Slipping Away (A Larry Stylinson FanFic)

Chapter Fifteen

Katie's heart stopped when she heard Harry tell her softly that it was Louis. She could see the tears that were starting to form in Harry's eyes and she took the phone away, answering it for him.

"Harry's phone!" She answered chipperly while Harry stood frozen in place, fear and pain flickering repeatedly against his now pale face.

"Who's this?" Louis asked gruffly. Katie sighed and ran her fingers through her long hair.

"This is Katie. I'm Harry's girlfriend." She introduced, nervousness on the edge of her voice. She heard a snort on the other side of the line and rolled her eyes. "Is there something you need, Louis?"

"Yeah. Tell pretty boy that we've an interview tomorrow." He snapped and it took all of Katie's strength not to snap at him.

"Thank you. I will tell Harry. Good bye now." She said in a sickeningly sweet, making sure to put extra emphasis on Harry's name and she heard Louis snort.

"You do that doll. Have fun playing house." He snapped and hung up, leaving Katie steaming at the ears. Adaley frowned and looked at Harry with a frown.

"I haven't seen Mommy that upset since my daddy hurt Uncle Terr." She said and Katie's head snapped up.

"Adaley Jaylyn. You know the rules." She said in a sharp tone and Adaley's mouth snapped shut, nodding rapidly. Harry looked between the two of them and made a mental note to ask Katie about it later. First order of business was to find out what he wanted.

"So what did he have to say?" He asked trying to hide his shaking voice. Katie laid a soothing hand in his arm and led him into the shop.

"Let's order our ice cream first." She said gently and ordered for herself and Adaley. Harry, when it was his turn, ordered a small strawberry cone and walked back to a table away from the windows, sitting across from Katie.

"What did he say?" Harry asked softly, taking a lick of his ice cream. Even though it had happened weeks ago Harry was still barely able to say Louis' name. He snapped back to what was going on around him when he heard Katie sighed.

"Apparently you guys have an interview tomorrow. He wanted to inform you about it." She said softly and took a sip of her shake. The air around the table became thick with tension. Harry's jaw tightened and he took a deep breath.

"I'll talk to Liam or Niall when I get back to one of the apartments." He said in a tight voice and Katie nodded. Adaley noticed the air change. She looked up and frowned at Harry.

"Remember, if you get upset Mr. Harry then you're supposed to cuddle the lion." She reminded him and his face instantly softened.

"I'll remember that. Thank you, Adaley." He said in a gentle tone and finished off his ice cream. The rest of their time at the ice cream shop was filled with Harry signing autographs and Adaley getting sassy with anyone that said rude comments to her mother. After what felt like forever Paul ushered the girls back and Harry stood up, stretching his back. One girl caught Katie's hand and Katie jumped in surprise.

"My name is Camila." She said gently and Harry watched the two girls hesitantly. "Everyone calls me Cami though. I've been with the the One Direction fandom for three years. Things can get really intense. You'll get a lot of hate and possible death threats. The big thing is that you don't listen to them and you depend on on your friends and family. They're trying to scare you to get Harry alone again." Camila explained in a low voice. "Some of these girls are like piranhas. When they smell blood, they attack." She took out a piece of paper and wrote her name and number down, slipping it into Katie's hand. "If you need anything at all, feel free to text me." She whispered and gave Katie a quick hug before Paul pushed them all back. Harry gently grabbed Katie and Adaley's hands and led them out to the van sitting out front. After they all buckled in the van started rolling down the street. Katie leaned heavily against Harry, her head pounding. To say that today was kinda stressful was an understatement. While she enjoyed the zoo and the ice cream it stressed her out to capacity to constantly worry about not only herself but also Adaley. Harry could feel the exhaustion coming off her in waves and he looked down at her.

"I think everyone is ready for bed." He said softly, gently rubbing her arm. He looked at the time and noticed it was close to nine at night. Katie nodded and yawned widely. She looked back and noticed that Adaley was already fast asleep. Katie sighed and shook her head.

"Thank you again for today, Harry. Even though the last bit was kinda stressful it was still a wonderful day." She murmured and touched the necklace around her neck. "And thank you again for this beautiful necklace." Harry smiled and gently squeezed her arm.

"I'm glad you love it." He whispered and climbed out of the van when they reached Katie and Terrance's apartment. He gently picked Adaley out of the seat and she cuddled into his chest, sighing happily. Katie grabbed their things and followed behind Harry. After Adaley was tucked in and Katie was changed for bed the two sat in the living room. He didn't know how to approach the topic that was on his mind. He chewed on his lip, deep in thought.

"If you keep chewing on your lip you won't have anything left." She gently teased and Harry gave her a partial smile. "What's on your mind?" She asked gently, laying a hand on Harry's knee. He took a deep breath and laid his hand over hers.

"I've heard Adaley mention her father but the topic seems to put you on edge. Why is that?" He asked and Katie sighed, running a hand through her long hair.

"It's a long story." She mumbled and looked down at her hands. He gave her a soft look.

"I've got all the time in the world for you." He said sweetly and she gave him a half smile.

"I had Adaley when I was fifteen as you already know. Freshman in high school and gullible as all hell." She started off and took a deep breath. "And then I met Adaley's father and everything changed..."