Different 17 (HS) (Patreon)

Author's note: I hope you enjoy this chapter. Let me know what you think! 

Mayhem. It was absolute chaos. The first punch was thrown by James, who couldn’t hold himself back any much longer, especially after seeing Y/N’s face. Harry stepped back and didn’t move for a few minutes as he tried to process everything that had happened.

Sebastian was outside when everything unfolded, the loud screams and shattering glasses called his attention. He quickly ran in and pushed everyone around when he saw that James was involved in the conflict. He pulled James as they both tumbled and slammed one another.  Y/N also stepped in to help Sebastian control James after seeing how much blood was already on him.

“Enough!” Y/N yelled as she stepped between the two men. James instantly stopped, but Brian was a bit more intoxicated and landed one on her before he could stop himself. The impact of his knuckles against her face was powerful enough to knock her down. She closed her eyes and remained still on the floor as she felt the room spinning.

“You are a fucking asshole” James yelled as he kneeled beside Y/N to check on her while Brian stood back and stared at the scene in complete horror. Everyone from the party had now turned their attention to the fight. People shook their heads at Brian and were clearly displeased with the fact that Brian had punched a girl. This time around Brian wasn’t intoxicated enough to forget. That single punch had been strong enough to sober him up instantly. “Y/N?” James called out for her and tried his best not to shake her.

It hadn’t been the hit that had knocked her out, but the impact of the back of her head against the hardwood floor. She was a bit disoriented when she finally opened her eyes. James and Sebastian helped her up while Hary remained frozen in his previous spot.

Sebastian lifted her off the floor and carried her out of the house as they realized that she was having some trouble walking. He sat her at the entrance of the house while James disappeared to find some paper towels to wipe some of the blood off his nose. Sarah went away from the couple as she felt the tension between them growing. She went towards the gate to order, an Uber, and Sebastian offered to accompany her since they had to wait for James to come back because they were leaving together.

“Talk to me” Y/N first said as she leaned her head against one of the cool columns of the entrance. She could feel the back of her head throbbing. She was so out of it, but she knew that if she didn’t explain herself, Harry would walk away and leave her.

“What’s there to talk about, huh?” Y/N winced at his rough and stern tone. “You lied to me!” He was pissed especially since it had happened in public and because it had come out of Brian’s mouth.

“I didn’t lie to you! I told you I had slept with people” She argued back. It had been a stupid mistake. Y/N and James had been slightly drunk. They had been both feeling vulnerable at the time and lonely. They were also both single.

“With your fucking best friend, Y/N! Who has also become a friend of mine!” She had hidden it from him. She hadn’t trusted him. She had kept that tiny detail from everyone. He felt betrayed by her. Harry also couldn’t understand why she wasn’t apologizing.

“I just didn’t find it important. It was before I met you!” It wasn’t some big secret that James and Y/N had promised not to tell anyone. They just didn’t find it important. Sebastian had fallen asleep first that night in Mallorca from exhaustion. The three of them had spent the entire day at the beach, enjoying the sun and eating their feelings away. Y/N and James remained outside on the terrace of the house, playing cards. It was a cool summer night by the ocean. They could hear the waves crashing upon the shore and the smell of the sea felt liberating. They both blamed it on the night. It was too beautiful and romantic.

“I- I don’t know. I feel like the image that I had of you has been completely wrong” He frowned as he stood before her. “You aren’t who I thought you were!” Since the very first moment he met her, he placed her on a pedestal. He believed that she was in every way perfect and now nothing mattered. She wasn’t the same angelic girl that he liked.

“What are you trying to say?” She raised from the floor. Harry kept walking side to side, trying his best to gather his thoughts.

“I don’t know who you are anymore Y/N! You aren’t the same girl I met that night!” He ran his hands through his hair, starting to feel his own head throbbing. He was defiantly freaking out. Every single kiss and every gentle touch didn’t matter anymore to him.

“I am not some whore, Harry. I made some mistakes and I have grown from them” Tears streamed down her face as she suddenly felt ashamed of who she was. She felt dirty and as if she wasn’t good enough for him. This was new for her. Never before a boy had made her feel that way.

“It certainly doesn’t feel like it” He mumbled as soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted it. He didn’t mean it. He was angry, but he knew that it wasn’t the way to treat her. He still liked her. He was just angry and frustrated.

“That’s great. Thanks for calling me a whore” She exhaled as she wiped the tears off her face.

“I didn’t mean that” He hated himself for making her cry. Harry just wanted to reach out and hold her and apologize to her, but it was all too much for him. All of it, he didn’t even recognize himself.

“Yes, you did!” He was right, she was too damaged for him. Her confidence had gone out of the window. She left like she was back in middle school when she had braces and glasses.

“You are problematic and have all these issues” Since they were at it already, he believed it was right for him to tell her how he truly felt. Even if it sounded shitty and mean. He needed to be honest with her, something she wasn’t.

“If I am so problematic then leave! No one is holding you back, Harry! I am not the problem and you just got to learn to live a little” Harry pursed his lips and shook his head. She was now angry at him.

“Don’t turn this on me! You are the one who slept with her best friend!” She couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth. He suddenly wasn’t the scared, nervous, and shy guy that she had met that night. He was an asshole with an attitude.

“It was before I met you and you still don’t fucking understand” She took a deep breath and wiped her tears quickly. “Maybe we should take a break and maybe you are right, and I am too damaged for someone as perfect as you” Her statement was enough to make his anger and frustration fade away. He suddenly wanted to cry and left like he had made a huge mistake.

“No one said I was perfect, Y/N. I didn’t mean anything I said.”

“That’s the thing, Harry. You did” That’s when Sarah and Sebastian walked back. They both noticed Harry’s knitted eyebrows and Y/N’s wet eyes.

“The Uber is here, guys” Sarah nervously announced noticing the awkward situation. Harry nodded and walked up to her, turning her back to Y/N. That’s when she knew that he was walking away from everything. He was giving up. Sarah frowned and ran up to the crying Y/N and hugged her tightly.

“He’ll get over it” she whispered as they hugged. Y/N only nodded and pulled away to wrap her arms around Sebastian for support.

“Sarah!” Harry called as he waited for her by the Uber. She made her way to him, and they quietly climbed into the car. Harry didn’t even turn to look at her one last time. He felt too ashamed.

Sebastian and Y/N stood outside until James finally showed up with a bunch of paper towels pressed against his nose trying to control the bleeding. He was exhausted and he felt very silly about what he had done. He felt it was his fault that Y/N and Harry’s relationship had run into a bumpy patch. He also couldn’t be angry with Y/N if she decided to stop talking to him.

“Hey” Sebastian and Y/N pulled away from their hug so they could both face him.

“Let’s go” James nodded, and they all made their way toward his car. The whole ride to Y/N’s apartment was silent, they barely said a word except for when Y/N invited all the boys to stay over. They all mumbled back yes, but that was it.

“I am sorry,” James said as Y/N leaned over with a new bunch of paper towels. She disposed of the blood-soaked ones and looked for an ice pack in her freezer. He sat on the counter beside the kitchen sink. Sebastian rummaged through the fridge looking for something easy to make.

“It’s not your fault” She shut close the freezer and walked up to her best friend, “You look like shit.”

“You really do man” James's eye was almost close shut close from the swelling and he was really bruised. “Should we take him to the doctor or something?”

“I don’t think so. It doesn’t look like he needs stitches” Y/N stood on her tiptoes trying to get a better look. “I am going to clean you up. Then you are going to take a shower and I am going to get the couch ready for both of you to sleep on”.

“I’ll make us some sandwiches,” Sebastian said as he started taking out ingredients from the fridge.

“Perfect. Come on big boy” She pulled him towards the downstairs bathroom. She left him alone after he sat down on the toilet seat.  “What a fucking night,” she said as she pulled the blankets out of the basket beside the couch and threw some pillows from the guest bathroom on the couch.

“I know” Sebastian walked in with two plates and placed them on the table. “What did Harry say?”

“I am too problematic, and I have too many issues” Y/N sighed as she reached back and touched the back of her head. “I don’t blame him.”

“We’ve been over this already” Sebastian settled the last plate and a pitcher of fresh lemonade on the table. “If he doesn’t cherish you and loves you for the way you are and not for the things you’ve done in the past then he is not worth it. You deserve the world, Y/N.”

“I love you” she cried as she wiped the tears off her face. James silently walked back into the room and settled beside his two friends.

After a movie and their sandwiches, Y/N headed upstairs to take a shower in her own bathroom. She allowed the hot water to slide down her skin, relaxing her muscles during the process. She sat on the floor of the shower with her legs tugged against her chest. The water was hot enough to make her skin, burn at first, but it still soothed her. She was finally alone, so she allowed herself to cry for the boy. She cried until her eyes started burning and the water turned cold. She threw on some pajamas and headed back downstairs.

She shut the TV off thinking that both boys were already sleeping and cuddled closer to the couch trying to find some comfort. She had taken a muscle relaxer after feeling her back aching probably because of the collision against the concrete floor today. It was also meant to help her sleep since she didn’t want to spend every second of the night thinking about Harry.

“I am really sorry” James's voice startled her in the darkness. She lifted her head and could see his silhouette. “I didn’t mean to get this so out of control.”

“It’s not your fault James. Shit happens” She shrugged as he could see her. He reached over and pulled her close to him. She leaned her head against his chest as he hugged her close.

“I just feel like it was all my fault” He whispered against her head after he had kissed the top of it. He truly felt guilty. James didn’t feel anything toward Y/N anymore. He used to but a long time ago. His parents used to joke about him marrying Y/N. It seemed appealing at the time, and it only made his crush grow.  That was until he started seeing her as a sister and grew protective of her. Their Spain rendezvous had been a silly mistake, a slip-up. It had been just a pleasure.

“It wasn’t. He just freaked out” She exhaled and threw a leg over him as she left her muscles finally relaxing. “Just know that I would never change you or stop talking to you because of a boy, James. You are my brother” Y/N couldn’t see it, but he was smiling. He kissed her forehead. “I love you, dude” James chuckled.

“I hate when you call me that” She already knew that, but she loved teasing him. “I love you too. Now let’s sleep.”