“Car accident?” She gasped as tears welled up in her eyes.

“Another car hit his,” Harry told her.

Oh my god.

“Is… he… is he…?” She stammered, unable to finish her sentence. Her brain was almost as fragmented as her words were.

“He’s in the hospital. He’s stable, but unconscious for now. The hospital just called me… I-I am his emergency contact,” Harry informed her.

Savannah took in a deep cleansing breath. He was okay. Okay.

“We need to go,” she said immediately, working herself up into a worried frenzy.

“I’ll drive,” Harry stated matter-of-factly.

“Not on your life. You were wasted when you got here earlier. And from the looks of it, you still kind of are,” she shot at him. He nodded sheepishly.

“I’ve gotta… I’ve got to get dressed,” she said, rushing to her bedroom, pulling off her robe on the way.

She manically threw on the first thing she could before noticing Harry standing in her doorway watching her. She hadn’t ever seen that look on his face before. It read concerned, but as he looked at her she saw the look of adoration in his eyes. It scared her a little, but she had no choice but to shrug it off. She pushed passed him through the doorway, ignoring his big green eyes that confused her completely. He was right behind her as she grabbed her cell phone and purse, heading to the front door.

“Keys?” She said once they were in the parking lot, holding her hand out. Harry, without question, placed them in her palm. She walked briskly to the driver side and got in as Harry got into the passenger side of his Range Rover.

“Hospital?” she asked.

“Cedar Sinai,” he said, programming it into his navigational system.

“Don’t bother. I know where it is,” she told him and he immediately quit fiddling with the GPS.

There wasn’t much talking as Savannah, in a frenzied rush, drove them to the hospital. She couldn’t wrap her head around much and she was sure Harry was feeling the same way. Niall was his friend and step-brother after all. No amount of deception and lies could wipe away a bond as strong as that.

“Van, it’s going to be okay,” Harry said, placing his hand over hers, steadying her fidgeting.

She looked over at him, her brow knit as she tried to hold back the tears that were threatening since she heard about Niall.

“You love him, don’t you?” Harry asked, his voice quiet. Savannah’s eyes snapped back to the road. She was completely uncomfortable talking about this with Harry.

“He’s my boyfriend,” she answered quietly.

Out of her peripheral vision, she saw Harry nod his head lightly and look back out the windshield.

When they got to the hospital she was frantically asking anyone she could about Niall’s status and of course no one could tell her anything until Harry piped up and told them that he was family. The nurse then informed them that Niall broke his collarbone and hit his head pretty hard, but his CT scans came back clean. She then told them that Niall had been drowsy while driving and must have fallen asleep at the wheel, swerving into oncoming traffic. Savannah’s heart sputtered and her stomach twisted as tears fell from her eyes.

Harry’s arms were wrapped around her within seconds, hushing and soothing her. She composed herself in his arms, wanting to be strong for Niall. Harry placed a kiss on her forehead before letting her go. They walked down to Niall’s hospital room anxiously, side by side.

Niall was awake when they went in. The TV was on and he was soundly watching it. Savannah dove to his side, throwing her arms around him as her sobs resonated through the small hospital room.

“Savannah, I’m okay. It’s okay,” Niall’s soft voice could be heard only by her.

“No, it’s not okay! It’s not okay, Niall!” She said, pulling away abruptly. Feeling the anger boiling inside her, she smacked him hard on his good arm a few times. Niall’s face looked worried at her reaction.

“Savannah,” she heard Harry behind her, putting his hand on her shoulder. But she shrugged it off. She didn’t want him touching her in front of Niall.

“Niall…” Her voice broke, her emotions settling.

“Savannah…” Niall started to say.

“You need to stop pushing yourself so hard. You’re always in that damn studio! You need to slow down and get some sleep!” She told him, letting him hear just how angry she was. Niall’s face evened out.

“Savannah, I promise I’ll slow down. I promise,” Niall said and with that she took him in her arms again, careful as to not bump his broken collarbone.

“Uh, I’ll leave you two alone,” Harry said before he left the room.

Niall and Savannah didn’t really get any alone time together before a nurse bustled in to check up on him. Savannah excused herself to give the nurse room to move, but not before Niall told her he loved her.

When she walked out of the hospital room, she knew what she needed to do. She needed to end her fallacious arrangement she had with Harry Styles. She looked up to find him standing down the hallway in a heated argument with a distraught blonde. It had to be one of his many conquests. Who else would he be fighting with when his brother was laid up in a hospital bed? All the more reason to end things with him.

When the blonde finally stormed off in the opposite direction, Savannah stalked up to him. He turned to her, looking terrified.

“Have you no decency? Your brother is down the hall in a hospital bed and you have your… your whores coming here starting fights with you in the hospital hallway!” She spewed out angrily – the irony that she was indeed one of his ‘whores starting a fight with him in the hospital hallway’ was lost on her. Harry’s face, for some reason, looked relieved.

“Uh, yeah. Sorry about that,” he choked out.

“Sorry? Ugh, you disgust me,” she said, scrunching up her nose at him. The feelings of loathing were working their way back in.

“Van…” He said, looking disheartened.

“Save it, Harry. I was coming out here to tell you that this thing… whatever it is you and I were doing, is over. And seeing this display proves my decision is right,” she told him.

“Van…” He sighed, looking defeated.

“No, Harry. I can’t… I can’t keep doing this to him. He’s… gahh… he loves me. I-I need this to be over,” she said as tears filled her eyes once again.

“Van…” He said again, sadly.

“God! Stop saying my name like it’s going to change my decision or something. If you have something to say then say it!” She snapped at him. He watched her for a moment, his green eyes steady on hers before he shook his head lightly and walked passed her down the hallway.

Savannah stayed with Niall until they kicked her out, which was some time after midnight. She walked passed the waiting room to see Harry was still sitting in there. His face perked up and he quickly got to his feet when he saw her.

“What are you still doing here?” She asked him.

“You have my car keys,” he said with a shrug.

“Oh,” she said before retrieving them from her purse and placing them in his hand.

“Do you need a ride?” He asked. She hesitated, but nodded her head. She really didn’t feel like waiting for a cab or the bus.

They were quiet as Harry drove her back to her apartment. Nothing was said until he pulled up in front of it. She was ready to leave everything unspoken as she made a move to exit the car, but Harry stopped her by grabbing onto her arm.

“Van…” He said quietly.

“Look, Harry. It was fun, okay. But I can’t keep doing this. I mean, what kind of people are we? He’s my boyfriend, your step-brother. We are horrible people,” she said, feeling guilty.

“Savannah, we’re not that horrible, believe me,” Harry scoffed and she growled under her breath. Of course he wouldn’t think it was a bad situation to be in.

“I knew you would be entirely apathetic about everything. It’s just your nature,” she spat at him.

“What?” He asked, looking at her annoyed.

“You’re an asshole. It’s just who you are,” she shot at him. He shook his head angrily, but didn’t retaliate like she thought he would.

“Open your eyes, Savannah. You’re so blinded and it’s… it’s disappointing,” Harry told her cryptically.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” She shot at him, her eyes ablaze with anger. But he didn’t answer. He just shook his head heavily, his eyes looking out the windshield ahead of him as his jaw clenched and unclenched.

“I’m done. Goodbye,” she said before getting out of the car and slamming the door. A moment later, Harry sped off without another incident.

Harry stayed away as Savannah requested. Niall was out of the hospital and taking it slow. Well as slow as he could despite the Holiday season. It was Christmastime. Niall and Savannah were headed to Ireland to spend Christmas with the Styles/Horan family. She was incredibly nervous to not only be going overseas for the first time, but to be meeting Niall’s family. The fact that Harry would be there was also in the back of her mind. They hadn’t seen much of each other in over a month and Savannah didn’t know how things were going to play out once they were under the same roof again.

Seeing Harry as she arrived at their parent’s home in Ireland, stirred up something inside of her. Something she thought she buried. Her whole body reacted to him, remembering how he made her feel when they were together. She wondered if it was just her predisposition toward him. Like she was now conditioned to not want, but need him when she saw him. Looking into Harry’s eyes, she knew he felt it too.

Savannah couldn’t help but feel nervous and anxious and excited and scared all at the same time. She knew for certain, it was going to be a tricky week.

Notes