(Paloma Faith - Only Love Can Hurt Like This is THE perfect song for this chapter so please give it a listen. It sums up exactly how Harry and Marnie feel about one another and I can't stop listening to it haha! It is quite literally the soundtrack to this story!)

*HARRY'S POV *

I read the label on my beer bottle for what felt like the tenth time. Anything that would take my mind off Marnie I would happily do repeatedly. It made me sick to the stomach to think of her with another guy. I should have been the one on a date with her, not some sad prick posting about himself online because he couldn't find anyone in the real world.  Marnie deserved better than that. Much better. Deep down I also knew she deserved better than someone insulting her in her own flat. Sometimes it really amazed me how pathetic I was capable of being.

After dropping Nola with my mother for the weekend I'd decided that alcohol was the only way to cope with this. I'd ended up in mine and Marnie's bar. It was as if I'd been drawn to it, unable to stay away from anything that was connected to her. I was supposed to be catching up with mates, but my solemn mood had resulted in them abandoning me at the bar in favour of pursuing a group of ladies on a hen night in the back corner. Somehow I didn't mind though. Not only did I not blame them, but it felt wrong being here without her. This was our bar after all, despite all the drama that had come with it. It was ours.

I let the bottle fall from my grasp and thud onto the bar top. Coming here was a stupid idea. A mistake. Deciding it was time to leave, I swivelled on my stool, doing a double take when a familiar face caught my eye. Marnie's face. Her long, dark hair was unmissable despite being in a room full of people and I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Of all the places she could have gone for her date it had to be here. If that wasn't proof enough that we were meant to be together then I didn't know what was. The bloke accompanying her had his back to me, but he was leant forward on his stool, so much so that he was almost blocking her from my view as well. I noted how Marnie took sips of her drink while her eyes darted around the room frantically. She looked uncomfortable. I couldn't help the smug smirk that stretched across my face. In a selfish way it made me happy that her date wasn't going to plan. My eyes swept over his outfit, a deep line forming between my eyebrows when I spotted his combination of a checked shirt and skinny jeans. I pulled my eyes away from him and looked down at my own outfit.

"Dude stole my style." I huffed aloud, pulling the beer bottle back to my lips. So not only was Marnie going on dates in our bar, but she was also dating my clones. I watched as he wobbled on the stool in front of her, his fingers curling around the half empty pint glass beside him. It was accompanied by two empty ones and I suddenly understood the cause of Marnie's concern. The overprotective and irrational side of me pondered over whether to intercept in case things became out of control, however Marnie had made it quite clear that she didn't need me any more and therefore I didn't think cutting in was going to win me any favours. 

Instead I continued to observe, carefully watching every move the two of them made. Not once did Marnie make eye contact with him while he wobbled around and guzzled his drink in front of her. Her determined gaze sweeping over the room made me wonder if she was looking for someone in particular and a part of me tingled at the prospect of it being me. I couldn't think of anybody else that would possibly be here at the same time as her, unless Elenore had come along to chaperone of course. The guy leant forward again and Marnie lowered her head to his level as if listening to something he had to say. Her coke suddenly exploded from her mouth, spraying her date and causing him to recoil dramatically. Marnie's hands flew up to cover her lips, the amusement clear as the corners twitched upwards. I wanted to laugh with her, but my eyes narrowed and I found myself desperately wanting to know what he'd said to provoke such a reaction. In the next second she had slid off her stool and disappeared into the mass of people.

I tried to follow her with my eyes, gradually becoming closer and closer to the edge of my seat as I faced the internal dilemma as to whether I should go after her or not. I was pleased that she'd ditched him and desperately wanted to check that he hadn't said anything to upset her, however I knew how embarrassed she'd be if she knew I'd witnessed the whole thing. Her dark hair blended into the people around her and I sighed in defeat, my eyes flickering back to her date briefly as he wiped his shirt frantically with his hands. His head suddenly jerked up, realising that Marnie had bailed without saying goodbye. I watched in horror as he slammed his now empty glass onto the bar, shattering it and sending shards flying in all directions, startling the people around him. Before I knew it he had too left his stool, now pursuing Marnie as she made her escape. This was not how someone was supposed to respond when their date bailed. I was off my own stool in an instant, throwing myself into the huge crowd gathered around the doorway. 

"Oh my god, you're Harry Styles right?" A high pitched voice squealed as a blonde beehive and a pair of baby pink stilettos blocked my path. A growl rumbled in my chest as I knocked her aside.

"I can't talk right now." I snapped at her, feeling guilty and clutching her forearms as she stumbled into the people beside her. Her charcoal encrusted eyes narrowed at me as she steadied herself, muttering something unintelligible under her breath. I rolled my eyes and stepped around her, elbowing anyone else who got in my way. I was frustrated to find that neither Marnie or her date were visible up ahead, probably already outside in the street. For once I found myself praying that I was just overreacting, but something just didn't feel right. The way he had smashed his glass like that had me fearing for Marnie's safety and that was not something I was prepared to risk. 

I fought my way out of the building, panting by the time I had burst into the street. My curls were plastered across my forehead with an adhesive of sweat and I was relieved when the cool evening air swept over me. I took a deep breathe and looked around frantically, cursing when Marnie didn't come into view. There was no way that she could have gotten far that quickly. I turned left and hurried up the street, looking all around me as I went and clutching onto the hope that I would stumble across her, perfectly fine and about to head home. Perhaps I could even offer to drive her? My ears pricked up to the sound of a raw sob ripping from someone's chest up head. I jerked my head up, narrowing my eyes on the silhouettes of two people masked by the darkness. A male voice snapped at the other figure and my own body flinched as he raised his hand and forced it into the face of his companion, sending them crumpling into the bricks. The smack echoed in the air, bouncing off the walls of the buildings surrounding them and ringing in my ears. I shot forward, picking my pace up into a sprint while my hands clenched into fists at my sides. The sight before me made my stomach churn. 

Marnie was pressed up against the wall, tears streaming down her face and her eyes wide as she cradled her scarlet cheek with one of her hands. Her breaths were ragged, ripping from her chest unevenly and I knew at once that she was either in the process of - or coming down from - having a panic attack. Rage burned in my chest and I threw myself towards the lanky guy standing over her, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and wrenching him away from where she stood. Both of their eyes flashed to my face in shock, Marnie's more of a mixture of terror and humiliation as I appeared before them, breaking up whatever dreaded event had been about to unfold. 

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I spat at him, shoving his body further away and moving myself so that I was standing between them. "What sort of sick fuck are you?" Marnie continued to sob behind me, now having righted herself so that she was standing vertically with her back pressed against the brick work. I ached to turn around and make sure that she was ok, but as I stared at the guy standing before us it felt as though my blood had turned into venom, firing me up to show him just how foolish he'd been by messing with her. I expected him to cower away at being caught out, running off or showing some sort of emotion that told me he was already regretting his actions. Instead his lips turned up into a smirk and he chuckled under his breath.

"Well looks who's decided to show up! The one and only Harry Styles." He said my name as if I'd spent my life going out of my way to make his a misery. I didn't even know the guy. "Apparently you're the only who can get any from this whore." His eyes flickered to Marnie and I had to restrain myself from launching my fist into his face. I wanted to stand up for Marnie's honour, but it was difficult when the whole world was always watching your every move. 

"I don't know what sort of game you're playing, mate, but I suggest you get out of here and never come near this girl again." I warned him, narrowing my eyes and puffing out my chest. I had no idea how my miserable evening had wound up resulting in being in a situation like this, but I was somewhat thankful for it, unable to comprehend what would have happened if I hadn't been at the bar at the same time as they had. He looked down the street briefly and for a moment I thought he was going to give up and leave, but instead he took a step towards me, closing the space between us so that he was right in my face. His hot breath blew in my face, making my nose wrinkle in disgust as the alcohol rolled off him. 

"What's wrong, Styles; worried Nola might start calling me 'daddy'?" I tried to ignore his petty jibes, but the fact he was naive enough to use my own daughter as an insult towards me made me lose it completely. My right fist raised and collided with his nose before I could even think about what I was doing. The crunch made my stomach churn, but the strangled cry that fell from his lips left me feeling somewhat triumphant. Marnie screamed from behind me as he stumbled backwards, clutching his nose as blood seeped through the gaps between his fingers. 

"Get out of here." I snarled and he backed away, raising his free hand in defeat. I watched and waited until he was completely out of view before I turned to assess the situation behind me. I was surprised to find that Marnie was no longer wide eyed, instead her eyebrows were mashed together in a deep frown, making me feel as though I'd missed out on some sort of joke at my expense. I took a hesitant step towards her, my eyes narrowing in on her blazing cheek that burned about five shades darker than the other one. "Are you ok, Marnie?"

She took a step to meet me, not responding when I pulled her into my chest and buried my face in her dark tresses. We stood like this for a long time, me clinging to her when ideally it should have been the other way round. She was the one who needed comforting. She'd just been on the first date from hell with odd coloured cheeks to prove it, and yet here I was, clutching her to me as if I was afraid to lose her again. After tonight I wasn't sure I'd be able to take any more of her bullshit about it being better for us not to be together. She was lying to herself if she honestly still believed that after everything that had happened to her this evening. 

"Marnie?" I urged, worried that she might have gone into shock or something. 

"Why are you everywhere?" She said in a small voice and I couldn't help the chuckle that fell from my lips. 

"I think you just need to accept that you and I are meant to be in each other's lives, Marnie. I have." I brushed one of my hands down the back of her hair, watching her shiver at my touch. She was beautiful, that was indesputable, and I just knew I'd never be ok with her being with anybody other than myself. 

"Hmm." She sighed, staring out into the street. People still milled around outside the club, completely oblivious to any of what had just happened. It made me feel sick to think that nobody else would have noticed him dragging her away if I hadn't been here. The things he could have done to her made me shudder. 

"Marnie, there are some things I need to say." I placed a finger under her chin and tilted it so that she was facing me. Her eyes bore into mine, oozing a look that told me she was miles away in her thoughts depsite physically being right here with me in the dark. 

"Ok." She whispered, nodding her head slowly. I bit my lip and took a deep breath, deciding how to go about telling this girl who had changed my entire life exactly how I felt about her. I'd already left it far too long and she'd ended up going out with a complete and utter douchebag. These things had to be said now. 

"The thing is, I don't want you dating other guys. I want you to date me.

I don't want you living in that flat. I want you to live with me.

I don't want you to sleep alone at night. I want you to sleep with me. 

I don't want a custody agreement. I want us to be together. All three of us. Like a family.

I just want you and Nola and I want it for as long as I can have it." I watched as she took in my words, her lips parting slightly as if she couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. A part of me couldn't quite believe what I was hearing either. I'd never expected to end up feeling so strongly about Marnie. I knew our situation was complicated, but never had I imagined to wind up falling for her. It was all so surreal. 

"What are you saying, Harry?" She said eventually, her eyes searching my face frantically. 

I licked my lips.

"Marnie, I'm saying that I love you."

"Say I wouldn't care if you walked away,
But every time you're there, I'm begging you to say.
And when you come close I just tremble
And every time, every time you go,
It's like a knife that cuts right through my soul..."  - Paloma Faith, Only Love Can Hurt Like This