Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Late Night Talks Or How Harry Might Marry Me

Hi everyone, one last chapter for today. :) All the love, Summer xxx Ps. Isn't Harry beautiful in that photo? *swoons*

It was late at night and Harry and I had just arrived back at the hotel we were staying in. I was surprisingly not completely wasted, only a little bit tipsy, but so was Harry. He had made the whole family encounter a lot more endurable. It had been particularly nice to see my parents and Izzie again, especially my dad. He had stayed strong for most of the day, but towards the evening he had been very tired and exhausted, but happy to that he got the chance to see me.

We entered our room and I flopped down onto the bed. "Ugh, I'm exhausted." Behind me, Harry chuckled. "Well it was an exhausting day. But your parents are lovely. Your dad is a great man and your mum was very, um, welcoming." He grinned and I groaned and hid my face in the sheets. "What did she say when we were saying goodbye?" I asked him. "She asked me whether I was single and if I had any intentions of marrying you soon." I whipped my head around. "She did not!" Harry smirked. "Yes, she did."

I hit my face in my hands. "I am so sorry. She wants to have grandchildren very soon." He laughed. "What did you tell her?" I asked him through my fingers. "I told her that I was happily single and still waiting for the right girl to come along and swipe me off my feet and that if you were not currently showing interests in one of my best friends and in desperate need of a husband, I would totally marry you." I looked up. He was standing next to the bed, grinning down at me like a Cheshire Cat.

"While I appreciate the kind offer, I really want to kill you right now for telling my mum about Louis and that you are remotely interested in me. She will never leave me alone!" Harry smirked. "Awww, Claire, are you, a grown woman of twenty-two, scared of your mum?" I glared at him and crossed my arms in front of my chest. "Well, maybe not so grown-up after all." Harry teased me and took off his jacket. He pulled his hair into a bun and laid down next to me.

There was a short pause. "Thank you for coming with me today. I hope you had a good time even though you had to endure great-auntie Amanda and my horrific dancing." Harry turned his head to look at me. "I had a great time and you are not as bad at dancing as you think." He smiled at me and gently pushed a loose strand of hair out of my face. "You are a great friend, Harry. I don't know what I'd do without you." I told him and he smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes anymore. "I'm a very lucky guy to have you as a friend." he told me and gave my hand a light squeeze.

I sat up. "I think I should get some sleep." I told him and he nodded. "Um, could you, maybe, unzip me?" I asked him hesitantly. "Of course." He got up as well and motioned me to turn around. He gently pushed my hair over my shoulder and carefully unzipped me. "All done." he told me and I quickly walked towards the bathroom to change into my pyjamas and to wash the make-up off my face.

When I returned to the bedroom a couple of minutes later, Harry had changed into a pair of pyjama pants and of course he was freaking shirtless. I tried to keep my eyes up on his face and hopped underneath the blankets. Quietly, he walked over to the bathroom and closed the door behind him. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and got comfortable. I sent Louis a short good night text to which he replied with a "Good night, love. I miss you, we definitely have to try to meet up and have our date before promo starts soon. xxx" I smiled at the text and quickly replied. "I miss you, too, Lou. I am very excited for our date and I can't wait to see you soon. xxx"

A few minutes later, Harry entered the room and walked around the bed. He got under the sheets and turned off the lights. There was a short pause. "You don't have to tell me, but... Your dad is an amazing man and I like him very much. I was just wondering why he is, you know..." "In a wheelchair." I finished the sentence and Harry hummed. I sighed. "My dad is ill. He has a type of very rare disease where his muscles are slowly getting weaker and weaker, especially in his legs. That's the reason why he can't stand or walk for longer times anymore. It's getting a lot worse at the moment and he has some other things as well. The doctors are unsure how long he has left." I told him and I felt Harry shift next to me.

 He took my right hand into his and squeezed it tightly. "I am so sorry, Claire. He is such an amazing man who definitely doesn't deserve any of this. How long has this been going on?" he asked me. "For at least ten years now. It started off very slowly, but especially the muscle thing is getting worse." I paused. "I just don't know how to deal with this. I mean he is my dad and I hate to see him like this. And I'm hardly ever home because I have to work so hard to pay my bills in London." I let out a shaky breath and Harry pulled me into him.

"Shhh, Claire. It's not your fault, okay? None of this is your fault. You are living your dream in London and your dad supports you 100%. He is so proud of you and we just talked about you most of the time today. He doesn't want you to be worried about him, alright?" I nodded and hugged him a bit. "Thank you for being here for me." "Any time, Claire, any time. And I'm sure Louis would totally support you as well, if you told him." I hummed. "I'll have to tell him at some point, yes, but it's not something you just bring up in a conversation, is it?" Harry chuckled. "Fair enough." We stayed silent for a few minutes.

"I think I should sleep now." I told him quietly and Harry lifted his arm so that I could roll back over to my side of the bed. I blushed a bit and cleared my throat. "Would you, um, would you mind holding me tonight? I think I just need someone to be there for me." I admitted quietly. Harry wrapped his arm around me and got comfortable. "No problem, love. I'm glad that I'm here to help you. That's what friends are for, right?" I nodded against his chest and I felt him lightly kiss my forehead. "Good night, love." He gently squeezed my hand under the blankets and I smiled in the dark. "Good night, Harry."