#fic:wus

[the-fauxpas]

six / spice night

uni AU co-written with @ineffably-styles

a story of late nights, unorthodox household plants, and a trip to Vegas that changes everything

“All right then!” Niall clapped his hands, a dangerous spark in his eyes. “Hope you're ready," he grinned and Savannah thought he looked almost sadistic. "Never have I ever..." he trailed off glancing carefully at everyone in the room. His eyes lingered slightly longer on Savannah and Harry before his lips quirked up into a semi-smirk. "Let's start off with an easy one. Never have I ever slept with anyone in this room."

chapter five / story page

“Someone please remind again me why we’re here,” Savannah groaned, reaching over and swiping a drink from Reyna’s bag. She’d come packed with bagged sandwiches and everyone’s favourite drink along with bottles of water in a neatly organised backpack that she’d made Zayn carry.

“I want to be here about as much as you do,” she grumbled in reply, trying to shield her eyes from the glare of the sun. “And I forgot my sunglasses too, can you believe how shit this day is already?”

“Hey, cheer up,” Zayn laughed, also grabbing a drink from the bag. “Look, we just scored a goal.”

“We did?” Reyna squinted at the scoreboard, where sure enough, the point tally had risen by one in favour of UCL. “When did that happen?”

“I’m guessing just before our side of the field started cheering,” Alexa mused sarcastically as she finished off her sandwich, earning herself a swat from Reyna. “Hey! You’re the one who asked.”

“I didn’t appreciate your tone of voice,” she replied as Zayn chuckled.

“I feel like bringing you guys here was a big mistake on Louis’ part,” he said thoughtfully.

“You got that right,” Savannah replied tiredly, eyes trained on the field. The only thing that she could gather was that the side she was supposed to be cheering for were in the blue and that one of their players was in possession of the ball. “Look, something’s happening!”

“That’s Harry,” Zayn explained. “He’s got the number 10 jersey on.”

“That makes him the attacking midfielder, right?” Reyna asked, biting into the sandwich she had in her hand. “What?” she asked, when the others shot her an astonished glance.

“Since when do you know anything about football?” Savannah asked, glancing at the field when the opposing team’s supporters started cheering.

“That was bullshit!” Reyna yelled in return. “Louis didn’t even tackle him! The twat faked it!” she grumbled. “I couldn’t sleep last night,” she explained to her friends.

“So you ended up on Wikipedia,” Alexa supplied.

“Figured I might as well learn something for today,” she shrugged. “You know how I hate not knowing things.”

“Yeah, but we’ve got Zayn to teach us,” Savannah pointed out.

“Uh, yeah,” Zayn scratched the back of his neck. “I mean, I could try and explain things to you, but chances are I’ll be wrong. I told you guys I was never any good. I used to always accidentally scrape the ball with a part of my hand and that’s like an automatic free kick for the other team. Eventually they ended up putting me in goal. They figured I couldn’t cause much damage from there. Too bad I’m like super skinny and have next to no muscle mass, so I was a pretty shit goalkeeper too,” he grinned.

“So when you said you stopped playing, did you actually stop playing or were you dropped from the team?” Reyna teased, making Zayn laugh.

“Nah, I actually quit. They threw me a party and everything, but I always suspected that was more because they were glad to be rid of me than for anything else.”

“Well, it’s -”

“That was a blatant penalty! What the fuck is the ref doing just standing there. There’s a whistle in your mouth for a reason, BLOW IT!” Reyna suddenly yelled.

Savannah looked towards the field, noting the way a group of players had huddled around a fallen body, they moved apart a little and she was able to spot that it was Harry who was wincing a little as someone prodded his ankle.

“Is he all right?” she asked worriedly.

“I think so,” Zayn replied, equally worried. “Yeah,” he sighed in relief, the worry clearing from his face as Harry clambered back onto his feet. “He should be fine.”

“What happened to him?” Alexa asked, settling back into her seat as a free kick was handed to their team.

“Illegal tackle,” Reyna answered, still scowling at the field. “The twat should have been given a yellow card for that.”

“It wasn’t that bad, Rey,” Zayn laughed.

“Harry could have been hurt,” she insisted. “It was dangerous,” she crossed her arms across her chest.

“Got a bit of a crush on him, do you?” Zayn joked, making Reyna scoff.

“According to Louis, Harry’s their best striker. I’ve got money riding on this game and if Harry’s hurt then we’re not very likely to win, are we?” she grumbled, cracking open a bottle of coca cola.

“So you’re more worried about losing the game than an injured friend?” Alexa asked, her tone holding a little bit of judgment behind it.

“Bones heal,” was all Reyna said, before glancing at the disapproving look on her friend’s face. She rolled her eyes. “Fine, if you had to pick between a painting from eons ago that no one’s ever seen before, preserved in pristine condition and Harry not breaking a leg, which would you pick?” she asked.

“The painting,” Alexa replied without blinking.

“Exactly my point.”

“Yeah, but Lex’s choosing a priceless painting, you’re just choosing yourself,” Savannah cut in, the three of them completely tuning out of the match, leaving Zayn the only one who was paying any attention to the field.

Reyna snorted. “Please, if you were given the choice of never owning another plant again or Harry breaking his leg, you’d choose the broken leg,” she said to Sav.

“While that may be true,” Savannah paused. “Yeah, I’ve got no defense. I’d choose the broken leg. Like Rey said, bones heal,” she smiled sheepishly.

“All I got from this conversation,” Zayn mused, interrupting the three of them, “is that you’d all let Harry suffer from a broken leg if it meant getting what you wanted.”

“Wouldn’t you?” Savannah challenged as Reyna crossed her arms and stared him down. Alexa was the only one who seemed to have any sense of shame for her choice.

“Let’s put it this way, if I was given a choice between passing my biochemistry unit and Harry not breaking his leg, I’d pick passing.”

“So basically, we’re all selfish.”

“Yeah,” he grinned. “At least we’re all in this together.”

“Don’t you dare start singing High School Musical,” Alexa glared at Sav and Rey.

“Us? Never,” they said simultaneously, donning an innocent expression.

Lex merely shook her head. “How long until this game is over?” she asked Zayn, leaving Reyna and Sav to grin at one another happily.

“There’s another 15 minutes game time, so maybe around 20 minutes?” he posed it as a question.

“So that’s at least another hour till they’re out of the locker rooms,” she sighed.

“That was a bullshit call!” Reyna yelled suddenly, making her friends jump in response.

“You’ve really gotta warn people before you yell like that, Rey,” Alexa sighed.

“It’s not my fault the referee is shit. I bet he went to a public school.”

“Hey! I went to a public school!” Savannah said indignantly.

“Yeah, but you’re different. You’re going to college, that shitty ref is not,” she grumbled, pulling out a bottle of water.

“Actually,” Zayn squinted down at the field. “I think he’s a professor at King’s.”

“That’s bloody worse! Bias is a real thing people,” Reyna ranted.

“You don’t even like football,” Sav said, exasperated.

“That’s not the point. Do you want us to lose against King’s?” she glared at her friends, who shot her equal looks of disdain at the mention of their rival university. “Exactly, then I think it’s time we cheer because Harry’s just about to score another goal,” she said happily, just as the crowd around them erupted into applause.

-

“So, what did you guys think of the match?” Louis asked, bounding up to them as he, Harry and Niall finally walked out of the locker rooms.

“It was good,” Reyna shrugged. “Glad we won.”

“How’s your ankle, Harry?” Zayn asked, before Louis could say anything in response to Reyna’s less than enthusiastic response.

“Just a little banged up,” he shrugged.

“It’ll match his face soon,” Niall grinned gleefully.

“Piss off,” Savannah glared at him, her cheeks pinking up as everyone glanced at Harry’s bruised face.

“So, where to now?” Alexa asked, while Harry glared at them all, seeming thoroughly unimpressed.

“I need to head home to shower,” he muttered. “Dunno about the rest of you.”

“You didn’t shower in there?” Reyna gestured roughly behind them as they all began to walk towards their respective vehicles.

“God no,” Harry screwed up his face in disgust. “It’s a mess in there.”

“Also, last time he showered, his clothes were stolen,” Louis pointed out helpfully.

“Don’t remind me,” Harry scowled. “Bloody King’s students. I don’t understand why anybody would go to that rotten college in the first place.”

“Rotten,” Louis snorted. “My nan uses that phrase when she’s talking about teenagers. You know what I predict for you, Haz?” he held his hand up to his head the way Sav had seen psychics do at carnivals. “I predict that you’re going to be an angry old man yelling at children to get off his lawn.”

“Shove off,” Harry grumbled. “I love kids.”

Alexa sighed loudly, garnering everyone’s attention. “Is anyone actually going to come up with something to do because if not, I’ve got a couple of tv shows calling my name on Netflix.”

“We’re going down to the bar to celebrate,” Niall said quickly.

“Now?” Reyna put her hands on her waist. “It’s barely mid-afternoon. I’m not going to the bar at this time like some sort of alcoholic. Give me a week or two more of classes and then you’ll find me day drinking,” she joked.

“We can meet at Zayn and Niall’s?” Louis mused. “For pre-drinks.”

“Why at our place?” Zayn frowned, thinking back to last week’s party.

“Because, it’s closest to the bar,” Harry backed Louis up.

“So it’s decided, then. We’ll meet there around five-ish?” Savannah waited until everyone was in agreement, albeit grudgingly in Zayn’s case, before she turned to face Louis. “We carpooled with Zayn, think you could drop us off home since you’re heading that way anyway?” she asked.

“Yeah, sure,” he smiled, twirling his keys around his fingers before unlocking the door and allowing them all to climb in. Savannah swore mentally as Louis cut Harry off as they made their way out of the parking lot and watched as Harry flipped them the bird in return.

It was going to be a long drive.

-

“Never have I ever…” Niall began, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Fuck no,” Louis spoke up, taking a swig from his beer bottle. The group had all reconciled back and Zayn and Niall’s for a couple of drinks before heading out to a bar down the road. Where they had managed to find the energy after a football match, Savannah didn’t know, but she kind of wished she had that come exam time.

“Why not? It’ll be fun,” Niall argued, watching the random cricket match that was playing in the background.

“I agree with Niall… it’s better that watching that rubbish that he and Louis have got playing,” Reyna spoke up, shooting daggers at Louis who was not listening to a word that she was saying, his eyes trained on the TV. “Besides, it’ll let us all get to know one another on a more personal level,” she grinned.

“Right, cos knowing that Niall wet the bed until he was twelve is really something we can all bond over,” Harry rolled his eyes sarcastically.

“Oi!” Niall yelled. “You said you wouldn’t tell anyone!” he grumbled, before switching the subject back to the game - much to Sav’s disappointment. “So, are we playing then?”

Savannah glanced around anxiously at everyone else. If there was a drinking game that she hated, it was Never Have I Ever.

"I'm in," Harry spoke up, distracting Savannah from her thoughts. She turned her head sharply towards him, her eyes wide. She couldn't believe he'd just agreed to a game Niall had suggested - she couldn’t believe Reyna had either. From the short amount of time that she’d known Niall, she’d pretty much gathered that he and Louis’ suggestions often went ignored...except for tonight, apparently.   

"I’m in too, I guess," Zayn shrugged, rolling his eyes. "Not like I had anything important to do before you lot hijacked my flat," he said sarcastically.

"Fuck off, Z," Niall scoffed. "You’ve been sat in your room playing with paint since we got back."

"I wasn't playing with paint, you tosser," Zayn crossed his arms. "I was working on an art project."

"Really?" Alexa turned towards Zayn, her attention piqued at the mention of art. 

"Not now Lex," Reyna groaned from where she was frowning over at Louis, her eyes flicking from him to the television remote in contemplation. “We know how much you love art, but once you start you’re pretty much dead to the world for the next few hours.”

"I can show you some of my stuff later if you'd like,” he said, glancing at Lex. “They're not very good though," he warned as an afterthought.

"I'm sure that's not-"

"Excuse me," Alexa was cut off by Niall, and Savannah felt her shoulders slump. "You two in?" Niall asked Savannah and Alexa.

“Yeah, ok,” Alexa nodded, making Savannah sigh when everyone turned to stare at her. “Don’t have much of a choice now, do I?” she said bitterly.

“Louis,” Reyna tapped him on the shoulder. “Turn that bloody game off and join in with the rest of us.”

“It’s England versus Australia, Rey,” Louis said, barely glancing away from the television screen.

“All the more reason to turn it off, England sucks,” she snorted. “Cricket is worse than football, if you ask me,” she retorted, trying to grab the remote that Louis held away from her reach.

“You are the most uncultured person I know,” Niall muttered, re-entering the lounge with a tray filled with various alcoholic drinks - Savannah hadn’t even realised he’d left the room.

Louis turned away from the screen long enough to roll his eyes. “The only sport you’d willingly watch is the tennis,” he raised a brow, daring Reyna to argue with him. When no argument came, he continued, “And personally, I’d rather stick pins in my eyes than sit through another year of the Wimbledon.”

“You can always check the score later, mate,” Zayn said from where he’d taken a seat beside Alexa. They’d all rearranged themselves into a small circle in the middle of Niall and Zayn’s lounge room after Harry had moved the small coffee table to rest against a wall.

“Bloody hell,” Louis huffed. “Fine. But I’m only agreeing because it’s looking like England is getting their arse handed to them.”

“As usual,” Reyna commented, only to be ignored.

“So you’re playing?” Savannah asked miserably.

“That’s what it looks like,” he grumbled, grabbing a beer from Niall. “Budge up,” he ordered, before dropping onto the floor between Savannah and Reyna.

“Who’s going first?” Alexa asked.

“We’ll go in a circle,” Niall grinned, pouring everyone a shot and handing them out evenly.

“Shots? Really, Niall?” Savannah rolled her eyes, taking her glass from Louis. “You’re going to poison us all.”

Niall let out a loud laugh and Savannah found herself wondering if he’d maybe snuck in a few drinks beforehand. “That’s just to loosen us up, Sav,” he explained. “We’re not going to take shots after every question. That’s what the beers are for. Bottoms up,” he said cheerily before knocking back his glass. “I’ll go first then Zayn, Alexa and so forth,” he waved his hands dismissively, eager for the game to begin.

Savannah sent out a silent prayer before following suit, making a face as the alcohol burned its way down her throat. She considered asking for another shot, but decided that getting piss drunk probably wasn’t in her best interests tonight.

“All right then!” Niall clapped his hands, a dangerous spark in his eyes. “Hope you're ready," he grinned and Savannah thought he looked almost sadistic. "Never have I ever..." he trailed off glancing carefully at everyone in the room. His eyes lingered slightly longer on Savannah and Harry before his lips quirked up into a semi-smirk. "Let's start off with an easy one. Never have I ever slept with anyone in this room."

"Wait," Louis interrupted loudly. "Do you mean shagged or actually slept? Because if it's just slept then I've slept with most of you at least once. Sometimes twice, if you're lucky," he stated slyly.

"Shagged," Niall said immediately. "I definitely meant shagged." And Savannah was sure he had momentarily glanced over at her as he said so.

She bit her lip to hide a groan as she took a swig from her beer, refusing to look over at Harry. She knew, theoretically that everyone probably already knew about the two of them but confirming it during a drinking game just seemed a lot more confronting to her; as if she was sealing the final nail on her own coffin, dramatic as that may be. So when she took a swig of her beer, she might have taken a little bit more than was necessary.

Zayn was next and she felt like she’d be a lot safer with anything he could throw at her. “Never have I ever,” he paused in the contemplative manner that she thought only he could pull off, “gotten into a physical altercation,” he shrugged.

“Fight. You mean you’ve never had a fight,” Louis rolled his eyes. “There’s no need to be so bloody formal while we’re playing a fucking drinking game.”

“Oh, piss off,” Zayn retorted. “Fight, then,” he rolled his eyes.

Then came Alexa’s turn. Savannah assumed that most people would feel comforted knowing that it was their best friends’ turn, feel safe even. But Sav found herself breaking out into a nervous sweat because while they were her best friends, they were also the ones who knew the most about her - which meant they could, with a single sentence, essentially ruin her life.

“Never have I ever pretended to regret sleeping with someone,” Alexa said quickly and Savannah breathed out a breath of air as not only she but Louis, Niall and Harry also took sips of their beer.

It was her turn next and she was determined to make Niall drink again - not that it seemed like he cared. She rather thought he was hoping he’d get to drink himself. “Never have I ever failed to make someone orgasm,” she smirked, raising a challenging brow as all four boys glanced down and away from everyone else. She was delighted when they all brought their drinks up to their mouth and took long drawn out gulps. She was even more giddy when she spotted the significant pinkness she could spot on Niall’s usually pale cheeks.

Louis cleared his throat. “Right,” he said awkwardly. “My turn. Uh, never have I ever made friends with a one night stand.”

As expected she and Harry took sips, Reyna doing the same and collectively surprising everyone in the room.

“What?” she shrugged. “He was a nice lad.”

“Who was it?” Lex asked curiously.

“Someone from uni,” she waved her off, returning back to the game. “My turn,” she said cheerfully. “Never have I ever had to ask someone if we’d shagged because I wasn’t sure.”

Savannah, Zayn, Niall and Harry all took a sip, sparking a discussion as to with whom and when and how it had happened. The only one who had been willing to disclose any of the details was Niall who launched into a detailed story about a girl he’d met named Olivia.

Harry and Savannah shared a mutual grimace - whether at Niall’s story or the reminder that neither of them had been sure what had happened the first night they’d met, she wasn’t sure - before turning away and back to Niall who was still in the middle of a story. She sighed, tracing the neck of her beer as she waited for Niall to finish his tale complete with hand gestures and sound effects that no one really wanted to see or hear.   

“It’s my turn, innit?” Harry spoke once he was done in that deep, slow drawl he had. “Never have I ever,” he paused for a second, as if choosing his words carefully, “lobbed a textbook at an innocent person’s face.”

He turned to grin at Savannah, his face expectant.

“I hate you,” she deadpanned before taking a long gulp of her beer, glaring daggers at a smug Harry. “Can’t leave that in the past, can you?”

Harry scoffed, pointing a finger to the bruise that was still quite prominent on his cheekbone. “I’ve been walking around looking like a tosser who’s been socked in the face. I’m never letting you hear the end of it.”

“It does look pretty bad, mate,” Louis piped up unhelpfully. Harry’s attempts at telling the story to Louis himself had completely failed - Zayn had already texted him earlier about what happened - which meant that Louis had given him shit for getting hit in the first place, and also for not telling him about it as soon as it had happened.

“Thank you so much, Lou. Thanks for your input. It was appreciated greatly,” Harry said sarcastically.

“Alright, this game looks like it’s pretty much over,” Alexa interrupted them. “Are we ready to head off?” she asked, checking her phone for the time. “It’s almost half eight and we want to get good seats.”

Everyone started to get up and gather their things. Savannah helped Reyna pack away the empty bottles of beer, and lingered behind the group while everyone filed out of the door. Harry was still by the kitchen counter, shrugging on his jacket.

“I really am sorry about this, you know,” she said, waving her hand in the general direction of his cheek.

“I know,” he replied. “It’s ok, really. I’m just taking the piss,” he reassured her upon seeing the worried look on her face. “Come on, we should go. Don’t wanna be late.”

-

The atmosphere around the bar was buzzing by the time they all got there and Louis and Reyna immediately disconnected from the group to find them a table large enough to fit them all. In the end, they managed to all squeeze in a booth towards the front of the room, right in front of the mic stand after Reyna had done some negotiating with the previous two occupants. 

“Look, we’ve got a perfect view of the stage,” Louis commented, setting a handful of beers down on the table and seating himself beside Harry. 

“They are pretty good seats,” Harry agreed. “We got lucky.” 

“Yeah,” Savannah snorted. “Lucky is one way to put it. What’d you promise them, Rey?” 

“Nothing,” Reyna shrugged. “I asked nicely if they could pretty please move so we could sit.” 

“Right,” Lex dragged out the word, “‘cause that always works, doesn’t it?” 

“So I might have bribed them a little,” Reyna shrugged. 

“With what?” Savannah asked, sipping on a beer while she watched the guy up on the stage try his hand at some standup comedy. 

“Told him Louis would buy them a bottle of whatever they want,” Reyna shrugged, following Savannah’s line of sight. “This guy sucks.” 

“You did what?” Louis demanded. “And yeah, he does suck. Even I could do better than him.” 

“I told them to put it on your tab,” she grinned. “Not like you can’t afford it.”

“Can we go back to the part where Louis claimed he could do better than the lad on stage?” Harry cut in. 

“Yeah,” Zayn nodded. 

“I’d pay to see that happen. And for the inevitable show that would follow from the crowd’s reaction.” 

“Oh please,” Louis scoffed, “I’ll be the best act up there tonight.” 

“Oh no-” Alexa muttered under her breath, predicting what was going to happen before it did. 

“Then prove it,” Harry said simply, challenging Louis with a smirk while the others watched on gleefully. 

“You’ll have to do better than that, Styles,” he huffed in reply. “I’m not doing this without some form of payment.” 

“500 quid.” 

“Deal.” In a flash, Louis got up and disappeared amongst the tables, no doubt on his way to find the sign up sheet. 

Reyna sighed. “Look what you’ve done!” she glared at Harry and Zayn accusingly. “You’re paying the tab if he embarrasses us all.” 

“I’m out, I’m already five hundred quid down because of this mess,” Harry replied, looking stubborn. 

“Like that was anyone’s fault but yours,” she replied, rolling her eyes before looking over at Zayn. 

He sighed, “Fine.” 

“Is that how you rich kids play?” Savannah spoke up sarcastically. “Bet away the amount of a person’s life savings?” 

Everyone at the table looked away uncomfortably, the silence broken by a loud screeching coming from the microphone as the owner of the particular bar got up to introduce the next act. 

“Wasn’t that just incredible?” he yelled encouragingly to the crowd only to be met with a light splatter of polite applause. “Now our next act is someone a bit more local to us. Enlightening us with his favourite one-liners and punny jokes, we have Louis Tomlinson!”

Louis’ entrance on stage was met with loud, raucous applause - which, Savannah thought, might have been due more to the fact that he frequented the bar every Thursday night rather than his success as a local comedian.

“Good evening, fellow comrades. I hope you’ve been enjoying the acts so far,” Louis began into the microphone. He waited for the cheering to die down before continuing, “Now I’m going to start off the night by asking you all to honour one of our own, Mr Harry Styles.”

“Oh no,” Harry muttered under his breath, eyes narrowing as Louis smirked in his direction from the stage.

"Harry's been having, well, let's just say he's been having some 'performance' issues lately. So I just wanted to reassure him - publicly - that it’s completely normal, and yes, there are medications out there to help with that. A moment of silence for Harry Styles, everyone."

“I’m going to kill him,” Harry muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Well, can you do it after he’s done?” Reyna requested, casually sipping at her drink with one hand and holding her phone up with the other. “I’d really like to get this all on video in case he’s shit.”

“I dunno, he seems to be doing pretty well up there,” Savannah shrugged, as the crowd started laughing at something else Louis had said.  

“For now,” she shrugged, looking quite confident that he’d mess up soon.

“So anyway,” Louis was saying, “it’s quite hard thinking of a funny joke when I’ve got the friends I’ve got. You know, since they’re the biggest jokes anyone will ever come across.”

“I’ll help you kill him,” Reyna leaned over to whisper to Harry.

“No, no, but really,” Louis spoke into the microphone, trying to quieten the crowd’s laughter a little. “My friends can be funny sometimes. Once, when I was quite drunk, I texted Reyna - she’s the one with the phone, guys and gals. I told her that she was my moon and stars and she texted me back - and this is a direct quote - she said, ‘thank you. You’re my pluto’, then she linked me to an article about how pluto no longer existed.”

“I remember that,” Savannah snorted.

“Yeah,” Alexa agreed. “Reyna was quite proud of it. She showed it to everyone who’d listen.”

“Louis did the same thing,” Zayn leaned back, draping his arm over the booth behind Alexa.

Savannah smirked into her drink, turning her attention back to the stage. “Look’s like Louis’ done.”

“Thank god,” Harry snorted. “If I had to listen to another one of his jokes, I was walking out of here.”

“Then you wouldn’t be able to kill him,” Zayn said casually.

“Reyna would do it for me.”

“True,” she agreed. “I probably would have.”

“What would you have done?” Louis asked, sliding back into the booth.

“They’re planning your murder,” Alexa answered him.

“I can’t believe that was actually funny,” Savannah piped up, completely taken by surprise and ignoring the current conversation. “Like, people were legitimately laughing at you.”

“I like to think they were more laughing with me,” Louis shrugged.

“They’ve got shitty taste then, don’t they?” Harry grumbled in reply, still slightly annoyed that he was the first one to be roasted out of the group.

“Aw, don’t worry Harrykins,” Reyna started, cooing at him as he glared at her. “Erectile dysfunction affects about-”

“-please stop talking,” he groaned, running his hands through his hair as he sunk deeper into his seat.

“Alright, alright,” Alexa tried to calm the group, always the voice of reason. “Let’s all just agree that Louis surprised us all and that he did something that none of us would be willing to do.”

“Pft, I could do that,” Harry said stubbornly.

“Really?” Zayn perked up, leaning forward interestedly.

“No, not this again,” Savannah cut in. “We’re going home now,” she told them all decidedly.  

“We’ll talk about this later,” Zayn told him as they all made their way out of the bar, leaving Louis behind to pick up their tab.

“We’re not going to be talking about anything,” he said, charging in front of the group as they made their way down the street back towards Zayn and Niall’s.

“What’s the plan now?” Louis asked, catching up to them as he shoved his wallet back into his pocket.

“We’re going home,” Reyna said, gesturing to herself, Sav and Lex.

“That’s no fun,” he grumbled in reply. “You guys are grandmas.”

“Come again?” she challenged in reply, the cogs turning in her head as she prepared for a fight. Savannah quickly pulled out her phone and ordered an Uber, just in case they needed to make a quick escape.

“Let’s just pretend I never said anything,” Louis said quickly while Harry snickered at his response.

“That’s what I thought,” Reyna replied smugly. Savannah waved to the car pulling to the kerb, before walking up and greeting the driver.

“Let’s go,” she said quickly, opening the door and moving to get in.

“Hold up,” Louis called, halting her mid-movement. “You guys are coming to the party next weekend, right?”

“What party?” Alexa questioned curiously.

“The one at Harry’s,” he replied matter-of-factly, shrugging slightly.

“What? What party? I didn’t plan a party,” Harry piped up quickly, eyes darting from his phone to Louis.

“I did,” Louis said casually, hands in his pockets as he turned towards the street and headed in the opposite direction.

“Wait, Louis-”

“We should go,” Savannah said quickly, climbing into the car. “Good luck,” she said to Zayn, gesturing towards the image of Harry scrambling after Louis while the latter seemed to not notice him.

“Thanks,” he replied sarcastically, waving as he jogged after the pair.

AN: hi guys, sorry again for the one-day lateness but it’s up! let me know what you think xx 

[koorminii]

Bestie you have NO idea i would literally have a one on one with him on a wendy’s parking lot if i could and uppercut his ass into the next dimension who the fuck does he think he is

PLSSS I get it and I wouldn’t touch wgc!chan with a ten foot pole wtf he would gaslight me to hell ??? we’d have to get in the ring and fight it out and yet he probably still wouldn’t gaf

[the-fauxpas]

five / watermelon granita

uni AU co-written with @ineffably-styles

a story of late nights, unorthodox household plants, and a trip to Vegas that changes everything

“How’s it going, guys?” a new voice sounded, Zayn appearing a few seconds later and taking a seat beside Alexa. “Has anyone tripped yet?”

“Niall landed on his bum about fifteen minutes ago. Kept whining about how he’s probably bruised his tailbone. Personally, I don’t think he’s really cut out to play this game,” Savannah commented, waving a hello at Zayn.

chapter four / story page

“Oh no,” Savannah slumped, spotting Louis and Reyna chatting together by Louis’ car, identical cups of coffee in their hands.

“Crap,” Alexa sighed, hitching her bag higher on her shoulder and biting her lip. Reyna and Louis’ heads snapped up as they approached, a broad smile stretching across Louis’ face.

“Need a lift?” Louis asked once they were close enough, dangling his car keys before them.

“Uh, sure?” Alexa replied, a little confused. Savannah just stood there, squinting over at Reyna as if she was trying to decipher a particularly difficult maths equation.

“Lou’s offered us a ride to uni,” Reyna shrugged, raising an eyebrow at Savannah’s blatant staring. “It’s a peace offering for ruining the movie yesterday,” she explained, narrowing her eyes a little at Louis, who was still grinning like a fool.

“Sure is. Now, chop-chop,” he clapped his hands together. “Don’t wanna be late now do we?”

“Ha!” Reyna scoffed, watching as Louis pulled open the passenger side door for her to climb in. “You’ve never been on time to anything education-related,” she said, moving past him.

“Not true!” he defended, racing over to the driver’s side. “I was usually on time for football games!”

“That’s not exactly education-related,” Savannah piped up, buckling her seatbelt and placing her bag between herself and Lex.

“Plus, you were late to those half the time,” Alexa joined in.

“I thought this was a peace offering,” Louis grumbled, pulling his car out onto the street. “Not a ‘let’s attack Louis’ freefest.”

“You brought this upon yourself,” Reyna shrugged, pulling out her phone. “What class do you guys have this morning?” she asked Savannah and Alexa, twisting a little to face them.

“I’ve got Brain and Behaviour,” Savannah grumbled. “Our lecturer talks at about the speed of light so taking notes is impossible. Plus, there’s someone who sits behind me who eats the noisiest food, I feel like he does it on purpose.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve got Menzies first thing,” Reyna sighed. “If you guys don’t hear from me after that class, it’s safe to say that he’s locked me in the morgue to join the other bodies there.”

“I don’t have class until noon,” Alexa grinned cheerfully.

“I hate you,” Savannah glared at her.

“Yeah but you have a seven hour Renaissance art class later on in the week, so really, who’s the real winner here?” Reyna shot back, high-fiving Savannah as Lex slumped down in her seat.  

“I have a marketing class first thing,” Louis chirped with false cheer. “Not that anyone asked me,” he said, rolling his eyes and chancing a glance at the three of them. “It’s like I’m only good for giving you guys lifts to places and being made fun of.”

“That’s not true, Lou. You’ve also got a pretty sick apartment.”

“You know, if we weren’t already here, I’d throw you out of my car and make you walk the rest of the way,” he shook his head even as a smile fought its way onto his face - he was very proud of his apartment.

“Liar,” Savannah sing-songed as she crawled through the car and out Alexa’s door. She had a thing where, if her passenger side door faced the road, she would crawl over and exit the car through the opposite side.

Neither Louis, Alexa nor Reyna even blinked at her, but a couple students who were passing by sent them some weird looks.

“I can’t believe I’ve come all this way for a class that finishes at eleven. I’ve only got a lecture today and it’s more of an intro to the topic than an actual class. Apparently all we’re doing today is partnering up for some assignment,” Savannah rolled her eyes.

“My condolences to the poor soul who ends up being your partner,” Alexa joked.

“Hey, I’m not that bad!”

“Yeah, ok. Not like you basically traumatised the last girl you were partnered with by literally turning up at her doorstep at 2am one night with an ‘idea you just couldn’t wait to share with her’,” Reyna laughed.

“It was a good idea,” Sav grumbled, hitching her bag higher up on her shoulder as they four of them made their way towards their respective classes. “Why do we have to park so far away?”

“Because, finding parking on campus is near impossible,” Louis explained.

“It's true,” Alexa nodded. “Side streets are your best bet. Usually I just drop Sav off and find a place to park so I can escape her whining about why we have to walk for ten minutes.”

“I don't whine.”

“No, just a healthy level of complaining,” Reyna laughed.

“I like to think so,” Sav grinned brightly. “Is that Harry?” she frowned, leaning forward to try and get a better look at the figure heading towards them.

“Looks it,” Louis shrugged. “Oi! Haz,” he yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth for maximal volume.

“Warn us next time you're gonna yell,” Reyna growled, thumping him on the back harshly.

“Ow, sorry,” Louis apologised sheepishly as Harry hurried his way towards them.

“Morning,” he yawned.

“Long night?” Reyna asked.

“Dad wanted to go over some old cases with me,” he nodded. “Wanted to prepare me for some of the classes I'll be taking.”

“Sucks,” Reyna made a face. “I'm so glad I didn't follow the family business. There’s not really much investment bankers can teach me about the cardiovascular system.”

“Yeah, but you’re studying medicine now, so obviously they’re not going to be disappointed in you,” Harry scoffed.

“True,” Reyna grinned. “Maybe you should’ve done medicine too,” she nudged Harry as they continued walking towards their classes.

“Dad probably would have disowned me.”

“But you literally just said parents wouldn’t be disappointed if you do medicine.”

“No, I said your parents wouldn’t be disappointed in you. I didn’t say anything about my parents,” he joked, although Savannah could tell there was a slight truth to his words.

“So, anyway,” Louis interrupted the two of them. “You’re coming to football practice today right, Harry?” he asked. “Reyna’s said she’ll come for moral support.”

“Stop putting words in my mouth,” Reyna cut in. “I said I might come if I’m not busy.”

“Are you busy?” Louis asked.

“Depends what Sav and Lex are up to.”

“Sav?” Louis looked at her pointedly.

“Probably nothing,” she shrugged.

“Good, then you guys can tag along too,” he nodded decidedly. “See you guys tonight,” he dragged Harry away before Reyna could argue.

“Great,” she muttered. “Come on, Sav.”

“Uh, actually, I’m heading in their direction,” she said apologetically, hurrying to catch up with the boys. “Wait up!” she yelled.

-

“You will be expected to attend all lectures and tutorials within this course. Failure to do so may result in your tutor refusing to acknowledge your final assignment. Now, the first part of this assignment is due back in week four of this semester, and so you will be expected to choose your partners this week to be able to get started on it as soon as possible. Please, choose wisely. No changes will be permitted once the names are written down and my free time is very limited. I’d rather not spend it listening to you bicker about who did what.”

Savannah sighed while her lecturer, a short, plump woman with wispy, grey hair droned on about the importance of the first assignment for the term. The lecture had been forty five minutes of absolute torture and if she had to listen to another minute of this speech, Savannah was sure she was going internally combust… somehow.

It was taking everything she had not to fall asleep and Savannah found herself regretting the decision to skip out on the coffee Alexa had offered to get her before class. Especially when the brown haired boy beside her was sipping leisurely at the cup of coffee sitting on his desk. Every time he picked it up and put it down, the smell would waft over towards her, making her even more grumpier than she already was.

“Remember, this assignment is worth an overall 50% of your final grade so failing is not an option.”

“Just like this class,” Savannah murmured, dropping her head onto her palm as she chewed on the pen she’d found buried in her bag. She had almost drifted off to sleep when a quiet chuckle made her jump.

“Tired?” an amused voice asked from her left. Savannah turned towards the Coffee Boy, narrowing her eyes a little at him.

“What could possibly give you that idea?” she asked sarcastically. “Was it the fact that I was half asleep?” So she wasn’t the most friendly person when she was hungry and tired, sue her. But Coffee Boy didn’t seem to mind, grinning at her as he downed the rest of his coffee while she eyed him enviously.

“I’m Dylan,” he whispered, glancing towards the front of the room where their lecturer was now going over the assignment’s marking criteria.

“Savannah.”

“Nice to meet you, Savannah,” Dylan smiled merrily before the two of them lapsed into silence as the lecturer - Savannah didn’t even know her name if she was being honest - finally stopped talking for more than a couple of seconds as a student asked a question.  

“Someone I know took this unit last year,” a girl sitting towards the front spoke. “He said we had to partner up boy-girl. Is that true?”

“Yes,” their lecturer nodded her affirmation. “I was just getting to that part. As part of this unit, it’s come to the faculty’s understanding that the there is a difference in the physiology of the way the brain works as well as a difference in behaviour between the two genders. And through this assignment we are hoping that this difference will be made prevalent.”

“Bloody fantastic,” Savannah grumbled, scribbling down a few notes as the lecturer made them.

“Not a fan of partnered work?” Dylan asked curiously.

“It’s not that,” she looked over at him thoughtfully. “Just don’t know any of the guys in this class is all.”

“You know me,” he grinned and Savannah saw that as her opening. “Is that your way of asking me if I wanna partner up?” she raised an eyebrow at him. Dylan shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I mean, yeah,” he muttered. “You don’t know anyone and I don’t know anyone. Makes sense we’d partner up, yeah?”

“You better do your share of the coursework,” she tried to glare at him fiercely, but from the small smile on Dylan’s face, it only amused him. After a quick glance at his notes - which were about two pages longer than hers - Savannah felt herself perk up at the prospect of spending the rest of the semester with someone who actually seemed like he cared about his work. She’d promised herself that she was going to try her best this semester, and partnering up with this Dylan guy seemed like a step in the right direction.

After the lecture, the two stood around exchanging details before they parted. As she walked away, Savannah spotted Harry sitting by himself on one of the couches, his head buried between the thickest book she had ever seen, brows furrowed in concentration. Knowing better than to distract him, Savannah walked on, feeling slightly sorry for Harry Styles.

-

“Louis, you owe me about three cheeseburgers for dragging me out here to this godforsaken place to watch you guys kick a football around while not actually scoring any goals,” Reyna grumbled, taking a seat on the bench as Louis swapped his trainers for some cleats.

“Come on Rey, just bask in the gloriousness that is English football. Doesn’t it feel incredible?” Louis said, lacing up his shoes and moving to stand up.

“No,” she grumbled in reply. “It feels like a wet patch on my bum and a field that smells like garbage.”

“You’re such a buzzkill,” he sighed, saluting the three girls before running off to join Harry and Niall on the field. They were a part of the university football team, and were spending the evening getting ready for the first game of the season coming up. If Savannah had known that she was going to be spending the next two hours on a damp seat, she probably wouldn’t have been so okay about going.

Savannah and Alexa sat there silently, trying to follow what was happening with their practice. They started off with laps around the field followed by a couple of drills. By the time they started with their actual practice, Savannah was ready to fall asleep on Alexa’s shoulder. Reyna hadn’t even bothered looking up from her phone since it started, and was now playing Solitaire to kill time.

“Aren’t you supposed to be paying attention to this?” Alexa asked her, effectively pausing her game. “I mean, you’re the reason why we’re here in the first place.”

“Oh please, Louis’ the reason you guys are here. I was forced against my will,” she grumbled, tapping the start button on her game.

“How’s it going, guys?” a new voice sounded, Zayn appearing a few seconds later and taking a seat beside Alexa. “Has anyone tripped yet?”

“Niall landed on his bum about fifteen minutes ago. Kept whining about how he’s probably bruised his tailbone. Personally, I don’t think he’s really cut out to play this game,” Savannah commented, waving a hello at Zayn.

“Sounds like him,” he agreed, nodding his head as he watched the match.

“Why aren’t you playing?” Reyna asked, locking her phone and joining in on the conversation.

“Ah, I did for about two seasons but then my workload at uni kept getting in the way so I had to quit,” he shrugged in reply, not seeming entirely bothered by it. “Good riddance, I’d say. I barely managed to score a goal.”

“Oi! Zayn! Give us a bottle of water!” Harry yelled from across the field. Savannah looked up to find the group slowly making their way back to the benches.

“Get it yourself you muppet, I’m not your bloody waterboy,” Zayn yelled back, but went to retrieve a bottle of water from the cooler anyway. He threw it towards Harry once they were within close range - which he caught deftly - and reached back in to grab another one for Louis and Niall.

“How’d you guys find it?” Niall asked, moving to take a seat between Savannah and Reyna before gulping down half the water bottle in one breath.

“Uh,” Savannah began, watching wide eyed as he downed the rest of the bottle within the next two seconds. They were set to get back out there within the next five minutes and she briefly wondered whether he was worried about getting a stitch or not.

“It was good,” Reyna cut in quickly, not wanting to drag this conversation out for any longer than necessary. She really wasn’t much of a sports fan.

“Come off it,” Louis interjected, opting to take a seat on the grass instead of finding room on the bench. “You were on your phone this entire time, I’m pretty sure you didn’t even glance up once.”

“I did too!” she argued.

“Oh yeah? Which side of the field did we have to shoot a goal in?” he challenged, smirking.

“Left,” she replied coolly, holding his gaze as a means to say that she was not backing down from his challenge.

“Ok, you got that one,” he said. “But I’ll be quizzing you when this is over so you better be paying attention.”

A whistle blew from the distance and all the guys hurriedly got up to return to the field, but not before Louis gave Reyna a look to show that he wasn’t going to forget about their conversation.

“Ok Sav, Lex, keep your eyes peeled,” she commanded them once they were out of earshot. “There’s no chance I’m losing to this.”

Savannah sighed, leaning her head against Alexa as she concentrated on the game in front of her. Five minutes later, she found herself being shaken awake by a glaring Reyna. The sky had darkened considerably and the boys were all gathering their things surrounding them.

“I can’t believe you fell asleep,” she scolded, arms crossed as Savannah blinked the sleep away from her eyes.

“Oh, I did?” she asked, still groggy.

“Yeah, and it cost me 10 quid too,” Reyna sighed, pulling Savannah and Alexa up from the benches. Savannah glared at the empty field, as if expecting an apology for it costing two hours of her life and her dignity.

Harry strode up to them, all sweaty and gross with his bag slung over his shoulder. “How was the nap?” he smirked, bringing a water bottle up to his lips and taking a long gulp.

“Terrible. The only way I’ll come to a practice again is if you kidnap my family and use it as blackmail. Even then I’m not sure I’ll willingly come,” she deadpanned, falling into step with Harry as they followed the others out to the car park.

“Oh lighten up, Simba. A couple of the guys have taken a fancy to you girls, by the way. Proper think we’re the coolest dudes on the team for even knowing you guys,” Harry smirked.

Savannah raised an eyebrow, “Oh really?”

“Yeah,” Harry grinned. “So you’re coming to the game next week, right?”

“Apparently, I have fans. So I’ll definitely be there to sign a few autographs if you want to give your team the heads up,” she grinned while Harry rolled his eyes.

“I’ll see you at uni, Sav,” he chuckled, squeezing her shoulder before sauntering off to his car.  

-

Savannah walked through the entrance to the library, juggling her laptop in one hand, while attempting to hide the greasy bag of hot chips she’d snuck in with her. Reyna - who was manning the front desk - rolled her eyes when she saw her creeping past, struggling to disguise the fast food by hiding it under her sweater. When she realised who was working, Savannah visibly relaxed, the stiff set of her shoulders softening as her whole demeanour changed from ‘innocent student’ to ‘tired student’.

“Thank god,” she breathed. “I feel like I’ve gone for a swim in grease,” she joked, pulling the food out from under her clothes.

Reyna only raised a brow. “You’re not allowed food in the library.”

“I thought you might say that,” she rolled her eyes. “Here.” Savannah pulled out a neatly wrapped burger and chips, placing them on the counter before taking out the bottle of Sprite she’d thrown in her bag. “Happy?”

“Very,” Reyna smiled cheerfully. “You’ve made my day.”

“I hope you realise how sad and boring that makes your life sound,” Savannah warned her.

“Piss off,” Reyna reached over the counter to punch her. “My life is plenty exciting,” she argued, retracting her arm to unwrap her burger.

“Plenty violent more like,” Savannah scowled, rubbing the spot that was now starting to turn slightly red.

“Whatever. How’s the assignment going?” Reyna asked, taking a bite of her burger chewing expectantly.

“It’s not. But Dylan will be here soon, and maybe we can finally start it. Send him over to my secret corner when he gets here will you?” Savannah asked, hitching her bag higher on her shoulder. The weight of the textbooks were now starting to really bother her, and she couldn’t wait to get to her seat.

“I hope you realise how kinky it sounds when you say it like that,” Reyna mocked, brushing some crumbs off the counter. “I hope you have the handcuffs ready.”

Savannah chose not to reply and instead walked away to eat her lunch - and possibly dinner because neither she nor Alexa cooked very often. That was maybe one of the cons of having them both living in the same space - both managed to burn water when cooking and so took to ordering in each night or eating at uni before they headed home to crash. Which meant that there was a significant dent in Savannah’s bank balance, leading her to pick up more shifts at the cafe and therefore significantly reducing her free time.

It had been a week and a half since uni had started which meant that the first part of the assignment was due in less than two weeks. Upon realising that a substantial portion of their assignment was undone, Dylan and Savannah had finally agreed to knock some sense into each other and both swapped their shifts at work in order to schedule a night to meet up.

Dylan appeared as soon as Savannah turned around, a strange expression on his face as he studied the contents of the paper box situated in front of her laptop.

“You know… there are at least 20 calories and 0.8 grams of fat in one single chip,” he chastised, glancing down at the mass of chopped potato on the table.

“Oh no,” Savannah muttered, trying to shield the box of food from his scornful gaze but to no avail.

“Meaning that of the maybe 25 to 30 chips in that box right now, you’d be consuming about five to six hundred calories alone. And don’t start me on that burger…”

“Please don’t start on the burger,” Savannah whined at him, pushing her meal to the side to try and ward off his attack.

“You could go for something so much better like carrot sticks and maybe a tuna sandwich with wholegrain next time. Great for your health and helps you study better too,” he said, pulling off his bag and sitting down next to her. Savannah rolled her eyes. She’d rather eat a burger and risk her health than eat bunny food and study better.

“I’m hearing words coming out of your mouth,” Savannah began, pulling her food back towards her - she really wasn’t going to waste a perfectly good burger. “But none of it seems to be making any sense.”

“Probably because of all those calories that you’re consuming,” Dylan scolded, eyeing the take-out with distaste.

“There you go again,” Sav rolled her eyes. “Speaking words that don’t make any sense,” she glanced down at her food, her gaze resting on the textbook she was using as a makeshift plate. “Just like the words of this assignment,” she sighed.

“Which we really need to get started on,” he nodded, seeming much more determined than Savannah was at the moment. Maybe it was all the bunny food he was consuming.

“Yeah,” she nodded sadly, taking a few final bites of her burger while Dylan unpacked.

“Ok, so for the first question…” his voice was all business as he dived right into the details of the assignment, and unsurprisingly, Savannah felt her attention instantly wane as she continued to pick at her food.

-

“Well, at least that part’s all over,” Dylan tried to reassure the both of them as they made their way out of the library together. After a gruelling four hours of research, they had mutually agreed that it was best to leave the rest of the assignment for the coming week instead of risking eating each other alive. “Besides, we’ve done all the research that we need. We just have to type it all up and I’m pretty sure we can do that over Facetime or something,” he continued.

“That’s comforting, we only have about fifteen pages to type up,” she snorted, hitching her books closer to her chest. “Anyway, it’s getting dark. I better go,” she said forlornly, glancing at the illuminated sign signifying the entrance to the tube.

“You sure we can’t give you a lift? Jess won’t mind,” he offered, eyes darting around for his girlfriend’s car.

“No. No, it’s okay. I don’t live far from the station. I’ll be fine, I don’t want to be a bother,” Savannah argued, turning to leave before he could really change her mind.

“Ok, well get home safe, ok Sav?” Dylan said weakly, spotting a car with it’s headlights on and turning towards it. “Text me when you get there!”

“I will!” she yelled over her shoulder as she power-walked towards the station. The entrance was near - she was only a few metres away from the top of the stairs. Keeping her head down, she snuggled deeper into her jumper and tried to look inconspicuous as she made her way there. The streets at night in London always freaked her out, and for good reason. She was maybe five metres away from the station entrance when a car screeched to a stop right next to her.

Savannah was more than sure she resembled a deer in headlights at that moment. She stood frozen on the side of the curb as a car faced her, two silhouettes barely discernible against the bright light. She knew that she should probably run. Or hide. Or grab a weapon of some sort - though she doubted her jelly pencil case would do much as a weapon, but she just stood there freaking the fuck out because she was an idiot and she wanted to get killed.

Suddenly, the door opened and the driver got out. He was obviously male, his face still hidden in shadows against the bright lights of the headlights piercing her eyes. The figure made a move towards her.

“Stay the hell away from me,” she warned, though her voice was barely a whisper. She took a couple of steps back, hugging her books tighter to her chest. Books! Her textbooks weighed at least one stone apiece, for sure - that was a lie but they were still bloody heavy.

The figure took a couple of steps forward.

“You know what,” Savannah muttered under her breath, fingers tightening around the spine of her Psychopathology textbook. “Sod it.”

And with what resembled a loud gargled shriek, she launched herself at the stranger, textbook swinging wildly into what she thought to be the side of the guy’s head. She backed up, tightened her hold once again on the heavy textbook and launched the book at him from a distance, nailing him in the face. She quickly pulled open the top flap of her satchel to grab one of the lighter books - anything to attack him again - and she almost succeeded in getting her relatively heavy workbook out (anything but the laptop) when the figure held up his arms in defeat, speaking out for the first time since he got out of the car. Or rather, the first time Savannah actually heard him. The ringing in her ears from her panic had just managed to dissipate as the noises around her became clearer.

“Stop it you psycho! What the fuck!?” the voice yelled, sounding slightly familiar.

“Harry?” Savannah asked, doing a double take as she gripped the second book in her hands.

“Yes, I’m Harry you crazy bint! Who did you think I was?!” he exclaimed, one hand covering his cheek as he stepped into the light.

“I thought you were some sleazebag who wanted to kidnap me or something! Who the hell just pulls up next to some unsuspecting girl in the middle of the night like that?!”

“Fuck, remind me to never try to do something nice again,” he muttered, pulling his hand away to see if there had been any major damage.

Suddenly, the passenger door opened, and the second figure in the car all but fell out of his seat, clutching his stomach in laughter.

“Shut the hell up, Zayn!” Harry yelled in the direction of the car, still glaring daggers at Savannah who at least looked a little remorseful.

“That was hilarious, Sav. Please do it again so I can record it,” he managed to say between gasps of laughter. “You know, your war cry was definitely the cherry on top. How does someone so small make a noise so loud?”

Savannah blushed a deep red, head hung in shame as she tried to avoid Harry’s glare. “What the hell were you guys doing here anyway?” she asked Zayn who’d managed to compose himself and was now stood next to Harry.

“We were going to give you a lift home,” he smirked as Harry fumed from beside him. “Which, uh, didn’t really go well, did it?” he chuckled, scratching the back of his neck nervously, shooting quick glances at Harry to see if he was going to get attacked anytime soon.

“No kidding,” Harry spat out. Savannah couldn’t help but laugh at the red welt appearing rapidly on his face - there was no doubt he was going to be sporting a massively bruised cheek the next day.

“Look, Harry,” Savannah started towards him but he pulled back, taking a couple of steps away from her as if she was going to attack him again. “I’m sorry!” She tried to get closer to him once again and this time, he allowed her. Tentatively, she reached up a hand to inspect his cheek in the light. It was definitely swelling rapidly - a lot faster than she thought.

Curiously, she poked it.

“Oh my god, don’t poke it!” he exclaimed, hissing in pain.

“I’m sorry!” she cried again, as Zayn doubled over in laughter once more. “Are you still ok with taking me home?” she asked, suddenly shy.

“Guess I have to now, despite the fact that you’ve just disfigured my face,” Harry sighed, pulling his hand away from his cheek once more and turning back to his car. “Come on, We’re not letting you catch the train alone at this time of night,” he said, gesturing towards the back seat.

“Is he mad at me?” Savannah asked Zayn as she picked up her fallen textbook.

“I have a hunch... considering you just nailed him in the face with a bloody book,” he chuckled. “But he’ll get over it soon. Come on, let’s get you home.”

-

“This is your place?” Zayn asked as they made the way up the stairs towards Alexa’s flat. On the car ride home, Savannah had insisted (albeit annoyingly) that Harry and Zayn come up so that she could get him some ice and some painkillers for the rapidly swelling bruise on his face and he’d grudgingly agreed.

“Yeah, I’ve just moved in with Lex,” she said, unlocking the door and letting the two boys in.

He whistled. “It’s pretty nice,” he said, admiring the cabinets laden with every movie and TV show known to man.

“Savannah? Is that you?” a voice called from down the hallway, followed by a pyjama-clad Alexa in her fluffy slippers. She stopped short when she saw who was accompanying Sav, shooting her best friend a questioning look.

“Honey, I’m home!” Savannah announced with a grin. “And, you know, these two,” she waved towards the boys.

“Hey Zayn,” Alexa greeted, trying to shield her less-than-presentable outfit from their line of sight. “Hey Har- what happened to you?”

From behind Savannah, Harry sighed.

“I hit him in the face with this,” Savannah explained weakly, holding up her textbook for Alexa to see. It was slightly battered and beaten from the events of the night, but still usable nonetheless - which Savannah was endlessly thankful for because that alone had cost her about 100 quid.

“Hold up,” Alexa interrupted. “You’re telling me that you attacked Harry?” she questioned, eyes widening as three heads nodded back in response. Harry began to look slightly smug as Lex’s face dropped, appalled. “And no one filmed it?”

This time it was Harry looking appalled. “That’s it? That’s what you’re going to ask?” he demanded, while Zayn chuckled beside him. “Piss off,” he turned his face to glare at Zayn.

“You know,” Savannah spoke softly, moving towards Harry. “I really don’t think it’s going to be all that bad?” she offered, but it came out as more of a question than anything else. Her finger was, once again, a couple centimetres away from his cheek when he reached over and gripped tightly onto her wrist, making her squeal and jump in surprise. “Sorry!”

“Oh, my god, Simba,” Harry groaned, eyes wide with disbelief. “Were you going to poke it again?”

“I just wanted to see if it still hurt as bad,” she admitted sheepishly, blushing slightly, wrist still held tightly between Harry’s slender fingers. “And don’t call me Simba.”

“I can assure you,” Harry rolled his eyes, releasing her wrist. “It does.”

Savannah bit her lip, her eyes lingering on his cheek as she unconsciously rubbed the wrist Harry had just freed. “Ok,” she said decisively. “Come with me.”

“Wha-” Harry didn’t really have a chance to respond as Savannah dragged him through the flat - almost knocking over a lamp - as they left Alexa and Zayn to awkwardly fend for themselves. “What are you doing?” Harry finally managed, once they came to a halt in front of Savannah’s rather large bathroom.

“Go in and take a seat,” she ordered. “I’ll be right back,” and without giving Harry a chance to argue, she was disappearing back to where they had come from.

-

“Hold still,” Savannah grumbled, tilting Harry’s face so that she could rub the ointment she’d found in the cabinet over his cheek. She remembered when Alexa had tripped and twisted her ankle last Christmas. They’d been out trying to find last minute gifts, when everything had gone horribly wrong. They’d gone to the emergency room where Reyna had been volunteering as part of her coursework (and even though her commitment was over, she’d stayed on because she enjoyed the experience). Reyna had sighed at the sight of them, throwing the stolen medication at them with instructions to tightly wrap the ankle and ice it afterwards.

“I just don’t understand why you’re covering my face in that gunk,” Harry pouted, once again trying to move his face away from Savannah’s fingers.

“Because,” she jerked his face back. “It will help with the swelling.”

“But it’s cold,” Harry mumbled, his pout deepening. “And it smells!”

“Don’t be such a baby,” she laughed lightly. “You’ll be thanking me for this ‘smelly gunk’,” she quoted him, “tomorrow morning when your face doesn’t feel like it’s been hit by a truck.”

“I’d be thanking you more if you hadn’t been the one to put me in this position,” he retorted.

“Potato, potahto,” she shrugged, refusing to rise to the bait. “There,” she exclaimed brightly, finally moving her hands away from his face. “All done. Now put this on,” she handed him a bag of frozen peas.

“Really?” Harry raised a brow in amusement.

Savannah tried not to blush. “We didn’t have an ice pack?” she posed it as more of a question than she’d intended, as she turned back to the sink where she’d set up her supplies.

“Of course you didn’t,” Harry chuckled before tenderly placing the bag against his cheek. “This hurts like a bitch. I expect you to be nice to me for at least a month after this, by the way.”

“I’m always nice to you,” she retorted, gathering the stuff on the counter and placing them neatly back in the bag. “It’s you who shouldn’t test me.”

“That’s no way to speak to the wounded,” he scolded, pressing the pack more firmly on his bruise. “I’m going to be sporting this bruise for a good week, at least. Going to have people ask how I got socked in the face.”

“I suppose you’ll be making up some macho story. Injury-via-textbook doesn’t sound so cool,” she replied, laughing lightly.

“Yeah, maybe I’ll tell them something wild. Like I wrestled a lion or something,” he grinned cheekily.

Savannah snorted, gathering up all the rubbish and dumping it in the bin. “Yeah, because Louis’ definitely going to believe that when he finds out about this.”

“Oh shit, Louis,” Harry’s eyes widened as he thought of his best mate and his tenacity to find things out before they even happened. He quickly pulled out his phone, determined to be the first one to tell him the story.

Savannah left Harry in the bathroom with the peas while she went to pack away the first aid kit back in the cabinet and headed out to Zayn and Alexa who were sat in the kitchen, chatting. They looked up expectantly upon hearing her come into the room.

���How’s the princess?” Zayn asked, smirking.

“Whining like a little bitch,” Savannah grinned, walking over to the fridge and grabbing a bottle of water. She had to admit, she felt slightly bad for the inevitable bruise that was going to appear on his face the next day, but the situation was too funny for her not to joke about.

“What’s new, hey?” Zayn laughed, immediately cutting off as Harry entered the space. He eyed the two of them suspiciously, eyes narrowing.

“Ready to leave, Malik?” Harry asked, glancing over at Savannah who stared back questioningly.

“Oh… yeah,” Zayn mumbled, pushing off the counter and walking towards the hallway. Alexa followed him, leaving Savannah and Harry alone once again.

He took a careful step close to her. “Give me your phone,” he demanded, holding his hand out.

Eyebrows raised curiously, Savannah pulled her phone from her back pocket and placed it in Harry’s hands. After a minute, he handed it back to her as his own phone beeped from his pocket.

“You have my number now. Any time you find yourself needing a lift, give me a call, yeah? I don’t want you travelling home alone in the dark.”

To Savannah’s complete and utter surprise, Harry’s cheeks flushed a pale pink, and she couldn’t help but be flattered by the gesture.

“I’m a big girl… I can handle myself,” she retorted half-heartedly.

Harry chuckled, shaking his head slightly, “Trust me, I know,” he gestured to the mark on his face. “But just in case,” he winked.

And with that, he turned around and left the room.

AN: hi guys, sorry we’re a day late on this chapter but we had a long weekend here and if i’m being completely honest, we both forgot about it oops. hopefully the content makes up for it though bc this was definitely one of my favourite chapters to write. as always, we love to hear your thoughts so shoot us a message if you have a spare moment. otherwise, enjoy!! x

[the-fauxpas]

four / vodka sunrise

UNI AU co-written with @ineffably-styles

a story of late nights, unorthodox household plants, and a trip to Vegas that changes everything

“No,” Louis all but yelled. “If you sing another High School Musical song around me, so help me god-”

“Please don’t give her any ideas,” Alexa said quickly, accepting the bag that Savannah offered her.

“Don’t be a sour puss,” Reyna scoffed. “What song should we sing, Sav? I was thinking We’re All In This Together.”

chapter three / story page

A collective sigh of relief could be heard from Savannah and her coworkers when the bell at the cafe door dinged, announcing the departure of their last customer. They hadn’t had a moment to catch a breath since the opening of the cafe and were glad to see the tables empty.

“I can’t believe this shift is finally over,” Maeve - one of Savannah’s closest workmates - groaned, untying her apron and pulling it off. She slumped down in one of the chairs, Savannah following suit as they both rested their heads against the table and closed their eyes to rest.

“That was actually ridiculous. I hate Saturdays,” Sav agreed, trying to keep herself awake. She still had a party to go to that night so passing out just wasn’t an option for her. “Did you lock the door? Because if you didn’t, I might just yell bloody murder at the next person who dares to walk in here.”

“That’s beautiful customer service right there, Sav,” Christian, one of their kitchen hands, grinned. He set two sandwiches down by her and Maeve’s heads. “BLTs to go,” he explained, “thought you guys might need an energy boost on the way home.”

“The man, the myth, the legend everyone,” Maeve exclaimed thankfully, clapping loudly as he mockingly bowed graciously.

“Thank you, thank you. I live to impress my loyal subjects,” he joked.

“Oh get over yourself,” Savannah brushed him off lightly. “Thanks for the sandwiches though, it’s really nice of you,” she added, watching as his cheeks tinged slightly pink at her compliment.

“It’s fine, I didn’t want all that food to go to waste,” he said nonchalantly, shuffling slightly. “Anyways, I better clean up and go home. Got an assignment to finish.”

“Ah, sounds brutal,” Savannah winced, grabbing her sandwich and unwrapping it to take a bite. She and Maeve waved solemnly to Christian as he disappeared behind the kitchen door.

“He’s such a nice boy,” Maeve commented, also picking up her sandwich.

“He is.”

“He’s also crazy about you,” she continued.

“He’s also eighteen,” Savannah countered.

“Age is nothing but a number,” Maeve joked, taking a bite of her snack and grinning angelically at Sav.

“Until it’s illegal,” she replied dryly. “We need to find him a nice girl.” The cogs were already turning in Sav’s mind, and she knew that if either Reyna or Alexa were there, they’d be stopping her plan in its tracks. Luckily for her though, Maeve wasn’t quite as intuitive as her two best friends were and so was completely oblivious to her plan.

“Yeah, if he ever had eyes for anyone else, that might actually work,” she replied sarcastically. “Anyways, have you got yourself a boy yet? Kinda leaving it a bit late, aren’t ya?” she joked.

Savannah rolled her eyes, throwing a scrunched up napkin at her friend. “Firstly, it will work. I’ll make it work. And secondly, no,” she replied, not bothering to elaborate on her last point.

“Have you been out playing the field though? I mean, you’re single, gorgeous, and you need to show Cameron how much better you’re doing without him too,” she added slyly, a grin playing on her lips. Maeve had always disliked Savannah’s ex-boyfriend - she had always prided herself in her ability to read people accurately. She’d known from the get-go that he was going to break Sav’s heart and when he finally did, she’d had to repress her urge to hunt the guy down.

“Ugh, you don’t even have to worry about Cameron. Completely surprised me, if I’m being honest,” Savannah shrugged. “I thought it would take a lot longer than it did for me to get over him.”

“That’s good,” Maeve said excitedly, finishing off her sandwich and brushing off the crumbs. “I always told you I never liked him, didn’t I?”

“You did,” Savannah smiled, “I should’ve listened to you.”

“Ah,” Maeve leaned back, brushing off her words. “You had to find out for yourself. And I’m glad that you did - you’re already stronger from the experience.”

At this, Sav couldn’t help but smile. As messy as the breakup had been, she was glad that she’d come out of it a lot stronger than before. Maeve had always been the voice of reason and guidance for her. Wise beyond her 26 years, Savannah found that going to her for advice always resulted in a completely new perspective on any difficult topic that she encountered and she was glad that of all the people she met in life, she’d crossed paths with Maeve.

“Thank you,” she said honestly, smiling at her friend before finishing up the rest of her food.

“How are you guys getting home?” Christian asked, walking back into the front room a few moments later. He’d changed out of his work clothes into something more casual, tugging a bag onto his back as he carefully ran his eyes over the cafe once more to make sure everything was intact. It still surprised Sav how much he seemed to like the little cafe her mum owned.

“Dunno,” Maeve shrugged, grinning over at him.

“I can give you guys a lift if you’d like?” he offered, sounding a little unsure of himself as he glanced from Sav to Maeve and back again. “I mean, it’s my mum’s van and the backseat smells a little because of my brother’s soccer uniform, but it does the job,” he blabbered.

“You had me at ride,” Maeve nodded eagerly. “Anything’s better than taking the bus,” she scowled. “It always smells like dog. And don’t get me wrong, I love dogs as much as the next person but seriously, come on.”

Christian laughed lightly before nodding at her in agreement. “Sav?” he offered, jingling his keys in midair.

“Thanks, Christian,” she smiled kindly. “But Lex is coming to pick me up in about ten,” she checked her watch, “so we can get ready for the party tonight.”

“Ah,” he nodded easily. “Next time, then. Did you want us to wait with you until they got here?” he offered.

“Nah, it’s fine,” she waved them off. “You two get going. I need to check the register and lock up anyway.”

“Alright,” Maeve shrugged, “don’t do anything I haven’t done,” she sing-songed, moving around to give Sav a quick hug.

“Really?” Savannah stared at her. “There’s like nothing you haven’t done.” “I know,” she winked. “And I’m all the wiser for it. You’ve said so yourself,” she defended.

“Bye, Maeve,” Sav said pointedly, making Christian laugh from by the door. “Oh, and leave the door open would you?”

“No problem. I’ll see you on Monday?” he questioned, holding the door open for Maeve as she made her way towards him.

“Definitely,” Savannah nodded. “I’m going to talk to my mum about a possible pay-rise for you, Chris,” she teased, making him blush.

“Have fun tonight,” he said before bading her a final farewell and letting the door ding shut behind him.

It was only a few minutes later when Savannah was locking the register and doing a final quick sweep of the backroom that a banging could be heard from out front.  

“Oi, Sav, let us in,” Louis was yelling. “I’m going to freeze my knob off!”

“Good,” Savannah heard Reyna quip. “That way you won’t be able to procreate.”

“Nah, be honest,” he drawled. “My kids would be cute.”

Reyna snorted. “Your kids would be cursed. Poor lads never saw it coming - ending up with a dad like you.”

“That’s no way to speak of our future children, Rey-Rey,” Louis mocked.

“If the weather doesn’t freeze your knob, I sure as hell will hack it off for you,” Reyna said in a sinister voice.

“Bloody hell, would you two knock it off?” Alexa cut in, clearly sounding annoyed and Savannah began to wonder just how long this conversation had been going on for. If she had to have a guess, with their history, she’d assume that it was the entire car ride and possibly even beforehand.

“Hey guys,” she said with resignation was she pulled open the door for them to come through. “It was unlocked, by the way. Did you think of turning the knob?”

“Haha, knob,” Louis snickered as he made his way inside, earning himself eye rolls from all the girls.

“Grow up, you’re horrid,” Reyna scolded, her nose wrinkling at his immaturity. “Sav, are you about done yet? Party’s in about an hour and I’d suggest we get going if you want to get there before it finishes.”

“Why’s he here?” Savannah replied, nodding towards Louis who was yet again stealing another muffin from the basket on the counter. “I hope you’re going to pay for that,” she added, glaring at him as he took a bite from a chocolate chip one.

“He didn’t want to be the first one there, and seeing as Harry’s not coming, he decided to grace us with his annoying ass,” Reyna explained, crossing her arms annoyedly.

“Hey! People would kill for my company,” Louis argued. “I wonder why I keep you around sometimes.”

“You? Keep me around-?” Reyna started.

“-Okay, maybe we should get going?” Alexa suggested, looking pointedly towards Savannah who hurriedly grabbed her bag from behind the counter and hitched it over her shoulder.

“Better get out of here before they really go at it,” she muttered, following Alexa out the door with Reyna and Louis trailing close behind, still bickering.

“It’s not my fault you guys have a shite sense of humour,” Louis was saying as they made their way over to the car.

“So,” Savannah interrupted loudly before Reyna could respond. “Harry really can’t get out of dinner plans?”

“Nah,” Louis shook his head, easily distracted from the argument, while Reyna glared at her well aware of what she was trying to do. “Dick Styles is exactly what his name suggests, a bit of a dick.”

“His dad’s name is dick?” Reyna frowned.

“Well, it’s Richard,” Louis admitted.

“But people call him dick,” Alexa concluded.

“Actually, no one calls him dick,” he grinned sheepishly, polishing off the muffin and throwing the wrapper at Reyna who punched him in the arm.  

“I give up,” Savannah sighed, settling into the passenger seat as she tried to ignore the arguing coming from the backseat.

“We all do,” Alexa agreed.

-

“Look at the way his eyes keep flickering around the room,” Louis said gleefully, watching his friend manoeuvre his way through a conversation with the very girl he’d been avoiding for months now.

“Looking for an escape?” Alexa guessed, taking a lazy sip of the non-alcoholic drink she had in her hand. Unlike the rest of them she wasn’t drinking tonight, unwilling to risk a hangover when she had work the next day and lecture notes she was already behind on.  

“Definitely looking for an escape,” Zayn sidled up to them, having caught the last part of their conversation.

“He’s been dodging Emily’s advances for months now,” Zayn’s roommate - Niall - cut in, a drink in each hand. Savannah quirked a brow, wondering if they were both for him.

“Poor guy looks like he’s in pain,” Alexa observed, tilting her head as though she was observing a painting.

“Maybe someone should help put him out of his misery?” Reyna suggested, looking from Zayn to Harry and finally resting on Sav.

“What?” she narrowed her eyes, realisation dawning on her as Reyna continued to stare pointedly at her before flicking her gaze over to Harry. “No way!” she protested. “I barely even know him. Besides, it’s Zayn’s party.”

Zayn merely shook his head. “Hey, don’t look at me. I didn’t even invite her. You can blame Louis for that,” he backed away from them carefully. “Besides, I’ve got to go around and check nothing’s missing,” he sighed. “Someone always steals something.”

“I’ll help,” Alexa piped up. “Make sure no one breaks anything,” she rushed out, cheeks tingeing a little red when everyone stared at her.

“Oh,” Niall frowned, eyes lighting up sheepishly as he followed them. “About that…” his voice trailed off as the three of them weaved their way through small groups of people who were already gathered and chatting over drinks.

Savannah turned her glare onto Louis. “Why did you invite her?” she demanded.

“She heard me talking about it and it would’ve been rude if I’d told her not to come,” he shrugged. “Plus Harry said he wasn’t going to show up so I thought it was safe.”

“You’re a complete buffoon,” Reyna shook her head. “Go save the poor guy, Sav. He looks ready to rip his hair out.”

“Is that sympathy I detect?” Louis jeered at her. 

“Shut up,” she scowled at him. “We both know how stressful family dinners can be, poor bloke didn’t even have a chance to change. Look at him, he’s still got a bloody tie around his neck. Go pretend to be his girlfriend or something before he turns it into a noose.”

“Ok, ok,” Savannah rolled her eyes. “I get it. I’ll go save him. Be his knight in shining armour,” she grinned at the thought, walking over towards where Harry was playing with the tie around his neck.

“You should grow out your hair,” Emily was saying as she reached over to play with a strand of Harry’s hair.

“There you are,” Savannah interrupted, grabbing Harry and practically dragging him away, leaving Emily standing with her hand fluttering awkwardly in midair. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” she said in a falsely cheerful voice.

“Uhh,” Harry frowned, allowing her to drag him away. “Did I miss something?” he asked once they’d reached Reyna and Louis, who were stood watching amusedly.

“You’re welcome,” Savannah scoffed, thinking they were in the clear only to have Louis choke on his drink as someone tapped her on the shoulder.

“Excuse me,” the girl she’d just pulled Harry away from spoke, glaring at Savannah, “but we were in the middle of a conversation.”

Savannah glanced over at Harry who looked nervously between the two, his hand once again moving to fiddle with the tie around his neck - it annoyed her more than it should have. “Stop that,” she scolded him, swatting his hands away, completely aware that she was sounding like a controlling girlfriend.

“Sorry,” Harry muttered, feeling too scatter-brained to argue.

“Why don’t you just take it off?” Reyna cut in, completely ignoring Emily’s presence.

“Yeah,” Louis agreed. “You’d look a lot less like a twat that way,” he said seriously.

“Thanks for that guys,” he glared at the two of them, before pulling his tie apart and unbuttoning the first few buttons of his shirt.

“What are you doing?” Savannah demanded, sounding frustrated.

“Trying to look less like a twat,” he deadpanned.

“Ahem,” Emily interrupted, four sets of eyes falling once again onto her. She turned to look at Harry. “Can we go somewhere more private?” she fluttered her eyes up at him.

Harry opened and closed his mouth, unsure of how to gently turn the girl away without sounding like a complete dickhead.

“Great fish impression,” Reyna said coyly, taking a sip of her drink while she watched Harry with amusement as he struggled to form a coherent sentence.

“Oh, bloody hell. Look, I’m sure you’re super nice,” Savannah began, stepping in front of Harry. “But Harry isn’t interested. He’s just escaped from some super stuffy family dinner and all he really wants to do is get drunk and forget his own name.”

Emily rolled her eyes, trying to step around Savannah only to have her way blocked with every attempt. Finally she gave up. “No offense but, who are you?” she demanded, sounding thoroughly frustrated.

Savannah glanced behind her, noting the panic on Harry’s face and the expectant, eager looks on Louis and Reyna’s. “I’m his girlfriend,” she muttered, not looking away from her friends as their eyes lit up gleefully and twin smiles formed on their lips. “So, please leave,” she turned back to Emily, patting Harry awkwardly on the back as he choked on his own tongue.

“I - what?” Emily spluttered, looking from Harry to Savannah.

“We’re dating,” she enunciated. “What don’t you understand?”

“You never told me you were seeing someone,” Emily said to Harry, looking fairly upset.

“Uh,” Harry stuttered, looking at a loss. “Yes?”

“God forbid he ever has to defend anyone in a criminal trial,” Savannah heard Reyna mumble from behind her. She turned around to glare at her friend only to find a phone pointed directly at her. “Remind me not to hire him. For anything. Ever.”

“Dammit, Rey,” Sav grumbled, holding her hand up to hide her face, no matter how useless she knew it was. “I need a drink.”

“Maybe Harry can get you one,” Louis said slyly. “Looks like he’s in need of one himself, anyway,” he nodded over at his struggling friend.

“I can get drinks,” Harry nodded eagerly, feeling slightly guilty at the sight of a forlorn-looking Emily.

“Go with him, Sav,” Reyna bossed her, looking at her best friend roll her eyes.

“Bu - fine,” Sav said, deciding it would be best not to argue.

“C’mon, Em,” Louis wrapped an arm around the girl who’d once again been ignored. “Let’s go find you someone to dance with,” he said leading her away from the others.

“Hey, what about me?” Reyna demanded, chasing after them and leaving Harry and Savannah alone.

“Well-”

“I need a drink,” Harry cut Savannah off. “Sorry,” he apologised immediately, following the glare she shot him.

“A little gratitude for saving your sorry ass would be nice,” she grumbled, crossing her arms and jogging a little to catch up with his long strides as he led her into the kitchen.

“I didn’t need saving,” he flicked his eyes over towards her momentarily.

“That’s not what it looked like to the rest of us. We were worried you were going to end up strangling yourself with your tie at some point.”

“And what if I was actually interested in Emily?” he pulled out a couple of beers from a hidden compartment in Zayn’s fridge. “It’s where he keeps the good stuff,” he explained.

“If you’re so interested, I’m sure Louis can bring her back,” she challenged, accepting the drink he handed her. “I’ll go find him for you,” she turned to head back where they’d come from, only to have Harry grab her elbow and hold her back.

“Ok, ok,” he conceded. “Maybe I needed some help. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she said smugly.

“Although,” he grinned after a couple of seconds. “Louis didn’t tell you Emily was quite the blabbermouth, did he? Now everyone’s going to think we’re dating,” he flickered her nose mockingly.

“Wait, what?”

“So what should I call you?” he mused. “We’re going to need couple names, you know,” he said pointedly.

“I don’t do couple names,” she monotoned back at him.

“Sav is too common, everyone calls you that - we need something just for the two of us,” he leaned back onto the counter, crossing his legs at his ankles as he stared at her in contemplation.

“Stop staring at me like that,” she glared at him.

“Like what?”  

“Like you’re trying to read my mind,” she folded her arms across her chest as though it would protect her from his piercing gaze.

It was silent for about half a minute, the only sounds that could be heard was the buzz of the party going on around them. Savannah began to fiddle nervously with the necklace around her neck, causing Harry’s eyes to zero in on the Disney pendant.

His eyes lit up after a few ticks of the clock. “I’ve got it,” he exclaimed.

“What?”

“Your nickname. It’s Simba,” he declared proudly.

“I don’t think so,” Savannah scowled at him.

“But it’s perfect!” he tried to argue. “Just hear me out-”

“No,” she cut him off, turning to walk away.

“This isn’t over, Simba!” Harry yelled after her, choosing not to follow.

Savannah flicked him the bird before disappearing into the crowd.

-

“Hey, uh, Zayn?” a tap on Zayn’s shoulder halted their conversation, interrupting him mid-sentence. Savannah glanced at the boy, nervously gesturing behind herself. “I think someone’s throwing up in the bathroom.”

“Ah, fuck,” Zayn swore, before excusing himself and rushing down the hall. Savannah watched him leave before turning back to the guy he’d been chatting with who was now staring unashamedly back at her.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” she replied skeptically, studying him as his eyes washed over her.

“What’s your name?” he asked before taking a sip of his drink, gaze still firmly latched onto her.

“Savannah,” she replied carefully, still wary. “And yours?”

“Sean,” he smirked. “Wanna dance?” he gestured behind him, toward a group of people who’d turned Zayn’s living room into a makeshift dancefloor.

“Not right now, I don’t think so. Thanks for the offer though!” she said sweetly, catching Reyna’s eye from across the room where she leant against makeshift bar counter, talking to Louis and some friends. She watched them warily, silently asking if Savannah needed help.

With a slight shake of her head, she turned back towards Sean who was still looking at her expectantly. Suddenly, Savannah felt a lightbulb go off in her head and began searching the room, hoping the person she wanted to see hadn’t given up and gone home. Her eyes found said person sat on the couch, playing with her drink while trying to avoid touching the couple who was making out beside her.

“But I can think of someone who will,” she grinned, grabbing Sean’s arm and pulling him along with her. They skidded to a stop in front of Emily, who looked up at them with an expression of both confusion and apprehension upon recognising Savannah.

“What do you guys want?” she asked, eyes darting between Savannah and Sean and the hold Savannah still had on him.

“Hey Emily. It is Emily, right? Anyway,” Savannah began cheerfully. “Seeing as you were so desperate for a dance partner before, I’ve taken it upon myself to find you one!”

“What?”

“Meet Sean. Sean, this is Emily. She just loves to dance. Have fun you two!” Savannah darted off, leaving Sean sputtering while Emily’s glare deepened.

In the mood for another drink, she made her way to the kitchen where she began searching around for a clean cup. She began rummaging in Zayn’s cupboards for a glass when one was shoved in front of her face. She followed the hand to find herself face to face with Harry once again.

“Here,” he mumbled, “You’re not going to find anything breakable in this kitchen. Zayn’s hidden it all in his bedroom cupboard.”

Savannah lifted an eyebrow before taking the drink. “You know, they say to never accept a drink from strangers.”

“Good thing I’m not one then,” he smiled, clinking their cups together before taking a sip of his. Savannah followed suit, and had almost successfully downed half the cup before she found herself shoved into Harry who caught her before she lost her footing.

“Bloody hell, Louis!” Alexa sighed, pulling Louis to the side where he couldn’t cause any more damage. “You could’ve broken her face.”

“Oh please,” Louis brushed it off, “It was barely a nudge. Look, she’s fine isn’t she?”

“Oh yeah, just peachy,” Savannah said sarcastically, her cheeks tinged pink as she brushed herself off while Harry had silently gone back to sipping on his drink.

“Besides, Reyna and Zayn could doctor her right back up,” he insisted, ignoring Savannah’s jab.

“Anyway Sav, I was just about to head off,” Alexa explained. “Reyna said she needs to look after this one,” she nodded towards Louis who grinned, “so she’ll probably get home later, but I was just wondering if you needed a lift?”

“Yeah I’ll come,” Savannah replied, finishing off the rest of her drink and nodding at Harry. “Thanks for that, Styles. I’ll see you at uni.”

“See you later, Simba,” he said innocently, grin widening as he noted the scowl on her face.

“What was that?” Alexa asked curiously once they were out of earshot.

“Trust me, you don’t want to know,” Savannah said resignedly as they went to find Zayn to say goodbye.

-

“Whoa, what happened to this place?” Alexa asked, pulling her sunnies from her face and dropping her keys on the table by the door. Savannah appeared behind her, waving hello at Zayn before surveying the mess in front of them with disgust. “Did you guys sleep in this?” Alexa continued, wrinkling her nose.  

“Hope you guys have a cleaning crew booked because this needs some serious elbow grease,” she joked, eyes resting on the disheveled forms of Louis and Niall passed out on the couch, arms wrapped securely around one another.

“Yeah, they’re booked in for about tomorrow night. Earliest we could get them,” Zayn shrugged, hopping on a stool and thankfully accepting the cup of tea Reyna passed him.

“I was, uh… joking,” Savannah trailed off, internally shaking her head at the fact that he would actually hire someone to do the cleaning. But then again, this was probably how the other half lived everyday.

“Tomorrow night?” Alexa blanched, picking up a stray cup that had fallen over and studying the stain it had left on the polished wood. “I don’t think you can survive that long.”

“Don’t think I have any choice,” Zayn said, scratching the back of his neck nervously. “I’m scared I’ll wreck the floors if I try and get that out myself.”

“Look, we’ll help,” Savannah piped up decidedly, still by the door. “Where are your rubbish bags?”

“Underneath the sink. Why? What’s happening?” he replied curiously, watching as Savannah started rummaging in his cupboards for the cleaning supplies.

“Oh, no,” Reyna mumbled dejectedly from beside him, causing his eyes to focus on her for a moment before Savannah was calling his attention once again.

“Do you have any Dettol?” she asked, lining up everything on the counter as everyone watched her, wide-eyed.

“You know how to clean?” Zayn asked, the surprise evident on his face as Savannah started stacking cups in order to make more room for her army of cleaning products. For someone who had obviously never cleaned up after a party in his life, Zayn sure did have a lot of sprays in his cupboard.

“I’m very domesticated, if I do say so myself,” Savannah replied smugly, grabbing the roll of garbage bags out and unrolling one. “Here, start organising.”

“Uhh, what is going on here?” Harry piped up from the entrance to the hallway, dressed in a pair of trackpants, still towelling excess water from his hair.

“Savannah’s gone mad,” Reyna replied seriously, eyes darting to her friend cautiously. “She wants us to clean.”

“Oh good! You’re up!” she chirped, handing Harry a black rubbish bag.  “Here, take a bag and start cleaning. Whatever wasn’t here 24 hours ago goes in that bag,” she explained slowly.

“Don’t bother arguing, she’s sporting the crazy eyes,” Alexa groaned from beside the door, earning a chuckle from Zayn as he watched on amusedly.

“Oi! You two! Wake up! We have lots to do,” Savannah sing-songed across the room at Louis and Niall who groaned loudly before squinting up at her.

“What are you on about?” Louis replied grudgingly, trying to shield the light that was pouring in from the windows beside him. “Bloody hell, could you keep it down? Some of us are still hungover.”

“Aye,” Niall agreed weakly slowly untangling himself from Louis and sitting up on the other end of the couch.

“Well, drink some water because we’ve got a bit of cleaning to do,” she countered happily, crossing the room dropping a plastic bag on each of them.

“Why did you let her in?” Louis complained loudly at Zayn who just smirked knowingly. “I can’t believe your poor choices in life affect my sleep now too.”

“It was the only way I could avoid having to peel you off my couch before noon,” he replied. “I’d listen to her if I were you, though. She looks scary.”

“She looks like she could burst into song at any moment,” Harry observed, still in the same position as before, except this time he was holding a plastic bag.  

“Please don’t give her any ideas,” Alexa said quickly, accepting the bag that Savannah offered her.

“Don’t be a sour puss,” Reyna scoffed. “What song should we sing, Sav? I was thinking We’re All In This Together.”

“No,” Louis all but yelled. “If you sing another High School Musical song around me, so help me god-”

“I don’t see any of you guys cleaning,” Savannah cut him off, glaring at each of them as she began throwing cups into the bag that she was holding. “The faster we all do our job, the quicker we’ll get everything done. That’s what my mum always told me,” she said proudly.

“Yeah, it’s also just common fucking sense,” Louis deadpanned from his position on the couch, still obviously annoyed that he was woken up from his sleep.

“Shut it,” Sav quipped. “Now get up and help us, you bum.”

Three and a half hours later, the group found themselves collapsed on the floor of Zayn’s living room, their surroundings spotless save for the pile of rubbish bags by the front door.  

“I’m so hungry,” Louis whined, cradling his stomach while Niall nodded in agreement. “I can’t believe you made us do that.”

“You’re a monster, Sav,” Niall agreed, looking pointedly towards her.

Savannah only grinned, gesturing around them. “How good does this place look, though? I’m so proud.”

Everyone glared at her.

“Okay then,” she said, pulling off her gloves. “Who’s up for lunch?”

“Ooh and a movie!” Reyna spoke up from her position on the couch.

“Lunch and a movie it is,” Zayn decided before an argument broke out. Savannah silently thanked him for it, considering the last time they’d tried to make plans, it had taken them about an hour to decide what to do.

“Ok, I’m game. But I’m going to need to go home and shower first,” Reyna piped up, wrinkling her nose as she glanced down at her grimy clothes.

“Deal,” Harry said, getting up to collect his stuff. “Meet in half an hour?”

“You’re funny,” Reyna deadpanned, gesturing to her hair. “An hour at least.”

“An hour then,” he agreed, finding his keys before grabbing Louis and heading towards the door. “See you guys soon.”

They all watched them leave silently, too tired to really comprehend what had just happened.

“Well,” Zayn spoke up, eyes sweeping around his spotless house. “Guess I better cancel the cleaners then.”

-

“No, you hold the popcorn, I’ve got both the drinks in my hands!”

“Ouch Louis! You just stepped on my foot, you idiot. Watch where you’re bloody going!”

“Well if your feet weren’t the size of the entire walkway, I wouldn’t have felt inclined to step on them. Also, it’s fucking dark!”

“Oi! Shut the hell up you twats, we’re trying to watch a movie here!” someone a few rows above them yelled.

“See? Now you’ve done it. Got the whole cinema yelling at us now,” Reyna hissed, tempted to try and trip him as he made his way past her.  

“Well if your ass didn’t get so restless halfway through, we wouldn’t be having this problem, now would we?” he hissed back at her.

“I didn’t get restless, I got hungry,” she corrected him.

“Oh my god, can they please shut up,” Savannah murmured from her seat on the other end of the row. “They’ll get us all kicked out in a second.”

From beside her, Alexa laughed. “Well, this was your plan to begin with so I don’t know what you’re complaining about.”

“It’s not like I picked the movie,” she whispered back. “I wanted to watch whatever rom com was showing. But no, Reyna and Zayn just had to insist we watch some superhero film. Besides, I said lunch, Reyna suggested the movie!”

“Maybe this was a bad idea,” Zayn agreed, “We should just leave now - spare us the shame of having to leave when the lights are on.”

“Or, we can just kick the two of them out,” Harry suggested from Sav’s other side, his eyes fixed on the screen where Deadpool was discussing his KFC-spork hand. The whole cinema seemed to erupt in laughter, but the people surrounding Savannah were making too much of a racket for her to concentrate on the movie.

“And risk a bloodbath? That’s the worst idea you’ve ever had, and that’s saying something considering you almost killed us on the way here,” she countered, digging into her popcorn.

“Hey! That loser cut me off, it wasn’t my fault!” he argued, leaning up from his seat to face her.

“If you weren’t doing something illegal, it mightn’t have happened,” Savannah shrugged.

“I have to agree with that,” Zayn piped up from Alexa’s other side. “You were the idiot in that situation.”

“Alright then, if you guys are so against my driving, why don’t you all catch a lift with Louis home then? See if you guys survive that journey,” Harry retorted defensively, crossing his arms and slumping back against the seat.

“Oi!” Reyna’s voice called to them from the other end of the row. “We’re trying to watch a movie here, keep the volume down would you!”

From beside her, Louis snorted. “We already saw this last week when it first came out. You literally made me cancel my shift so we could see a midnight screening.”

“What the hell, Rey?” Savannah glared. “Why are we watching it again if you’ve already seen it?” she demanded.

“Why not?” Reyna shrugged.

“If we get arrested, I’m blaming you,” Harry whisper-shouted towards Savannah. Reyna stuck up her finger at him, thinking his comment was directed towards her. “Oi! I wasn’t even talking about you.”

“That was rude, Rey,” Savannah felt inclined to agree with Harry.

“When we get out of this hellhole, I’m kicking both your asses,” she replied back to them before turning away and directing her focus towards the screen.

From beside her, Louis let out a loud laugh, “Ha ha, you’re both getting your asses kicked.”

“I’ll kick your ass too,” she glared at Louis.

“Oi!” someone called out from a couple of rows in front of them. “Shut up or I’m calling security!”

It was just over an hour later when the film finished and Savannah was more than ready to get out of there, only to have Harry pull her back down. “What?” she glared, anxious to get out of the cinema and away from the dirty looks people were throwing at her.

“There’s an end scene,” he whispered, tugging her arm until she’d sat back down.

“Don’t tell me you’ve already seen it, too,” she narrowed her eyes at him.

“I haven’t,” he shook his head. “But all Marvel films have end scenes,” he shrugged, turning back to the screen.

“I can’t believe you guys made me stay back to watch that thirty second clip of nothing,” she glared at Harry as they finally made their way out.

“If I hadn’t, someone else would have,” he shrugged completely unperturbed.

Savannah huffed and folded her arms across her chest as she followed him to his car, making Harry laugh.

“You can’t fool us, Sav,” Alexa nudged her. “You enjoyed the movie.”

“Yeah, what I saw of it,” she scoffed. “I’m honestly surprised we weren’t thrown out. I’m never going to the cinema with you lot ever again.”

“How are you going to get there on your own?” Alexa quirked an eyebrow. “You know, since you don’t have a car... or drive for that matter.”

“I’ll take the bus.”

“Wait, you can’t drive?” Harry demanded, unlocking the car.

“How do you get around?” Zayn asked, settling into the passenger seat beside Harry.

“She makes me drive her,” Alexa rolled her eyes.

“Hey, sometimes I walk or take public transport,” she pouted. “Yeah, like once a week.”

“We need to teach you how to drive,” Harry mused, reversing and waiting for Louis to cruise up behind them before they left the parking lot.

“Yeah, good luck with that,” Lex muttered. “Rey and I tried to teach her plenty of times.”

“So anyway,” Sav interrupted. “Where are we going now?”

“Dunno,” Harry shrugged. “Home probably.”

“Good. I have an lectures to work on and work later this evening,” Alexa nodded approvingly.

“The semester’s barely started,” Harry said, looking at her through the rearview mirror.

“And I’m determined not to fall behind.”

“Yeah, good luck with that,” Savannah mumbled as she texted away on her phone.

“Coming from the girl who has all her notes colour coded,” Alexa snorted from beside her.

“Oi, it helps me remember!”

“Or it could just be your OCD peaking,” Lex retorted.

“Man, I wish I was that organised,” Zayn sighed from the front seat, shooting a disapproving look at Harry as he drove over a roundabout.

“We’re going to die,” Savannah muttered, all thoughts of flying out her head as she looked up to watch Harry drive.

AN: i’ll keep this one short and sweet, let us know what you thought of the chapter!!