The Encounter |H.S|

45

I smile at Hazel as she grabs my hand and brings it to her forehead and I brush her curls back away from her eyes while she babbles happily.

After Zayn drove me back to my workplace, I got into my car and went straight home without speaking to anyone else. It's not that I'm extremely bothered by Harry's actions, but the truth is that I was already having a bad day and at this point, Hazel could shed a tear and I'd join her.

Louis is in the kitchen, he said that he's preparing a nice dinner for all of us because we deserve it and refused to let me help, so now I'm simply spending time with Hazel.

She grabs my face and brings her lips to my cheek with a giggle and I smile whilst making sure she doesn't get hurt, keeping a hand on her back.

She decides to shift her attention elsewhere, focusing on the cartoons playing in front of her on the tv, her lips parted in concentration and eyebrows furrowed before grabbing her pacifier and putting it in her mouth.

I hear a knock on the door and frown, nobody is supposed to visit right now due to the situation. Louis is here, Harry's mad, Zayn was tired, Megan and Niall went out and correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't speak to anyone else.

I take Hazel in my arms, to which she whines before groaning and resting her head on my shoulder, walking towards the door and opening it.

I furrow my eyebrows at the sight of Harry, the thought of closing the door again crossing my mind but I decide against it, keeping my attitude calm as he looks down at me.

"Wha–"

"May I come in?" He asks, clearing his throat right after speaking and I reluctantly nod, stepping aside and watching with furrowed eyebrows as he walks inside, Hazel staring at him attentively.

"Eve, do y– what is he doing here?" Louis stops by the doorway of the kitchen, pointing a finger in Harry's direction with a glare in his eyes.

"It's fine Louis, really," I mutter, causing him to look between the two of us before setting his stare on Hazel, pressing his lips before speaking.

"You're going to talk to each other?" Louis asks and as Harry nods, Louis simply steps closer, "I'll take Hazel, you two can go."

"Lou, are you sure? I don't mi–"

"Go!"

He takes Hazel in his arms and walks into the kitchen while she laughs loudly at his fast steps and I sigh as Harry turns his head to look down at me.

After a few seconds of sheer awkwardness, he decides to speak up. "Uh, maybe we could sit down? Standing here is weird." He attempts to laugh in a way to lighten up the mood but I stare at him emotionlessly.

If we stand here it'll be easier to kick you out.

I nod nonetheless, both of us walking into the living room and sitting down on the couch quietly, both of us avoiding eye contact and focusing on things that, right now, seem so much more important.

"I didn't intend to upset you today, Evelyn." He starts in a serious tone, keeping his stare on the floor as I look down at my hands.

"But you still did it," I reply softly, pretending to look at something important on my hand and hearing a small sigh from him, making me look up at him with a frown.

"I know I did but I saw the paps and it was like a wake-up call, people don't even know that I'm no longer with Charlotte and seeing me so close to you would be very bad and probably misleading." He clarifies, shifting closer to me with his hands clasped in front of him while I shrug lightly.