Life Is What You Bake It // A Harry Styles AU

Chapter 6 - Whitsun Week

Monday

Casper elephants his way down the stairs in his excitement to start the day, and hurls himself into the kitchen. "Harry!" He screams with delight, and throws himself at the older boy, small arms wrapping around his middle.

"Hey, big man!" Harry shouts back, rubbing a hand over the boy's sandy hair. "Ready for our day out?"

"Yes!"

Adele smiles, keeping her gaze down on the punnet of strawberries she's preparing to go in their fruit salad for lunch.

"Good!" Harry beams.

Gwen has another chemo appointment today, so rather than Adele going with her, Baz and Eth are going in her place, leaving her in charge of her brother for the day. Since neither she nor Harry work on Mondays, they've decided to take him out, and hopefully wear him out in the process.

Her phone starts ringing on the counter top, so she licks her fingers clean of any strawberry juice, and answers Paisley's call. "Hey, mate."

"Hola!"

"How do?" She asks, narrowly avoiding the whipping tea towel to her arse from Harry. She smacks his arm with a scowl.

"I'm alright. I know you and Harry said you had plans today, but I was kind of hoping I could be that awkward third wheel?"

Harry's head tips curiously as he leans against the counter, unable to hear Paisley on the other end.

"Well, you'd actually be a fourth wheel. We're sort of babysitting for the day."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, Mum's chemo appointment is about lunchtime, and Casper needs entertaining, so we're taking him to Hatton Park.

"Where's that?"

"Er," she frowns, not entirely sure how to describe it, "like Warwick way. Other side of Cov basically. About a 45 minute drive."

"Oh, right. Have you got space for one more? I was supposed to spend the day with Hattie but that new place she's working at called her in last minute again."

"Yeah, 'course! More the merrier. We're leaving in about 20 minutes, is that enough time for you to be ready? We'll pick you up on our way out of town."

Harry nods to himself, getting the gist of Adele and Paisley's conversation.

"Oh, plenty. I'm already up so I'll just keep an eye out for you."

"Perfect." Adele grins. "We're in Harry's car."

"Fab, see you in a bit!"

"Okay, bye!"

With the call ended, Adele turns back to her fruit salad prep.

"Is she alright?" Harry asks, stealing a grape from the punnet not yet picked apart.

"She's fine. Hattie has had to go to work, so I think she just didn't want to stay at home all day." She meets his gaze with a gentle smile.

He hums approvingly. "D'you not feel a bit smug that she called you rather than Eden?"

Adele giggles, noting the smirk on his face. "Shouldn't pit us against each other like that, H."

"Yeah, but you know I'm right." He nudges her.

She pokes him back in the side, just below his ribs so that he yelps like a puppy with a trodden-on paw.

After their picnic is all packed and ready to go, they say goodbye to Baz, Gwen and Eth, and herd the excitable Casper out the door and into the car. Harry drives out to Paisley's house first, with Adele's direction from the back seat, and once their last passenger is collected they start on their way towards Coventry.