#but noooo i guess playing a few games during dinner for two hours means. no more emotions other than =.=

[autism-corner]

wife. you kno w the deal.

[wonderland-in-bloom]

vice dorm leaders taking care of their cold s/o

a♕-chan asked: headcanons w/ the vice dorm leaders and an s/o who’s currently cold on a rainy day and how they would take care of their s/o and overall how they would spend a rainy day together

i love the vice dorm leaders <3 uwu they deserve more love ;w; also i’m including ortho in this one (ik he doesn’t count as a vice dorm leader but like idk and yes it is platonic!!) 

headcanons under the cut :))

trey clover

you sat at a table by the window, gazing at the never-ending rain 

although you already wore a jacket, you were still feeling quite cold, causing you to rub both your hands together

“cold huh?” you looked up to see trey with a tray (hah i waited a long time to make that joke) in his hands

the tray had two plates, each with a slice of cake and a teapot along with two cups

he placed one plate and one cup in front of you and took a seat in front of you

“you made (insert cake flavor)! my favorite.” “of course. what kind of boyfriend would i be to not make my sweet their favorite?” 

he delicately poured a generous amount of hot tea in your teacup and did a little ‘cheers’ with you 

the warm cake fresh out of the oven and the hot cup of tea instantly made you feel all around warmer

what made you even warmer is your boyfriend, sitting in front of you and admiring you like you were a piece of art

the smile plastered over his face and the way he laughed when the both of you talked made you feel all warm and cozy on the inside 

when the two of you were done (talking for more than three hours), you helped him with the dishes

he may or may not have purposely added soap bubbles to the sink so you two were able to play around with the soap and the bubbles

luckily the water was warm so when the both of your clothes got a little drenched, it was okay :))

what was not okay was the fact that riddle almost screamed the living daylights out of you but trey was able to calm him down 

the perks of being the dorm leader’s significant other, i guess :33

ruggie bucchi

you sat on your bed, burying your head in a pillow as you hated the rain

you wanted to go outside and run around and have a fun time outside in the hot sun bUT NOPE, the weather had to come RAIN on your parade

you were in a t-shirt and shorts, the cold slowly starting to creep on you and latch itself onto you

you felt your door creak open and a sound of footsteps, followed by a loud ‘thud’ on the ground

you soon felt your big, soft blanket being draped over your head and was tackled by someone from behind

“CAUGHT YA!” that person yelled before wrapping their arms around your waist

“oi (y/n), you’re gonna get a cold if you don’t warm up ya know.” you popped your head out from the blanket to be face to face with your boyfriend, ruggie

you wailed and proceeded to throw yourself onto him, causing him to fall back, laying down on your bed

he felt his face flush and heat up by the minute as he struggled to get away from you

“HEY! (Y/N)! LET GO OF ME!” “no. you’re my oversized teddy bear. teddy...hyena...”

he couldn’t resist the innocent, adorable face engulfed in the blanket and so proceeded to gently poke your nose, this time causing you to blush

“shishishishi, your face looks red. you warm enough yet?” “no...that’s why hug me tighter...” OKAY NOW THE BOTH OF YOU WERE JUST BLUSHING MESSES

and so he did hug you tighter and you snuggled against his chest, both slowly drifting off to sleep and forgetting the cold atmosphere from the rain

jade leech

"hon, what’s the meaning of this?” you raised your eyebrows as jade seated you down in one of the chairs of the mostro lounge 

there in front of you was a vase filled with an array of your favorite flowers and a candlelight dinner-like set up

“my, my, (y/n). why would you wear something like this during a cold, rainy night?” jade commented on the outfit you wore. he told you to wear something a little bit fancy and not so casual, and you didn’t have any long-sleeved formal wear

“although you look stunning, my dear, you’re going to catch a cold.” 

jade proceeded to take off his own jacket and place it on your shoulders

“please wait a moment” he left to head to the kitchen and you just smiled at how much of a gentleman he was

he came back with two plates of food, ravioli 

“....mushroom ravioli? really?” you laughed. “both our favorites. so...cheers?”

he raised his fancy wine glass (FILLED WITH A SPARKLING DRINK NOT ALCOHOL DON’T WORRY) and so did you

that night you two indulged in plenty of warm food and sat near the candlelight, removing all the cold atmosphere away from the two of you

of course the lighthearted conversations filled with laughter and teasing made you feel warmer on the inside too

then he may or may not told azul and floyd to do the dishes as he continues to entertain you for the rest of the night :))

jamil viper

“J-JAMIL!?!?!?!?! WHAT IS ALL THIS?!” you ‘sort of’ screamed

in front of you was a pearly white bathtub made out of pure while marble, decorated with candles on the side of it and plenty of jasmine petals floating on the surface of the water as well as soap bubbles

“strip.” he commanded

you took your slipper off and aimed it right at his face as you threw it with all your might “YOU PERV!” he caught the slipper of course

he laughed at your reaction and your face which was all the colors of red possible 

“there, there, (y/n). i’m just kidding.” he patted your head. “i’ll wait outside.” he handed you a dark red bath robe made out of silk 

you made sure to change into it and hesitantly made it to the door

“...u..uhmm...jamil....wouldyoumindgettingintothebathwithme?!” 

he was, well, shocked. he didn’t know you had that much confidence to invtie him into the bath with you 

“if that’s what you wish” he smirked “BUT NO PEEPING YOU PERV!” “relax, i’ll cast a spell that’ll make the rest of our body submerged in water invisible”

you both got in and sat at the opposite ends, good thing the bath tub was HUGEEEE  

you two spend the first few minutes just soaking in the hot water, letting your tense muscles relax and just inhale the relaxing, earthy aroma

but then you started talking with him about your day, how the rain almost destroyed all your textbooks, and that’s when the both of you talked about almost anything and everything

you two spent too long in there until your fingers and skin were all wrinkly

however you were a little sad when it was over

“let’s take a bath together again next time. shall we?” “hoo, i didn’t know you were so desperate, (y/n).” “EESH, SHUT UP PERV!” 

rook hunt

MATCHING PJS AND JACKETS --> movie night 

“MY DARLING! I HAVE A PRESENT!” rook banged the door against the wall, causing you to jump, almost falling out of bed but you managed to hold onto the sheets

“rook! you scared me!” he patted your head as he muttered a ‘sorry’ and started to unwrap a box in front of you

“taadaa!” inside were two pajamas made out of a very soft material guaranteed to keep you warm. one was dark purple while the other one was a lighter purple. 

“matching pajamas?” “MATCHING PAJAMAS!” you giggled at your boyfriend’s always cheerful and quirky behavior, then planting a kiss on his cheeks 

“well, go get changed! i have something special planned!” 

and so he left you and you did change. those were the best set of pajamas you have ever worn in your whole entire life. 

“(y/n), darling!!! head over to my room!” you followed his order and was met with a ton of pillows set on his bed and a movie starting to play on the screen

“well hurry up, we wouldn’t want to miss it.” you didn’t hesitate to literally dive into the bed and cuddled up close against him

he placed one arm on your waist as you rested your head on his chest while the movie played

it was a touching, sad movie, perfect with the rain gently tapping on the windows of his room

near the end, the both of you just gave up and managed to doze off 

the next morning you were greeted by the sunshine through the window, birds chirping, a smile plastered on both your faces, and....a very pissed off vil (because you left the movie running all night and his room was right beside yours so he couldn’t sleep lol)

ortho shroud

your boyfriend, idia, was cooped up in his room as usual, no matter during a hot sunny day, or a cold rainy evening, he was stuck in there playing games

you wanted to drag him outside to the ignihyde lounge but ortho stopped you before you were able to

“big bro/sis (y/n), why not we build a fort to set the mood?!” 

you agreed with ortho’s plan and started assembling your makeshift fort

you used the pillows and seating from the couches and also blankets and pillows from the different rooms in ignihyde

you and ortho managed to finish in less than an hour and turns out the fort was bigger than you thought

you illuminated it with some candles to keep you both warm and stuffed some more blankets and pillows inside

you then ran to idia’s room and quickly stole his gaming console and ran to your fort, causing him to scream

“(Y/N)!!! GIVE THAT BACK!” he screamed in anger/sadness (because honestly he looked like he was going to cry) 

however he paused when he saw the comfortable fort and his gaming console already set up

“onii-chan! let’s play!” you smiled along with ortho and idia agreed

you teamed up with ortho and tried to beat idia in whatever game you were playing

idia tend to curse a lot while playing those games and therefore you slapped his cheek everytime you did while trying your best to make sure ortho doesn’t hear his curses

each time you and ortho won, you would hug each other and give each other a high five

it was a cute and fun family bonding time

by the end of your tiring and enthusiastic gaming time, the two boys snuggled up close to you and you wrapped your arms around them “my two favorite boys”

a cute little happy family ;w;

lilia vanrouge

you ignited the fireplace in the diasomnia lounge to keep yourself warm from the stinging cold air due to the rain

lilia noticed this and jumped on your back 

“haaah how warm” “the fireplace?” “noooo, you.”

you giggled and sat on one of the couches beside lilia

you leaned your head against his shoulder, feeling the warm instantly becoming warmer 

lilia, with the help of his bats, wrapped a blanket around the both of you

you closed your eyes with a smile on your face, enjoying the moment for a while 

“you know what’s perfect on rainy days, my beloved?” “what is it?” “it’s the perfect time to tell you some stories.”

your eyes seemed to sparkle as in lilia’s eyes you looked like an excited puppy

“yes please! tell me some of your stories!” you cheered

he was only able to chuckle “alright then, get comfortable”

you rested your head on his lap and managed to lay down

he started his story with his past experiences, then he told you stories of malleus as a baby and how he wasn’t able to properly put his clothes on, then how he used to take care of silver

“but, my beloved, would you want to know my favorite story?” you nodded enthusiastically, causing him to chuckle at your cuteness

“well...it’s the story of how i met you. and the story of our love.”

this caused you to hide your face in your hands due to embarrassment and you almost fell off the couch

“lilia! don’t say that!” “but it’s true.” “okay! save it for another time!”

he planted a kiss on your hands which were hiding your face then allowed you to stay in that position for longer

meanwhile malleus, silver, and sebek were just listening and peeping from a corner

“why is this so weird?” “it’s so weird looking at the old man doing this” “we shouldn’t be doing this” “haha silver you were a pathetic baby” “not as pathetic as you” “wHAT DID YOU--” and well the three of them basically ruined your intimate moment with lilia 

♡

anyone else super pumped for june? the events are gonna END ME and my gems lol ;w; i’m also making a kofi account soon, i thought that was just worth sharing lolol i might open three to five slots for writing commissions but i’m still unsure :))

love, a♕

[stylesgalaxy]

mastermind; chapter 14

Early update again lol! I'm just so exciteddddd! Anyway, enjoy this suuuuper long chapter lovely people!!! :)

***

The next day after our art history class (where we aced our quiz), Harry asks me a question that shakes me.

We were in the café like usual and there was a lull in the conversation as I finish my soup. Harry leans forward and bites his lip nervously.

"Aria," he says. I hum back in response. "You know my biggest secret, right?"

I pause and look up at him. I wasn't sure if he had a bigger secret but since he said this, I guess not.

"Your family? You don't talk about them much to other people."

"No. Not that. You're right, I don't, but Julia knows about my family. And Julia doesn't know... my biggest secret."

I frown. What was he—

"Oh," I say softly. "Is it, um, the thing you told me... about sometimes feeling like Julia isn't the one for you?"

Harry looks at me expressionless then nods. Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, I wonder why Harry would bring this up.

"So," he says suddenly, snapping out of his daze and leaning forward on his arms with a shit eating grin. "You know my biggest secret, what's your biggest secret?"

And that was what startled me. Just imagine the irony: the person who is the reason for my biggest secret, asking me what my biggest secret was.

I shake my head at him.

"Come on, Aria, please!" he begs.

"I can't," I say, feeling even more uncomfortable.

"Why?"

"I... I don't think you'd still want to be friends with me if you knew my biggest secret," I tell him honestly. That makes him even more curious but he can tell how much I don't like this conversation so he drops it.

"Okay."

I don't know why but this simple interaction bothered me. Harry was one of my closest friends and if Julia wasn't my best friend, he'd have the title. Over the past few months we'd gotten so close and we understand each other really well. If it wasn't him I was in love with, I would have trusted him completely by telling him my secret.

But I can't do anything that could compromise my friendship with him or Julia, and possibly their relationship.

"Aria?" Harry snaps me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"We have to go now, you're class starts soon," Harry says, packing his things up. Reluctantly, I pack up too. I really don't like my next class so I drag my feet the entire way there and whine.

"I think I'm just gonna go home," I tell Harry when we get to campus.

"What? No, you have class, let's go," he demands.

"Noooo, I don't want to. It's so boring and I could just go home and relax instead."

"Aria," Harry pins me with a serious look. "You're paying for an education, get the most out of it." I groan and rolls my eyes and start to complain again when he wraps a hand around my arm and pulls me with him. "Come on, I'll go with you."

"What?" I ask in confusion.

"I'll go with you to your class, that way you won't be bored 'cause I'm there, and you'll at least get your attendance marks."

I can't complain much with that so I follow Harry. He walks into the class with me and we sit at my usual spot. I pull out my laptop to get ready for note taking, while Harry takes his out to sort through his notes for his other classes and get organized. Both of us are type away silently next to each other while the professor talks, until I get distracted by the two girls sitting in the row in front of us, several seats down. They whisper amongst each other then one looks back to peek at Harry and then they look at each other and giggle.

I try not to pay them too much attention because 1. I already know Harry is taken, and 2. it's not by me. But my focus keeps shifting back to them.

"It's Louis the fifteenth," Harry mutters to me.

"Huh?" I glance at him.

He peeks over at my laptop screen and goes, "Louis the fifteenth, not sixteenth. Louis the sixteenth is a whole other mess in French history, don't think you're there just yet."

I correct the error in my notes and focus back on the lecture until I get bored again. When the professor starts showing us paintings from that time period, I open a new tab on my browser and search up a Sudoku game. A minute later, Harry snorts.

"You're hopeless," he chuckles lightly, shaking his head.

"It's educational, I'm learning something," I argue quietly. He shrugs a shoulder with a smirk.

When I start struggling in the game, he begins offering his help. We try to stay as quiet as possible to not draw attention to ourselves as he points to squares on my screen and tells me what numbers to put in. Unfortunately, we're not sneaky enough.

"You two in the back," the prof calls out. "What's all the talking about? Do you have an opinion you'd like to share with us?"

Harry and I stare at him blankly.

"Sorry, sir," I say quickly. "I was just trying to access the slides online but my Wi-Fi disconnected. My friend was just helping me get back—"

"Alright, alright, just pay attention," the old man who understands nothing about technology says. A guy behind us snorts because he can see we're clearly playing Sudoku and Harry and I bite our lips to not laugh.

The class ends soon and I leave happier than I was coming in. Harry and I head back to my place when we pass by a frozen yogurt shop.

"Hey, you want some frozen yogurt? I just remembered I have a gift card," I tell Harry. He agrees and we wait in the long line, chatting the whole time. We walk back to my house slowly because we knew as soon as we're inside we have to do work neither of us wanted that.

I unlock the apartment door and stumble in laughing at a story Harry was telling. We're taking our jackets off just as the door opens again and Julia walks in.

"Harry?" she asks.

"Hey, babe," Harry says to her, still smiling. Julia glances between us with a frown on her face, her frown only deepening when she notices the frozen yogurt cups in our hands. Harry leans in to hug her, but she stops him.

"Where were you?"

"I was with Aria," he explains. "Why, we didn't make any plans—right?"

"No, but my class ended a few hours ago and yours ends at noon today. I wanted to hang out but I couldn't find you anywhere!" she huffs, but doesn't raise her voice.

My gut wrenches and guilt washes over me.

"Oh, love, I'm so sorry. We don't usually hang out on Wednesdays... I went to the café with Aria like we always do, I would have invited you if—"

"Wait—what café? You guys go to a café together after your class?"

"Yeah! It's the really nice one called 'The Red Spoon', they have amazing food but the portions come huge so Aria and I go together so we can split it because there's so much we want to try..." Harry happily rambles on while I watch murder grow in Julia's eyes.

Fuck.

"Okay, but still," Julia interrupts him. "Where were you when she went to class? Because I checked the library and your usual study space and your house and you weren't there! Her class is at three and it's nearly five."

"I went to her lecture with her... She didn't want to go so I forced her to," Harry says sheepishly. "If—"

"And then you guys went and got frozen yogurt," Julia concludes.

"Jules, I'm sorry, I wouldn't have kept you waiting if I knew—"

"I texted you. Multiple times,' she deadpans. Harry frowns in confusion before pulling his phone out and sighing.

"Fuck, I'm so sorry. I didn't even check my phone," he rubs his face and looks at her apologetically.

"It's fine," Julia sighs, before glancing at me accusingly. Her glare makes my blood freeze and I gulp.

"Let's go now, you're fine with that right?' Harry offers. I whip to look at him, knowing he has a lot of work he wanted to get done based on everything he was organizing for himself during my class.

"Okay," Julia concedes. Harry grins and presses a kiss to her lips.

"Let me just use the restroom, really quickly, then we'll go," he says. She nods as he turns to head to the bathroom without glancing at me.

Once we hear the door close and lock click, Julia sets her gaze on me.

"When were you going to tell me you're hanging out with my boyfriend?" she hisses.

"W-what do you mean?" I stutter. "Harry and I hang out... you know that."

"I wasn't aware you two went on lunch dates together every week. I mean just yesterday I found out you have a class together and today I find out you spend time together and share meals. Not only that but he accompanies you to your classes as well. It's like you're glued to him!"

"Julia, no—" my throat closes up and fear washes over me. "It's not like that!"

"It is like that!" Julia hisses back. "I understood you and Harry hanging out more a few months ago, in fact I encouraged it! I thought this would be good for all three of us if you two got along but now you're just hogging him!"

"I'm not hogging! He came with me to my class, and I-I didn't—"

"I'm not sure I appreciate this friendship you two have together," she whispers firmly.

"What are you saying?" I ask in fear. Before she can respond, the door opens again and Harry steps out. Julia straightens up and I turn my back to them so Harry can't see my face.

"Ready?" Harry says to Julia. She grins and nods. "Okay, let's go."

They said their goodbyes to me and I lock the door behind them, resting my hand on the wall and dropping my head over it.

I'm fucked.

I did some work while anxiously waiting for Julia to return home. When she did, she silently opened the door. I glance up from the chair in the living room to see her hook her keys and wordlessly take her shoes and jacket off.

"Hey..." I say nervously. She straightens up.

"Hey."

"So what did you guys do?"

"Nothing. Just went for a movie and then got some dinner... Sucked his dick in the car."

My stomach coils but I don't let anything show on my face because I know she's watching me closely.

"Oh..." I'm unsure of how to respond. "Nice..."

"Why are you hanging around Harry all the time?" she asks bluntly.

"What—" I choke up again.

"Don't think I haven't noticed. I may seem dumb sometimes but I'm not stupid Aria. I see how well you two get along and I see the inside jokes you share between yourselves. Why are you doing this?"

"Julia, I don't understand what you're—"

"Is it because you want a boyfriend? You want one so bad that you won't bother finding your own, you just try to steal mine?"

"Okay, what?" I yell, standing up. "Where the fuck is this coming from?!"

"Shelley said—"

"Oh," I laugh. "Shelley said this? And you fucking believe her? You know she hates my guts, she'll say anything to turn you against me!"

"But it makes sense! You've never had a boyfriend before, you've never been any sort of relationship, so you try to take what's easy: my boyfriend," she quips condescendingly.

I stare at her, absolutely appalled. "I can't believe you."

"Why?"

"You... God, you're so fucking infuriating!" I scream. "I've never been in a relationship before? Ever wonder why that is?!" She blinks back at my sudden outburst. "Because I'm too busy working to keep yours together! I don't have time for myself! I just go to my classes, do my homework, work on your relationship, and go to work! While you get to spend daddy's money and then cuddle up to your boyfriend when you get tired from shopping!"

I feel bad as soon as the words leave my mouth, but I don't regret them.

"So that's how you really feel, huh?" she mutters.

"Yes. I mean, no! I don't care if you spend your dad's money, I don't care about anything you do! I just see it as unfair because sometimes I'm putting more work into your relationship than you are."

"So, what? You want Harry for half the time?"

What?

"What the fuck? You're getting this completely wrong!"

"Do you want to cuddle up to Harry?"

I can feel my face burning. From embarrassment or from how ashamed I am of how true her statement is. But I mask it as anger.

"You're not listening to me!" I scream. "He's your boyfriend! How is he going to feel when he finds out that all those things you do and say for him that he loves came from me!"

"Don't you fucking dare tell him."

I turn around and exhale loudly. I want to throw something so badly. How can she be a genius and be so fucking stupid?

"I'm done, I'm not doing this anymore," I mutter, gathering my work and walking back to my room. "Since I'm such a bitch who's apparently trying to steal your boyfriend, you go figure out how you'll handle your relationship yourself."

"Wait, Aria—"

"No, Julia. It's about time you understand how much work goes into keeping a relationship. Maybe when you do, you'll realize how stupid you just sounded."

---

Julia and I don't talk to each for the next few days, unless it's absolutely necessary. I won't talk to her until she apologizes to me, and she won't talk to me because she has too much pride to be the first to say anything.

Harry isn't around enough to notice. With his birthday coming up, he's in contact with his father a lot to prepare. Mr. Styles was working hard to fix his relationship with his son, and apparently turning twenty-one was a bigger deal to them then it is for most people. He insisted on throwing a lavish party in a huge mansion where he was going to invite some of his buddies he hadn't seen in a long time and give Harry plenty opportunities to make connections. After ten o'clock, him and his guests will leave and Harry's friends will arrive so we can have a real party amongst ourselves.

My gift for Harry was already prepared and packaged. Before our fight, I got Julia a mug with the Power Rangers name on it in respective colours, because Harry said he used to secretly love the Power Rangers when he was younger. But I didn't want to be petty and take it back to hide, even though I refused to help her with her relationship anymore.

She came back home on the day of the party from the mall with a few bags in her hand so I assume she added to his gift.

"What, um, what are you wearing?" she asks me, peeking into my room.

"I bought a dress yesterday."

"Oh, nice, can I see it?"

I glare at her and she sighs heavily, "I'm sorry Aria, okay? The things I said were awful and I feel terrible. I know you've done a lot for me and I shouldn't have yelled at you. Please forgive me."

I watch her pleading face closely before nodding and smiling softly. "I forgive you."

I don't bother telling her how I really felt—like what she accused me of was completely unfair because I was in love with Harry and that made it harder for me to watch their relationship blossom.

That's just something that would create unnecessary drama and I didn't need that right now. Besides, I wanted my best friend back.

A few hours later I was in my underwear with my hair perfectly styled and makeup applied. I scramble to find my heels then slip into them after putting my dress on. It was a black, floor length dress with a halter top.

I step out of the room at the same time Julia does in her elegant, deep red, off the shoulder dress. We exchange excited looks and grab our last minute things before meeting Liam downstairs. He offered to drive us there and back so we can drink as we please.

The house he drops us off in front of is huge. It's quite literally a mansion and I have no idea how much it would have cost Mr. Styles to rent it. Liam helps Julia out of the car while I get out on my own, looking around in awe. It's quite early in the evening, the sun just setting. Everyone around us is old. Most are old men with beautiful young women attached to their arms. I gawk at a few of the ladies wondering how it's possibly to look so hot and walk so gracefully.

Feeling utterly shy in this sea of the rich and elite, I follow Julia inside, not moving an inch away from her until one of her father's business partners and close family friend spots her. She smiles widely and scurries to talk to him and his kind-looking wife, while I'm left on my own.

I look around the hall I'm in. It literally looks straight out of a movie. Everyone is dressed extravagantly, there's servers in uniforms handing out Champaign flutes and some coming around with hors d'oeuvres. A string quartet plays mellow music in the background. I hold my clutch tightly in my hand and look around. Fuck, not only did Harry's family look rich but they looked powerful. With all the people here just for his birthday. I was positive Harry didn't know nor care about more than half of these people, so I assumed most were here because of Mr. Styles. And he probably encouraged a lot of people to come to make it an even bigger event for Harry.

I don't want to look stupid, so I start walking around aimlessly, hoping Julia finds me soon and tells me what the hell I'm supposed to do here until ten o'clock when the rest of my friends come. I say sorry, nearly bumping into an old couple. The lady alone looked like she was wearing my entire college tuition.

"Oh, sorry," I apologize again to another woman I bump into near the grand staircase. She had blonde hair and twinkling blue eyes.

"Don't worry, hun, are you a friend of Harry's?" she asks with an Australian accent, smiling at me. Surprised that one of these people actually want to talk to me, I gape at her.

"Uh, yeah, you know him?" I stammer before slapping a palm to my forehead. Of course she knows Harry, this is his birthday party.

The woman laughs.

"Yeah, I'm actually engaged to marry his father. My name is Elizabeth," she stretches her hand out.

"Oh! I know you! He's told me about you," I say shaking her hand. Her eyebrow dips in confusion.

"He did? Oh and sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"Oh I'm so sorry," I flush realizing I completely forgot my manners. "My name is Aria."

Her face lights up. "Aria, huh? I know you, too! Harry's told us quite a lot about you."

"Really?" I ask in shock. Before I can ask her exactly what Harry said about me, a man walks up behind Elizabeth and puts a hand on her waist.

"Hello, love," he says to her, kissing her temple. His facial structure and those unmistakable green eyes give away his identity immediately. This was Harry's father. I start sweating and wondering why I was meeting Harry's family without Harry himself around.

"You'll never guess who I just met," Elizabeth says to Mr. Styles, her laugh sounding like a song. Mr. Styles pins me under his gaze, as if trying to figure out who I am. "This is Harry's friend, Aria."

His eyebrows shoot up.

"Aria, the artist?" he asks me, joyfully. I blink and gulp.

"Um, yes, sir, that would be me," I croak. I stick my hand out, not sure if I'm meant to shake his hand. He does, and laughs.

"About time we meet. Harry's been going on about you non-stop."

The fact that Harry speaks to his father and Elizabeth so much more than I thought almost surprises me as much as him talking about me.

"Has he, now?" I say tightly, still smiling.

"Oh, don't worry, it's all good things. Says you got him interested in art and art history," Mr. Styles shares.

"Right, yes. We do have our art history lecture together," I tell him.

"Are you keeping him in line, is he being a good student?" he inquires with his eyes narrowed. His face looks serious but his stance shows that he's joking about being strict.

"Believe it or not, it's actually him that's preventing me from slacking," I chuckle. They laugh and I start to feel at ease.

Elizabeth and Mr. Styles are a very easy-going and relaxed couple. I'm enjoying talking to them and listening to their anecdotes, when hisses and grumbling sound from above me. I tilt my head and look up to see Harry walking down the stairs, slapping away a pair of touchy hands that belong to a beautiful brunette.

"You look ridiculous, Harry! Button it up," she hisses at him.

"Leave me alone, Gem, it's my birthday I can do whatever I want," he retorts angrily before turning his head and meeting my gaze. His eyes widen and sweep me up and down before flicking behind me to his father and Elizabeth. He gulps and then smiles widely, jogging down quickly.

I struggle to regulate my breathing as he pins me with a stare. He's in a simple black suit and black dress shirt that's unbuttoned halfway like usual. His hair is swept back elegantly, with a few curls hanging down.

"Aria," he greets, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me forward to kiss my temple. "Thanks for coming," he grins and I feel lightheaded from how amazing his cologne smells. I'm shaken at how affectionate and touchy he's being. His hand lingers a touch longer than appropriate on my waist before he slides it away.

"Oh, um, no problem. Happy birthday," I tell him. He smirks.

"Thanks, you look absolutely beautiful," he boasts. My face burns, actually my entire body feels hot as I'm aware of Harry, his father, Elizabeth and his sister watching me get flustered with small smiles on their faces.

"You look good, too," I squeak. This makes them all laugh and I feel even more embarrassed. Harry chuckles and wraps his arm around my shoulder, rubbing it comfortingly. For a few seconds I can pretend like we're together and this is me formally meeting his family. He feels so good pressed next to me. We look so good. Everything is so good.

Harry drops his arm after a minute, awkwardly tucking it into his pants and I'm properly introduced to his sister. His father drags Harry away to meet some of his colleagues while I'm left with Gemma and Elizabeth.

We chat amongst ourselves a bit and I'm very relieved to learn neither of them are snobbish or condescending. They're very polite and inclusive in their conversation, Gemma being particularly funny. I don't notice a presence behind me until Elizabeth looks over my shoulder and her eyes light up again.

I look back to see Julia walking towards me with a smile. "I'm so sorry I left you, Aria, I didn't mean to—"

"Hey, it's okay! Don't worry about it," I assure her. She smiles in relief before greeting Elizabeth.

"Hey, it's so nice to see you, again!"

"You as well," Elizabeth responds. "Oh, um, this is Gemma, by the way. I don't believe you two met." Julia and Gemma shake hands and say a polite hello to each other. Gemma sends a questioning glance to Elizabeth. "Julia is Harry's girlfriend," she supplies.

Shock fills Gemma's face. "Oh! I thought—um," she looks at me slightly surprised with her finger about to point at me before she drops it and settles for smiling widely at Julia. I clear my throat and look down, but sneak a peek at Julia's face.

She noticed.

Elizabeth smoothly changes the subject and we all talk about something else. Julia chats with Gemma while Elizabeth and I make awkward eye contact, the tension still palpable. She gives me a small smile and blinks with both her eyes to assure me everything okay and I feel grateful for this woman. Still, I decide to remove myself from the conversation so Julia can get to know Gemma without feeling threatened by me or something.

"I see the refreshments table, I think I'm gonna go check it out," I announce. Julia beams at me in relief and nods, encouraging me to go before turning back to Gemma. I try not let my hurt show on my face as the only person I know here other than the birthday boy himself, is casting me away.

I walk over to the refreshments table, taking in the various treats. There's a lot of fancy food that I don't understand and in fear of eating something I won't like, I go with the safest option. It looks like some type of mini tart filled with tomato and what looks like mushroom. I reach out for it when a voice whispers behind me.

"I wouldn't eat that," Harry startles me. I jump nearly a foot in the air and clutch a hand to my heart as he laughs. "See that black thing in there? That's snail."

I pucker my face in disgust and turn away from it. Harry puts a gentle hand on my elbow and leads me away from the snail. He picks up various hors d'oeuvres and hands me one of each to try. We snack on the fancy food, that I must admit is really good. He shoves a puff pastry pesto chicken bite in my mouth before grabbing my hand and leading me down the table to the desserts. We basically ate an entire meal of just "bites".

Harry picks up one of the mini tarts that's decorated beautifully and brings up to my mouth. I take a small bite, but don't like the almond flavor so I shake my head at him. Harry shrugs and sticks his tongue out to shove it in his mouth before the cream drips.

"Thank God you guys came early," Harry says, grabbing a pink macaron. "I would have been so bored with all these old people."

Just as I open my mouth to respond, a loud boisterous laugh sounds behind us.

"Harry, my boy! There he is!"

Harry and I turn around to face yet another old man with a leggy woman at his side. Harry smiles at the man and swallows his macaron.

"Mr. Fields, how are you?" he asks politely, shaking his hand.

"It's Geoffrey to you now! You're a grown man!" Harry laughs politely in response. "Haven't seen you since before your mum—well..." he drifts off and Harry smiles awkwardly.

Scared shitless, I step forward and discreetly clutch his fingers between my own. Rubbing my thumb over his knuckles. He squeezes my fingers back.

"And who's this?" the man turns his beady eyes to me, his thick moustache crinkles as he smiles.

My eyes widen but thankfully another man appears. This one looks younger than Mr. Fields, about in his late thirties, and like he's more considerate.

"Harry, how are you, son? Hope ol' Geoff isn't bothering you too much," the man says. The two men banter back and forth while Harry smiles politely. Apparently the other man's name is Jordan.

The leggy blonde attached to Mr. Fields whispers something in his ear, and he politely excuses himself before they go, leaving us alone with this Jordan guy.

"Well, who's this?" he asks Harry excitedly, nodding at me. I tense up again.

"Oh, uh, this is my friend, Aria Collins," Harry replies. Our fingers slip from each other's before Jordan makes any assumptions. "She's a classmate of mine at university."

Jordan nods appreciatively before discussing profs and classes with Harry. Apparently him and many other successful business men graduated from our business program. He recalls his uni days while I blend in the background. I debate excusing myself to leave them alone, taking a careful step away from Harry but his hand reaches out and wraps itself around my wrist. The action is very subtle and he doesn't look away from Jordan at all. I stay rooted in my spot beside Harry.

"Wonderful, wonderful," he praises Harry, after discussing his classes and how well he's doing. "And how about yourself?" he looks at me. "Do you study business as well?"

I freeze, thinking maybe Harry will answer for me, but Harry just looks at me with a smile on his face.

"Um, no, I'm in the Fine Arts program," I tell him.

"Wow!"

"Aria is a really talented artist," Harry supplies. My face turns red and I whip my head to look at him. He ignores the stares I send him, "She'll tell you she's not that good, but her work is really amazing. And she's very knowledgeable in her field."

"Really?" Jordan grins at me. "I don't know many artists, this is quite refreshing."

Feeling a little better about myself, I give him a small smile.

"So do you paint... or..." Jordan waves his hands.

"She can so much more than painting. She can do things I never knew could be done," Harry sneaks in, smirking. I nudge him and chuckle.

"I like to use various media, yes. I can paint, however I prefer watercoloring. And, um, lately, I've been interested in calligraphy and sculptures," I share. Jordan hangs to every word I say.

I quickly learn that Jordan knows about as much about art as Harry did when we started talking. So I fill him on definitions and techniques that I know. I throw in my opinion here and there, not even noticing that I pulled my hand away from Harry's.

Jordan is a very nice man and good listener. He isn't afraid to admit when he doesn't know what something means, which is very refreshing after being used to talking to people who want to seem like they know everything. Harry's father comes to join the conversation for a few minutes before whisking him away again.

I bite my lip nervously as Harry gives me an apologetic look. Not sure what to do now, I wring my hands together when Jordan speaks up again.

"Sorry, can you tell me more about this DIY movement?" he asks.

I happily dive back into conversation and tell him about hacking and do-it-yourself art.

Jordan and I chat until Mr. Styles announces its time for the birthday ceremony. He stands with Harry at a table in the front that has a giant four-tier cake and the rest of their family. I spot Julia close-by beside them. All of the guests including me watch as Gemma laughs and snaps a birthday party hat on Harry's head. Harry glares at her playfully and laughs too, not taking it off. The string quartet start playing the opening of "Happy Birthday" while the whole rooms sing it for Harry.

Harry is grinning wide and looking between his father, sister and all the people here for him. I'm so happy for him, I actually start tearing up.

"Make a wish, make a wish!" I can hear Gemma yelling. Harry closes his eyes to make his wish, before blowing all his candles out.

Elizabeth expertly pops a champagne bottle as Mr. Styles laughs. He ruffles the back of Harry's hair then pulls him in for a hug and presses a kiss to his head. My heart swells to see the affection between father and son and I just know Harry is getting emotional and happy too. He's too far for me to see, but he pulls away from his dad and smiles at him genuinely before turning to hug Gemma too (who pretends like she doesn't want him too, but "reluctantly" returns the embrace). There's another man beside Gemma that he hugs too. I didn't meet him but judging by how close he stands to Gemma, it's probably her fiancée.

Harry turns back over to his father's side and stretches his arms out to hug Elizabeth, too. She seems surprised but allows herself to be pulled in. Mr. Styles' smile matches my own as we gaze at Harry proudly.

I excuse myself and say my goodbye to Jordan before walking to Julia to stand next to her.

"That was amazing, wasn't it?" I say to her. She looks at me in surprise and smiles.

"Yeah, it was cute."

"I'm proud of him," I admit to her.

"Why? He just turned twenty-one," she chuckles. I glance at her in confusion before realizing that she doesn't understand Harry's family situation. I figured she would when she went to that dinner, but I guess not.

The cake gets cut and a few servers pass around slices to each guest. Julia and I devour ours in second, gushing about how delicious it is. Harry's father's guests start leaving at ten, as promised, but they don't all filter out fully until it's eleven. I saw some staff members carrying wrapped presents to back room (which Harry sneaked off to for a bit).

Julia and I can't help but talk about pretty outfits we've seen. She was telling me about some designer brand dress she saw a woman wearing when I spot Harry coming towards us.

"My family is leaving now, they just wanted to say bye," he tells us. I stay back while Julia goes ahead, not wanting to impose but Harry shakes his head at me and pulls my arm. "You, too!"

Julia is just finishing up saying her goodbyes when I arrive. I end up talking a little more with Elizabeth and Gemma (and meeting Gemma's fiancée, Michal).

"We need to see you again, and next time I want to see some of your art," Mr, Styles tells me. I laugh nervously while the others chuckle.

"Sure, but I'm going to admit they're not that great..." I reply. Instantly, Harry loudly yells, "Nonsense!" and we all laugh again.

They get into their respective cars and drive away. I follow Julia and Harry back inside. We go to the drinks table to get some alcohol before the real party starts. Julia loops her arm through Harry's as he leads us downstairs to a different room. It's darker here with party lights on. The music turns up as we scope the place. Already there are some of Harry's friends in there. Harry goes up to them and they gush about the extravagance of this place. I find the drinks table in this room and down another one.

Niall, Louis and Eleanor arrive with Zayn. Harry greats them enthusiastically, he narrows his eyes at Zayn but then laughs and pulls him in for a hug too. He's definitely had a lot to drink if he's being friendly with Zayn. I make eye contact with Zayn and widen my eyes at him in surprise, he shrugs back confused before making his way over.

"Shelley!" Julia screams in excitement beside me. I whip my head around to see Shelley and her girls coming towards us. She hugs Julia tightly. I can see they've gotten much closer than I remember them being. "Oh, bitch, is this that Viktor & Rolf perfume you were talking about?!" she exclaims, leaning in to sniff it again.

"Yes, oh my God, I'm obsessed with it!" Shelley shrieks. I roll my eyes and her gaze lands on me. "Oh, hey, Aria."

"Hey," I smile sweetly, inwardly cringing. She stretches her arms out and I go forward to hug her as well. I nearly choke at the crazy amount of perfume she put on, the overly rosy scent almost killing me. "Wow," I cough. "That is a really strong perfume."

"Do you want some? I have it with me," she offers.

"No, thank you," I pull back and go to stand next to Zayn who is shamelessly eyeing Shelley. I sigh and decide to introduce them. Just because I hate her doesn't mean Zayn should too. "Shelley, have you met my friend Zayn? Zayn, this is Shelley."

Shelley gazes at him hungrily. I turn to Julia who is deep in conversation with the other two girls. Deciding to go somewhere else before I become allergic to Shelley's Viktor & Rolf perfume, I head to the bar.

The bartender winks at me and holds his finger up before I can order.

"I think I know something you would like," he says in a deep voice. Smiling, I let him make a drink for me. He makes a mix of a bunch of drinks in a way I've never seen before. Adding fruity flavours before serving me a pink drink in a sangria cup. I take a sip of it, instantly loving it.

"Damn, you're good!" I say to him. He smirks and nods humbly. This drink it too good. Feeling a little woozy from the drink, I decide to tip him by kissing the bill so it has my lipstick on it before handing it to him. He chuckles and pockets it with a thank you.

I venture into the crowd, happy with a delicious drink and bump into Niall.

"Niall, that bartender is so good," I say to him. "He made a drink that's exactly what I like without me even saying anything!"

I drag Niall along with me and force him to get a drink. The bartender is just as flirty with him as he was with me, making Niall blush a little. He hands Niall a teal drink that he loves and we drunkenly try to find Louis to convince him to go too.

"Louis, Louis!" I call out to the brunette, before noticing my Irish companion is no longer with me. "Niall!" I look around for, spinning in a complete circle before bumping into Harry. "Harry!"

"You said a lot of names," Harry notes. I gulp and begin telling him about the bartender, urging him to come get a drink too.

"Wait!" I shout suddenly. "Let's do some shots!"

I pull Harry's arm and drag him towards the bar. "Niall!" I shout, finding him again. "Shots!" Niall nods and tries to coax Louis and Eleanor into joining us but they refuse.

When the three of us get to the bar, we find Julia, Shelley and Zayn there already.

"Jules! Ready for some shots?"

She grins excitedly before turning to Shelley who puckers her face and shakes her head in disgust. Julia's grin fades but Harry is quick to cheer her up.

"Yeah, let's do shots, baby! I want to do shots!" This is enough to convince Julia. I go to line up in front of the bar when someone tugs me towards a table that already has shot cups set up. The four of us crowd around the table and I don't notice people cheering us on. The birthday boy is with us so they all gather around to watch.

Someone counts us down and we start taking our shots. Julia is the first to tap out after a few. Harry holds out for a while he stops next (disappointing a lot of people). This leaves just Niall and I. I don't know how much I've taken but I see the speed in which Niall is downing his shots and know I can't keep up.

I slam my cup down and shake my head, backing away from the table. Niall cheers and gets hailed like a king while I stumble back to the bar. The cute bartender hands me a large cup of water. I know I'll need this so I drink a bit of it, but he forces me to take more. I drink more than half, before walking away on wobbly legs.

"Where's the b-bathroom, please," I ask one of the staff members dressed in a uniform. He points towards the bathrooms and I go that way.

"Aria?" Harry asks as he stumbles out of the men's room. "Are you okay?"

I trip over my feet and fall but he catches me in his arms. I grin up at his adorable, concerned face.

"You're cute," I say booping his nose. Harry's eyes widen and I giggle. "I-I need to use the bathroom..." I struggle to stand straight with his arms still around me and he helps me, unsteadily guiding me to the bathroom door. "Wait!" I shout, startling him.

"W-what is it?" he rasps.

"You can't go in here... it's the ladies room..."

"Oh, right," he looks around for a solution before saying, "I can just wait here."

"You don't have to wait," I slur. "S'okay. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, go have fun with Julia..."

Harry looks at me unsurely before nodding. I step into the bathroom and come face to face with Shelley of all people. She reapplies her lipstick before looking at me.

"What are you looking at?" she scoffs.

"You...?"

"Well, stop."

"You know if you're gonna be rude to me I can un-set you up with Zayn."

Shelley looks at me in annoyance but doesn't say anything.

I push my way into a stall and lock the door to relieve myself. My bladder is extremely full. I think I won't be drinking anymore today.

After I leave and wash my hands, I hurry out of the bathroom before Shelley's perfume takes me out like mustard gas. Harry is no longer outside, not that I expected him to be. I expect him to be back at the party with Julia.

Feeling way better than I did a few minutes ago, I'm able to at least walk properly back to the party. I dance with some girls I recognize who invite me into their group. They seem nice and I'm happy we're all drunk enough to have the courage to do this. Maybe when we're sober we'll all remember this and hang out.

Niall comes up and introduces me to a girl he just met, I chat with her and she seems really cool so I discreetly slip in completely fake facts about Niall to get her interested in him. About ten minutes later she isn't paying attention to me because she's making heart eyes at Niall so much. I leave them be and happily wander around.

Louis and Eleanor are by the dessert table, sharing a snack. I watch Louis tease Eleanor as she sits in his lap, giggling. I frown at the cute couple and continue on. Zayn has his lips locked with Shelley as they dance together. This makes my frown deepen. Determined to get away from all my friends because they all have better love lives then me, I go deeper into the crowd to dance. Except, my eyes land on Julia as she grinds back on Harry before straightening up and looking at him strangely. I look up and see his gaze is focused on me. Feeling nervous, I turn away and move before Julia notices.

He'll never be mine.

Going straight to the bar, I order another one of the pink drinks the bartender made me. I thank him again for it and take a sip as I exit the party room. Shakily, I make my way up the stairs. The bright light hurts my eyes, its weird knowing I was here just a couple hours ago. I look around the giant hall all the guests were in when Harry cut his cake.

I mumble and step around the crew cleaning the area up to head up the other set of stairs on the other side of the room. The steps are covered in a red carpet, prevent me from slipping. I make it up the stairs and check out this new floor. Everything from the doors to the furniture is fancy in here. I see a door at the end and push into the room. It's a huge bedroom. Nothing in it to suggest someone lives there but there is a bed. I walk over and sit on the edge of the bed. The moonlight filters in from the open window, illuminating the room in a soft glow. The curtains billow as I fall back on the bed and let my eyes close.

I fall into a dreamless sleep before stirring awake at the sound of noise. Someone opens the door loudly and stumbles in. I lay paralyzed in fear until I heard the intruder speak.

"Aria."

"Harry?" I question sitting up. "What are you doing here? How did you find me?"

"N-needed some timmme away from... the-the party," Harry mumbles. He looks like he's had a lot more to drink. I stand up and take in his disheveled appearance.

"Jesus, how much did you drink after I left?" he didn't seem this drunk before. I help Harry stand straight under the moonlight so I can see his face. His cheeks are tinted pink and I hold his face to keep him still so I can look at him. His pupils are extremely dilated. "Are you alright?"

"Mmmhmm," he hums. "Better now," he rasps, his eyes raking my face.

"What happened?"

"N-nothing... It just got... t-too loud and I wanted to be alone a little. Came up here and saw... you."

"Oh," I whisper in response. I pull my hands off his face slowly when he closes his eyes but his hands immediately reach up to grasp mine. His fingers splay over my smaller hands and hold them on his face. My heart beats a mile minute as I take in our closer distance. Harry steps even closer, so our chests touch.

"Thank you for your present," he says lowly. "I loved it, it was perfect," he smiles with his eyes closed.

My mind struggles to think of what he's talking about because he's so close to me.

"Oh," I say suddenly, remembering my gift.

The first time he ever saw me cry when he barged into my room, I tore up my ballerina cardboard model. I remember him trying to put the pieces back together to fix it, which made me love him more. Reminiscent of that, I built a nicer deer head one, a homage to the deer sculpture he helped me build. Hopefully he understands the implication and memory that go with it.

I framed my three calligraphy prints that I dropped that one time I bumped into him and Niall, too. 'No legacy is so rich as honesty', 'If music be the food of love, then play on' and 'You have witchcraft in your lips'. He had asked me if he could keep the last one, I said no and hurriedly grabbed it to go hand them in. But since I don't need them anymore, I framed all three for him. Along with a lengthy card explaining how grateful I am that we're friends and apologizing for trying so hard to push him away those first two years (and thanking him for giving me a chance, regardless).

My gift box was huge anyway (Liam said he didn't mind carrying it inside, but I can tell he was wondering what was in it), so I put in a small jar of my brownies as well.

"Um, you're welcome, I'm glad you liked them," I whisper, gulping.

"And thank you for the Power Rangers mug, it's cute," he chuckles. I frown.

"Oh, no, uh that was part of Julia's gift," I explain.

"Julia doesn't know I used to love the Power Rangers. I never told her," he says. My blood freezes. Oh shit. I didn't know that.

"M-maybe she did? You know she's really intuitive sometimes," I make up.

Harry chuckles again. "If she was that intuitive she wouldn't have gotten me socks for my twenty-first birthday."

I inwardly groan. What the fuck was she thinking?

Harry sucks in his bottom lip and opens his eyes, looking directly at me.

"You know... sometimes..." He releases his bottom lip, much pinker than it was before, and I find I can't look away from it. Harry's hands slide off mine to cup my face. Our foreheads touch and there isn't a single thought in my head that isn't Harry, Harry, Harry.

His touch, his scent, his pink lips, his hooded eyes... it's all so intoxicating and I want to get drunk off of it.

"Sometimes... what?" I drawl out slowly. My mind is all foggy and I feel lightheaded from his proximity.

"Sometimes I wonder..." Harry continues quietly, leaning in impossibly closer. "... what if it was you?" he asks in a small voice.

I conceal a small cry, "What?"

"Sometimes I wish it was you... not her..." his lips ghost over mine and I feel my body freeze up. He pulls away a little to look at me before pulling my face closer to his. He tilts his head as he leans in and I want to laugh and cry with how happy I am that this is finally happening again.

The next second is filled with deafening silence before everything goes wrong. For a quick second my eyes flit behind Harry to catch sight of a dark figure. My eyes widen but the person had already turned and left.

Before Harry's lips can touch mine, I push him away.

"Shit, Harry—we can't!" I say into my hands. A sob forces its way through me but as I try to collect myself. I secure my purse over my shoulder, sparing Harry one glance. He looks at the wall behind me, stunned. "I'm sorry," I don't know what I'm apologizing for exactly, but I quickly spit that out before heading for the door.

As I leave, a scent makes my blood run cold.

The distinct smell of a Viktor & Rolf perfume.

***

Sooooooooo... what did we think? SLKFJSDLF 

Some questions:

1. What did you think of Aria and Julia's fight?

2. What would you do if you were in Julia's position/how do you think you'd feel?

3. How do you think Harry/Aria is going to deal with the 'almost kiss'?

4. Should Aria tell Julia about it?

Thank you so much for reading and all your lovely comments <3

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