Chapter 28 ― Louis 

Havi was the most amazing girl on the planet and I just adored every single moment we spent together. Even if we were working, everything seemed better when she was around. I hadn’t been that happy since the beginning of One Direction, when everything was easy and fun. Before things got so complicated and went a bit out of hand. Well, maybe more than a bit. But now everything seemed perfect to me. Everything felt like it was supposed to be and it was great to let myself feel again, to do what I wanted. For a moment I forgot many things, but mostly I forgot that I deserved to be happy, too and I couldn’t let people that didn’t even know me get what they wanted. I wasn’t going to be miserable so they could have their twisted fantasies.

Harry and I were best mates. No one could ever change that. I loved Havi. It was as simple as that. If the fans couldn’t understand that, it was their problem. This time, I wasn’t going to let them to get me. I was going to be like Havi. I was going to be stronger than I ever was for her so we could go through everything together.

“Where is Harry?” I asked when we had been more than an hour listening to the recordings from the calls. I already had my favourite for that week but we still had to listen to all of them. Mine was from a girl who claimed that she loved us as we were, that she didn’t want to change us, that she respected our decisions in everything and that she wanted us to be happy, with whatever and whoever we wanted. That girl was, definitely, my favourite one.

“He went to the cafeteria when I told him I was hungry,” Niall replied and Joy burst out laughing, though I didn’t find it funny.

“Why are you laughing?” Liam asked the blonde girl.

“Niall thinks Harry went to the cafeteria for him. Naive! He only wanted an excuse to go and talk to Maca. He must be there using all his charms to chat her up. Poor girl,” Joy replied and Havi joined her in her fit of laughter.

“I think Maca also fancies him, but what keeps her from saying yes is the fact he’s Harry Styles, you know?” My girlfriend commented.

“Maybe we should go and see if she hasn’t thrown anything at him yet,” Zayn suggested with a goofy expression. I could bet he wanted to find Harry in an embarrassing situation. “We can continue with this later.”

“Let’s do it!” Niall agreed immediately, practically jumping off the chair. I imagined he wanted to go not only for Harry but also for the food. Double motivation for the Irish boy.

The girls agreed and soon we were walking down the hall heading to the cafeteria expecting to find an interesting scene. Havi and I were walking a bit behind, her little and feminine hand in mine as we saw Zayn and Niall practically dancing instead of walking. Those two had eaten too much chocolate during the day and now were in a sugar rush.

Before we could get to the cafeteria, a door opened and a guy walked out. He was older than us, late twenties, probably, a bit taller than me, wide shoulders and a goofy smile. He waved at Joy before his eyes set on Havi and he lost his smile when he saw me.

“Havi,” he said plainly and I felt my girlfriend tensing next to me. “Is this the famous Louis Tomlinson?” He asked and I furrowed my eyebrows. Why was he asking about me?

“Yes. Kevin, this is Louis, Louis this is Kevin. He’s the host of the morning show,” Havi introduced and we shook hands, but I could see in his eyes that he didn’t approve of me.

“So this is the lad for whom you had to go through all that shit in the morning, right?” He commented confusing me and making Havi nervous. I could feel it.

“What?” I questioned and I knew Havi just wanted to drop it, but I needed to understand better. I had my suspicions; I just needed to be sure.

“Oh, you don’t know what are you making your girlfriend go through?” His voice was filled with sarcasm and I didn’t like him. Not a bit. He wasn’t even worthy of the name Kevin. “Well, let me enlighten you. Your lovely fans come to the station each morning making a scandal. I had to save Havi the other day from get mobbed. They even threw a water bottle at her! Did you know that?” And now he sounded angry.

I looked at Havi, waiting for a confirmation and all I could see in her hazel eyes were guilt and concern.

It was true. Fans had actually come to attack her, to show their hatred, all because she was with me.

“Havi, why didn’t you tell me about this when it happened?” I asked ignoring Kevin. I hated the guy for telling me this, yet at the same time I was grateful because he helped her.

“Because it doesn’t matter. I knew this was going to happen and it will fade away, eventually. Everything will be fine. I didn’t want you to feel guilty for something that is not your fault, you know,” she said and her eyes begged me to understand her.

“If you ask me, it is his fault,” Kevin intervened and Havi just turned around to stare daggers at him.

“No one asked you,” she snapped at him, which made him step back. “Please, leave us alone. You’ve done enough here, Kevin,” Havi added a bit calmer and I could see that Kevin didn’t want to leave, but he just shook his head and walked away, leaving us alone in the hall. “Lou, really, it’s okay. I don’t want you to worry–”

“I’m worried. I care about you too much, of course I’m gonna worry about whatever happens to you. You should’ve told me, Havi. We are in this together,” I told her. I knew she was strong and she was prepared for whatever came, but that didn’t mean I was going to leave her alone to face all the hard part. I was going to be with her.

“I’m sorry, I just… I knew you were going to get mad and I was scared that maybe you were going to decide it was better for us to be apart and… I don’t want that.”

I smiled at her as I took her lovely face in my hands, my eyes boring into her very soul. “Even if that would be the solution for all this, I can’t. I’m selfish and I want you too much to give you up,” I told her and I saw the emotions taking over her expression.

“Don’t ever dare to give up on us, okay?” She asked me in a whisper and I just leaned in a kissed her softly.

“Never,” I promised and she smiled, that gorgeous smile of hers. “Now you promise me that if something like this happens again, you’re gonna tell me. Okay?”

“Okay, I’ll tell you. But you don’t go crazy on your fans. They are just immature little girls, they will learn, eventually. Don’t give in their baiting, deal?”

“Deal,” I agreed loving her even more for caring about me and my relationship with the fans.

If I ever felt like I was about to cross my limits, I just had to think of her and remember that she didn’t want me to fight with my fans because of her. I had to keep in mind that all those harsh comments came from ignorance and instead of being mad at them, I had to pity them.

“Now, let’s go with the rest,” she suggested and I nodded.

I took her hand and we resumed our walk to the cafeteria. “If there’re fans again and they are causing trouble, we can talk to management to send some security.”

“Thanks for the offer, but I think we already learnt how to deal with them. And I believe they’ll get tired of coming. Plus, it’s getting colder every day so soon they won’t be able to stay there,” she replied with a little laugh at the end.

I remembered the moment I met her, when I thought of her as this shy, insecure and fragile girl who could never handle what it came to be with me; but I was wrong. Havi was stronger than I ever imagined, she knew what she wanted and stood up for what she believed it was right. She had a strong temper and her patience was limited, yet she was very reasonable. She was consequent with her decisions. She was thoughtful, she was clever– she was the perfect girl for me. The fact that she could still see the funny side of that horrid situation she had to go through said already a lot of her.

I was so proud of her, and so in love with her. I couldn’t even believe it.

“If they still decide to stay there during winter, they can have fun making snowmen. What do you think?” She commented and I stopped for a second to kiss her forehead for a bit.

“You’ll have a lovely decoration this winter,” I told her and she giggled before standing on her tiptoes to peck my lips.

“Can you imagine the whole mess they will make with the carrots? Oh, suddenly I want to see the moment they start saying how much they love carrots. I will laugh at them so hard!” And she was already laughing but I felt my cheeks burning. It was really awkward that she actually knew the real meaning behind that comment.

We finally walked into the kitchen and saw a quite peculiar scene in front of our eyes.

There were two chairs pulled aside from the table, on one there was Mr Styles, on the other there was Maca and they were looking at each other. Joy was in the middle and around a table there were the rest of the lads with serious expressions, though it seemed like Zayn and Niall were about to explode any moment. It almost seemed like a trial. With Havi we stepped closer to know what was happening.

“Now that Mr Styles has said all the arguments for you to accede to go on a date with him, let one of our jury members to tell why you shouldn’t,” Joy spoke in a solemn voice and I heard Havi fighting the giggles.

“He has the bad habit of getting naked. Anywhere, without previous warning,” Liam started.

“He goes clubbing a lot,” Zayn added trying to keep the serious façade.

“He’ll bore you to death with his stories,” Niall concluded whilst he fought to open a bag of crisps.

“And don’t forget the fact that he has many other girls and boys claiming that he’s their boyfriend/husband. So you’re stepping into a polygamous relationship here,” Joy said patting Maca’s shoulder, who was laughing whilst Harry seemed horrified.

“Oi! I’m not that bad of a catch,” he protested with his eyes wide open.

“Yes, you are,” we all said at the same time and Maca burst out laughing.

“And I thought you loved me! I feel betrayed now,” the curly-haired boy complained and Joy, the closest to him in that moment, didn’t even try to offer him some comfort.

“Well, now that it’s obvious you shouldn’t agree on going out with him, what do you say, Maca?” The blonde asked and everyone paid attention like we were in the climax of the movie. With Havi we got there in the best moment.

Maca looked at everyone, still fighting her laughter and when her eyes met Harry’s, her smile changed into a cuter one. It was almost like she pitied him for all the bullying we were giving him. Maybe she had friends like us, as well.

“I think it’s worth a try,” she said and Harry jumped off his chair, bumping the air as he exclaimed a loud yes. Maca laughed again and Joy seemed disappointed.

“I tried to warn you, love. Don’t say I didn’t tell you later, but it’s your choice.” Joy really seemed like she thought dating Harry was the worst thing in the world, but I knew better, she was just teasing the curly-haired boy.

“You’re not gonna regret this, Maca,” Harry told her stepping closer and winking at her.

I, still next to Havi, laughed at the situation. It was always fun coming to the station. George had made the best decision when he agreed to let us do the interview for Joy’s show.

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Dedication goes to @saarahlovee because it's her birthday. Have a nice day, love!

Bel, xx