III

Part 8

I got there, still not sure where I had to meet them. I entered the lobby and called Harry. "Y/NNNNNNN. Where are you?" Louis yelled. "In the lobby, you?" "She's in the lobby! Let's go! You just stay there, love." Louis replied and hung up. I waited, looking around. It was a really nice hotel I probably couldn't afford. I didn't have a bad job, I earned good money but this was just over the top. Something you could expect from the 1D boys. Just as I was looking towards the reception desk, I heard whispers. I looked over to find four boys whispering and looking at me. When they saw that I was looking they pushed Louis towards me. He looked back telling the others to follow him. "Well if it isn't the prettier version of Casey." Louis declared. "The famous Y/N." Zayn smiled. I nodded. "The girl of Harry's dreams until-" Niall said. "Niall you're not supposed to say those things. Sorry." Liam interrupted. "It's okay, Liam." "You know our names?" "Harry talks about you a lot and even though we've lost touch in the last few years I still kept an eye on him. And he's always with you so. Where's Harry by the way?" "He suddenly left. We thought he was with you." Louis joked. "So you know about that." I laughed. "He'll probably come now. He went to the toilets and we took his phone." Liam explained.

Harry soon appeared and came to greet me. "Hey, babe." "Hii." I smiled as he hugged me. "What shall we do?" I asked. "I want ice cream." Niall said cheekily. We all agreed and went to the nearest ice cream parlor. We sat in a booth, Harry and I at the ends. "We have a coffee enthusiast here." Liam said, eyeing my ice cream. "I got used to drinking coffee at the office!" I replied. "Where do you work?" Zayn asked. "At the Gherkin, twenty second floor." I smiled. We chatted getting to know each other. "I'm gonna go buy a bottle of water." Harry announced. "We'll wait here." Niall replied. Harry sighed, knowing he was on his own. "There's a long line." He pouted as he went away. I shook my head and went after him. "Hello." I said into his ear. He hugged me from behind. "Thanks for coming. I thought I would have to go through this by myself." He let go so we could stand side by side. "The boys are great. Do you think they liked me?" "Are you kidding? They love you. You just have to be your sweet little self." He said, pinching my nose. I giggled. "I was afraid they wouldn't." I said suddenly. "Like I said the other night, you're incredible." "Yeah, can we just sort of forget that night?" A confused expression was on his face. "Why?"

"I don't know. It was a bit awkward." I confessed. "Okay." He breathed out. "When are you talking to Casey's father?" "Tomorrow night." "Have you- um figured out what you're gonna tell him?" "I wanna sleep on it. I still don't know." I nodded. The cashier interrupted us by saying hello. I stayed silent until we got back to the table. We stayed a while more ,then headed back to the hotel since mine and Harry's cars were there. "Well it was a pleasure meeting you, Y/N. Welcome to our family." Liam said. "Thank you! It's definitely an honor." I replied, going to hug him. I hugged the rest of the boys except Harry. "See you tomorrow!" Zayn said. "We'll totally kick their asses!" Niall exclaimed. "Goodbye ,love! Get some rest." Louis said, before they disappeared into the entrance. I followed Harry to the valet. "Why don't we go in one car? We'll have to come back to pick the boys up anyway." Harry suggested. "Fine. Yours or mine?" "I don't mind. I think my ticket is more handy than yours." He said, pulling it out of his pocket as he watched me struggling to find mine. Harry's car came a few minutes later and we got in. I looked at the clock on the Range Rover. It marked 2:00 AM. Time had flown by. I looked over at Harry, focused on the road.

I bit my lip, observing him. He glanced over and smiled when he saw me. "Remember our first car ride?" He asked. I nodded. "I had just gotten my permit. We held hands the whole way." I said, the memory clear in my head. "You were wearing that sundress that I love." "And remember we got those cheap sunglasses?" We laughed. "They were blue." Harry said. He remembered more than I thought. I looked at my lap, we were holding hands. I let go and ran my hand through my hair. His hand was still there, although this time it rested on my thigh, caressing it with his thumb. I looked through the window, looking for a sign. I could've sworn the trip to the hotel from home was a lot shorter. "Are we home yet?" "Not yet. Wait. I took the wrong way. Sorry." He replied. I looked at him, unsure. "Do you want me to drive?" I offered. "No, I'm fine." He yawned. I turned on the radio. Love Someone by Jason Mraz played. Just my luck. I looked down. His hand hadn't budged. And then I got carried away. I grabbed his hand and held it with both my hands, treasuring it. He pulled it towards him, leaving one of my hands behind but kissing the other. I smiled shyly at him. He smiled back. We stopped the car in his driveway."Thanks for the ride." I spoke. "It's nothing." He replied, playing with my hand. "So at what time is that thing tomorrow?" "Probably late morning. I'll call you when I wake up." "Okay." I said, unbuckling my seatbelt.

I looked at him, not knowing if he would let go of my hand. He stayed still, only moving his hands so they were in contact with mine. My heart was throbbing, I had a lump in my throat and I felt like I was radiating heat. He raised his glance, looking at me and parting his lips. Our hands were still touching. "I-I should go." I stuttered. I came closer to kiss his cheek, but I went for his lips. He kissed back, holding my face with both his hands. I pulled back, breathless. "Don't worry about waking me up tomorrow. Just call me when we have to leave." I said suddenly, getting out of the car. I walked to my house shaking. I took quite a while to find my keys and when I opened the door, I looked back to see if Harry had gone inside. But there he was, looking back at me, still in his car. I shouldn't have kissed him. Oh god. And I would see Casey tomorrow. What had I done? I had just ruined it for myself. I entered my room silently, switching on the light. I walked over to my corkboard, observing my teenage years in photos. Had I let all those years go to waste? Harry and I went through so many things together. Why wasn't I more considerate, seeing that he was happy and getting married? He didn't love me. And I had been so selfish, only worrying about me.I was not going to destroy what he wanted. I looked out the window to see the flicker of a light.