Songbird [H.S]

TEN

There were ninety-two roses swirled across the baby blue wallpaper on the back wall of Marley's living room. Harry should know, he counted them four times while he anxiously waited for the teenager's parents to get home. His leg bounced with nerves, the awkward silence between him and Marley doing nothing to calm him down. The boy had tried to distract himself in different ways - at first, he tried re-organising the bookshelf into alphabetical order but his short attention span wouldn't let him focus. He then moved on to staring at the numerous family photos hanging on the wall but that got too boring so he ended up counting the roses on the wallpaper.

If Harry felt this anxious when the baby wasn't biologically his, he couldn't even begin to imagine how the girl beside him must be feeling.

They hadn't made a plan on how they were going to break the news because Marley was determined to change the subject every time Harry tried to remotely mention the baby. He just wanted to let Marley know he was fine with pretending to be the baby's father, they were best friends that were always together so there would be no questioning his commitment. Harry just felt uncertain that Marley truly believed he wouldn't leave her. In relation to the lack of plan though, Harry thought it might go down better if Marley was the one to tell her family and he would be there to answer any questions and take the blame where necessary.

To break the tension in the room, Harry tried striking up conversation again. His voice came out soft in the silence.

"It'll be fine, you know that right?"

"You don't know that. For all I know, I'm about to be flung out on the streets." Marley snapped. Harry didn't take it personally though, the girl's life had changed completely and was still coming to terms with the idea of actually being pregnant, let alone the fact she's about to tell her parents their youngest daughter is about to make them grandparents. Anyone would be on edge if they were in the same predicament.

"You won't be on the streets. Even if things don't go too well, you can always stay at mine while everything sinks in." He lay his hand comfortingly on her shoulder, a little unsure whether she'd want him to touch her while she was so anxious. She didn't push him away though so it seemed to be fine. "I promise, everything will be okay in the end."

"I just wish I was a few years older." He looked up in Marley's direction when he heard the slight wobble lacing her words. He watched as she let out a shaky sigh, clearly trying to hold back on the urge to cry so she didn't worry her parents as soon as they got home.

Just as Harry opened his mouth to comfort her, the sound of keys in the front door echoed throughout the house, making the teenagers stare at each other with fearful eyes. For a brief moment, Harry noticed a look of sympathy flash across the girl's face which only unnerved him even more. Did she know something he didn't? Was her Dad really going to be as angry as she said he would?

Whatever that look meant, he was about to find out because the sounds of cheerful conversation floated closer to the living room. At least they were in a good mood...

"Mae! Are you home, darling?" Johannah's voice called out, a lot closer than the pair were expecting. In a few seconds, Marley's parents would be walking into the room and there would be no escaping what was about to come.

"In here!" Marley called out, her words surprisingly steady for how anxious she was feeling.

A few moments later Johanna appeared in the doorway with a bright smile, closely followed by Marley's father Mark and Louis a little later. Harry's nervous smile dropped and his blood ran cold at the realisation Louis Tomlinson was about to hear he had supposedly knocked up his youngest sister. If he left their house that night without a black eye, it would be a miracle.