Through the Lens

Here

Harry's POV

"What about this?" Niall asked as he pointed to a necklace in the display case of the Tiffany's we were currently standing in.

"No, that's too chunky. She likes simpler stuff." I sighed as I scanned the selection myself, looking for something my sister would wear.

It was still strange to me. It wasn't like I hadn't helped Niall pick out Christmas gifts for my Gem before, he was always a little clueless when it came to gifts for women, but it was somehow different now that they were an actual couple. We were now shopping for a present for his girlfriend, who happened to be my sister, and I still couldn't quite wrap my mind around it.

I had to admit, both of them seemed happier than I'd ever seen them. Niall had done a tour and promoted his album, and they seemed to have managed the distance quite well. I suppose when you wait five years and finally get to be with the person you love, being apart for a few weeks doesn't really seem like a big deal. However, Niall had never had a selfish bone in his body, which was the major difference in our situations.

It wasn't really all that different as far as having him around at family functions and stuff, since he'd always been such a fixture in our lives. Niall was the only member of One Direction that wasn't from England, and my family had sort of adopted him in the early years since he was so far from home. The weirdness came when I'd see them hold hands or kiss each other, and although I was extremely happy for them both, I wasn't sure if I'd ever get used to it.

"There. That one." I said as I pointed to a smaller locket in front of me, and he came to stand beside me to check it out.

"Oh yeah, I can see her wearing something like that." Niall smiled proudly, satisfied that we'd found something he thought she would like. "Should I put something on it?"

I rolled my eyes at him, I'd always found it amusing how different we were when it came to that kind of thing since I'd been raised in a house full of women and he'd spent most of his time with his dad and brother.

"Yes, Niall. You always get something on it." I laughed. "But do not ask me what, I draw the line at writing your love notes to my sister."

"Fair enough." He laughed as he clapped me on the shoulder. "Actually, I think I know what I'm gonna put anyway."

He called over the lady and she got it out for him, and he filled out a form to have it engraved while I browsed around the store to see if there was anything else I could get anyone for Christmas. It was about three weeks away still, but I had always tried to put a lot of thought into my gifts, and my list seemed to be ever growing with all of the family I seemed to keep getting. Everyone seemed to be getting married or having babies, and I was just kind of settling into a different kind of life for the first time and trying to find my footing.

I'd officially finished tour two months ago, and headed home with no real idea of what to do with myself. I'd done all my album promotion and finished the tour, and everything was officially done for my first album. Until I had another one, there was really nothing left to do. The next step was obviously to start writing more songs, but I didn't wanna do that until I figured out what I wanted to say. I'd poured my heart and soul into the first one, and I knew in order for the second to be just as honest I needed to take time to think about it, process the way I felt about a lot of things and have more experiences.

I felt a little lost to be honest. I spent a lot of the time with no idea what to do with myself, sometimes wondering what the point was of getting up and just sleeping the day away. I suppose it was a good thing that I had so much time to stop and reflect on the past nine years of my life, letting it all soak in and appreciating just how much had happened. I'd had a lot of time to spend with my family and friends, and it appeared that my effort to slow down my life had been successful, although sometimes it felt a little too slow. I had way too much time to think, and as usual my mind always wandered back to the same place.