The holidays (and Louis’s birthday) passed, and it was New Years. Demi was still in London, playing up her love affair with Harry. She was tired of it, and just wanted it to end — but that wasn’t going to happen for at least another month. They needed more press, and Simon wanted this to be more realistic than “Haylor.”
The boys were scheduled to sing at the NYC ball drop, and all the girlfriends except Perrie and Ariana came with them. Demi was a given to go, though. Perrie was further in her pregnancy and Ariana was getting some studio time in.
Hearing that she was going to be in the states, Demi’s parents and sisters called/texted her constantly, begging for her to come visit. They threatened to come to her if she didn’t fly out to Texas. Demi knew they’d be suspicious of her “relationship” if they came out to see her and witnessed everything going on, so she reluctantly agreed to fly out and be with them.
After the boys’ performance and the ball dropped, all eight of them headed back to the hotel they booked for the night. Liam and Danielle in one room; Louis and Eleanor next to them; then Harry and Demi, with Zayn and Niall in a double room.
Using the key to open the hotel room, Demi immediately noticed that there was only one bed. A bed, a chair in front of a vanity, and a tv with a stand underneath it. Oh, and a mini fridge. Both brunettes looked at each other.
"I can take the chair; I’ve slept in worse conditions," Demi claimed while dropping her bag to the floor, but Harry shook his head.
"No way. I’ll sleep in the chair, you take the bed," he told her sternly.
"No really, it’s fine. I don’t mind."
"How about neither of us kill our backs and we just share the bed? I mean, it’s big enough for us to have our own space and it’s only for one night," Harry finally reasoned. Taking a deep breath, Demi nodded her head in agreement.
The male grabbed his clothes for sleep and went into the bathroom to change. Demi switched her leggings and jean jacket for pj pants and a Nirvana t-shirt. She sat at the vanity and wiped off the little bit of makeup she had on, throwing her hair up in a messy bun before climbing into the bed.
Harry had decided to shower while in the bathroom, and so twenty minutes later he came out of the shower in his pajamas, all fresh and clean. He threw his sweaty performance attire into his bag and glanced at the bed. Demi was curled up into the fetal position at the very end of the bed, leaving a lot of space for Harry. More than he needed. She looked so cute in her sleep… And he needed to stop thinking of her like that. Sliding under the cool covers, the curly haired boy got comfortable. He moved on his side, facing the sleeping Demi. A bit nervous she’d wake up and yell at him for touching her, Harry gently grabbed her waist and pulled her closer to him — just enough so that she couldn’t potentially fall off the bed and could get comfy. She stirred a little, but didn’t wake up. He grinned at the sight of her, hating himself for the thoughts he was having about her. He was supposed to hate her, wasn’t he? Didn’t that make their inevitable “breakup” much easier?
——
The next morning, Demi was up before Harry. She woke up closer to him than she would’ve liked, and wondered how she got there — but didn’t question it. She showered and changed, then woke Harry up as he was still sleeping. “If you wanna eat you better get up,” she advised the male, leaning into the bed a little so he could hear her. His green eyes opened groggily, and as he rubbed them Demi grabbed her phone and brushed out her hair a bit more. “I’m not going back to London for a few days, I know you guys leave today… My family wants to see me,” she informed him.
"Alright. They probably miss you anyway," he stated while getting out of bed and heading for the bathroom. Demi headed out of the room, making her way to the lobby for breakfast. She spotted Louis and Niall sitting together, munching on bagels and coffee. The blonde saw her and gestured her over; the other lad gave her a death glare. She smiled at Niall, taking her muffin and orange juice to an empty table. She went on Twitter, realizing she hadn’t tweeted in a few days.
@ddlovato: Flying out to see the fam today! @diannaleedlg better have some food ready for me when I arrive.
She added an emoji with it’s tongue sticking out before tweeting it. A few minutes later, she received a text from Simon.
"Tell your folks your bf is joining you. Have fun dear. Xx"
"Looks like we’re both heading out to Texas," a familiar deep voice said from behind her before he took a seat at her table. Demi sighed.
"I’m afraid so." She broke off a piece of her muffin and stuffed it into her mouth.
"Trust me, this is the last thing I wanna do. I never meet a girl’s parents — ever. And you’re not even my real girlfriend."
"Yeah, I get it, Harry. This isn’t exactly a highlight for me either," Demi snapped a little, finishing off her muffin and standing up. She chugged the orange juice down on her way to the trash can, disposing of the wrapper and carton. So much for a relaxing trip to her parents’ house.
——
Later that night, Demi and Harry arrived in Texas and were brought to her family’s house. When Demi told them she was bringing Harry, they all got excited. Not just because Dallas, Maddie, and Dianna were fans, but because Harry was the first guy Demi’s “dated” since her break up with Wilmer. And from the candids they’ve seen of the couple, Demi’s looked happy. If only they knew. If only they were /allowed/ to know.
Dinner was… Interesting. Harry was put to the test by Eddie and then Demi got the question she expected: how come you never told us about Harry?
It was easy to make up some lie over the phone or via text message, but face to face was difficult. She glanced at Harry for help, any kind whatsoever.
"Well, we didn’t want to move too quickly," Harry intervened, his eyes on Demi gazing towards her folks. "She wasn’t quite over… Wilmer was it? Sorry I never really caught his name. Anyways, she was nervous about moving on and with the pressure of media finding out and then telling family was just a big step." He grabbed her hand and it took everything in Demi to not pull away. "We wanted to be the ones to tell you, but you know how the paparazzi can be." He chuckled softly.
——-
"I swear to God, you’re a life saver. I owe you one," Demi told Harry as they headed up to the bedrooms to get ready for bed. Both agreed that they needed rest after flying two times within two days.
"Can you make it up to me now?" He asked with a smirk, looking down at the shirt woman. Demi’s face fell, and she punched his arm. Hard. Although she didn’t think he was all that affected by the impact.
"I take it back, you pig. Not only am I not interested AT ALL, but my family is downstairs and will probably be up any moment! Have a little respect will ya?" Demi shook her head as she walked into her bedroom and slammed the door. Harry laughed it off, going into the guest room. It was fun getting under her skin, although one part of her rant was bothering him, and it’s quite obvious which one it was.
