Across the Hall

Chapter 6

     Harry groaned as he looked at his phone; buzzing with seemingly un-ending texts. Rubbing at his eyes, he picked the device off the nightstand, straining to see what was waking him up.

     [4] texts from Liam.

     "Harry!"

     "Harry, answer me back!"

     "Shit, mate, sorry! Didn't know it was that early in Dallas!"

     "But call me back when you do wake up, so we can talk about when I can fly in!" Crap. Harry had forgotten all about Liam wanting to come and visit. There was plenty of room, that wasn't the issue. But having three members of the hottest boyband in the world in one city, Stateside, could wreak havoc on their idyllic little set up. He and Niall were just getting settled in here, enjoying their time with their girls. 

     Deciding to get up, Harry was surprised to find Niall already out of bed, and out of the apartment. Stumbling over the hem of his pajama pants, Harry made his way into the kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee. Around the time the brew was percolating, Harry could also hear Niall fumbling with his keys to get back in the flat.

     "Hey there, sunshine."  Niall's eyes grew wide, clearly not expecting to see Harry up at eight in the morning.

    "Jesus, Harry. Not funny!" the blonde gasped, shutting the door before heading into the kitchen to get some coffee of his own.

    "Where were you this morning?"

     "I had an early breakfast with Whitney. She's going out of town today; a show in Wichita Falls. It's only a little more than two hours away, but she's gonna stay the night there. I didn't really want her trying to drive those country roads in the middle of the night." 

     "Awh. Look at you, being responsible."

     "It's the boyfriend thing to do. Look out for my girl."  It wasn't lost on Harry the stupid smirk on Niall's lips as the word 'boyfriend' escaped from them. It had been too long since he'd seen Niall this happy. There was Holly right as the band was put together. There was the short lived fling with Amy, but everyone knew that was way more for the physical than the emotional. Getting friend-zoned by Demi was the worst of it, and Harry didn't know if Niall was gonna recover at first. He went back to Amy, needing someone to want him, but the game got old again. Things were different now, and for that, Harry would love her forever himself, just to see how happy she was making Niall.

     "Well. I have news. And I think you might like it."

    "Really?" Niall replied, taking his time to pull himself onto the couch, thanking Harry silently for bringing him his coffee.

     "Liam wants to come and visit. He's the reason I'm up so early anyways."

    "It's about time one of those lads decide to come and see us! But, are we gonna be okay with three of us staying here? The fans? The press?" Niall shook with sudden panic; something Harry had become more than accustomed to in the almost five years they'd been together as a band.

     "Relax, Nialler. We'll figure something out. If you don't want him to come-"

    "No, I miss the rest of the lads, especially Payno. You're right. We'll figure out something." Harry knew the two were close; their birthdays only two weeks apart. It would be good to have a face from home, and also introduce a part of their back home lives to their new lives.

     "Alright. I'll text him in a bit. Gotta call Annie first."

     "You sure she's up?" Harry chuckled to himself, knowing he'd be giving himself up if he answered.