I can hear the girls say goodbye to Harry just outside the bathroom, as I throw on Niall's blue basketball jersey over my tank top and stuff my sweater in my backpack. I look at myself in the full length mirror and let out a sigh, turning around to check out how I look in his over sized jersey. The number 14 and Horan stand out like a sore thumb and my face scrunches up, realizing it's not Carter's jersey. It clearly doesn't say Evans or his number 02 on it, which I'm uncertain as to how I feel about that. School spirit, right?  

I can only imagine the blogs I'm going to read later and the things Maddy will have to say to me about this whole thing with Harry, and it wouldn't surprise me if Carter will say something to me too after he sees us together.

I thought for sure Rachel and Chelsea would automatically end up coming to the game because Harry was going, and therefore I wouldn't have to sit with them, or even acknowledge any of them being there. I could go and cheer on Carter like I used to and go home and nothing would be weird about it. It would just be like old times, like Carter said it would be.

Boy was I wrong.

This has turned into something that shouldn't even be something. And somehow I'm going to be the one who has to deal with consequences, all because Harry decided to be an idiot.

"Jayde? Really?" I hear Rachel's voice as I'm about to open the bathroom door. "You can do better than that." 

Bitch.

"Who?" Harry asks. "You?"

"Well, yeah," Rachel replies.

Snarky bitch.

"Look, it's not what it looks like," I hear him say. "She said she was going and I haven't been to a game in a while. I thought everyone would want to go. It isn't my fault no one else likes basketball. I don't even know Jayde. We've barely even talked to each other before."

"You shouldn't get involved with her," Rachel tells him. "She's messed up."

"Says a girl who can't take a hint, even when I spell it out for her," Harry says.

I take this as my cue to open the door. I would love more than anything to say something to Rachel about what I just overheard her say about me, but instead I take in her facial expression and smile, seeing how it's clear that she's already angry, upset and shocked all in one. I don't need to make matters worse by sticking up for myself and being a bitch to her. After all, she was right. I am messed up.

"Hey Rachel, decided to go to the game too? That's cool," I say in a upbeat tone, as I start to walk backwards away from them. "Your singing was on point today. Great job! Oh and hey, I'm planning to fix that button for you tomorrow, so your outfit will be ready for the next rehearsal."

Kill them with kindness, right?

I'm hoping the fact that it's obvious I'm not waiting for Harry, will make her realize that we aren't really going to the game together and everything she had previously thought will dissipate. "See you guys at the game!"

I turn around, picking up my pace as I breathe out a long breath, happy that a moment with the two of them together is over with, and maybe Harry will get the point, that I don't think it's a good idea we sit together.

The game hasn't started yet when I walk into the gym. Boys are everywhere on the floor shooting hoops for warm ups or passing balls around, and the bleachers are full of people, some of which I've never seen before as I look around for a place to sit. I spot a place at the top against the wall in the corner and maneuver my way up between people.

I search the gym to find Carter, who is already looking my way and waving awkwardly. I try not to acknowledge the fact that Harry is climbing the bleachers and I wave back to Carter across the gym and give him thumbs up, just like old times. Except I remember us being much happier previous times I had been here than we seem to be at this particular moment, knowing the smile I give him is just as fake as the bitches in this place and the look on his face says he is anything but happy.

As Harry sits next to me, I watch as Carter starts to walk in our direction, and I shift my attention to Harry as my heartbeat intensifies knowing something is about to happen. "What the hell are you doing?" I ask him.

"You could have at least waited for me," he says. "Ya know, since I went to wardrobe to get you."

"You're something else, ya know that?"

"Jayde!" Carter calls from the bottom of the bleachers. I look to see him waving me down and I instantly stand up and make my way back through people to get to him. I know this look on his face, and I knew it would be there when he saw me with Harry. Which is exactly why I didn't want Harry to sit with me. His eyebrows are raised in disbelief as he looks down at me.

"Horan's jersey?" he asks, pulling me to the side. "And you're here with Harry?"

"School spirit?" I question. "Go Wildcats?"

"If you wanted to wear a jersey, you could have asked to wear one of mine like you used to," he says. "Not wear someone else's. You know it's a written rule that if a girl wears a guy's jersey, it means something. Unless you and Niall—? Are you and Niall—?" He looks over to his blonde friend who happens to be crossing the gym towards us, before looking back at me with wide eyes.

"Lookin' good in blue, Jayde," Niall says as he approaches us, the biggest grin on his face. "Blue is your color!" He throws his arm around my shoulder and looks at me. I'm instantly taken aback by his moves, unable to move from bewilderment. "Thanks for coming!"

"Really?" Carter asks. "You're just going to steal my girl, just like that?"

I feel confused, yet slightly amused that the fact that I was sitting with Harry doesn't matter at the moment. That Carter seems to be more concerned about Niall than anything. I move out of Niall's hold around my shoulder, not even understanding why he had his arm there to begin with, when I see how mad Carter looks as he looks at the two of us with furrowed eyebrows.

It's only then that I realize he called me his girl and I feel myself fill up with anger. "No one stole me," I tell him, raising my voice. "I'm not yours to steal from, Carter. You broke up with me, remember? I'm allowed to hang out with other boys."

"Not my teammates," Carter says, his tone matching mine. "Not my friends. You know the rule Niall! You don't date your friend's ex girlfriend."

"Oh, we're not dating," Niall tells him, raising only one of his eyebrows. "But—"

"You don't get to call the shots, Carter," I interrupt, angrily. "You should know that by now."

"What's going on?" Harry asks, stepping up to us.

"No," Carter says, pointing at me. "I asked you to come to the game like old times. Not to wear some other dude's jersey and come with another guy. I needed you to get through this game, Jayde, and you fucked it up. Nice lucky charm you are."

"Seriously?" Niall asks, furrowing his eyebrows. "That's fucked up, man."

"She's wearing your jersey," Carter says. "That's what's fucked up."

The whistle blows indicating the game is going to start soon and I let out a breath, thanking the basketball Gods for interrupting this uncalled for argument. I'm angry at Carter for acting this way. For thinking things that don't make sense and for calling out Niall for things that aren't even true, all because I'm wearing a damn jersey. And for him to call me his girl—just makes matters worse in my head.

Before I know what I'm doing, I throw Niall's jersey over my head and hand it to him while keeping my eyes on Carter. "I hope you lose your game." I don't waste any time walking away, my displeasure of being near him growing quickly.

"Jayde wait!" Carter calls after me as I walk through the gym doors. "Come on, wait!"

I turn around to look at him. "Don't!" I scream. "You broke up with me. You don't get a say in who's jersey I wear, who I date or even who I hang out with. You don't get to call me your girl. I'm not your girl. You made sure of that. What you did in there, was stupid!"

"He's not good enough for you," Carter says. His voice isn't loud anymore. He isn't yelling at me. And the look on his face isn't angry. He looks at me with a sympathetic look in his eyes. I want to take in his words the way I can tell he wants me to. To understand that he just wants what's best for me. Because I know that Carter has only ever wanted me to be happy and to have the best things in life. But as much as I want to believe his intentions were for the greater good somehow, at the moment, all I can see is red.

"You don't get to decide that," I tell him, as Harry flies out of the gym doors. "I'm not dating Niall—for the record. But even if I was, you don't have a say in it. You don't get to choose what's good for me and what isn't. It doesn't work that way!"

"Think again, Jayde," Carter yells back. "I know better than you do what's best for you, you just choose not to listen to me. It's the same damn thing with your parents, and you know I'm right."

My breath gets caught in my throat with the mention of my parents in front of Harry. He crossed a line that he knew he wasn't allowed to cross and now that his words are out, I can't do a thing about it. Harry has his eyebrows furrowed as he stares at us, confusion written on his face. "How dare you bring up my parents right now," I manage to get out. "Fuck you."

"Okay, let's go," Harry says, pulling on my arm, dragging me down the hall.

"He's not good enough for you either, Jayde," Carter yells in our direction. 

I only look back down the hall when I hear the gym door slam, pulling myself out of Harry's grip on my arm. My best friend—The one person in the world that I need, that I depend on for so much, just did something I never could have seen coming. I can't understand how wearing someone's jersey could have made things escalate so quickly. How Carter could overreact because of a piece of clothing and made such a scene over nothing and then mention my parents in front of someone the way he did. Although he didn't give anything away and he could have said much more than he did, he gave reason for Harry to question things about my family. And that's what makes me mad.

Harry pulls me into the wardrobe room, closing the door and locking it behind us as I lean against the wall and close my eyes, trying to catch my breath. I want to cry. I want to scream, knowing that somehow this pathetic argument will be the end of Carter and I for a while, unless he apologizes. The feeling I have at this exact moment feels much like the day we had the fight that ended us so long ago. Losing Carter was like losing a part of me. A lifeline. And I don't think I can hold myself together without him.

Harry closes in on me and wraps his arms around my body. Instinctively I wrap my arms around his neck, feeling him tighten his grip around me and pull me in closer to him. I can't remember the last time someone hugged me. I had forgotten what this feeling had felt like. For someone to wrap their arms around me at a time I felt like I was falling apart. And although I don't feel like his embrace is, by any means, putting me back together, his actions speak louder than words, and these actions, the way he just did exactly what I needed someone—him—to do, gives me hope that everything will be alright.

"You alright?" Harry asks, loosening his hold around me to look at me. I can feel tears wanting to escape. Not only because of what just happened with Carter, but because this embrace made me feel. It made me think it's okay to show vulnerability and allow myself to be honest with myself in front of someone. To show that I'm easily broken. I'm easily let down and need someone to bring me back to life.

But it hits me quickly and I wipe my eyes to make sure there are no tears as I step out of Harry's hold and walk to the other side of the room. "I'm good. Carter's just an idiot."

"Why was he calling you his girl?" Harry asks. I don't dare turn around to look at him. I don't have an answer to this. I don't have an answer to anything Carter has done.

"I don't want to talk about Carter," I tell him, picking up a handful of T-Bird jackets off the table to hang up. Even though I don't want to be in this room, and I don't want to finish doing everything I'm supposed to, I know it needs to get done. And more than anything, I know that I desperately need an escape. I need to forget what happened and I need to forget about Carter. 

When I turn around, Harry has already moved across the room to stand by me. "You don't need to talk about anything," he says, stepping closer to me. His eyes flick back and forth between mine, his curly hair slightly hanging over his face as he bites down on his bottom lip. "I just want to make sure you're alright."

"I'll be fine," I answer slowly, before closing the small space between us. My lips are on his faster than I can think, his hands run under the back of my thighs and he picks me up and carries me across the room to sit me down on a table. I know the door is locked. I know that we're safe behind these walls from the outside world and I don't care about anything other than losing myself in him right now. He tastes like mint and his cologne is strong now that we're so close, wrapped up in each other.

His hands meet either side of my face as I run my fingers over the skin on his stomach, all the while his lips don't leave mine and our tongues move quickly together. His want for me is powerful, making it easy for me to reach the high I need, instantly. The anger I felt towards Carter—all thoughts on Carter have dissipated and I'm happily lost in all things Harry. His touch, his taste and his scent taking over.

I greedily undo the button on his black jeans and pull them down, taking his dick in my hand and pumping slowly feeling it grow within my touch. He lets out a low groan, making our lips part. He presses his lips to my neck, swirling his tongue around a few times before nibbling on my ear. 

"I want you," he whispers. He pushes me back against the mirror, unbuttoning my jean shorts and pulls them off in one swift motion, along with my underwear. I sit back up at the edge of the table desperately wanting him to touch me. He kisses me with force, running his hands through my hair before gliding his fingers down my arms.

Without warning, his finger slides into me, his eyes look seductively into mine as I suck in a deep breath, feeling his finger curl inside of me before he slides it out and circles it around my clit with just the right pressure. I wrap my arms around his neck, bringing him closer to me. 

He bends down to reach into the back pocket of his jeans, pulling out his wallet and placing his phone on the table beside me. He looks at me as he pulls a condom out. "Do we have to use this?" he asks, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes."

I know he wants to fight me on my words as he opens it and sighs. But I'm thankful he doesn't say a word and listens to me, regardless of how much I know he wants to do it without one. I've never done it without a condom before. I'm not about to start that in the wardrobe room. Plus, we haven't even discussed things yet, and I'm not about to allow myself to get some dirty disease because he's done it without protection with all the other girls.

He pulls my tank top over my head and focuses his attention on the mirror behind me, making me turn around to look at us in the reflection. "What?" I ask, confused as to why he isn't fucking me yet.

"Can I take a picture?" he asks. We look at each other through the mirror and I furrow my eyebrows at his request. "You look so sexy like this." He doesn't wait for me to answer, picking up his phone and pointing it at the mirror.

"Just don't get my ass crack in the picture," I tell him. His eyes shut tight as he breathes out a silent laugh. He turns his phone sideways and all I can do is hope that my bum isn't going to be photographed and that somehow this won't come back and haunt me later.

With his other hand, he moves his dick to my center as I squirm right to the edge of the table for him to enter me with ease. Our faces turn to look at each other and as he slowly slides himself into me, I hear him snap the picture of us in the mirror.

He doesn't move as he decides he wants to look at the picture before going any further. I roll my eyes, just wanting for him to continue now that I feel him inside of me. "Holy shit, that's hot."

I look to see how it turned out, making sure my bum isn't showing and to my surprise, he was right. It turned out to be pretty decent. His hand is pressed against my back, our eyes are closed and our mouths are open, almost kissing. How good it feels for him to stick his dick in me is very apparent on our faces but it's not obvious we're having sex, which makes this picture okay for him to keep.

He stares at the picture for a lot longer than he should. "Harry," I say, as I take the phone away from him and place it beside me. "You have the real deal right here. You can jerk off to that later."

"Right, sorry," he says, his attention reverting back to me. "I just can't believe you let me take that. That will forever be my favorite picture. Ever."

"Okay, well it's time to focus."

He presses his lips to mine with force as he starts to move his hips into mine. My hands make their way into his hair and he lets out a low groan. I quite like the way this feels, sitting on the edge of the table, how easily it is for him to hit the right spot, moving his hips faster and harder into me. I pull his shirt up over his head, wanting to feel his skin against me. To run my hands down his back as he digs his fingers into mine.

This high, this feeling I get from his touch is euphoric, probably the closest I'll ever get to heaven. Despite the bright lighting in here, I'm with the stars. Lost in the darkness of the universe, listening to his heavy breaths with his lips on mine.

He removes himself from me, pulling me down off the table and turns me around to bend me over the vanity. "Might as well make use of this mirror," he breathes out as he doesn't waste time sliding his dick into me again from behind. Watching him fuck me this way in the mirror turns me on more. Seeing him bend down over me, his face scrunching up with his mouth slightly open, his eyes on me in our reflection.

His hand moves between my legs, pressing his fingers to my clit and circling. The quick movements of his hips and his fingers playing, I know it won't be long until I'm done for. He leans down farther to kiss the side of my neck, our eyes not leaving the mirror before us. 

"Come for me, sweet girl," he whispers between breaths into my ear. His fingers squeeze my hip tight, as he thrusts himself deep into me. It takes everything in me not to scream as I bite down on the inside of my lip. It feels so good. It feels so good to be lost in him, to forget the world around me, to not have a care in the world that everything around me has fallen apart, because right now, all I need is him. All I need is this high, because it's the only time I feel whole, like I'm not broken in the slightest.

My legs start to shake under me, not allowing for my eyes to leave Harry's reflection as his fingers circle faster against my clit and his thrusts get harder. "That's it, sweet girl. Let go for me."

I grab onto the edge of the table, needing something to hold onto as I feel myself tighten around him. The stars are so close now, they're spinning as I reach my high. He removes his hand from me to grab onto my hips, digging his fingers into me, thrusting his hips faster as he leans up. I watch as his body moves, his eyes not leaving mine in the reflection. His chest has a polish of sweat on it, making it glisten and I can tell he's about to come by the look on his face.

He grunts lowly with every move he makes, mouth hanging open before he digs his fingers into me deeper and pulling my body to his closer. He leans down on my back, both of us breathing heavy. "Holy shit, that was great," he breathes out.

We don't move for a few moments, catching our breaths. But when he pulls out of me and stands up, I follow suit. The world around me crashing instantly. The escape ending faster than I want it to. The stars floating away at a more rapid pace than ever before and I'm left with reality, struck like lightening bolts.

As I pull my shorts up, I watch as he throws the condom in the garbage can, making a mental note to take the garbage out before I leave tonight. "What happened today, can't happen again," I tell him.

"Oh, I think more quickies at school definitely need to happen again," he says, turning around, giving me a devious smile as he closes the button on his jeans and pulls the zipper up.

"Not the sex," I say, shaking my head. "I mean us noticeably hanging out. We can't be seen together. You can't just agree to go with me somewhere or come and get me. People talk shit too much around here."

His smile fades from his face as he stares back at me. The tone in my voice suggesting that the anger I was feeling before our quickie is back, and although I feel bad for sounding this way, he has to know that I'm serious about all of it. We can't be a secret if he does things like that, and the last thing I would ever want is for someone to know that something—anything—is going on between us.

"Okay, fine," he finally says. "I'll stay away."

A/N: Thank you so much for 6.8K Reads! I apologize for how long the chapters are taking me. Work is getting in the way of writing these days. I hope that you're still with me (I know I keep saying that, but I really do hope that you're still loving this book and will continue to be patient with me!)

Thoughts?

Sorry for no blog post in this one! I'll make it up to you in the next one! ;)

Much love,
amberlove
xo