The Encounter |H.S|

34

I knock on Harry's door, crossing my arms while waiting for him to open it and hearing some babyish laughter coming from inside, making me furrow my eyebrows with a smile on my lips.

The door is opened quickly and Harry stands in front of me with rosy cheeks and dishevelled hair, Hazel's laughter being heard from somewhere inside the house. "Am I interrupting?"

"No! Come inside." He gestures for me to step inside while opening the door wider to let me do so. Once I'm inside, he closes the door and we walk side by side to his large living room.

I widen my eyes as I see a badly built cushion fort, blankets of various colours draped over the pillows as if to give it a steady structure, Harry's rug underneath the mess created with so many layers of blankets and pillows.

I peek my head into it, smiling at Hazel as she sits there with some toys scattered around her and her hands on the floor so she can sit upright while grinning at me, the dimple appearing on her cheek as she does so.

I straighten my back and turn around to stare at Harry, who meets my gaze with raised eyebrows. "So, she woke up?"

"Yes, she did and she did seem reasonably disturbed." He informs me, clasping his hands behind his back while I narrow my eyes at him.

"Did you talk to her like that all the time? You know she's seven months old and it's important to use short words so she doesn't struggle with understanding what you're saying." I laugh, watching as he simply tilts his head as if thinking about the most correct thing to say.

"Perhaps?"

I shake my head with a smile before I feel something on my leg, lowering my head only to find Hazel looking up at me with a grin on her lips. I take her in my arms and she rests her cheek against mine for a few seconds before looking around the room.

"I guess we'll get going now." I smile over at him, sighing at the amount of stuff I have to put in her bag before leaving.

I'm honestly so exhausted, Niall and Megan sure do know how to tire me even if we just went for a dinner because after loads of denials of wine and lots of Harry questions we finally had a regular time with each other.

"No wait, I mean, I honestly would like some um parenting tips, since you've been doing this longer than I have." He fiddles with his rings, sending me a nervous smile while I furrow my eyebrows at his request.

"Parenting tips?"

He simply nods, glancing over at Hazel for a short second before staring at me while nervously tapping his feet on the hardwood floor.

Now that he asks for them I don't know what to say, this is great, I love this.

"I'd say that the first one is to use short words." I joke, laughing briefly as he throws his head back in frustration before gazing at me with furrowed eyebrows.

"I'm serious."

"So am I," I narrow my eyes at him before smiling faintly, "there isn't a lot that I can say, every baby is different and Hazel clearly has different types of behaviour around people, you just have to get to know her."

"Well-"

"But you really should use short words, or as you would say, brief utterances, maybe?"

He looks at me with no expression on his face, shaking his head before taking Hazel out of my arms and into his with raised eyebrows.

She looks at me with a pout, making me glare at Harry before pinching his arm while he looks away from me with his eyebrows still raised.

"Harry-"

"No, I'm upset."

"Then be upset by yourself, don't bring Hazel into your upsetness." I assert, touching his arm in a way to make him look at me while Hazel hits his shoulder as giggles come past her lips.

He takes a step away from me while peering at Hazel with a serious look before muttering something to her and turning to me with the same look on his face.

"Me and Hazel have discussed this previously, she expects to stay here because she is similarly upset."

I stare at him blankly before crossing my arms over my chest while sighing. "Alright, I'm sorry, can you give me Hazel now?"

He shakes his head and my lips part in surprise at his actions before getting closer to him and pinching his arm once again, watching as his lips curve upwards in amusement.

"Prove you're sorry."

"How am I supposed to prove I'm sorry for something I was right for?" I argue, frowning as he shrugs and adjusts Hazel in his arms.

He extends his free arm and I stare at him questionably while he steps closer to me and wraps his arm around me. "We forgive you for being harsh towards me."

I scoff, shaking my head against his chest before patting his arm and stepping away from him, nearly tripping over my feet but his hand on my wrist stops that from happening.

"Evelyn," He laughs, pulling me closer to him as Hazel pats my hair, "I swear you could trip over your own shadow."

"My shadow is a tricky little bastard, it likes to see me fall to its level."

He chokes back a laugh, rubbing my arm briefly before giving Hazel back to me with a faint smile on his lips.

"I had a great time." He affirms, brushing Hazel's curls out of her face and smiling at her before gazing at me.

I stare at him for a few seconds, watching as he looks at Hazel once again and my shoulders slump in some sort of compassion.

"We can stay a little longer if you'd like," I suggest before my brain can process my own words, watching as he straightens his back to look at me with hope in his green irises.

"I'd like that, if you don't mind." He mutters, smiling as Hazel reaches her hand forward to touch his and I hand her over to him, setting her in his arms once again.

He seemed a little saddened by Hazel having to leave and I can't be selfish when it comes to this, after all, she is his daughter as well and making her spend little time with him wouldn't be fair for him.

I take a seat on his couch and sigh as it seems that my legs are about to give out, peeking over at the fort in front of me. "Did Hazel do this?" I snicker, smiling as he sets her on the rug and she immediately crawls towards the pillow fort before he sits next to it with his legs crisscrossed.

"Very comic, Evelyn." He shakes his head while peeking his head inside and I instantly hear Hazel's laughter.

I smile at the sound of her laughter and lean my head against the cushions of the couch, closing my eyes for a brief moment before letting my gaze fall on Harry, who was already looking at me.

"Did you have fun?"

"I did, I'm just not used to going out with friends anymore." I laugh, smiling as Hazel extends her hand to throw a plushie at Harry, who doesn't seem too startled about it.

"Well, if you ever want to repeat it I don't mind staying with Hazel at all." He assures me, sending me a faint smile before giving the thrown plushie back to Hazel, who accepts it eagerly.

"I know, Harry, thank you."

A bit shorter than I intended to but I quite like it haha, also, I'm curious to know who is your most and least favourite character! Let me know if you want and I hope you're enjoying the story!♡