Stepping Stones, A Haylor Story

Love, Courage & Strength

A/N: Sorry guys that this chapter is a tad shorter than the others but I hope you still enjoy it for all its worth. I can't thank you enough for the amazing response on here and Tumblr that I've received for this story. There will be more to come soon as well as more one-shots.

Sitting on her bed, cross-legged, thumb hovering over the post button on her phone, Taylor's mind continued to debate whether or not to tap the blue writing. For the past few days the singer went from wanting to tell the world about her relationship and then wanting to keep it a secret forever in the matter of minutes. Taylor hated keeping secrets from her fans, which was something that pained her. Having spent past year lying to the people who were always there for her, the people she had inside jokes with and the people she always gave advice to, made her only want to tell them more. Taylor knew she wasn't scared about the reaction she'd receive from her "Swifties", she was more frightened by what the One Direction fans would say. Sure, they had matured over the years, realizing the hate that partially caused Harry and I to break up the first time was wrong and how they sent prayers for her mom when she was diagnosed with cancer, but she was still afraid.

A year had passed since the day Taylor and Harry had their epic moment in the rain, a memory that always bought a smile to both their faces. The pair had kept their relationship secret surprisingly well. It consisted of a lot of phone calls, texts, Skype and Facetime calls whenever they had the chance. Spending weeks apart also came with the relationship package however they made time to see each other any chance they got. It consisted of spending time locked up in apartments, houses and hotel rooms with taking extreme caution not to be seen together or in the same city. Seven months in they had the routine down to a T, posting photos that had been previously taken, saying they were in one city when they were in another. Charting private jets to foreign countries and wearing disguises while moving from place to place. The pair enjoyed the thrill of getting caught by sometimes it felt draining. The secrets, the lies and the running were becoming too much for them to handle so they felt it was time to tell the truth, especially now that Harry was preparing to go on tour again.

Taylor felt like she was contradicting herself. A part of her didn't want people to know however she was the one who suggested they reveal themselves to the world. They both spent a long time figuring out what they were going to say and do. It went from Facebook posts, to joint statements or stepping out into the open again for everyone to see. It was then that Taylor came up of the idea for using tumblr. A place she felt safe from ridicule and nasty comments.

Still sitting on the bed looking down at her phone, Taylor felt the bed dip before a meow came from beside her. Prying her eyes away from the device she saw Olivia sitting next to her before she started to brush against her arm. Sitting the white feline in her lap, Taylor saved the pending post to her drafts and continued to scroll down her dashboard. Her eyes were greeted to posts about fan stories, herself and all the random things that people would re-blog. It was then that she saw a quote that got her attention, "Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."

Re-reading the words over and over, Taylor took the time to fully grasp and comprehend the quote before a smile came on her face. Taking a quick screen shot, she sent it to Harry, who was doing interviews with the boys, with the words "I'm going to post it." Finding the post she had saved earlier, Taylor quickly touched the post button and closed the app before locking her phone. Taking a deep breath, she left her mobile on the bed and took Olivia with her into kitchen. Waiting to see the fans reactions until she was with Harry again later that night. Taylor instantly knew the fans would freak out by the black and white photo that consisted of a view of Harry's chin down to the swallows on his chest, coffee cup grasped in hand with his rings in full view, the caption reading "I fell in love with a beautiful boy and you still take my breath away."

Across town, Harry sat on a couch next to Niall, finally having a chance to check his phone before their next interview began. He saw a text from Taylor followed by twitter notifications and comments on past photos. Opening the message from his girlfriend, he read the quote and message before switching to instagram. Clicking the upload button, without hesitation, Harry posted a coloured photo of Taylor, sitting on her New York apartment floor with her legs extended wearing red lipstick and his Green Bay Packers hoodie with her head thrown back laughing. The words "These hands had to let it go free and this love came back to me" situated under it. Looking his phone, he placed it back into his pocket before a new round of interviews began.

They both knew that announcing their relationship was the next big step for them. The two promised each other that they wouldn't let fans or the media get in the way of their happiness this time around. They also knew that they were able to spend more time out in the open, no need to hide out in hotel rooms and wear disguises. They were free to be themselves out in the open. Taylor was happy that she was able to tweet the bad jokes Harry would tell her daily and post the photos of him being smothered by both Meredith and Olivia. He was excited to do the same. To post the photos of Taylor baking and the quirks that he loved. The step that they had just taken was another stepping stone on their road to forever.