Harry's P.O.V

"Styles! I really thought you wouldn't show up!" Tom enters my field of vision. He has a big smile on his face and I can't stand it. It's way too early for this. 

Well, it's not. I'm just jet-lagged and annoyed at the time difference.

"You've made that clear on multiple occasions," I say flatly. "What was the urgent need for me to come back? I'm pretty sure we've decided this is my downtime."

"You can't just wipe off the face of the Earth," he smiles and takes a seat on the chair next to me instead of the one at his desk. "Where were you anyway?"

"If I wanted you to know, I'd tell." 

He rolls his eyes but keeps his smile. "You fucker. Why are you always so complicated?" I simply shrug and pull out my phone. 

I had texted Ellie when I arrived, but she hasn't responded. Part of me thought she'd be clinging on to her phone, waiting for me to text her like I do with her. I scoff at my own ridiculousness. I'm so needy and I'm pushing my own tendencies on her. 

Besides, she's sick, so it's good she's getting rest.

"I brought you some fuel," Tom says, handing me a cup of coffee. I hadn't seen it when he walked in, but I take it anyway. I need it.

"Thanks," I mumble. 

Oh shit, did I just thank him?

His eyes go wide and I know he's about to make some snarky comment. "Whoever you're hanging out with has taught you the impossible! Wow, Styles, you must be whipped," he teases.

I just hope he doesn't connect the dots. I don't want to deal with a smartass Tom. Knowing him, he'd use Ellie to his advantage.

His eyes grow even wider, but his smile is wiped off his face. "Is... does this have to do with your soulmate?"

"No," I deny. He doesn't need to know. 

He seems to believe me and relaxes. "Good. I actually do have a purpose for calling you today." I anxiously wait for him to continue. If not finding my soulmate is a good thing, then I'm in for trouble. "I have a publicity stunt for you. Your - uh - reputation is going down the drain. Ever since you stopped dating, the fans have been confused. We need to enter a third character in your life."

My brows furrow in confusion. What is this man talking about?

"We need you to fake date another celebrity."

"No, fuck no." I stand up, anger boiling through me. I can't do this. Things are finally going great with Ellie. There's no way I'm messing it up. 

Tom doesn't mind my temper. "Why not? You said you haven't found your soulmate, so what's the problem?"

The problem is that I lied and I did find her and she's amazing. I can't just date someone else, even if it's fake. 

"Well everyone will speculate this fake girl is my soulmate. I already told everyone that I found her." I regret ever mentioning that. It's caused me more problems than I'd like to admit.

"So? What's the harm in that? Besides, you don't have to confirm their suspicions. Just don't deny them either." He sounds proud, like he had this all thought out.

My anger is becoming uncontrollable. I can't let Tom know that I'm so overworked. He'll know something's up. Instead, I clench my fists as an attempt to manage my temper. 

"I'll think about it," I hiss and walk out of the room. No, I won't. I just had to say that so I can get out and punch something.

I pace around in the bathroom, trying not to kill someone.

I've dug myself a deep grave and I can't find my way out. 

My phone buzzes and I pause with my internal raging to check it.

<3: I'm glad you got back safely. Sorry, I was dead asleep. Stupid sickness.

Me: I hope you learned your lesson

<3: I don't know. Might do it more often so you can nurse me back to health :p

I find myself smiling at my phone. We keep bantering over text until she tells me she needs to get to work. I reluctantly let her go and decide to leave this stupid building. 

I find my car in the parking lot and stare at the wheel. I remember when El was here, I made her get me a rental car. Truth be told, I didn't need the car, I just needed excuses to talk to her. I'm so glad I got that car.

I wish she were here with me. When she's not, I'm irritable. She's so sweet and kind, she knows exactly how to calm me down.

Sometimes I don't even think she knows the effect she has on me. A single touch from her is enough to undo all the tension in my body.

When I'm done wallowing in self-pity, I peel out of the lot and head toward my apartment. It was weird being back there after all this time. I went back for short amounts of time when we were both here, but it was mainly to grab more clothes. Sleeping there last night was weird and I found myself missing her company. 

The bland building comes into view and I sigh as I get out of the car. I can't stop thinking about Tom's deal. If I had known he was going to pull this shit, I would've never come back. 

The doorman kindly opens the door for me and the reception desk gives me a nice smile. I rudely ignore them, and find myself guilty for not smiling back. Why am I feeling this way? I've never returned the smile before.

I know why. As much as I hate to admit it, Tom's right. Ellie's a good influence on me. 

I step in front of my apartment door and fish out my keys. When I open the door, I take in the musty scent. It smells stale, like it's been unattended for a while. When I arrived here last night, I went straight to bed for my early meeting with Tom. I didn't have the time or energy to clean then.

The first thing I do is open the windows to air out the smell.

I lay on my bed, knowing damn well I should call Ellie. I need her advice on this. It's dumb of me to not tell Tom, but I like having my little secret. 

Somehow, I manage to pass time. When I know she's out of work, I find myself dialing her number.

"Hello?" Her sweet voice rings through the phone.

"Hey," I lamely reply. I can see her smile through the phone, and I hope she can see mine as well.

"Is everything okay?"

"What, I can't call for fun?" I playfully ask. Then I mentally smack myself. There's a problem, and I'm just avoiding it.

"No, no! Of course you can. You just don't sound as chipper."

I want to comment on her use of that word, but I stop myself. "You're good. Yeah, I've actually run into a dilemma. I wish you were here." 

"I am here. Just tell me." She's trying to be calm, but I can feel the panic in her voice.

"I haven't fucked up... yet," I clarify to ease her panic. "So, my manager has this brilliant idea to have me fake date some celebrity for publicity." Sarcasm is heavy in my voice.

"Oh..." she pauses, thinking about what to say next. "Well, do you want to?"

"No," I say harshly. "Of course not." I soften my tone, remembering not to take my anger out on her. None of this is her fault. 

"Then don't."

"It's not that easy," I sigh. "I need to give him a reason as to why I can't." I immediately regret saying that.

"Am I not a reason?" Her voice is in a whisper, but I know she's hurt. 

"Of course you are baby," I sigh at my own fuck up. "It's just complicated."

Yeah, like that's a better answer. 

I can hear her shuffling around and then it goes quiet. For a second, I think she hung up on me. I'm relieved when I hear her voice again. "You keep saying that, but you're not explaining. I want to understand."

I'm taken aback by her calm tone. If it were me, I wouldn't be so understanding. 

"Okay," I say warily. "You're going to think I'm crazy. I didn't tell Tom about us because I want us to stay between us. I don't want to hide you from the world, but I like what we have now. If I tell him, he'll ruin it."

She unexpectedly begins to laugh on the line. "Harry, that's silly. How could he ruin our relationship?"

"I don't know," I mumble. "Maybe by meddling?"

"Okay," she says in a playful tone. "If you really don't want to tell him, don't. Just go along with the plan."

"But I don't wanna," I whine. "Can't you just play my fake girlfriend instead?"

"I don't think that'll give you the publicity you need," she snorts. "It's ultimately up to you. I just appreciate you telling me first. At least I won't be surprised when I hear about it later."

"Hey babe," I start. "Can I ask you a question? Why are you so calm about this?"

"It's just one of the humps I expected in our relationship. I figured this, or something like this, would come up eventually."

I sigh and close my eyes. I figured this would be her answer. I hate that, I hate that she's okay with being pushed around for my sake. I'm so sick of her sacrificing everything for us.

"I'm going to think about it, okay? In the meantime, I'm thinking of bringing you back here. I miss you." I finally admit.

Her laughter fills my ears again. "It's only been a day." I smile, knowing she's right. It's felt like years though. "I miss you too," she adds in a small voice.

My heart feels like it's beating out of my chest. I never knew how good it feels to be wanted. 

"Okay, I'm going to let you go now. I'm sure you're super busy. Text me, okay?" She fills the silence between us.

"Yes, ma'am. Bye. See you soon hopefully." I smile and hang up, even though I could spend days talking with her. 

My phone rings again and I look down, surprised to see Ellie's name pop up again. I waste no time answering the phone.

"Yes?" I hope she doesn't tease me for my eagerness.

"If you do choose to do the whole fake date thing, I'm coming there," is all she says before hanging up.

Fuck. Major fuck.

As much as I don't want to, I want her here. I want her near me. She won't come unless I do it. Now I'm in a major dilemma. 

What is this woman doing to me?

Ellie's P.O.V

I don't know what I was thinking when I called him back.

That's the thing, I wasn't thinking. Now I've put myself in a bind. 

I was really only speaking out of jealousy. As much as I don't want him near another girl, it could happen. I want to be right next to him during it. That way the sleazy skank doesn't try anything.

Sleazy skank? Since when have I become so insecure? 

Why did I even suggest that I'll come? I can't just up and go like that. Not again.

I consider calling him back to take back my words, but I don't. Honestly, leaving again sounds a lot better than having someone else drool all over my boyfriend. 

Ugh, I'm a mess.

A/N: Short chapter... sorry about that. 

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