It's Allie (again) if you remember me. I'm the author of the Flatmate series (Harry Styles fanfic), which I was meant to self-publish before I vanished from Tumblr. In the last life update, I told you I wasn't going to self-pub anymore and was pursuing trad-pub/trying to get an agent. So here's an update:
I got an agent last August for my YA Fantasy pitched as SPIRITED AWAY meets ONE DARK WINDOW. We went on submission in October and now (the week before my 27th birthday!!!), I finally have good news to share!
I GOT NOT ONLY ONE BUT TWO OFFERS FROM TWO AMAZING PUBLISHERS AND ONE OF THEM IS A BIG ONE!!!! We're in the negotiation stage right now so there's nothing more I can share, but it's crazy to think this whole journey started with me posting fanfiction on this website. Now I'm going to see my book in big bookshops in London my dream city, also my home now!
Once again, I'm so grateful for all the friendships I made on Tumblr. I wouldn't be where I am without you!!!! More soon xxxxxx
Please message any requests you may have. I’m so grateful to every single person who has read, liked or shared anything I have written. I am truly grateful. Stay Safe and Be Kind x
I write for free so if it’s possible please donate to my Ko-Fi and you will be be guaranteed to have a request written for you🤍
* Trope Requests Masterlist Here *
Imagines:
Gang!Harry
Ready To Run - Part 1 -
Flatmate!Harry
I’ll Make It Up To You - Part 2 - Part 3
- The one where Harry is your best friend and flatmate, his prank on you gets taken too far and it’s his job to fix it -
Boyfriend!Harry
Take Me To The Lakes
- The one where you and Harry visit those Windermere Peaks -
3 Minutes
- The one where three minutes changes yours and Harry’s lives forever. A couple turns into a family -
Ever Since New York - Part 2
- The one where you leave tour to go home because of Harry’s behaviour -
On New Year’s Day
- The one where you finish writing your book and show Harry the last page -
Husband!Harry
In Sickness And In Health
- The one where you’re sick and Harry takes care of you, reminding you of the vows you made on your wedding day -
Dad!Harry
Welcome Home Babygirl
- The one where you and Harry bring home your new born baby, living in the first-time parent bubble -
Congratulations H - One Direction Group Chat
- The one where the One Direction boys congratulate you and Harry on the birth of your first born -
I Want To Write You A Song
- The one where your five year old, Ivy, sings for Harry when he comes home -
Sick Day
- The one where you have to work, and a tired Harry stays home to look after sick Ivy -
Stop Your Crying, Baby It’ll Be Alright
- The one where Harry is on tour, and you’re struggling to cope with baby Ivy -
Playing Favourites
- The one where your daughters are in a dance show, and Ivy thinks Isla is Harry’s favourite child -
Ex-Boyfriend!Harry
Runaway Bride
- The one where you leave your fiancé at the alter and you run into your ex, Harry Styles -
Prompt list - Request by ask or message!
9&10
- The one where he’s wearing your skirt -
20,25&30 (smut)
- The one where Harry’s hands distract you -
27,
- The one where camping is a disaster -
36, 37, 77, 78
- The one where Harry forgets where he belonged -
45, 62, 67, 80
- The one where the tiredness overtakes Harry, and the kitchen gets ruined -
51,53&68
- The one where the boys hear you and Harry on the tour bus -
66,
- The one where Harry can’t read your writing and buys tomatoes -
73,
- The one where you ditch the birth control -
82,85&86
-The one where Sarah and Mitch see your tattoo -
85,
- The one where the 1D boys see an intimate video of you and Harry -
13, 32, 36, 42, 49, 53, 67, 70
- The one where a surprise boat trip for Harry doesn’t go as planned -
It’s me again, dropping in for another update! If you don’t remember me, I’m Allie and I was known here for my Flatmate and My Girl Harry Styles fanfic 🧍🏻♀️
In my last update, I mentioned that I got some offers on my book, and now I’m back to let you know that my deal has officially been announced!
My debut YA Fantasy BLOOD OF SILVER is getting published in Fall 2026 by McElderry Books/Simon & Schuster (a Big 5 pub!) Crazy to think this whole journey started with my fanfiction on here!
Follow me on Instagram @alliewritesalot for regular updates!
Once again thank you so much everyone on here for helping me achieve my dreams 😭😭😭
"Wait for me in my room. It's the door on the right," he whispered to the girl whose name he'd already forgotten. He'd just met her an hour ago as he was leaving the club.
The girl kissed him drunkenly, and when she was gone, he came into Y/N's room to turn the light off. She'd fallen asleep with her book covering her face, so he removed the book, put it on her desk and left quietly.
A/N: I always fall asleep with the light on, and ever since I moved in with my boyfriend, it's become a routine for him to go into my room (we have separate rooms) to turn off the light for me. That was how I came up with this :)
.
.
.
She forgot to turn off her night light. Again.
See, this was why Harry hated sharing a flat with someone else. He had reminded her so many times before to turn it off before she went to bed, but every night, she would doze off with her book still in her hands. No wonder their electricity bill last month was so high. He had hoped that this girl would be less annoying when she slept, but she always managed to find a way to get on his nerves.
After a long moment of standing outside her door (which she left open for some reason), he decided to come in and turn off the light on her bedside table.
In the morning, he reminded her again. She promised she would turn off the light tonight.
She didn't.
~~~
Harry came home late, stumbling into the flat with his arm around the girl. She giggled too loud, so he shushed her and gestured to Y/N's door. The living room was softly lit by the warm light coming from her room, but he knew she was too deep in her sleep to know that he was home.
"Wait for me in my room. It's the door on the right," he whispered to the girl whose name he'd already forgotten. He'd just met her an hour ago as he was leaving the club.
The girl kissed him drunkenly and when she was gone, he came into Y/N's room to turn the light off. She'd fallen asleep with her book covering her face, so he removed the book, put it on her desk and left quietly.
~~~
Harry was in Paris tonight with his friends for Layla's birthday.
Y/N had stopped responding to his messages, so he assumed she had fallen asleep. As he sat on the sofa, drinking cheap wine with his friends while a shitty EDM song was blasting from Louis' Bluetooth speaker, he thought about Y/N sleeping with her light on.
~~~
"You're awake?"
Y/N looked up at him from her laptop, face lit by the cool light from her screen. "Yeah, deadline."
"That's what you get for procrastinating," he smirked.
"Can you procrastinate annoying me? I can't deal with you right now."
"Need help?"
"No, thanks."
"You sure?"
She gave him a dismissive wave. "I'm sure. Thank you. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," he said. "Remember to turn off the light."
"I will."
Harry went to his room and lay in the dark for an hour or so. When he came back to check on her, she had fallen asleep and her light was still on.
~~~
Harry was well aware that he was drunk when he entered the flat as the room was spinning. He didn't know how he managed to make it to Y/N's room without knocking over furniture, but he wanted to give himself a pat on the back.
As expected, she'd fallen asleep, again, with the light on. He sat down on the edge of her bed, not because he wanted to, but because he felt so dizzy that standing only made it worse.
"Goodnight," he whispered to her, hesitated for a moment before turning off the light.
Right after he'd left her room, he went straight into the bathroom to throw up.
~~~
He had been avoiding her all day, for reasons even he didn't understand.
It was 1AM when he came into her room to turn off the light. Before he left, he told her something he wasn't brave enough to say when she was awake. He went back to bed, worried that she might have heard it.
She hadn't.
~~~
Harry tried to be as quiet as he could, but when he came in to turn off the light tonight, Y/N stirred awake.
She blinked sleepily at him. "Hi."
"Hi," he said nervously. "Just gonna turn the light off for you."
"Thank you," she said with a smile.
"Goodnight," he said and switched the light off.
"Goodnight. I love you."
The three words froze him when he turned away. They'd confessed their feelings to each other last night, so why did it still feel like the first time?
"I...love you, too," he said, smiling shyly at her. He was thinking of kissing her before he left, but she'd already buried herself under the duvet.
~~~
"Do you want to cuddle before bed?"
Her bed was warm and smelt like her. He gave her a lot of kisses as she read her book with her head on his chest. When she fell asleep, he reached over to turn off the light.
~~~
Harry came back late for a business dinner today and she was still awake.
"It's already midnight," he said, loosening his tie.
She smiled up from her book. "We couldn't go to bed without you."
He kissed her on the lips and then her baby bump. "I'll take a shower and join you both."
When he returned, she'd fallen asleep. Harry turned off the light and carefully slipped into bed.
~~~
"Ria fell asleep with the light on, again," Y/N complained as she returned to bed from her daughter's room.
Harry chuckled, pulling her into his arms. "Like mother, like daughter. I had to turn off your light for you for years."
"I had my reasons."
"Oh yeah? What were they?" he asked, stroking her hair.
She grinned up at him. "At first, I wanted to annoy you. Then you kept doing that so I didn't bother to turn off the light anymore."
"Why am I not surprised at all?" Harry laughed, but he was glad she'd deliberately done it in the first place. "Now could you turn off the light on your side, please?"
...in which Harry goes to the club while his flatmate goes on a blind date.
Word count: 2.6k
Inspired by Taylor Swift’s unreleased song “Hits Different”
___♥___
The muffled club music was still thrumming in Harry’s ear as he splashed his face with cold water. He stared at his reflection in the dirty mirror. Jesus, had he been looking like this all night long? His eyes were red and his hair suggested that he’d either just had sex or just got out of bed five minutes ago. Neither of that was true. He’d been living off of coffee for the past few days because of the exam season, and he really wished he was having sex right now instead of hiding in the loo, suffocating from the smell of urine and vomit.
The door swung open all of a sudden and Niall rushed in, face taut with worry. “Mate, you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Harry murmured as he washed his hands under the running tap. Niall looked the opposite of him – so clean and sober, with his hair neatly pushed back, and his white polo shirt made him look like he’d just gone golfing. Harry looked even more of a mess now with Niall’s reflection behind him in the mirror.
But before Harry could deflect the accusation that he might not be alright, Layla walked in, wearing a silver sequin dress that made her look like a mirrorball. Layla always treated the club like her Met Gala as it was her way of manifesting an invitation for the event in the future. But seeing Niall and now Layla made Harry feel even more like shit.
“Harry, are you taking drugs?” she asked, eyes wide.
“What? No.” Harry scoffed, frantically pushing his hair back. “Why? Do I look like I’m on drugs?” A pause. “Wait, what are you doing in the men’s room?”
Layla ignored that as she pushed past Niall to grab Harry and started fixing his hair and shirt.
“I think we should take him home, Layla,” Niall said.
“No, we agreed to go out tonight, so we’re gonna have a great time,” Layla said while aggressively tugging at Harry’s sleeves to straighten them.
“He’s clearly drunk,” Niall breathed. “We should take him home.”
“Why are you guys talking about me like I’m not here?”
“He’ll get over it,” Layla told Niall as she stepped back and looked at Harry, satisfied with her work. “He’s just being dramatic.”
“I’m the dramatic one?” Harry gasped. “Said the shiniest girl in the club.”
“At least I’m not being emo in the toilet because my crush is on a date.”
“I don’t have a crush on Y/N.”
“Denial is a river in Egypt.”
“Layla, give him a break.”
“Let’s get back out there,” Harry said, not wanting to argue with Layla right now. Besides, they were finally playing a song he knew.
___♥___
Oh, my, love is a lie
Shit my friends say to get me by
It hits different
It hits different this time
Catastrophic blues
Movin' on was always easy for me to do
It hits different
It hits different 'cause it's you
As it turned out, Harry hated that song. It was the one Y/N had sent him earlier this week on Whatsapp, and he only listened to it because she loved it. Now they were playing it in this bar and it made him chug down more pints than he could count, and by the time he’d made it out of the club, his knees were wobbly and his head spinning.
Layla threw her big coat on, and Niall shivered in his trench coat, but Harry, with only his jumper on and alcohol flooding in his blood streams, was not affected by the October chill.
I wonder what Y/N is doing right now.
“Bet she’s having a better night than us,” Layla muttered, and Harry realised he’d said that aloud.
“Layla, don’t say that.” Niall put an arm around Harry to help him stand. “Let’s get you home, Harry.”
“Can we pick up Y/N?”
“We don’t know where she is.”
“I’ll text her.”
“Don’t you dare.” Layla snatched the phone out of his hand before he could even unlock it. “The only night that Y/N gets to not be boring and you’re plotting to ruin it for her. Also, you’re being very selfish right now, mentioning her when you’re with us.”
Harry felt his stomach churn. “Do you think she’s having fun?”
“Well, obviously. She would have texted you if she wanted to leave the date. She might meet someone who’s perfect for her and fall in love and live happily ever after with him–”
Before Layla could finish painting that picture, Harry braced his hand on the wall beside him. He heard Layla scream as vomit pooled beneath him, staining his shoes, his stomach clenching in pain. Niall’s voice was muffled, though Harry could feel Niall’s hand rubbing his back.
While the taste of vomit passed down his tongue and filled him with shame and regret, the memory of tY/N getting ready for her blind date stormed back into his head, and when he thought about another man touching her, the second torrent of sludge exited mouth.
“These boots are vintage!” Layla screeched. Harry feared that she’d start crying, but instead, she just smacked him with her purse, knocking him onto the ground.
Through his fluttering eyelids, he could see how scared Layla was because she hadn’t expected him to fall. It wasn’t her fault. She hadn’t hit him that hard; it was his legs that decided to give in, and so he sat on the pavement, head against the cold brick wall.
This felt too comfortable, he thought, eyes pinched shut. Maybe he should just stay here…
___♥___
“Is that a new hat?”
“Yup, just got it from a charity shop,” Y/N said as she studied her reflection in her full-length mirror. Harry stood in her doorway, a piece of toast in hand, chewing as he watched her. Y/N rarely got dressed up, so when she did, it was extremely noticeable. It wasn’t really because she thought she was too cool for all those girly things, but she’d once told him that she felt like putting on something nice would draw attention to herself and she hated that. Now she was wearing a new knitted hat and a bright blue trench coat that she’d worn once for a book club event.
She wanted to get someone’s attention.
Not another gay neighbour, Harry hoped.
“Where are you going?” he asked, trying to act casual as he leaned a shoulder against the doorframe.
She paid him no attention and kept on trying to pick out a lint from her cream knitted hat. “Oh, just this blind date that Sian set me up on.”
“What? Blind date with whom?”
Now she finally turned around to face him. “Harry, it’s called a blind date for a reason. I don’t know who I’m going to meet.”
“Okay, that sounds safe,” he said sarcastically. “Who’s this Sian and why do they want you killed?”
“Sian is my boss.”
“At the student office? Isn’t she like thirty?”
“It’s with one of her cousins, I think.”
“Hmmm, still sounds sketchy to me,” Harry said as he took a huge bite of his toast and started chewing aggressively. “Do you want me to go with you? Just to be safe.”
“No, Harry, I would prefer not to have you on my date with me.”
“I’ll just be in the background. If he turns out to be a decent guy, I’ll go away.”
Y/N tilted her head and gave him a look that said ‘Really?’ sarcastically, of course.
“Please?” He didn’t know what else to say.
“You don’t see me asking to go with you on your dates!” said Y/N.
“That’s because I know who I’m going on a date with?” He laughed dryly. “Also, my ‘dates’ aren’t actual dates. It’s just sex.”
“Said that to all the girls who came up to me to ask why you ghosted them.”
“Well…” He thought for a moment. “I didn’t have feelings for them, so it was better to rip the bandage off.”
Y/N let out a laugh, but he didn’t think she found it funny. “I’m not getting relationship advice from someone who switches out his Barbies and skips town like an asshole outlaw.”
“Hey!” he said. “But I like that…asshole outlaw.”
Y/N rolled her eyes and sat down at her desk to start doing her makeup. Harry guessed it was his cue to leave, but he didn’t want to just give up like that.
“I’m not giving you relationship advice,” he said.
“Oh, you’re still here,” she sighed, her back still turned to him.
He went on anyway. “I’m just saying that it’s not safe to go on a blind date in London. People get stabbed left and right in this hell hole.”
“I’ll be fine. Besides, if he turns out to be a creep, I’ll text you.”
That sounded more reassuring, but not exactly what Harry wanted to hear. “Okay,” he breathed. “Keep me updated. Stay safe.”
“I’ll get condoms.”
“Ew, I did not ask for that information.” Why did she have to say that? Now all he could think about was her having sex with this stranger?
Y/N glanced at him over her shoulder and smiled. “I’m just kidding. I’ll go slow. I’m a relationship type of girl, Harry.”
“Good…to know.” He awkwardly nodded. “I’ll leave you to do your thing.”
“Thank you. Shut the door on your way out, please.”
He rolled his eyes and shut the door behind him.
___♥___
“She was very excited about her new hat,” he murmured.
In his daze, he heard Layla ask, “What?”
“Y/N got a new hat. I should’ve complimented her.”
“Are you seriously crying over a hat?”
“I’m not crying.” He sniffled. “I’m just…cold.”
“Do you want my coat?” asked Niall. He loved Niall. Niall was cool.
Harry blinked up at the blurry outlines of his two friends, backlit by the pink neon light of the club. Layla looked like a disco ball now and he found it amusing.
“I want to go home with Y/N,” he slurred, thinking he sounded quite robotic.
“Our Uber should be here in five minutes,” Niall reassured Harry while pulling him back to his feet. “But we’ll have a conversation about this when you’re sober.”
“About what?”
“About the fact that you don’t want to admit you’re in love with Y/N.”
“No, I’m not…” It took him a moment to get the words out, “I mean, if I was capable of love, she’d be the only one that I love. But since I’m not, I’m…not.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It kinda is,” Layla chimed in. “Love is a lie, anyway. Also, you’re always whining about needing your own space. You and Y/N would never work.”
“Layla!”
“What? I’m trying to talk some sense into him. I think he just wants her because she doesn’t want him and he has a massive ego.”
“I’m still here.”
“Yeah, and I said what I said,” Layla told him. “Besides, moving on is always easy for you to do. You’ll forget about Y/N the next time you lay eyes on a hot girl.”
Harry would like to say that it wasn’t true, but maybe Layla had a point. He knew his nature, and Y/N didn’t deserve someone like that.
“I’m a relationship type of girl, Harry.”
They said when it’s right, you’ll know, but nothing had ever felt so wrong. He supposed the real reason he was so upset was because Y/N seemed to know what she wanted, and he didn’t. In his head, he was cursing the space that he needed and the doubt that he had for himself. If he just knew what he wanted–
“Our Uber is here,” Niall said as a black car pulled over in front of them, headlights blinding.
He heard Layla say, “Let’s stop inviting him out.”
He wanted to tell her to stop talking about him when he was right here, but now that he was in the comfortable backseat instead of the pavement, sleep quickly enveloped him.
___♥___
Dreams.
Harry was dreaming. Well, he must be, because just a moment ago, he was in the Uber with his friends, and now he was sitting on the sofa with Y/N and it was morning again. He felt fine, not a single drop of alcohol in his system. She was wearing her joggers and a massive hoodie. While she perused the book in her hands, the sun from the window behind her made it look like she was made of light, and he sat and stared.
For the first time, it felt so simple. He knew what he wanted, and it was to hold her for a while and tell her how much he loved her hair, her stare, and her sense of belief in the good in the world and, well, in him.
It was the sound of the key turn in the hallway that made him start awake. The room was dark and he was covered in sweat. Was she at the door? Was she okay?
No, just his neighbour coming home.
And so he sat there with his head in his hands, wishing he could go back to the dream.
“You’re alive.”
The voice made him jump. Y/N stood by the kitchen door, backlit by the kitchen light, looking just like she had in his dream.
“When did you get home?” he asked, catching his breath.
She seemed amused by his reaction. “Before you. Niall and Layla dropped you off.”
Fuck.
“Did they say something to you?”
“Nope. Oh, Layla did mention you’d need to pay for her vintage shoes, though. I saw what you’d done to them.” She made a face. “I assume that would cost you a whole month of night-outs.”
Harry kneaded his temples to ease away the headache while trying not to make eye contact with her. The last topic he would want to discuss now was Layla. “How was the date?”
“It was alright,” she said and sat down beside him. “He was nice.”
He glanced at her. “And?”
She shrugged. “Friends vibe.”
Harry had to fight the urge to punch the air and start dancing in circles around the room. With a straight face, he said, “That sucks.”
“Oh, well, I’m not giving up that easily. I’ll meet someone,” she said with a smile as if she knew something that he didn’t, and Harry didn’t like that at all.
“Go shower. You stink,” she said and stood up.
If she thought he would let this end so easily, she didn’t know him at all.
“Wait.”
“Hmm?”
“You said…friends vibe. Was it…like you and me?”
It took her a few seconds to process the question. “No.” She shook her head. “Nothing like you and me. I don’t know…we’re different.”
“How different?”
“Sometimes, I want to strangle you. Other times, I like being around you.” And when she saw the look he was giving her, she went on, “You do have a lot of redeemable qualities, Harry. You’re like a likeable villain.”
Likeable or not, Harry didn’t want to be a villain. The villain never gets the girl.
“Nah, I’m the main guy.”
Her lips curled. “The type that should be killed off but lives?”
“Yeah, an anti-hero. You wouldn’t want me killed. I could still melt your world, not like those boring Ken dolls out there.”
“See, whenever you say things like that I want to strangle you,” she scoffed, shaking her head. “Good night, Harry.”
Harry said nothing as he watched her walk away. His argumentative, antithetical dream girl.
___♥___
"Hits Different"
I washed my hands of us at the club
You made a mess of me
I pictured you with other girls in love
Then threw up on the street
Like waiting for a bus that never shows
You just start walkin' on
They say that if it's right, you know
Each bar plays our song
Nothing has ever felt so wrong
Oh, my, love is a lie
Shit my friends say to get me by
It hits different
It hits different this time
Catastrophic blues
Movin' on was always easy for me to do
It hits different
It hits different 'cause it's you
('Cause it's you)
I used to switch out these Kens, I'd just ghost
Rip the band-aid off and skip town like an asshole outlaw
Freedom felt like summer then on the coast
Now the sun burns my heart and the sand hurts my feelings
And I never don't cry (And I never don't cry) at the bar
Yeah, my sadness is contagious (My sadness is contagious)
I slur your name 'til someone puts me in a car
I stopped receiving invitations
Oh, my, love is a lie
Shit my friends say to get me by
It hits different
It hits different this time
Catastrophic blues
Movin' on was always easy for me to do
It hits different
It hits different 'cause it's you
('Cause it's you)
I find the artifacts, cried over a hat
Cursed the space that I needed
I trace the evidence, make it make some sense
Why the wound is still bleedin'
You were the one that I loved
Don't need another metaphor, it's simple enough
A wrinkle in time like the crease by your eyes
This is why they shouldn't kill off the main guy
Dreams of your hair and your stare and sense of belief
In the good in the world, you once believed in me
And I felt you and I held you for a while
Bet I could still melt your world
Argumentative, antithetical dream girl
I heard your key turn in the door down the hallway
Is that your key in the door?
Is it okay? Is it you?
Or have they come to take me away?
To take me away
Oh, my, love is a lie
Shit my friends say to get me by
It hits different (It hits different)
It hits different this time
Catastrophic blues
Movin' on was always easy for me to do
It hits different (It hits different)
It hits different 'cause it's you
Oh, my, love is a lie
Shit my friends say to get me by
'Cause it's you
Catastrophic blues
Movin' on was always easy for me to do
It hits different (Yeah)
It hits different 'cause it's you
Loved the flatmate series!! Can you write some more blurbs pls
I haven't written a flatmate blurb in a while, but enjoy! :)
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They were here again. Y/N knew it.
Every day she came home after a class, and every time her flatmate's friends were in her living room. At least she had her room to escape to, but she still paid rent every month, so she should be entitled to use the communal areas without the fear of being talked to.
Well, none of them actually talked to her, though, and that made her feel even worse.
"Hello, hello," Harry said when she came in.
He didn't even bother to turn his eyes away from the football game on TV. There might have been a goal, or one of the players did something outrageous, making him and the other boys -- Niall, Liam, and Louis -- scream and bury their faces in their hands.
"Oh, you ferking idiot!" Niall said.
"Should have been a penalty," Harry sighed, shaking his head.
Y/N rolled her eyes. She'd seen him play football, and even though she didn't know much about the sports, she still thought he was pretty shit. But clearly, he would know more than these professional players.
The sound of the front door open and shut caused her to turn around. Layla strutted in like her name was on the lease. "Hello, bitches," she said to the boys and breezed right past Y/N as if Y/Nweres a ghost.
Y/N's jaw was on the floor as she watched Layla head to the kitchen area and open the fridge to grab the milk before moving on to Y/N's mug collection in the cupboard and picking one of her favs.
"Harry, did you get herbal tea like I asked you to?" Layla asked, annoyed when she only saw the English Breakfast in the cupboard.
That's it, Y/N thought, fuming, and cleared her throat. Nobody batted an eye, so she raised her voice when she spoke, "Harry."
"Yeah?"
"A word, please?"
"Sure. Just five more minutes."
"Now."
Harry looked up, lips quivering, puppy dog eyes blinking at her, but she only stared back with a poker face until he dropped that fake expression and got up, sighing.
"Be right back," he said, moving away from the sofa now. "And Layla. Your herbal tea is in that Tesco bag."
"Yay!" Layla said and started digging through the grocery bag on the counter.
Y/N grabbed Harry's wrist and dragged him into his room.
"Hey, if we're gonna have sex, at least give me ten minutes to clear my bed," he said jokingly when she sat down on his bed.
She made a face, disgusted. Clearing your filthy bed would take at least a month." Then she looked around. "You know what? A flamethrower would fix the problem."
"What are you talking about? My room exudes manliness."
She didn't have time to argue with him as he clearly enjoyed the attention. "Let's get straight to the point," she said, squaring her shoulders.
He stood in front of her, arms crossed, back against his wardrobe. "Sure."
"This has to stop. Your friends can't be here 24/7."
"They're only here during the day."
"Yes! The only time they're not here is when we're sleeping. Otherwise I would be so sleep-deprived!" Y/N said. "Look, I have class in the morning and afternoon and my part-time job. I just want to go home to peace and quiet."
"You must be fun at parties."
"I'm really not. I don't go to parties for this very reason." She got up, staring up at him. She hated that he was tall because she never succeeded in trying to look intimidating while confronting him. But to be fair, it was hard to be intimidating when you had crippling anxiety.
"Your friends go or I will."
"What?"
"You heard me. Your friends go or I will move out after this month. This just gives me PTSD about my previous roommate in the student halls, and I don't want to go through it again."
"Alright, alright. I never thought it was this serious," he huffed, shoving his hand into his hair. "What if I tell them to be quieter?"
"That's impossible."
"Hey, my friends are capable of being quiet and respecting other people's boundaries," he said, but she didn't think he believed it himself.
Still, she agreed, "Fine. Talk to them then. Thanks for this efficient discussion."
Before he could say anything else, she pushed back him and went to her room.
***
Something was definitely wrong.
Today, Y/N came home and saw Harry's friends' shoes in the hall, but it was so silent in the flat. She couldn't hear the sound of the telly when she came in, not even Layla's annoying voice talking shit about a different person as she did every week.
"Hi?" she said, stopping in the doorway to the living room/kitchen area.
"Hey," they said at the same time and went back to doing their thing. Niall and Harry were watching football, but the TV was on mute. Layla was on her phone, and so was Louis.
"No way," Louis gasped, and Harry immediately shushed him.
"Sorry," Louis whispered, going back to texting.
It took Y/N a minute to realise he was texting Layla, who was sitting right beside him.
"Why aren't you guys talking?"
Ding. Her phone in her pocket vibrated. She looked up to catch Niall staring at her, phone in his hand. Had he just texted her?
She quickly checked the message.
Niall: Harry forbad us from talking
"Harry, really?" Y/N said. "This is ridiculous. Are you seriously doing this to mock me?"
"No," he whispered, not taking his eyes off the game on the TV.
"And what are you even watching? How do you know what's happening when it's mute?"
"We know how football works."
"Don't sass me with your creepy whispery voice."
"Just go do your thing and let us be, please," he said like he'd just lost his voice.
It was making her very frustrated, so she decided to head back to her room. Before she shut the door, however, she heard Layla speak.
"I kinda agree with her. This is ridiculous. I'm literally texting Louis when he's right next to me."
"I promised her we'd be quiet. So try to act like you guys aren't really here now that she's home."
"We can just go hang somewhere else?" Louis said.
"As if that was an option," Harry said. "You and Niall share a flat with five other people. Layla and Trix live in the student halls and I can barely fit her tiny single bed."
"Ew, you'll never get into my bed."
"The point is," Harry lowered his voice. "I'm showing Y/N that I'll go to the extreme to keep my word."
"Or...you can let her move out and put up an ad for her room. I'm sure there would be a long list of applications for you to choose from," Louis said.
"Hey, Y/N is cool," Harry said, to Y/N's surprise. He thought she was...cool? Her? Cool? "Besides, she...knows me. And I don't think anyone new will tolerate me the way she does. She's given me so many second chances, and I really don't want to fuck it up. So when she's not here, do whatever you want, because I love you guys and I want you to feel comfortable. But when she's home, respect her personal space. And Layla, those mugs are Y/N's so the next time you make tea, use mine. Y/N never says it, but I know she hates people using her stuff."
"Wow," Layla scoffed. "Okay, Ryan Gosling from The Notebook."
"I respect your decision, Harry," Niall said. Then Y/N heard them silently cheering for a goal.
I’m so tempted to just self-publish Flatmate anyway even though it reads like a first draft 💀 I didn’t know people are still reading this fic in 2024 😭😭😭
