"18 Months," we said.

Chapter 4

 "I'll get it!" Harry hollered after there was a knock on the front door. I was playing with Freddie in the living room. I leaned over to see who was at the door. It was Liam and Bear.

"Freddie, look who's here!" I whispered. He gasped and wobbled over to the front door.

"Bearr!" Freddie gave him a big hug, which Bear gladly returned. He shifted his angle to look at Liam. "Uncle Liam, Uncle Liam, look! I lost my first tooth!" Freddie said, jumping up and down, excitedly. Liam chuckled to look at Freddie's now wide open mouth.

"Wow, Freddie! You're so grown up now!" Liam replied.

"Come on in!" Harry welcomed. "How've you guys been?"

"Good, we survived the long ride here!" Liam lives a considerable way from our house. We had all been to each others' houses frequently throughout the years, but this was the first time we'd met up with the group at Harry and I's new house. We welcomed Liam in while Bear ran off with Freddie to his bedroom. They had become good friends despite only meeting a couple times. Before long, there was another knock at the door; I retrieved it. Freddie and Bear came running from the other room.

"Uncle Niall!" They exclaimed in unison. Niall bent down to be at their level, his arms open, ready to receive hugs from the boys. They, as expected, flew right into his arms. They continued to embrace each other for a short moment.

"You boys have grown so much!" Niall exclaimed. "Have you lost a tooth, Freddie?" Freddie responded with an excited nod. Niall stood up to greet us. "Long time no see, lads!" He leaned in to give Harry, Liam, and I hugs. Freddie and Bear ran off back to go play.

"Have a seat, guys," Harry suggested, directing towards the couch. Everyone proceeded to sit down.

"Congrats on the breakup, Harry!" Niall said. Harry thanked him.

"Oh, yeah, congrats!" Liam followed. "How did it come about?"

"Olivia suggested it, actually. She had gotten a call for another PR stunt." Everyone listened intently. "We discussed it and decided to not renew the contract again."

"Are you planning to get another beard?" Liam asked in response. Harry glanced at me. I shot him a look, giving him confirmation to tell Liam and Niall.

"Me and Lou have actually been thinking about coming out to the public," Harry finally let out. Liam and Niall's faces morphed into a look of joy and empathy.

"No way, that's awesome!" Niall expressed.

"Wow, I'm so, so happy for you guys!" Liam exclaimed. I leaned closer to Harry, feeling relieved and happy.

"Thank you, thank you," I said. I glanced at my watch. "Does anyone know what's happening with Zayn? Is he just running late?"

"I can text him," Niall offered.

"That'd be great," I replied. I preferred to have someone else besides me contact Zayn, considering we didn't leave off on the best foot. We hadn't spoken in-person since he left the band. I was nervous about seeing him again, but I really wanted to take a step in the right direction. It was my mom's wish for us to be good friends again. When she passed, I really felt like we needed to mend our relationship.

"He said he's just stuck in traffic, but almost here," Niall said, snapping me out of my daze.

"Alright, thanks," I said. We sat in silence for a moment.

"The other day, I was out with a buddy," Liam started. "And some really sweet girl came up to me and showed me some 1D meme on her phone."

"Aww, that's sweet," I chuckled.