Sweetened || HS AU (COMPLETED)

• ten •

this song was stuck in my head the entire time I was writing this chapter. like?? it screams them idk.

Jailen

I don't think I remember what it was like to not have a child following my every move 24 hours a day. It was weird. I was bored.

I tried to explore Harry's house but when I got to the second level and realized there was another floor, I abandoned my mission and came back downstairs.

For the past two hours, I've been sitting on the couch, staring at the entrance and hoping that every second meant that they were walking through the door. I checked my phone. Zero messages, zero calls, nothing. What if something happened to them? Harry isn't the safest driver. I stood up from my seat and walked up to the rack of car keys Harry had hanging next to the door, then I froze.

I looked over at Jezebel, "Am I overthinking this?" She just whined and tilted her head. I nodded, "Right."

My stomach growled and I huffed. I made my way to the kitchen, hoping Harry had gotten better at grocery shopping over the past four years. The kitchen was clean, obviously untouched. I walked around slowly, my fingers dragging along the countertops before I reached up and opened the cabinets.

Immediately I was greeted with a set of pots and pans that were brand new and it confirmed my thoughts. This kitchen hadn't been touched at all. I made my way over to the refrigerator and opened it.

I hummed as I took in the stocked shelves but the one that caught my attention was the one closest to the bottom. There was a label on the edge and I leaned closer to read it.

"Hayden's food," I read out loud, a smile tugging at the corners of my lips as I looked at the 'food' on the shelf. About ten juice boxes, whole fruits and little baggies that had been filled with...frosted animal crackers. I chuckled and took the fruits out of the refrigerator, deciding to cut them into smaller pieces.

It didn't take me long at all and considering I was still hungry, I took it upon myself to make dinner. It was just after five, a little early but I needed to keep myself for overthinking. I used whatever Harry had that wasn't frozen and that I knew Hayden would eat. She was picky and didn't eat anything that was green unless it had spots on it. The spots were just seasoning. And surprisingly, Harry's cabinet was a lot more advanced with seasonings than I thought it would be. I guess he learned something from me back then.

Time flew and I had just turned off the stove when I heard the front door open. Hurried footsteps made their way to the kitchen and I turned to face the entryway just as Harry entered, his eyes wide with excitement as he sat Hayden down on the counter.

"You're cooking?" He asked, trying to look behind me at the stove.

"Yeah, I was bored," I said, suddenly feeling nervous as I walked around the counter to stand next to him. I kissed Hayden's forehead as she leaned into me before I looked up at Harry, "I'll clean everything, of course-"

"Don't worry about that, sweetie," He smiled and licked his lips, "Smells fuckin' amazing in here."

"My mommy makes the best food in the whole entire world!" Hayden said and Harry hummed.

"I know, your mommy used to cook for me all the time," Harry said, grabbing Hayden and walking her over to the sink so that she could wash her hands.

"What?" She was confused, appalled even, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

Harry grinned, "Mhm, once a week, mommy would ask me what I wanted to eat," He snorted and looked at me over his shoulder. I shook my head and turned to grab plates from the cabinet, ignoring the way my skin tightened at the memory of him saying my name whenever I asked him what he was craving. Harry sighed, "And I would always say it didn't matter because everything she cooked was amazing. Everything. She's the reason I'm all big and strong, see?" He flexed his arm and Hayden giggled.

I glanced over at the two, shocked to see that Harry was already staring at me. I sat the plates down on the counter, keeping my eyes on Harry as his eyes narrowed on me.

"I wanna be big!" She exclaimed.

"Yeah, well, we start now," he said, tearing his gaze away from me and turning on the water, "And, if you eat all your food, we can eat ice cream before bed!" He tried to whisper but I heard him as they both clapped excitedly.

"Hey, no! No ice cream before bed!" I pointed at them and Harry raised his hands.

"Okay, fine," He then turned back to Hayden and whispered, "We're definitely having ice cream before bed."

I rolled my eyes and smiled, knowing there was no point in arguing with him. She was gonna eat the ice cream regardless.

Dinner went by quickly. Hayden spent most of the time telling me how her uncle Zayn taught her how to ride a bike. She then followed up by saying she accidentally ran her bike into his neighbor's car and that Zayn yelled at the neighbor for, and I quote, not parking correctly.

"Well, where was he parked?" I asked Harry, who had been trying to get Hayden to keep from telling the story the entire time.

"Across the street," Harry mumbled, stuffing a piece of broccoli into his mouth, "In his own driveway." He whispered the last part and I scoffed.

"Harry."

"What? I didn't yell at him, Zayn did!" He tried to defend himself but Hayden pointed at him.

"Yeah, you did. You called him a stupid bitch!"

My eyes widened, "Harry!" I smacked his arm and he winced.

"You said you wouldn't tell!" He exclaimed, betrayed as Hayden shrugged.

I wanted to laugh. I wanted to cackle, actually and Harry wanted to too. I could tell by the way he snorted and looked down at the table. I closed my eyes for a second and rolled my lips into my mouth before I opened them again and shook my head.

"We gotta stop repeating after your dad and your uncle, alright?" I stood up from my seat to help her out of hers, "They're a bunch of potty mouths!" I said, directly glaring at Harry who just smirked and leaned back in his seat.

"My mouth is clean for now," He rubbed over his stomach, his eyes raking down my body before he stood up and raised his hands in the air, looking over at Hayden, "Still want ice cream?"