I am so sorry that this update comes much later than I intended to! One of the reasons is that I was (and still am) quite busy with uni and studying, and that I'm really exhausted and have approximately zero free time.
Another reason is probably that someone had me want to add a scene that I hadn't planned from the beginning.

But I hope you'll enjoy this chapter despite the delay!

Chapter 5 - The Party

The days went by and the party came nearer, and at first it didn't seem like anything would change. They kept a certain distance and tried to keep a neutral tone with each other when their roommates were around. When they were alone they tried to evade each other as much as possible to avoid any more possibly awkward encounters.

But then on the evening before the day of the party the four of them were preparing some things for the upcoming party the next day. Since they had agreed on working together for the preparation of the party, Donna and Harvey didn't have a choice but had to join the group - whether they liked it or not.

But they managed to avoid talking directly to each other and they tried to not look directly at each other. They knew that they at least had to try to keep up their little "facade" in front of their two roommates. It wasn't like they couldn't stand each other anymore - well, probably more like the complete opposite of that but neither of them would admit that - but they just didn't want things to get even more complicated, and they also didn't want Mike and Rachel to get involved. It wasn't their fault, and both Donna and Harvey also knew that they would have to figure this out on their own eventually.

They spent the afternoon in the living room and the kitchen, putting up some plates, bowls and cups, and talking about whether sandwiches or muffins would be better for offering their guests. Finally deciding to make both since only having one option seemed not enough. Although probably a lot was going to be left over, since there would also be a lot of other sweets and chips and stuff.

When they managed to agree on the food eventually, the conversation started to trail off a little. "Maybe we should put up some decoration," Mike mused, looking around the room and trying to figure out what they could possibly add. "It looks so empty in here."

"Yeah sure," Harvey deadpanned, sounding as disinterested in Mike's proposal as possibly imaginable. He wasn't really in the mood anymore for the preparation of the party, it had already been a long day for him. And he was definitely not motivated for redecorating their whole apartment, he just didn't see the point in changing anything. Especially since it was a student party, not a children's birthday party for 7-year-olds. "Why don't we put up some posters?"

Donna also already was quite tired of the whole preparation process, and she was a little exhausted by everything they managed to do so far - which wasn't even that much to be honest, but it took them long enough.
So she answered to his dry comment, though she normally wouldn't have - given their current slightly tensed situation. But right in that very moment she didn't care about that fact, she only wanted to get some of the steam off that had already built up inside her today.

"That's a brilliant idea. Why don't we take some of yours, Mike? You certainly still have your old ones, like..." She pretended to think about it really hard, but in fact was only trying to not burst out laughing immediately. And given Mike's current facial expression she knew that this would be a pretty hard challenge. "I don't know, maybe the Jonas Brothers? Or are you more of a Bieber-fan?"

Now she couldn't stop herself from smirking anymore, and for the first time since she had made her comment she risked a glance at Harvey.
She realized that he also had a similar expression on his face, and his eyes were glistening of amusement. Only moments after she had fixated her eyes on him she saw him avert his eyes from Mike, who was sitting next to him, and turn his look to her.

Their gazes met, and for a second they both froze a little, not sure if this would turn out to be another awkward moment between them. But after a moment of hesitation both their smirks grew even wider, this time not only because of Mike, but also because they realized that they are on the right track of being back to their old selves.

Forgetting for a few seconds that they weren't the only ones in the room, the sound of Mike's protesting voice threw them back to reality. "What? No! That's not what I meant. And why would you even think that those are my favor -"

He didn't even get the chance to finish his attempt of a defense because Harvey and Donna both simultaneously interrupted him. "Because it's you we're talking about here!"

At first they were a little surprised by the fact that they had just said the exact same thing to Mike in the very same moment, but then they grinned at each other, sharing another look. It wasn't always easy between them but now that they were back on their mutual teasing and joking about others, they both knew that they were back. Back on normal terms. Back to being them.

"Okay..." Mike dwelled, narrowing his eyes a little and shifting his look between the two people in front of him who didn't even seem to notice him anymore, "well, then no decorating it is, I guess."

He and Rachel stood next to their two co-tenants, not exactly sure what they had just witnessed. Rachel raised one of her brows and looked up to her boyfriend, only to see he had a similar questioning look on his face. They exchanged a glance, both eventually not being able to hide a little smirk creeping on their respective faces.

—

On the day of the party, minutes before their guests were expected to arrive, Harvey shortly checked his room, making sure it was more or less tidied up. He took another look in the mirror on his wall, letting his fingers run through his strands, ruffling his hair a bit, before he breathed deeply and got out of his room.

He had just closed his door behind him when a familiar voice made him turn his head.

"Wow, I'm impressed, I didn't even know that you own something different than T-shirts." With a dry voice but an amused sparkle in her eyes she greeted him and let her look wander over him. Harvey had changed his normal look with a T-shirt to a slim-fit dark grey shirt, combined with dark blue jeans. "But I have to admit, you don't look too bad with a neat shirt."

Though she tried to avoid it, she had one recurring thought: That the casually rolled-up sleeves didn't only make him look not bad, they made him look bothering and confusingly hot. Not to mention the fact that he had the top few buttons of his shirt unbuttoned.
But she buried that deep down in the backmost of her mind and tried to hide from him what was really going on in her brain, hoping that her cheeks didn't blush.

"Well, thanks," he smirked back at her, tilting his head slightly, "you don't look so bad either." He examined her, she also looked a bit different than usually in her dark blue jeans and the dark green top. But not different in a bad way - in fact quite the opposite.
He swallowed and tried to not let his eyes roam over her too much. Not only because he didn't want her to find out and have her own thoughts about it but also for his own sake. It would be hard enough for him to stay unaffected around her, even though they were back on normal terms - as far as "normal" was a term that could be used to describe them.

Their eyes lingered on the other for probably a few moments longer than usually, when they suddenly got interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. They both winced a little and averted their gazes from each other, both taking a small step backwards to build up some physical distance between each other.

Neither of them made the attempt to walk towards the door, none of them dared to even move. Afraid that the other one would also move in that very moment and they'd be confronted with one of those "who-goes-first" situations. Because they definitely could not use something like that in their current situation, the air already seemed tensed enough.

Luckily for them, Mike had already walked over to the door without noticing them standing there and had opened it to let in the people waiting on the other side. When the first guests stepped inside and handed over some gifts - mostly some alcohol for the imminent party - to Mike, Harvey and Donna overcame their seemingly state of shock and joined the group of people to greet everyone. Trying and succeeding to not let anyone on about that somewhat cringy staring duel a few seconds ago just around the corner.

Harvey didn't know the majority of the guests so his co-tenants introduced him to their friends and colleagues. While putting up his best possible smile, he tried to remember all the still quite unfamiliar names he had just heard and not think about anything - or anyone - else.

He knew that he should enjoy this night, have some fun, talk to new people and also probably make some new friends. But deep down inside he knew that he should probably prepare for this night to get very long - both figuratively and literally speaking.

—

Harvey was involved in a conversation with Mike and Donna, when they heard the doorbell again. They all glanced at the clock, surprised that someone was still coming to the party at this time of the night, but eventually Mike shrugged and left Donna and Harvey alone for a moment, her in view of the door, him with his back turned to the apartment's entrance.

Given their current constellation, Harvey wasn't able to see who was stepping through the door in that very moment, but he didn't really care because he hadn't known many of the other guests so he expected this one to also be a stranger to him. So he waited for Mike to come back to them, assuming he would bring the newly arrived person with him to introduce them.

During the wait he shortly glanced at Donna and gave her a small smile, seeing that she was looking somewhere behind him, presumably Mike and the other person that had just arrived. For a second it seemed like a little frown scurried over her face, but he didn't have much time to think about whether he had just imagined that or not because in that moment he heard voices behind him.
One of them was unmistakably Mike's, but the other one also seemed oddly familiar to him. It was a female one, and he tried to figured out where he could know the sound of this voice from.

"Hey Harvey," he heard his best friend shout over the relatively loud music, and he started to turn around to confront the upcoming pair, "this is -" Mike didn't get to finish his sentence because when Harvey had finally fully turned around he immediately recognized the person standing right in front of him.

"Scottie." Pressing his lips to a thin line, Harvey held his breath for a second, trying not to think about the fact that this situation could easily end up being really awkward. He had to admit, it was surprising to see her here, he really hadn't expected her to be at this party, but now he couldn't change it anyway.

Out the corner of his eyes he saw Donna's head shoot up a little, it was another almost not perceptible motion but he noticed it anyway. Apparently she was surprised that he knew Scottie, and he couldn't blame her for that.

He focused back on the conversational partner in front of him and saw that the brunette had her right eyebrow raised. "Harvey."

"Wait a second," a flabbergasted Mike managed to utter slowly, letting his look reciprocate between the brunette und his roommate, "you two already know each other?"

"Yeah, you could say that," Harvey exhaled deeply, then chuckled shortly and tried to overact his uneasiness. He didn't exactly feel comfortable in his current situation, he didn't even really understand why because he didn't have an actual reason for it. But being in one room together with Scottie and Donna seemed off and made him irritable.

"Okay," the younger blonde dwelled and narrowed his gaze on his friend. "Do I even want to know where you guys know each other from?" He had a hunch how those two had met and how they knew each other, because he had known Harvey for years. Though he seemed to have changed since he had moved in, Mike was aware of what Harvey had done with most of his female acquaintances - it was either studying together or hooking up. And the latter one was definitely more often the case.
And though Scottie also was a law student, she seemed more like a member of the second category.

This time it was Scottie who chimed in. "No, I don't think that you really want to know that." Her almost suggestive smirk in Harvey's direction was enough for Mike to consider his assumption confirmed.

"Okay, uh, I think I'm gonna look for Rachel." Mike didn't want to stay any longer in that admittedly slightly tensed and somewhat really strange conversation, so he came up with a reasonable excuse.
He had noticed that Donna also felt rather unsettled at the moment, he looked her into the eyes and nodded to the kitchen. Knowing that she would very likely gladly accept his offered escape from this situation.

After the two had left, Scottie and Harvey remained silent for a moment, not really knowing what to say.

"So," Scottie drawled, "what are you doing here?"

"I'm living here" Harvey raised his eyebrows a little and pressed his lips together. He wasn't really in the mood for having a conversation with her right now. He already had enough going on currently, he didn't need her to come back to his life and mess it up even more.

Running into one of his exes was never something he really enjoyed because they always seemed to be quite pissed at him - which he kind of understood, and he could live with that - but with Scottie it had always been a little more complicated.

They had sort of an on-off thing going on for some time, but at long last Harvey had finally decided to put an end to that because it was something he just couldn't live with any longer. He didn't regret their time together, but in the end it was something he didn't want to continue any longer, so they broke - whatever it was they had had - off.

Seemingly surprised by his response she crooked an eyebrow and shortly let her look wander through the apartment, but she didn't comment on his answer.

"It's been a while"

"Yeah, I know." He sounded like he was glad about the fact that they hadn't seen each other for quite some time, and he actually was. He absolutely hadn't expected to see her tonight, and he had to admit that it kind of annoyed him that she was here. He had thought this chapter of his life was already dealt with, but apparently that wasn't the case, since she didn't seem like she had fully accepted that it was over.

She frowned a little when she noticed the slightly distant tone in his voice. "So you didn't miss me? Not even a little?" She had challenging tone in her voice, like she used to have all those times before, but Harvey was tired of her little games. He wanted to end this - the conversation, everything with her - right now and he just hoped that she would finally understand it.

"Scottie," he began, and lifted his right hand, sorting his thoughts for a second before starting to talk again. "Listen, I already told you the last time we saw each other. You and I... we don't work. I'm sorry, but you have to accept that eventually." He swallowed because it wasn't easy for him to say all of this - he has never been that great with words - but it was nothing but the truth. They didn't have a future, they never had and they never would.

They just stared at each other, neither of them spoke a word until Harvey had to break that uneasy silence again because he couldn't stand it any longer.

"I think I should go now." He started to turn around and wanted to walk back to his friends when he heard her speak again.

"No, it's okay. I understand, I'm gonna leave. I didn't intend to stay long anyway because I still have some things at home I have to take care of, so it doesn't matter if I leave a few minutes earlier." She gave him a last nod, her lips pressed to a thin line, before she turned on her heels and walked towards the door.

Harvey looked after her, watching her open the door and leave. Only when the door closed behind her again, he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, and a wave of relief washed through his body. He couldn't quite explain it but he was glad that she was finally gone. That she had finally accepted that their former "relationship" wasn't going to start all over again.

He lifted the cup to his lips and took another sip of his beverage, ignoring the slight burn in the back of his throat and the haze that already started to set on his brain, slowing down his brain.
He had walked over to Mike again but he didn't completely focus on the conversation in front of him, letting his thoughts drift away. Absentmindedly he let his eyes wander across the room and tried to recall at least some of the to him still new faces. When he caught a glimpse of auburn hair, he immediately subconsciously swallowed again. He cursed himself and blamed the alcohol running through his system for this reaction. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm down and clear his head again.

He knew he had to distract himself somehow - especially after that encounter with Scottie - otherwise he would very likely not make it through the evening. Scanning the crowd again - and trying to avoid a certain person in the process - he managed to find a to him familiar face.
At first he hesitated a little because he wasn't sure if he really wanted to do that to himself but then he overcame his hesitation and began to walk towards the person.

Downing the rest of his drink and mentally preparing himself for the upcoming conversation on the last few steps of his way, he finally came to halt in front of before mentioned person. "Hey Louis." The addressed flinched at the sound of his name and turned around, wondering who it could be that had just called his name because though he somehow knew the voice, it wasn't completely familiar. When he got to see the person in question, he stopped his movements and widened his eyes, not entirely sure if he could trust his eyesight in that very moment.

"H-Harvey?" Louis stammered. "What're you doing here?"

"I'm living here," Harvey repeated the same line he had used in his previous conversation and chuckled a little, raising his brows.

"What?!" Louis almost shrieked, but fortunately silent enough to not draw the attention of any of the other guests. "How? I mean, what? I mean, since when?"

"I moved in a few weeks ago, during the summer break," Harvey explained, and then he frowned a little. There was something he still wanted to know really badly because he just couldn't figure it out on his own. He didn't dare to ask because that would probably not come across as he wanted it to, but he sort of wanted to know who it was that gave Louis an invitation. He assumed that Mike wasn't the one who invited him since it wasn't like Louis and him were best friends or something. He didn't have a problem with him but they just weren't that close.

So the only two options left where Rachel and Donna, but he couldn't even decide which if them was less likely since they both seemed to him like the most improbable persons to be friends with Louis Litt.

A question coming from Louis interrupted him in his thoughts. "So Donna can put up with you living here? Wow, I would have never imagined that. That just seems... weird."

"Uhm, yeah Louis, she survives living in the same apartment as me. It's not that impossible living together with me, you know?" He deadpanned and crooked one of his brows, slightly offended by Louis' comment.
But now he finally knew who was friends with Louis. 'And I still can't believe it! That's just - How is that even possible? Someone like Donna and someone like Louis?' He inwardly shook his head, still not sure what to think about the fact that those two knew each other.

Louis stared at him for a few seconds, without even blinking once. Then he began to thaw from his rigidity and turned around halfway, ready to leave. But before he actually left he turned back to Harvey one last time. "I think I have to go now. I need some time to process that." With that he shook his head again, got to the door and left, without any of the other guests really noticing it.

The abrupt exit left Harvey startled and a little flabbergasted. He had always known that Louis wasn't a typical or average person, and he hadn't talked to him a lot during their studying time together. But he had to admit, this conversation that had happened less than a minute ago was definitely not how he expected it to go. He had just wanted to make some friendly conversation with his fellow student, but apparently Louis didn't have the same intentions. So to say that this chat had been a little weird would be an understatement.

With another shake of his head he shook all of that off and turned back to the crowd, thinking about what to do next. He decided to fill up the empty cup in his hand - he definitely needed something after this exchange. Preferably something strong enough to make him forget about it right away.

After that, he got engaged in a conversation with some friends of Rachel. He knew them by sight from the campus since they also studied with him there, but he had never talked to any of them before. They turned out to be quite pleasant company so he stayed with them, not realizing how the time went by.

So Harvey didn't have his mind occupied with certain things, respectively persons, for a couple of hours. He only realized it afterwards because during that time he obviously hadn't thought about it, but he was really grateful for the distraction. Knowing that he would sooner or later have enough time to think about what was on his mind a lot recently, he was now trying to focus on the fact that he didn't have to for a few more hours, and he was trying to enjoy that time. More or less successful.

—

When the guests that where supposed to leave had left, Harvey and Donna were the last who cleared up some of the remains from the party. They had offered some of their friends to stay at the apartment, and since they were the guests they had told them they didn't need to help but could go to sleep already. Mike and Rachel had helped at first, but the couple had excused itself to also go to bed, both looking quite tired and exhausted so Donna and Harvey had agreed to take care of the rest.

While putting some plates in the dishwasher, Harvey suddenly began to chuckle silently.

Donna turned her head in his direction, raising her eyebrows and asked him with a smile on her face, "What are you laughing about?"

"It's nothing, I just -", he grinned again and shook his head, "I just wondered how you met Louis."

"Oh, you ran into Louis today?" Now it was her turn for a small laugh.

"Yeah, he's..." Harvey searched for the right words, "one of a kind."

"That he is," Donna agreed with a smirk on her face. "Well, he's a fan of the theater and visited one of the plays I've participated in. After the performance we - the actors - went to a little bar and he was there, too. So he started a conversation with me and we discovered that we had quite some things in common, so that's basically the story of how we became friends." She ended her little story with a small shrug, unsure of how he would take it. What he would think about it. She knew that he wasn't a big fan of the theater so this was probably something he was only going to laugh about.

"Huh, to be honest I hadn't expected Louis to be a fan of the theater. But on the other hand it also doesn't really surprise me," Harvey mused. He hadn't known that fact about either of the two.

Donna creased her forehead, shortly thinking about what he had just said. "Wait a second. You also know Louis?"

"Yeah," Harvey chuckled, "he's a law student, too. In fact, we're even in the same year. So whether I like it or not, I know him."

Donna was stunned for a second, then she found her composure again. "Right," she drawled, putting the pieces together herself, "I've totally forgotten about that."

He stopped his currents movements and tilted his head, raising his brows. "I thought you're supposed to know everything." The mocking tone in his voice was clearly audible, and he couldn't stop the corner of his mouth involuntarily curling up.

She slowly turned her head in his direction and gave him a withering glance. "Shut up, Specter."

He did her the favor of shutting up and not letting another sound come from his lips, but only a look in his face confirmed her assumption that he still had way to much fun with her admitting that she hadn't known something.

She rolled her eyes and snorted, asking herself if she would ever get used to his smug and arrogant, but yet in some way adorable, attitude. But she already knew the answer to that question, and so she only shook her head a little but let her lips curl the same way his had done less than a minute ago.

They continued the rest of their work in silence, and after they were finished, they went to the bathroom to get ready for the night, brushing their teeth next to each other.

They both glanced at the other from time to time in the mirror, and once they caught each other's gazes they both couldn't help but smile. Both of them were really glad that it seemed like they were back to their normal selves. The awkward tension between wasn't there anymore, they had returned to the blithe and playful banter, both of them glad that they had finally been able to do so.

After that they crossed the hall and went to the bedroom doors together. They wished each other goodnight before disappearing behind their respective doors.

Harvey knew that it was very likely going to a bit uncomfortable in his bed tonight since they had offered a few of the guests to spend the night here. Mike had provided his room since he didn't have to use it because he was in Rachel's most of the time anyway. And Harvey had been coaxed to also allocate a part of his bed.

When he got himself ready to finally go to sleep he suddenly froze and took a nearer look at his bed in the dim light of the room. 'God damnit,' he thought to himself, gritting his teeth and exhaling deeply. He knew he had sort of a problem right now.

I split the original chapter 5 into two a bit shorter parts because it was getting relatively long, so tomorrow I'm going to post the next chapter.
(And I'm still not sure if I'm completely pleased with the outcome of this one, maybe I'll change some things again later).

And I don't think I can ever tell you how much I appreciate all your lovely reviews, every time I see a new one my mood brightens immediately, I honestly can't thank you enough for it! I always love to hear what you think, and especially in stressful times like now they really make my day!