*Emma's P.O.V.*
My eyes flew open, and for some reason, I was wide awake. Harry's arm was softly wrapped around me, and my eyes darted around the room for a few moments before I realized we were in his home in Holmes Chapel. I smiled and softly kissed his forehead before wriggling out of his grasp, and stretching. I didn't turn on the lights, in fear of waking him, so I blindly dressed myself in a black strapless top and light denim high-waisted shorts. I tip toed out of the room and into the bathroom, doing my hair into simple high ponytail, and putting a bit of makeup on. As I left the room, I bumped into Gemma.
"You're up early!" She said cheerfully.
"So are you." I countered, with no real reason why I was awake so early.
"I'm an early riser. Harry usually sleeps until two in the afternoon!" I laughed along with her, thinking about all the new things you learn about someone by staying in their house. Just last night before we went to sleep, I had learned that Harry doesn't organize his dresser. Instead, he just puts his clothes in wherever's convenient. "I know you came here to be with Harry, but he mentioned to me that you've never been shopping in London. So I thought, 'Hey! If we drive down there now we can be there before 10, and go shopping. Then come home after dinner!'. Sound like fun?"
I hesitated, but realized that according to Harry, Gemma was no my family as well. "I'd love to come! Should we wake Harry and let him know?"
"Nah. Just leave a note for him in his room."
"Maybe I should leave it in the kitchen. He'll never find it if I put it in his room." Gemma laughs at my joek about Harry's cleanliness, and I quickly write a note on tape it to the kitchen table while Gemma makes us some toast. We grab a piece each, and after slathering it with peanut butter, we hop in her car and drive to London.
Gemma told me that usually the ride is about 3 hours long, but since it was 6AM, we get there by 8. "Where do you want to go first?" Gemma asks. "We can go to the outlet mall, or straight to the more high-end clothing stores."
My stomach rumbles, answering her question.
"Maybe we should go get some proper breakfast first!" She suggests. "There's this delicious pancake place near Harry's apartment. Have you been to his apartment yet?"
I shake my head. I hadn't ever been in London before, so this was all new to me.
"I'll slow down when we drive by, so you can see. It's a really nice place."
I smile, and peer out the window as Gemma slows down. "There it is! And look, there's ben's sister. She's so sweet. But she seems to have put on some weight since her and Harry broke up."
I almost started choking. "Th-they dated?"
"Yeah, but it's no big deal. Harry told us it was a mutual agreement. Or something like that."
Ben's sister glances at the car, and I can tell she recognizes either me or the car, because she starts giving me death glares. Her eyes were a creepy shade of blue. So light they were almost transparent, but when the sun shone down, they sparkled a bit. A shiver went through my spine and I pulled away my gaze. "How far are we from that pancake place?"
"We're just pulling in now."
* * * * * *
Our waitress brought us the food, and I decided to start asking Gemma some questions about Ben's sister. Maybe I could figure out why he was being so... rude.
"So, what's Ben's sister's name? I don't think you mentioned it."
I also knew that Gemma was so talkative she might just continue the covnersation herself.
"Serena. Isn't it beautiful? Her parents are dead though. In fact, I think they died around the same time Harry and her started dating." She shoved a forkful of pancake and syrup in her mouth, while I continued to play with my food. Pity date maybe?
"How long did they die? Ben didn't seem in mourning or anything."
"Oh, a few years ago. Two and a half, I think."
"Harry and Serena were dating for that long?"
"Oh yeah, and they were getting pretty serious. They only broke up a few weeks before he met you."
"Wow, what happened?"
"Apparently they got fed up with having to deal with the long distance thing. Since Harry was always on tour. In fact, she flew out to see him and that's when they broke up."
Before I could respond, I saw a familiar face walk into the restaurant. She looked angry. Her blond hair was parted to the side, and it bounced off her shoulders in a beautiful wave. Her tan skinned and pink lips attracted everyone's attention, but not nearly as much as her eyes. It was Serena. Gemma followed my gaze, turning around in her chair. At first, she frowned, but then collected herself, and cheerfully stood up to hug Serena.
"Serena! How are you?" She smiled, but Serena seemed angry. She was here with a purpose.
"Could be better. Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" She asked bitterly, and I saw a certain fire in her eyes.
"Oh, of course!" I stood up to shake her hand. "This is Emma, Harry's-"
She stopped speaking in shock. Serena's fist had connected with my cheek, sending me to the ground. "Emma! Emma, are you okay?" Gemma called. I tried to nod, but I couldn't move my head.
"Y-yeah." I croaked.
"How many fingers am I holding up?" Why was Gemma shouting? I tried to answer, but spots appeared in my eyes, and I couldn't see all her fingers.
"Three?"
The last thing I heard was Gemma faintly saying "Five."
