Songbird [H.S]

SIXTEEN

Marley sighed as she continued to carelessly flip through the extensive amount of developed photographs meant to go into her portfolio, barely concentrating on separating the good from the bad. The past few days, Marley had forced herself into attending college, no matter how uninterested she was simply so she could spend her day with Harry. The pair would avoid their classes to spend all day in the studio - Marley pretending to work as Harry made significant progress on his large canvas painting. Often Zayn would sit with them and join in their discussions about the baby now he knew about Marley's pregnancy. As Harry had expected, Zayn reacted pretty well to the news. He wasn't even fazed by the fact Harry was becoming a Dad to a baby that wasn't biologically his and was more surprised that his friend had finally admitted his feelings for Marley.

But now, Zayn had gone home for the day, leaving Harry and Marley in the studio alone. The couple had been unusually quiet that afternoon with Harry finding it difficult to hold a conversation while concentrating on the fine details of his painting. Marley didn't mind though because all day she'd been battling strong waves of nausea and was savouring the quiet while she could. She hadn't told Harry how she was feeling because she knew he'd worry about her. It was just a case of morning sickness - annoying but harmless.

Currently, it was coming up to half four in the afternoon and Marley was starting to grow restless. The last thing she wanted to do was force Harry to pack his things up before he was ready to leave but a really strong wave of nausea began to settle in the pit of her stomach that was getting harder to ignore. She tried to distract herself by watching Harry, which had worked for a little while - there was something so captivating watching him lose himself within his work.

His shoulder-length curls were loosely tied back from his face with one of his green bandanas to ensure he didn't accidentally get acrylic paint stuck in it (which was very difficult to wash out). There was a soft frown gracing his features as his steady hand added hints of highlights across the canvas, pure concentration making it almost impossible to grab his attention. The piece he was painting was an abstract work of art, a combination of still life and portraiture that expertly showcased his artistic talents. One thing that Marley had noticed about Harry was how natural this was for him. He was born with that rare artistic flair that allowed him to dream up such beautiful works of art and effortlessly translate them onto canvas. Marley was forever in awe over his work - especially his portraits which were so perfect they looked almost like a photograph.

"You okay, lovie?" Harry's gentle voice broke the silence within the room, making Marley realise she'd been daydreaming to take her mind off how sick she was feeling. She hadn't even realised Harry had looked up from his canvas and was beginning to wash his paintbrush in the pot of water sitting on the desk in front of him. The girl couldn't help but smile weakly at the nickname that tumbled from his lips.

Apparently, Harry really liked it when Marley called him Bambi and wanted to give her a cute nickname in return so he was testing out different ones until something felt right. For now, he seemed to have settled with lovie which Marley found really sweet.

"Mhm." She hummed quietly, faking a look that made her seem fine. "You finished for the day?"

"Yeah, I think so. I'm just gonna tidy up then we can go home."

"I think I'll wait outside, the smell of the paint is getting a bit much." She quietly excused herself, thankful for the cool breeze that hit her as soon as she exited the art block. At least Harry hadn't asked her many questions, seemingly understanding she was feeling a bit uncomfortable, and she was able to leave quite quickly. Additionally, Harry was very quick at tidying up as he caught onto the fact she was growing tired and not feeling great.

Since she'd been staying at Harry's house, the girl's morning sickness had started to kick in a lot more, meaning she'd been waking up early in the morning and accidentally waking everyone up while she was in the bathroom. Anne and Harry didn't care, knowing the girl couldn't help it but Niall had started to get frustrated. The curly-haired lad was very quick to comfort his girlfriend and did everything his Mum had suggested to help her feel better. He made her tea, he brought her crackers to nibble and water to sip. He even held her hair back without any complaints. Mae couldn't help but admire how quick he was to care for her, thinking it would've taken some time to adjust and accept the fact they were more than just friends now.