Through the Lens

Maybe One Day

*Author's Note*

Hey guys, this one is realllyyy long cause I know it's been five days. School has been busy, and this is an important chapter so I wanted to get it right. Can't wait to hear the comments!

Sarah <3

Hailey's POV

"What the hell is with this new trend of putting cilantro on everything?" I scoffed as I looked over the menu of the restaurant Gem and I had picked for lunch.

"I don't know, but I'm here for it. Cilantro is amazing." She laughed at me.

"No, it's not. It tastes like soap." I said, scrunching up my face and shaking my head at the thought of it.

She just smiled and shook her head at me before the waiter came over and took our order, leaving us to talk about the long day of shopping we'd had.

"I love that dress you got, it'll be so cute for the summer." Gem said as she took a sip of her water.

"Yeah, I thought it was cute just to wear around town." I shrugged. "I still can't believe I had to buy a suitcase to take all my stuff home in though."

We both laughed at how ridiculous it was that I'd actually flown all the way across the Atlantic without so much as a toothbrush. Luckily, I always kept my cameras and important stuff in my back pack when I travelled so everything that was in my bag was mostly just clothes and god knows where it ended up.

"I was actually thinking Mum and I might come stay at Harry's place in Lily Ridge for a while, just get a change of scenery." Gem smiled and my face immediately lit up.

"That would be so fun!" I grinned. "I haven't quite decided what I'm gonna do when I get home yet, apparently there are some preservation contracts in BC that I could take now that I've got some more experience. But I'll probably just hang out for a few months and just catch up with the fam, it would be sick if you guys were there too."

"Yeah, we'll see how it goes I guess." Gem shrugged with a soft smile.

I took a sip of my water as I looked through the window at the people mulling around the street. I loved everything about London, and although I'd only been there a few days I knew I would miss it once I left. After spending so much time in a tropical environment, it reminded me a lot of home. The spring weather was very similar to British Columbia and I began to understand what Harry had meant when he'd said Lily Ridge felt a lot like England in some ways.

I'd been biting my tongue all day trying not to interrogate Gemma about Niall, but it was killing me not to ask her if she felt the same way about him. I was pretty sure she did, judging by my observations after seeing them together, and I also felt a little smug at the idea that I'd told Harry numerous times that I thought more was going on between them and he'd adamantly denied it.

"So uh, when's Niall going back to LA?" I asked curiously, hoping I could find a way to weasel it into a conversation.

"Not sure. I think he was supposed to be there this whole time, but he came back cause he's worried about Haz." She shrugged.

"I think he's worried about more than Haz, Gem." I laughed. "He's worried about you too."

"Yeah...I know. I just wish he wouldn't worry about me, he's got enough on his plate." She sighed.

"He worries because he cares." I said softly. "I think it's really great that you two are so close."

A small smile crossed her lips as she nodded, and her appreciation for him was written all over her face. I bit my bottom lip as I watched her, doing my best not to blurt everything out to her since it was so obvious she felt the same.