forever&always

~CHAPTER 51~

~EMILY'S POV~

"Emily! I missed you so much!"

Niall ran over and gave me a big hug. I hesitated to hug him back and he had to pull me inside the conference room. Louis, Liam, and Zayn joined in on the hug and squeezed me tightly while giving me slight kisses on the cheeks. I fake-smiled as they greeted me. Harry was off to the side and I could feel him staring at me- never taking his eyes off of me. I felt a bit uncomfortable with all the hugs and kisses that I took a step backwards. Biting my bottom lip, I hugged the binder in my arms tighter and tighter.

"Hey.. Long time no see guys.."

"You don't seem very happy to see us."

Louis said with a sassy tone to me.

"It's not that Louis.. Guys, there's plenty of talented designers around here and I'm pretty sure that there oils do better with me."

"Nope! We need YOU as our designer. It's all or nothing baby."

"Louis.. Please."

"Why can't you do this? Didn't you miss us Em? If it's because of Har-"

"Lou, give us a minute."

Harry suddenly stepped in. He stopped Louis in the middle of his sentence and put a hand on his shoulder. Harry gave Louis and the rest of the boys the "get-out-now" look. Zayn seemed to get the heads up because he pulled Niall and Liam outside of the room and Louis eventually followed them outside. Liam closed the door behind him and we were left alone inside the room. Things immediately got awkward between us and the room was silent. My eyes were trained onto the ground me refused to look him into his eyes. Harry seemed to have noticed because he slowly spoke.

"Please look at me Em.. You can't even look at me in my eyes."

"I don't have anything to say to you Harry. I'll get you paired up with another designer so I'll be on my way."

I turned away from him and turned for the door knob- until he reached for my wrist and held onto it gently. My heart stopped for a split second when I felt the warmth of his hands. I swallowed a bump in my throat that was hard to swallow as I suddenly got flashbacks of Harry and me. His hands were warm and comforting- as it always was. I stared at his hand for a moment and slowly pulled my hand back away from his. I shoved it into my back pocket and sighed out loud. Harry too must've been startled because he also pulled his hand away and scratched the back of his head.

"What happened between us Em? Do you know how much I missed you? How much I love you? These past 6 years without you, it felt like hell."

"Stop.."

"The day I left, I would've never gone if I knew that I would be losing you. I called you every night, only having to go straight to voicemail. I thought you would understand and wait for me Em."

"Those are all in the past Harry. Just stop.. It isn't going to bring anything back."

"Didn't you read the letter? I thought that you would at least understand."

"Letter? Now you're lying to me? You know what- that's enough. I'm sick and tired of the whole thing. I'll pair you guys with another designer so don't worry about it."

"Emily.. Please.."

"Sorry Harry.."

"No- Wait! I'll- I won't bring up the past again.. Just please.. Do this for the band. Do it for the boys."

"Harry.."

"We need you.."

"Fine.. I'll do it- but know that it's not work and nothing more or less."

"That's all I need.. Thank you.."

***

"So that's basically the looks you guys are gonna go for. I gotta go now but I'll see you guys tomorrow so keep what kind of colors you want."

"Red."

Niall blurted out. I chuckled out loud as I hurriedly packed my belongings into my bag. Josh was going to take me out to dinner and I only had about 10 minutes before I was going to be late. I tied up my hair into a loose ponytail and took a sip of my coffee. Shoving my clipboard, pen, and makeup inside, I swung over my sweater and struggled to get my heel strap on. Suddenly, a large shadow came across me and when I looked up, Harry was hovering above me. He startled me and I nearly jumped out of my hair. He was watching me intently as I fumbled with the strap when he asked me.

"Need help?"

"No. I'm fine."

"Here. I got it."

"No Harry it's re-"

Even before I could finish my sentence, Harry kneeled down onto the floor beneath my feet. He grabbed the heel and slipped it on without breaking a sweat- just like that. I was about to say something to him when I heard the door open and a few footsteps. When I turned my head towards the door, I immediately pulled back my foot from Harry which caused him to look in the same direction as I did. Josh was standing in the doorway with a look of shock on his face. His mouth was halfway open and I cleared my throat while standing up from the chair hurriedly.

"Jo- Josh? What are you doing here?"

"I.. Just comin' to pick you up.. Hi Harry.. Long time no see.."

"Babe le-"

"Babe? Wait.. Are you guys together or.."

Harry suddenly stepped in.

"..."

"You and Josh? Together? Like a couple?"

"Yeah.. Josh let's ju-"

"Hi Harry. Nice to see you again.."

"Yeah.. Me too lad."

"Josh c'mon. I'll see you tomorrow Harry."

"Wait Emi-"

I quickly pulled on Josh's arm away from Harry. There was some tension between them and it didn't look too good. I linked my arm with Josh's and led him outside. Closing the door behind us, I slung my bag around my shoulders. Josh stared back at the door a couple of times while walking down the hallway and he didn't really say much to me. There was a possibility that Josh might've been upset, disappointed, or both. Josh seemed to be thinking hard about something since his brow creased upwards and all I could think in my head was..

"Why did I ever say yes to doing this? Oh yeah. Because you're an idiot."