#featuring zayn's eyebrows action

[zainmalik]

hl moments 4/?: x factor video diary week four

[flower-yi]

When you enter the kitchen, a plate of freshly cut apples is on the counter.

Turning to the calendar reminds you of the very few times Zayne's home and not out at the hospital. Even still, he's confined to his office typing away at his computer despite having promised to slip into bed a few hours ago. (He's kissed you sweetly on the cheek, too; voice just a murmur in your ear. You feel as if his presence is rare, the sight of him is even rarer then.)

Light escaping beneath the door down left of the hallway is the only evidence that Zayne's awake. You went off to dreamland by the time he left bed, and you're only in the kitchen because you feel parched.

It's five hours past his initial promise. A full cup of water and an empty plate the only evidence of your being in the kitchen, you choose to stomp over to his office to swing the door open.

"Zayne, you said—"

It dies quickly, like a fire snuffed out between someone's fingertips. Your concern melts into pity that's reserved between lovers, the scene in front of you moving you into action to get Zayne in your arms.

Your little doctor is passed out on his desk, except he's not getting any restful sleep—his shoulders are tense, a crease making his eyebrows meet together, and eyes shut tightly. A soft shake on his shoulders is your attempt of rousing him awake, taking his face into your hand as you watch him awaken. His features slacken and his breath exhaling close to yours is a relief; an anchor in rocky seas; stability when there is disorder.

Green eyes reveal themselves. Even half awake, his gaze is soft.

"Did I fall asleep?" His voice is a rumble in his chest.

You scoff, "Didn't seem like sleeping to me."

Zayne has still half the mind to sound amused. "I didn't know we had a somnologist here."

"Quiet, you," You chide softly, pressing a kiss on your doctor's forehead. For all that he is freezing like snowflakes falling on your palm, the warmth in that chuckle of his is what gets you. It's perfect: full of sleep, but just exact amount of fondness that's gut-wrenching. "Let's get you to the bedroom."

He watches you clean his desk and close his laptop. The lights are turned off by his deft fingers, your exit from his office a quiet one.

"Didn't we talk about not bringing work to home?"

Zayne falls quiet. His reply comes five seconds later, "We did."

Yes, the both of you did, but... there seems to be no use of regurgitating the same topic over and over again when this becomes a pattern.

(Sometimes, Zayne is too caught in the cold to see that there's someone else in the blizzard alongside him.)

"I just don't want you to overwork yourself," is what you end up saying instead. "You're more sensitive than you realize, you know."

When you both enter the bedroom, his sigh is the only sound in the room.

"I do," He admits. "But that is precisely why I have you."

You think he's saying that to sway you, in some sort of way, and probably because—he has. Since he's met you.

"You mean that you can be strong and all when there's someone else?" With his pliant demeanor, you easily tuck him into bed. A ghost of a smile is on his lips as he stares at you.

"Because I trust that 'someone else' to protect that side of me," Zayne murmurs, watching you get into bed yourself. You hover over him, peering down into his eyes, listening intently to what he'll say next. "Just like I do when you get into trouble. Which is more than often."

Your eyes thin, smacking him on the shoulder as gently as you could. Even like this, he makes sarcastic comments to you. "Alright, big boy. Time to sleep."

"Mm."

"I said, go to—" You pause, stopping yourself. "Ah, well, goodnight."

Zayne's always quick to fall asleep. It both amuses and fascinates you how easily he can drift off, but then, him snoozing away can give you enough moments to stare at him.

He looks better like this. Relaxed, only crazy and whacky dreams entering his mind.

Maybe he's right, then, you think as you give his cheek one last caress. You can protect him like this.

That's what you were aiming for, anyways.

[florenc-ia]

These are my last reads, took me some time but oh well. Enjoy

Give Me Truths 110k

Louis is a psychology student with a tattoo count as high as his genius IQ. Harry is in a (sort-of) relationship with a homophobic man and hates himself a little more every day. Things fall apart and Louis puts him back together.

Or, the one in which Louis falls in love with a fragile boy and tells him every beautiful truth in the world, as long as it makes him happy.

chances under the purple sunrise 28k

“You’ve been taking my shoes?” Louis asked, scoffing. “I paid a lot for them!”

“How unfortunate for you.” Harry smiled bitterly. He peeked over Louis, eyeing the hook that still had the worm.

The red box was open right next to him. Harry saw that inside, it had a couple of transparent containers that were filled with worms, too. He eyed Louis skeptically before nodding. “Right. I’ll give you your, er…. little boats back if you let me have the tub of worms.”

A groan crawled out from Louis, his head falling back and his eyes landing up at the clear sky. “I need those.”

“They’re food for myself and others, not to be used as bait.”

*

Or the one where Harry is a merman, prince of the Atlantic Ocean, whose curiosity and healthy envy takes over him and he steals Louis' shoes every time he fishes.

Absolutely amazing it’s so beautiful and cute I loooooved it

Oh Glory 21k

Tomlinson looks Liam over, tilting his head. “Are you a swimmer as well?”

“Yeah,” Liam says, a little cautiously. Harry wonders if it’s Tomlinson’s fame or the unimpressed eyebrow that’s making Liam wary. “Distance, I’m doing the 1500m. Harry here’s a sprinter.”

“Ah,” says Tomlinson, turning his glinting eyes back to Harry. “So you’re not an endurance man.” A beat passes, and his grin grows, wide and filthy. "Shame."

Harry Styles is Team Great Britain's newest swimmer, and has spent his whole life training for this moment, a chance at the gold medal in the Rio 2016 Olympics. All his training, hard work, and dedication to no distractions is tested when he's assigned to the same Rio apartment as Louis Tomlinson, British gymnast and Harry's childhood crush.

Torn On The Platform 27k

AU where harry and louis are strangers but they always get the same train to work in the morning and one day harry falls asleep on louis’ shoulder. louis wants to be annoyed because harry just broke a least seven rules of tube conduct but he looks so soft and peaceful that he just lets him sleep and wakes him ever so carefully when it’s his stop. it happens again and again until it becomes a regular thing where louis will let harry snooze and then gently nudge him awake, hand him the cup of coffee he took from him so it wouldn’t slip and spill everywhere and send him off with a “have fun at work, love” and after the tenth time harry isn’t even embarrassed anymore.

In a sky full of stars, be my Northern lights 13k

It's one of those nights there's nothing on the telly that Louis absently scrolls through Tinder. After swiping left on a bunch of profiles he comes face to face with a picture that stops him in his tracks. The picture is..almost sweet. It’s a boy with brown curly hair, wearing a very low cut yellow blouse, paired with a black jacket. He’s got a smile on his face and his tongue sticking out, but it’s not in any way lewd or suggestive. He just looks like he’s having a good time, and something about the innocence of it has him swiping right rather than left.

He’s barely checked the other pictures on the boy's profile before Tinder confirms that he’s got a match. The shots are so different from the pictures Louis is used to on Tinder - half naked boys who are smoldering at the camera - that he can’t help but smile.

It quickly turns into a frown when he opens up the message he’s just received.

Harry: Hello!

Harry: Thank you for swiping right

Harry: I have a proposition for you

baby we could be enough (I’ll make this feel like home) 52k

“Did you clean the table?” Harry asks Louis once Rose is done speaking, now occupied with trying to see if she can reach over and touch Harry’s hair from where she’s sat. At Louis’ nod, Harry frowns. “You didn’t have to do that. You’re my guests here, I could’ve dealt with it later.”

Louis just smiles easily, though, adjusting Rose on his lap so that she’s facing Harry better. She manages to tug on a loose wave of hair, and she makes a noise of triumph that both Louis and Harry smile at.

“I don’t mind,” Louis murmurs to Harry, even though he’s looking at Rose. “This one here seemed very excited to talk to you.”

And, okay. Harry can’t help but think of how domestic this feels, all of a sudden.

[harry is a photographer who's trying to find his place. louis is a single father with a smile that feels like home.]

That’s How I Know 19k

Louis Tomlinson has just landed his dream job, coaching soccer at Augustus University. When he moves into a new house near campus, he meets his very fit new neighbor, English professor Harry Styles. Although their first meeting leads to an instant mutual dislike, the more Harry gets to know Louis, the more he likes what he sees.

Or the one where Harry’s African grey parrot spills his dirty secrets to his very hot neighbor.

Never Too Late 18k

Harry’s confused for a moment before it hits him: the little boy is signing. Harry squats down to get to the boy’s level again and mirrors the same action.

“Dad?” He inquires. Harry learned basic sign language after having met a fan who was deaf. He made it his mission to learn signing so that he’d be able to communicate with other fellow hearing impaired fans.

The little boy smiles brightly, his tears now long gone. He goes on to extend both hands, palms up as if he’s asking where? Followed by the previous sign which means Dad. Harry smiles to himself at the amazing little guy standing in front of him.

He stands up taking the boy’s hand, “Let’s go find your dad,” he tells him making the motion with his hand.

Just having come out of the closet and recovering from vocal surgery, famous recording artist Harry Styles needs to get away from LA to work on new music needing to prove to his label that his career isn't over. Little does he know that his life is about to change forever when he runs into an old friend at the city he's decided to escape to.

Truth Be Told (I Never Was Yours) 76k

Harry watches Louis as he scrunches up his nose and bites the end of a pen in concentration. He’s been working on seating arrangements for the past hour and getting more frustrated by the minute. Louis huffs out a breath and glances down at Harry with a soft smile on his lips before he returns to the task at hand. It’s easy, right then, for Harry to let himself believe that they’re planning a seating chart for their own wedding and bickering over who is going to sit where from a list of their own family members. He can let himself daydream about a white picket fence and a dog that they could have within the next year.

It’s like a cold slap in the face when Harry looks to the top of the page to see “Aiden and Louis Grimshaw” at the head table, and Harry has to mentally remind himself for the thousandth time that Louis is not his. Never was, really. He’s just the wedding planner that’s been in love with Louis since he was sixteen.

(or the one where Louis and Harry have a complicated past, Louis is getting married to someone that’s not Harry, and the universe has decided to have a laugh and make Harry the wedding planner.)

Even Angels Have Their Demons 53k

Louis is appointed the role of Guardian Angel, and his first mission is a boy named Zayn Malik. Unfortunately, it seems that a certain Demon has gotten to him first.

Or... an Angel/Demon AU where Angel Louis hates Demon Harry, but somewhere along the way that stops being so true.

Three French Hems 20k

In which Louis is a designer at Burberry and Harry spends December wearing Lanvin… and Lanvin… and Lanvin.

In Dreams 23k

AU. When Harry moves to a new city, his new flat come with a number of sweet, anonymous gifts and surprises that brighten his days. Could it be a friendly ghost? Another friendly presence in his new building is his tattooed neighbor, Louis, who seems determined to put a smile back on his face.

Say It Somehow 129k

Louis Tomlinson may be one of the most respected actors on the West End, but he's terrible at knowing how to act around Harry Styles.

The story of two people who find each other at just the right time, featuring first dates, sleepovers, heartbreak, lots of sex, baked goods, overpriced bedsheets, and musical theatre references galore.

A Darker Shade of Love 750k

Louis is a 30 year old multi-billionaire with a very dark past. He is violent and is a sadist with a taste for pain.

Harry Styles is a 19 year old student who sets out to London after being kicked out by his homophobic father to follow his dreams. He wants to go to the best University to study but he needs a lot of money so he starts to work as a part time stripper at a gay club to support his studies and his life.

The club he works at, Garland's, is part owned by Louis Tomlinson. When they meet, its life changing for the both of them.

Ok so this one has very sensitive content. It’s very well written but if you can understand this is all fiction then you’re good. Be careful reading it if you think you might get triggered

A Sea Without Water, A Compass Without Direction 84k

”Tell me, Louis,” Captain Styles said, leaning forward a little. ”D’you think I’m an idiot?”

”I—what?” Louis asked, surprised by the blunt question. He had expected something different, something along the lines of how he learned music, or how he ended up as a prisoner on the other ship.

”Do you think I’m an idiot?” The captain repeated, putting emphasis on each word as though Louis couldn’t understand him otherwise.

”Of course not,” Louis said, shaking his head. He’d be a fool for thinking such a thing, and an even bigger fool for saying it out loud. ”Captain.”

Captain Styles nodded slowly, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands in his lap. ”Then why did you lie to me?”

”L-Lie?”

”Out on the deck. You lied to me,” he said. He held up his hand, three fingers up.

”Three lies total. I hate liars.”

Waiting for the tides to meet 59k

Louis lets out a deep breath, thinking about Harry’s soulmate. Thinking about how Harry’s soulmate is probably as beautiful as Harry, some person that Louis cannot compare to, and how the universe has chosen them to be Harry’s. Fuck the universe. “Fuck you,” he calls out to the universe. He’s aware of how crazy he sounds.

Maybe he is crazy, with how he’s falling for Harry. And fuck that, too.

Soulmate AU. Everyone is born with heterochromia — one eye is their own eye colour, while the other is the colour of their soulmate's. It's only when they meet their soulmate for the first time that their own eyes match properly. After a hazy night at a frat party, Louis wakes up to blue eyes and the shocking realization that he had met his soulmate, without any sober recollection. Seven years pass where Louis comes to terms with the fact that he'll never know who his soulmate is. Then one fated summer, a beautiful green-eyed photographer arrives at Louis' workplace, with promises of endless laughter and a familiar feeling in Louis' heart.

Featuring a lovely cup of OT5, a road trip down the coast, and a scene where Harry eats a whole head of lettuce. Don't ask why.

[theresneverenoughfandoms]

Dress Up

This is so late at this point but happy belated birthday to @chally-wally !!! Sawyer, I am so glad that I know you, and I love you so much, you funky little edgelord. Thanks for being the best online little sibling I’ve ever had

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Pairing: Romantic Logince

Warnings: Misunderstandings, angst (with a happy ending) (Let me know if I need to add something!)

Word Count: 1609

Summary: Roman has a secret, one that Logan wasn’t meant to find out.

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Roman’s door gently clicked shut as they slipped into their room. Immediately, the polite smile etched into their features from dealing with their mamá’s friends grew into a brilliant grin as they rushed to their closet. After digging for a moment, their hand brushed against a length of soft fabric and they tugged it out from where it was hidden.

Glancing back at their door, Roman breathed a sigh of relief at seeing that it was still firmly shut before switching out their pants for the silky black skirt. It wasn’t their typical colour, but when raiding one’s mamá’s closet, beggars can’t be choosers.

Feeling the sensation of the light fabric brushing against their legs caused giddy giggles to erupt from them as they turned their hips from side to side in front of their full-length mirror. The sight of their red sweater against the skirt sparked an idea within them and they quickly fumbled for their phone. Within moments, Candy Store was blaring as loud as it possibly could be and Roman, with all the attitude of Heather Chandler herself, was belting along. They strutted across the carpeted floor, the skirt flowing with the sway of their hips. Each movement was fluid and practiced, their arms sweeping through the air in perfect motions as they performed the choreography flawlessly.

Roman was so lost in the world of Heathers that when a precise knock came at their door, they didn't hear it. Again, a quick and measured knock. Again, no response from Roman. If the music had been a bit quieter, perhaps the passionate performer would have noticed the fond sigh that came from the hallway. If they hadn't been facing the other way, perhaps they would have noticed that the door was slowly opening. If they had paid attention to the date, perhaps they would have remembered that Logan was coming over that afternoon.

As Roman struck the final pose, they nearly stumbled in shock when a voice came from behind them.

“That was spectacular, Roman. I-”

“Logan!” Roman whirled around and came face to face with their boyfriend, who was smiling at them with a soft affection in his eyes. The same eyes that were trailing downwards and focusing on the skirt. The same eyes that housed a flicker of surprise as they took in the sight. The same eyes that Roman suddenly could not bear to see. “You need to leave! Get out! Get out!” They cried, panicked. Logan found himself pushed out the door before he could get a word in edgewise.

“Roman? Roman, please, forgive me for intruding, I didn't mean to invade your privacy.” He called through the white wood, brushing his thumb absently over one of the glittering stars pasted to its panels.

There was no response.

“Roman, my dear, please. The last thing I want to do is upset you, you're my boyfrie-” Logan was cut off abruptly by a rough voice from behind the door.

“I'm not your boyfriend okay? I'm…” There was a pause and a deep breath. “I'm nonbinary, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I lied to you and you deserve better and I know that you're gay and so I get it, I get it if you can't love me anymore so just, please…” Their voice was wavering with emotion, and Logan's heart broke when he heard it. “Please leave me alone.”

A moment of silence passed.

Then there was the sound of soft footsteps walking down the hall.

And Roman began to sob.

----------

A few days passed, and Roman had not emerged from their room. Their mamá had brought them plates of food but was generally unconcerned as Roman was prone to locking themself in their room at the slightest offence. She was quite fond of recalling the time when Roman had refused to even open their blinds after Zayn left One Direction, as “the darkness is representative of the pain in my heart”.

Of course, this time it was not a band member that they were mourning. Roman lay listlessly on their bed, darkness cloaking the room as they gripped their phone tightly. There had not been a single message or call from Logan since he left, and the actor was a wreck. Their blonde hair was loose and tangled, falling around their face in limp curls. Redness surrounded their eyes and nose, and dried tear tracks covered their cheeks. It was pathetic, they thought, but they couldn't get rid of the feeling of thorns coursing through their veins and twining around their heart.

It was agonizing.

And then there was a knock. A precise, ever so slightly hesitant, but still painfully familiar knock.

“Roman?” Logan's voice was soft, almost scared. “May I please come in?”

A long pause followed the question, and Roman's mind raced, trying to imagine why he came back. Why he took so long to do so.

Why he left.

“Yes.”

Immediately, the door creaked open and Roman turned their head to look at Logan. His body was mostly blocked by a large...garment bag? Sitting up, the actor raised an eyebrow and studied Logan’s face, trying to find any trace of mockery.

“I apologize for taking so long to come back, but I wasn’t sure if you would want to speak to me until I made up for my actions somehow so...I...well I found this online but it wasn’t perfect yet so I ordered it and when it arrived I dedicated a few nights to brushing up on my sewing and embroidery skills and I added some details that I hoped would make it more to your liking because...god Roman I love you so much. You are the most incredible partner I could ever ask for and no matter what you identify as I could never stop loving you.” Logan’s eyes gleamed with sincerity, and Roman found themself tearing up again, this time with relief and joy. Logan walked towards where they sat upon their bed and draped the garment bag carefully over the mattress. With the bag no longer obscuring his form, Roman gasped. Instead of Logan’s usual blue jeans, his polo was matched with a sensible black pencil skirt that reached to his knees.

“Oh, Logan you didn’t have to buy a skirt to-”

“I didn’t. I already owned this.” Roman was struck dumb. “Roman,” Logan sat carefully on the edge of the bed and looked them in the eyes. “You are not a disgrace for not fitting into society’s bullshit gender binary.” Roman snorted with bitter laughter but quickly sobered as Logan continued. “You are also not alone. There are many people just like you, unsure and scared, but valid no matter what. You are not alone in this world, and you have the right to live as who you are. We all do.” Logan reached out and brushed a tear off of Roman’s cheek, cupping their face.

“...We?” Roman whispered. Logan smiled softly and nodded.

“I’m agender, Roman. I was admittedly...scared of telling you. Not because I didn’t think you would accept me, but because I didn’t want to tell you and then discover that I was...wrong.” Roman laughed incredulously and collapsed into Logan’s arms, more tears streaming down their face.

“We are so incredibly ridiculous.” They muttered, sinking into the sensation of their partner’s arms wrapping around their body.

“I agree. I propose from now on we attempt to be more open with each other in order to avoid more situations like this one.” Logan’s own voice was slightly choked, as if they were holding back tears. The two remained there for a few quiet minutes, basking in the warmth of each other and letting out the pent-up emotions they had both been gripping so tightly.

Finally, Roman sat up and glanced at the garment bag Logan had brought. Logan followed their gaze and tugged their hands gently to bring them to a standing position beside the bed. They then turned to the bag and opened it, revealing the bodice of a brilliant red gown. Roman’s hands flew to their mouth and they gasped. Logan continued to carefully extract the dress from the bag and once they were holding it up, Roman was able to take in its majesty.

The bodice was embroidered with shimmering golden thread, depicting subtle stylized crowns and roses amongst the pattern. The bright scarlet skirt was voluminous, falling to the floor in differing layers of translucent fabric. Each layer was edged with more golden designs all the way around.

It was stunning.

“Logan.” Roman gasped breathlessly, reaching out to brush their fingers over the gown.

“Do you find it...satisfactory?” Logan asked shyly, studying Roman’s stunned face. The actor’s head snapped up and a brilliant grin stretched across their face.

“Satisfactory? Logan, my love, mi amor, my everything, it’s perfect! You didn’t have to-”

“I wanted to. You deserve to wear something as stunning as you.” Roman squeaked and, after allowing Logan to carefully lay the dress across the bed, tackled them in a hug. They lifted the nerd up and spun them around excitedly before setting them back down and pressing their own lips to Logan’s. The kiss was soft, full of relief and gratitude and love, and Roman pulled their partner closer, determined to never let them go.

“Let’s not have something like this happen again,” Logan said, laying their head against Roman’s chest.

“It won’t. Us nonbinary folks have to stick together, you know?” Roman joked softly, pressing another kiss to Logan’s head.

And together, there in that dim room, wrapped in each other’s arms, the two laughed and cried and maybe even healed, just a little bit.

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General Taglist (Ask to be added or removed!)

@virgil-my-diamond

@ajdraws0430

@ambersky0319

@imtherealjose

@gaylotusthatexists

@iloveeverytjing123

@kanejandkruge

@max-is-tired

@jemthebookworm

@evilmuffin

[stylesnews]

Harry Styles rose to fame as a member of boy band One Direction, but in recent years the 25-year-old has broken away from his teen roots to forge a successful career of his own.

In 2017, Styles' hotly anticipated self-titled album debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 chart, featuring the hit singles “Sign Of Times” and “Kiwi.” Trading in polished pop songs for ones more reminiscent of ’70s British arena and classic rock, Styles’ newfound sound won over critics and fans as his supporting solo tour went on to sell nearly one million tickets.

Although Styles tends to steer clear of social media and any money-making sponsored content, he did make a rare statement in April on Twitter. Proving that his fame has kept him humble, Styles celebrated his gigantic fanbase and the birthday of his viral hit “Sign of the Times." He wrote, “Sign of the Times turned two today. Thank you for all the love since then, and for everything you’d done before. Love you all very much. H.”

Styles made his film debut in Christopher Nolan’s 2017 World War II drama Dunkirk. Now, it's rumored that he's in talks to star as Prince Eric in the live-action remake of the classic The Little Mermaid. He certainly has the luscious locks required to play a Disney prince.

The "Sweet Creature" singer is lauded for his fashion choices. He landed his second Gucci campaign for the Cruise 2019 Men’s Tailoring collection. Gucci isn’t the only sartorial powerhouse to have come knocking at his door, as Styles was the co-chair for the 2019 Met Gala alongside Anna Wintour, Serena Williams, Lady Gaga and Gucci designer Alessandro Michele.

He was executive producer on a short-lived CBS show called Happy Together. The show, which was canceled after just one season, was based loosely on his early One Direction days which saw him crash on his filmmaker friend’s couch for months despite his massive paycheck and celebrity status.

All of this success and the devotion of his fans converted to a pretty healthy bank balance - but how does it all break down?

What is Harry Styles’ net worth?

Since signing a solo deal with Colombia Records in 2016, according to the Sunday Times Rich List Styles' worth has accumulated to nearly $75 million.

The numbers make sense, considering the 24-year-old singer’s debut album was a mainstream success. Billboard reported that the album topped the charts with 230,000 equivalent album units earned in the first week alone. Even better, 193,000 of those units were in traditional album sales, earning Styles the biggest debut sales week for a U.K. male artist’s first full-length album since 1991.

While touring is the most lucrative income for musicians, Styles has used the opportunity to help others. Not only did his massive 90-show world tour sell nearly one million tickets, with the first leg of the tour selling out in 29 seconds, but it also raised $1.2 million in charity donations.

How much did Harry Styles earn from One Direction?

Right before One Direction announced their split, Forbes declared the band to be the highest paid celebrities under 30 in 2015. They collectively earned $130 million that year, beating out superstars Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga respectively.

And back in 2014, One Direction was reportedly walking away with $280k per day.

Did Harry earn more than his One Direction bandmates?

While each 1D member cultivated their own loyal fanbase that followed them on their solo ventures, Styles has reportedly earned the most.

This past October, Styles (once again) was named one of the richest celebrities under 30 in 2018, joining the ranks of Adele and Ed Sheeran.

It was determined that Styles was the richest One Direction member with his approximate $75 million net worth. He was followed by Niall Horan ($58 million), Louis Tomlinson ($56 million), Liam Payne ($55 million) and, perhaps surprisingly, Zayn Malik coming in last with $47 million.

Horan, Payne, and Malik have all released their own solo work, while Tomlinson has released a few singles and carved out a TV career as a judge on The X-Factor - though he's hinted that there's more music to come.

Where else has his money come from?

Outside of releasing music and touring, Styles earned money for his acting role in the war drama Dunkirk. It was one of the top-grossing box-officefilms of 2017, grossing $500 million worldwide. While many were skeptical of Nolan’s decision to cast the inexperienced singer, the director defended his decision and compared it to casting Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight.

“When I cast Heath Ledger as the Joker it raised a lot of eyebrows and caused a lot of comment,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “I have to trust my instincts, and Harry was perfect for this part. He pulled it off with incredible grace and reality.”

Outside of his signature red carpet style of playfully printed suits, Styles has courted the attention of the fashion world. The singer has fronted two menswear campaigns for Gucci (autumn/winter 2018 and Cruise 2019), with both becoming social media sensations thanks to his co-stars that included dogs, chickens, and pigs.

Styles also co-founded the company HSA Publishing Ltd. back in 2014, alongside Irish accountant Alan McEvoy.

How many properties does Harry Styles own?

Like most jet-setting celebrities, Styles has snapped up homes in New York, London and LA. Back in 2012, he purchased a $3 million four-bedroom bachelor pad in London that was dubbed a "Party Palace" by the press.

In 2017, Styles reportedly bought an $8 million condo in New York’s Tribeca neighborhood in the same building that houses celebrities including Justin Timberlake and Jennifer Lawrence.

When Styles began to split most of his time between New York and London, the singer decided to put his LA Sunset Strip mansion on the market for $8.45 million in May 2017, though he shaved a cool million off (plus a little more) a year and a half later when it didn't sell. He's currently listing the home for $7.495 million.

[lovlieziam]

Oooh can I ask for #27 and obviously Ziam 😄

You absolutely may :) I also feel it’s appropriate to let you know that I had a vision for how this one would turn out in my head. This story isn’t it so do with that what you may lo

27. “I’m pregnant.”

“Liam?” Zayn murmured, letting his head drop against the bathroom door with a soft thump. Zayn had been hesitant to approach Liam, especially considering how upset the boy was right now.

“I’m fine, Zayn. You don’t have to check up on me,” came Liam’s muffled reply. And maybe Zayn didn’t have to check up on Liam, but he wanted to. Liam had been weird lately—closed off from Zayn in a way he had never been. It made Zayn think that he was the reason for Liam’s bad mood, and Zayn couldn’t deal with that.

“Maybe not,” Zayn said. “But I want to.” Zayn waited a beat with no response before saying, “C’mon, Li. You know I won’t go away until you at least let me in. Are you really going to make me start being a brat so early in the night?”

There was a long moment of silence following Zayn’s words, and Zayn was just gearing up to start annoying Liam when the door swung open, causing Zayn to stumble forward a little. Liam was stood in the doorway, an annoyed, but still fond look gracing his features.

“You’re already a brat. I don’t know what you mean by ‘start’.”

Zayn grinned, shoving Liam back into the room before closing the door behind him. “Alright,” he started. “Spill. What’s up? Why have we locked ourselves in the bathroom?”

Liam rolled his eyes as he sad down on the closed toilet lid. “We haven’t locked ourselves in anywhere. I locked myself in the bathroom and you annoyed your way in.”

Zayn grinned, throwing a shrug Liam’s way before he moved into a crouch by Liam’s knees.

“Seriously, though, Li. What’s up? You’ve been, um, rather…emotional lately.” Zayn winced after the words left his mouth. He’d wanted to be delicate when talking to Liam—the boy had been emotional recently; there were some days where Zayn was pretty sure he’d gotten whip lash from Liam’s mood swings—but based on the glare Liam was throwing his way, Zayn definitely could’ve chosen his words better. “I-I just mean, not that you’ve been moody! Because that isn’t what I meant, like, at all! I was just saying that you’ve seemed, I don’t know? Upset, I guess? And I just wanted you to know that I was here, if you wanted talk about anything, y’know? Because I can tell you’ve been upset the last couple of weeks.”

Zayn took a breath, also taking that moment to take in Liam’s expression. He had an eyebrow lifted, looking at Zayn with a slight curve to his lips that wasn’t necessarily a smile, but also wasn’t not a smile. Zayn got the distinct impression that he was being made fun of for his rambling.

“I’m not upset, Zayn.” Zayn nodded at Liam’s words, his mind already starting up a rambling, incoherent thought process.

“Okay, so maybe upset isn’t the right word. But you haven’t been happy, have you? I mean, you haven’t been not happy this whole time, obviously, there’s been happy moments. I’m not trying to saying you’ve been in a permanent bad mood, just like more so recently then before. Not that you’re not, y’know, entitled to be in a bad mood every once in a while! Because you totally are! It’s just, I was kind of hoping you’d maybe…tell me why you’ve been so…hormonal?” As soon as the words left his mouth, Zayn regretted them. Had he just called Liam hormonal? Out loud? What was wrong with him?

Liam’s eyebrows shot up, surprise—and, Zayn hoped, a hint of amusement?—quickly covering his features. Zayn was so caught up in his own misery—seriously, why had he said that?—that he didn’t noticed the teasing glint twinkling in Liam’s eyes.

“Have you thought of the possibility that maybe…” Liam trailed off, making sure he was meeting Zayn’s eyes before he said, “I’m pregnant?”

Zayn barely even registered Liam’s words, too focused on trying to be understanding and forget about what he’d just said to properly think them through. “I wasn’t sure what was going on, Li. But if that’s what bothering you, that’s perfectly reasonable, and of course if you—”

“Zayn.”

“—wanna talk about it, I’m always here, okay? I mean I know you’re—”

“Zayn.”

“—used to dealing with things—wait,” Zayn cut himself off, Liam’s words from before finally registering. Zayn forced himself out of his own head, once again focusing on Liam and his words. “Pregnant?” And okay, so maybe it wasn’t quite as elegant and coherent as he would’ve liked, but his brain was still trying to switch from trying to be supportive to actually understanding what Liam was telling him. It was difficult, especially since he was starting to think he hadn’t been listening to Liam.

“Pregnant?” Zayn asked again. He felt it needed repeating because what? Liam was a guy, he couldn’t even get pregnant.

Zayn watched as Liam’s lips twitched upwards, obviously fighting off a smile that was so eager to take over his face. Zayn was still confused for all of five seconds until it finally hit him.

“You’re a dick,” Zayn gasped out, lunging forward to shove at Liam’s shoulder. Liam broke into a series of giggles, and despite Liam’s teasing, Zayn couldn’t help but feel a little relieved as a few of his own spilled past his lips. It felt like this was the first time he’d seen Liam laugh in weeks. That might have been a slight exaggeration, but, honestly, Liam really hadn’t been himself recently, and the fact that he turned to humor before actually admitting what was wrong was only further proof of this.

“Seriously, Li,” Zayn started, his voice soft but serious. The smile slowly dropped off Liam’s face at Zayn’s tone, and Zayn felt his own heart drop a little at the look now on Liam’s face. Liam did a good job of hiding his emotions, but even Zayn could see the resigned and slightly dejected look he couldn’t quite mask. Zayn soldiered on, anyway. He was tired of Liam pushing him away; he just wanted his friend back. “What’s been bothering you?”

Liam heaved out a sigh, running a hand over his face before roughly shoving it through his hair.

“I’m sorry, Zayn,” Liam whispered. “I tried really hard not to—tried to talk myself out of it so many fucking times, but…” Liam trailed off, squeezing his eyes shut before continuing. “But it’s really hard to control myself when it comes to you.”

Zayn made a soft noise in the back of his throat, his confusion only increasing at Liam’s explanation. Some how Zayn was the cause of Liam’s permanent bad mood, and that made an uncomfortable weight settle in the bottom of Zayn’s stomach.

“Li…what are you talking about?” Zayn tried to swallow around the lump that was quickly growing in his throat. Zayn wasn’t sure where this little heart to heart was heading, but his mind was setting off warning bells of bad bad bad. It wasn’t helping that the more he thought about Liam’s words—the more he tried to piece them together, connect them to Liam’s mood and his actions—the more confused he got.

Liam opened his eyes, meeting Zayn’s gaze head on, and the sadness in them almost bowled Zayn over.

Fuck, Zayn thought. It was the only word he could think of in that moment.

“I’m talking about falling in love with you, Z.” Liam gave a short, bitter laugh to match the sad twist of his mouth, and Zayn felt all the breath leave his lungs in one harsh exhale. “I’m talking about telling myself how fucking stupid it was to go and fall in love with my best friend, all the while knowing that he’d never love me back. I’m talking about not being able to stop my stupid fucking heart from stuttering in my chest every time you so much as look at me.” Liam took a deep, shuddering breath, lowering his eyes until he was staring at the floor next to Zayn’s knees. “I’m talking about trying desperately hard to try and control my feelings by pushing you away, hoping maybe that would make them…I don’t know. Not disappear, but maybe…lessen? Make them more manageable, at least. Manageable enough that I wouldn’t be overcome with an all-consuming want to kiss you every time you fucking laughed at one of my jokes.”

Liam let out another self-depreciating laugh, bringing both of his hands up to drop his face into. Zayn still couldn’t catch his damn breath. He felt like all the oxygen in the room was being sucked out, preventing him from just breathing. And, well, breathing was kinda something he needed to do.

“I’m sorry,” Liam croaked out, his voice impossibly heart broken and ashamed. Just like that, the oxygen seemed to slam back into Zayn’s lungs, and he inhaled a deep breath, his lungs burning as they expanded.

Liam loved him. Liam was in love with him. Zayn didn’t think he’d ever been happier in his life.

“Liam,” Zayn gasped, surging forward to close the space between them. “Li, sweetheart, look at me please.” He reached out, pulling Liam’s hands away from his face and tucking them between his own, intertwining their fingers in a way the was decidedly intimate.

Liam finally opened his eyes, staring at their joined hands for a moment before looking up into Zayn’s eyes. His expression was still shuttered, his eyes glassy with unshed tears. Zayn’s heart cracked at that expression.

“Li, baby, you’re so, so wrong.” Zayn unwound one of his hands, reaching up to brush the hair off of Liam’s forehead so he could see him better. “It wasn’t stupid to fall in love with me, just stupid to think that I’d never love you back. Because I do. Love you. So much it makes me stupid sometimes.”

It was Zayn’s turn to let out a small, self-depreciating laugh, and Liam’s to breathe out a long, shuddering breath. Liam’s hands tightened around Zayn’s, a disbelieving laugh escaping on his next exhale.

“You’re…you’re serious?” Liam asked.

“Completely, Li.” Zayn had barely gotten the words out before he had a lapful of a giddy, giggling Liam.

“Thank God.”

[eeveedel]

Hey all, I’m back with another rec list, this time of some really fabulous d/s fics! This is a big list and broken down by tropes, AND I marked which ones are sub Louis (SL) versus sub Harry (SH) this time around. I hope you enjoy! 

Established Relationship 

mr. tomlinson by iwillpaintasongforlou (4k) (SL) 

Louis is a billionaire CEO who makes grown men cry and rival companies crumble. He's also an omega. Harry is the quiet cupcake of a man he calls his alpha and the only one who gets to see Louis as anything less than fearsome.

Give Me What I’m Begging For by zedi (5k) (SH)

Omega Harry is a professor at a uni. Louis is his alpha mate, whose rut is coming up soon, so Harry has to take a week off from school to be with Louis. He tells his students it's a vacation but they all can tell the truth and tease him about it. Then Louis' rut comes and they both spend a week at home to fuck it out.

Taste and Plead by larrymylove (3k) (SH) 

The one where Harry wants something, and Louis' never been one to deny his boy anything.

With your body wrapped in stars by starryeyedkids (3k) (SL) 

They had a rule.

The moment they stepped foot inside their rooms, they stopped being King Louis William and his Consort Harry Edward. They were just Harry and Louis here, husbands, partners, equals. No rules of the court or propriety applied here. It wasn’t improper here for Louis to kneel at Harry's feet while wearing a collar made of gold.

Harry nods.

“Very well. You have fifteen minutes to shower and put in the plug I left on the bathroom counter. No need to dress afterward. When you come back, kneel next to the chair on my right. You may go.”

Howls Like a Beast (You Flower, You Feast) by indiaalaphawhiskey (16k) (SL) 

France, 1754. Château de Versailles.

“You don’t love me,” Louis had said, utterly blasé as he callously fractured the heart of a Harry that was just barely eighteen.

“I do,” Harry had insisted pleadingly, green eyes already watering.

Louis had rolled his eyes, exasperated and flippant in the way only beautiful, young boys could be when faced with the affections of a baby prince. He had run his finger down Harry’s cheek then, had forced him to look into his eyes as he delivered the final blow.

“You’ll change your mind once you’ve seen more of the world,” Louis had teased, pressing a brutally delicate kiss onto Harry’s lovely, pure cheek. “Once you’ve been properly defiled.” He had whispered filthily, delighted by the gasp he heard, the frantic pink blush that had rested high on Harry’s cheeks, the power he had felt at knowing he could make the Crown Prince squirm.

Daddy kink

a million roses (bathed in rock n roll) by deLILah (30k) (SH)

au. harry sings in smoky dive bars; louis misses his flight home. they go to coney island in the morning.

(aka - harry is lana del rey, and louis makes him a star.)

Precious little thing by mercutionotromeo (21k) (SH) 

Niall grins deviously and hits “make call”, putting his phone on speaker. They lean in close to peer down at the screen, heads knocking lightly together. Dull rings reverberate quietly around the room and mix with the monotonous buzz of the lights. It rings for a while - maybe six or seven times - then the other line picks up.

There’s a slow, steady inhale, and a low voice purrs, “Hi, sexy.”

Jesus - this guy has barely said two words, and both of them have made Harry's cock twitch in his jeans. That’s not even getting to what those words are, and why he’s saying them, and how Harry’s stomach is dropping into his shoes at the mere thought of him saying... other words. Words like “cock”, and “please”, and “come”.

Also known as: a university AU featuring phone sex operator Louis, copious amounts of sweet, soft kink discovery, and Louis being Harry's Daddy.

White Pages, White Lace, Big Hands, Pretty Face by thechesirepussycat (WIP - currently at 72k) (SL) 

“He touches his sides, his neck, his lips, all the places Harry has just been, all the places that still tingle from Harry’s touch. Such a strange feeling Louis has, so unreal and nerve-racking. He can’t begin to describe what Harry has done to him, what about Harry makes Louis want to call him… Daddy.“

Or, a gratuitous Sugar Daddy!Harry and Student!Louis AU.

Loving You is Free by littlelouishiccups (67k) (SH)

Louis is a workaholic record label CEO who hasn't been on a date in nearly a year. Niall and Liam make an account for him on a sugar dating website as a joke. And then Louis meets Harry.

daddy daddy cool by sky_reid (6k) (SH)

Harry wakes up hard.

Run and I’ll Give Chase by Madalynn_Bohemia (24k) (SH)

“You go out every night and maybe you’re able to drink without hurting anyone, but you’re still thirsty, aren’t you? Still have an itch you can’t scratch. A need you can’t put a name to. You desire a companion.”

“You mean a keeper?” Harry corrects with venom in his voice. “Someone to put a leash on me.”

“Wouldn’t need a leash, love.” Louis whispers sensually, and he is suddenly behind Harry, too fast for his eyes to keep track of. “You’re practically pliant just by being in my presence. Of course, if you’re into that sort of thing, I could always get you a lovely collar with a matching leash once you decide to take me up on my offer.”

Or, Harry is a fledgling vampire without a maker. Louis is graciously offering to fill that role.

Punishment Heavy

know you got that thing (that I like) by lightseep (15k) (SL)

In all the ways he thought about their reunion going, watching Louis finger himself open was not on the list.

Beside Me Like a Silhouette by domeasspreadsheet (3k) (SH)

“Quite the ruckus from someone who thought they were coming home to a sleeping household,” Louis says on an exhale of smoke.

Oh. Harry has been set up.

“Well, maybe if I hadn’t thought you were bailing on me I would have tried harder to be quiet,” he huffs.

Louis levels his gaze at him. “Is that so?”

Call Me Shallow But I Am Only Getting Deeper (7k) (orphaned) (SL)

Harry gripped the back of Louis’ chair and rested his left hand against the table’s surface. He slowly arched his back and let his lips hover just above the shell of Louis’ ear. Louis instantly reacted to Harry’s change of demeanor, his shoulders subconsciously pulling back. A smirk twitched the corner of his mouth when Louis’ thighs slightly parted.

“You want to keep acting like some bratty princess?” Harry quietly asked, lowering the tone of his voice. He slipped his hand from the back of Louis’ chair and clasped it around the nape of Louis’ neck. “Fine,” Harry gently squeezed, “That’s exactly how I’ll treat you, Baby.”

OR

The one where Louis is a brat so Harry spanks him with a riding crop.

Naughty Girls Get Spanked by Erin94 (4k) (SL)

When Louis gets caught trying to steal a trophy from Harry for his sorority, he ends up having a lot more fun than he had planned.

Or the one where Louis wears panties and gets spanked and fucked by frat boy Harry.

Kink Exploration

I Only Ever Want You by itsmiz (180k) (SL)

Louis and Harry's relationship goes through a series of changes while Liam and Zayn discover new things about themselves, as well.

Or: Louis & Harry and Liam & Zayn begin to have sex in front of each other and a lot of kink-discovery results from that.

Sugar, With Just the Right Amount of Spice by ZiamsLarry (6k) (SL)

Harry’s old fashioned when it comes to sex, he loves being face to face with his partner, watching their reactions to everything Harry gives them. He never does anything else then fuck in missionary position. Louis loves his sex life with Harry - but he’s getting a bit bored with doing the same position, all he really wants is for Harry to be rough with him, take control and dominate him for once.

Switch Out The Batteries by istajmaal and LoadedGunn (88k) (SH)

Harry raises an eyebrow. "Sex dice?"

"Yup," Louis nods. "You know the ones we sell, one die for a body part and the other for an action to perform on that… part."

"Isn't that what old married couples buy from you to spice things up?"

Louis frowns and opens his mouth to tell Harry off, but then he catches his absolutely dreamy expression and can only laugh. "Yes dear, we're just like any middle-aged married couple. Except for the fact that we're in our twenties and have a box full of bondage gear under our bed."

Two years after meeting in a sex shop, Harry's just returning to Louis from a month-long tour in the States, and they come up with a wholesome bonding exercise.

a cage for every ugly spirit by sarcasticfluentry (15k) (SH)

First-year uni student Harry gives up orgasms for Lent, featuring a cock cage and weekly prostate milkings on Sundays. Warning for religion kink.

Reduce Me to a Pleading Cry (Break the Skin and Tantalize) by taggiecb (37k) (SH)

As the CEO of Styles & Styles, Harry Styles cuts a brooding and handsome figure at the helm of a very successful business. His reputation for intensity is well known, but you would be intense, too, if you had to work numbers all day, give countless orders, and conduct endless meetings. When all you really want to do at night--ache to do--is give away the reins, let someone else make the decisions, be ordered around for once, just--let go. Harry has reached his breaking point when one touch from a man whose very stance commands attention leads him back to a place he thought he’d never return.

Or Harry is a broody submissive boss, Louis is a natural dom who works in the mail room at Styles & Styles, Niall is a matchmaking oracle, and a slender, dark haired man stands mute at the coffee stand encouraging others to spill their secrets.

Something in the World Today by whoknows (48k) (SL)

It shouldn’t be a surprise, the first time that Louis drops to his knees in front of Harry. It shouldn’t be, because it’s been something that Louis has needed for a long time. It shouldn’t be, because he’s been crawling out of his skin for weeks on end. It shouldn’t be, because Harry always makes him feel better. It shouldn’t be, because he’s needed this even when he didn’t know that he needed it.

Somehow, it still is.

Arranged Relationship/Born a Dom or Sub 

The Brat and the Tamer by Teddy1008 (18k) (SL)

No one can tame Louis Tomlinson. There’s only one word to describe him - brat. He’s been auctioned multiple times and returned every time. It seems like there’s no hope to tame the bratty Sub. That is, until a man with curls and piercing green eyes appear. Harry Styles.

Not that the man will change anything. Pfft. Of course not.

When I need you, I need it quickly by marvelous_things (160k) (SL)

"His wrist almost numb, Louis practically dissolves into the pillow, panting and guilty as can be, his belly splattered with his own come. He wipes himself off with a tissue and rolls over, only vaguely satisfied. And he thinks of how Harry might have actually done it – he might have actually ruined Louis, rendered him incapable of wanting anyone else...anything else.

And how terribly smug he would be if he knew."

or, the daddy!kink dom/sub au nobody asked for.

[prxttylittle]

“Whatever; I’m not jealous.”, “I noticed them checking you out.”, and because i live for married memes “No! I don’t want a new (brother / sister)!”

“Whatever; I’m not jealous.”

{ v ;; the princess and the moon. 

       Prince had picked up on the scowl which remained on Luna’s face from the exact second they reached the till in the store up to when they got to the car. He stayed silent as she ignored him piling their purchases into the boot of the car in favour of going into the front passenger seat to wait for him. When she was out of sight, he rolled his eyes, mumbling a sarcastic comment about ‘no thanks, I don’t need any help’ and finished stocking the car with all the baby stuff they’d bought before he hopped into the driver’s seat. He smiled at her, pretending he didn’t pick up on her attitude. “Problem?” He raised his eyebrows at her. No response. Prince huffed out a breath before sticking the keys in the ignition. “Fine, keep it to yourself.” They managed to get the whole way home without either of them saying a word. Prince wasn’t sure what he’d done wrong and he wasn’t going to apologise or admit defeat when he didn’t even know what had happened to cause the scowl on his wife’s face. They reached the house and she barely waited for the car to stop before she stormed toward the house. Prince chuckled as she slowed at the front door, probably realising she didn’t have her own keys with her and would have to wait for him to unlock the door. “I’m not opening that door until you tell me what the fuck I did.” He didn’t conceal the smirk on his face but it did fade automatically when Luna snapped at him about flirting with the cashier back at the store. He furrowed his eyebrows together, trying to even recall the conversation he’d had with the girl that had served them at the shop. He couldn’t think of what he’d said that led Luna to believe he’d been flirting, maybe he’d just not been rude, like he usually was, and she took that as him flirting. Prince really didn’t know. He tried to argue that she was being ridiculous but she kept up her attitude with him. “Luna, if I were going to flirt with teenage girls don’t you think I wouldn’t do it with my pregnant wife at my side? Seems like the most inappropriate time and also a weird choice of person to make you jealous.” Prince was truly finding the whole thing comical but clearly Luna wasn’t seeing it from his perspective. “Whatever; I’m not jealous. Just open the door.” He laughed. As if she truly thought he would believe that she wasn’t jealous. He did listen to her, though, and opened the front door for her but just as she was about to go inside, he pulled her back despite her protests. He placed both hands on either side of her face. “You’re the only person I want to flirt with. You’re also the only person I know how to flirt with so can you please drop this?” He pressed his lips to hers and was only filled with glee when the action was finally returned. 

{ v ;; no reason. 

       It was strange for Jason to be re-visiting all the hot-spots of his youth. Usually when he returned it was just to see his family at Christmas time and he kept his location visits restricted to wherever he needed to go to visit whatever family member was in his schedule that day, be it from the hospital to his grandmother’s. Bringing Iola with him this year meant she had the power to convince him to show her around the town he grew up in. Considering his primary and secondary schools and pretty much everywhere he hung out was within in a twenty-five minute distance from his childhood home, they decided to go for a walk in the winter air so he could show her around. They’d walked past his primary school where he told her stories of being the class clown and the clash between the religious practice in his school versus his father. A two-minute walk from the primary school there was the secondary school which didn’t have gating around it so he brought her straight onto the grounds, walking through the damp sports field hand-in-hand. The grass crunched beneath them, ice still melting. “I broke my arm over there when I was thirteen,” he pointed at the rugby goalpost that had rusted over time and even looked a little lopsided if he stared at it for too long. “I was showing off by hanging from the middle of it and one of my mates threw a rugby ball at me which knocked me down.” They walked further through the pitch and he told her more stories of his teenage years, comparing his little country-school in a small Scottish town to the large high schools he’d seen in America, hers included. They came across a tree stump and he raised his eyebrows, not having known the school had cut the tree down. “There used to be a huge tree here, you’ve definitely seen the million drawings of it I have in my notepad. People would sneak out of class or away from lunch to make out behind it.” He kicked at the stump that looked awfully desolate in comparison to the never-ending branches and foliage that used to stem from it in the image of the tree burned into his mind from his school-days. He, for a moment, forgot just who he was showing around before his next sentence came from his lips. “I had my first snog here when I was fifteen, actually, with a girl from Year 6.” He watched the expression on Iola’s face transition and suddenly regretted not focusing more on the story of the time he’d broken his arm. He wasn’t sure if she was joking or not by looking so unimpressed. He chuckled nervously. “That was ten years ago though, you know that, yeah?” He cursed silently when she just nodded instead of giving him a proper answer. “Baby, there’s no reason to be jealous of someone I kissed once when I was a teenager.” Watching the expression on her features refuse to soften made him nervous. “Whatever; I’m not jealous.” She pulled her hand free and he rolled his eyes when she wasn’t looking. Jason didn’t believe she wasn’t jealous. “Baaaaaabe.” He whined, pulling her back to him. He kissed her, scattering pecks around her face and neck when she didn’t indulge him. “Come on, I don’t even remember her name.” He smiled softly trying to pull her out of her unnecessary mood. “I’m sorry that I kissed someone before we met, I wish I’d known at the time that I was going to move to America and fall in love with the most beautiful girl on the planet because I wouldn’t have done it.” He raised his eyebrows at her, pouting somewhat-playfully. “If it helps, we can make you the last girl I kiss behind the tree.” He looked at the stump. “Or what’s left of it.”

{ v ;; July 17th. 

       Rolling his eyes, Zayn let out a breath when Ari asked what was going on with him. He didn’t expect it but a chuckle fell from his lips. “You don’t want to know what’s wrong with me.” He glanced up at her from his position on the couch with his head in her lap. “Of all people, you’re not going to want to listen.” He sighed and went to re-focus his attention on whatever movie she’d picked out but was dragged away almost immediately when she insisted they were friends and she’d listen to him. He looked back to her, a frown on his lips. He didn’t really want to talk to her about his drama with Harry but he kind of wanted to test the waters with her. Was she being genuine about wanting to listen to him? She had insisted before that her feelings for Zayn were just a small crush that she would get over eventually. Even as he mocked and teased her, nothing had actually changed between them and he appreciated that. The nights they spent up late together just chatting and joking around like a pair of idiots was Zayn’s favourite time of the day, or night. He sighed, giving in and deciding to talk to her about what was going on with him. He told her about what happened between him, Harry and Ashley. He confessed to not really caring if Ashley had been there or not and continued to decipher and toss between his feelings about everything that had happened in the house as of late. If he wasn’t talking to Ari he would include how his confusion was deepened by her recent admission of her feelings toward him but he didn’t want to introduce that tension to their otherwise carefree friendship, though it was heavily influencing how he felt about things in the house. At the end of his rant he let out another sigh and ran his hands over his face. He glanced up at her and frowned at the weird expression written into her features. “What?” He sat up then, separating the touch between them. “You’re not, like, jealous are you?” He attempted to decipher what the look on her face meant but he immediately felt like an idiot for suggesting it was jealousy she was feeling but her cheeks blushed and his eyes widened. Was it jealousy? “You are!” He accused and he couldn’t help the amused grin on his face when she huffed and puffed, telling him to shut up. “Whatever; I’m not jealous.” She insisted and he raised his hands innocently, giving up the argument. He wasn’t about to irritate her any further by making more accusations of how she felt. He went quiet for a moment and considered telling her the part he’d left out regarding how he felt about her crush on him. He weighed out the options. He could confess that her feelings for him were fucking with his mind a bit but then he didn’t want to make her feel like she shouldn’t have told him in the first place. The silence lingered and he decided not to bring it up. “You don’t have to be, you know.” And when she went to ask what the hell he was talking about, he interrupted her by kissing her. Kissing her was instinctive. It felt right, more so than with any of the other people (the many, many other people) in the house that he often made out with. With Ari it always felt somewhat important, like he should always be kissing her. “You don’t have to be jealous of anyone.” He mumbled against her lips. 

{ v ;; katie and leo. (& eli, the third member of this ship)

      Katie is focused on pouring rum into her cup when Ava addresses her. “Katie, truth or dare.” She smirks, after having picked truth the last two times and getting asked boring questions about her sex life, she chooses dare, eyes narrowing at Ava sat on the couch across from Katie. The playful smile on Ava’s lips doesn’t really worry Katie until she hears her dare out loud. Katie’s eyes widen and her mouth hangs open a little longer than she’d like. “You want me to snog Eli?” Katie scoffs, looking over at the other twin. Maybe she was delegating the wrong energy by focusing her hatred of a King sibling on Camille. Maybe it was the twins that deserved her tyranny. Letting out a sigh, Katie places her drink into the cup-holder on her seat, sparing a glance to Leo who looks like he feels the exact same way she does about this dare, and makes her way over to Eli. It’s strange, as she slides down onto his lap, crossing her legs together, arms draping over his shoulders. She eyes him for a moment, smirking more so out of discomfort than anything else. Katie places one hand on the side of his face, the other resting flat on his shoulder and she can’t shake the feeling of how peculiar it is to have his hands on her waist. “This is so weird.” She mumbles with a chuckle and a shake of her head, unsure if anyone but him hears it. Finally, Katie leans in. Her eyes flutter shut just as her lips graze up against his, tender at first before her lips gently coax his apart, tasting the marinara from the pizza they’d ordered mingled with the over-powering flavour of the beer he’d been drinking. She has hooked up with many guys in her time but Katie has never been so hyperaware of her surroundings mid lip-lock with someone as she is with Eli, the sound of the fire blazing and the soft blare of music in her ears very evident, that on top the knowledge that everyone, Leo included, is bearing witness to this moment. Very much the opposite to kissing Leo in which case the whole world disappears from around her. Her stomach does flips but not in a good way, more as though she was snogging her own brother kind of way. Katie chuckles against Eli’s lips when Leo pipes up interrupting them to say it’d been long enough and she pulls away, her eyes blinking open. Their faces are still close as her eyes search Eli’s and she lets out a sigh and pats him on the cheek before turning to the rest of the group. “Does anyone have a number for a psychologist? I’m going to need serious counselling after that.” She gets up then and returns to her seat, downing half her drink in one go mostly so Eli King’s lips aren’t the most recent thing to touch hers. Her eyes don’t leave Leo for a second despite how he’s refusing to look at her. She leans forward so only he can hear her when she speaks. “It was just a dare, Leo. It obviously didn’t mean anything. You don’t have to be jeal--” “Whatever; I’m not even jealous.” The way he’s dropping his drink to the ground and stomping away from the group proves his words wrong. She glares at both of the twins. Katie loves Eli and Ava. After Leo they were possibly her favourite people (not that she’d ever tell Eli that) but when they directed their troublemaking towards her, she wasn’t the biggest fan.

   Katie catches up with Leo outside. “You have nothing to be jealous about.” She challenges, a little irritated that he has decided to pick up an attitude with her about this. “I’m not–” “Yes you are.” She looks him up and down for a moment before she reaches out and takes his hand. She steps closer to him so their faces are almost touching, if she stands on the tips of her toes. She doesn’t say anything else, just kisses him and it proves even further how much kissing Eli had felt like kissing a relative. It couldn’t for a moment compare to this. Pulling away, Katie smirks. “And Ava only had to double-dare me to do this one.” But when it feels like he’s going to get snippy with her again, she locks their lips yet again to shut him up and also partly because she enjoys kissing Leo-Valentin.

___________________________________________________

“I noticed them checking you out.” 

{ v ;; the princess and the moon. 

        Making sure that nobody was looking at them or lingering around, Prince grabbed Stacey’s wrist and pulled her back so they were the last two standing outside while everyone else entered Matt’s house. He ignored the smirk on her face, rolling his eyes instead. He handed her the small baggie of white powder, swapping the cash in her hand for the drugs. He raised an eyebrow at her, his hold on her wrist still very much present and a little too tight. “That’s your second batch of MD this weekend.” He pointed out, noting as her amused grin transitioned to an expression of panic. He knew how afraid she was of people realising how big of a problem she had. He quite frankly didn’t care if she was an addict or just having fun, she was loaded and always paid up-front and that’s all that mattered to him. He wasn’t about to start handing out rehab pamphlets. “I’m only going to tell you this one time. Leave Luna alone or else everyone finds out about your little habit, and I’ll cut your supply off. Got it?” His grip on her wrist tightened enough that she attempted to pull free but he refused to let go until she agreed to back off of Luna. He nodded. “You keep this conversation to yourself, too.” He snarled before finally releasing her and making his way into the house to the party. 

     Prince didn’t catch up with his friends until a while into the party, having been busy selling the products filling his pockets. Walking into the kitchen, he felt Stacey’s eyes on him and he only spared her a moment’s glance before he spotted Luna and Cassie. He didn’t say anything when he reached them, just gave Luna a kiss, his hand wrapping around the plastic cup in her hand to take the drink from her, finishing it despite her protests. He noticed she was looking past him over to Stacey and he rolled his eyes and cupped her jaw to force her to look at him instead. “What’s the problem? She say something to you?” He challenged, immediately assuming the glare on Luna’s face was a result of Stacey not taking him seriously. Luna finally refocused some attention back to Prince. She shrugged, denying any altercation with Stacey. He raised his eyebrows, needing much more of an answer than that. “I just noticed her checking you out.” She explained, still short with him as if he was to blame, and he snorted. “You’re in a mood because you’re jealous of her?” He retorted, his intention not to come across as teasing as it was. A smirk embraced his lips and he leaned in to kiss her, which was still weird for them, or even just him, to do in front of all of their friends and peers. “You don’t have to worry about that.” He assured Luna. Prince knew exactly why Stacey had such an intent gaze locked on him but he wasn’t going to share. “She’s not checking me out, and even if she were I much prefer you.” With his hand still under her chin he urged her to look at him, not smiling at her exactly but his features softening when she finally gave him her full attention. “Let’s get out of here.” 

{ v ;; no reason. 

       Attending a party with Iola by his side as his girlfriend once again felt right. A part of him was so excited by their reunion that he didn’t even want to go to the party, he just wanted to stay at home and roll around in bed with Iola but he knew they had to attend since they promised Lip. It turned out to be a lot of fun. Having people tell them how good they looked together, getting drunk and dancing the night away felt like some kind of celebration for their rekindling (even if the real celebration was June’s birthday). Jason frowned when Iola pulled away from kissing him. She seemed distracted and he wanted to know what was going on. She nodded to her left. “Who’s that? I noticed them checking you out.” Jason frowned and followed her gaze and it was the first sight of Molly all night. Standing across the room, her and her friends had their sights set on Jason and it made him feel slightly nervous. He’d ended on good terms with Molly but he guessed it wasn’t so nice to see Jason parading around the place with the person who prevented him from really giving any bit of himself to the semi-relationship they’d had while Iola was gone. He sighed and placed his hand under her chin to force her gaze back to him. “Who cares who’s been looking at me? I’ve been too busy checking you out.” He leaned back in to kiss her but it was naive of him to think she would let this drop, especially considering he didn’t even answer or question or say that he didn’t know the girl. She stepped back from him and he rolled his eyes. “Babe–” he reached for her hand, but it was pulled out of his grasp. He bit down on his lip and let out a sigh. “Fine, it’s– uh–” He didn’t really know how to tell her that there’d been someone else in his life. Even if they were broken up when he’d gotten with Molly he knew he should have told her at some point in the weeks they spent rebuilding their relationship. He looked around and suddenly he was no longer enjoying the party. The music was too loud, there were too many people crowding around them and he already predicted Iola was going to be furious with him so this didn’t exactly feel like the right setting. He guided her outside but she would only let him take her so far so he sat down on the porch with her. She looked just as unimpressed as Molly’s friends had two minutes ago. He took her hands in his. “The girl that was looking at us” Jason refused to use the term ‘checking me out’ mostly because he didn’t really think that’s what had been happening. “Is my ex from when you were away.” He blurted out so quickly that the words fumbled together. But she picked up on them, of course she did. She pulled her hands away and stood up. He didn’t get a chance to explain because she had already stormed off, quick enough so he couldn’t catch up. Jason knew there was a world of fury waiting for him at home and he only partly contemplated not following her but he knew better than that. It was time to face the fire.

{ v ;; july 17th. 

      Zayn looked outside from where he was just about to exit the elevator, noticing the crowd that had gathered at his apartment building’s door. He sighed and almost held back but they’d been cooped up inside for so long, avoiding paparazzi and he knew they had to go out eventually. Especially when they both had things to do that wasn’t just rolling around in bed and fighting about what movie to watch or what food to order in. Neither he nor Ari were the type to hire a bunch of staff to surround them at all hours of the day but having Ari at his side with so many people outside he now wished they had a few more human barriers to protect them from the crowd of fans and paps loitering. They finally made their way outside but the moment the crowd started to move nearer to them, Zayn instinctively wrapped one arm around her waist from behind, trying to sort-of shelter her body with his as he held out his other arm to block out the flashes and shouting, as if it helped in anyway. The men with cameras shouted and hollered at the married couple and Zayn had to force his features to remain unphased. Questions of whether or not Ari was pregnant again, if they wanted a baby, how they were doing, what they’d been working on career-wise, the MTV show and One Direction and more that Zayn couldn’t even catch with all the shouting came flying their way. He heard multiple people ask if Ari was pregnant again and it kind of stung but he just focused on guiding her to the car, neither of them giving the paparazzi an inch. Once again, he blanketed her body with his as he urged her into the car, safely. He gave one wave to the crowd before he piled in beside her. He let out a breath and chuckled lightly despite his dip in mood. “If only we could have a greeting like that every time we leave the apartment.” He remarked sarcastically. He scooted over in the car so he was directly beside her, wrapping an arm over her shoulder to pull her in against him. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. He shrugged when she pointed out that there’d been quite a few fans of his outside. “I noticed them checking you out.” She added in and he raised his eyebrows before he laughed at her. He didn’t give her much of a verbal response, leaning forward to kiss her to quash her unnecessary jealousy. “I didn’t notice. I was busy checking you out.” A playful grin braced his lips as her kissed her again.

{ v ;; Katie and Leo. 

       If Nicholas Keller found out that his seventeen year old daughter was throwing a house-party while he visited his girlfriend on tour with his other daughter in tow, shit would very well and truly hit the fan. He would probably put a lock on her bedroom door, along with every window in the house and take away all of her electricals. For now, he was oblivious and Katie didn’t plan on that changing. She put away any pictures of her mother to avoid breakage, and hid any valuables so if anything got destroyed, it would be nothing worth noticing. She liked hosting parties, she didn’t get to do it often. It was very rare for her dad to trust her at home alone and even the last two times he had gone away, she’d been stuck babysitting Bella. Now, she was home alone and she invited all her friends from school and dance class and she was letting herself go in the comfort of her own home. While talking to two guys from her dance school, she noticed Leo coming downstairs with a girl and there was nothing she could do to stop the sinking feeling in her stomach. She excused herself to make her way to Leo, grabbing him before he could go and get another drink. A sickly-sweet smile presented itself in place of her scowl moments ago. She nodded in the direction he’d just come from. “Who’s that?” She asked, calm and collected and proud of herself for it. He didn’t answer her which eroded her pretence of being fine with him hooking up with another girl in her house. Instead he focused on the two guys she’d just been sandwiched between. “Who are they? I noticed them checking you out.” She looked back to the guys from her dance class, and to her annoyance (purely because it gave Leo a leg to stand out) they were in fact checking her out. She rolled her eyes and looked back to Leo. “Jake and Liam. They’re from my dance class. And why do you give a fuck who checks me out when you’ve just been shagging some blonde bitch in my house?” She snapped, her sweet demeanour from moments ago completely washed away. He went to speak and she held up her hand to interrupt him. “I’m fine with this just friends thing but its so fucking rude of you to bring some girl upstairs in my own house. I hope you didn’t do it in my bed. Not that it would surprise m–” Her rant was cut short when he pressed his lips to hers but she was still angry, too angry to make out. She pulled away, glaring at him. The red flush on her cheeks from her rage transitioned to embarrassment when Leo explained he was just showing the girl where the bathroom was. In typical Leo-Katie fashion, he didn’t make fun of her mistake, he just kissed her again. She returned the gesture this time and pulled away with a grin. “Well, you can use my room if you really want.”

___________________________________________________

“No! I don’t want a new brother/sister.”

{ v ;; the princess and the moon. 

         Prince watched on as Luna explained to Leo the benefits of a new sibling, how Leo could play with them, be granted the responsibility to look after them and not be the only kid in the house but Leo just pouted in response to all of the above. “No!” The married couple exchanged a glance. “I don’t want a new brother or sister!” The child huffed and puffed dramatically before running away from his parents and up to his room. Prince let out a sigh and sat back into the couch, rubbing at his face with both hands. He looked at Luna and rolled his eyes, slightly annoyed that they didn’t get the reaction they were hoping for, as if they had the slightest bit of control over how a ten year old acts. “He’ll come around eventually, he doesn’t really have a choice.” When Luna found out she was pregnant again, Prince was overcome with joy. The first time they were expecting a child, he’d spent the whole nine months nervous about his ability to be a good dad despite how long and well he’d taken care of his little sister, practically a parent to her when they were younger. Prince just hadn’t been sure it would suit him, fathering. Luna didn’t have any doubts about him and when Leo finally came, she was proved right. The love he felt for his son was surreal, unimaginable adoration. Knowing he was going to get to experience that with a second child was wondrous and he hadn’t initially thought of what Leo would think about having a newcomer in the family home until they discussed sitting him down and informing him he was going to become a big brother. However, Leo pouting and running off in a tantrum like he’d just done wasn’t really what Prince had expected. He leaned forward on the couch so he was closer too his wife, taking her hands in his. His lips grazed her knuckles and he shrugged his shoulders. “Leo’s a good kid. He’ll be an amazing big brother, he practically already acts like one to Katie so just imagine when he actually has a little sibling especially after she’s gone away to France.” He assured her, one hand going to rest on her stomach. There wasn’t much of a bump there yet, if anything Prince wouldn’t have even noticed a weight-gain had he not been informed of the pregnancy. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, trying to get her to look at him and when she did a smile plastered his lips until her expression finally matched his to which he matched her smile with a kiss. “It’ll be fine.” His hand gently glided over her stomach.  

{ v ;; no reason. 

        If there was one thing Jason was sure of it was that if he ever met the person who created ‘Baby Shark’ he would punch them in the face, simple as that. He came to this very (obviously peaceful) conclusion when he walked through the front door of the house only to be greeted by his fiancee and son dancing to the exact same song that had been playing when he’d gone out hours ago at breakfast time. The smiles on both Iola and Freddie’s faces didn’t seem to be worth the constant playback of the same song over and over again, especially Baby Shark. He might consider a less violent approach if his son had an affinity for Westlife or Disney Classics. He wrapped an arm around Iola’s waist to pull her into him, kissing her hello despite the gagging sounds that came from Freddie, causing the married pair to pull apart with laughter. He lifted Freddie up and asked him about his day to which Freddie excitedly talked about his cousins calling over and how they played this game and that game, most of them Jason had never even heard of even as the rules were being described to him. “Oh yeah?” Freddie nodded and went on to talk about how his new baby cousin had been there too, going on to talk about how boring babies are. Jason chuckled at that. “You didn’t like your baby cousin, huh? You wouldn’t like it if mummy and daddy had another baby in the house besides you? Give you a little brother or sister.” Freddie squirmed in Jason’s arms, making a whining noise and he shook his head vigorously which just made Jason and Iola laugh. “I don’t want a new brother or sister!” He insisted and he was rolling around so much that Jason had to put him back on the ground before he dropped him which was very likely. Freddie became immediately distracted once he was returned to the floor, returning to dancing in front of the telly with his toy-shark in hand. Jason finally focused his full attention on Iola. “Did you hear that? Our three year old thinks we should learn to use protection because he wants to be the only kid.” He sniggered. With both hands on her hips he went to pull her in for a kiss but was hastily interrupted when Freddie bounced over, pulling Iola closer to the television because it was 'mommy shark time’ for the song. He watched them dancing, noting Iola had every move down to perfection and he couldn’t stop the doting smile on his lips. Jason was pulled in between them just in time for daddy shark part and he had to comply even if the song did almost send him to insanity. Maybe one kid was more than enough, he decided.

{ v ;; july 17th. 

       Zayn was practically falling asleep on the couch when the sound of the front door and Leilanis voice filled the house. He didn’t move but then again he didn’t really have to because it wasn’t long before Leilani was running into the living room shouting ‘Daddy, Daddy’ and jumping up onto the couch with him. As tired as he was there wasn’t anything he could but smile whenever he was in the presence of his children engulfing Leilani in a hug just as Jack came bounding in after her and joined them. “Where’s your mum?” He quizzed, noticing the pair seemed to be going puttering about by themselves. Before anyone could answer, Ari came running through the front door but didn’t stop to speak to anyone. Zayn was suspicious of Ari’s haste to rush into the house and when Leilani said ‘Mummy’s been sick today’ Zayn immediately knew where she was gone. He sighed and turned on cartoons for the kids before he went to seek out his wife. He knocked on the bathroom door lightly to warn her he was coming in. He sat down on the floor beside her just as she sat back. He placed his hand on the small of her back, gliding up and down to soothe her. He pouted. Through her last few pregnancies Zayn hated to see Ari go through the bad parts of carrying a baby, the sickness and nausea, the mood swings and the discomfort near the end. Though it was beautiful to see their family grow, he couldn’t not feel bad for her when the negative parts made themselves known. There was never anything he could do to help her and it wasn’t as if he could empathise or take any of her burden, either. It always made him feel helpless. “Leilani says you’ve been sick.” His hand continued to rub at her back, gentle and not pushing up against her. He sighed when she finally seemed to be feeling better as she turned to curl up in his arms, her head on his chest. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. He was thankful for Netflix because it kept the kids distracted while he and Ari just sat on the bathroom floor, him comforting her from feeling ill. 

     Later that night, Zayn was quite literally just about to fall asleep when the bedroom door pushed open and Leilani’s voice, quiet into the night disturbed him. He blinked, not sure if he’d heard the childish whisper or not until she called for them again. He sighed and sat up to turn on the light beside his bed. At the door, Leilani stood with a blanket in hand and an expression so sad that Zayn felt his heart break a little. He nudged Ari to wake her up as Leilani crawled into the bed between them. The married pair both wrapped an arm around their daughter as she explained that she couldn’t sleep because she was worried about Ari having been sick earlier. Though she seemed a little devastated (and also was waking them up at 2AM), Zayn couldn’t help but smile at the sweet gesture. He looked over to Ari, knowing she felt the same and also allowing for her to explain what was going on. “But I don’t want a new brother or sister.” Leilani argued when Ari finished explaining that she was pregnant once again. Zayn frowned. “I already have one.” Leilani explained further. “And you're such a good big sister to Jack. Maybe he wants to be just like you. Don’t you want that?” Zayn smiled at Leilani. She had been so excited when Ari was pregnant before, Zayn hadn’t expected they'd have to try get her on board with this next baby. Ari chimed in and eventually Leilani started to get much less upset, agreeing with them that a new sibling wouldn’t be so bad. And, like clockwork, Jack came striding into the room. Younger than Leilani, his upset was much less empathetic and more placed on the fact that he was feeling left out so Zayn lifted him to join them in the bed, sandwiched between his parents and sibling. Zayn chuckled quietly into the night as the kids fell asleep quite easily. “Might need to get a bigger bed.” He teased Ari, his voice low enough for her to hear but not to stir the children. 

[harrybridgers]

Writing Self Evaluation 2018

i genuinely can’t believe it’s been another year and its time for another one of these things,,,,,,wth,,,,thanks so much to @pattern-pals and @iamasphodelknox​ for tagging me!! 

All answers should be about works published in 2018. (Skip any questions you don’t want to answer, but please leave them on the list so that others can answer them if they want.)

1. Number of stories (including drabbles) posted to AO3: five

2. Word count posted for the year: 185,552 (!!!!!!!!)

3. List of works published this year:

purple rain

dissolve

when the city shines (like the sun at night)

moon river

shelter as we go

4. Fandoms I wrote for: one direction

5. Pairings: larry + zarry

6. Story with the most…

Kudos / Bookmarks: when the city shines

Comments: when the city shines/shelter as we go

7. Work I’m most proud of (and why): 

100% shelter as we go. that thing took me over a year to plan and write and i genuinely think it’s the peak of my writing in this fandom so far. it’s also filled me with the confidence to continue writing stories in that style and really just fucking go for it in terms of tackling big themes and things i’ve been apprehensive about touching before. i’m so proud of the characters and the setting and the story - it feels like a real milestone for me! honourable mention to dissolve, too, i love that fic with all my heart, it’s such a treasure and i can’t wait to work on more zarry fic in future. 

8. Work I’m least proud of (and why): 

when the city shines. i genuinely would delete it if it wasn’t so popular...ugh. looking back and reading over it, it just doesn’t feel like me. i still like it and i’m glad others have loved it, it just sticks out like a store thumb amongst everything else i’ve posted in terms of the quality. 

9. A favorite excerpt of your writing:

oooh no this is hard.....here have a few because i’m indecisive 

from dissolve:

“I don’t want to go to New York,” Harry said. “I hate it there. I want to go with you.”

“We can go another time,” Zayn said. “We can go whenever you like.”

“Right now?” Harry said, so softly. He finally looked over, and the vulnerability there was a kick to Zayn’s chest, made him reach out without thinking, to press a warm kiss to Harry’s forehead in a way he hadn’t before, cupping his cheeks in his palms and just kissing him there over and over, down along his brows and his temples and along his chin, tasting the salt of tears, his heart threatening to break through his ribs.

“I’ve already booked the flights,” Zayn said, lips pressed to Harry’s warm cheek. “We’ll stay at the Ritz. We’ll cruise on the Seine and I’ll take pictures of you on film and I’ll get them developed right there in Paris. We can pin them up on the windows and smoke on the balcony and I’ll get up before sunrise to bring you fresh croissants for breakfast. I’ll wake you up with my mouth on your cock–”

“Perfect,” Harry said, breathless as he laughed and cried all at once.

“We’ll walk around for so long that everybody forgets who we are. We’ll walk around for so long we forget ourselves. Just a little couple walking around in a big city. I’ll write our names on a lock and pin it to that bridge. I’d swallow the fucking key if you asked me to, Harry.”

He didn’t know what he was saying, just that he couldn’t stop, that he felt frantic and light-headed and flushed with heat from the tips of his fingers to the tips of his toes, and Harry was staring at him with this look in his eyes. Zayn brushed away another stray tear and tried not to shake, tried not to think about the way he’d just called them a couple, the way Harry kept staring.

They weren’t a couple. They were friends. They were friends who kissed and fucked and fucked each other up.

-

“I’m so sorry,” Harry says, and his voice hiccups, fingers wrung together. “There’s no way I could ever understand what you went through, because I never even asked. There’s no excuses for anything. I can only say that I’m sorry. Sorry that I didn’t ask you if you were okay as often as I should have, sorry that I just let you drift away without holding on. I’m sorry I never said anything until it was too late. I was selfish, and I loved you, and I didn’t want you to leave me behind.”

“Harry, stop,” Zayn chokes out. He can’t look, can hardly breathe. I loved you. I loved you. I loved you.

“No,” Harry says, chin lifted. “You have to know, because I didn’t tell you back then and it ruined everything. This is me trying to fix it.”

“It can’t be fixed.”

“Then we throw it away and start again,” Harry says fiercely, eyes shining. “I’d throw everything out the fucking window if it meant I could touch you one more time.”

from shelter as we go:

It’s sterile and cold inside. When he flicks on the light, he freezes.

There’s a mirror hanging above the old basin, and he catches sight of himself before he can duck his eyes away to the faded shower curtain or the faded tiles, the faded bath-mat, the faded towels. He’s confronted instead with the faded image of a person he hardly knows anymore, that he hasn’t known for a very long time. There aren’t any mirrors in the other house, and he can’t remember the last time he saw himself in anything that wasn’t the disfiguring glaze of a window, some type of shaded reflection, but he’s faced with it now.

He lets the door fall shut behind him, then approaches the vanity slowly, regarding himself like a stranger.

The gauntness is what startles him most, the sharp hollows of his cheekbones, the tired, sunken circles beneath his eyes, the sickly shadows that cling to his jaw. There was a time, when he first shot up and started to grow, that he’d been broad and lanky. Now, his frame is slight, collar bones protruding, shoulders thin and sharper than he remembers. Everything about him seems frail, and he hates that, he hates it so much that his lips curl up when he stares at his reflection, at his greasy hair and the purple shadows, at the man he doesn’t recognize, a man who still feels like that boy who never got to grow up the right way, the boy who was tiny and clung to his mother’s fingers with a vice grip, the boy that suddenly wasn’t allowed to be a boy anymore.

-

“You’re good at that.”

Harry pauses, fingers still looped in the fine little string. When he glances over, Louis has shifted slightly onto his back, watching with hooded eyes.

“At what?” Harry says.

“Taking care of other people,” Louis says.

Harry holds his breath, and he doesn’t say anything in return, can’t. Instead, he pulls the blinds firmly closed and stares at the dusty pane, the way the lamp casts shadows, the dewy honey they’re stuck in.

“‘S funny,” Louis says, a breathless, broken chuckle. “When we do that, y’know, care so much about someone else that we stop giving a shit about ourselves.”

-

He sits forward and tucks his hands under his thighs, gaze lowered. “I feel like we all have this fire in our bellies when we’re kids, this passion to explore things and get obsessed with these fantastical ideas. And to keep carrying that fire, to cradle it and keep it from going out, it’s hard, y’know. And even if you keep it burning the candles got to melt away some time. Nobody ever shows you how to replace the wick.”

Harry thinks of his own little flame, snubbed out before he even got a chance to play with the fire. There’s something that makes him so inexplicably sad, picturing that puff of smoke, the moment it dawns that there’s nothing left to keep the chest warm. He can’t pinpoint it now, but it washes over him slowly, this realization that he couldn’t nurture that flame, that Louis did everything he could to try and keep his own alight. It feels like an ending point, this transcendence between the fuzzy innocence of everything childhood is supposed to be, and the strange, brutal truths that start to overlap into a life whenever the world deems it time.

-

“You have to understand,” Louis says, pulling back now, hands on Harry’s lapels. “Everything about this town exists in a time capsule. In one big cycle. Nothing changes. And the people that try and make changes, that start to drift out of this perfect circle that’s been made, there’s no room for them. I was one of those people, Harry. I still am, despite everything. I should have just stayed in my place.”

“That’s not fair,” Harry says, however naive it may be, however superfluous a thing it is to say. His own hands find Louis’ coat, the two of them holding on to each other. “You can’t blame yourself for that.”

“But I do,” Louis says, eyes shiny. “I always will.”

They stare wordlessly at each other. Cape Breton is waking behind them, the low curl of the swell flushing up the beach, children playing in the sand as they watch the silhouettes of the trawlers through the spring mist. All of that feels far away right now, every familiar thing Harry’s come to know about this place like a vague memory as he looks at the hurt in Louis’ eyes and feels this strange sense of understanding wash over him, that flush of anger and frustration fading to something he’s felt before but couldn’t put a finger on, that very first night at the bar, standing out in the cold snow and not being able to say a word.

-

and in lieu of spoiling things, for those who have read it, that entire last bar scene and confrontation between louis, sully, and fergus is hands down i think the best/my favourite thing i’ve ever written!!

10. Share or describe a favorite review you received:

oh there are always so many....i truly get the sweetest and most heartfelt comments, they make me cry. there are a few comments on shelter as we go in particular that touched my heart completely.....so thoughtful and lovely

11. A time when writing was really, really hard: 

i fell into the hardest funk for the first half of the year. i was indecisive and uninspired with literally everything i did, i had so many wips i wanted to tear my hair out omg. then in the second half of the year, i was finishing my uni degree and honestly....was just so depressed lmao. i was in a terrible creative cycle and never wanted to get out of bed. 2018 has been the toughest mentally for me, it took a lot to get over certain things, and forcing myself to believe in my ideas and get a long fic done was no easy feat. 

12. A scene or character that you wrote that surprised you: 

both fergus and sully from shelter as we go - they feel so layered and real to me even though they don’t have much actual scene presence within the story itself. they just kind of feel omnipresent to me, and the parts they’re involved in are, to me, the most important and symbolic parts of the fic itself. i’ve fallen in love with writing original characters thanks to those two. 

as for a scene, it would have to be the bar fight, again from shelter as we go. i was unsure if i’d be able to pull that off in the way that i wanted it to feel, but i’m honestly so proud of that entire scene and everything that follows. 

13. How did you grow as a writer this year: 

i think i’ve found my place and style. obviously writing is always changing and you grow as you go, but i honestly feel like i’ve found this part of myself that is holistically who i want to be as a writer - i know what i want to say, what i want my work to feel like, what i want my characters to portray. writing and finishing shelter as we go opened up this whole new world of possibilities to me, as did writing dissolve. i just have so much passion inside me at the moment and i cannot wait to get through the wips i’ve got going. 

14. How do you hope to grow next year: 

the next larry wip i have is the most ambitious thing i’ve ever attempted, so i really hope i can grow in the same way i did with shelter as we go, bridging fanfiction with original fiction and just giving it my all!! and also to write more zarry because i feel like in that genre i have this whole new voice to explore 

15. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer: 

my harrie gc babies!!! particularly liz + nina......love all of u

16. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year: 

not to be cliche but shelter as we go honestly became this like....physical embodiment of my mental state and just needing to get so much shit out of there. i always channel my personal feelings into my writing but that was a big one. 

17. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers:

don’t attempt to write four 50k+ wips all at the same time. just don’t do it. 0/10 would recommend. side affects include poor mental stability and constant rage at the google docs app. 

18. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting or finishing in the new year: 

my new larry wip.....shits gonna be wild. also zarry because i love the angst

19. Tag writers whose answers you’d like to read: 

im gonna taaaaaag @this-onegoes and @crossnecklace ily guys

[unactive-1d]

my favourite fics in ao3

Ziam

Ninety-Eight Percent

“This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Niall chokes out, actual tears welling in his eyes. Liam hates him. A lot.

“This website is bullshit,” Liam grumbles. “Niall this can’t be real. How am I ninety-eight percent compatible with Louis Tomlinson?”

--

In which Louis is Liam's soulmate and Liam is really not amused.

Ziam Twitcam

The fans want some real life Ziam action

As He Moves

Zayn thought he wanted to know where Liam worked. Apparently he thought wrong.

Only Place I Call Home

Liam works at a coffee shop; Zayn is a homeless street performer who plays just outside the shop. Sometimes Liam brings Zayn coffee and donuts and in exchange Zayn sings for him.

Wrong Side of Love

Zayn and Liam wake up in each other's bodies.

Burning Away From Inside

They're a little too dysfunctional to be considered superheroes, but they do their best.

Connected

Fed up with Zayn and Liam skirting around how they feel about each other, the rest of the band devise a plan to get them to own up to their feelings.

(Or, Zayn and Liam are oblivious and annoying, the rest of the band can't handle it anymore, and handcuffs were probably not intended to be used this way.)

What We Become

“Nervous?”

“No.”

“It’s okay if you are,” Harry says seriously. “I mean, I know I would be. Like, if there was ever a date that was destined to go bad, it’s probably this one. Werewolf goes on date with the son of a werewolf hunter, who’s also training to be a werewolf hunter when he’s older, while another pack of werewolves are practically massacring the town, and no one has no idea how to stop them. It's not a question of what could go wrong. It's a question of what could possibly go right, and I'm willing to bet the answer to that is nothing."

Floating On The Water

Liam just wants to get through his last summer working at Malik Resort before University without incident. Of course, life is never that easy, and he ends up getting roped into giving the bosses son, Zayn, swimming lessons. That wouldn't be so bad, if Zayn didn't happen to hate him so much.

Tunnel Vision

In which Zayn is an award-winning popstar with a knack for getting himself in trouble, and Liam is the bodyguard he didn’t want to hire who has a few problems with staying professional.

Not Happening

Zayn and Liam are roommates. They hate each other. (Most of the time.)

Lover Dearest

"First rule, babe," Zayn says, leaning down. His lips slide over Liam's jaw, barely there, just a soft pressure, fleeting and gone as soon as it came. "Never trust a vampire."

He's grinning as he climbs off Liam, heading for the door. Liam watches him go, thinking that he's wrong. The first rule should be to not fall in love with one.

Larry

Learning to Eat

Celebrity chef Louis Tomlinson has a problem. He’s opening his first restaurant in 9 weeks, and he has yet to hire a pastry chef- apparently people think he’s ‘standoffish’ and ‘rude’ and ‘quick to temper’. Whatever. He ends up saddled with an annoying, happy-go lucky rookie who also happens to be obnoxiously good looking. His tv presenter and pop star best friends only add to the drama, and for fucks sake would everyone please stop quoting Julia Child?!

Kitchen AU where Harry helps Louis re-learn how to eat. (METAPHORICALLY)

we are honey and the bee

It isn’t his fault though, it is entirely the fault of whichever gods thought it would be a good idea to taunt Louis by dangling a curly haired boy in front of him with a mouth that can’t possibly be as soft as it looks, a mouth that requires further inspection with Louis’ own mouth. Unfortunately, Louis absolutely cannot do that, because it would go against all rules and guidelines in the Golden Handbook of Nanny and Employee Etiquette that he’s pretty sure exists.

au where harry plays rugby at uni, louis needs to hire a nanny, and life is one big cliche.

Turning From Praise (Punk!Harry Christian!Louis)

Louis has had a strict Christian upbringing that he never realized he resented until he meets Harry Styles, a boy who lives to rebel and doesn’t give a damn what anyone else thinks. But the better he gets to know Harry, the more he begins to realize that maybe Harry does care. And maybe “the children who God forgot” are closer to God than the devout will ever be.

if you need a loving hand

Harry and Louis are just two friends who bought a coffee shop and went into business together. They definitely probably do not have feelings for each other.

Follow Me Down This Time

Harry first noticed Louis in his second term at Hogwarts, and despite three years of inventing ways to stumble across Louis, he's never managed to actually work up the courage to speak to him. Also known as, self-indulgent Hogwarts AU, because every fandom needs Hogwarts AUs.

if you'll be my star, i'll be your sky

Louis smiles in the smuggest, most infuriating way, like he knows every thought filtering through Harry’s mind. He probably does.

“I thought you were a student, yeah,” Louis says, voice quieter now, leaving Harry to lean over the baluster somewhat to hear. “But I hoped you weren't.”

(or, Harry Potter AU where Harry takes a teaching post at Hogwarts and gets a little more than he expected when he meets the fit Transfiguration professor, Louis, who looks oddly familiar... Featuring Messrs. Horan, Malik, and Payne as well, along with some familiar faces from the HPverse)

At Least We're Breathing

(Just another mental institution fic!)

Fairly quickly, it becomes obvious to Harry why almost all of them are there; Liam can't control how much he eats-and then can't keep it down-. Niall doesn't talk, Harry himself has tried to end his own life, and Zayn isn't always...Zayn.

Then there's Louis, who no one really knows what he's in for, and Harry isn't even sure he belongs, but maybe he's glad he's there anyway.

Take A Bite Outta Me

Louis truly resents the implication that he is basically Harry’s own version of Bella goddamn Swan, because seriously, no. Just no. But the issue is that even this stupid Meyeresque revelation has done absolutely nothing to dampen his attraction to this weirdly charming vampire man who dresses in 8000 pound coats and hangs around in dilapidated buildings with his merry band of ethical bloodsuckers.

Louis is a slightly inept vampire hunter. Harry is a slightly unique vampire. They meet

Lego House

Louis didn't know what to think when he woke up with a needle in his arm and an unconscious man across the room. He didn't know what to think when he could hear everything. He didn't know what to think when he picked up four boys on his way out. Maybe, just maybe, they could get away.

or where Louis has heightened senses, Harry is basically a shape shifter, Liam can manipulate the air, Zayn can influence people's emotions, and Niall has healing powers. And crazy stuff happens as they wander through the woods.

Title is "Lego House" by Ed Sheeran

Two To Rule

Prince Louis is an intellectual interested in philosophy and human interaction; Prince Harry feeds off of power and wealth because it's all he's been raised to yearn for. Their arranged marriage will be the downfall of them both.

In Dreams

AU. When Harry moves to a new city, his new flat come with a number of sweet, anonymous gifts and surprises that brighten his days. Could it be a friendly ghost? Another friendly presence in his new building is his tattooed neighbor, Louis, who seems determined to put a smile back on his face.

yellow lamps on blackened skies

Louis is the best baker in his apartment building until his new neighbour shows up and threatens his position (and his dignity). It turns out that actually, he might have a competitive streak.

Like Master, Like Pet

In which Louis's cat apparently wants to date Harry's frog, intense studying of eyebrows is a thing, pillows can turn into flamingos, and a lot of really lame-ass jokes are made.

feel the chemicals burn in my bloodstream

“Alright, alright. No need to bite,” Harry says, holding his hands above his head in a general gesture of surrender.

Louis quirks an eyebrow and his foot nudges Harry’s as he moves to sit straight. “If that’s what you think biting is, you’ve got another thing coming, Styles.”

Harry blinks at him before he feels his face flush and inside the marrows of his bones there’s pulses of heat, pulses of fire spreading through him. “Is that a threat, your Highness?”

“That’s a promise,” Louis answers just as the car halts to a stop. “One I intend to keep.”

Harry is a journalist with a lot of secrets and Louis is the future king of the United Kingdom; they live together for 60 days.

With the Rising Sun

This idea bloomed after seeing a post of 19-year-old Harry with a picture of younger Louis and I just really wanted to make something where Harry was older.

Louis had been living in NYC for two years now while studying at NYU, and was probably the least social 21-year-old ever. Somehow he got roped into his sister's brilliant idea of getting her college best friend to help him branch out and meet people. Only there was one problem — Harry Styles is like the hottest thing on two legs and Louis' not ready to see a much older version of the boy who filled his fantasies as a teenager.

the value of this moment lives in metaphor

Louis and Harry are best friends and absolutely nothing more. It’s a bit strange that, suddenly, everyone thinks they’re dating.

Or the one where they’re all teachers at a high school and students are more invested in their lives than normally expected.

Baby Heaven's in your Eyes

They couldn’t be more different if they tried. Louis Tomlinson is 17 years old and in his last year of the most prestigious private school in Doncaster. If there’s one thing that completely annoys him, it’s that there is a poor community college right across the street.

Harry Styles is 19 years old, and (once again) in his last year of college. He goes to community college in Doncaster. He never shows up to classes and if he actually bothers to, he’s either high or drunk; sometimes both. His skin is littered with tattoos and if there’s one thing he absolutely hates, it’s the snobby students attending the private school right across from his.

Or a sixth form!AU where Harry is the fucked up bad boy with too many problems, Louis is the perfect rich boy with too much money and their schools are right across from each other. They meet at a party and that’s the last (and maybe the only) thing they need.

put the stars in our eyes

Louis goes to bed having ordered a nineteen year-old husband.

Louis is set to inherit the family farm after the death of his father, but after finding out that he needs to be married in order to do so, purchasing a nineteen year-old, mail-order husband named Harry Styles seems to be the easiest answer.

Zouis

Bruised

Louis accidentally gives Zayn a black eye and it sets off the weirdest year of his life. Set in New Jersey.

Chéri

growing up AU: In which Louis lives far away, but visits every winter; and Zayn falls just a bit more in love each year.

like any real love it's ever-changing

"Do you think if I repeat 'this isn't happening' for long enough it'll make it true?" Louis asks.

The cat—Zayn—moves its tail. Louis doesn't know what that means.

"I have no idea what that means," Louis says.

Zayn turns into a cat. Louis figures some things out.

if not the happiest, surely the luckiest

AU. reform boarding school for the obscenely wealthy, essentially. zayn is new and louis is hot shit.

high hopes

i know it's crazy to believe in silly things, but it's not that easy

[thepachanga]

🌟 girl!Larry fic rec 🌟

ORIGINAL FAN ART by @karukara (redbubble / society6)

saw your face, heard your name gotta get with you girls like girls like boys do, nothing new

check out these amazing authors and their works, and of course check the Girl Direction tag for more!!!

ariadne_odair : that good girl faith (and a tight little skirt),  breaking the rules (like we’re changing the game), long way from the playground, how proud i am to be yours & i love your demons (like devils can)

larrymylove @wellingtontat​: girls will be girls, butterflies, the heat before we meet (a little bit closer) & all’s fair in love and laundry

just a touch of your love by awriterwrites: @a-writerwrites

Louis looked at her classmate and suddenly felt like she was under a spotlight, the full force of those green eyes on her like lasers — hot and scorching, despite the cool manufactured air pumping through the lecture hall. “I’m Louis. Louis Tomlinson.” She thrust her hand out, awkward and probably way too polite. The other girl arched an eyebrow and slid out of her seat. She was tall. And lanky, with knobby knees sticking out from under her thin cotton skirt. Her black combat boots were clunky and ungainly, but her long, tan arms were graceful and pretty as she extended her own hand toward Louis’. “Harry Styles.” Their palms slid together like flower petals skating over a newly thawed pond and Louis felt a cool rush of relief slither through her body.

*** The only thing standing in the way of Harry and Louis getting together are…well, Harry and Louis.

step into my ring by orphan_account (whoever you are, THANK YOU FOR THIS!!!)

Before she disappears from sight she turns around. “Who am I fighting by the way? Anyone I know?” Louis asks, and Liam looks up from the discarded boxing gloves in her lap. “Well, that depends. Have you ever heard of Harry Styles?”

Louis Tomlinson is at the top of her professional boxing career when she gets the opportunity to fight against Harry Styles in a charity match. A rivalry starts blooming between them, but when the two opponents meet at a fundraising gala for the first time, sparks fly instead of fists.

the wheel break the butterfly by embodied: @crossnecklace

“Out with it, Styles,” Louis groans. Harry’s suddenly regretting this whole thing, and she’s sure she’s beet red now, so she just blurts it out so fast she’s not sure if Louis even understands her right away. “I’ve never gotten head before.”

AU. harry and louis are roommates. girls’ night ends a little differently than usual.

wrap you up in daisy chains by objectlesson: @horsegirlharry (and it’s companion: rose garden dreams!)

Ten minutes later, an awkward, long-legged, curly-haired, so pale she’s reflective, and so obviously gay-looking Harry Styles is sitting shotgun next to Louis in a bikini, denim cut-offs, and heart-framed sunnies. — Or, Harry and Louis and a too-small bathing suit.

cute for a girl? by jaerie: @jaerie

Harry recently had a sexual awakening with another student on campus. She attends a poetry reading and finds herself reliving the experience through Lou’s words.

the beautiful game by sunshiner: @theprizeofcoolness

“She always gives you thumbs up,” Zayn says, her legs balanced on a kitchen chair and her head inside the cereal cabinet. “She even mentioned you on twitter once.” “The twitter that features gems of modern literature such as ‘Orange orange orange.’ or ‘Super hands’? And that’s just recently. Adorable and endearing, yes. Significant, not so much.” “It said, and I quote ‘@thetommoway’s the best way.’ hashtag welovelou.” Not that Louis needs to be reminded. She’s a knock knock joke away from getting it tattooed on her forehead as it is. or the one with football vlogging, food blogging, salsa dancing, late-night cooking, Brazil sightseeing, way too many bathroom encounters, the recommended amount of unnecessary pining, a bunch of staggering examples of bad stadium etiquette, a Balotelli shirt and a whole lot of snogging. girl!Direction

our sweet creature by outerspaces: @sunnylesbian-remade​

Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson have been together for years now. They decide it’s time to add a third member to their family. Louis brings home a puppy.

who run the world? (girls!) by dolcepiccante

A femslash take on the beginning of Relief Next To Me, complete with girl!Direction, lots of tongue action, and lots of hints to the original work.

taste on my tongue by LSFOREVER: @harrystinyshorts

Harry is confused, to say the least, so she pulls her phone from her armband quickly, unlocking it and nearly gasping when she sees four texts from Louis.

It’s ten till seven in the morning. On a Saturday. Louis rarely gets up before eleven on the weekends, sleeping in finally from her early mornings the whole week. She barely even stirs when Harry gets up and ready to run in the mornings, too dead to the world. Seeing Louis messaged her is the craziest sight Harry has seen in a long while.

or, Harry is in the middle of her morning run when Louis interrupts her with some scandalous text messages.

at the end of the day by sky_reid: @captivekinqs

if harry dies with her head between louis’ legs, she’ll die a happy woman.

rush crush by domesticharry: @domestic-harry

Louis nodded at Niall and watched as she pulled the double doors wide open, revealing a crowd of unfamiliar faces. Taking a step towards the back of the foyer, Louis let the feeling of rush wash over her; the chanting, the nervous expressions, and the- Stumbling through the entryway was a slender girl with dark chocolate curls. Louis picked her out of the crowd immediately seeing as how she was the only one who wasn’t wearing something overly feminine. No, this one was dressed in black skinny jeans that accentuated the obscene length of her legs. Her black Chelsea boots were shiny, softly reflecting the glow from the hanging chandelier. Louis’ eyed trailed back up and noticed the faint trace of ink showing through the girl’s white t-shirt.

a night like this by momentofclarity: @gaycousinlarry (and its companion: a day like a dream!)

And now she’s here, on her way to seeing Louis again for the first time since that first night and it’s… she’s just a bit nervous is all.

cliff’s edge (you turn me on) by marie24

Louis leads her team to victory in her first game as Slytherin’s Quidditch captain, and, despite many interruptions, is rewarded by her girlfriend Harry in the best way.

makes me wanna be all yours by sitandadmire

“There’s a distance between Harry and Louis on the entire journey back, until, finally, they’re inside the flat again and it’s quiet. Music still echoes distantly in Harry’s ears and vibrates through the ribs inside her chest. The door shuts behind them and suddenly, Louis is pressing Harry up against the wall.”

Or: Harry meets Louis when she visits her best friend Niall, who’s away at university.

the summertime and the butterflies by glitterlarries: @illouminating

Louis works at a charity shop, Harry’s the hot hipster-ish girl who buys all her clothes there.

[fashiontrendin-blog]

The Barbershop Guide To Getting The Faux Hawk Hairstyle

http://fashion-trendin.com/the-barbershop-guide-to-getting-the-faux-hawk-hairstyle/

The Barbershop Guide To Getting The Faux Hawk Hairstyle

We’re going to assume that you’ve heard of the mohawk, that pointy, green thing that lived on the heads of punk rockers and which has also been co-opted in other forms by men as diverse as Travis Bickle, Mr T and David Beckham. It’s a strong look. You may not, however, be as confident identifying its second cousin twice restyled, the faux hawk.

Much more practical and a lot less threatening, the faux hawk will let you pass through door frames unobstructed and won’t be a barrier at job interviews, either. For visual cues, think late 2000s Beckham, pre-shorn Zayn Malik and current ageing-like-a-fine-wine-era Brad Pitt – they’ve all donned the faux hawk and done a good job of it.

You can too – because we’ve got all the tips and tricks that you need to make this punk-inspired style rock your world.

What Is A Faux Hawk?

Where a mohawk involves a shaved head with a dramatic strip of hair left in the middle, the faux hawk takes some of the same rules and applies them in a way that doesn’t leave OAPs tutting. More versatile and accessible, it won’t obliterate your chances of pulling outside of a spit and sawdust pub, either.

“The defining features of a faux hawk are a short back and sides but with longer than usual hair on the top – not as much length as a pompadour, but long enough that the hair can be spiked up or formed into a point,” says Jason Collier, a celebrity hair stylist who has tended to the heads of Justin Timberlake and Damian Lewis.

“It’s much more of a crowd-pleaser, less dramatic than a mohawk and has a sleek, urban sophistication to it that makes it a far more wearable look.”

In layman’s barbershop terms, the faux hawk is longer than a short back and sides with a bit of spike action going on in the middle, usually at the front of the head. How dramatic the peak is up to you. It’s a cut that’s not painfully boring but nor will it leave a trail of raised eyebrows in its wake.

How To Choose The Right Faux Hawk

There are two crucial things that you need to consider if you’re thinking of getting the faux hawk installed on your head: your face shape and your lifestyle.

Those with a longer face (rectangular, triangular) will need to make sure that their faux hawk doesn’t have too much length on top and the sides aren’t taken too tight, as this will add even more length. Those with a wider face shape (heart, round) should follow the opposite advice by adding height on top and going shorter on the sides. Like with any cut, you need to think about what will provide balance to your mug, apart from oval-faced guys – who can pretty much do whatever the hell they want.

Here’s another head’s up: those artfully tousled faux hawks seen on the crowns of celebs are not the result of rolling from bed to red carpet. The longer your faux hawk is on top, the more effort it will take to get it into the right position and stay there. If you’re time short, go short.

How To Style A Faux Hawk

Making this punk spin-off stand to attention doesn’t call for slathering your head with industrial-strength hair gel, Collier says. The key to getting it right lies in preparation as well as product.

“To style the faux hawk, keep it simple,” Collier says. “If you have fine or straight hair, you can leave your hair to dry as normal before styling, but if you have thicker or wavy hair, you might want to blast it dry and brush it through to get a sleeker finish.”

Apply product with caution. Too heavy handed and you’ll be rocking rock-hard spikes instead of a strategically messed up mound. “A strong-hold hair wax is the best product to use on this kind of style; use an amount the size of a pea and warm it between your palms, spread it across your hands and get some heat into it.”

Because the faux hawk is designed to be quick and messy, you won’t need a lot of mirror time or styling tools to get it right. “Simply use your fingers to push the lengths of the hair up, and tweak it until you’re happy with how the area looks,” says Collier. “You could go completely spiky and separate each area, but the best finish for this kind of look is all pulled up, a little messy, nothing too ‘done’.”

The Faded Faux Hawk

Like the mohawk in its purest form, the faded faux hawk bares a bit of your head but does it in a way that won’t make little old ladies cross the street as you approach. It’s still clutching onto just the right amount of the original style’s punk swagger.

Ria Smallwood for The Bluebeards Revenge

How To Get It

“To achieve a faded faux hawk, ask your barber to set the clippers on 0, then the hair should be faded into a grade 2, using 0.5 to 2 grades,” says hair stylist Joseph Lanzante, who runs one of the UK’s best barbering training academies.

“On top, hair should be of uniform length but layered. To finish this style use paste to define and separate the hair.”

The Short Faux Hawk

This short haircut is ideal for men who want to give peak punk as wide a berth as possible. It’s got plenty of textural interest up top, but you can still wear it to your office without getting a passive-aggressive email from Sarah in HR.

How To Get It

“A clipper fade will achieve a sharp uniform look for a short faux hawk: the shorter the fade the greater the overall contrast will be,” says Josh Thorner, a stylist at London’s Manifesto Barbers. Agree with your barber on the maximum length through the middle, asking for a round shape to be cut into the connect at each side.

“Length on top should be graduated from the back to the front, retaining length at the fringe. To style, a surf spray will help create lots of texture – apply to your hair when damp and dry with a diffuser hair dryer, then finish off with clay for a matte look.”

The Shaggy Faux Hawk

For men whose hair is most often in a natural state of disarray, the shaggy faux hawk is a cut which will smarten things up while obediently co-operating with the hair’s natural curls or waves. Big on texture up top with not much going on at the sides, the shaggy faux hawk walks the line between groomed and woke-up-like-this with some swagger.

How To Get It

“Ideally the the top should be at least 4 inches long and shaved at the sides: I would recommend having the top chopped into to add texture as this will help the peak to not fall flat,” says Joe Mills, hair stylist and owner of Joe and Co.

“To style, use some sea salt spray and apply to damp, clean hair. Then use a hair dryer to blast it dry, using your fingers to lift the front to create a messy quiff then finish with a matte paste.”

The Medium Faux Hawk

Usually, we’d call bad form on commitment-phobes. However, in the case of those who want to play it safe with a medium-length hairstyle, we’ll allow it because fence sitting rarely looks this good. Less extreme than a long or faded faux hawk but edgier than a short faux hawk, it’s one of those perfectly well-rounded styles that can also become something else without much drama.

How To Get It

“To get a medium faux hawk hairstyle requires using hair clippers at the back and sides from grade 3 up to a grade 4,” says Lanzante. “On the crown of the head hair should be layered in uniform length and defined and textured using a medium shine paste.”

The Long Faux Hawk

Ideal for guys with a lot of time on their hands and a perfect oval face (aka lucky gits) the long faux hawk is the pretty much the follicular antithesis to the buzz cut: it’s dramatic, loud and requires maintenance to stay in peak condition.

How To Get It

“For a long faux hawk ask for a clipper fade at the back and sides of your head, but one which isn’t too short,” says Thorner. “Ask your barber to keep the top disconnected from the sides; the top should be cut from the back to front and the back should be the shortest point. Ask for lots of length at the fringe.

“Texturise when dry with a styling cream. Apply this to damp hair then use a hair dryer to blow dry it upwards and backwards. If you need added hold, once dry, blast the hair with cold air, which will seal the cuticle to help keep it upright.” Finish with a hairspray if you find your style still doesn’t last the day.

The Undercut Faux Hawk

The undercut faux hawk is a feat of follicular management, so you’ll need to very happy in your barber’s company if you opt for this style. Long and messed up on the top and faded (but disconnected) at the sides, it’s another high-drama, high-maintenance style.

How To Get It

“This is a slightly shorter version of the shaggy faux hawk, but the underlying idea is the same. The top is still disconnected but with less length throughout,” says Mills. “However, you do still need enough length so the finished style doesn’t look like an accident.

“I’d recommend a minimum of a couple of inches. The whole concept of this haircut is that it has a slightly DIY feel about it. Use a texture spray on clean damp hair (five pumps throughout) and then blast dry with a hair-dryer. Finish with a grooming cream and add some texture with your fingers.”

[lovlieziam]

prompt 100~"I'm gonna kill you if you leave me by myself." Thank you!

I’m very happy you sent this one in. I loved it. I’m also extremely sorry I took so long :/

100. *Make up your own* (and a very good one you did make up)

Liam was going to kill Zayn. He had already planned at leastthree different scenarios with various contingencies in case something wentwrong. Really, everything was in place, and all Liam had to do was followthrough.

“Mmm, Zayn you really did snatch yourself up a good one,yeah?”

Liam suppressed a full body shiver as one of Zayn’s auntsgroped his bicep, leaning forward into his space. It was too fucking close;almost as close as Liam was to losing his damn mind. He’d been putting up with thevarious women in Zayn’s family practically feeling him up for the better partof two hours and he could feel his carefully controlled calm slipping away.

Really, these women were more than any sane person was equippedto handle. And Zayn, the bastard, has just been laughing at Liam with no hint of remorse. Liam was here as a favor to Zayn. He had agreed to come tothis wedding to relieve some of the pressure Zayn would’ve faced had he shownup alone.

This was the last time Liam was pretending to be hisboyfriend, that’s for damn sure.

Zayn giggled from his spot next to Liam, the spot on theopposite side of miss touchy feely. Honestly, hadn’t she groped Liam enough. Hewould quite like his arm back at some point tonight, thanks.

“I did, didn’t I?” Zayn answered, his too bright eyesswinging up to meet Liam’s. Liam felt his own narrow in response at theamusement playing out in Zayn’s eyes. He really was a bastard.

“Yes,” one of the aunts began. At least, Liam was prettysure it was one of the aunts—he stopped paying close attention after the thirdone had placed her hand somewhere that was decidedly not Liam’s bicep. “He isquite the…catch.”

Liam watched as she let her eyes drift down his body,catching on spots that she particularly liked, and this time Liam couldn’t stopthe full body shudder that raked through him. These women were vultures, jesus.

Zayn snickered beside him, and when Liam turned to face himhe had a hand covering his mouth to stop most of the noise. Liam added anotherstrategy to his “Ways to Kill Zayn” list. You know, just in case the firstseven failed.

There were several murmurs of agreement from the ladies surroundingthem. Not for the first time that night—hell, not for the first time in thelast five minutes—Liam thought about running for the door. Zayn was lucky Liamfucking liked him.

“Zayn!”

Both Liam and Zayn turned at the voice, watching as Doniyaapproached. “Zayn, mum’s been looking everywhere for you. She wants a pictureof us all before you and Liam decide to disappear in some dark corner.”

Liam felt a blush rise up his neck at Doniya’s wordsbecause, god did he want to find adark corner alone with Zayn, but they weren’tactually dating. Everyone just thought they were. Liam thought that madeeverything so much worse.

Zayn shifted beside Liam, drawing the man’s attention. Liamwas surprised to find a faint dusting of red covering Zayn’s own cheeks. “Yeah,okay,” Zayn squeaked out. Apparently he was just as effected by Doniya’s wordsas Liam was, but Liam couldn’t tell if it was because he—like Liam—liked thethought of a dark corner or because he hated it. Liam wasn’t sure he wanted toknow the answer. Zayn turned to face him, squeezing his hand quickly beforedropping it. “I’ll be right back, yeah? Should just be a couple moments.”

Liam felt panic rise in his throat at Zayn’s words because no, Zayn couldn’t leave him alone. Thesewomen would devour him the momentZayn started walking away.

Liam reached out, gripping Zayn’s arm just a hair too tightlyin his panic. He relaxed his grip slightly as Zayn turned to look at him,concern written plainly on his features.

“Li?”

“Don’t leave me here, please. I’m begging you.”

Zayn’s concern turned to confusion for a few seconds beforehis face morphed into an amused grin. “What, afraid of a couple older ladies,Liam?”

Liam narrowed his eyes at Zayn once again, tempted to wipethat smug grin off his face. “Zayn,” Liam warned. Zayn only grinned wider,slowly pulling his arm away from Liam. He stepped up into Liam’s space, leaningforward until his breath was ghosting over Liam’s lips and his chest waspressed tightly against Liam’s.

“I promise they don’t bite, Liam. Well, not usually. You do seem to be bringing out a surprisinglyanimalistic side of them.” Liam felt Zayn drift his finger across and up hisarm until he was able to wrap them around Liam’s bicep, an action eerilysimilar to the one his aunt had done. “Can’t say I blame them, though. I mean,this suit looks really good on you,Li.” He punctuated his statement with an eyebrow waggle before starting to pullaway again.

“Enjoy yourself, babe,” Zayn said. He tried to make a quick escape,but Liam caught him around the waist before he could, hauling him to his chestonce more in a mirror to their previous position.

“Zayn.” Liam’s voicewas calm, the tone belying the next words out of his mouth. “I’m gonna kill youif you leave me by myself.”

A laugh erupted from Zayn’s throat, and he was still pressedso close to Liam. Liam hated the way his heart skipped a beat at the way hisbreath rushed over Liam’s cheek.

“I’m serious, Zayn,” Liam continued. “I’ve already plannedyour murder eleven times over now. If you leave me here by myself, you might aswell write your fucking will while you’re away.”

Zayn’s only response was to laugh again, and Liam tried tokeep his stony expression, he really did, but Zayn was so fucking beautiful when he laughed like that.Liam was a lot in love with him. He felt a smile steal over his lips, not as brightas the one on Zayn’s, but slowly working its way there.

“And to think my mother loves you. What would she thinkabout her son’s boyfriend planning his murder, hmm, Liam?”

Once again, Liam’s traitorous heart skipped a beat becausethe word boyfriend rolled off Zayn’stongue so easily and Liam absolutely ached with wanting. He tried his hardestto push the feeling down like he always did.

“I reckon she’d feel about it almost the same way she’d feelabout said son throwing his boyfriend to the wolves back there. I don’t know ifyou know this, Zaynie, but she’s incredibly fond of me. Don’t think she’d taketoo kindly to you just betraying me like that.”

Liam watched as the edges of Zayn’s eyes went soft, hissmile forming into something incredibly fond. This wasn’t the first time he’dlooked at Liam like that, but it was the first time he’d been this close while looking at Liam like that.It fucked with his head a lot.

“She does really love you. Sometimes I’m pretty sure shelikes you more than she likes me.” Zayn was still looking up at Liam with thosesoft eyes and, fuck, Liam couldn’t concentrate.

“What c’n I say? ‘S part of my charm.” Liam felt his breathcatch in his throat as Zayn’s head drifted impossibly closer. His warm breath wasfanning against Liam’s lips and it took all of his will power to not pushforward the last few millimeters separating them.

“Like I said,” Doniya called. “Before you guys find a dark corner please.”

Her words were like a bucket of ice water thrown on thepair, and both quickly pulled back while refusing to meet the others’ eyes. Theyhad almost fucking kissed. Theyprobably would have, too, if Doniya hadn’t interrupted them. Liam was ashamed toadmit his disappointment at the interruption.

“Right, um,” Zayn began. He took another step back fromLiam, shyly bringing his eyes up to Liam’s. Liam watched him hesitate for amoment before, “Will, um, will you actually be okay here with…” He swung hiseyes to the group of women standing behind Liam, and one corner of his mouthquirked up. He met Liam’s gaze again, most of the awkwardness disappearing ashumor took over. “With your biggest fans? Or will I have to send a rescue teamhalfway through my family photo?”

Liam felt a grin tug on his own lips. “Yeah, laugh it upnow. You won’t be laughing so much when I carry out plan number fifty-three onmy ‘Ways to Murder Zayn’ list.” Zayn’s responding laugh was bright, the smilethat stole over his lips taking Liam’s breath away. He was so fucked over thisboy, and the worst part? Liam was helpless to do anything about it. Honestly,he didn’t think he wanted to if it meant Zayn would keep smiling at him likethat.

“Nah, you love me too much for that, Leeyum.” Zayn sent Liama wink—and fuck if Liam’s heart didn’tskip a beat—before Doniya let out an impatient huff behind him.

“As fun as it is to sit here and watch the two of you shamelesslyflirt, mum is waiting for us…” Doniya quirked up an eyebrow, obviously eager toget the picture over with.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m coming,” Zayn said. He reached a handforward, drifting it down Liam’ arm before wrapping his finger’s around Liam’s.“Wait for me, yeah?”

The smile on Liam’s face softened as he squeezed the fingersinter locked with his own. “Yeah, Zed. Always.”

Continued here

[prxttylittle]

“You’re not in bed. I came looking for you.”, “I like this, being so close to you.”, “I trust you.” yES give me all the fluff

“You’re not in bed. I came looking for you.” 

{ v ;; the princess and the moon. 

        Prince heard Luna before he saw her, the sound of her shoes hitting the stone as she approached him. He had specifically bought his apartment for the flat roof that he could use as an escape or hideaway whenever he liked. He didn’t mind sharing it with Luna. He looked up at her when she reached him. He exhaled a cloud of smoke in her direction. “It’s cold, Lun’. You shouldn’t be out here.” He held out an arm for her to tuck under the blanket he had wrapped around himself. He watched as she dropped down to join him sitting. He handed over the joint that was in his hand. “You’re not in bed. I came looking for you.” Prince nodded. “Good observation.” He remarked sarcastically but his arm wrapped around her protectively as he spoke. He let out a sigh, his eyes scanning the night sky before them. He wasn’t sure what time it was, some amount of minutes after 3am he imagined. He looked down to her tucked under his arm; the moonlight shone brightly on her face and illuminated her features. “You’re fucking beautiful, Luna, d’you know that?” He murmured, biting back a smirk as he admired her in the moonlight. He leaned in, cupping her face with one hand, and kissed her. His thumb brushed over her lips as he pulled away, his eyes fluttering open. He shrugged his shoulders when she asked what he was doing up here on his own, anyway. He wasn’t really sure he had an answer to that. He’d been awake for hours, unable to get to sleep. His thoughts kept him up and, partly not wanting to wake Luna and partly wanting space, he’d made his way to the roof. He took the joint back from her, pinching it between his thumb and forefinger as he took another drag, coughing lightly as the cold air made its way into his lungs along with the smoke. “Just couldn’t sleep.” He uttered. In all honesty, Prince was kept up by something he had heard Cassie say to Nick earlier about Luna not owing anything to Prince just because his parents hated him. He looked down to Luna, contemplating sharing with her or not. “I know it’s not been easy with me but you know I’m– I’m trying, right?” He looked down to the moon tattoo on the back of his hand, frowning slightly. He avoided her gaze. “I’ve never known this feeling that you give me. I was always an asshole because, well, I guess the apple doesn’t fall far but I don’t want you to think that I think you’re some kind of fucking shelter for me to learn otherwise. I’m still an asshole, but its not up to you to fix me or whatever. I’m getting kind of used to being someone you love and I don’t take that for granted.” Prince quickly brought the joint back to his lips, inhaling deeply. He hated speaking more than three words at a time, the sound of his own voice almost painful. That was a fact he’d filled her in about himself, how much he hated talking about anything. Expressing himself was a big deal. He exhaled the smoke and turned to her. “Shall we go back to bed?”

{ v ;; no reason. 

            Jason sighed when he heard the bedroom door squeak open, followed by Iola’s footsteps. He looked up from his place at the kitchen table, his eyes landing on her just as she entered the room. He smiled, weakly. “Hey, love.” He mumbled, attempting a sweet tone. “You weren’t in bed. I came looking for you.” Jason felt his heart flutter at the care she displayed for him. He let out a breath. “I’ll be in in a few, baby, alright?” But he knew his tone was far too despondent for her to just nod and head back to bed without him. He watched as she shuffled further into the kitchen until she reached him. He shifted in his seat so she could slide onto his lap, her arms wrapping to hold on around his neck. He smiled tiredly at her, actually grateful she’d come and checked up on him. It made him feel care about. “Sorry if I disturbed you by getting up so late.” Jason murmured, fully aware that Iola didn’t care if he’d woken her or not. He’d been quiet, too, so it wasn’t his getting out of bed that had woken her and he knew that too. He pursed his lips to urge her to lean in and kiss him. They shared a short, passionate kiss, before he was pulling away and sighing again, resting his head on her chest. Jason wasn’t sure why he was feeling so sad. Sometimes the despair crept in, usually at night, when he felt so utterly alone despite having the love of his life cradled in his arms. That’s why he appreciated her concern for him; it proved his loneliness wrong. He grinned. “Shall we dance?” His grin turned to a chuckle when she questioned him. He urged her off of his lap, standing to cross the room to plug his phone into the aux of the speaker to play a song for them. He returned to her, holding out a hand for her to take. He dragged her to the centre of the kitchen, chuckling lightly as she just went along with it. From an outsiders perspective, they probably looked pretty crazy; Jason dressed in boxer shorts and an open hoody, and Iola in his t-shirt, dancing in the middle of their kitchen in the middle of the night. He spun her around, twirling her on the kitchen tiles until she spun back to fall into his chest, meeting her with a kiss as she did so. The kiss was sweet, a little messy as their smiles collided. “Mhm, I love you, baby.” He knew Iola was aware there must have been a reason he was wide awake, isolating himself at 2 in the morning but he appreciated her indulging him to dance in the middle of their apartment instead of quizzing him.

{ v ;; July 17th. 

         Zayn stepped back from the wall, pausing his actions as he remembered the argument him and Ari had earlier in the day, regarding Zayn’s friendship with Ant. It was a common argument in their relationship and every time Zayn was insistent that there was nothing toxic about his friendship. He didn’t think so. He didn’t agree that Anthony was no good for him or that he ‘fuelled’ Zayn’s addiction because Zayn always thought it was something they shared rather than something that was pushed upon him by his childhood friend. However, in today’s argument Ari had made some valid points. At the time, he’d fought her and defended Ant like he always did. Now that he was on his own, with time to think, he knew she was right. Ant didn’t struggled the same way that Zayn did. Ant thrived on Zayn’s downfall because it meant he had some kind of hook in Zayn, a sense of control. Zayn had never seen it that way before, he’d never really stepped back to realise just how much of a kick Ant got out of Zayn not being sober and how absent he was when Zayn was sober. “Hey.” Zayn jumped slightly when Ari’s soft voice disturbed him as she joined him in the garage. He looked to her and smiled softly. He dropped the can of spray paint, abandoning his image on the wall to go and pull her into an embrace. “You weren’t in bed so I came looking for you.” He smiled gently, pressing a kiss to her temple. “You found me.” He watched as she eyed what he’d been spraying onto the wall. He let out a sigh. “I couldn’t sleep thinking about our fight today.” He admitted, explaining his absence from their bed so late at night. He felt her arms go to wrap around his waist and he could feel the corners of his lips tug slightly upwards. He appreciated knowing she was still there, no matter what argument or fight flew their way. “I think–” Zayn paused for a moment, his gaze diverting away from her. “I think you might have been right.” He sighed, mentally noting all the points Ari had made in their fight today and in the past. She knew Zayn, she loved him and Zayn put all his trust in that. She knew what was good for him. “Anthony is toxic for me. I’m sorry that it’s taken so long for me to realise. I guess for the most part, I was able to convince myself that you just didn’t know him well enough but–” He shrugged, eyebrows furrowing. “Why wouldn’t my wife know my supposed best friend well? I’ve been thinking if our friendship was so sincere then why don’t I feel comfortable with him being around you and the kids?” Zayn was grateful for Ari’s arms wrapped around his waist. Her presence was so reassuring for him. He sighed. Zayn pulled back slightly so he could look at his wife properly, eyes meeting hers. “I think I’ve been afraid to admit all of this because letting go of him would mean truly letting go of my addiction and that was scary. But you guys, my family are the most important thing to me. Okay?” He smiled lightly, his thumb brushing against her cheek with softness. “You are my priority and I need you to know that.”

{ v ;; what if. 

         Ashton looked back when he heard Ari’s voice telling him she’d been looking all around for him due to his absence in the bed. He nodded. “I’m right here.” He spoke, nodding at the space beside him for her to sit down and join him. Ashton smiled at her when she sat down before his gaze returned to looking out into the night sky. Ashton liked whenever they got a hotel on tour rather than just sleeping on the bus because he could sneak out to his own balcony and look at the stars, as cheesy as it was. He looked back to Ari, admiring her even more than he had been the stars. She was bare-faced and a little sleepy looking but he couldn’t help think she looked more beautiful than ever. In his mind, Arianna could do no wrong. He’d been married for two years and he still found himself comparing everything Lexi did to Ari, from sleeping habits even to the way they argued. He leaned in, pressing his lips to hers. His reason for sneaking out of bed was actually to maintain his thoughts of guilt that clouded his brain ever since Ari had stepped into his hotel room that evening, but he found them difficult to remember when she returned his kiss with just as much passion. He sighed, breathless, as he pulled away. “I’ve missed you.” He whispered. He wrapped an arm around her, lacing their fingers together when her hand met his at her shoulder. He bit down on his lower lip as the image of Lexi came back to his mind. He dropped his head, shaking slowly before looking to Ari again. “I’m sorry for making things difficult for you when we were younger.” He spoke, aware she would have no idea where he was even coming from. “I never actually understood or really cared that you were hurting Zayn by being with me. I never really got the guilt because I just thought being with you was so amazing, that I didn’t get it.” Ashton let out a sigh, his gaze returning to the stars in the London sky above them. He chuckled sadly. He didn’t like to bring Lexi up when he was with Ari, just as much as he never liked bringing up the topic of Zayn but sometimes it was just difficult to avoid. Now, they were hurting two people and he understood her struggled exactly. “I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t bring them up but I just wanted you to know that I would have never said half the stuff that I did if I’d really known what being with me meant for your marriage.” In the morning, they would have to separate and she would return to her husband and he would pretend like nothing had happened until the time they’d meet again. It was pointless to discuss their significant others when the damage was already done. “I just love you so much that I don’t know how to let this go, even if we’re hurting people.” Ashton grew tired of the sound of his own voice so he stood up and held out a hand for her to be pulled off the ground too. “Let’s just go back to bed, yeah? We can be serious another time.”

“I like this, being so close to you.”

{ v ;; the princess and the moon. 

            Prince sighed tiredly when he could no longer pretend that he was going to get back to sleep, especially with the noise around him. He opened one eye to learn the light had been switched on. He rolled over in the bed and blinked his eyes fully open, noticing Luna then at the bottom of the bed, putting laundry away. He couldn’t help it as his features softened at the sight of her. They were still in this strange limbo of not knowing what was going on between them. Everytime they ended up in each others beds it was unusual. It was even stranger that Prince was actually waking up in her bed, very unlike him. He sat up in the bed and felt Luna’s gaze float to him. He nodded when she noted that he’d fallen asleep. It made sense. Prince was exhausted from working so much the last few days. He wasn’t in a position where he could ignore a phone call at 2 in the morning because that was usually the rich kids who couldn’t get out to score drugs in daylight and they paid him enough money to make it worth his while. It did cause him to suffer in the sleep department though. He would have to make rounds only to get home in time to get less than a few hours of sleep in before having to get up for school. It had been vigorous lately and also a little stressful. He partly knew that’s why he’d showed up to Luna’s, despite them not being friends or having a relationship other than hate-fucking, because he needed to de-stress. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep though. He shrugged and decided not to leave. He reached onto the ground to pull the metal cigarette box out of his jeans pocket. He spared Luna a glance as she carried on what she was doing. She looked good, he thought. He wasn't sure why or what it was about her but she looked good. He opened the case to pull out a skin, using the already ground-up weed in the box to roll a joint. He licked at the skin and when Luna didn’t say anything, he lit up from his position on the bed. He pinched the bud of the joint, inhaling deeply with his eyes closed. He let his head fall back as he exhaled the smoke back into the air. He needed it. He opened his eyes and his met Luna’s. Prince raised an eyebrow. “Want some?” He offered and then an idea came into his head. He smirked. “C’mere.” He nodded for her to join him on the bed. He watched, with his lower lip caught between his teeth, as she shuffled next to him on the bed. He pulled his hand away when she reached for the joint, shaking his head. Prince placed the joint between his lips and shifted on the bed, crawling over Luna so he was straddling her, his legs on both side of hers. He took the joint from his lips, nodding his head to the side so he wasn’t blowing smoke in her face. He kissed her lightly, an unlikely move of him, once before pulling back. He used his spare hand to cup her chin. “Trust me, yeah?” He whispered and while she had no reason to ever trust him, she nodded. Prince brought the joint back to his lips, inhaling deeply again. He then pulled their mouths together, pushing at Luna’s lips as he exhaled the smoke back to her. He smirked as the smoke transferred, pulling away to catch a glimpse of her. His thumb rubbed circles under her jaw. “Relax, babe.” He mumbled, pressing their lips together again to kiss her this time. He repeated the action of inhaling the smoke and pressing their lips together, this time letting the action transition into a kiss instead of pulling away. He handed her the joint to let her do it this time. The smoking and closeness eventually ended with the joint burning out and Prince falling down onto the bed with her wrapped in his arms. It was unlike their usual exchanges and he liked it. Seemingly, she did too. “I like this, being so close to you.” He heard her speak and he felt his body freeze but it only lasted a second, the weed in his system making it easy to allow himself to relax and he nodded, his lips grazing her neck. “I do, too.” He confessed his voice quiet. He urged her to turn around so they were facing each other. He wasn’t smiling but there was a softness to his features and he leaned in and kissed her to prove his words. 

{ v ;; no reason. 

       Jason blinks slowly, wincing as the light burns brightly into his eyes sockets  as they open to greet the morning. There’s music playing somewhere, neither he nor Iola had bothered to get up during the night to turn off the speaker but it was actually quite nice to wake up to, he decides, as the soft melody of some indie band plays into the room. He groans slightly at his tiredness and goes to shift in the bed, before he realises the other presence tucked under the blankets with him. Jason props himself up on his elbow so he can get a better look of the girl in his bed. His eyes land on Iola and he smiles, softly. The golden glow of the morning sunshine illuminates her features in a way that Jason almost has to question if the purpose of sun rising was just to shine on her. He watches in silence as she wakes, slowly but surely. Her eyes open to catch sight of Jason gazing down at her with an adoring smile plastered across his face. He chuckles lightly, slightly hoarse from having just woken up. “Good morning, sweetheart.” He whispers, leaning in to kiss her. The hand he’s not leaning on wraps around her waist as she returns the kiss, greeting him back. He pecks her once, twice and finally pulls away. Jason dips his head to press a light kiss to her shoulder. “God, you look fucking gorgeous.” He chuckles against her lips, letting her feel the smile that he presses into the kiss. Jason isn’t sure how he had managed to go the last two years without waking up like this every single day with Iola. How had he had the most stunning girl in the world as his girlfriend and still managed to deny themselves mornings like this? At the time it felt noble but, even though it had only been a few days, he couldn’t even imagine refusing them this. “Last night was the second greatest night of my life” He murmurs against her lips. “--the first being the time you introduced me to your wee family dog, that one was fucking ace.” He laughed when she slapped his arm, kissing her to shut her up. His hand moved to rest on her cheek, his thumb brushing against the skin softly. “Seriously, babe, last night was amazing. And now you know the last two years were definitely not about me not wanting you. I just never wanted you to regret anything.” He paused. She was eighteen now, but she could still regret anything. She seemed happy, just as he was. He wanted to be sure. “Do you?” His eyes fluttered closed when he was greeted with a kiss, it feeling like a non-verbal way of telling him to shut up. He kissed her back and pulled away with a content smile. He fell down, rested his head against her chest as he murmured something about being happy to be with her. “I like this, being so close to you.” The smile formed on his face the second the words came out of her mouth and he had to bite back the grin. “You do?” He beamed. “I do too, I fucking love it baby girl.”

{ v ;; july 17th. 

         Zayns hand traced up the dip in Ari’s back as she lay against his body, her hair sprawled out over her back and his chest. His fingers brushed gently against the bare skin of her back. He grinned widely, a smile that reached his eyes which crinkled in the corners, at the sound of her words. He let out a content breath. “Hmm, do you really?” The last few days they’d been spending in Alaska had been so amazing, some of the best that Zayn could recall in a long time, which was something very unexpected when it came to MTV taking them on a trip. Usually those events went south, usually with him at the centre of the drama. He couldn't recall ever feeling the way he currently did with anyone else ever in his life. It was intense but in the best way he could possibly think of. “I like being this close to you, too.” He confessed, pressing his lips to her forehead. He ran his hand through her hair, nails brushing through the long tresses that seemed to be just about fucking everywhere. He chuckled silently to himself. “It’s fucking crazy, you know. Like, we literally just got together and I feel like I can trust you completely. You’re, like, my best friend and the most amazing girl I’ve ever known.” Zayn chuckled lightly. He didn't feel in anyway deserving to be able to call Arianna his girlfriend. His feelings for her burned so brightly only a few days into their relationship which was something he hadn’t felt even once into the years of his relationship with Perrie. Even his feelings for Harry in this past, while intense as they may have felt at the time, they were unparalleled by what he felt when he was with Ari. It was indescribable how much he believed they were made for each other. His eyes widened when his chuckled died in his throat. “And you’re my girlfriend!” Zayn exclaimed with a glimmer of joy in his eyes. He truly couldn’t believe it. “I love being so close to you, too. I love talking to you, laughing with you. And I really love having sex with you.” He teased out the last part. Zayn tucked his hand under her chin, urging her to look at him. Their eyes met and he beamed, again. “D’you even know how unreal you are?” He murmured, leaning down to brush his lips up against hers. It was kind of an awkward angle, the way they were lying together. “I’m so lucky.” 

{ v ;; katie and leo. 

         Katie was embarrassed by the blush that creeped onto her checking, forcing her face to turn a deep shade of red. She giggled, feeling even more embarrassed then. She fucking loved it when Leo talked so sweetly to her. In their time apart, it was a lot of sleeping around and meaningless flings so romance wasn’t correlated with the kindness that Leo showed to her. He always showed her kindness, she knew, but it was different when she could tell the words were spoken with love, and romance. She ran a manicured hand through his hair, messing it up. “You do, Leo?” Her voice was as quiet as his, both avoiding getting caught by her dad. It was a dangerous game to have snuck Leo into her room while her dad and Aria were downstairs but Katie couldn't say no to having him around. “How close?” She teased, rolling over in the bed. Her leg hooked around his, bringing her body to straddle his. Her nails traced down the side of his neck, scratching lightly. She pressed a kiss to his temple. It was followed by one on the other side, then both cheeks, his nose, his jawline, the corner of his mouth. “This close?” Their lips met and hers parted slightly, feeling her breath catch in her throat when he responded with effervescence. She pulled away, a smirk breaching her plump lips. She attached her lips to his neck, her nails tracing shapes behind his ear on the other side of his neck where she wasn’t kissing and nipping. She let her breath linger on his neck. “Maybe this close?” She looked up at him, her eyelashes batting innocently. She brought her hand down to the base of his t-shirt, running it up underneath so her palm brushed against the skin there, caressing his chest and stomach. She wanted to shirk him of the shirt but she was only teasing him, there was no way they could have sex with her dad so close. If they were heard, or even caught, she really didn’t feel very up to having to plan Leo-Valentins funeral just yet. She shifted so their lips reconnected again, turning the moment from steamy to genuine again. The kiss was no longer filled with heat, like the last one, just pure adoration. She giggled again as she fell from straddling his waist so she was by his side. She tucked herself into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and nestling her face in the crook of his neck. She breathed in the smell of his cologne mixed with the shampoo that she was sure was probably some kind of a 2-in1-- boys. His scent was intoxicating, just as he was. “Tell me more nice things you like about being with me. It makes me feel special.” 

“I trust you.”

{ v ;; the princess and the moon. 

        Prince wrapped film over his new tattoo, sealing it somewhat tightly. He gazed down at the lion head he’d just inked into his forearm, admiring his own work. As he started to sterilise his needle, the door swung open as Luna walked in to join him. He glanced over at her as she dropped her bag on his bedroom floor before approaching him. He mumbled a half-assed greeting as she draped her arms around his shoulders from behind. When she asked what he was doing he showed her his arm, and new tattoo. “Was feeling creative.” He shrugged before dropping his tools to finally turn around and face her fully. He placed his hands on her waist, pulling her down to sit on his lap. “Hi.” He whispered, leaning in to kiss her. Not long later, typically of them, they were wrapped up under the covers of Prince’s bed. He watched as she traced her fingers over the wrap over his new tattoo. He shrugged when she asked why he’d chosen that. “I like lions.” He said as if that was enough of a backstory to permanently ink his skin. He watched as her eyes met his. “When we were kids, in school, we used to play this game. It was like tag but the person chasing was a lion– or a tiger depending who you asked– and we used to play pretend like the ‘lion’ was chasing all the other animals.” He let out a chuckle, shrugging his shoulders at how pathetic it sounded now. It was weird when he looked back on his childhood and pulled out the not-so-awful memories, most of which had Matt featured. “I liked being the lion because at home I was the animal that got chased so it was a nice change.” He explained, a soft smile on his face as his story suddenly turned sad. He responded when she kissed him, her hand still hovering over his tattoo. He pulled away, breathless. “I could give you one, y’know.” He whispered. The last time she’d drawn attention to his tattoos, complimenting the ones he’d done himself and admiring the others, she had told him what kind of tattoos she liked herself. “I googled that moon-phase thing you told me about and even practiced drawing it a bunch. I think it would look sick as fuck.” He was still quiet as their foreheads remained pressed together, his eyes searching hers. He beamed when she agreed. He loved giving tattoos but his biggest practice had been on himself and even then he could really only meet so much of his body with his own hands so the rest of his creativity was put into designing tattoos. He went out about changing needles in his tattoo gun and set up the ink he would need. He told her to lay on the floor, more even than the surface of the bed. He smirked down at her when she lay down on her back, facing him. “I can’t put it on your back if you’re lying on it.” He spoke in a teasing tone but at the same time he straddled her to lean in and kiss her, his gloved hand cupping underneath her jaw. He pulled her shirt over her head, gently touching her skin. “This might hurt. I would let you take a shot but alcohol and tattoos don’t mix and I won’t be held responsible if you bleed to death.” He smirked against hers lips, kissing her again. “Want a smoke?” He offered, glancing in the direction of the joint tucked behind his ear. His smile became more gentle when she placed a hand on his cheek, kissing him. “I trust you.” She told him and he nodded, his features softening. “You do?” And there was something about the way he said that that indicated he believed trust in a greater sense than simply inking her skin. He let out a breathy chuckle when she nodded. “Thanks, babe.” He mumbled before climbing off of her so she could turn around on to her front. Prince eyed his girlfriend as she lay on the floor in just a bra, waiting for him. She was so beautiful. He trailed a finger along the dip in her back, kissing lightly before he applied the cold gel to her back. “I trust you, too.” He whispered, bringing his pen to her back to sketch. 

{ v ;; no reason. 

        Jason cursed when the first thing his eyes landed on as he strolled in the door was Iola waiting, arms folded and a scowl on her lips. Her rolled his eyes, not in the mood for the fight that was to come. And come, it did. “Just say you don’t trust me, Iola.” Jason snapped after a constant back-and-forth between the couple. “Just fucking admit it.” Her jealousy paired with his lax attitude often made for consistent bickering about where he was, what he was doing and with who but they always found a way to just move on. Jason usually ended up apologising and probably had to make a big gesture to prove his innocence and loyalty. Although she was probably justified in wondering why he had been out until 1am but he didn’t feel as such when the immediate tone between them was argumentative. He had only been at his studio, working, but when he was greeted with confrontation the pettiness in him wouldn’t allow him to disclose the information that would end the argument in a second. “I trust you.” She defended, causing Jason to scoff out of disbelief. Part of him knew she was being honest but another part just couldn’t understand the source of her jealousy. She had never really explained why it was so intense, never wanting to fully talk about it. So, Jason had no answers. All they got was endless fights or shouting matches that started for no reason but always seemed to be forgiven the next morning. “You don’t.” He challenged, but his tone was more sad and defeated than it was irritated. Jason knew she did but his sadness sourced more from not knowing if they were ever going to both be secure in the relationship. The only thing they were sure of was the intense love each other felt but that didn’t stop the arguing. “C’mere.” He mumbled, holding out a hand for her to take. He rolled her eyes when she didn’t pay him attention at first, nodding down at his hand to insist. When she finally wrapped her hand around his, he immediately pulled her in closer to him. He rested one hand on her waist, the other going to cup her face, forcing her to look at him. Their eyes met and he smiled softly, through with fighting. “Iola, I promise you, and I mean this with my whole heart, you are the only girl stupid enough to shag me.” He let his face break out in a smile as he attempted to joke the situation away. He urged her to smile, assuring her he had just been at the studio and she was the only person he wanted to spend his time with. “I know that you do trust me, baby. I know it because I know there’s no reason not to. This, right here, is all I’ll ever need.” 

{ v ;; July 17th. 

       Zayn grinned widely when he entered the front door, dropping his suitcase and there was suddenly a kid wrapped around each of his legs. He’d been so tired after traveling but seeing them perked him up. He looked up to see Ari carrying a sleeping child in her arms. He smiled and kissed her hello, offering to put the kids to bed. After about forty minutes he managed to get each child to be quiet and lay down to sleep and he could finally join his wife. He smirked as he entered the kitchen, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. He kissed her neck. “Hi.” He mumbled against her skin. “I’ve missed you.” He frowned when she sighed to turn and face him. He raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to tell him what was wrong without him asking. She detangled herself from his grasp and pulled out her phone, showing him all the media headlines and images that he had missed from just having been on a ten hour flight home. His face scrunched up in confusion at the blurry photographs but he knew it was him. He could see how it would look bad, him look awfully cozy with a model at a VS after-party in which his wife hadn’t been in attendance with him. He sighed and handed her back the phone. All the headline titles included the words ‘snuggled up’ and threw digs at Zayn. He knew what it looked like, and he also knew it wasn’t the first time there was speculation surrounding his loyalty. The media’s fascination with him being a ‘bad guy’ was nothing new to Zayn, or Ari for that matter. They knew it came with the territory of being in the spotlight. He hadn’t known it would carry on so much after the band but he tried to seldom take notice. “I didn’t do anything.” He deadpanned, brushing past her to get a drink from the fridge. “We were just chatting.” Zayn wasn’t stupid. He had picked up that Gigi had been flirting with him at the party but he hadn’t really retaliated, just being as friendly as he could without being disloyal or getting in trouble. “She was just asking about my solo career and stuff.” He shrugged, his eyes searching those of his wife’s to make sure she believed in him. He smiled, nudging her lightly before pulling her closer to him, tugging at her hands. He rested his hands on her waist, resting his forehead against hers. “I would have much preferred to have been here with you– and the kids. Or to at least have had you there with me.” He murmured, his lips close to hers. “I promise, you’ve got nothing to worry about, babe.” He pressed his lips to hers, gentle and slow at first. He pulled away to look at her, to see if he could gage what she was thinking. “I trust you.” She finally assured him and he had to stop himself from letting out a sigh of relief. He smiled and kissed her as his response. “Good.” He chuckled, resting his face in the crook of her neck, pressing light pecks. 

{ v ;; july 17th. again 

         Zayn sighed, heavily. His eyes stayed trained on the front door of his shared him with Ari; he was afraid to go in. Before he got a chance to make his way, the door opened and from the other side, his wife appeared, running at him with open arms. He held her weight as she jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. He tucked his face into the crook of her neck, murmuring of how he missed her so much. He carried both her and his suitcase in side, dropping her to her feet once they were indoors. He kissed her without a word, his hand cupping her face firmly. He pressed against her until he was pushing her back up against the wall, his mind hazy and his breathing heavy when he pulled away to attach his lips to her neck. He ignored her chuckle and didn’t answer when she asked what had gotten into him. He removed his jacket and reconnected their lips. He sighed when she pulled away to look at him. It was unlike Zayn to act so eager upon his return. Usually when they were reunited he just wanted to hold her and tell her how much he missed her. Now he was just coming across as wanting to get her into bed. He shrugged when she asked if he was okay. “I’ve just missed you, babe.” He answered, avoiding her gaze. He rolled his eyes when she mentioned them not having much time before they had to go to his show later tonight. He was regretting agreeing to doing a reunion tour with the boys. He had initially just agreed to the first show in Madison Square Garden as a surprise for the fans but it had somehow turned into him tagging along on the tour due to the hype of the crowds and media attention to his presence. This time around they gave him more freedom with his sound and it didn’t feel as constricted as the first time. He had truly missed Ari, though, in his time away. She was supposed to be joining him for the final show in London but Zayn no longer wanted to go, with her or without her. “I’m not really part of the band. I think it would be okay if I miss it.” He mumbled, attempting to kiss her again. He frowned when she dodged his attempts to ask what was going on, he’d seemed to enjoy the shows up until now. Admittedly, it was seeing Ari that made him not want to get up on stage with the boys again; he just wanted to stay with her. He explained how it felt strange that he’d just abandoned her to go touring in which he’d come in touch with so many old flames since the ghyab days– those flames obviously being a hint at Harry, who he hadn’t really had a friendly relationship with since having his heart broken by him but swiftly moving on and finding love with Ari. He’d also bumped into Ariana while in the States with the lads. He eyed Ari to see if she picked up on what he was saying. “I trust you. You wouldn’t do anything stupid.” Ari spoke and Zayn felt the guilt pang in his chest. He stepped away from her, shaking his head. “You shouldn’t.” He confessed quietly. He watched the realisation form on her face mixed with the desire to be getting his message incorrectly. “You shouldn’t trust me, Ari.” Zayn spoke quietly and cautiously, giving Ari time to process his words. He pursed his lips together when she demanded further information as to what he was talking about. He didn’t want to tell her but he knew he had to. This had been why he didn’t want to go to tonights show, especially with her by his side. She’d have picked up on it immediately and Zayn knew it had to come from his mouth. “I’m still in love with Harry.” Zayn admitted, speaking quickly, now. He hadn’t been aware of his feelings before accepting One Direction’s offer to go touring with them for a ‘final show’ until he was reunited with him and they fell into their age-old antics. “And when we were in Manchester last night, I– I–” Zayn was silent, then. He wasn’t sure he could tell her the truth. He felt as though he could physically see himself tearing his marriage apart as if it were just a sheet of paper that he could rip up and throw in the bin. He could see hurt on her face and a pang of regret echoed in his chest. “I slept with him.” He finally spoke. Zayn didn’t know how to explain, or even what to say. He hadn’t for one moment expected this.