Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Packers Hoodie Or How Mums Give The Best Advice

Hi everyone, first of all thank you so much for somehow getting my story to over 5k reads!!! I have no idea how that happened, but I am incredibly grateful for every single reader that I have. I hope you enjoy this chapter, while I'll go back to my studying now (oh joy). All the love, Summer xxx

Harry's POV:

My mum had insisted that we stayed the night so now I was lying in my old bed with the most beautiful girl lying next to me. She looked incredibly peaceful and carefree and I was relieved that she was getting some sleep for a change. The warm morning sun was shining through a small gap between the curtains, making her hair look like golden silk. Gently, I reached out and carefully brushed some loose strands of hair out of her face. I would never be able to tell her how much her being here meant to me, but I wasn't sure if I had managed to get through the funeral without the reassuring warmth of her small hand in mine. Not wanting to wake her up, I slowly crawled out of my bed and grabbed a hoodie and a hair tie on the way out.

My mum was already in the kitchen, preparing breakfast. She smiled when she looked up and saw me standing in the doorway. "Good morning, mum." I greeted her with a smile and pressed a kiss to her cheek, before joining her with the breakfast preparations. "Morning, honey." She gave me a grateful smile and placed a large plate with different fruits on the table, knowing how much I loved a healthy breakfast. "Is Claire still asleep?" she asked me and I looked up and nodded. "Yes, and I am glad she is. She hasn't been sleeping well lately. Of course she would never say anything, but I noticed it anyway." I chuckled and continued buttering the toast in front of me. 

"You really like her, don't you?" my mum asked behind me and the knife slipped off the toast, instead covering the plate with butter. I hastily tried to clean up the mess I made, before I turned around to reply. "I love her mum." I admitted and felt my cheeks turn red. When I looked over to her, I saw that she was giving me a wide smile which I hesitantly returned. "I am so happy you found someone, Harry. I knew that you liked her, I just wanted you to say out loud." she told me with a grin and I shook my head at her cheekiness. "I think you have to be patient with her. She just broke up with Louis and I don't think she's ready to admit to herself that she might have feelings for you, not yet anyway." My mum had always be my mentor and I was glad that I could ask her for advice in this particular matter. "Do you really think she likes me, too?" I asked her, not being able to hide the spark of hope that was filling my chest in my voice.. 

She smiled at me and walked over to me, forcing me to look at her. "I know that this is difficult for you, but I promise you she is worth the wait." I smiled down at her and she took my hand and gave it a light squeeze. "To be honest, I thought you two were a couple when you first introduced her to us because you two seemed to share this special bond. I believe that deep, deep down she is already in love with you, but she isn't ready to admit that to herself or the world just yet. Just stay at her side and treat her well and I am sure she'll come around." my mum finished her encouraging speech and I smiled down at her and pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you for being the best mum in the world." She hugged me back just as tightly and then pulled away a little bit.

"I am so proud of the man you have become, Harry. There is nothing better for a mum to see her children happy and succeeding in life while living their dream." She was tearing up a bit and I pulled her back into a hug and swayed her lightly from side to side. "Thanks mum." After a few seconds, she pulled away and discretely wiped her eyes with her sleeve, before she went back to preparing tea for everyone. The radio was quietly playing in the background while we were working side by side, until a quiet knock on the kitchen door made me look up. 

Claire was standing in the hallway, slightly leaned against the door frame, looking adorably tired, but not any less beautiful. She had her hair pulled up into a messy bun and I couldn't hide a smile when I saw that she was wearing my green Packers hoodie. She gave us a shy smile and then took a hesitant step into the kitchen, obviously not wanting to interrupt the rare alone time I got with my mum. "Morning, love." I greeted her with a wide smile and she smiled back at me and mumbled a "Morning.", before greeting my mum with a small smile. "Good morning, Anne." My mum returned the smile and placed a big, steaming mug of tea in front of her which she took with a grateful smile. "Thanks, that looks wonderful."

"I thought everyone needed a good breakfast after yesterday." my mum explained to her with a smile and I felt my smile falter a little bit when I thought about the reason why we were here in the first place. When I had finished buttering the last toast, I carefully placed the plate in the middle of the table and chose the seat next to Claire, while my mum sat down opposite me. "Alright, help yourselves, children." She gestured at the food and I didn't need to hear that twice. Everyone, started piling food onto their plates and just when we had started eating a very sleepy Gemma waddled into the kitchen and went straight to the sink to pour herself a cup of tea, before sitting down beside her mum. 

"Morning, honey, did you sleep well?" mum greeted her with an amused smile and put a slice of toast on her plate. Gemma only hummed and took a large sip from her tea, before looking up and spotting Claire sitting opposite her. "Did my little brother behave last night?" she asked with a smirk and hilariously failed to hide a yawn. "Oh, he was alright." Claire replied with a teasing grin in my direction. "He kept hogging the blanket though." I shot her a fake hurt look and pouted with made her giggle. "He still does that?" Gemma asked from over the table and Claire nodded next to me. "He always used to do that all the time when we had to share a bed on holidays." Gemma smirked at me, suddenly a lot more awake than when she had walked in not even three minutes ago.

"Is this the 'let's-embarrass-Harry-day'?" I asked and glared at Gemma from over the table who only chuckled, before helping herself to some fruit. "Ah, don't worry, H. You'll be fine." Claire patted my arm and winked at Gemma who smirked back. "I like you more and more, Claire." she commented with a grin and I saw Claire blush a little bit from the corner of my eye. "Thank you, Gemma, you aren't that bad either." she grinned back and happily munched on her toast, unaware of the stupid grin I had on my face while I was watching her. 

I felt someone's gaze on me and looked over to see that my mum was giving me a knowing smile. "Isn't that Harry's hoodie?" Gemma suddenly asked from across the table and sent me a wide smirk which made me squint my eyes at her. "Um, yes, it actually is. I didn't have anything warm to wear, sorry." Claire gave me an embarrassed smile, her cheeks flushed, and I immediately assured her that she had nothing to worry about. "It's fine, love. Looks better on you than on me anyway." I smiled down at her and gave her leg a reassuring squeeze underneath the table, feeling her relax underneath my touch. Gemma only hummed and shot me a knowing look, before continuing to eat her breakfast. 

When we were all finished, everyone helped doing the dishes and cleaning up, before Gemma disappeared upstairs to get dressed as she wanted to meet up with some old friends from school. "Is Robin at work?" Claire asked my mum as we hung the damp tea towels over the chairs to let them dry. "Yes, unfortunately he couldn't take the day off. He already didn't go to work yesterday and the day before, so he really couldn't miss another day at work." My mum explained and Claire nodded. "So, what are your plans for today?" my mum asked the two of us and I shrugged and looked over to Claire.

"Um, I think I really need to be back in London by tomorrow morning, but maybe I could leave tonight and spend the rest of the day here? Only if that's okay with you, of course." She hastily added with a questioning look in mine and my mum's direction who gave her a warm smile. "You're welcome here as long as you like, my dear." she assured Claire who returned the smile before looking over to me again. "Um, I could drop you off at the station later tonight? I think I'm gonna stay for another couple of days if that's okay with you, mum." My mum beamed at me and I was happy to cheer her up a little bit after she had just lost her dad. "Well, in that case, how about you two go for a walk around town and maybe for a little hike into the fields?" she suggested and Claire nodded and looked over to me. "Sounds great." I agreed with her and she gave me a wide smile, before following me upstairs to get ready for the day.