I'm handed a cup of tea, the officer sits across me, giving me a rueful look.

I shiver, inspite of the parka weighing heavy over my shoulders. The freesia in my breast pocket brushes my collarbones.

The officer, whose badge read L. Payne, gives me a kind smile and starts,"I'm Officer Payne. How may I help you?"

"Louis Tomlinson, I need a bail for my- bail for Harry Styles." He's not close to me. Not enough that I can call him my anything.

Officer Payne has a furrow in his brows and hesitation in his eyes. He leans forward, fists laid on the table,"But he had assaulted your boyfriend, if I'm not wrong, Mr. Tomlinson, he was the one to press charges. If I may ask, why would you bail him out?"

I mirror his earlier action and lean forward, sore elbows resting on the cold of the metal table. I breathe out, chilly and far away,"He saved me. He keeps saving me and getting himself in trouble."

Officer Payne leans back heavily, the chair creaking under his weight. He cocks his head to the side, curiosity visible in his brown eyes. "What do you mean when you say he saved you?"

There's the incessant buzzing of crickets outside, Harry's pale face and angry eyes swim beneath my lids. The call he made from the cell was vague and angry.

I don't glance at Officer Payne, eyes flickering over every surface. Finally they settle on the dull name plate. Liam Payne. I speak to it rather than the officer.

I set the flower on the desk. "He saved me from wilting like this flower," I say, plucking the petals off it.

The Officer shoots me a puzzled look. I abandon the stem on the table, petals lying limp around it. One of my hands still cup the tea.

I change my tactics,"Look Officer Payne, tell me the amount, I'm ready to pay. Or do I need to contact my lawyer for this to be done?"

Officer Payne clears his throat and rifles through a few files. Holding a sheet out he informs me,"He had assaulted Mr. Elgort with shod foot. So legally we have the right to keep under custody for 24 hours, Mr. Tomlinson."

My eyes widen at the term. I blink at the officer,"Shod foot."

My lips twitch and threaten to break out into a smile. The officer notices. His thick brows pull together even tighter,"Shod foot isn't a laughing matter."

I brush him off with a weird sense of comfort. "I know, the Harry Styles I am acquainted with would never put his silver boots on such a cheap man."

"You're something else, Mr. Tomlinson. Both you and Styles," Payne mutters, the pinched look intensifying.

I give him a closed smile and ask,"Can I see him?"

He nods. "Through the bars."

I place the cup of cold tea on the desk, pull the parka tighter around me. It seems to only get colder.

He leads me to a much better place than I expected. There's enough lighting and it smells of bleach and not of dead rats and sick. "Movies set let my expectations high Officer Payne, this is actually decent."

He grumbles under his breath and points to one of the cells. Harry Styles is inside in all of his ripped glory.

Harry Styles is an enigma. Let it be noted and carved into history. His initial greeting to seeing me is a snarl. Then the snarl fades to an ugly scowl.

"Why the fuck are you here? Go mend your boyfriend's wounds, Louis Tomlinson. You certainly seemed more concerned when I rang you." His laugh is bitter and the cold of his tone seeps into my flesh and bones.

Officer Payne snaps at him,"He's willing to get you out, Styles. Don't jeopardise your chance to get out of this shit hole."

I'm yet to speak but I'm overcome with the chill that has lodged itself in my bone and the heat of Harry Styles' eyes that's scorching my flesh.

Harry speaks again,"I don't need your sympathy or your two cents, Tomlinson. I'd rather rot here than see you clinging to that animal's side."

"You don't get to decide what I do, Harry Styles. If I decide to bail you out, I do it. And he's gone, I don't know where but he sure as fuck is gone."

"And I don't accept charity. My self pride still exists. It's breathing and alive, Louis," his voice softens around my name.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Out of this cell." I bow my head down to examine his boots. They're black and heeled.

I give the officer a faint smile,"Not the silver boots, Officer Payne."

I sense confusion on his face and amusement on Harry's face.

Officer Payne makes me fill out some paperwork. It's a mindless task and mindless tasks are the most dangerous one.

The task allows my mind some slack, I try my hardest to not let Ansel's voice haunt me.

Oh Princess you make me feel so good.

I shiver from head to toe, nerves acting up and bringing up all those broken nights.

"You okay, mate?" A buff officer quizzes, red faced and worried.

"Yeah, just a little cold." I focus on the papers in front of me.

The man walks away. I reread the details and handover to Officer Payne. "When will he be out?" I question him, again.

"Tomorrow by the latest," he answers, eyes moving over the gaps I've filled.

"Mr. Tomlinson, a question."

I hum and nod at him, eyes stuck over the splotches of ink on my palm.

"What is Harry Styles to you?" I freeze, it was an expected question to which I had no answer.

I shrug, not giving anything more. "I can leave right?"

Officer Payne splutters,"Wha- yeah, you can."

My hands still shake when I fit the key in the lock. I shed the parka and lock the door again.

I catch a glimpse of my self in the mirror. The man seems pale under the bright lights, he looks faded.

The silence is deafening. I turn on the radio, filling the silence with cracking notes and fuzzy static. I remove the contacts and place them in their box, lest I crush them under my feet.

I switch off the lights, check the locks and lower the volume of the radio. There's a denim jacket on the floor from yesterday morning.

It isn't mine.

My eyes are wild as they scan over the house in darkness. It gets harder to focus, everything melting into one and my breathing gets heavier.

Then it all goes to black.

• • •

Iouiist91 for the alt cover