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29. Happily

29. Happily

"Guys, this is Harry Styles."

Harry's heart fluttered at the sound of Scott's excitement. Their eyes found one another, and he couldn't help but stare.

"Duh. Everyone knows who that is, Uncle Scott."

Harry couldn't help but laugh at the boy's knowing tone.

"Nice to meet you," Harry drawled, hopping off of the stage and reaching out his hand to the little know-it-all."

"Nice to meet you," the boy smiled. "I'm Zach. Scott's oldest and most intelligent nephew."

Harry turned to each member of the family: Scott's sisters, his nieces and nephews, his brothers-in-law, his mother... and finally, he reached out a hand to Rick.

The man pulled at Harry's arm until he was pressed against his chest, and strong arms wrapped themselves around him. "We're a hugging family, here." He said, brightly.

And all of his nerves were gone.

They had rented out the back room of a local bar, so that they could mingle with the families of Pentatonix in the absence of cameras flashing and the possibility of being spotted. It was a relaxed atmosphere, with lots of smiles and laughter. Matt and Kevin's families had surprised them as well, so there was a lot of happy conversation flowing throughout the room.

"Hi," a kind voice said.

Harry turned to find Lauren and Lindsay eyeing him with glasses of wine in their hands. They had sweet smiles plastered on their faces.

They were terrifying, Harry realized.

"Hi there," Harry said, leaning in with a smile. Perhaps he could charm them into being nice to him.

He glanced around, finding Scott speaking with his parents in the far corner of the room.

"No, no. Scott won't save you now. We strategically waited until our parents were holding him hostage," Lindsay warned with a smirk.

"I just always like to have him in my line of sight," Harry said. It wasn't a lie. He was indeed always looking for him when he knew that he was close by. He liked to enjoy his view, after all.

Lauren raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

Harry realized only then that his comment had sounded... sort of slimy. Predatory. He smiled in an effort to redeem himself.

"I like to make sure he's smiling."

That worked. Both girls seemed to melt in response to the sweet comment. And this one wasn't a lie, either.

"Okay, we're just gonna level with you. Do you want to tell us why Harry Styles, heartthrob extraordinaire, and popstar on a level that's other worldly, is interested in our painfully-average brother?" Lindsay asked.

Harry's façade fell, as though it had slipped off and shattered on the floor into a million pieces. His smile faltered, and his eyes couldn't help but reflect his sadness.

"He's much more than that," Harry replied, softly.

"Yeah? How so?" Lauren asked, taking a sip of her wine.

Harry glanced back and forth at Scott's sisters, unable to wrap his head around the fact that they were speaking so lowly of their little brother. Judging by their interactions with one another, the three of them loved each other dearly.